A Worn Path

I completed my first race of the year this morning- the Cherry Pit Ten Miler!  It felt great to be out on the pavement again, and the weather was perfect.  It was sunny, clear, and about 60 degrees.

My head cold didn't bother me, but all the hills and my iPod's refusal to power on did.  I guess those things didn't slow me down too much, though, because I finished in 1:37:14.  This is a slight improvement over my Army Ten Miler time of 1:37:54, which surprised me.  I trained for that race four days a week for eight weeks, and this time, I only ran on Saturdays for six weeks to prepare.  I think it's fair to say I overtrained last time.

Billy came to cheer me along as he always does.  He snapped this photo as I approached the finish.  I caught this woman right before the finish line, but she sped up for a few steps, and I think she finished about one step ahead of me.

Today is also Nate's 31st Birthday!  In honor of his birth, I've put together a collage of the photos I took last time I saw him, for Vickie's 21st Birthday:

That feels like it was a long time ago.  I am glad we will get to see him again in just about a month for Vickie's graduation.

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday!

(A Worn Path is probably Eudora Welty's most famous and widely anthologized short story.  It's not about running, but it is about the lengths we go to for the ones we love.)