Yes, triumph.
It was not that I packed running clothes for my vacation last week and actually used them. That was a new leaf for me, for sure, but not a triumph.
It was not that Saturday I went out and ran 6 miles while feeling the effects of plane travel and the mild dehydration that accompanies it, even if I did feel like crap for most of the time and have to gut my way through it.
Nor was it tonight when, back with the Fleet Feeters, I found a nice woman to run with and shaved 5 full minutes from my time, clocking in at exactly 50 minutes for a hilly 5 miles.
No, the triumph was that several minutes after I staggered into the store, a group came in behind me. That’s right: I ran with the big kids and did not finish dead last! There was a group of four who finished after me and one or two stragglers after them. And only one of them was a No Boundaries graduate!
It’s a small thing, for sure, but a total confidence booster nonetheless. The thing about joining a group so far out of your league is that, if your ego can take the bruising, you have lots of motivation to get better and nowhere to go but up. And if you are really, really lucky, as I was tonight, you will find a seasoned marathoner who remembers being in your exact shoes, slows down to help you set an ambitious but doable pace, and cheers you on the whole way. Then she and a friend will tell you that you have to sign up for half-marathon training, which I’ve about made up my mind to do.