Runnerd

I had a race on Saturday; it went well enough. It wasn't my fastest ever, but I was really, really tired by the end of last week and I woke up that morning feeling pretty fatigued. Just running the whole race was a victory.

Especially satisfying, as I bragged to Matt the Reasonable this morning, was beating a guy I kept playing "leap frog" with in the last half of the race. When he ran, he was faster than me--a little--but his staying power wasn't very great. I don't judge; hey, I was there myself, not so long ago. In fact, Saturday's race is only the third time I've run an entire 5K without any walking involved, even just a little. Still, when we came down to that final sprint to the finish, I wanted to beat that guy so badly--to show that slow and steady does, indeed, win the race.

And I totally did. : )

Matt and I got chatting about my running goals and I mentioned wanting to get my sub-thirty 5K before I run a 10K. Matt got "that look" on his face (and in the two-plus years I've known him, I've seen "that look" from him--the "I can't believe you don't think you can do this" look--maybe three times) and he said, "You can run a 10K."

I hemmed and hawed. "Yeah, I guess, but..."

"In fact, it would probably help you get your sub-thirty 5K."

More of the same from me. "Yeah, I guess, but..."

"You can totally run a 10K."

So I said, "Okay, maybe I'll make April's race a 10K. But I need to find someone to run it with me, because I can't do it alone."

A slight pause from my fellow fitness nerd, then: "I'll run it with you."

"Seriously?!" (Matt is...not a fan of running, and stays fit in other ways.)

"Yes. Find a race, sign up for it, and I will run it with you."

"Challenge accepted." I made a remark that he'll probably have to drag me or push me at some point, to which he retorted that he doesn't run all that often so it might be him slowing me down. I doubt that.

So, it's done. I've signed up for the Capital City Classic 10K (I did promise Matt I'd pick a flat course for his sake) for April 27th, and I'm holding him to his promise to run it with me. Or, you know, to push me by whatever means necessary over the finish line.