OK I’ll get back on the tumblr thing since this should be a workout log for me. I wanted to write something about today because it was a test, one that I could have easily failed.
Since November I have been running. I ran the 5k in December which I wrote about on here and since then I have been training for a half marathon which is two weeks away. This has been a long journey for me. Throughout this journey my family and friends have begun to think of me as a runner. However, I have not seen myself as a runner. Any time someone would ask me about it I would say something like, “Well I run, I’m running a half marathon soon but I’m not really a runner. I’m not like that.”
There are a lot of reasons why I didn’t classify myself as a runner. In the last couple of months its been very cold and I’ve done the majority of my running inside. Sure, I’ve been out in some of the cold weather but not often enough to consider myself tough. Also, I run alone. I know about groups in the area and I have run with my brother and trainer some but I tend to run alone. Having no one to compare myself to, I’ve always considered myself slow… not fast enough to be a runner.
I have had a couple of long runs but this morning was my longest. I ran two hours today. I also ran with a group for the first time. I also ran in the rain for the first time. I also, for the first time, consider myself a runner.
I didn’t at the beginning at the run. I was easily the slowest runner out of the group and I tried too hard to keep up. I felt horrible the first thirty minutes. I knew I had wiped out, and now I was going to have to focus on myself and just try to keep my head above water the rest of the run. Luckily, Nikki, my trainer, and her friend, Jill, ran with me for the first hour. Their conversation kept me occupied but I still went too fast and didn’t recover well for my foolish pace in the beginning.
The second hour I thought I was going to run alone. Nikki and Jill both ran hard yesterday so they were only planning to run the first hour. I set out on my own and found my pace. About five minutes into the second hour Nikki caught up with me. She had decided to run the whole way with me and I was glad. Our course was hilly, muddy, and smelly (cows) and it was good to have company. The second hour went much better because I had started at a pace more comfortable to me.
I felt wasted but great at the end of the run. It was a bummer to realize my Nike+ is not calibrated well. It said I ran 12 miles but I really only ran 10.7 according to Nikki’s Garmin. I trust the Garmin and will recalibrate the Nike+. Still, running about 5 miles an hour right now I think I can kick it up to 5.5 an hour at the half marathon and get very close to finishing the half within 2:30. If I do that then I will get myself a Garmin as a reward.
I came home and peeled off my clothes which were covered in rain and sweat. My calves, socks and shoes were covered in mud and probably a little bit of cow manure. Every muscle in my body aches and probably will throughout tomorrow as well. Currently, I’m icing my knee and waiting for the UK game to start. I think I ran my hardest today and I never gave up, even though I wanted to so very badly. Because of these things, I think I can finally consider myself a runner.
I’m glad it took me three months of training to get myself to think of myself as a runner. I’ll enjoy the taper period of training now and after the half, I’m sure I’ll finish as a stronger runner because of today.
