She was a Showgirl

Have you ever taken a look at my running log and noticed that my running pace is almost always 6 mph? The reason for this is because I stopped running with a watch. I know that it's probably important for me to know how long it takes me to run a mile, so that I can focus on improving my time. The problem, however, is that I really don't care how fast I am as a first-time runner. I'm not running the marathon in an attempt to set some sort of new record. I'm running to raise money for cancer research at Dana-Farber! Whether it takes me two hours or three days to finish the 2008 Boston Marathon, I'm going to cross that finish line because a lot of people are depending on me!

I find that I enjoy my workouts so much more when I'm unable look at my watch. It's much more difficult to run for two hours when your watch is telling you that you have an hour and twenty-seven minutes left to go until you're done! I've never really participated in a sport like track and field where time is so important, and I'm always so amused by runners who know their training times to the millisecond. I just hate the feeling of racing against the clock, so I measure the success of my workouts based on a) whether I complete the mileage as planned and b) how I feel at the end. I've also managed to find some other random ways to track my progress. For example, I finished Barry Manilow's Copacabana in only .54 miles on the treadmill the other day! How long does it take you to finish the Copacabana in miles? I'll have to blog about my eclectic running mix sometime soon!