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Sep 23 2010

Three Miles

Posted by Mugs @ 3:32 pm in Family,Running Print This Post Print This Post

I was up in New York this past weekend at a family wedding. (I am under great pressure to post a funny report on this wedding from my relatives. However, I have also received the threat “This does not go on the blog!” more than once.) Living in this censored environment where I type and re-type and estimate which information won’t offend my Aunt’s and Uncles too greatly, I fear my report may be boring and take longer than expected.

For today, instead of a boring wedding report, I will give you a boring running report. Although the majority of my readers find these running reports dull indeed, Tech Support loves them, and without him and his insistence that I start writing, this blog would not exist.

I am also well aware that while I was Up State partying with the clans, he was home, faithfully caring for our children. If leaving him to fend for himself and four children wasn’t enough to put me on the bad list, his team (The Cowboys) played my team (Da Bears) on Sunday. My team played well. (The sighting of a Bears team playing well is rare indeed and for them to play that well against the Cowboys made for a happy day for me.)

Oh yeah…I am supposed to be trying to get back on the good list.

While up in New York, I ran a mile and a half one day and two miles the next. The weather was delightfully cool and the scenery around Lake George was lovely. Throughout the weekend, we had pleasant Autumn temperatures.

Unfortunately, the State of Virginia has not gotten the memo that Autumn started today. It is 90 degrees here. The weather is uncomfortably hot and the scenery is drought stricken. It is certainly not a day that inspires running. However, Dale thought it would be a good day to run eight miles without drinking any water. When he started to feel woozy, he figured it was best to come home.

Oh yeah…the good list.

Yesterday, I lengthened my running distance in a completely happenstance manner. I ran the distance Dale told me was a mile, than ran down to the creek, ran back by the crazy rose lady’s house (she waters), ran the mile route back, ran to the path road and back home. I figured it had to be greater than 2 1/2 miles.

For the benefit of my husband, I even kept split times on my watch. I ran the first mile in 12:35 and the back home mile in 13:33. I finished the entire route at 42:48. Dale took this information and plotted the distance. Dale gets excited about anyone running, even his wife who runs very slow and not very far.

He called this morning, and in an excited voice, told me that I had actually run an entire 5k. I was relieved by the news and for the first time felt confident that I could run the entire turkey trot.

Next, he pulled up the turkey trot results for women from last year and informed me that although I wouldn’t be in the top 100 for women aged 40 -45, I wouldn’t be last.

“Won’t be last!” is such an encouraging motto.

I am not the only runner that Dale is coaching. Since Josiah’s cross country season started, Dale has been pulling up results and making calculations and offering racing advice to his son. “I think this team has peaked,” he’ll say, or “You need to stay up with the [opposing team] runners.”

I have threatened to purchase him an “I am not the coach” t-shirt to wear to meets, but for now I won’t. I’ll wait until I’m back on the good list…but I fear it may take awhile.

7 Responses to “Three Miles”

  1. Debby says:

    Hi Mugs,

    I have three comments:
    1) Congratulations (sincerely) on running an entire 5k. At our age that is no small feat.
    2) Given your total run time, a quick calculation tells me that you probably could have “ping’d” the last mile more quickly. Maybe try that next time.
    3) Given your husband’s football team performance this year, your odds of running a marathon are much better than your odds of getting on “the good list” any time soon. So maybe buy yourself a subscription to Runners World and stay out of the house on football Sundays.

    Love,
    Dines

  2. Kristin says:

    HI Mugs, Great story. Will I see you up here next week? I Hope so. Kristin Gagnon

  3. Dale says:

    The Good List:

    The Other List:
    Mugs
    Debby

  4. Wendy Shuster says:

    Mugs’
    Great to see you all! I will be following your blog closely. The word of God never returns void. Thanks for sharing!

  5. kathy says:

    The Good List:
    The mother-in-law for returning to Mn.

  6. Mugs says:

    Thankfully my days of pinging are long over.

  7. Nissa says:

    Tee Hee lol that is so sweet and I am so glad the BEARS beat the Cowgirls…..woohoo Bears….lol

    congrats on the 5K and i’m sure it wont be but a few days or the next meal where you’re back on the good list 🙂 lol

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