Saturday, November 19, 2005

The Kindness of Strangers

A nice thing happened Thursday on my two-mile run. I started at my usual place, and plodding pace, 6:45 a.m.-ish, and as I was struggling to get into my grooove (do I even have a groove?), a young gentleman was running toward me, (in the other lane), um, kinda fast. Like 6-min. mile pace fast. I smiled at him, because I am trying to get in the habit of smiling (in lieu of my usual concentrated scowling while running), and people, do you know what this fast young male did? He gave me the thumbs up, and then he said "good job!"

It made my day.

Saturday
I just finished my 3.5 mile long run:
39.03.
Except I'm calling it 3.6 miles because there was no 1/2 mile marker where I was and because here are the numbers:
Mile One: 10:59 (slight downhill)
Mile Two: 11:18 (big-ass up and then downhilll)
Mile Three: 11:03 (slight uphill, big-ass uphill then downhill, then slight uphill--ya gettin' all this??)
Mile .5 or .6: 5:42 (guessing mileage, based on time)

So it was either a 10.50 min pace if I went 3.6 miles or 11:09 min. pace if I went 3.5 miles. Like it matters. (Sigh. It does seem to matter.) Just for comparison, I went back and looked at my log for July 20, 2005, and found this: 4 miles
46:40 (11:40/mile). Some progress has been made.

But, that's not all! Because last night, I went to a rockin' out party with my pace group (remember them?). We had a potluck reunion at the home of one of our members. I didn't know what to expect: we hadn't all seen each other since the marathon, and I don't believe we'd ever seen each other dressed, showered, and all purtied up. It was awesome. We had a great dinner, in front of a roaring fire, shared all our photos, and marathon day stories, and reminiscences of training, and then everyone went around and told their story of why they decided to do a marathon. I told them mine, plus talked about the day of my emancipation from the running partner who had become a thorn in my side. They cheered.

But, that's not all! Our host had the most amazing gadget, called a magic mike, which turns your TV into a karaoke machine. Oh god, I thought, not karaoke! That's so last year. Four hours, several glasses of wine, and a sore throat later, I am so in love with that crazy game! We laughed our asses off—seeing our pace group leader sing "Cheeseburger in Paradise" or our hostess and host sing "I'm a Libbyan on a Jet Plane" or me doing bad harmony on "California Dreamin.'" Are you bad at parties? This thing is guaranteed to turn your party into the success you always dreamed of!

So, I got home at 2 a.m. which, if you know me, is waaaaay past my bedtime. I had not laughed so hard in 20 years, (and I laugh a lot).

And then, um, it was morning. And 3.5 miles awaited, after which I had an appointment at 11. Well, the 3.5 miles wasn't happening. My head was foggy. My throat still sore. But french toast? That was so happening. A lovely morning of french toast, then off to my appointment (which I may or may not share about--but it was good), then finally to work at 1:30, which was now the Time to Decide Whether to Run or Not Run.

The Key of course, is not thinking, as it is in so much of life. At work, I just let brain take over. Change clothes, grab keycard, and out I went. Sunny, fall, crisp, gorgeous day. And week #2 of training for my 10K is finís.

5 comments:

M. Khater said...

I was blogg surfing and I found your blog. I think it is very interesting. Keep up the good work!!

a.maria said...

JEANNNNNNE!!! that is awesome. i'm so glad you had a great time with your little group! and i'm loving that y'all karaokied (what the crap is the past tense of karaoke?!)

and i love that he thumbs-upped you. and that you got giddy with excitement (much as i would have)...

seeee, aren't you glad you're out there running?! keep it up. i'm living my running days vicariously thru ya!

21st Century Mom said...

You need to get a Forerunner 201. You would so love it and it will really help you with your pacing. You deserve this! 21CM says thumbs up for a Forerunner!

I also say good job on the running. If you had any doubts before I hope you now get that you are A RUNNER!

jeanne said...

Ah, I'm slowly accepting the fact that I may in fact, perhaps, be a runner. Perhaps. Almost. Well, I'm really close! But you keep telling me and one day it will SINK in!!

I would so love a Forerunner 201. It's sorta on the list. But I have a long list, including car repairs, and a lot of boring crap...but one day!!!

And Susie: Yeah! New plan is working, fingers, toes, and ITB all crossed!!

David said...

Now that's a good day. Do it again soon.