I'm slow. Deal with it.

Friday was one of my run days, but I decided to run after work.  Which I did.  But I didn't think it through.  I'm a morning runner, so I knew I would be a bit slower if I ran in the afternoon.  What I hadn't planned on was the heat.  I've had severe heat exhaustion several times, which makes heat one of my worse enemy when running.  I figured I was only going a mile and a half, so I didn't bring water and I didn't bother putting my hair up.  Big mistake.  I did finish the 1.5 miles, but it was my slowest "run" yet, and I felt sick after, and every muscle seemed to be screaming at me. 

Because I still wasn't feel all that great on Saturday, I slacked off and did nothing.  No walks (other than Walmart, which should be considered a walk!), no DVD workout, but I did stretch.  

Yesterday was another run day.  I started out slow.  But I didn't care.  I was out there and whether I ran, walked, or crawled, I was determined to get 1.75 miles in.  

As I was running, I had this visual in my head of my desire arguing with the fat cells in my body.  Desire wanted to be out there, running, enjoying the cool morning air, and getting the feeling of accomplishment.  Fat was screaming, kicking, and fighting, pointing out that they had been allowed to sit around and do nothing for two years and that another day wouldn't hurt anyone.  Desire wasn't listening, she knows what she wants and Fat was not going to win this time.  This visual gave me the motivation to keep moving.  

I have the Runkeeper app audio cues set to tell me the distance and pace every quarter mile.  This keeps me on track and lets me know when I need to turn around and head home.  When the app reported I was at .25 mile with a pace of 16:01 miles per minute, Fat pointed out how slow I was, and asked why was I putting myself through this.  Then Desire, in a soft voice, pointed out that I had just jogged a quarter mile without a walk break.  I was pretty sure I hadn't done that in my last 5 runs.  As I thought about that, I continued to run (okay, jog, shuffle, whatever) and before I knew it, I hit a half mile without a walk break.  Yea me!  And my pace was improving and I was under a 16 minutes mile.  I did need to take a short walk break before the 3/4 mile, but I was feeling good.  I kept moving forward, kept up the shuffling pace, and with each quarter mile, my pace was getting better.  By the time I got back to the house, I had finished my 1.87 mile run with a pace of 15:02 per mile.

I couldn't believe it!  I started out slow, but ended up with my best run in two weeks.  I listened to my Desire and not my Fat and was able accomplish what I set out to do.  

So, I'm a slow runner.  Big deal.  I'm out there, I'm trying, and I'm getting it done.  And, when it comes time to do a half marathon, if I'm only able to keep a 15 minute pace throughout, I will still finish it.  I will still do something that a lot of people would not even consider doing.  

Yea, I'm slow.  Deal with it. I have.