Taking the Trail-With Friends

After Wendy politely reminded me in a round about way that it's really not as safe to run solo on trails as it is with others...I decided to hit them this morning with friends.  I've been really nervous about doing this because....well, I'm slow.  When I'm alone it's no big deal.  I don't have to feel like I'm holding anyone back, I don't have to feel like I'm wimping out or giving up, I don't have to let anyone down.  When I'm alone, I can get lost in my own little world of thoughts.  I don't have to make conversation when I'm having trouble breathing.  I don't have to worry about how I smell, except when someone runs past me who smells like they just stepped out of the shower (seriously this happened recently-yes, she was running-but I digress).

And, I don't get to share the experience with anyone.  I don't get to look at someone and say, "Did you hear that?" in response to what clearly sounded like a shriek.  I don't have to have that ever-so-slight tension in my stomach when I hear what could be a furry little furry creature in the woods because it might also be some crazed psycho blog stalker who's aiming to snatch my body right off the trail.  I don't have to wonder what would happen if I broke my ankle and face-planted right in the middle of a less than well traveled path in the middle of the day with just a few more sips of water.  I wouldn't get to hear someone say, "GREAT JOB Dana!"  (Well, until I got home and fished for compliments from my darling husband!)  I wouldn't get to borrow a towel because I forgot mine and would instead have to drive home slipping and sliding all over a car seat drenched in the evidence of hard work that had oozed from every sweat gland in my body but couldn't evaporate because the humidity is so high it might as well be raining!!  And, I wouldn't make new friends who love this sport as much as I do.

I had a great run this morning thanks to the six other people I got to run with this morning.  I met a long-timer who has run in 29 or 30 consecutive Rocket City marathons!   He's currently training for a 50K trail run.  The man is a machine.  He started running just over 30 years ago and hasn't stopped!  What a privilege to get to run with him...that I wouldn't have enjoyed if I had continued to go it alone.  I did 5.1 miles with an overall average moving pace of 12:37.  Not too stinking bad for this particular trail!!

Thanks for caring enough, and for being honest enough, to tell me like it is Wendy!!  My run today would not have been the same with out you!  AND....I don't want to leave out the great running friends I have who kept encouraging me to come out with them.  I've been really worried that I couldn't keep up or that I would slow them down.  What a GREAT run!!!

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!
:D