So, as I mentioned earlier - Hubby and I met up with a running group in San Francisco after work and did a run with them. It was our first time with this group so we didn't really know what to expect. I've had bad experiences running with folks in San Francisco before because... well they are all so FIT. But this group seemed to be a nice cross section and I felt really comfortable.
The plan for tonight was to do a 4.5 mile run around Lake Merced. At the designated time we all lined up, someone yelled "GO" and we were off!
I really wasn't expecting to be able to keep up with the pack. It's just not the way it is for me - I'm slow and I know it :). They all pulled away at first and then, magically, they stopped gaining ground! I did a mental check and found that i wasn't struggling, really, so I just went with the flow, keeping a few folks in site.
The first mile rolled past rather quickly and I checked my watch.. WHAT! 11 minutes!? I kept going. Mile two came -- another 11 minute mile!? But now the running path was starting to head up hill. I was hitting the wall that I always seem to hit somewhere in mile three. I was tired, I was winded, I was hurting... But I was determined. Even as I saw the others pulling away and eventually go out of site I knew what my goal was. I was going to run 3.2 miles (a 5K).
I kept running. I felt like I was barely moving. I wanted to stop, to walk for a while, or even maybe halt all together to catch my breath. But I kept running. I was determined, no matter how slow I had to go, that I would reach my goal of 3.2 miles.
And I did! I finished that 3.2 miles in 37:15 - averaging an 11:38min/mile pace! (that's 5.2 @ 1% incline if you're used to the treadmill).
But I wasn't done yet. Nope - the route was 4.5 miles long. I had reached a milestone, but wasn't to the finish yet! The last 1.3 miles I did a run/walk combo and in the end, I finished the 4.5 miles in 53:53 - averaging a 12:06 min/mile pace. Not too shabby!
What was really exciting was that when I got to thinking about how far I've come...I realized that the first "Marker Set" we did while training to do Lavaman we were asked to run 2 Miles and record our time. That first time out (On 11/20/09) I ran that 2 miles in 31:35. Just a little faster then I ran OVER 3 miles tonight! WHOO HOO!!
But there was something else I realized tonight. I was thinking about how like a MediFast Journey my run was.
We start out so gung ho. We're (usually) losing at a fast pace... We're excited, pumped up, we feel like we can do anything.
Then, at some point, we hit that wall. Our body/mind screams at us to stop... Let me catch my breath... Let's lay down, this is too hard! And we have two choices at that point. We can stop, and hope we're able to get going again, or we can keep our goal in site, keep moving. Yeah, we might slow down a bit... The fat may not be dropping at quite the same rate, and we can let that discourage us. But if we just keep moving in the right direction. If we keep pumping our arms, keep focused on breathing and putting one foot in front of the other over and over again... We'll make it to our goal! And maybe making it to goal, doesn't mean we get to lie down. We may need to keep walking and even running some, but the sense of accmplishment from reaching that goal will help propel us along. And all the pain will be worth it.
Keep running my MF friends. At YOUR pace. As I was told when training for Lavaman. Even if you come in last, you're still ahead of every person who's at home sitting on their couch right now.
Even if your weight loss has stalled, even if your struggling a little with BLT - or whatever. You're still ahead of every person who hasn't chosen to step on this path and start this weight loss journey.
We're all winners - dang it! - now where's my metal?! :)
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