A Child's Best Gift

It's easy to underestimate the importance of good pacing. I attempted 4 x 400 meter intervals today with a 200 meter jog in-between. Unfortunately, I missed my target of 90 seconds each, and ran the first three in 84, 85 and 86 seconds. I would normally be pleased with this, except that there wasn't anything left in the tank for a fourth: I ran the first 200 meters in 45 seconds and pretty much stopped there, but at least I finally got the pace right. Let that be a cautionary tale of starting too fast and suffering for it further on.

Alleviating my disappointment today, though, was getting to run part of the way and catch up on life with my brother, who I haven't seen in a while. It's easy to forget that siblings are life-long companions, who will frustrate, support and embarrass you in perpetuity - who else could provoke such a variety of emotions? After my wife and I became parents, many friends told us that the best gift we could give to our child is a sibling. There are always exceptions and sibling horror stories abound. But in most cases, we've seen that having a brother or sister truly is a blessing, which I've been fortunate to experience as the youngest of three. But lest they forget, the next time I see my siblings I'll tell them: you're welcome.