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General

Day 254: Who is this Woman?

  • Kerrie

Ignore the messy kitchen. See the fading daylight out the window? Yeah, that was all gone by the time I got out the door for 7 miles.

Seven miles on a Tuesday night! Who am I?

Oh yeah, I am the woman who went to Sports Authority and purchsed a new tube of BodyGlide and some pepper spray during lunch.

I hope I never have to use it. The pepper spray, not the BodyGlide. I use that on every run between my toes.

Despite being armed that night, I was still scared about running in the dark. So I stuck to the neighborhood (read: cul-de-sacs).

Unfortunately, the route only adds up to about 2 miles. That meant, I would have to do the same exact streets three times. But what other option do I have?

It was much colder than I thought it would be outside because of a chilly wind, and it took me a good mile to warm up. My calf muscles, and ankle and knee joints were tight, stiff. I was having a difficult time, but I just kept running.

I could only see my watch in the sparse street lights (I can’t remember how to push the light button on AJ II and I don’t want to mess up my times). Sometimes the screen showed 9:45 pace, sometimes 12:14. I felt all over the place. Slow.

Upon completion of my second loop, I decided to do the route backwards to change it up a little. I hit 5 miles and my feet screamed, especially the neuroma in my right one. A light, cold rain began to fall.

At Mile 6, I was almost back at the beginning of my loop. I saw a woman standing still on a treadmill through an upstairs window in a house at the end of the street. Jealous. She’s warm and safe. I hurt and wanted to quit. A car drove by, the headlights making me squint and duck my head. I wondered what the driver thought of this stupid woman out running after 9 p.m. on a Tuesday. Out late on a school night.

Then I had a conversation with myself. What is YOUR problem? What’s a little pain? You are a runner. Get this done.

Immediately, my posture straightened, my hands dropped and I felt tons better. I decided to do my last mile as an out and back on the well-lit part of my town loop, which runs out of my neighborhood, past the fire station and turns around just after the Dairy Queen (only one car in the drive-through line Tuesday night).

Finally, after an hour and 14 minutes of running in the dark, I stepped through the front door and into the light, happy to see Mr. T, Lucy and Annie.

I still can’t get over that I ran seven miles on a weeknight. I’m used to seven being a long run on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Seven on Tuesday night! Who the hell do I think I am?!

3/31/10 – 7.06 Miles – 1:14:08
Average pace: 10:30
Mile 1: 10:21
Mile 2: 10:34
Mile 3: 10:40
Mile 4: 10:31
Mile 5: 10:32
Mile 6: 10:33
Mile 7: 10:19

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15 comments
  1. Talitha says:
    April 1, 2010 at 3:33 am

    You're a rockstar, that's who you are! Those days are not so far ahead of me, and I appreciate your encouraging stories. I will be able to do it too! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Lisa says:
    April 1, 2010 at 3:35 am

    You are a rockstar, that's who you are!Very nice job Kerrie. You inspire me. March has been a sucky month and today was an icky end to it.April will be better for me and I am glad to have you to remind me that we can get it all done. It may be in the dark, but we can do it.Amazing job. Your running is progressing very nicely.Glad to read you got some pepper spray 🙂

    Reply
  3. Angie Bee says:
    April 1, 2010 at 3:46 am

    Nice job! I love it when the long runs become the nice short ones!Be safe and be strong mama!

    Reply
  4. 5 Miles Past Empty says:
    April 1, 2010 at 4:01 am

    Your so funny! I know the feeling though, I have to do 10 tomorrow! What is THAT?! That is a weekend long run, not a mid week mid-distance! What in the world? Great job hanging in there! It is hard sometimes to just get and stay motivated, but you did it! 7 on a Tuesday!! Awesome!And so now I know where to get pepper spray! I guess I'll be heading to Sports Authority this weekend!

    Reply
  5. H Love says:
    April 1, 2010 at 4:19 am

    Nice Job…kind of scary. Be careful!

    Reply
  6. Anne says:
    April 1, 2010 at 11:45 am

    You, my dear, are a runner 🙂 …Great job!!!

    Reply
  7. Kelly says:
    April 1, 2010 at 11:59 am

    I discovered Sport's Authority when I was down visiting my parents and LOVED it. Good job on your midweek 7 miles!

    Reply
  8. TMB @ RACING WITH BABES says:
    April 1, 2010 at 12:05 pm

    You are a marathoner! That's who you are! Great job.

    Reply
  9. Marlene says:
    April 1, 2010 at 1:54 pm

    I love how your first two commenters both said “You're a rockstar, that's who you are!” I'll have to agree. GREAT JOB, MAMA!

    Reply
  10. Stephanie says:
    April 1, 2010 at 1:58 pm

    Great job! You sound like me…I run quite a bit outside by myself at night…7:30ish or 8pm. Only 3 miles right now at once, but when I start marathon training mid-summer, this mileage will pick up, and I will have to push myself to get in those longer runs, by myself, in the evenings.Great job for you…and I will be thinking of you the next time I am out running in the dark!

    Reply
  11. Momma Twitch says:
    April 1, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    Check you out!!!! Great job getting out there and running in the dark. 🙂 I need to get some of that mace stuff for when I run in the dark. You're a smart woman!

    Reply
  12. Megan says:
    April 1, 2010 at 5:13 pm

    Great job. Nice kick in your own pants. 🙂

    Reply
  13. Robyn says:
    April 1, 2010 at 2:52 pm

    Nicely done! Hope you never use that pepper spray too. OK so I just posted about the help I need with my Garmin. How do I get the satellites to work?!

    Reply
  14. Mel -Tall Mom on the Run says:
    April 2, 2010 at 1:51 am

    GOOD WORK!! You are tough.. Sometimes you have to focus on something else…mental training

    Reply
  15. jayemarie says:
    April 5, 2010 at 9:06 pm

    Good call on the pepper spray. I need to go pick some up. For some reason all the stray dogs want to follow me and my dog when I run and it makes me increasingly nervous. Hopefully, like you, I'll never have to use it.

    Reply

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