I Hate Chris

I hate Chris!  Yes, I hate him and that picture over there to the right is him.  What the heck is up with that look anyway?  So, who is Chris?  We work at the same company (different departments) and usually run together at lunch, along with Bill (I like Bill).  He is the rabbit of our small lunch time running group, the one we are constantly trying to keep up with.  So you might ask, why do I hate Chris?  Well, let me list the various reasons why:

• He is always late for our 11:45AM meeting time.
• He is much faster than Bill and I.
• His watch is always telling us that we are running too slowly (he has a Garmin 405 set up with pace notifications)....beep-ba-di-beep-beep-beep...."SHUT IT THE HELL UP!"
• His first marathon ever he ran in under 3:20
• He doesn't know how to read a training program's speed workout
• He runs too fast.
• He is a liberal
• He makes Bill and I run outside of our comfort zone, making our runs much harder than they should be.
• He is metrosexual

That about sums it up.  Now for some clarification (as if I need to clarify), Chris is a good guy and a good friend.  He along with Bill and I always have a ton of laughs when we are running together, just ripping on each other.  The other think about Chris that I was killing him about today during our speed workout was that he was running the wrong paces, I thought he was running too fast.  Then it hit me, I shouldn't be complaining that he is running too fast, I should be doing my best to keep up with him. 

I am a pretty fast sprinter, having run a 4.4 second forty yard dash in full lacrosse gear back in college.  But, I am not a fast runner, or rather I am not as fast as I want to be as a runner.  Right now some of my running goals are: a sub-20 minute 5K, a sub 1:35 half-marathon, and a sub 3:30 marathon.  The funny thing about running and goals in general is that once one achieves and surpasses a goal, there is a brief period of happiness, but then we quickly set new ones (e.g. sub-19 minute 5K, qualify for the Boston Marathon, etc.).

So having said that, as much as I may curse at Chris and complain that he is running too fast, I really need to shut my pie hole and pick up the pace, because the only way that I am going to get faster is to get out of my comfort zone and run faster.  Thank you Chris...but I do still hate you a little, you liberal metrosexual bastard!

Oh yeah, did some swimming this week, 1,750M yesterday morning and felt good.  My sinuses have finally cleared up, thanks to Allegra and Flonase (my allergy medication).  I was able to swim with out gagging on post-nasal drip and gasping for air with every other stroke.  Granted I wasn't blazing down the lane, but I was managing. 

Today was in the pool for another 1,750M work out, but this time I tried to swim a bit faster during my 10x 100s....and I was successful.  All of my spilts were under 2:10 which is stellar or me.  Hopefully when I drop the extra 10 - 15 lbs that I need to lose that will help me in the pool a bit, as well as while running and riding).  I also did a solid speed work out with Bill and Chris today, running where I was definitely uncomfortable with our 800s, 400s, and 200s all under 6:50/mile pace. 

Work time and then get the girls.  Planning on taking the dog for a walk with the girls when we get home, should be fun.  Have to get outside the weather is just too nice!  Cheers!