The Inner Beast

Soooo, some of us in our Runners Anonymous facebook group, to whom you were all introduced in this post, have begun recording our miles online.  The purpose is to show support for Brandon, one of our members whom I've never met, who is currently stationed in Japan and is shipping off to Korea next spring.  Brandon wants to run 500 miles by then and a bunch of us jumped on board with the idea.  As of November 1, we've been tallying our individual miles.

Now .....  I never thought I was the competitive type.  But apparently I am.  We are ten days into it and I was in 3rd place (with total miles) for several days, but slipped into 4th place today.   First and second places are waaaaay beyond my reach because some of our awesome group members are MACHINES -- including Brandon.  But my goodness, this is motivating ... and it's even .... fun.

Remember my 20 miles per week quota?  Not good enough.  Last week I totaled over 22.  This week will probably top that.   There is no prize nor is there any logical reason to crank out more miles than was in The Plan.  Twenty miles per week is over ONE THOUSAND miles a year for Pete's sake!  But somewhere down in my soul, this competitive Cut-Throat Alter Ego which had been lying dormant for 50+ years, has now sprung to life.  I may not regain 3rd place, or even keep 4th, but By Dang, I'm going to make a good showing.

Let's see.  Tomorrow, if I can manage five more miles maybe I can edge back into 3rd place, and then another five miles on Saturday ..... no, make that 5.6, then I'd have an even 30 miles for the week!   And next week, if I run six miles every day but Sunday, and maybe more than six on Saturday .... say eight or ten .....

Gads!!  Don't get me wrong -- I LOVE the motivation and I adore my friends who motivate me -- it's just what I need!  But it was never meant to be a competition and therefore, before I drop dead from exhaustion, please tell me how one reigns in one's inner beast.  And don't bother suggesting I sedate it with banana milkshakes or chocolate .... or coconut ice cream.

Tried that.  Didn't work.

(By the way, you're welcome to think this is a picture of me.  Unfortunately it's not, but you're still welcome to think it.)