Full Moon Run: The Lunatics Are Loose!

Last night, I participated in Movin' Shoes' annual Full Moon 5k. Several kids from my running class showed up, and I enjoyed chatting with a couple of my fellow back-o-the-packers before (and during) the race. My pace was about 11:20 per mile...I'm not quite sure why I'm not getting faster, since my training runs in class allow me to go faster than that...but it's a long way from the 16 minute miles I turned in at my first 10k., and definitely moving in the right direction.

An extremely nice thing happened during the run. I had been chugging along in the dark, listening to the voices of a pair of women behind me...I'd passed them early on, but hadn't gotten very far ahead of them, and had been hearing snippets of conversation f rom them most of the run. I caught something about somebody having a nice pace and steady rhythm the whole way shortly before I took a scheduled walk break and allowed them to pass me. As they came by, one of them said to me "You have a really nice stride." I was quite taken aback, and it made my whole night. Maybe working on my form in running class is paying off. Maybe this is just what kind people say when they pass someone! Either way, I'm holding onto it...the first shiny compliment I've received about my running, and one that balances out the not-so-encouraging words of my college running class instructor 25 years ago...amazing how words can shape one's perceptions--in both directions. That moment was definitely worth the discomfort of a hot and sticky run (though the pint glasses, socks, and blinky lights in the goody bags were pretty damned fine, too). Thanks, stranger.