GUYS what a momentous occasion!! For the first time in MANY years I hit the track… and I actually had fun! As a former Junior Olympics track athlete I have a lot of mixed memories about my time on the track. On one hand it was a place where I felt fearless, but on another it was a place where I felt a lot of shame and sadness. In many of my meets I ended up being lapped or absolutely blown away 😂And I mean DUHHH these kids were on track to become part of team USA, and I was just a somewhat speedy kid who had many hobbies and wanted to run with new friends. But the shame of coming in last every meet bruised my ego a LOT 😂 I gave into the belief that I could never improve, and worse that my worth as a runner was earned by running a certain time. Thankfully my relationship with running has changed a lot since then and I’ve found SO much joy in just appreciating exactly where I am. I now feel unconditionally proud of myself, even on a bad day or when I’m blown away by faster runners. I now know that I’m running my race at my pace and that I can find joy outside of pace or “winning.” runwithme brooksrunningcollective @brooksrunning