How do I measure myself against other runners?

By height...ok...just kidding.  Those of you who are movie buffs know the brief exchange between Judge Smails and Ty Webb when the Judge asked Ty..."How to you measure yourself against other golfers?"...Ty responded..."By Height".

The one awesome element of running is that it is really an individual endeavor...you against your own best times, longest distances, measured effort of exertion, etc.  You don't really need to worry about other runners, unless you are a competitive person and are more motivated by competing with others instead of just yourself.

I was proud of a great accomplishment today.  I ran 5.3 miles...outside!  It was just warm enough and calm winded enough to make it worthwhile.  I ran from my office to a local park that has a jogging trail that I looped around 7 times before walking back to the office.  I think I'm going to do just fine 3/17 with 13,000 others running in St. Louis' St. Patrick's Day 5M Run...and may even shoot for a 5M event this weekend too!

For the most part, I was the only one running among people walking, but a few joined in a bit later.  While I have no idea how much running they had done before getting to the park, but they seemed to only run for a little while and some took walking breaks.  For all I know, this was their cool down loops after a 10 mile street battle, but regardless I decided to take some pride in my steadfast run and secretly high-fived myself thinking that I was outrunning them all!

However..it isn't really appropriate to gloat since I'm happy that anyone gets out and tries to get some exercise...whether they walk, jog, run, or a combination of all!

No...I will try and refrain from comparing myself to other runners since I know that I'll be a back-of-the-pack runner for some time to come...but will keep working at it...for myself...against my own personal bests...and most importantly...to keep getting better and better.

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