accountability

Last Saturday, i planned on doing a nice, long run. I had the day to myself: the girls were all with their other parents for the weekend, Glenn was gone all day working at an outdoor adventure group building thingy. The day was relatively nice weather-wise: a hard, sunny bright with a touch of cold that would have been perfect for the 8 miles I planned...

I started to go through more than 800 photos from my week at Disney and Claire's race and my race and just got sucked in. It was a perfect day for sitting and cropping and reducing red-eye...

Then, my friend and fellow runner (and fellow Disney Princess Runner) Tracey posted on her blog that she was turning in to a couch potato. She wanted advice on how to get off her butt and lace on those runners and go...and I posted what I do when i know I should run, but the motivation is lacking. I commented, "here's what i do when i know i should run (and somewhere in my mind i know i'd even like it) but don't want to: i wear my running clothes all day long until i get outside. and i set myself an embarrassingly easy goal like "run down the street for 5 minutes; then i'll go home". usually, if i can get out the door and run for a few minutes, the "i don't wannas" go away." So, on Saturday, taking my own advice, I put on my running clothes, tied on my shoes, put on my watch, and sat down to eat a small meal before the run, and to do one more thing with the Disney photos.

And then, I never left my computer. I didn't run.

So, Tracey and I made a pledge to run come hell or high water on Sunday. We were going to hold each other accountable. Tracey, well, she did it - went out and ran 8 miles! And our friend Anna, she too, seeing our back & forth on Facebook, agreed to the virtual running buddy accountability, and she went out and did her miles on Sunday. Me...after a date night with Glenn that encompassed visiting several bars, I did not go. BAD GIRL!

Tracey and Anna were holding me accountable: I HAD TO RUN on Monday. And to make me even more accountable to my self, I posted this as my Facebook status, that way all my other running mommas could also keep my nose to the grindstone.

When Monday (yesterday) came along, knowing that I had to run or had to tell Tracey, Anna, Tara, Heather and everyone else that I did not go for a run because of __insert excuse here__ seemed so much worse than actually going for the run after work. All day long, I kept thinking about my run...a run I imagined doing in torrential rain, as forecasted by the meteorologists. Truthfully, I was already psyched to run in the rain - there's something that makes you feel like a hardcore runner - a REAL runner - when you run in the rain. Because you know that you are crazy, or committed, or should be committed, when you and you alone are out there dodging the drops while drivers look outside their windshield ate you with utter horror.

I got home from work and changed, I told Glenn, "I'm going for a run because I have to - because if I don't my running mommas are going to spank me" he just got that little smile guys get...to which I then added, "and no, you can't watch!"

And so I ran. It was a nice, easy run beneath heavy gray clouds. For the first time since Disney, I could run without my legs feeling like pillars of cement. My breath was good, my pace was consistent, my body & mind all synced together in that wonderful harmony that happens during a good run. And no rain fell...by the time I got home, there was blue sky peeking through the clouds, a perfect match to my sunny mood.

Sometimes, we need to be held accountable. I need it. My running is often such a solo activity - just me and my shoes - and there is no one I'm letting down (but myself) if I skip a run, or two or three. Thank you, Tracey, Anna, Becky, Tara and every one else for being my virtual running buddies!

I ran 4.2 miles in 45:09 and I felt free.