Of anniversaries and ice baths

You know how you meet someone and you click with them so well that you can't remember ever not being friends with that person? A year ago, I got lucky: I had that experience with not one, but four extraordinary ladies!

Team In Training has brought me a great many things, and one of the best things it's given me is my friendship with Janine, Robin, Beth, and Dianne. 3 of the 4 ladies returned for the Summer season (miss ya, Dianne!!), and today we celebrated a milestone: it was one year ago that we first bonded, over a 12 mile run that was somehow fun and memorable despite its tough terrain.

This morning, we ran at the Waddell Creek trail, a serious course complete with switchbacks, tree roots sticking out of the ground, tree branches that need jumping over, mud puddles, and creaky bridges. This run was not a favorite of mine--until last year. At that point in the season, I was seriously considering switching to a half-marathon, even though I had signed on to do my first, the Nike Women's Marathon. Running with Janine, Robin, and Beth (Dianne was running the half and was running a shorter mileage, though she later joined us for the bonding :)) and enjoying the scenery and sharing many, many laughs convinced me to keep persevering and stick with the full.

And the rest is history :).

So how did we celebrate this milestone? First, with the run itself. All of us had great runs, despite the challenges of the trail. Then, we did the ultimate ice bath: going into the (very cold) Pacific Ocean to soothe our tired muscles and achy joints. It was torture, I won't lie, but as I sit here, pain-free and not stiff in the least, I'm glad I did it.

But the most fun part of our itinerary was the celebratory post-run lunch at Hoffman's, where we celebrated another milestone last year, our first 20-miler.

Good times, good memories. Thanks for an awesome year, ladies! Here's to many, many more to come :).