Yesterday I did the two events I mentioned in my last post. I started the day with the Trolley Run, which was a four-mile route that wound through a truly lovely part of the city. Before the race started, I ran into two different teammates, but apparently I was the only person on my team who planned to mostly walk rather than run. Therefore I was alone the whole way.
Despite the fact that four miles is longer than I usually walk, it isn't that much longer. I did pretty well (57:51 - a pace of 14:28, which isn't bad if you consider that there was a bathroom break in there) except that there was something irritating the side of one foot. I thought I might have a tiny rock in my shoe but it turned out to be a blister.
Everyone else was going to brunch afterward, but because I'd signed up for March for Babies, I got in my car and headed downtown to do the second event. When I got to the staging area I looked around for that team, but couldn't locate anyone I knew. I started the walk and my foot pain kicked in again to the extent that when the course divided and I realized that one branch led right past the garage where I was parked, I turned that way, peeled off from the group, and went home.
If I had it to do over again, I would have done several things differently:
- Not signed up for two events in one morning, obviously.
- Gone to brunch with my teammates, even if it meant skipping the second event.
- Emailed the whole team in advance to find out if anyone else was signed up for the walking wave. If I'd had just one person to talk to, it would have been considerably more enjoyable.
Today I have some pleasantly sore muscles and a piece of moleskin over the blister, so I'm doing well. I think the yoga class I took on Saturday helped me prepare and I'm planning to start going to class at least once a week.
The main thing this taught me was that I'm much happier with an exercise buddy. When I'm walking the dog through my neighborhood, he counts as my buddy even though he really doesn't interact with me on a walk. For other events, I'd like some human company. That will be my goal going forward for future events.
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