Why hellloooooo there!

Want to know why I didn’t blog last night? Because it was g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s not to be tied to a computer for the 3rd day in a row!

I won’t be around tomorrow night either. Want to know why? Because I am going to see PAUL MCCARTNEY IN CONCERT!!

::Beatlemania Scream::

‘Scuse that.

::cough::

Back to business.

In order to prep to meet my soul mate for these upcoming races, I have been stepping up my training game.

Want to know what I mean when I say “stepping up my training game”? It means that I’ve actually been running!

The half marathon on 9/11 still remains undecided, but I’m still planning on training for it. However, I know for a fact that Dave and I will be running the Pittsburgh Great Race on 9/26.

When I initially got the idea to run it, I basically had to threaten Dave’s life to get him to run it with me (and I actually mean run it with me…he hates to run, so a relatively slow 10k beside his wife won’t kill him). Well since we now have active and athletic friends, Dave’s all about speed.

Me, well, I’ve never run for speed, especially after the stress fracture. But now Dave has a goal time in mind, which is throwing off my “let’s run a race together" plan. I’m not ok with it.

It’s my race, my idea, and my money! You’re running it with me, buster!

Um, well, those of you who know me know that I have a Twizzler for a backbone and the tag line for my blog should be something like “Abby Normally…can’t say ‘no’”. I can certainly be stubborn, but I have a breaking point… which is about 2.5 seconds into the disagreement. Ok, I’ll just say it:

I am a people pleaser.

I actually like to be a people pleaser. I am strong enough in my own morals to put my foot down on serious issues, but I’ve been told that one of my greatest strengths is my ability to accommodate.

Sometimes I see it as my greatest weakness… like in this 10k issue.

Instead of telling Dave that he has to run this 10k under the guidelines he agreed to when I signed him up, I set myself up for a slow and painful death…er, compromise.

I talked to our friend Gary, who trains Olympic athletes, to help me also run the 10k at Dave’s goal pace.

Oh, the things I do for love…it’s been nice knowing ya’ll…

I’m really anxious (both in a good and bad way) to see what Gary comes up with for me because this is way, way faster than I have run anything. I’ll give more specifics when I have them. Hopefully I’ll come away with some helpful training to tips to share, too…that is, if I survive.

In light of my imminent demise, I hit the trail with Ashley for a 4 mile jaunt.

It wasn’t super speedy, but it was good to get out and sweat and keep up a nice conversation with a friend. I pushed myself harder than I would if I were running alone. I’m way too easy on myself. That’s about to change…

Ok, now I’m off to go stand in front of the mirror and practice saying the word, “no”.

Questions for ya:

Have you ever used a trainer or coach for a race?? Did you notice much of an improvement and would you recommend it for others?

Are you a people pleaser like I am?