Day 38 (Nov. 3)

After last week's terrible-awful-horrible-dreadful-hated tempo run, I was a little nervous about this week.

We did a repeat of last week (10-minute warm up, 30-minute temp run and 15-minute cool down), so I felt like it was a chance to redeem myself ... then I realized I forgot my Garmin watch, so I figured things wouldn't go that well. But, I judged pace by others around me and my running buddy. I felt we were going at a pretty good pace for me (this is still slow to everyone else). About halfway through our run, our coach ran with us. He told us our pace, and I was shocked. He ran with us the rest of the way and kept us at this pace for the tempo run and slowed us down for our cool down. 

I think forgetting my Garmin was the best thing that could have happened. It was nice to not be addicted to my watch for the night. As much as I love it, sometimes I think I rely on it too much, obsess over it and even limit myself because of it. I worry about going too fast (hahaha! I'm so slow this is a ridiculous statement.), so I stick to a comfortable pace based on my Garmin. Just going by feel was a great break and a good reality check. I can go faster than I have been; I don't have to stick to my safe times. Maybe this turtle will eventually be a bunny.

A happy turtle after a faster than normal tempo run

Teach me to fly

After our group run, a girl came up to me and said, "You need to teach me how to fly."

My brain started scrambling ... did I tell her about a sweet deal I got on a flight (I am a serious bargain shopper when it comes to flights. OK, I'm a serious bargain shopper for everything.)? Did I look rather pilot-like today (I don't think so ... unless pilots are wearing capris and tech shirts these days)?

Finally, she said, "We start out running together, and then you fly ahead of me."

Wow. She's implying I'm fast! This is a moment. An emotional moment. Never have I ever been referred to as fast. Ever. So, when I think of flying and being emotional, I can't help but think of this song.

Cheesy, yes. Sorry, I can't help it. And, I don't even really like the song that much. It just popped in my head. But thankfully, I started thinking about the singer (R. Kelly), and then it lead me to think of this mega-jam. I love-love-love this song.

But, I digress. Did I mention someone inferred that I'm fast?!?

Of course, to others, I'm slow. To others, the same pace. It used to bother me that I'm slow. But, I guess the important thing is, we're all running, no matter the pace.

Day 5

Thursday: hot. Surprise! OK, not really. I live in Florida. It's summer.

The plan: run 40 minutes with a group about your speed. I was not excited about this. I don't really fall into a group. We have the really fast group, and that is definitely not me. Then, we have the group that does a combo of running and walking (three minutes of running, then two minutes of walking), and that isn't me either. The rest of the group runs, but some stop running before me. Some start out faster than I do. Others just don't run as far. I felt like I'd be taking a step back if I didn't run as far as I could. But, I did what our coach said to do and found a group about my speed.

Our group of three ran at about an 11:30 pace, which was fine by me. We ran 21 minutes, and then stopped to walk (I really felt like I could have gone farther, but I was doing as I was told and stuck with the group). After a three-minute walking break, we started running again for about six minutes. After another three-minute walk break, we ran the remaining seven minutes.

I felt great. And, even though I didn't go as far as I could initially, I felt stronger toward the end, which I guess is a good thing. Maybe that coach of ours does know what he's talking about.