Six

The first time I ran 6 my heart was pounding and my stomach fluttering. I was to run it with my wonderful and encouraging friend. I was a little intimidated. After all, she could run those 6 in 48 minutes. I was running averages of 10's.

We took off and to my surprise I was fine until mile 5 and then I had to stop chatting and dig in. We had about 1/4 mile to go and she told me what we had left if I wanted to get in under 10's. She put herself a little ahead of me and I pushed hard!

Gasping, running up that last hill, feeling like I was crawling, we did it! Under 10's!

So excited, the next weekend, I did it again. This time by myself. Again, under 10's. 58 minutes to be exact.

When I ran my 12 a couple weeks ago, I ran on that same trail. I was amazed to look down after the first six and see 56:00. Then, even more amazed when I ran the second half faster!

Last weekend, my amazing and encouraging friend joined me again. Music in our ears, no talking this time, just pushing to see what I could do. Hoping to go a little faster for her. To get closer to her 8's.

It was funny. We run completely opposite. She starts fast and finishes slower. I start slow and kick it up a notch at the end. Around mile 3 she looked back and asked if I was okay... just a bit tired. She had worn me out! I pushed on and as I looked down at my sweet friend on my wrist, I saw just 1.5 left. Kicking into gear I started going faster. And faster. And by the time we had 1/4 mile left, she was behind me. Truly, I was waiting for her to pass me!

Racing to the end I looked down to see our time. 52:37! Holy crap! Breaking it down...

8:39
8:42
8:47
8:49
9:05
8:18!!

I was amazed that 9:05 was my slowest mile. I was equally amazed that 8:18 was my fastest. To see that we averaged at 8:43 was a bit insane. To think about how much faster I've gotten since our first 6 is crazy.

All this being done with 3, sometimes 4 runs a week. I haven't even worked on my time. My Tuesday/Thursday runs are with my dear friend. They are simply to run. Yes, they are getting faster, but that is just happening. Today I was so excited to be able to tell my friend...

My friend who just wanted to be able to run the entire time during her first 5K.

My friend who ran it averaging, I think, 10:47.

My friend who runs at 6 in the morning and doesn't even love it.

That she ran 5 miles in 48:14.

9:56
9:54
9:42
9:50
8:49!!

And all this done with no music. Just the 2 of us. Starting the run with a therapeutic hug. Having fluffy and deep conversations. Cherishing our time out there. Feeling so much better when we were done. Looking at the sky as we headed home. Seeing God's fingers reaching down. Her commenting that they were reaching down to our dear friends home as they cherish each day with their son. It was a great run. Therapeutic indeed. Praise the Lord!