Reflections

It's a beautiful day for a run - let's go 13.1!!!

Tommy, Suzy & Mike are ready for their PRs

The Pace Setters: Jen and Fred

Pep, LB & Strass sporting the new hardware

The Gang after 13.1

Perfect conditions greeted the GO! St. Louis racers today giving way to fast times and several PRs. For me, it was a day of reflection. I did my best to keep up with Rosenthal and Pepper but after they pushed the pace to 7:30 for the first couple, I knew that it was not to be for me. My mind has been focused on moving to Denver while these two have been training diligently. It was just too tough to keep up today. In what seemed like a very symbolic gesture, I let them go on ahead. That's right - I dropped back as TPR and Pep turned up the heat. I ran the next 11.1 solo and spent a good deal of time reflecting on all of the friendships that I have made with this lifestyle. I settled into a groove and enjoyed every minute of the race. This was better than therapy. At mile 10 I ran passed a folk singer that was belting out John Denver's Country Roads. A huge smile came across my face as I sang along - COUNTRY ROADS TAKE ME HOME TO THE PLACE WHERE I BELONG. Never mind the typical theme to Rocky that you usually hear when running - this was much better. What a great day. I finished the race in 1:48:41 - much slower than last year. I grabbed a water, got my medal and looked around. Sure enough, TPR and Pep had hung around the finish line waiting for me to get in. Truth be told, I know that they were there bragging to anyone who would listen as to how well they did today. It didn't matter though. In my mind, we all ran our own races at our own paces. But, in the end, we were all at the finish line together. Unbelievable friendships.