I Lied

It is probably no secret that I am not exactly a speedy runner. Shocker, I know. I have never really worried about my (lack of) speed because running was something I did for pure enjoyment.

Well, I may not have mentioned that a few years ago when I was in high school I ran a 5K with my swim team. I had pretty much never run before but I was still in the best shape I have ever been in.

The race was a local turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning. We had swim practice 6:00-8:00 in the morning and then had to run the 5K at 9. I had nothing to eat all morning and knowing my previous habits I probably didn't have anything to drink either.

I planned on running this race with a few of my friends. We were only there for the free bagels afterwards. And our coach made it mandatory (minor detail).

Soon after the race started, though, I felt like I could really pick up the pace. And so I did. I ran ahead of my friends and was passing people like crazy.

And then by about 1.5 miles I couldn't even run anymore. I needed to walk. I stopped for a bit then continued running, but ultimately stopped a few more times before finishing.

I felt like absolute shit crap. I crossed the finish line never more happy that I was done racing. (I still liked racing in the pool luckily.) I didn't even check my time.

And then my coach asked me what my time was. Uh oh. I had no idea. I went to the results list and saw that I finished in 24:25. At that point I didn't care about my time except to tell my coach that I actually finished and didn't die along the course.

The point of this post is to point out that I used to not half bad at running. I ran a 5K at a 7:52 pace with absolutely no running previously. (I was in serious shape as a swimmer though).

I haven't even run one mile under 8:00 since I started running in April. Sometimes this frustrates me but most days I use it as motivation. I have it in me somewhere to run more than three miles under an 8:00 pace.

I might not get back down to that speed any time soon, but I will SOMEDAY. I know I have potential, maybe not much, but I have a lot of room for improvement right now and I am so excited for what will come of that.