22nd Race: Sweethearts 4Ever 4 Miler February 6, 2011

Location: Curtis Park, Hartwood, VA
Registration: $25

Cause: Racing Unlimited

Time: 43 minutes

This was my first race of 2011 and what a great race to start the new year! Beth has a faster pace than me, so I hold her back a little but she is sweet enough to stick with me and she also helps to push me more than I normally would do on my own.  In running I have found it is important to find those people who are faster than you and to not be afraid to go with them sometimes, you will surprise yourself.

I definitely will always remember this race not exactly because it was that amazing of a run (though I did knock 4 minutes off my normal pace) but because it was the start of what ended up being a perfect Sunday.  Since starting this blog and remembering all my races it has finally dawned on me that over the past year running has pretty much become my social life.  And while to some that may seem awfully sad, for me it has been absolutely wonderful.  For example, through running I started hanging out with Abby (old college friend and original member of Team Rainbow Sherbet).  And through our TRS races, we discovered that Abby used to be roommates with Traci Venia who I went to high school with (small world right, well it gets better).  Running also has allowed Beth and I to be able to hang out more and it was our second Team Rainbow Sherbet race where Beth met Abby, still with me?  And well to go full circle, Beth also went to high school with Traci.  So voila a small world, reconnected thanks to running!  

So after the 4 miler, Beth and I met Traci and Abby and went on a very fun winter winery extravaganza, hitting up Mediterranean Cellars and Molon Lave.  It was the perfect girls day out, we tested many, many glasses of wine, recruited two new pigs (Puddle and Practical, you will want to google them) to Team Rainbow Sherbet, stuffed our faces with a very eclectic Mandarin buffet and left already planning our next fabulous winery tour. 

So, yeah, yet another reason why I love running, it has given me a very full and robust social calendar:)

"There is just one moon,

And one golden sun,

And a smile means friendship to everyone,

Though the mountains divide,

And the oceans are wide,

It's a small world after all."