Name: ShaeLee Marie Diaz
Age: 41 (my kids say I’m eternally 36)
Married to: Michael Diaz
Kids: Bobbi Amaris Diaz (she’s BAD) – 16 (soon to be 17) and Michael Edward Diaz – 15
Occupation: Administrative Assistant
So you want to know something about me. Ok, maybe you didn’t but Lou picked me to be WoTW so you’ll learn something anyway. Na-na-na-na-na-na. Just kidding, stay awhile, why don’t you?
My story starts with a hug. You see, when a Mommy and Daddy love each other, they hug in a special way and nine months later a baby is born. I was that baby, born in the Bronx on November 17, 1974 at Misercordia Hospital.
I was pretty active in my younger years. I played a lot of Double Dutch, loved kickball and stickball and on any given weekend, you might catch my sister and I riding our bikes from Burke Avenue down to the Bronx Botanical Gardens.
Running was never really my thing but I joined the track team in my freshman year of high school. The only time I came in anything but last place was when I was doing a 400m and the girl in front of me tripped and fell, allowing me to come in third! My grades suffered a bit and my uber strict mom wouldn’t let me sign up the next year so that was the end of my high school sports career.
I graduated from high school and spent one year at Adelphi U but didn’t have the funds to continue so I got a job in Manhattan as a receptionist and never finished school. It is my goal to get my degree one day. I have a great idea for a business that I’d like to open once the kids are out of the nest so maybe I’ll just get an online degree in business at some point. I’d like to have it to show my kids that it is important
Speaking of online, I met my husband on a dating site. Sixteen years later, I’m still crazy about the guy so I’m living proof that they work. I’m a huge fan of my husband. He has an insanely good heart and works long hours as a Detective for the Hate Crimes Task Force of the NYPD. He’s been on the force for 22 years and I can’t wait until the day he turns in his papers. Okay, enough about him, I’m the Warrior of the Week!
I started running as a hobby back in 2011 after a painful period in my life. During that year I had this crazy idea that I wanted another baby but after two miscarriages within a six month period, I had enough of that. I had a Disney friend who had talked about running a Run Disney race and in my sad phase, I decided I wanted to sign up. I think hubs was trying to pacify me at that point but we went for it. I started the Couch to 5K in October 2011, trained with hubby and together we ran our first race in February 2012, the Disney Princess ½ Marathon.
I was hooked. Race day is an incredible high and there’s nothing like it. The jitters, the goosebumps, I loved it! Disney was the perfect place to start my running career and it has kept me going. I convinced my husband to sign up for the WDW Marathon and we ran that in January 2013. Since then, we also completed the Goofy Challenge in January 2015, the Castaway 5K in the Bahamas, did the 5k and 10k during WDW Marathon weekend in January of this year and we have plans to complete the Dopey Challenge in 2018. I LOVE Run Disney! I love Disney period. It truly is my happy place.
I’ve done one Spartan and I’m hoping to sign up for a Tough Mudder next year but first, the NYC Marathon. I was able to get in by completing the 9 + 1 program through NYRR so I’m SUPER excited to run my way across the 5 boroughs in a few weeks. My training has gotten a bit messed up since school started again but I think I’ll be prepared to finish in the time I want.
I still may not be the fastest or even fast for that matter, but running has fulfilled me in so many ways. It’s something my husband and I share a love for and even better, it’s something we love to do together. We’ve even gotten the kids to run a few races with us. I’ve met a lot of great people through the sport and I can’t imagine what my life would be like right now if I hadn’t started running.
Well, that’s all for now! Hope to see you back here on Monday!!