The Slower Half

So, I (Leah), am a slow slow runner. I average about a 10:30 pace or so. My fastest marathon time (I've run 4) is 5:25. My one claim to fame is that I once ran a 10k in 58 minutes. Not exactly setting the world on fire. I've never really cared that much. Usually, my goal is to not die during a race. Oh believe me, I've come close. I'll have to write about my one and only disastrous trail race (which I finished, but it was not pretty). To sum it all up, I've never really tried to run fast, and I certainly have never trained for a race (except a marathon, the goal again, being not to die and to cross the finish line).

I'm sick of being slow, especially since Eugene is so much faster than I am. Our runs together consist of me looking at his back and him circling back to run with me. Seriously, when we run together, I think that he runs double the distance than I do with all of his circling back and running in place. I usually just whine about it, but this time I have actually decided to do something about it. I am going to train for a 10k, which is something that I would have scoffed at before, thinking "who needs to train for a 10k? I could walk 6.2 miles!"

So, what's the big change? Two things. First, I broke my foot in the summer and couldn't run or do yoga (which I love) at all for two months. It drove me nuts. Granted, I wasn't really exercising that much before, but I really wanted to exercise because I couldn't. It's like the syndrome where you had an opportunity to date a guy and decided against it, but when your friend starts showing interest, he starts looking a lot better. No, I am not a slimey person and have never interfered with my friends' romantic interests, but I liked the analogy. I'm glad it works with things that are good for you. Maybe I'll be banned from dieting one day and decide that it looks really appealing. Ok, that will never happen, but it was interesting to contemplate. Second, I have an overwhelming desire to one day, smoke Eugene in a race.

Anyways, I digress. Back on track. I have set my sights on a 10k on 12/14 and am doing an 8 week Hal Higdon program. http://www.halhigdon.com/10ktraining/10kadv.htm We'll see how that goes. I have to start 10/19. For now, I'm just trying to get into the swing of regular exercise.