Working Together

Wednesday night is TOC night. I’m not an official member of the Toronto Olympic Club but I’m running with a few locals who are and I’m being coached by one of TOC’s coaches. Honestly, I’m not sure if I have what it takes to don a TOC singlet, but I’m thrilled that they are letting me run after them once a week.
During the past six weeks that I’ve been running with them, I have been humbled. My first week out, I ran with Kyle, a 34 minute 10K runner. The next time, there were 2 others – both 3:35 kilometre runners in their late teens. Both nights, I went home questionning what I was doing trying to run with them, but I returned again; one thing I’m not is a quitter (although I have been known to postpone running a marathon).
I was relieved when speedy Monica, who is still much faster but closer to my pace, showed up on Week 3, and I let out a huge sigh when Alex, barely 16, appeared. Yes, I was still at the back but I wasn’t completely alone anymore.

This week, I’m starting to see the payoff. My 8K race on Sunday, The Robbie Burns Run, showed me that. Even though my time was a bit slower than I would have liked (35:22), I was comfortable with how I ran; I left the race feeling good – something I haven’t felt since the end of October. Nothing can beat that.
And Wednesday’s workout really built my confidence: 14.4 kilometres with 6 sets of intervals in the middle. I pushed on every one, felt strong and I didn’t finish last!

Now, three nights later, I’m still smiling when I remember how good I felt when I finished that last interval. On the way back, I told Coach that I didn’t think I could have done that 3 months ago; he agreed.
Of course, I will likely be put back in my place this Wednesday night, but I have 3 more nights to enjoy that glorious feeling.