My Stolen Running Route

In my first couple of weeks as a runner, I consciously avoided having a route.  I was afraid of knowing how far I had to go to be done, afraid of getting bored, & most of all afraid of people seeing me on a regular basis & thinking "there's that girl with the saggy skin & the flapping arms who thinks she's running--again."

In the last week or two I have settled in on a stolen route.  Dave has loops of known distances--4 miles, 3 miles--they help him plan his work-out to the time he has available.  One of his loops uses a friend/co-worker's house as a roundhouse (for those of you who aren't subjected to "Dinosaur Train" or "Thomas," that's where the train stops & switches directions).  It's such an ingrained part of Dave's work-out routine that when the friends told Dave that they were moving, Dave said they needed to include a sweaty, out-of-breath 30 year old as part of the house's MLS listing.

I decided that I wanted to be able to do that loop in my half hour C25K runs.  I locked in on my goal.  A three mile loop in 30 minutes?  Tough, but do-able...except it's the four mile loop.  Doh!  I revised my goal.  I wanted to be able to do the loop after my 5K, before they moved.  In this housing market, that should buy me a little bit of time, right?  Wrong.  They sold their house & are moving over Memorial Day.  Double Doh (for me, great for them!). 

The surprise upshot in failing to meet my goal (I'm conceding that I won't be able to add an additional 1.3 miles in a week's time): I don't care!  I'm so used to being an athletic failure, that just having the desire to set a goal still feels like a win & in reality the timing doesn't mean anything.  I'm getting a few steps closer each day & I'll make it eventually.  Hopefully the new owners will be amenable to adding a saggy, flapping 31 year old to the list of perks of their new home.