New Beginnings

What a great start we had this past Saturday.  Got to see a lot of familiar faces and a bunch of new ones.  Several of our former RW5 folks bumped up a group or two, which was great to see, and we got a nice return bunch joining back our usual group.

But it was the new faces which were great to see, and there could be a few more based on those who took the timed run.  At the packed auditorium, all the groups got introduced and we held up our pace group signs, and filed out to the parking lots.

I did my usual beginners speech about how the toughest part was just signing up and getting there in the morning, which I always honestly believe, and even though I could tell a few folks were nervous about running, everyone did very well.  

We started off heading north with about 43 runners, and we went a mile and a half, doing our 2/1 intervals, turned around and came back.  We had a water stop right after the turn around, and I just wanted to make sure everyone was fine and did a quick little breather and reality check.  You can tell a lot by just looking at the faces, and it was obvious, everyone was good, and so we finished in just around 44 min, and just under 3 miles.  As simple as that sounds, it was a bit humid with the cloud cover, and I was surprised what a good workout it turned out to be.

It was a good feeling to get back into it, and I have a feeling the group will shift a bit with some more people coming in and others moving out trying other groups.  It's the natural ebb and flow, and with all the best intentions, I know I'll be losing a few folks as the weeks wear on.  But I also know I will be surprised and encouraged by others which I didn't think could pull it off, and what a great reward that would be.


This is the natural order of the human condition, in that we can only hope and try, and sometimes regardless of how earnest we are....things do not necessarily go our way, and then we just keep pushing on, because we know we won't let disappointments tarnish our outlook.

Jessie joins Middle Earth - The Freshman Dorms at UCI

This past Sunday, our family took my oldest daughter to college, we moved her into her freshman dorm at UC Irvine and left her there.  Now it's up to her to deal with this human condition and see how she fares.  I've watched her grow tremendously this past several months, and we all quietly knew this moment would come.  I wasn't sure what to say exactly at that moment of separation, and even though we know she's not that far away, nor that we wouldn't communicate with her....it was still the end of something and the beginning of something entirely different.  My Jessie had grown up.  I looked at her face and it had changed, I told her how proud I was of her, and gave her a hug and walked away.  It was tough.

Jessie and Anna, sisters and best buddies, last moment together.

We know how long 26.2 miles can be, we know how long 6 months of training will take...now I also know how long growing up has taken, and I also know how much more there is to go.  This is just the beginning.


have a great week,


Walt