In the "Spotlight" with Maria

Maria from Pleasanton California is a beautiful young woman! She's a working mom, a pretty wife, stepmom to twin teenager boys, and Maria always find time for herself by running/walking half marathons. I am so proud of Maria; she's my favorite and very pretty niece!!! Here's her amazing story.

I am 28 years old living in Pleasanton California where I live with my very caring and hardworking husband David. David has 2 amazingly bright 16 year old twin boys Jacob and Jordan whom I have the absolute pleasure of helping to raise. Jacob plays basketball and volleyball and Jordan runs track and cross country (with the convincing of his awesome stepmom). David and I have a gorgeous 4 year old baby girl who is the sunshine of our lives, and already the "diva" little sister that her big brothers adore. Our newest addition Jonah completes our home as an already independent and peaceful 11 month old baby boy. I am truly blessed to have a supportive husband and children.

I am very new to this marathon culture and I have only done 2 half marathons so far. Those were 2 of the most memorable experiences of my life. One day my aunt Yolanda sent me a flyer in the mail of the San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon and attached a cute note convincing me to do this marathon. After sleeping on it for a few days I accepted and trained for about 12 weeks. The day of the marathon I was so excited and happy! My husband and 3 kids (baby Jonah wasn't born yet) met me at mile 3,6, and 9 with signs and encouraging words. At the finish line I was very sore but so happy and emotional that I accomplished something so great. I hadn't been that proud of myself in years. In 2010 a few months after my baby boy was born I signed up to do the 2010 Rock n Roll Half Marathon San Jose again. At mile 7and 8 I began to feel very discouraged and tired until almost immediately after that I got 6 text messages from friends and family giving me support and encouragement. My husband told them to text me because he knows me so well and knew that mile 7 and 8 would be a tough one for me. (Man, I LOVE my David!!!!) I crossed the finish line beating my time by exactly 30 minutes!! This time my dad, stepmom, and 2 younger brothers were there to help my David and children cheer me on. The song "Don't Stop Believing" was the song that was playing when I finished. I was emotional and felt so proud of myself at that moment in time.

I LOVE having my teenagers and babies to take care of, trust me when I say they make me a better person, but after working my fulltime job at a bank and picking everyone up from school, sports practices and getting the little ones together for bed- it does get hectic. David works as a chiropractor during the day 3 times a week and works as restaurant manager in an upscale restaurant in SF at night. So we take full advantage of our little time together. Sometimes I get so busy as a mother with all of my daily duties with my kids and my fulltime job at the bank that I forget what its like to do things to make myself feel proud. I enjoy being proud of everyone else and their accomplishments that I forget my own. This is only the beginning for me. My aunt Yolanda and her marathon accomplishments are truly inspiring and I'm so happy that she thought of me and sent me that flyer in the mail. It opened up my heart to a new joy and love of running/walking miles. I am definitely looking forward to the Rock n Roll Half Marathon 2011 and hope to beat my time by another 30 minutes! I am actually looking forward to my "Dirty Thirty" birthday in 2 years where my goal will be to do a FULL marathon.

-Maria-