Tonight I participated with Carey Colleagues in a Corporate Fun Run. The team included the organizer form admissions, one staff member from programs, one from development, two from the registrar's office, me, and one from HR (as well as her husband). We had a fun time gathering, running, and hanging for a bit afterward.
I ran just under 20 minutes. I got beaten by a young teen. He did well. We went back and forth for about half the race and he just had a little more left at the end than I did. So it goes. I was 13th overall so I can't complain.
After I finished (running in a tech tank), I put my cotton Carey shirt on, went back a bit on the course and snapped pictures of my first two teammates. When the third teammate came, instead of snapping her picture, I ran her in. As we were working our way up the hill (she ran about 3 minutes per mile slower than me), she asked me, "Are you even tired?" All I could think of to say was "I recover quickly." Being able to go back and run people in is something I take for granted.
That showed even more when I went back a second time and found two other colleagues who were running together. I snapped a shot of them and ran in. Again, when I got to a point at which they would be running around the lacrosse field, I peeled off so that they could run to the end. A person near them asked, "Where is he going?" The two colleagues told her "He is already finished." She seemed very surprised. Again, I take all of this for granted.
Finally, when I went to the "results kiosk" with my colleagued and pulled up my results, a guy I did not know asked, "Is that you?" When I said, "Yes," and had this confirmed by my colleagues the guy said, "High 5!" Again, having been edged out by a kid and run a time that I considered good but not great, I just said "Thanks." All this guy knew was that I was someone who had run what appeared to be a decent time. He has not idea to whom I compare myself on a regular basis. The key is, I take a 6:47 pace (which my watch gave me) nothing out of the ordinary.
I do want to take time to think about how lucky I am to be able to take this set of things for granted. And take the time to encourage my fellow employees to keep up the great work toward wellness.
I ran just under 20 minutes. I got beaten by a young teen. He did well. We went back and forth for about half the race and he just had a little more left at the end than I did. So it goes. I was 13th overall so I can't complain.
After I finished (running in a tech tank), I put my cotton Carey shirt on, went back a bit on the course and snapped pictures of my first two teammates. When the third teammate came, instead of snapping her picture, I ran her in. As we were working our way up the hill (she ran about 3 minutes per mile slower than me), she asked me, "Are you even tired?" All I could think of to say was "I recover quickly." Being able to go back and run people in is something I take for granted.
That showed even more when I went back a second time and found two other colleagues who were running together. I snapped a shot of them and ran in. Again, when I got to a point at which they would be running around the lacrosse field, I peeled off so that they could run to the end. A person near them asked, "Where is he going?" The two colleagues told her "He is already finished." She seemed very surprised. Again, I take all of this for granted.
Finally, when I went to the "results kiosk" with my colleagued and pulled up my results, a guy I did not know asked, "Is that you?" When I said, "Yes," and had this confirmed by my colleagues the guy said, "High 5!" Again, having been edged out by a kid and run a time that I considered good but not great, I just said "Thanks." All this guy knew was that I was someone who had run what appeared to be a decent time. He has not idea to whom I compare myself on a regular basis. The key is, I take a 6:47 pace (which my watch gave me) nothing out of the ordinary.
I do want to take time to think about how lucky I am to be able to take this set of things for granted. And take the time to encourage my fellow employees to keep up the great work toward wellness.
