Running Thoughts

I been emailing with a friend and thought I would post the reply I sent her. This way a few others that are runners will see this and maybe be inspired also such as Ridiculous Chick, and TB

It is a special engagement movie so you might have to drive to it. :( Stinks but I think you will think it is worth it. Here is a hint. When the credits start rolling though DO NOT leave. After the credits there is more movie and insight with the runners and what they have done after the marathon. When I went most of the theatre left but we were in a group and sitting and chatting an WOW more movie came on. The 26.2 miles of hell is hard and damn it I am starting to think of another one. It is an awesome way to test your body and your mind.

There is ABSOLUTLY nothing wrong with running a 12:50 pace. In the movie one guy ran that pace for the marathon. Guess what it was like his 5th marathon and he loved doing it just to prove he could, and the shirt :). Your speed can be changed with the right training, such as intervals, and farklets. Search on those and if you do them beware they SUCK but do increase your speed. As for me my current pace came fairly natural over time as my lungs and muscles increased. I currently hold around an 8:30 pace most times. I have held 6:47 pace for a 5k and my marathon with 9 miles of walking ended up at 11:50 pace.

I had flirted with running for over 10 years. I found myself at an age of under 30 breathing hard to walk into work. So I began running .5 then 1 mile a couple times a week. Worked up to a couple miles then would quit. Then pick it up again just to quit again. I had done a 10k in those years and it hurt and I quit. Well then 4 years ago decided that my son wanted to run a 10k so we trained together. During that time I met a young gal that was a temp at the hell hole Addroc. She kept emailing me to come run with her and her group she was starting. I eventually started running again and when I got to 3 miles, felt ok, I went and joined her group. The first day it was me and 17 women. :) I met and became friends with a couple of them that I still run with weekly today. They ran slow with me and kept encouraging me along. Today I run with them and others. PACE does not matter. I run with a guy that can put up under 3 hour marathons now. When he is with me he is encouraging and out for a walk but the people you meet are what it is about.

You might live in a small community and can't Google and find a group. The groups I belong to don't really have any web presence. Here is where I connect with them. One is at a local health club and the other runs out of a local running attire store. So if your looking for a group to run with go to those places and ask if there are any people that meet there to run on a weekly basis. They will be glad to hook you up with people that like to run. We encourange and it is always a blast to meet someone new when they show up at the group. GUESS what new stories to learn. :)

Also do not worry about starting with a group and then being gone for a bit. Go make the contacts and then when you get back home join back up again.

KEEP RUNNING