Reflections of a pacer

That's right folks! A pacer! Me?! Yes!

I've been running with SIL#1 (sister-in-law #1....my husband has 3 sisters and this one is his oldest. #2 is the middle, and #3 is the youngest) for about a week now. We trained together last summer and ran the RNR Chicago half together last August. No one would have ever though I would become the "pacer" out of the two of us based on last year's training. But she took a lot of time off for life/family/etc. after the half and is just now seriously getting back into running.

Before her time off she was a pretty kick-butt runner. She could run circles around me and was pretty good at self-pacing (we didn't own Garmins last summer). Last year we would start a run and she'd either push me to run harder or I'd poop out and she'd continue. Her self-motivation is amazing! Very jealous here. She could even keep pace with Husband! (she's also taller than me, so it's easier.)

I'm not the best at putting these reflections into nice paragraphs, so I'm going to continue with a list here:

- I am super psyched to be the "pacer" out of the two of us. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something :)

- I can feel my legs begging to run faster during our runs. I never thought I'd beg for speed!

- Now I know what Sister must have felt like running with me at that stage :) Thanks for keeping pace with me Sister :) (Sister is my sister, in case you're confused!)

- I can hold a conversation while we run, and SIL#1 can too. This makes me think that I should push her to run a little faster :)

- It's nice not caring about time and just going for distance.

- It's nice having someone to run with when I don't feel like I'm holding them back. It sometimes is easier to run alone because then I don't worry about taking away from Husband or Sister's workout. I know they slow down for me to be nice, but it's nice not having to make someone do that.

- We're doing an 8K (together, unless I decide to kick asphalt) on the 4th of July. So excited! I needed another race. I even bought glitter flag tattoos and American Flag ribbons for our hair! (A bit of Katye inspiration)

- I cannot believe how amazing my journey as a runner has been. To run with her today and think about how far I've come was great. She was saying the same things I did last summer (my shins hurt, I feel like I'm running in place, my lungs are exhausted, I'm so sore today, etc). She even told me that it's "my job" to make sure she keeps running when school starts up again (we're both teachers). Me! I'm responsible for keeping someone in shape! Can you believe it?!



Today I feel very blessed. I am blessed that Husband and I share a love of running together. Blessed that I have SIL#1 to run with. Very sad that my Sister isn't here to run with all the time, but blessed that she inspired me to run. Blessed that someone made the "itty bitty" sign with their fingers and said I was "this big" today. (I have never been told I'm thin by anyone. Ever! Just short! And that's not what she meant.) Blessed that I have a dog to run with. Blessed that I feel the best I've ever felt in my life.

Running has changed my life! How has it changed yours?