Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Goal: 4.5 miles – Reality: 5.02 miles / Hazards of Running with the Coach

As planned, I left my pride in the hot car to sweat it out as I headed into my group run this evening. I’ll admit that I was dreading this run all day because I just didn’t feel like dealing with the blow to the ego that EVERY group run has been to date. Fortunately, my dedication (aka – stubbornness) far outweighs my fragile ego, so I continue to show up for the biweekly beatings of my pride.

Anyway, I get out of the car and of course (because really – like I shouldn’t have expected it) there were only 4 of us that showed up for the run – three very experienced runners and me. Awesome! Out for the run were two long-time distance runners (the kind that think a 10 mile run is a short one – I’m not the only one thinking that’s crazy, right?), the coach, and me.

Well, the two “pro” runners took off together and the coach was sweet enough to run (well, to me it was running, to him it was probably more of a leisurely stroll) with me. This was good and bad.

Good - He was very encouraging, pushed me without killing me completely, and it was actually just nice to have someone to run with in general since I’m normally trailing the rest of the runners at the back of the pack.

Bad – He tricked me into an extra half mile! I wasn’t familiar with the route we were running, so I was just running along with him, letting him lead the way. Bad move! He took me way past the turnaround point and then quickly admitted it with a casual, “Oops! I just added a 1/2 mile to your run,” and an evil smirk!

I can’t complain though. While I found comfort in the fact that we were conveniently running past Harrisburg’s Pinnacle Hospital as the “Oh dear GOD, I’m going to die!” thoughts started setting in, and I’ll admit that I debated if it would be wrong just to detour across the street to get confirmation from a medical professional that no, I really wasn’t dying, I pushed on. I finished the run, and I’m still alive to talk about it.

No mosquito bites, no swallowed bugs, no stumbles or injuries, and I finished without the need for a search and rescue mission this time – Bonus! I’d say that was a successful group run tonight. Go me!

Keep on running,

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