AARP

AARP....That wasn't how I planned on starting this blog. AARP....I don't even know what the letters stand for. What I do know is that I arrived home tonight all excited to sit down and write about my record breaking long run last Sunday. However, sitting on the table was mail addressed to me from AARP. What the hell?!? Isn't that something old people join? Gets you in to Bingo Halls at a discount rate and allows a two for one at the dinner buffet that starts at 2:00 everyday? Why are THEY sending me mail? I'm only.....Oh....enough said. Maybe it's not to early to start clipping Depends coupons....

AARP. The mailing is a offer to become a member. No where does it spell out what AARP stands for. It is because they think I'll be embarrassed....shamed? Is that why Playboy delivers their magazine in a brown wrapper? Hey, it wasn't mine, I was ah.....picking up my...my neighbors mail. I Google AARP and still can't find anything. I did find the following statement - AARP is a non profit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people over 50 improve the quality of their lives as they age. That doesn't sound so bad.

Thanks for hanging with me but really, if you found this in your mailbox, you'd float a bit too. So Sunday. The quest for 10 miles was on. Michael vs. the road - or so I thought. Mind you I wasn't alone. I had Sharon to navigate the course, keep me thinking positive, and distract me should I falter. She seems to know exactly when I need a pick me up or kick in the ass. The first 5 miles were pretty good and seemed to go by fairly quickly. I think this was partly due to the fact that I was running a course I'd never run before. Scenery can be a great distraction.

By mile 7 water was gold. It's amazing how dry one's throat becomes as you run and the ease in which water helps wash down the unidentified bug that flew directly into my throat. I wonder what it was. I'm sure it was smaller than it felt. Maybe a cute little ladybug. Sure, it must have been a ladybug....

It was around this time that Sharon stated she should have brought her iPod. Huh? "What?", I said? "Why do you need your iPod?" "Because you're not talking" she replied. Oh....well some of us need to focus on breathing I think to myself. Good for me! I've finally learned to use my "inside" voice....I admit to her that I'm feeling the miles and am feeling that our pace is a bit fast. "Check your Garmin" she answers back. 8:20 pace....too fast. We slow. Funny that it doesn't feel any better.

We're closing in on mile 10 and I'm happy. Almost there! Within a nano-second of that thought Sharon says "Let's run all the way home, it'll only be 11 miles". I'm putty at this point and not wanting to appear weak I agree. Good for you I say to myself, 11 will be a lifetime best and you're only a mile away. Only a mile....After a few minutes I tell Sharon that I don't feel so good. I haven't for a while. I hurt. Nothing specific, it's all over. I feel cold. She tells me to check our mileage. 10.60. Less than half a mile she says, you can do it. One foot in front of the other....run tall....breath.....you're doing great....She keeps them coming like bullets from a machine gun.

I can do it. I know I can. I keep going. I feel like crap. We round the corner and check the mileage - 11.12. We're done. I'm tired but no longer feel like crap. There's a strange energy coming over me and no, it wasn't gas. It's hard to explain and maybe you have to experience it to understand it. All I know is that at that moment I could do anything. Turned out that the run wasn't Michael vs. the road. It was me vs. myself. My body. My mind. I'm not sure it was a clean victory but it was a victory. My mind sent my body a message. A message that I'll use during my next 5K when I hurt. I know I can push through it because I already have.

Once again I share credit with my running partners. Today it was Sharon helping me push through. Another run completed and I'm better for it. Regardless of what AARP actually stands for, for me it's Always Appreciate Running Partners - Helping me improve my quality of life through running. Can't wait for tomorrows 5K....