My team and I spent the weekend in New Jersey. But we were not at all in the same place.

You see, we were scheduled to go to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ)’s track meet, but I left to instead spend Easter Break with family. I was therefore warm and cozy in my grandparents’ house in Long Beach Island while my team sat, wet and shivering, in TCNJ’s parking garage.

I’m not gloating; that last part makes me feel sorry. After all, we’re a team. We suffer together. We wouldn’t be so close if we didn’t regularly endure such abuse—as a team. To have not been there and given my support makes me feel like I let people down.

But my family’s important to me, and Easter is one of few times during the year when we can all get together. To blow that off for another race—one of hundreds in which I’ve already competed—just didn’t make sense. Despite my romantic ideas of team unity, I couldn’t justify it to myself.

So I spent a few days training on a little barrier island off of NJ’s coast. I ran 12 miles up and down its main street (which resembled nothing so much as a rainy wind tunnel) and then rebuilt my body with scrapple and beer. And though I coudn’t be with my team, I’m pretty happy with my break.