I Just Met You and You Said That?!?

The older I get in life, the more I notice other people's strengths and weaknesses.  I see a trait in someone that I like, and think "oh, I should be more like that." Or, I see something that makes me hope that I will never become like that.

Last week my running partner/bestie were running with another lady -- lets call her "L."  I had only seen her a few times at track workouts, but didn't even know her name.  We head out for a 6 mile run, which gives us ample opportunity to talk about a variety of topics.  My friend starts by saying "tell us about yourself," a typical thing that she says when we don't know someone we are running with.

So L starts out talking, saying she's run a few marathons, without giving her times.  Then she goes on to talk about her sister who recently beat her fastest time, which she didn't know she was trying to do.  L then says she ran "a really horrible half marathon a few weeks ago.  My time was so bad, it was a 1:43."

As a person who has run that time multiple times, I do not think it is "bad." If I was talking to people for the first time, I would never say that because you don't know their times, especially since we just met like 20 minutes ago.

I've realized that running times are just that -- times.  It doesn't measure how good of a person you are, or even how good of a runner you are.  It is a reflection of what you did at one time, on one day.  What may seem like a horrific time to you might seem like the best time in the world to another person.  With that in mind, I've made an effort to talk less about my times/PRs/distance run and focus on other things instead -- like favorite GU or favorite part of the running path.

Tell me...

Do you run on a path, trails or on streets?  --> I run on a crushed limestone path about 70% of the time

Do your GUs change as the seasons change?  --> I like the chocolate/carmel/mocha ones in the winter and the berry ones in the summer.

Have you ever met anyone like "L?"

What I've Been Up To

Last year I decided I was going to take a break from blogging.  I didn't feel the need to record my thoughts for others, and in all reality, the number of people that read my blog are very few, if any at all. However, my thoughts have changed over time and I have decided to write again.

What have I been up to?  A lot and lot of running.  A few bad races.  A few good races.  I won a few races, had a few really good runs, and kept on running for the pure joy of it.  I got some runner burn-out in October, November and December, but rediscovered my love of it in January.  And for the first time all year, I rode my bike outside today.  It was glorious.

What am I training for?  I don't really know.  I'm doing 70.3 Muncie as part of a relay team and I'm our biker.  I've already warned my teammates it will take me a painfully long time to bike those 50+ miles and if I get a flat we are screwed.  I'm also doing a few 5ks with friends in June, as well as the Beer Mile--I need to defend my title.  As far as the Fall race plan is concerned, I am tossing a few ideas around but haven't decided on anything quite yet.

Tell me...

What is your favorite month?  July...with September a close 2nd.

Do you like Nutella? I just had some and was reminded how good it is.