A woman named Paula
It’s time for another Grass Roots Interview.
Below is an excerpt from my talk with back-of-the-packer, Paula Malek … mother of four and lover of life!
SoE: I’m here with Paula Malek and I want to talk to you about being in the back pack. We now refer to you all as “The Jet Pack.”
Paula: Right, Patti changed that.
SoE: First of all, do you have a problem with the name “the back pack?”
Paula: I never did. Never did. That’s where I am! That’s where I feel comfortable, so no. Patti just ran with us a few times and felt we were faster than the name may have said.
SoE: It’s all relative, you know, because the back pack of this group would be the front pack of most other running groups around. Do you ever feel you have to explain that to anyone?
Paula: Never. Because running has never been defined that way for me. I’ve never felt like I had to explain my level of speed to anybody.
SoE: You come from a family of runners; did anyone from your family run before you?
Paula: No. I started and it was progressive; running met my needs as I’ve changed.
In college it was about weight – you know what I mean?– then I could go have a couple of beers. When the kids were little, I was more emotional; it just got me out of the house, kept me calm. Better mom. And then as I got closer to 40 I just wanted to finish something. I had started this doctoral program, the house – we were always remodeling, nothing is ever finished, never clean – so, the marathon was like this goal I could finish. I printed something off of the internet and made it real official, put it on the refrigerator, and if it said 60 minutes the whole family knew. That validated it. It was almost like an intellectual need being satisfied. And then I found, later, with you guys (seejanerun) this whole emotional, soulful part of running that had never been there before. That’s what I needed then because I was home and I was a little more isolated and the Janes is more social for me – 90% social. I hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings! Some of the Janes I barely know and may never know that well. Some I feel like I’ve know all my life. Really powerful.
SoE: You’ve just described some amazing transitions in your life as a runner.
Paula: Yeah, it’s always done what I’ve needed it to do
SoE: So, what do you think is the next phase?
Paula: I don’t know exactly, but I know I’ll be running.
During our last circle time, I asked the Janes to go around and say one thing they remembered about the season and this is what Paula wrote:
Thanks again for another great season. I was thinking about what my reflection might be if I were to come to circle. Nothing philosophical but just a cute story. At Hogan’s [2nd grade] teacher conference last week his teacher said that they had been talking about athletes. Hogan raised his hand and said that his mom was an athlete. He told him that I run with a lot of women named Jane. He continued to detail how a lot of the Janes win the races but his mom doesn’t yet because her name is Paula!
Listen to the interview as a podcast.
Fall Janes ‘05, sans Julee Waldrop and Terri Bennett (who took the photo): 
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Great interview. During the podcast you mentioned another on leading from the middle. Can you provide a link to it? I’d love to listen.
Comment by Anne — 11/22/2005 @ 9:01 am
[...] In her comment on A Woman Named Paula, Anne asked about the podcast on “leading from the middle” and after searching for it I now realize it was a radio show I was listening to, not a podcast. But in my Google I did come across an interesting piece on leading from the middle that was written by the First Gentleman of Michigan. Turns out its a very small world, indeed, because not only is the First Gentleman, Dan Mulhern, a runner … but he is also an old friend of the family (my older girls’ dad’s classmate from University of Detroit high school). So, here’s what Dan had to say about leading from the middle: Someone at the meeting asked her how fast a certain celebrity runner was, and she said, “Oh, he’s not fast at all.” Now, you have to understand that Pat spends a lot of time courting, following, and supporting the elite runners who move at incredible speeds — like 5-minute miles for the entire 26 mile race. The person asking the question said to Pat, “I just wanted to make sure Dan could keep up with him.” Pat clarified the celeb: “He only runs a 9 minute per mile pace.” Just as she was saying it, she and I shared a look of hope: she was hoping that I was fast, and I was hoping she would say something like “the guy runs a 12 minute pace.” So, our look of shared hope quickly turned to one of mutual embarrassment, as it was now my turn to clarify. Drawing on my small supplies of humility and self depreciating humor I said, “I’m hoping to tear the course up at a 9 minute pace.” The truth was out and I had to accept it: I’m just slow! [...]
Pingback by songs of experience » leading from the middle — 11/22/2005 @ 10:40 am
Smart thinking…interviews available in podcasts…can’t wait to listen to recent interview on Backpack during my commute home tonight.
Stumbled across something this morning…
“If you ask me what I’ve come to do in this world…I will reply: I’m here to live my life out loud.” Emile Zola.
Who is Emile Zola? Don’t know. I’m going to find out.
See you on the trails.
Tweak.
Comment by Tweak — 11/29/2005 @ 8:35 am