Running out of time
Next Sunday I am running the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge 5K for the third year straight. Love this run, because it's really fun and because it is a fundraiser for Special Olympics NJ. I set my fundraising goal,met it, doubled it and am close to meeting the new goal, and fairly confident that I will. So, I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. Except for one small detail... I kind of never got around to training. Just when I had finally started running, I got sick and then did something to my back and that was that. I had too much going on (I had too many excuses!) Last year I ran every day for 10 weeks leading up to the run, in snow, rain and sub zero temps. I had a goal to run it at a 10 minute/mile pace. I came really close. Missed it by seconds. This year, my goal is to finish without my heart exploding and being carried out of the tunnel on a stretcher. A 10 minute mile is a distant memory. Tonight, with one week left before the run, I decided to start running. After fighting with my new phone to get logged into "Map my Run" and getting music to play ( I am technologically challenged and this new phone hates me, as do most computerized gadgets) I hit the road. The music played for one song... and then ... nothing. I hate running without music (to be honest, I'm not a fan of running at all ... and I'm not good at it either). I almost made it to 3 miles. Quit at 2.93 miles... should have pushed myself harder. Then I decided that I needed to go up this dirt road to see where it leads. The sun was setting. There was a muddy pick up truck up there, and I finally got creeped out and went back down... will check it out another day. Then I decided I would go down by this pond and sit on a bench and see if I could get the music to play on my phone for the run/walk back home. I decided to take a short cut... turned out to be a very muddy short cut. I fell in the mud. So, I sat by the pond and took this picture... and while this phone is supposed to take fabulous photos, this is NOT one of them (which is why it became a candidate for Sliders Sunday). I never did get the music to play. And then I realized that it was dark, and I was 3 miles from home. I needed the flashlight on my phone to find my way through the mud and back to the road. My phone battery was at about 20% at this point. So, I finished my first training session, running on a busy county road with my phone flashlight to guide me (and identify me to oncoming traffic). The good news is, my phone did not die (and I didn't fall in a hole, or fall in the mud again, or get hit by a car, and my heart didn't explode). This is going to be a tough week ahead. I need to keep reminding myself that it's all about Special Olympics and making a difference... not about the running (or is this just another excuse that non-runners, or unprepared runners come up with?!! Well... it's MY excuse and I'm sticking with it!) Happy Silders Sunday
Running out of time
Next Sunday I am running the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge 5K for the third year straight. Love this run, because it's really fun and because it is a fundraiser for Special Olympics NJ. I set my fundraising goal,met it, doubled it and am close to meeting the new goal, and fairly confident that I will. So, I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. Except for one small detail... I kind of never got around to training. Just when I had finally started running, I got sick and then did something to my back and that was that. I had too much going on (I had too many excuses!) Last year I ran every day for 10 weeks leading up to the run, in snow, rain and sub zero temps. I had a goal to run it at a 10 minute/mile pace. I came really close. Missed it by seconds. This year, my goal is to finish without my heart exploding and being carried out of the tunnel on a stretcher. A 10 minute mile is a distant memory. Tonight, with one week left before the run, I decided to start running. After fighting with my new phone to get logged into "Map my Run" and getting music to play ( I am technologically challenged and this new phone hates me, as do most computerized gadgets) I hit the road. The music played for one song... and then ... nothing. I hate running without music (to be honest, I'm not a fan of running at all ... and I'm not good at it either). I almost made it to 3 miles. Quit at 2.93 miles... should have pushed myself harder. Then I decided that I needed to go up this dirt road to see where it leads. The sun was setting. There was a muddy pick up truck up there, and I finally got creeped out and went back down... will check it out another day. Then I decided I would go down by this pond and sit on a bench and see if I could get the music to play on my phone for the run/walk back home. I decided to take a short cut... turned out to be a very muddy short cut. I fell in the mud. So, I sat by the pond and took this picture... and while this phone is supposed to take fabulous photos, this is NOT one of them (which is why it became a candidate for Sliders Sunday). I never did get the music to play. And then I realized that it was dark, and I was 3 miles from home. I needed the flashlight on my phone to find my way through the mud and back to the road. My phone battery was at about 20% at this point. So, I finished my first training session, running on a busy county road with my phone flashlight to guide me (and identify me to oncoming traffic). The good news is, my phone did not die (and I didn't fall in a hole, or fall in the mud again, or get hit by a car, and my heart didn't explode). This is going to be a tough week ahead. I need to keep reminding myself that it's all about Special Olympics and making a difference... not about the running (or is this just another excuse that non-runners, or unprepared runners come up with?!! Well... it's MY excuse and I'm sticking with it!) Happy Silders Sunday