Goal Girl: It's a Running Thing

Because I am ridiculous,

And extremely driven,

And a total copycat...

When my friend Carrie posted that her goal was to run 10 miles last week, my brain said, "Me Too!"

And then my fingers typed it.

For all the world to see.

Prior to having checked weather.com for a notion of what kind of weather we were in for.

And prior to having talked to my legs to see how they felt about it.

And then it was OUT THERE.

Even if no one else saw it, I was still committed to doing it.

Because of the um, you know, OUT THERE-ness of the statement. 

Welcome to the inner workings of my mind.

So on Monday, I did my normal 2.6 loop around my neighborhood.

Now, let's talk about this. 

Because this run was on Monday. 

After I had run 5.2 on Saturday.

I turned around and ran 2.6 in 25:50. 

Fastest run to date.

And then on Thursday, I decided it was time to run again. 

My goal was 4.

But then I remembered something about only having an hour long lunch break, plus driving time, plus slow runner = not enough time to run 4 miles....

And then half way through the run, there was a nasty fall that resulted in probably 30 seconds of collecting myself, putting my phone back together, dusting off and checking for bleeding/torn pants, etc....

Excuses for a slower pace on a comfortable distance run....

And yes, I did misspell CELL phone.....

I told Techy this is what happens when I type with my ear and not my eyes.

Meaning I type what my brain hears, not what my eyes see....

Anyway.

Total running time: 30 min, 50 seconds. 

Yes.  LAME-O.

But then I counted up my total and realized that in order to my 10 mile goal, I was going to have to do at least a 4.5 mile run this weekend.

And being every adventurous, I let my fingers do the talking....

And posted it on FB.

Partly in attempt to recruit people to suffer run along with me.

And partly in attempt to keep myself accountable.

But then Saturday came.

And brought with it sore legs and sub-Arctic temperatures.

I am pretty sure I saw an iceberg floating through the reservoir outside of my development. 

Wimpiness/Good Sense won out.

And I texted my recruits to check availability for Sunday.

Again, prior to checking weather conditions.

Good news, they were happy to make the change.

Good news, temperature was going up (incrementally).

Bad news, 30 mph winds.

But off we went.

Here's something you should know. 

Running with people is great.

Unless the people you are running with are speed-demon half-marathon runners.**

And you just downed a box of Hamburger Helper for lunch.

And you are super slow.

And cranky about the wind.

Seriously, people, it took everything in me to keep up with their SLOW pace.

And there was a point where the Hamburger Helper made me stop trying.

Because I was turning green.

In the face of 30 mph winds.

I hit the 2.6 mark at a 10:20 pace, slow.  Even for me. 

And at 3 miles, the pro's couldn't take the slow pace anymore and pulled away.

Not that I blame them. 

And between mile 3 and 4, I thought I was never going to make it.

Literally, at 3.4 I caught up to the girls and begged them to turn around and just make it a 4 mile run.

But they were quick to assure me that I could totally make 5.2 and just keep pushing, we were over half way, yada, yada, yada....

So I did. 

And I stuck with them until like 4.5 when I told them that I was slowing down and they took off. 

And when it was all said and done, my time was actually only 15 seconds slower than last week.

Which I consider to be quite the accomplishment considering the Hamburger Helper that sat like a rock on my stomach the entire time coupled with the 30 mph in-your-face wind. 

I mean, can you imagine what it could have been like without those factors???

And this is how I am diverting you from thinking about the fact that I almost quit.

And from the fact that I ran slower than molasses in the tundra.

**It should be noted, that I am actually very glad that I ran with these girls even if I felt horrible the entire time for holding them back and being so dang slow.