Back in the swing of things

I went from practically no running last week to running over 40 this week.*  I can’t really pat myself on the back for my motivation.  My added mileage this week is mostly due to me not wanting to let my friends down.  It is good, although I vaguely remember a story told in my RRCA training program of a guy (or is it a dog?) who never says no to a run and ends up burning out.  I won’t let that happen.

My friend Heidi texted me Sunday to see if I wanted to run during our kids’ dance class the next day.  I had run a good 9.5 miles Sunday, but didn’t run on Saturday.  Even though I don’t normally run on Mondays, I thought it would be a good idea.  Then later that night, my friend Kelly (who happens to be Heidi’s sister) texted me and asked if I would do a long run with her Monday early.  She had missed doing a long run on the weekend and is planning a half marathon next week and wanted to get in some mileage.  Since I am encouraging her to do it, I felt like I should run with her.  We ran almost nine miles before 7 a.m.**

When I got to dance class, I knew that Heidi was ready to go for a run.  I knew if I didn’t go with her, she wouldn’t go.  I had promised her first and it wouldn’t be fair to blow her off because I ran with Kelly earlier.  Heidi and I ran a little over three miles, giving me close to 12 miles for the morning.

I ran another eight miles on Wednesday before 7 a.m., as well as my normal five miles on Thursday.
I am aware that I can do too much.  I have been listening to my body and actually told Kelly no for a longer run on Thursday.  I knew that I had had enough.

I am liking that my running buddies are kicking it up a notch.  It helps to motivate me.  Knowing that Kelly is meeting me in the pre-dawn darkness to run is a good reason to drag myself out of bed.  I can’t let her down.  Now that I know that starting at 5 a.m. is not only possible, but pleasant, I am confident I can get those extra miles in over these next few months.

Happy running…

*this depends on the length of my run tomorrow morning, but we are planning on running 8-9 miles, which will bring my weekly total to around 43.
**Kelly did less since I ran home from her house, which is about 3/4 of a mile.