I Get2 Run in the Rain

I remember it like it was yesterday. I can still smell the humidity in the air, the wet pavement, the sweat on my skin, I can feel the wind whipping by me, my shoes hitting the ground, my heart pounding, I can feel everything about that very rainy day in 2006, almost 17 years ago today.  I had decided to go for a run, which was part of my routine at the time. I would often lace up and run a few times a week. When I set out, it was cloudy and gray, but didn’t look like rain  – my favorite weather to run in. So I headed out the door and hung a right as I always did, nothing extraordinary was underfoot. I took my usual path around my suburban neighborhood wearing my leggings and tank top listening to my favorite playlist. 

Even though the clouds started to roll in and the temperature dropped I was having one of my best runs that year. About a third of the way through it started to drizzle slightly and I was grateful for the coolness of the rain. Suddenly the sky turned dark and the skies opened up and it began to pour. Now I don’t mind a little rain, but this was a torrential downpour. With 2.5 km left to go before I got home, I knew this was going to be a challenge. Within five minutes, every piece of clothing I had on was drenched, and I mean drenched. I was literally wringing the water out of my shirt and pants along the way. My best run of the year quickly turned into one of my worst. The rain was cold and hard and I was drenched and miserable. My shoes were so soaked that each step I took felt like I was lifting an extra 15lb weight that was strapped to my ankle. I began thinking to myself, can I just get a break here? I had been trying to go for a run all day, but was unable to get out the door for whatever reason. The phone rang, my son was crying, the dog had to go out, I kept getting pulled away. I was mad at myself for not getting out earlier as I would have missed the rain and likely had an amazing run. 

Each step felt like such an obstacle and I knew it was going to take me forever to get home, but there was only one way home – one step at a time. Finally, in the distance I could see the court where my house was and as I neared, I stopped. Fully stopped. And I lost all breath. I saw my girlfriend Tanya’s house and it was as if I hit a wall. My breath slipped out of me, and I started to cry uncontrollably. I didn’t know why, but in that moment it was as if all that happened to Tanya hit me – empathy and grief can show up at times when you least expect them. 

My thoughts quickly jumped to a conversation I had had with Tanya where she told me how much she missed running, especially with her dog Tucker. I could see in her eyes how she longed for her mobility back. At the time I didn’t think anything of it as we used to talk about all kinds of things she missed. Tanya had been fighting Stage 4 breast cancer and was only in her early 30s with so much life to live. She had undergone a double mastectomy and was undergoing radiation and chemo. Tanya was a fighter, so full of life and so full of joy.  

“Be grateful for what you have, because tomorrow you may have nothing at all.”

We had met in 2002 when my ex-husband and I moved onto a court in rural Ottawa. Tanya was a natural connector – she loved bringing people together. She would consistently rally the whole court of about 8 houses to hangout and spend time together. Tanya and I instantly connected – we just quickly eased into a friendship. We later learned that our lives were intertwined in so many unexpected ways. Turns out I went to highschool with her brother, who also shared the same birthday as me, who was also born at the same hospital only a few hours apart. In highschool I dated a guy who lived across the street from my parents house. In time, I learned that Tanya was one of his roommates and I had spent a lot of time in her apartment but our paths never crossed. And then I moved onto the same court, in rural Ottawa, across the street – too many coincidences for me. I firmly believe that Tanya and I were destined to meet. I think it was just a matter of timing. 

For Tanya, I became someone she could lean on and share things that I know she didn’t want to burden her closest friends with. She was so protective of them and didn’t want them to know a lot of her fears and pain.  We shared some very intimate moments that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I had no idea how much of an impact her life would have on mine. My mom only a few years later was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I truly believe that because of my time with Tanya I was able to emotionally navigate my mom’s cancer better because I understood more about cancer stages, grades, and treatments. I also met Tanya’s friends, a group of phenomenal women, who I now consider my family. They embraced me into their world and have never let go. They have seen me at my utter worst and at my best, and without them, I don’t know where I would be today. I am beyond grateful that I had the privilege to call Tanya my friend for those few years and don’t have enough words to share how much she changed my life. Tanya eventually lost her battle with cancer. She was 35.

So that day, when it was pouring rain, and I was soaked, and complaining, and whining, when I saw her house and remembered what she said about how she wished she could run again with Tucker, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I remember saying out loud repeatedly. I get to run in the rain… I get to run in the rain… I get to run in the rain… I don’t have to run in the rain, I Get2. The tears started and then I sobbed uncontrollably staring at Tanya’s house. I wanted to make it better for her, I would have given anything to see her run again. That moment changed my life forever, knowing that Tanya never got to run in the rain again. 

From that day on, I knew that I had the power to change my thoughts from “I have to”, to “I Get2”. That one moment changed everything for me. Things that used to feel difficult or exhausting I now looked at with a sense of optimism and I had an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the smallest things. This shift quickly became a key part of my everyday life, and despite its simplicity, this small change altered how I viewed the world around me. It wasn’t a sudden transformation overnight, but rather a gradual shift and by taking small steps and immersing myself in gratitude, I ultimately reshaped my thought process.  By shifting my “I have to’s” to “I Get2‘s,” my entire world underwent an immediate transformation and the Get2Mindset was born!