D.I.R.T.

Can you guess what it means to me?

D-o
I-ncredible
R-unning
T-hings

OR

D-o
I-ncredible
R-uns
T-ogether

 Welcome to my new mantra of D.I.R.T. Open ended yet still motivating. Adaptable. Witty. Awkward. Perfect.

Now when people have the question of, "What gets you through the day?" I have my answer.

Dirt. Dirty degrading dredged up dirt. The Terra Firma. Real estate. The best kind of real estate. If my feet can crave things, then they constantly crave dirt. I could have pillows on my feet and they will still ask me for a dirt road dustbowl. With dirt all things are possible. Dirt dash. Dirt duty. Dirt hunting. Follow the path made of dirt. One nation under dirt...only a slight obsession surfacing.

My shoes feel good on dirt. There needs to be more of it because it lets you Do Incredible Running Things.

Now while the first picture may not look as pretty as the second one, the first has dirt while the second one is asphalt.

What my eyes see... this is ok.



What my eyes see... this is incredible.
Can I die here?

And below is what is really going on. This is the way things look from the perspective of my feet....

What my feet see-
Dirt = Pure Joy
Exuberance actually...

What my feet see-
Road = Destruction

Again, I know I am being a bit melodramatic about this but things always get more dramatic than they need to be when you have little reminders of life. I had a small scare this week where my right foot started to bruise. Originally, the problem may lie in how I tied my shoes on a work out day but the bruise continued to form and start to affect my running. The roads hurt more than normal. Grass was fine, dirt was fine. Road was a no-go situation. Especially when the pain grew to cover more of my foot than just the bruise. But I took a day off, ran on the softest stuff I could find, and replaced my shoes with newer ones and the crisis was averted. But I was still worried about the dreaded Sunday long run. How was I going to make it through a situation of 11 miles on the roads or 11 miles on the 300m grass loop inside the track. Hell, how was I going to make it through a season if I could only do the 300m grass loop?

Thank God for Austin and Maddie Murphy. The first picture in this post is from the amazing trail I got to run on today. Town Lake trail in Austin. Perfect place for a Sunday long run. I was in love. There was wildlife, lots of people, sunshine, 80 degree weather, and DIRT! The company made me smile, the mileage made me sore, the run made me hungry, and the sun made me sweat but the dirt made me ecstatic. There was hope after all.

So make sure your life is filled with D.I.R.T. It will make a roads long and far bearable. It will help the body seem less breakable. I have accepted the fact that I am not to adaptable when it comes to different types of terrain. I need the clay colored, earth smelling, foot cushioning real estate.

Life Update- I have now experienced a moment where I was happier watching someone else eat something! The Taco Taco Challenge from this weekend was a success at Trinity! Lots of recruits, great weather, races, jumps, and relays. I will never forget the Thrower Relay which ended in handing the baton (a breakfast taco) to your final leg who had to eat it to finish the race. Rice and beans flew and gave the day a festive flair in the end.

Snow Days

Now while I don't have any snow anywhere near me currently, I still love this time of year! It is time for TRACK! The Oval. That thing people run around. Specifically, it is time for indoor track! Now the indoor season is a whole new beast. Imagine a 200m oval and fans all around that.

This is the Texas A&M Indoor track. (A place I can only hope to run in some day)

Means you never have an excuse not to run...
No snow in here!

 People pack into the stands. YES, even track meets have fans and people come to watch them! There are also lots of people out there promoting the sport as well. Flotrack, LetsRun, and many other sites are helping keep people updated on all news in the running world.

Why I love LetsRun- Since there are fewer indoor tracks down here in Texas for me to get my fill of, I have to rely on web pages to help me get my indoor appetite taken care of. Great meets like the Millrose Games are covered and talked about. But I can get the results from the meet website, so I love LetsRun for the fact that they are running nerds like I am. Plus, it is always exciting to hear about other people get excited about track. LetsRun is also not afraid to cover more than just what the guys are doing for the sport. The give every aspect of track and running its due. So while I may not be very cooped up in fair weather Texas this winter, I still feel the same way I always have about Indoor. IN LOVE. Just turn left and everything will be ok.

Too all of those in snow drizzled cities and ice locked masses- keep your head up. There is, most likely, a place of warmth close by. Just look for lights and Mondo floors. Plus, indoor is just a tid bit. A taste. A tease. A preview. A sneak peak. A warm up for the real show- Outdoor. 400 meters of pure love, hate, power, rivalry, and passion. All smashed into almost any distance your little heart and your little feet could desire. Enjoy.

If you don't have enough cocoa for the winter, find a track...

Why I am not a Roadie

Sadly, I am surrounded by roads.

They are paved gateways into an asphalt hell.

Am I...
Dramatic? Maybe.
Having a pity party? Surely.

Are roads...
Destructive? Absolutely.
Boring? Yawn.

Now, I could launch into a rant about why I hate running on the roads but I would rather explain the beauty in everything else. I don't dare deny that there are roads with incredible views, but because my sanity and all my senses are tied to my feet I have to be careful where I tread. To my soles (and my soul), roads are jarring, painful, and hostile.

Be dwarfed
by something other
than a sky scraper

Trail Running. A must for any roadie regular. Take in a scent other than gasoline and smog. Hear something other than your own breathing, car engines, and your ipod. Let colors other than beige, neon, black, and red show you a new path.  

More exists
than just chrome
water fountains

Even running a road with hills means you are still on a piece of flat pavement. Finding a challenge is finding a place you have to adapt to. Just like challenging you mind and your heart keeps you healthy, challenging your feet keeps them stronger and faster. Since I have moved to San Antonio I have felt my feet grow tired. They are tired of looking for the challenge of dirt. As plain as dirt is, trails are something you have to work on. And I miss the work. Plus, mileage melts away when you have trail loops and adventures. I once saw 6 indigo buntings in the Nature Park on one single 1200 meter loop. Those vibrant birds can make any run seem short. Yes. I am a bird nerd too.

Even feet
can bring you
new perspective

Just in case you think I am going CRR on you, or getting too "Green" about my running, imagine something with me for a second. If you work in a cubicle all day, when you are off work you find someplace else to go after the day is done. If you work at Sonic all day, you eat somewhere other than Sonic (and fastfood for that matter) for dinner. If you help coach on the roads, you miss running everywhere else.

I will always find ways to make things relative, just like I will always miss what I don't have. If it were not for the exceptional company that I have here on the roads of San Antonio, my feet would have protested the change to roads with much more anguish than they did.

While I am tolerating the roads and staying thankful for the amazing weather here, I have decided that no part of me wants to be a roadster for long. But for now, I am just happy to have somewhere to keep running...and something to miss.

Top 10 Reasons Why I Miss Trail Running:
10. I miss being able to fall, faceplant, and trip with out worrying about what kind of chemicals and crap I will get into my cuts and bruises, plus plenty of teammates from DePauw to pick you back up
9. It is much easier to hear your conversations with each other when all you have to compete with are bird songs and breezes
8. There is nothing like realizing that stick in your path is actually a live snake to get your adrenaline pumping
7. I would much rather be clipped by a tree branch than a car
6. Puddle running and mud are so much more fun in the middle of the woods
5. There is nothing like a fresh coat of snow in the middle of the woods to make you feel incredibly instinctual and so very humbly alone
4. It is much easier to find a quick pit stop mid run, just watch out for the stinging nettle!
3. The air is full of... nothing! You can take a deep breath without worrying about what the smog count for the day is
2. Your feet will love love love you
1. It is where I feel at home. Sole to Soul.
Trying to love the road, long and far.

PS- If you believe that you will melt if you step off of the roads, try easing into something different by running on the track. That will do one of two things: make you insane enough to try trail running because almost no one likes to go in circles, or learn the rhythm that makes track running so addicting. Just try something softer for once! Give your legs a break!

A Sole to Soul Connection

What does mileage mean to your feet?

In all honesty, those feet underneath you will run what you tell them too. That could be 20 miles a week or 95. They will complain all the way sometimes, but the work will get done. Now the only thing left to decide is whether you will be nice to your feet or mean.

Take my week. I was mean. While my feet know every mile I have run each day, my brain can sometimes loose track of what I have done. Tuesday morning I ran an easy 7 miles and during that run my head politely forgot that I was supposed to be in 2 different places later. Running in two different places at night. So I ended up with plenty more than 7 miles for the day. And, the same thing happened on Thursday. Too many miles at once. Well, for the day, twice.

It has taken me a while to learn what my feet can handle. Usually, it matches what my body can handle. And that happens to never match what my heart thinks I can handle. So, my soles know I can only handle less than what I am actually doing and my soul knows I should be running more. I have noticed that this disconnect happens in lots of areas of my life. I think I can cook, clean, do laundry, save the world, and write a blog when I get home from work. That is what my soul knows I can handle. Reality shows me that I can actually usually only handle taking the dog for a walk and throwing a pizza in the oven. My slow cooker is a god-send but it requires that I get up a few precious more minutes earlier than I already do to fix dinner so that when I actually get home I can just sit down. Not really my favorite situation. As much as I love my feet and my sanity, I love my sleep more.

Welcome to manual labor. Welcome to manual life. Welcome to manual running.

Shoes still work, clean or muddy.
Heart still works, tired or not.

I work on my feet, run on my feet, clean on my feet, and think best on my feet. (Ha). Well, those boats are pretty important to me. They keep me afloat, if you catch my wave? But I can't use my feet for everything. So I will still probably try anyways...

Wake up tomorrow morning. Look at your feet. Say thank you. Most of you will have more coordinated, more dependable ones than mine. Yet, I am thankful just the same. The mileage I am able to put on my feet correlates directly with the my sanity. What else can I do? We all have things that keep us together. Put some tread on a shoe, some support in the arch, and some bunny ears in the laces and I walk on out the door ready for life. Find those things, those places that help you get ready. And trust your feet. Especially if they connect to your head and your heart like mine do. They get me to my mile 12. Some days that is only a short run and other days it is more. That's the beauty of mile 12. It doesn't have to be a specific distance or place.

Its a kind of sole to soul connection.

Delerium aka CRR

If you have ever watched me race, you know that I love to be out on the track.

I love hearing the splits, cutting times down, and finding a way to make that finish line closer.

If you have ever talked to me after my races, you have probably met my alter ego-

Crazy Runner Reich (CRR for short).

Now CRR  is quite the character. She has no personal boundaries, feels no need to worry about personal space, and is always willing to give big sweaty hugs. She also speaks with out any kind of a filter and usually has trouble putting together even semi-coherent conversations. CRR is my alter ego and also a complex that I have. Like a twitch or a habit. I am more than slightly addicted to her.

Let us explore this a little bit. I wish I could tell you more of the stories I am sure CRR has produced, but I honestly don't remember what goes on for about 15 minutes after I cross the line. I had almost forgotten about CRR until a friend recently reminded me of her. So here is my explanation to all of you who have met CRR and those of you who probably will and have no idea what you are getting into.

I have dubbed my CRR as the result of anoxic conditions in my brain. I think sometimes I try to run faster than I can breathe. There is usually a boundary that I cross when I run. One step I am normal and relaxed, and then next is when the race becomes fast. Now CRR has also appeared after certain work outs as well. So it is my best guess that my complex appears after the workload that I ask of my body is more than I can actually handle. I can push that boundary, but it results in some pretty funny post race memories. Actually, I love to push that boundary.

One of my favorite college runners, Liz Lawton, actually just reminded me that "running is such a peculiar sport!" And she knows the truth. Even when I know I can not physically take one more step, my brain says to try. Whether it is my heart, my head, or both that gets me through that moment, I am not sure. But I have this desire to see what moment comes after you realize how bad you are hurting. I have tasted this thing, I would call it fun, but people will call me crazy for it. That moment where you hurt the most? Push through for there is a moment right after where I find pure joy. Pain mixed with joy is pretty peculiar. But that is why I tell people to try for one more step. Because you never know how close you are to that one moment that makes everything worth it.

 

Normal or not, it is how I feel when I run.

And you can't tell me we are all not crazy...

Run faster than you can breathe
It is a different kind of drug
-CRR

Determining Your Determination

Derick is making phone calls.

Recruiting calls actually.

And it is his birthday. His one day to do anything. But he is in our apartment making the calls. He is determined to make Trinity a top placing team in the nation and he knows what it takes to get the job done. So he calls. Drops everything and takes calls. Shushes me and calls.

He is one of the most focused people I have ever met.

He is determined.

While I used to think only his humor, his obsession for stats and facts, and his loud laugh were the only things that were rubbing off on me I realized I was wrong. Yes, I do make "that's what she said" jokes now. Yes, I do already know who is on the 2011 DIII Indoor Performance list in the 800, Mile, and 5k. Yes, my laugh has gotten a bit louder over the past 4 years. But I also am doing something I never thought I could do. I am working on running for myself. I am determined to see what else I can do. And that is something very special that Derick is teaching me. The beauty in detail. The glory of the facts. The hope in the future. And the determination in work.

Plus, this bearded wonder believes in me. Little old un-determined me. I have a passion for running, but I don't always have the determination. He takes care of that. He reminds me of what I have done and what I can do. That is why his nickname is so fitting. Derick Lawrence aka D-rock. He does not even try to determine his determination. He just does. D-rock determined. It is a great mantra for me when the times are tough, the workouts long, and the muscles are sore.

I can not wait to be Lauren Lawrence. Nor can I wait to hear an announcer on the track say that name for the first time. I know it will associate me with the kind of unwavering, enveloping, and motivating determination that comes with the one who is the rock. My rock. D-ROCK.

Happy Birthday love.

You know what makes me, you know what breaks me.
Lucky for me, you only push to make me better.

SAS

What do you do with the days where you realize how far the road ahead of you really is?

Those very specific days of enlightenment where the headway you thought you had been making not only comes to a halt, but also crashes down and bursts into flames. I call it darkening enlightenment...

While my runs have been nothing spectacular anyways, I have been thinking "consistency is key" and I was proud of the fact that I had been running regularly! In fact, I was beginning to think I was getting back in the groove of things.

So I decided to take my groove and head over to Lifetime Fitness to work with a friend I had over there. My goal was to get my body ready for the kinds of intense tests and trials I was hoping to put it through in the upcoming years. In order to prepare and survive I knew I would need strength and power. Runners and athletes do not become great by doing just one thing. They cover all of the bases, shoot every shot, practice every move, and prepare every step. I have tried to help build my body into a machine before and I got pretty far, but this time around I was failing spectacularly. But I was still running and working hard on those runs. I was more worried about injury and prevention. My IT Band was acting up again...

Thus the goal was strength, but that hour I spent at the gym was more about realizing what I didn't have instead. I used to be able to hold a plank for 45 seconds, rest, and then do it a few more times. Not incredible before, but a big deal for me. (SAS aka Skinny Arms Syndrome) So when my friend suggested we start with planks I thought nothing of it. Little did I realize that soon my face would be red, cheeks puffed, and arms tormented. No, t'was not the trainer throwing me into boot camp, merely my own insufferable denial giving me more weight than I could take. I gutted my way through the first 45 seconds and then had to do the second try at 45 seconds broken up into 10 second on/off intervals. Wowzer. I knew I should have worn my shades in the gym, at least then I would have looked crazy enough for people to dismiss my poor physique and struggle bus lift techniques.

See, runners can not just run anymore. To compete, a runner has to stregthen every part of their body in order to beat out the competition by milliseconds. To compete with the best, a runner like me has to push her normal limits of conditioning every day just so I don't get lapped twice in a race with the American greats. Those amazing women out there are spending hours a day preparing themselves for the same tests, trials, and workouts that I wanted to go through. My thought was that I would be able to do what those women do for core, strength, and power along the way to competing with them and it would be just another part of the road I was on. A short, easy part. False. This road was getting longer with every step I took along it.

So, as I was watching my world, my hopes, and my dreams come pouring out of my sweat glands and catch aflame I figured that everyone in the gym was witnessing my epic meltdown. That is, until I watched a tall skinny blonde walk by me in nothing but booty shorts and sports bra talking on her cell phone (in the middle of the weight room...) Feeling slightly overdressed, I looked up from my lunge and noticed quite a few scantily clad and had a second enlightenment of the day. No one noticed the akward tall girl in the back lifting her 5 pounds over her head and wondering where the time went. Plus, no one knew the kind of power my lungs had or the miles my legs had crossed. While my butt may still be destroyed by twelve year old kids, barbie blondes, and mid-life crisis men in the gym, I still have some kick in me and can make a race more painful than most people would like it to be.  

What do I do with those days of enlightenment?

I pick up my pieces, gather the ruble, and resume building atop the ruins.

With one of my arms beating me down and the other picking me up, I am not really moving backwards. I just need something to help sway the balance towards improvement. (I think I can get my legs to join the cause) Plus SAS means they aren't beating me down that far...

Love the road, long and far

What do you mean, All-American?

Well, Texas is a bit of a change from Indiana and Arizona. Lots of space and lots of people. While everyone here has been great and very helpful with the transition I was still feeling a bit on the lonely side. I didn't expect such a change in the running world. Sure, I feel right at home with Trinity, its a college campus and they understand the world I just came from. Plus they rock. But I entered a whole new place, real life. And real life running apparently meant marathons. That is until I read the most recent issue of Texas Runner and Triathlete.

Most of the articles in the beginning of the magazine were leaving me feeling pretty much the same way I have since I got to the great state of Texas. Mostly articles about ultra, trail, triathlon, or marathons dotted the pages and I just shrugged off the disconnect that I usually felt. But then I happened upon an article with a title that made me smile...

In Defense of the Non-Marathoner
-Tim Gargiulo

And Gargiulo's opening quote happened to be on I hear every single day, "So how many marathons have you run?". Uhhh none. Yup. As in ZERO. Nada. Bubkiss. Once I tried to comfort my poor customer who was worried he was being helped by a silly young girl with no running experience by telling him I ran in college and was an eight time All-American. He looked at me like I should be serving him hot dogs instead of tying his new shoes on. All-American? Denied. So my dreams and aspirations from college are hardly understood in the adult real world. Thats really ok. It gives me a new start and a total fresh slate. A newbie again!

But Gargiulo helped my find the root of my feelings of rejection by stating, "In our society, most people are likely to be significantly more impressed by Oprah running just under a 4-and-a-half hour marathon than by just about anybody else running under a 14:00 minute 5k." And then he goes on to laugh about his cynicism. Well, I wasn't laughing! Not that I have run a 14 flat 5k, but I was totally blown away that someone in the adult world was understanding the poor saps like me stuck in the vacuum that is the oval. Track. While Gargiulo was really defending anyone who was doing road races less than 13.1 or 26.2 miles, I took it as a personal defense of track. WHOO HOO!

So refreshing. Now, don't get me wrong, I love hearing about all of the things that people have accomplished with the marathon. People run fast in them. They raise money. Spread awareness. Give hope. Thank goodness for marathons (and halfs!). Gargiulo gives a few feel good stories and examples marathons have brought about and then takes the words right out of my feet, "But even a feel good marathon story like this does not change the fact that the 26.2 mile race is not for everyone, nor should it be." It is like a refreshing ice-bath, pretty startling but sooo good! It is just something in the nature of my feet. They want to stay firmly planted in a left turn direction. When they do happen to explore outside the oval, a 10k is about the limit of their happiness. And my happiness is directly tied to those big old boats in my running shoes.

The only thing I differ from the author about is his final statement. It was something along the lines that just getting out the door and doing your morning trot is what truly makes running special. Or that it is just great that everyone can do all of this. To me, its not the fact that we can get out the door, but much more wonderful than that. What makes running so special is that it gives you a chance to do something you never thought you could do. Every PR, extra step, better breath, and sprint to the finish is usually pushing your body beyond what you thought was possible. Some people do that in marathons. But the same things can happen in a half mile track race and a 10k on the road.

Thanks, Tim, for showing me I am not alone in Texas and the post-collegiate running world!

A pretty easy map to follow!

Bloomers

My Struggle Bus

Looking ahead is hard thing for me to do with running. My high school coach knew this and she would never tell me any of my workouts. I would be on the line waiting for her to say "GO" and right then is when she would tell me if I was going to do a 400 or an 800 or a 200 and then tell me the pace. Then I would take off, not knowing if I had 4 x 400, a ladder, or split 800's to do. She also didn't let me look at my watch during the work outs. She told me only if I was slow or fast for what I had just done and then afterwards went through the whole work out with me. I ate all of this up. It helped me deal with my problem of looking ahead. Too many minutes, too many repeats, and too many miles intimidate me and usually stop me in my tracks before I can even get started. But high school was simple, I did what coach said. There was no question and I didn't have to worry. I told my legs that what ever she said we could do we would just have to do. I was confident because she was. She said run faster and I would.

In college, I was told more. There was a weekly schedule and it had our work outs laid out. Now, I did my best to put on my big girl work out pants and get through everything but there were quite a few work outs where I did not think I could get through everything. In order to get to that next level though I had to realize the work I was putting into the season was good enough. My college coach helped me take my running and make me confident in myself. I still depended on him to believe in me, but I also found a new belief in myself. One that had been there since I started running, but he helped me turn it from just hoping to believing. He said believe you can run faster and I would.

But I still had problems with numbers. I would line up for a 5k race on the track and just try not to panic when I heard "12 and a half laps, ladies to your marks". My perfect day was all of 2 laps. A 5k was 10 and a half more! The only way I used to get through these moments was to tell myself that the last 10 laps were not for me, they were for my team. In cross country I had to go into every race telling my legs that they could not fail after the first mile because the team needed them to place well. Thinking on the line about the 21 or 22 minutes that I would be out there was like a death sentence. Even though I loved to run, I have been in enough races to know the demand that gets put on you mentally and physically during those minutes. And it always scared the hell out of me. But I truly did love doing it for other people. I could endure it all for those tiger stripes. They said, we need you to run faster and I would.

Now, welcome to present day. I graduated. Took some time off. Got engaged. Did life. Got a job. And tried to come back to running. Still scared of numbers, minutes, and miles. This is also the first time I have to do this for my self. I don't have any team to numb the pain or force it away. I get to face it. I have hid from it for a long time but this is what decides whether or not I can keep going and keep racing. To me this is not just conquering a fear but doing a Napolean and trying to change the whole world (even if it is just my little one).

Luckily, I know I still have one thing in my pocket that helps. I love a challenge. Tell me what I can't do and I will show you what I can do. Find a reason for me to not make it and I will show you 10 more why I should. That is what running is- a basic struggle with your body. Your lungs tell you they can't breathe and your legs say no more steps. Your heart says critical and your feet say pain. But if you just ask of them one more breathe, one more step, one more beat, and one more try they will give it to you. And you take those little victories and sally forth! Even if I am just fighting with my own soul, it is a challenge. I don't know if I can do this, but I can't wait to prove myself wrong! My turn to say run faster: and I will.

Time to bloom
'Tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes!
~William Wordsworth,

Magic Mile

More than just mist was gathering late Tuesday night.

Maybe they were attracted to the red glow of the neon "open" sign. Others were driven here by a desire for hope. Some wanted to change the future.

The curiosity would soon drip from their brows.

It was a lovely night for magic.

Soon there were footsteps in the darkness and hearts were pounding. Four laps. Everyone started running, but this was one race where many would walk more than run. A race unlike any I had ever been in. Still, my legs felt the same fleeting moments of adrenaline and they still itched to find some turnover.

Before the words "go" were even started, we had gone over warming up and stretching. The basics. Things that I have been doing so much that I am to the point where I don't even notice doing them any more. The coaches talked track etiquette and how this was going to be a time to push each other. I saw nerves, worry, and determination all lined up on the same starting line. That is when I realized there was magic in any race. The same emotions were flowing through a crowd of new runners on one of their first starting lines as had gone through the tough, seasoned competitors I had once competed against. The magic was still there. And it showed me one of the beauties running has to bestow on humanity: everyone is welcome to that magic.

Not everyone on the line that night thought they would finish that run. It was just our beginners class and we were trying to establish a baseline for our groups. But it parallels almost every race I have been in. There are those confident in their abilities and goals. Many are unsure of how things will play out and are just hoping to do better than last time around the oval. Some are in a dark place where attitude and abilities do not match. But still, everyone is waiting for the start. That is when the second beautiful moment dawned on me: no one was waiting for the finish. It would happen. And everyone seemed to know they would decide how it would happen. It is something that I think college and even well seasoned runners forget. Ultimately, we are the ones who get to choose how we run races. No, we may not always get the place, the time, or the glory we desire, but we can sift through all of that and find our place of strength. The one where we learn to desire more and be thankful for what we have achieved.  

Oh it was a night for magic.

I was in love with all of the people on the track that night. Each one has a lot of hard work to put in but they gave that day what they had. So many different people with so many different goals all situated around one dark oval dirt-fest. Most of them left with a twinkle in their eye. They have they running bug. And I can not wait to watch it grow!

I was more than impressed with this amazing group of runners. I was delighted. I was proud. And I was hooked on their attitude. The feelings of staleness and boredom launched out of my legs, heart, and soul. Even old track dogs like me could still appreciate that first day. The first lap split (and having no idea what the time meant). And the first wonders of, "what in the hell did I get myself into" surfacing. Any runner in need of a jump-start kit for their training program should consider meeting a group of new runners and experiencing the first run with them. It is incredible.

The magic ended for some in 6 minutes and 30 seconds. More than a few got through the magic in around 10-12 minutes. When the last person gutted through their final magic minutes we re-grouped and cooled down with more stretches and tips. I think most left with out realizing the magic that was under the stars on the track that night.

My bet is that the enchantment is just beginning...

What a cruel and beautiful master pain can be.

It teaches us to love and hate our moments.

Always pray for more opportunity and take advantage of the answer