The Art of Being Chicked

Because I am not the fastest runner I have not chicked many guys. For all of you nonrunners, getting chicked is when a guy gets passed by a girl. In the past when I have chicked guys I have not had trouble with them. I just kept running past them and they stayed at their pace. Well, that was not the case this morning.

I woke up at 7:15 this morning so I could get in four easy miles in before my 10 AM class. For a college student this was pretty early. I started my run still pretty sleepy and not very aware of what was going on around me. After the first two miles I started to wake up some and noticed an older couple jogging a ways in front of me.

I could tell that they weren't moving very fast so I decided to try to catch up to them. After only a few minutes I had almost caught up to them but then they went into a parking lot, which essentially was just a shortcut. The couple was in front of me again. I felt frustrated but decided to just try to catch up with them again.

This time I actually started to pass the couple but when I tried to pass the man, he sped up significantly. I got annoyed so I sped up even more and passed them both. I kept up my faster pace so that I could just be rid of them once and for all. I continued on my way, ready for this run to be over.

After another few minutes, though, I realized that the couple was once again in front of me as they had taken a different side street then I did to get to the main road. I take the long way to get extra mileage in but they took one of the shorter ones.

I saw that they were heading in the same direction that I was so I ran on the other side of the street so I wouldn't have to deal with passing them again. Even though I was not physically next to them, I began to pass the man once again (he was pretty far behind the woman). I then saw him look over to where I was and then start to speed up again.

So of course I sped up too. I was getting really irritated but I was almost to my apartment so I just focused on finishing. For a final time I started to pass the man once again, but this time I wasn't going to let him take anymore shortcuts to get back in front of me. We were running up a hill and at this point I was really pushing it but I didn't care.

I looked over at the man, made eye contact, and then ran right past him. He started sprinting to keep up but I made sure that he never caught me. I couldn't have been happier to be back at my apartment after this little game of cat and mouse. This man had made me so irritated that I was no longer enjoying my run. Not cool.

But I did learn a few things about how to properly chick someone:

1. Make eye contact as you pass them. I felt like I was telling the man that I was going to pass him and there was nothing he could do about it. And it kicked ass.

2. Don't let them get to you mentally. I was so frustrated with this man that I let it ruin my run. Don't ever give someone else the power to make a good run bad.

3. Pass with confidence. I felt so strong and badass as I passed that man. Be proud!

Have you ever chicked someone? How did they respond?

I Have a Confession

One of the goals I set for myself for my triathlon training was to train consistently. Because sometimes schoolwork and being a college student get in the way of my training, I have turned to morning workouts as the solution to this. And I must confess, I kind of sort of really like morning workouts. Shocking, I know!

So far I have only done short recovery runs in the morning but I used to swim in the mornings twice a week when I was in high school. Since I have not done any hard workouts in the morning I obviously cannot comment on them, but I gotta say that morning workouts are very relaxing.

I love checking the weather and setting out all of gear the night before. I love waking up, getting dressed, and heading out the door all in ten minutes. And I love going outside and enjoying the outdoors while most people are stressfully driving into work.

Hahaha not exactly what I mean

I feel so calm and at peace with myself during those morning hours. I don't have to really think much because I'm doing a recovery run. I have a tendency to zone out for the majority of the run just enjoying being outside but somehow end up having life changing thoughts. I have come up with some of my best ideas during morning runs, and I have also worked out a lot of stressful problems during these runs.

I always feel so relaxed during the day after doing a morning run, and I am also usually smiling the whole day too. Morning runs give me this sense of power and confidence because I have already started my day off by doing something so productive and good for myself. Not to mention I am doing something that I really enjoy.

I know a lot of other runners and triathletes are morning people and swear by their AM workouts but if you are not a morning person I am challenging you to give it a try. You don't have to workout every morning or even for a long time. Just wake up 30 minutes earlier and go outside. I promise you will notice things that you would never have seen later in the day. And you will be amazed how great you will feel for the rest of the day.