Yesterday I ran 6 miles. I didn’t plan to. I’ve been trying to focus on lifting weights and only running my easy 2-3 miles a few days a week. Last week Saturday I increased to 4 miles and I figured I would stay there until I improved my time. But this weekend, I met with friends to run and they motivated me to run 6! With hills! I was so proud when I was done and I felt great! I’m going to try to summarize what I believe are important lessons from this:
- AN ENCOURAGING GROUP IS EVERYTHING!
I think about all I accomplished in my running career over the past few years and I truly believe it’s attributed to my running group. Yesterday, when I showed up and said that I would only run 4, they didn’t push. A few said they had planned for 6 with hills and 1 said she’d do the 4 with me. We agreed on a route where I could easily turn back while the others finished their 6. As we approached my turn back point, I was having so much fun in conversation, I wanted to keep going. I didn’t even hesitate. When I said I would do it all, they were excited for me! Was it tough, yes. But it was tough for all of us. And we made it through with good conversation and a little sweat.
This can be done in any area of your life. Find a group with similar goals/likes and see if it works for you. I found my running group from a run store. I went through many iterations of it but there were always these ladies consistently. Finally, we started our own 🙂
2. NOT EVERYONE IS MEANT TO RUN FAST
Can I even call my 10 minute 45 second pace a run? Probably better called a jog 🙂 I realize that although I’d like to improve my time, “time” is just a goal, it’s not what I run for. I run for fun and friendship and exercise. So far, “running fast” does not get me out the door, but fresh air and friends do 🙂 When I finally decide to make a plan for my “fast” goal, I will stick to it. Until then, I will not let this idea get in the way of the good feeling of a long run with friends.
Documenting the journey to 26.2 