I Need to Apologize...

Hello Everybody!

Tonight's blog entry is an apology.

There has been some backlash regarding my recent posts about my running.  I wrote earlier this month that I had a run and it was "slow."   Several people messaged me their concern about what my definition of "slow" really is.

Last week my amazing fiancé, Kyle, ran is FIRST 10K; the Madison Twilight Run!  Here we are pre-race, ready and roaring to go!

Despite making this amazing goal, he's been feeling a little bummed about his time.  I didn't see why, the guy ran 6.2 FREAKING MILES.  In the heat.  At night.  After bumming around and doing errands all day.  No time to train in weeks ahead of time.

And yet, the guy showed up.  What's to feel bad about? NOTHING.  He did it! YAHOO!

Truth is.   It does NOT matter what your pace is.

I am sorry that I lead anybody to believe it matters.  It doesn't!

Running is what you make of it.  You can make it about yourself or you can make it about other people.   While I like to run with people, I like to compete with eM.   To eM, a 9:30 pace is not my fastest run, but a mid-tempo run, which I need to accomplish during training.  I also complete 9:45 minute miles (my slow run), 10 minute miles (my easy run), my 9:00 minute miles (my 10K goal pace) and my 8:30 miles [only when it's time to sprint!] To my good friend Niki, a 9:30 pace is a slow, easy jog in the park.  Her mid-tempos are in the 8:30's with her sprints much closer to 7:50 per mile!  [I think I got that right.]  Both of our ideas of mid-tempo runs, slow runs and fast runs are completely different!

It's really about each of their own.   Whatever pace you do, whatever distance you do, it's on YOU.  YOU should be proud of that distance, because somewhere, somebody you know didn't even bother to try at all.  YOU showed up!  YOU gave it all you got!  And guess what?  The MORE you do it, the FASTER you'll become!  Frequency and consistency are the keys you need to speed up your run!

So once again, if I sound egocentric about my paces or snobbish because I think a pace I make is something that is unreachable for you at this moment, I am very sorry.  I don't want anybody to stop running because I made them feel as if they weren't "good enough."  You are!  Keep working at it!

Over and out!

<3
Em