big decision

Running this week has gone pretty well so far.

Sunday: 11 miles at 8:41/mi average pace.  I'll take it.  The weather was perfect and I genuinely enjoyed running every mile.

Monday: Rest.  My legs have been feeling tired/worn out lately, so as much I wanted to go for a run, I knew it was best to leave my Mizunos on the shelf.

Tuesday: 5.61 miles. Again it was a beautiful day for a run.  We have been very fortunate to have had a long stretch of nice weather in NH.  When I first started running, I was a little unsure of how it would go.  My legs felt a little tired from Sunday's long run and I felt like I as breathing heavier than I should be.  About half way through, I tried focusing more on how I felt and focusing less on my Garmin.  I settled in to a good pace and just ran.  It was magical.  (Yeah maybe that's a little over dramatic, but it was the kind of run I've been looking for).

Ok, if you have read my blog at all, you would know I am not afraid to admit that I really don't know much about running.  If someone asked me for advice, I wouldn't have much to offer, except from personal experience, which really isn't much.  I am also not very strong in the confidence department, and I often question my abilities.

I had been thinking a little bit about maybe looking for a running coach, or joining some sort of a group in the area so I could ask for help and try to figure this running thing out.  I've been feeling like I could really benefit from something like that so I'm not just running aimlessly.  When I started running longer distances and racing in 2007, I ran just to run.  It was fun.  But then I got bored.

Then, a few days ago Meggie posted this on twitter:

Because of the recent thoughts I had been having, I kind of jokingly asked where do I sign up?  To which she responded with an email address to contact Stephanie Rothstein Bruce.  She is obviously no stranger to running, and recently was the 3rd American finisher at the Boston Marathon!  So amazing! My initial thought was there's no way she would want to coach me, the girl who knows nothing about running.  I also figured she was probably just bombarded with emails after people saw the amazing results she helped Meggie achieve. 

I thought about it for a bit and decided I could either keep thinking about it, and possibly end up missing out due to the large number of requests she was probably receiving, OR I could just write the damn email and see what she said.  After all, Meggie assured me it was "easier than "add to cart" on Oiselle :)"  

So I wrote the email, hit send, and anxiously awaited a response.  Thankfully, I didn't have to cross my fingers and toes for too long before hearing back from her.  A few emails back and forth later, I made the exciting decision to have Stephanie be my coach.  Yay!  It's a big commitment, but one that I am SO ready to take on and fully commit to.  

I've never really been good at doing things just for me in the past.  I pretty much always have other people in the back of my head when I make a decision.  This time, I decided to say F it, I'm doing this for me and I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Who knows, maybe now I'll actually be able to say I know a thing or two about running.