141 : Run a 5K

Two days before the race, Megs and I decided to run the Bucktown 5K.  Years ago we would have been able to do this in our sleep.  We had participated in so many races together.  We had run this one in particular almost 10 years ago.  We had also done a half marathon that summer.  And then a triathlon the following summer.  She was my running buddy.  Always had been, always would be.  We just knew how to run together.  I know that probably sounds silly, but it was true.  We each had our side and knew our pace and even though we probably hadn't done a race together since the Marathon back in 2009 - we picked right up as though nothing had changed.  Running had always been therapy for the both of us.  I think that was a bond we would forever share.  When we trained for the marathon, Megs was actually going through a divorce.  Our training (and talks while we ran) played a huge role in helping her work through everything.  At the time, I had just gotten married and while I was very happy in my relationship, I was stressed about my new husband's career and how we were not financially where we wanted to be yet.  It's funny to me now that I thought I was stressed then, compared to what I had been through in the past year.  But it's all relative I suppose. Still, it was that stress that propelled us both to finish the marathon.  There was a moment during that race, somewhere near the 23rd mile that I will never forget.  We were just running along and then all of a sudden I felt overcome with emotion.  I just started crying right on the spot.  I couldn't believe we had almost completed a marathon.  It represented so much more of a personal journey for both of us than just the physical accomplishment.  I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.  So now back to present day, here we were back to where we had been so many times before.  However this time, I was the recent divorcé and Megs was the happily married one.   It didn't seem to matter though - life in general was just BUSY and therefore stressful. That was one thing you could always count on.  The race was only 3.2 miles, but I was still excited to run again.  Megs grabbed me around 7 in the morning and we headed to the start.  The rain couldn't hold out, but I didn't even mind.  It felt so good to be up early, doing something for myself and knowing I'd have already completed my workout before 9am with the rest of the day at my disposal.  Turns out the run was easier for both of us than we had expected (who was I kidding - Megs still ran quite often, of course it was easy for her.  I, on the other hand, had not run nearly as frequently as I used to.)  We made it across the finish line and gave each other a high five.  It felt good to be back.