Skip to main content

running group, take 2

I went back. For whatever reason, I have decided that 5 tries is a good effort and that after 5, if I'm still finding it too awkward to want to continue, I can stop in good faith knowing that I made a decent effort.

So far the benefit of going has been to get me up early on a Saturday....Not something everyone would be happy about, but since I'm typically awake early every day during the week, I think it might actually be better for my biological clock to get up early on the weekends, too. The second benefit has been to help me increase my mileage. I ran five miles yesterday for the first time since about a year ago -- so I feel proud of myself for that, and I also know that I wouldn't have increased to five miles on my own. Having someone to follow also pushes me to maintain a decent pace (my five miles were run at about 10.25), since I run pretty slow on my own.

The awkwardness, though, is definitely still there. No one talked to me yesterday (really) except for my running buddy, who showed up at the very last minute and only ran with me for about the first mile before turning back. When my normal running buddy stopped running, I picked up my pace a little to catch up to a girl running by herself in front of me, thinking that I would make the effort to chat a little with her, but as soon as I got about five paces behind her, she started walking. I wanted to finish running, so I kept going. Later on in the run, the two men I was following about a block behind separated as one continued to run and one began to walk. I passed the one who was walking, and he started running again...about ten feet behind me. I adjusted my pace to see if he would catch up to me and chat...But no. Just super awkwardly matched my pace for a mile or so, then began to walk again.

When I got back to the parking area, I walked a lap to cool down and started stretching. As I was ready to leave, two (other) guys were returning from their seven mile run, talking and stretching. They waved at me as I pulled out of the parking lot. First and only friendly gesture of the experience.

So I still have mixed feelings about the running group -- I'm not impressed by their inclusiveness (ha!), but I am liking new routes and pushing the mileage/pace.



I'm looking for a group that will push me on mileage/pace, but that will also help me find more friendships. Check out the group above, from the university church, that ran race number 2 of 2012 with me!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

five minute friday

Linking up for Five Minute Friday hosted by the gypsy mama. It's Friday morning, there is no school today, and I am wide awake. I have been since about 20 minutes after my alarm usually goes off. I grabbed the cat, shoved her under the covers, and told sweet hubby "Merry Christmas". He wasn't very amused, starting scratching my head to get me to go back to sleep...but I am awake. Awake, and awakening, and growing in awareness. Last weekend was a wake-up call to me. We had a couple of friends over to watch movies on Saturday night, and by Sunday, sweet hubby and I were not on speaking terms. When we finally spoke again, late on Tuesday, I said painful words to sweet hubby.... If you are the person who was in my living room on Saturday night, then I don't want to know you. --I'm not.-- Then you will have to show me. And so we are both awakening to the task of rediscovering how to be good to one another, kind, respectful, building one another up as we r

adult decisions

(No, not x-rated, you're looking in the wrong place.) I was supposed to go on a college church retreat this weekend. And I didn't. I was very "unresponsible" and made the best decision for me -- not to go. I would have loved spending time in the mountains. I would have loved getting to know some of the students a little bit better. I would have loved spending time taking in God's majesty while watching the sun rise or set over the lake, singing songs of praise, hiking, walking the labyrinth, or sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch. Except that this weekend, I wouldn't have loved any of those things. They would have been a burden to me. And a church retreat? I'm fairly certain that it is not supposed to feel like a burden, but more like a blessing. When sweet hubby's good friend called me and texted me to see if he could ride with me, I said no. I couldn't handle the idea of talking to this man for three hours in the car af

January, Schmanuary....

 This month feels like it is going ON and ON and ON.  I guess 31 days in a single month can make it feel like the month will never end.   It's not a terrible month....it just....it feels like we aren't really getting anywhere.  I keep teaching my kids, we keep doing our "normal" routine of which books we work in and what subjects we study and where and how much we play outside....and the days, they all feel like more of the same.  I start each day calm, and quietly giving directions, and about two hours later all thoughts and feelings that "homeschooling is working for us, this is fine, I could totally keep doing this for another year" fall away and are replaced by feelings of anger and frustration and OMG could my kid please just listen to me ONE TIME and do what I ask her to do ONE TIME without me having to raise my voice? Well.  So that's how homeschooling is going. The homeschooling blogs and facebook groups all seem to agree that this is a tough tim