10 K without a doubt

Yesterday evening I ran a over a 10 K without question as I followed the mileage markers on the trail. On my previous 10 K run on the same trail I was unaware yet of the markers and went by my pedomete. However, when I walked it out the pedometer reading indicated that I came up a little bit short on the distance. Apparently that is the difference between a walking and running pedometer which I was puzzled about when I purchased it. A walking pedometer will reflect in inaccurate reading when running.

The run was no easy accomplishment for me. Before I reached 3 miles I was pretty tired. I had run just over 3 miles with the dogs at the park the night before. Running is not my passion either and is not incredibly enjoyable so even more motivation is needed. I wanted to do it though and get it done because it was a goal I had set early in the year. When I was unsure if I actually went the distance the first time, I had planned to do it again using the mileage markers instead of the pedometer. My plan was to complete the task after I had accomplished the 31.5 mile trek and recovered from it. With the last day of September and today the first day of October, it was time to get off my butt and get it done.

As I stated earlier, this was no easy task so it takes me lots of mental motivation and a battle of witts with myself. Part of it was stubbornness to get this out of the way, another part was looking forward to the satisfaction of completing the goal, and the remainder was thinking about the people I know who do this and run marathons and most especially the few NF2 patients who run half or full marathons. If they can do that, then I must certainly step up to plate and run a 10 K.

Patrick you were on my mind the entire time. I hope your treatment goes well and you are able to continue running.

Anne, Bob, Greg, Deb, and Olivia,

You are all amazing and have my complete admiration for your dedication and spirit (they are all NF marathon runners).

Kelly and Randy, as always, Ashley has been with me in spirit pushing me along and encouraging me to believe in myself that I can achieve what I set out before me.

And finally Skip, you were the one who believed I could do it and I did not want to let you down. I just had to do the run again to make sure I really ran a 10K. Thanks for believing in me and helping me to trust myself. You are a true friend!