Monday night is Girls Night for my friends and I. A group of us get together to watch the latest Bachelor/Bachelorette series, eat popcorn and share our woes and triumphs of life. We typically take turns on where we gather each week, and tonight, we were meeting at my friend Sara's house. He rhouse is about 3.5 miles from my house, so I decided to get in a short run and hit the pavement.
Going out for a run was a risky move, as the smoke in the air from the various Colorado wildfires was continuously polluting the air, while at the same time, we were facing our hottest June on record in years. But all that said, I tied my shoe laces tight, chugged some water, strapped on my iPhone and CRAP! I had updated my phone over the weekend and now, my whole running playlist was gone. The sounds of Florence and the Machine, Nicki Minaj, and LMFAO were now lost in a sea of music, that I didn't want to sort through and pull out right now. So I decided to put my music on shuffle and hope for the best in terms of motivational running songs, amidst all of my Damien Rice, Mumford and Sons and Mat Kearney music.
I started off on my usually route and began my 3.5 mile run to Sara's house. Much to my surprise, today's run was going great, considering how much I had struggled a few days prior. When I hit mile two, I made a snap decision to turn left instead of head straight to Sara's house. I was feeling great and decided to add another mile to my run.
As I headed down the busy street, still keeping my stride, I couldn't help but wonder where all of this energy was coming from. Then it hit me - I was listening to my music. I was so absorbed in the lyrics and the feeling of the songs, that I wasn't focusing on the heat, the sweat, or even physical act of running. I was just doing. So I kept running. I added the extra mile and I was still feeling good, so I decided to detour around a neighborhood and add another mile. And beyond that, I kept running a little further.
My phone started blowing up a bit later, from the other girls wondering where I was. The show was starting and I was missing, so I decided that I should probably head that way. Plus, I had never run that far before, so I didn't want to do more harm than good, by continuing to push myself into an unknown place.
In the end, I ran a tad over 6 miles, reaching a new distance. This was the furthest I had ever run, and the least amount of angst I had felt since embarking on this running adventure.
Lesson Learned: I run better with my slow, alternative music, I might actually be a 'runner', and I need to carry a snack with me.
Distance: 6.10 miles
Time: 1:10:59
No comments:
Post a Comment