I ran a 10 minute mile today. That has NEVER happened in the history of my life. While this may not seem like much a feat to anyone that actually runs for fun, it truly is. I am no runner, people. Nope. Not a runner. Throughout my 31 years, I've made every effort not to run. That's why I don't run marathons. I don't like running for 1 mile, much less 26. But tonight, I hit a milestone. Admittedly, I was skeptical. I mean, after last Saturday's bike ride, wouldn't anyone be? Perhaps I bit off more than I can chew with this whole triathlon training. But, apparently, the coach hasn't given up on me. I admittedly thought he might (especially if he actually knows that I started crying on my bike), but he still thinks I could be an athlete--albeit, a slow one.
People who run don't understand those of us that don't. It's funny really. They have no problem running and talking. Me, I can't really do both. It's one or the other for me. I keep trying to carry on a conversation (especially since people insist on talking to me while we do our warm-up run which feels like a balls-out run to me), but once we make it halfway around the track, I'm out. Sometimes I wonder if people think I'm rude for bailing out. But then I realize that they can see that in less than 30 seconds, I'm halfway behind them. Not a runner.
So, tonight I ran 5 miles. FIVE MILES. Again, to people that run, that isn't such a big deal. But I didn't walk during any of those 5 miles. Okay, that's a lie, I did walk a little bit on two of my "recovery" jogs. So we ran about 3 1/2 miles, and then at the end we had to run a "hard" mile. I tried to bargain with the coach, making an empty promise to run a mile tomorrow morning, but he had none of it. So I just did it...and I ran fast. Well, I ran fast for me. My pace is most people's "easy" pace. Once I realized that I was running a 10 minute mile, I certainly didn't want to stop. So I just kept going. I DID IT! Not only that, I ran the 1/2 mile "cool down" too. Last time, I just pretended to do it.
It was very exciting. Another girl was paired up with me because she was slower than the others, and she ran a personal best of 8 1/2 minutes. Why she was paired with me is a total mystery. That, and, how fast were the other people going? Seriously.
It turned out to be a good night for me. In the beginning I was skeptical. Then I got out there and saw that there were a couple fat girls, and I felt totally relieved. Well, I was relieved until I found out they were part of the boot camp and not the track practice. So, I'm still the slowest one, but I'm nothing like I was when I started triathlons 3 years ago. My beginning running pace was a 12 minute mile because I couldn't run a full loop around the track without walking. See how far I've come?
Now I just have to start the swimming portion of my training. I'd like to say that will be easy, but I'm not as good a swimmer as I have led myself to believe. I grew up with a pool in my backyard, so it seems obvious to me that I'm an excellent swimmer. My little floaties were deflated during my first timed open-water swim 3 years ago. We had to do 6 laps in a lake, and the coach told us that we COULD do 4, but strongly encouraged 6. I was one of the last 3 people in the water (and yes, the other two had 200 pounds on me). I was convinced that everyone else just did 4 laps, until it happened again...and again...and again. Apparently, hanging out in a pool everyday of the summer as a kid doesn't make you a competitive swimmer. Weird.
But I'm not dwelling on that. I have to get over that hurdle tomorrow. You know, after I get all the hair ripped off my legs. That's just the kind of girl I am.
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