We're all winners!

Today was an all-girls run at lunch, so Jaimee and I decided to introduce Kerri to Jaimee’s route.  This is definitely one of my favorite new routes and due to the distance requires a speedy pace both on the roads and in the showers to get back to work on time.  (Although we didn’t tell Kerri just how long the route was, we made sure she didn’t have a meeting at the top of the hour).  A warm front blew through just after we started running and when the sun came out it really heated things up, causing me to regret my choice of a long sleeve tech shirt.  I heated up so much, in fact, that I was still sweating long after I had showered and returned to my desk, leaving odd and unsightly sweat marks all over my shirt.  (This is a great way to ensure co-workers steer clear).  Kerri and Jaimee ran together while I, as usual, ran a few steps behind.  Since I don’t usually get to chat with the other runners, it gives me time to reflect.  Sometimes my thoughts turn negative when I think about how I’m slower than everyone else, or I don’t have the same enthusiasm for long distances or mortally dangerous obstacle courses as my pals.  Instead of going down that path again, today I thought about how good we all are for each other and how this support system we have pushes each of us to better ourselves.

                Todd didn’t run with us today because he was resting after his awesome 10k finish on a hilly course yesterday.  He clocked an impressive 7:29 pace (this is while still recovering from an IT band injury!).  Of course he’s still mildly disappointed in himself because he was hoping for a sub-7:00 pace.  Meanwhile, Jaimee finished her hilly half marathon last weekend in 1:52, which was a huge improvement off her last half in February.  Kerri was today’s running hero, taking 3^rd place in her age group in a 5k yesterday.  Yay Kerri!  We of course had to razz her a little bit about it, now that she’s an award winning runner.  When I mentioned I was surprised she was running today after yesterday’s strong medal-earning performance, she said she was running on the race winner’s endorphin high.  (I think we ran those endorphins right out of her after the first few miles).  I had my own little victory last weekend in the 15k, improving from a 9:23 pace last year to 8:49 this year.  It may not have been an award winning performance, but it’s still impressive for me.  So, this summer when I’m cursing Todd for making me work so hard to keep up with him, I’ll try to remember the benefits of running with all these nags supportive friends.