So, when I got a text from him around 12:30 saying that he'd be home in an hour, I was super excited at the possibility of running outside. It was like a little gift had just been given to me. I immediately began having an inner debate as to where I should run and how many miles I should shoot for. I wanted to take as much advantage of the sunshine as possible, and have a lot of pretty things to look at without having to drive too far....
When he got home, we all hung out for a while, then I threw on my running clothes and headed out. I let Will know where I had decided to run and said I'd be home in a couple of hours.
It was only a 10 minute drive to the outside of Stony Creek Metropark where I had decided to run. I still hadn't really committed to a distance. The lollipop loop that I run from where I park my car is 10 miles, but I really wasn't sure I had it in me to cover that distance. Having not planned on running until 8 pm, the only things I had had to drink so far were two cups of coffee and about 1/3 of a glass of wine. (**Side note to explain myself on this one...I went to a craft show and they were handing out FREE tickets for wine samples. I couldn't say no to a free wine sample! So, I got a "sample" that was larger than a full glass of wine! WHAT?! I ended up taking two sips, remembering that all I'd drank so far today was coffee, and taking it into the bathroom and dumping it down the sink. HA!)
Okay...back to my run story...
So, I didn't know how far I wanted to run. I'm not following any type of training plan right now, so all of my runs are for fun (and to try to beat my cousin to 100 miles this month on my Nike Plus app...). And I definitely wasn't planning on running 10 miles on the treadmill after the kids went to bed. So, I figured I could start out on my loop and if I felt tired, I would just turn around and run back to my car.
Fast forward 10 minutes. Car is parked. Grabbing my things...pepper spray? Check. Waste belt? Check. Car keys? Check. Granola bar (just in case)? Check. Phone? Phone? PHONE?! No.
I did not forget my phone. Dump out purse. Empty pockets. Search under the seats. Get out of car. Check pockets again...Nothing. No phone. Should I drive home and get it? No, I'm not going to turn my 10 minute drive into a 30 minute drive just because of my phone. DANG IT!!! How am I going to get an amazing picture of the awesomeness of this day without my phone?! Okay...CRAP! No phone. I better text Will and let him know I don't have my phone with me. Ummmm....ya...I can't text anyone. This stinks! (Please tell me that I'm not the only person that thinks they need to "text someone and let them know they don't have their phone on them" when they don't have their phone on them!!
So, I finally come to terms with the fact that I'll be running without my phone today, when the realization hits me that I also didn't wear my Garmin. Which means that I either run the entire 10 mile loop, or I won't know how far I ran. Sure, I can make an educated guess, but I won't know the exact distance. Dang it!!!... 10 miles it is.
The great thing about not having a phone or a watch on, is that I don't know how fast I'm running. I can just go with the flow and run at a "comfortable pace." And that's exactly what I did...for a while. I passed a couple people and felt pretty great out there. Then, I could hear someone coming up behind me. It was a slow creep up, and I could tell that their pace wasn't much faster than mine. So, of course, I picked it up a bit so that I wouldn't be passed. (Yes, I am that person.)
This continued for close to a mile, and then my shoe came untied. DANG IT! I had to stop and tie it, and of course, was passed by the guy that I wasn't letting pass me. I quickly got back on the path and stuck behind him, thinking he'd probably be done in a mile when we got back to the "start" where a lot of people park and start out on the loop.
Nope. He wasn't done. He kept running right past. Part of me was disappointed, and part of me was excited because he gave me a target and helped me hold a steady pace. And then...he slowed down. Or at least it felt like he slowed down. And I wasn't sure what to do. I was already running a bit faster than I needed to, but I had gotten into a groove and didn't want to slow down. I also didn't want to pass him because then I'd be stuck maintaining that pace in fear of him passing me again! UGH! I tried to slow down and back off, but finally gave in and went to pass. When I got right next to him, I asked if he knew what his pace was. He said it was 8:35. Okay, fair enough. I kept on running by him and didn't look back. And that was that.
I finished up my 10 miles without stopping once (besides to tie my shoe). By the time I got back to my car, my legs were tired and I was in dire need of a bathroom break, so I hopped in my car and drove home. I was gone for less than 2 hours.
There's about a 99.9% chance that if I would have had my beloved phone with me, I would have either A.) Not run 10 miles today, or B.) Been gone more than 2 hours (because I would have had to take some pictures and I got home to find about 8 texts that I might have responded to on my run).
So, as much as it pains me to admit it, it was okay that I forgot my phone today. I'm pretty sure I ran a lot faster than I normally do on a 10 mile run and I didn't have any distractions. And it was an absolutely beautiful day! The perfect day to log 10 more miles for my Nike Plus app...oh, I mean, log 10 more miles for fun!
And, of course, when I got home I had to take a post run picture.
-Kendra
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