So last night some of my old high school pals got together for dinner. It's great that after all these years we still manage to do that! And when we're together it feels as if nothing has really changed - we're still teenagers giggling and gabbing and reminiscing. Except of course when it's time to order and we all pull out our reading glasses. Or the topic turns to the latest self-cure for hot flashes.... Other than that we're 16 again for an evening.
The topic turned to exercise and I mentioned casually that I have been running. Two of my friends were wide-eyed and amazed that I was able to run 20 minutes without stopping. They made me feel so proud! Then the gal next to me asked "What's your pace?"
Oh oh. Seasoned runner here. I stammered..."Well...I run about a mile and a half in 20 minutes." She smiled.
"Do you run?" I asked.
"Yes. I can do about 8 miles. I'm thinking of training for a half marathon."
Now mind you she said this in the least condescending way possible. She is one of the sweetest people I know and weighs all of about 100 pounds soaking wet. We were cheerleaders together and I guess she never got over being athletic. Somewhere along the line I did.
All of a sudden my mile and a half seemed pathetic.
Then I opened up my e-mail just now and read all the encouraging comments form you guys and mile and a half seemed not so bad. I guess we need to remind ourselves that it's all relative. I may not be running 8 miles or training for half marathons - but I'm running 21 minutes straight - which is something I thought was impossible 6 short weeks ago.
And the advice on writing things down makes sense too. I'm not running daily. It's only 3 times a week. I think I was secretly hoping that the fat would just melt off me and I'd become a size 10 overnight. One can dream, right?
One more bit of happy news....we just returned from the bank. We closed on out home equity line of credit and now we have some money to finish the new house! Once this one is sold we can pay it right back and stash the rest into investments. Maybe we will be in there by the end of summer! Maybe.
ps...the pic is of the gals I went to dinner with last night. It was taken a year ago. The middle one is the 8 miler.
other t
3 comments:
Heh...my brother in law did that to me. I was very proud of my first 5K time and he casually mentions that he normally does it in 20 mins. The bahstahd. :)
Other t? lol
You have to remember too, that you've only been at this running thing for a little while. It takes time to build up stamina. You are doing fantasticly, considering!!
When i was growing up, my sister and i changed schools every 6-12 months [long story] so we never got to make real freinds. I still have difficulty forming deep freindships now. It's sad :o/
Exactly. Unfortunately, we'll always find a way to compare ourselves to someone else. Think of it this way. YOU ARE A RUNNER! I think it takes more courage to start later in life. So we didn't run cross country for school, but we are running for our lives!
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