Friday, March 14, 2008

First Run

I have wanted to join the Lifetime Fitness Run Club since I moved to Minnesota in 1998, but I haven’t ever felt mentally “ready” to participate. I was always worried that the runners would be too far advanced for me and that I couldn’t keep up.

This year was the year. I have been running for 5 months now and am really enjoying it. I wanted to meet other runners, learn some new routes, and to push myself into doing new drills and activities. This year was the year and I finally did it this week.

Last night, was my first run with the group. It was nice to meet a bunch of other runners, but my jaw dropped when I learned that they were going to do hill work on an 8+ mile loop! They saw my facial expression (I was VERY upfront about where I was in my training) and they split into two groups: one doing the hills and one doing a short loop. I, of course, took the shorter loop. As we are running along, I asked how long the loop was.... it was 5.86 miles!!! AND, I was running with experienced runners - one of whom was an ultramarathoner!! That means she has done 50 – 100 mile aces!!!! gack...In the matter of seconds my self confidence regarding running went from “I can do this” to “what the hell was I thinking???”

Needless to say, I was the slow little tortoise at the end of the line. It was good for my mental game because I needed to work through the normal aches and pains AND the psychological part of being the least experienced. It took me a little while, but I started focusing on the fact that at least I had made the leap and here I was with the Run Club. Here I was running on a beautiful evening. I started my usual mental game of focusing on the beauty around me and the sound of my feet hitting the ground. Overall, the experience of being the tortoise in the group will help me for races. I will learn to keep my own pace and to not get mentally "down". So, I found the silverlining and was able to enjoy the rest of the run.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to make the next two team runs on Saturday or on Tuesday. I will be there on Thursday! This tortoise is NOT going to give up!

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