How to accidentally run 20 miles

I hate mornings.
It's a well known fact in my family that I am no good to anybody in the morning (unless you're into bodily harm..50 shades fan anyone?) Until I have either #1. Gotten back from my run #2. Drank a Mt. Dew or #3. It's after 10am... if you really want to play it safe combine all 3.
Now, for my friends and non family (i.e. people I would never let see my dark side) they seem shocked when I say I am not a morning person. "What??" they ask "How can that be?? You get up and run at 5am, in the dark, in the snow, with a headlamp for goodness sakes!"
And while it may be true that I will sacrifice all manner of comforts like 8 hours of sleep, and suffer personal humiliation for my running friends, I do not, in fact, enjoy mornings.



OK so this is a camera not a headlamp but you get the picture...not cool



So this Saturday when my masochist running buddy Tami was out of town, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to sleep in, slack off and run a few miles in the sunshine sans embarrassing headlamp. The plan was to run 3 miles with a new running friend Megan at 7am, meet up with another friend Andrea at 730am for 6 miles and then run another 3 or so miles alone for 12 total miles. Well as all good plans go, this one took the scenic route.
We met, we ran, we stopped for bathroom breaks and both friends surprised me by letting me talk them into more miles. This just goes to show that the sunshine is a big motivator when you live in Washington State. You can talk people into anything when the sun is shining and they need a hit of Vitamin D.

After dropping off my last friend, I thought, what the heck, I'll add a few more miles in. Who cares if I haven't seen my husband all week? Or that the kids are most definitely awake by now, or that (and this is almost embarrassing to admit) that my Mom and Dad are in town staying with me for the weekend...they won't really miss me, right?? 

So I took off into the sunshine, the frigid 17 degrees had warmed up to a balmy 32 and I was feeling good. Enter in Three unsuspecting runners...these gals looked fast, they looked about my age and if I'm being honest, my playlist just wasn't cutting it. So I did what any solo runner would do...I cut in to their group and introduced myself.
It goes something like this

Me: "hey...you girls look fast"
Them...looking worried...this girl is crazy
Me "so, how many miles are you running today?"
Them...still wary...probably thinking 'Run faster maybe we can ditch her'
Them "Um 16, we are running the last 3 at 8:20 pace and increasing" please take the hint crazy and step off
Me breathing heavy " so..that sounds fun, mind if I tag along"


See only in the running world can you accost people on the street just because you are bored and want someone to chat with. And hey, one gal was wearing a Lululemon ear warmer, that makes us kindred spirits, right?

It turns out we are all running the same Marathon in June (Winderemere) and we are all trying to qualify for Boston with a 3:40 finish time. These poor girls never had a chance. Once they said that I was on them like white on rice.  I may have forced them to give me their cell phone numbers, and I may have already texted them to meet up next week because, hey, a girl has to have options and a 7am running buddy is a good option to have!

Now to round out my 20 mile morning..after I dropped off my latest hostages to their cars I had about a mile to run back to the Gym to get to my own sweet ride (hello minivan). I was on my final mile and I was feeling pretty awesome for putting myself out there and making new friends, when I ran into my DRF Vicki (that's Daily Running Friend for all you...okay I just made up that acronym to feel special...get used to it, it will happen a lot).

Vicki is training for Boston and is dealing with an injury so I wasn't expecting to see her. So I did what all good DRF's do (see.. handy little thing) and I jumped into her 4 mile run to run with her. Why not, right? Again, sunshine is to blame.
Vicki is a machine. She pushes me every time we run together. After a few miles she could see that I was tired and ready to be done. I am silently hoping she will slow down and tell me an entertaining story to get my mind of the last 2 grueling miles..sounds nice right? Dream on. Oh no, instead she says, "Okay Tara find a good song and plug in, let's see how fast we can finish this thing.". And that my friend is where the pain begins. I'm running, I'm sweating...all those lulu layers are doing their job too well...and I have to pee...like really have to pee. But this is Vicki and she never quits and because I want to someday get myself to Boston and be as fast as she is, I suck it up and finish strong with an 8mm pace and maybe just a little bit of dare I say it...pee in my pants.
But it was worth it. 20 miles done and over. Vitamin D acquired, 3 new running friends made and another great Saturday long run complete.

So what is the craziest thing that has happened to you on a run? Ever peed your pants? Ever forced a running friendship on a stranger? Let's hear it..