Getting over “crowded”

Last week’s long run felt miserably lonely. It was all I could do to put in the miles. Today’s run, was a different story. It “sort of” surprised me.

I had actually planned to run solo at the open space preserve again. But I had another night of poor sleep, and woke up a little later than planned. I opted for convenience, and went to the local park where there is the paved bike path.

Cindy and Amy were planning to run at the same location. I looked at my clock and resisted the urge to head on without them. It was 7:10 am and they were planning to run at 7:30 am. I “figured” that this meant that they would be arriving at 7:15 am (that’s the usual deal). Today, however, the first to arrive didn’t show up until 7:25 am. In the time that I waited, I re-evaluated my plan to go on without them several times. But, it just seemed silly to leave at that point – and they would probably see me running away. What kind of message would *that* send?

So I waited..and waited…and waited for a LONG time. Cindy arrived, then Brenna, then Fred, and finally Amy. *sigh* I could have been half-way done with my run by the time everyone was there. After hugs, and potty breaks, we were on our way. ALL of us were on our way. It must have been quite a sight to see.

We ran and talked as I clicked off the passing miles. Although I enjoy running with each of the runners that showed up today, I wasn’t enjoying today’s run at all. I was just tolerating it. I don’t really know why. Perhaps it was because I had “intended” a SOLO run. Perhaps it was because I was positioned in the back of the crowd and this just felt awkward. Regardless of the reason, I listened to the various conversations (even kept them going with questions) and counted down the miles until my turn around.

So there I was, doing the thing that I love (running), with people who I enjoy being around, and I wasn’t enjoying myself at all. I felt crowded. It seemed funny in light of how I had longed for company last week on the same trail. Oh well, some days are just like this. I probably should have stuck to my original plan of running solo.

My chosen turn around was at the bathroom just past the 4 mile marker. I thought that it would be about 4.5 miles as it is mid-way between the 4 and 5 mile markers, but Garminia only measured it as 0.36 miles past the 4 mile marker. Whatever. That was where I had planned to turn around and so I did. Brenna came with me, while Cindy, Amy and Fred continued on.

The return trip was good. Brenna and I just talked about all sorts of stuff. It was a nice change from the first half where I felt crowded. Now, I was over feeling “crowded.” Or was I? Well, at least the run ended on a good note.