Sucking Wind

Okay -- good thing I still have things to be excited about!!  I just finished sucking wind.  Sucking wind hard.  Let me just preface this by saying that I love Running Room clinics.  I've done the Learn to Run, the 10km, and the Half-Marathon clinics.  All were awesome.  I've even done the 10 km one three times just because it's cheap to repeat a clinic and it's awesome to have a group to run with and eat with and drink with.  Will run for wine? Yes.  Beer too.  Bacon? I used to.  I probably will again.  Anyhow, I digress.  I put on my Nike Lunarglides, my awesome Walmart capri tights, and my Running Room shirt, and my dusty Garmin.  I show up on time, it's a big group (20 or so) which is usually a great thing because there will be varying paces etc.  Usually.

They were starting this week with 4 sets of running 5 minutes, walking 1 minute.  Keep in mind, my last running week was running 90 seconds, walking 90 seconds, followed by running 3 minutes and walking a minute.  Twice.  And I did it on a treadmill.  Now I was hopeful that I could do this because I usually run a bit faster and longer with people because I'm desperate not to be humiliated.  I happened to be at the front when we started because that's how we crossed the street, I start off okay for the first minute and then slowly over the next two minutes, everyone was passing me.  I seriously felt like I'd stopped and everyone just ran by me except that I was still running.  I settle in near the back with two girls who are struggling a bit.  Try to make a bit of conversation.  I'm outgoing, friendly and I'd say 99% of the time, people reciprocate.  I'm always good for a joke.  Well, if I wasn't sweating so much already in the first set, I would have frozen on the spot from the chill emanating off these girls.  Okay, that's fine, don't talk to me.  But seriously, how do you not like me in less than 30 seconds?  Then at 4 minutes, I can't take it anymore and I start walking and figure I'll take a 2 minute walk break and start running again with the next set.  About 10 seconds later, one of the cold girls stops.  Then just as I've caught up with her because I walk fast, she turns to look at me (↓↓like this↓↓)and then she runs again for about 20 feet.  For real??  Holy sh*t, I haven't been snubbed like this since 8th grade.

Anyhow, we do three more sets.  I run, walk, wheeze through them.  The leader turns around to see how her little runners are doing and sees me way at the back walking and runs over to join me.  I am wheezing by this point.  I know part of it is my low iron issue but part of it is that I'm just working hard.  She keeps encouraging me and I say that I think I'll drop it for the Learn to Run that starts at running one minute and starts on the 24th.  She tells me that even if I can't do the 5's now that I should just do what I can do and I will catch up.  I'm going to think about it this week.  I'm going to do my runs while I'm visiting my sister and see how it goes and let them know next week.  Also, I made a little mistake while I was there tonight.  Usually, at the halfway time point, she yells turn around and you're supposed to turn around where you are.  I kept running to hit the point where the fast people got to and then turned around which immediately put me further back and at the very back of the pack but there was actually three women still a block behind me who turned around when they were supposed to.  So basically, if I do go back to this one, I will avoid the mean girls and I will turn around when I'm supposed to because I do take a little comfort in the fact that there were three people behind me.  When we got back to the store, I went inside grabbed my keys and went immediately to my car where I tried not to cry and sent a few text messages.  While I was still sitting there, the two mean girls and two other girls in the clinic all came over to a big shiny new Jeep, so I guess they have enough friends.  They were all in head to toe Lulu.  I'm scratching that lululemon outfit off the mental reward list.  I don't want that attitude rubbing off on me.  I like that I talk to strangers.  

And here's the Garmin proof of my sad run.  Crazily enough, my pace tonight was slower than the  pace I had for my first & only half-marathon to date I noticed.  Only 5 seconds, but still!! Haha - there was one run in my Garmin history that has a 6:30 pace but there is a note on it that I didn't stop it so it recorded when I DROVE home.  Pfft. What the hell am I thinking.  

 

Writing this has already made me feel better.  I'll get a few runs in while visiting my sister and then I'll show up for run club night next Wednesday.  I will miss the week two clinic because I won't be home yet.  However, they will be doing 7 minutes (oh sh*t) so it's probably a good thing.  That means, I really have two weeks to come to a decision and by then, the other clinic will be starting if I decide to go that route.  

Now I must get busy.  I still have to shower, do a load of laundry, make this disaster area look tidy so my cat sitter doesn't think I'm insane person.  Oh and pack.  Sheesh.  And Amazon delivered two cookbooks I'd ordered and I should not look at them till I've gotten some stuff done.  I also should not look at the season premiere of Parenthood that appeared in my PVR tonight.  It might be an all nighter.  Maybe I'll sleep on the plane.