Welcome back to All Things Running with Sonja & Jen. Today Sonja is going to let you in on “The Secret”.
This is going to be a rather short blog post this week because I have been traveling and competing at the USATF Masters Indoor National Championships in Chicago since Thursday.
It was all around a great meet and I’m happy (never satisfied, LOL) with my performances.
My first event was on Friday (which happened to be my birthday!). The 400 meters is the shortest distance I race but it’s also the race I find the most fun! I ran the fastest time I’ve run for the distance in about 5 years. My time of 63.73 seconds earned me a silver medal in my 50-54 age group (I am now 53).
On Saturday I raced the Mile and found myself alone out front. With no one to chase or pace with it was quite challenging to run as fast as I had earlier this year in collegiate meets. My time of 5:27 for the win was ok, but not great… and about 13 seconds slower than my best Mile this season. Still a win is a win, and I am grateful! The 800m on Sunday was similar to my Mile as I had to push myself from the front, but I enjoyed it more and just ran as even splits as I could for the win in 2:27.
Throughout the long weekend I was able to visit with many of my Masters friends and meet many more! One highlight was meeting two gentleman (father and son) who were 95 and 72, and the 95 year old father was competing in 4 events at the championship! Ironically, the (much younger) son was injured and could not compete. Another great memory was watching several of my Masters friends race the 4 x 200m relays where more than one WORLD Record was broken! Finally, Masters 60-64 age group phenom, Sue McDonald and I were staying at the same hotel and shared an Uber back and forth to the track facility each day. We also shared my birthday dinner together and had numerous discussions throughout the weekend on the sport, our families, and just life in general. I’m so thankful I had this extra time with Sue who is a true inspiration (she set no less than 10 world records last year!).
I shall treasure these memories from this weekend, not so much because of my performances, although I am extremely grateful for them (especially that 400m!), but because I am so privileged that I am able to participate in a sport that welcomes all ages, abilities, genders, etc.. Not only am I able to participate, but this venue has provided me with friendships I will grow old with, travel opportunities all over the world, and a purpose to continue to train and test my personal limits day after day, year after year.
So, what is this “secret” you ask? It is this:
The secret is it’s not the running (or racing, or winning, or performance times), that matter. It’s the people you share all of that with and the memories you take with you.
That’s all I have to contribute this week, but I hope you have (or find) something in your life that makes you feel this way too! If you are 25 and older and would like to learn more about our USATF Masters community, please DM Jen or I and we will share all we know with you! Have a great week everyone!