July 23

Total time: 30 minutes
Total distance: 2 miles

I had the unsettling realization a couple days ago that I was at T-Minus 2 Months until the 10K that I was signed up for. (And T-Minus 2 Months+2 Days until I turned thirty... which is another significant milestone which really has nothing to do with running, other than that next year I will get bumped up into a new age bracket in all my races.) Did I mention that I signed up for a 10K? In Seattle? That was now only two months away??

Cue: panic.

So, I did the only thing I could do: I laced up my shoes and pulled on my new ridiculously bright patterned capris (see lower right image) and out the door I went. This was to be both an "inventory run" (taking stock of where I'm at) and a "let's see how far I can actually go." I'm terrible at following any sort of actual training plan, for reasons that baffle me a little bit. I mean, I'm one of those people that has to have a recipe when I'm in the kitchen. I like having a plan. But instead, it's sort of just turned into "run as far as you can... and then run father than that next time, and so on..." Which I suppose isn't the worst way to do things, but it's definitely not ideal.

At any rate, my last run was my kick-ass best-pace-of-2014 mile. Which, if memory serves, was hard. I hurt the next day. On the one hand, it felt good, and on the other... my "fast" pace of this year was my "average" pace from last year. But I've always tried to focus on distance and endurance rather than speed, because speed will never be my forte.

My goal was to run two miles. To see if I could. I've only done it once this year. Part of me wondered if I should go for three if I made it through two, but I scaled it back into something a little less daunting.

My pace was slow - slower, even, than when I did intervals - but I did it. I kept moving until I reached two miles and then I stopped with a slight bit of sadness and a "maybe I should have kept going..." which, to me, is the indicator of a good run.

The whole time, the 10K was on my mind. I've never attempted that distance before... never, ever thought I could. I ran four miles last year, twice, and usually once I get past the sluggish middle between a mile and a half and two miles, I can keep slogging along. I started to do the math - the longest I'd run was 55 minutes (4.2 miles) - so it would take me a little over an hour to run five, but that was back when I was running faster. Is 1:30 reasonable for a 10K? I have no idea. It would be approximately 15 minutes per mile, which, at the pace I'm running these days, is a pretty valid goal.... I only get slower as I go. However, as I mentioned before, my interval pace is faster than my all-running pace (grr) so maybe it would behoove me to do intervals if I want to hit a certain goal time?

Ah, who am I kidding? My goal is to finish. Preferably running, but if I have to walk, then I walk. I'll do the best I can when the time comes. I'm trying something that is wildly out of my comfort zone so even if I flub it up, well, hey, at least I tried.