Pace Yo'self

What a weekend. Well, what a Friday night. Nothing better than playing Truth-or-Dare in the middle of a crowded bar in SF and eventually bonding with graffiti "artists" from Brooklyn who are here in the city to spread their signature or sketch (their words, not mine). Humph.

Needless, to say, today was a change of pace as I got up at 6:30am to walk 4 1/2 miles to the Marina in Emeryville so I could run with some of the UPA peeps who are also training. They were ridiculously nice and super supportive - I felt a little silly, as most of them are finishing their final weeks of training before a January race so they went a LOT farther than me. Still, I am on track with my schedule and seeing all of these UPA teachers and their friends take on anywhere from 9 to 15 miles is inspiring. There were a couple of others training for the Oakland 1/2 as well, and our 4 mile run was good enough for me!

One thing is for sure.. Never. Again. Am. I. Not. Wearing. Layers. I assumed a 9am run would be warm-ish, what a JOKE. Everyone else seemed to get the memo about how cold it is - especially right by the water - and I have learned my lesson, perhaps the hard way.

My next goal is to learn how to pace myself. We started our runs today with "Ready, set, go!" and as one of the most competitive people this side of the, well, hemisphere, I automatically speed up when I hear those words. Thankfully, I was only running 4 miles, because while I survived, I was trying to hang with the faster runners who were running 10+ miles. It's pathetic, but I kept checking behind me as I completed my run to make sure no one was going to pass me. I need to get OUT of the frame of mind that I need to compete with others and first and foremost concentrate on competing with myself. If that means starting out slow (which it does) then so be it.

Cliche of the day: Slow and steady wins the race. True story.