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b'Running a race with a friend is always a good thing because the friendly rivalry will tend to push you past your own comfortable limits.\\xa0 When I first started running back in December of 1998, I would run every day with a good friend at work; and we would push each other to finish as fast and as strong as we possibly could.\\xa0 I averaged a 9:10 pace back in those days for my daily and long runs\\u2026guess what that pace run over 26.2 miles would get me?\\nIf I had run the race on my own today, I most certainly wouldn\\u2019t have pushed myself too hard: I\\u2019m still weeks away from the start of my Spring marathon training, and I just had no reason to push myself too hard, risking possible injury.\\nI had a lot to be thankful for on this day of Thanksgiving; I had my family, my job, my health, and an ankle that was strong enough to let me run a road race.\\xa0 I had the gift of an entry into Boston, and a good training plan to get me there, with that goal of a sub 4 hour race in the new year not too hard to belive.\\xa0 And today; I was thankful that my friend Joe challenged me in this 5 mile road race; pushing me to do my best and making me feel like I really might be; once again: Steve Runner.\\nShow Links:\\u201cChanged\\u201d by Stray Palace (Paul Durham, Deej Hofer and Paul Bohak)'