Columbus Marathon...Here I Come!: Yo Qiero a Correr (I think)

Tonight was another great Wednesday workout. I find myself counting down the days to Wednesdays and Saturdays for the community I find there. So anyway, today was 40 minutes of "Coaches Choice". First we ran about a half mile to a high school track. There was a lacrosse game going on but did that stop us? Heck no! First we all did our yoga right there in front of everyone. I'm actually beginning to like the yoga stretching and I'm thinking of picking it up. Then we headed for the track. Now for those of you who know me at all, you know that I absolutely hate running around in circles. My husband doesn't mind running the same 1.3 mile loop in our neighborhood over and over again. But me, I need to feel like I'm actually going somewhere. So that was my first mental obstacle. Also, I was so horrible in high school track that just stepping foot on the track brought back all sorts of awful memories! Plus it was like 110 degrees outside! Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating, but still...

Our workout was a speed workout. We were to run 100 meters hard, then 100 meters of recovery. Then run 200 meters hard and 200 meters of recovery. 400 hard and 400 recovery. Then we were to work our way down again. Then one of the coaches said that the more experienced or faster runners should try to go all the way up to 800 and then back down. So I, of course, decided to try to stay with the faster group. Besides the heat and the sheer boredom of running around the track, it was ok. I did alright going up the "ladder" (making it to the 800) but then had to stop for water. After that I struggled and my hard runs started to look the same as my recovery runs. I even had to stop and walk a little bit towards the end...my first walk of the season. My poor pride! I felt bad about my run then but now as I think back on it, I still ran faster than the other girls I might have run with if I hadn't of stepped it up. The only think I wish for is someone who runs my pace. It got a little lonely out there today. I can't keep up with the fast guys (and one girl) and I don't feel like I push myself when I run with some of the other girls. After another water break, we ran back. All in all, a great workout.

THEN...the fun began! We all headed to this hilariously adorable Mexican restaurant that even include a mariachi band that played for every table! Most of the group went and Jeff came too. I was excited to have him meet everyone like John and Melanie the "pace setters" I ran with a couple Saturdays ago. John is my new mentor, helping me with my fundraising. Even though we couldn't stay long (I had to nurse Grace) we had a blast! We even won a couple door prizes...I won a water bottle and Jeff won a bag of GUs!