I am suffocated and lost when I have not the bright feeling of progression.
Margaret Fuller

Last week I led the Ladies Group Run that leaves from my store; it was my first time leading it and the girls that came along were a perfect balance of what I needed. One girl was super chatty and kinda fast, (me? not so much, I’m a good listener and slow running partner,) the other was quiet and a bit slower than me. So it was basically a Sloan sandwich up the trails of decent conversation about what we do, why we run, what we were hungry for for dinner…etc.

One of the girls had never run for more than 30 minutes. The group runs are typically an hour and I, some how, after fitting her for shoes that afternoon, convinced her to come back that evening for the run. As we climbed the final climb, taking those little steps that seem so inefficient but are necessary to make it to the top, I called the new girl out. I told her now that she’s done this run she knows she can do it, there for she can’t give up the next time she tries. (And I made her promise to try again soon.)

This girl could see herself progress, which is really one of the best feeling ever. We can only accomplish progression by ourselves, it’s you that pushed yourself to finish and so you only have yourself to thank! (How cool is that?!) She was so stoked and proud of herself, I could see her smiling at what she had just accomplished.

At the end of the run we all exchanged e-mail addresses, promised to get another run in soon. Sometimes seeing someone else push themselves is just enough motivation to jump back on the band wagon of pushing yourself. I love absorbing motivation from other people and using it for my own benefit—I feel myself progressing and it’s amazing.