I'm very proud of myself for running around in a strange, foreign city like Seattle. Here's a little secret: when you run, you get places faster!! No kidding. I spent Saturday walking walking walking 'til I thought my feet would fall off. If I ran while sightseeing, I thought to myself, I could see so much more of Seattle! And I actually had an entrepreneurial idea: Start a "Running Tours" business. See Paris while running! Speed through Senegal!! It needs some fleshing out, but I know Guy "The Art of the Start" Kawasaki is just waiting for something like this.
Got home Sunday morning at 6 a.m. after a miserable one-stop-in-Las-Vegas- change-planes-in-15-minutes-flight home. Slept Sunday 'til 3ish, then dashed to make my second bell-ringing debut at the thinly attended 5 p.m. service. No one was injured.
I took Monday off, to recuperate, do laundry, clean the apartment that somehow gets dirty even though no one is here. Instead, I spent the morning and part of the afternoon going thru work e-mails. Finally at 3 (and by the way, it was 57 degrees here on Monday. Yum.), I decided to head to the scene of the 200-heartbeats-per-minute crime. Just to prove that maybe I could still run. I thought I'd try for another exciting 60-minute run. Did 30 minutes out, 30 minutes back, and then topped it off with eleven more minutes, people!! My longest run yet. (In case I get cocky, remind me that it wasn't so long ago that I couldn't even run for 30 minutes. But Bex fixed all that. And she didn't even break a sweat doing it!)
In other news, I made the heart-wrenching decision to not run the 10-miler Cherry Blossom. :( I know I'm not ready, and I know I'd be bummed out by not being ready. (I dunno, though, is this a dumb decision? Start the second guessing.) I figure I did an 8k, I'm training for a 10K. It seems like after those two races, then maybe it's time to tackle a 10-miler. Read and discuss.
Finally, I leave you with this story from the Washington Post, which headline is most welcome news: "You May Unrot Your Mind," about "brain training," described as a sort of "treadmill for the mind." As though the treadmill for the body isn't enough torture.
14 comments:
well - 10M is longer than 10K and should logically come after it. On the other hand, if you have registered for the Cherry Blossom you could just run/walk it. You will finish. It's a wash - you have to do what you are comfortable with.
Speaking of comfortable - an extra 11 minutes!! That is awesome. You sqeezed out almost another whole mile after running for an hour. I'll bet you went further than a 10K and less than a 10M. hmmmmm... I think that might mean something.
You see - we both rock. We really do.
You read Guy Kawasaki's blog too?! I swear, the similarities are starting to get spooky....
If the Cherry Blossom course is the same one I used to do years ago, you can easily run/walk it and, given how many walkers are now involved in road racing, you should have plenty of company. However, if your head isn't into it, you don't want to mar the experience with memories of a bad time. There's a difference between a 10k and a 10M race and you'll definitely feel the extra four miles at some point. But Seattle may have given you a little extra somethin'. I guess I'm not helping with the decision-making, am I?
Great run, I am impressed.
As far as the Cherry Blossom goes as others have said you have to do what you feel is right. I would never want to suggest you try a race you feel that you are not ready for. Some good advice here but just listen to your heart.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN you're not doing Cherry Blossom!?!? It's a fantastic race!! Even better, it's really a series of out-and-backs. Just start. If you don't feel good, you can quit and head back after 2.5 miles and 3.5 miles quite easily!!
And the turnaround is just at about 6.5 miles. If you make it that far, you can always walk it in and you'll have plenty of company!!
Plus I should mention that the forecast for Sunday is far, far better than any of the 3 previous CB10s that I've run. It should be a beautiful day with the blossoms near their peak.
COME ON DOWN!!
Oh wow, you were in our neck of the woods and didn't know about it! Hopefully you had a good time, I like your pics from your prev post, yep that's the Pacific NW!
I love the Running Tours Idea. I was in Washington D.C. for a business trip (looks like your neck of the woods) and I didn't have much time to go see the sites, but I did make time to run so I ran all over the place seeing cool stuff. By the way, what a fun city to run in!
um. YEAH!!! TOTALLY!!! go into a race thinking HEY!! NO PROBLEM!! I'LL JUST QUIT IF IT SUCKS!!
screw that, thats no attitude to have, you'll either do it or you wont do it. saying "i can just quit" is a death wish.
what you have to decide is if you've got actual worries about the race because its a 10 miler, or because its a RACE.
i'm with anne as far is if you're head isn't into it... don't do it. you're nervous and worried, and thats perfectly normal, but if you honestly feel as though you're not ready, there's no shame in bowing out. remember the whole point of this is to have FUN. not to create more anxiety in your life!!
I love all you guys. You are cracking me up. I am just as confused as before, but at least I'm laughing my ass off!
Well, if you're reluctant to attempt the distance yet, you can still switch to the 5K (see http://www.cherryblossom.org/ ) but you'll be missing one of the best runs of the year in the whole Metro area!
Don't they have a 5K or 5 mile you can swap to? Audrey over at Running Shorts is registered for the 10 and just swapped to the 5 since she's coming off an injury. That race sounds like too muc fun to miss, but since you live there it's prob not as big a deal!
Yay! Longest run yet!
Hey, I'd sign up to be a running tourist, too cool!!!
I would so love to go on a running tour...what a fab idea.
Gratz on the run...you'll be ready for the 10-miler in no time at all.
Hubby and I used to go to Kent (just south of Seattle) for the Drag Races every summer. On the way back to the hotel from the track he would drop me off and I would run the rest of the way.
Post a Comment