So day two in Harrisburg, I had plans to run with my friend Terry at 6:30 this morning. We met in the lobby a little before this and I suggested we wait until 6:30 to leave because another friend of ours, Jim said he might join us. Jim never made it but as we were about to leave Tyler came off the elevator and the three of us headed down to the river.
On the way, I told Tyler (who is 20 years younger than me) that I would not be offended if he went ahead. I did not want to hold him back. Tyler said, no he'd be happy to run with us. This is not unusual - I've run with faster runners (my friend Kristie being one) on many occassions and it's not a problem when faster runner is willing to bring his/her pace down to mine and maybe I try to pick mine up a little bit (emphassi on little..lol).
So off we went. The first few minutes of any run (especially mornings) can sometimes be stressfull as my body gets with the program. So I thought nothing of feeling a litte uncomfortable in those first few minutes. As we made our way around City Island I lagged a few steps behind but held my own that way. As we returned to the river bank we went downhill and picked up the pace a bit and here is where I got in trouble. We never backed off from the downhill. By the time we got to the turnaround to head back to our hotel I was really feeling the effects of pushing hard. I begged off a walk break and Terry, too encouraged Tyler to go on if that's what he wanted.
Poor 'kid' was all apologetic about going fast. I told him that was nonsense. Every runner must be responsible for their own pace. I should have dropped back or said something sooner. So anyway we walked for a half block and then finished our run.
Later that day, I saw Terry in a meeting and asked her how she felt on the run. She said she was really glad I asked for the walk break. :) All in all, it was kind of nice to push the pace a bit. I was just embarrassed to have to beg off. Not ashamed ... just a bit embarrassed. I should have been paying more attention.
You've got to run your own run, Paula! Your body is different every day, which is something I need to keep reminding myself. Good for you, getting out there.
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