AuburnChick's Adventures

I don’t know about you, but I was a busy gal this weekend.

A few months ago, I’d signed up for two virtual runs…runs that would be taking place the SAME weekend.

The first one, the Umbridge 13k (aka “The Final Inaugural ‘I Must Not Tell Lies’ Dolores Jane Umbridge Run 13k…Or Until It Sinks In”), was sponsored by the Hogwarts Running Club that I’m a part of.

Guys, seriously.  13k.  Like, I had to look that up to see how far it was.

8.1 miles.

The most I’d done was five miles.

Virtual runs are very different from in-person runs in that you do them kind of when you want.  There’s always a “suggested” date, but ultimately, you pay your entry fee, which usually goes toward a charity, get your bling, and then whether or not you actually run is up to you.  It’s you versus your conscience.

The suggested date was the weekend of April 15th (aka Tax Day…when it hurts).  I had planned on splitting up the run into two days, with four miles each, but I procrastinated, and then it rained, and then I had a good hair day, and then it rained some more.

Yeah.

I didn’t really want to run.

Saturday was the day, though.  I slept in and then headed out around 11…still sort-of planning on doing it in two days.

Sometime during my first quarter mile, I decided that I’d go for it, and instead of turning left in my neighborhood to do my usual route, I turned right and went out of my subdivision.

I had an idea of where I wanted to run…past the fire station, up to the light, past an elementary school, and through a neighborhood I’d driven through once or twice.

I kept a close eye on my Garmin watch and wound up doing about five miles before I headed back toward home, passing the fire station again.  I still had a little over two miles to go when I decided to go into the neighborhood across the street from mine.  I have a good friend who lives there, so I’m familiar with the layout.  This was about two hours into my run, and by that time, I was dying of thirst…could literally taste icy water.

It was bad, and I considered calling the Mr. to bring me water.

It was at that point that I happened upon my friend’s house, and her CAR WAS IN THE DRIVEWAY!!!

I rang her doorbell and could barely utter the words, “Water” before she let me in.  She was a gracious host and didn’t bat an eye as I guzzled down two bottles of water without stopping.  Water was dripping down my face and off of my chin even.

Once I had recovered and caught my breath, we chatted a few minutes before I headed out to finish the last two miles.

By the time I got home, I’d put in nearly nine miles!!!  I did them with half-mile intervals of walking and running.

I felt so empowered.  I had not run for a number of weeks.  I guess my most recent workout program had done its job of making me more fit aerobically.  The biggest thing that motivated me was thinking about Rooster.  I figured that if he could do all of that PT in basic training, I could crank out a run.

I passed by soccer fields my children used to practice on. I had a few tears in my eyes. It was a bittersweet moment.

On Sunday, I made sure I was up early enough to do a second run…the Run Dog Run 5k, sponsored by Gone for a Run, another neat running organization.  The suggested date for this run was the 17th.

Now, let me tell you that after eight miles the day before, I knew that three miles would be a piece of cake.

I took Gambit with me, and we set off.  Once again, I did half-mile intervals, and he kept up quite nicely.  He’s still quite young and has a lot of energy.  The weather was a gorgeous 61 degrees.  My time wasn’t great, but that was because I was training Gambit not to trip me, and I did stop a couple of times to take pictures.

Man, did I feel good when I finished, but my hips…not so much.

I still managed to get ready for church…early in fact…and then spend the afternoon at the pool.

Life wasn’t all too bad in these here parts (when I wasn’t crying randomly because something reminded me of Rooster).

Filed under: fitness | Tagged: fitness, GoneforaRun, Hogwarts Running Club, RunDogRun2016, running, virtual runs |