Everyone needs a personal cheerleader

Do you have a personal cheerleader? If you don't, I highly recommend you find one.

I have a personal cheerleader. Her name is Leesa. The best way I can describe Leesa is: Energizer Bunny on Crack. She's one of those girls that after spending time with her, you ask yourself, "Does this girl ever have a bad day?" You also wonder "How much Mountain Dew did you drink today, Leesa? You seem pretty hyper."

When I made the decision to run this marathon, Leesa was one of the first people I told. Here's why - Not only is Leesa one of my closest friends, she is also an amazing runner. Leesa runs 10 miles on a regular day - and that's not even her long run. Crazy Girl.

So I proceed to tell Leesa that I decided to run a marathon and right then and there Leesa responds with "OK, we'll go and cheer you on." Having Leesa cheer you on its quite a sight. She has been known to do cheerleading jumps, 8 months pregnant, while cheering on her husband, my husband and my sister-in-law, Amy, as they ran the Army 10 miler in 2007. Its true. I was there. What Leesa didn't tell me that night was that her cheerleading stared right then and there.

After I ran my first 3 miles, I immediately texted Leesa - I'd run 3 miles at 12 minutes a mile!Looking back, its kinda funny that I was so excited to tell her about my 3 little 12 minute miles. For her that's nothing. However, you would have thought I told her that I won a million dollars with the reaction I got. There she was cheering me on.

The day I ran my first race, the St. Patrick's Day 8K, Leesa ran it with me. I'd only been training for about two and a half months when I ran that race. The entire time Leesa continued with the encouragement - "Come on you can do it..." "You are doing an awesome job..." "Keep pushing you are almost there..." And you know what? I finished faster than I thought I would. And Leesa let me cross the finish line first.

Since then, from time to time an evil voice starts talking in my head, telling me that I can't possibly go one more step. You know what drives that voice away? Leesa's voice telling me to "Push it, Girl!"

Regardless of what personal goal you've set for yourself, I wholeheartedly recommend finding a personal cheerleader to cheer you on to success. Knowing my friend Leesa, she'd probably be available, if you just let her know.