Milestones galore

Milestone One: So this is the halfway point of the 18-week program. I can't believe I'm here, that I've come this far; that I am still standing, and even more astonishing to some degree -- that I am still interested in doing this.

Milestone Two: I woke up this morning and I just really wanted a running buddy for the 10mi I was scheduled to do. It's a distance I've handled by myself before, but I just craved company today. So I made a decision. I've been feeling pretty good about my progress since I quit the group running thing exactly a month ago. Today I would test whether I could rejoin a group.

I went to a different group than the one from a month ago, one closer to my new house rather than the one downtown. I was a little apprehensive, mostly because my area seems to have a lot of runners... the kind who when not running alone are running with babystrollers and/or dogs. It's that kind of neighborhood where it seems like membership requires babies and dogs. I have neither. But I do run, and a lot of these people are out there running and it looks like it's for the pure enjoyment of it. Not competitively. And that's the kind of group I have been longing for. I can actually see myself going back.

I also went to the group with a plan. I would specifically choose to run with the 10K group rather than the marathoners. Partly to hedge my bets in case I really didn't like group running. The marathon group was also going further than what I needed to do (29K/18mi) today, so I thought the 10K group plan meshed well with my own agenda du jour -- which was to run a mixed 10miles. It was 3miles to and from the store from home. Add 10K with the group. Do 2mi by myself. That would add up.

The group run was one of the easiest runs I've done in a long while, even with the giant hill in the middle of the run. I started with Barb, but she was a bit too fast for me. So I hung back a bit and ran with Nicholas. I was even able to have a conversation with him without difficulty throughout the run -- and eventually found out he knows one of my neighbors. Small world.

By the end of the group run, I wished they would be running the rest of my miles with me. But I kept going, doing a loop around the boardwalk at the beach before heading uphill home. Total time running today: 2:18:56. Distance covered: 10.61 mi.

3. Milestone Three: This is my 100th post. So, I took the occassion to look back, before looking forward. I gave myself a High Five when I was nearly finished the first third of this program and set out five goals. I've hit them all, so here's the next five I'll concentrate on.

i) Reintegrate group running. Running solo has been good for my soul, overall, but frankly, I'm running into some uncharted territory soon and may need the social backup on this. Upcoming weeks feature some L-O-N-G distances, testing not just my legs, but my will. Today's experience opened the door to handling these distances with a little bit of help. I'm not sure if I'll make the full jump to run with the marathon group, but a little bit of company certainly whittles away some of those miles with some ease.

ii) Diet. I have seen the registered dietician and now have a roadmap to eat well for both training and health purposes. I will stay on course.

iii) Gear. Now is the time to think about what I want to wear on race day. Shorts or capris? Sleeves, no sleeves, t-shirt? Hat? The right socks. I am still seeking the pair of shoes I will wear on race day. I will find them.

iv) Consistency. I've skipped a few days here and there, but never a long run. Let's keep it that way. What I need to do is to get better at not missing too many runs on consecutive days; all that requires is a little bit of advance planning.

v) Perserverance. Each step means I'm closer to crossing the finish line.