Familial domination

Last night, I raced in the JPMorganChase Corporate Challenge (that's a mouthful!). "Raced" is probably an aggressive description of what I did, but it sounds nice, right? You see, I'm a bit self-conscious about the words "race" and "run." Ever since I started jogging as a hobby, whenever I mention a race to my brother Christopher, he always says: "Kathleen, why are you doing that? It's not like you're going to win." So I've gotten in the habit of describing what I do when I lace up my Brooks as recreational jogging. (Except in the case of the first sentence, where it would have been cumbersome to say: Last night, I recreationally jogged in the JPMorganChase Corporate Challenge.)

People running, not recreationally jogging, the JPMCCC

I like recreationally jogging. Even if I'm not competitive with the pack, I'm competitive with myself. I want to do better than I did the last time. I want to do better than I think I can. And one time, I did win a race, which was kind of funny. There's no record of it on the web for me to link to, but if you're skeptical, you can come to my house, and I can show you my trophy from the-race-I-won-because-not-very-many-people-ran-in-it: sweet, sweet victory over very few people!

Last night, though, was very exciting. I stepped into my place at the starting line, between the 8 minute and 9 minute mile signs. I relaced my shoes (a weird nervous habit I have before recreationally jogging in a race), stood up and noticed that my brother Christopher was standing 5 feet in front of me at the starting line. So, the nice sister I am, I walked up behind him and said hello. I commented on the weather (it was cold), said hi to his coworkers and was generally friendly. He responded by asking my how I liked looking at his butt and told me I should get used to looking at it because it was all I was going to see during the race. Chris has always been the most athletic of the three of us. But last night was a good night for the recreational jogger. I did better than I did last year. I did better than I thought I would. And I did better than Chris. Victoryyyyyyyy!!!

(Thank goodness Patrick wasn't racing - he totally would have schooled me.)

The rest of the evening was good corporate fun, tempered a bit by cool weather. Our company is small, but about 40% of us participated, which is amazing. We even had enough people to justify a tent with catered food, pre- and post-race beverages, and a mascot:

It was a great event. Oh, and did I mention I beat Chris? ;)

Leaving: beautiful view of Chicago from the land of tents.

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Another one bites the dust

I've been suffering severe blog withdrawal. I was in NYC for work and was too cheap to pay for internet at my hotel (at $499 per night*, you think that kind of stuff would come gratis), so instead I spent my evenings getting a good night's sleep so I could do this:

Not pictured: me.
Running in Central Park is one of my favorite things about being in New York. It's a green oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of the city that doesn't sleep. It's peaceful and quiet - just me and other runners alone with our thoughts, cyclists whizzing by, oh, and a few cabs lest we find it too quiet

It's shaded, there's plenty of room for a good run, and it's well-populated. (I'm sure my mom is reading this and breathing a sigh of relief knowing that there are other people around in Central Park when I run, so I don't get mugged.) But that population of other people is actually sort of a bad thing, I'm finding.

I'm down with safety and all, but running when there are a lot of people around brings out one of my least endearing characteristics. I'm competitive. Really competitive. See that woman in the red jacket in the first picture? I hunted her like prey. I let her escape from me for a few seconds while I snapped the photo of the peaceful setting of Central Park and then I went back to making it my goal to pass her. Once I take that final step, I choose another "victim," I size them up, figure out how many paces behind I am and do everything in my power to close the gap. And so it goes... I don't know why I do it, but I cannot help it, and I'm not certain it's good for me. Two days of it - fine, but thank goodness I don't live near Central Park (or even too close to the Lakefront Path in Chicago) or I would definitely injure myself or do something even less graceful (like fall on my face) while pushing myself to hunt another one down. Also, I get "Another One Bites the Dust" stuck in my head.

Which is not cool.

* Yes, $499. Wowwowweewah! I stayed in a perfectly fine hotel, but certainly not the nicest. I easily could have spent $800 or $1000 per night. But you know, I try to economize where I can. Maybe the economy isn't doing so bad afterall... Click here to read more!