The other day, I got a call from my best friend Michelle.
Michelle and I went to high school together. Her mother was my piano teacher in grade school.
We got in trouble together.
We went on double dates together, threw parties together, celebrated many New Years Eve's and talked our way through many ups and down in our lives.
A few years ago, Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer. The news was devastating to my friend who is married and has four young children.
Michelle lost her hair, but she never lost her will to live despite having double mastectomy surgery.
Today, she is cancer free.
That is why I was so excited she called me with an exciting proposition.
"Want to run a 1/2 marathon together?" she asked.
"Sure," I said without hesitating.
If all goes well, we are going to run in a half marathon in Nashville next year on April 27. Running such a long race will be a stretch for me, but knowing that I am going to run the race with Michelle makes all the difference in the world.
If she can beat cancer, I can certainly run 13.1 miles with her.
It will be an exciting adventure for both of us. It's already motivated me on my recent runs in which I've easily gone four and five miles (which is big for me).
So here's to a winter's-worth of training to run a race with my best friend.
It will be worth every ounce of sweat and wear and tear I'm about to put my body through.

-Theresa Neuhoff Audia