...my friend can stick around

I recently penned that a goal of 3,000 miles seemed doable in 2018.  By January 2nd I already knew that was not realistic and I did not need any extra pressure to perform.  I do not think the word perform is wrong here.  It would take a massive performance and commitment to devote that much time to such a frivolous number.  Pardon me for losing my head for a second.

I have also learned and don't mind saying that I am becoming (or have already become) the slowest guy you are training with.  I want the handful of friends who read this to know I may cause you to run slower than you want if we get together.  I have no desire to move any faster than necessary, so please get out ahead of me.  The good news is most of the shared runs are just that...shared runs.  These are the highlight of my week away from work and into the world of conversation.  Conversation...remember those days?  Is it any wonder my closest friends are those I run with? 

I'm tired, but in a really good way.  The idea of getting out most days for 1-2 hours at pedestrian paces in winter conditions is awesome.  Being under motivated is not an issue.  Running in a comfortable relaxed pace with all these clothes on is a lot of extra work.  There is only so much energy allotted me in a given day and all of us met it out as we see fit.  Mine goes to work, running, and the social discourse required for relationships outside the first two time magnets.  Some of you may be thinking this attitude will pass on my part, but it will not.  For the past several years it has become apparent to me there is a trade off.  Run less + cross train + do healthy crap = faster times/running.  Not interested.  I'll do what I want which is essentially run most days and be happy that I still can.

This in no way means that when races come up I don't do the best I can.  Most races I enter are to essentially do that.  Since I am my own best friend I typically enjoy doing hard workouts myself.  They are my workouts.  No different than the books I choose to read, but I have to tell you up front that apart from that I am slow.  Here is the index to what I'm talking about:

Winter trails = 10 - 13 minute miles
Summer trails = 9 - 11 minute miles
Winter roads = 9:30 - 10:30 miles
Summer roads = 8:45 - 10 minute miles.

So if you reach out to me to do a run...thanks for including me.  It will be the highlight of my running week.  If you think by some reason I may want to thrash around a bit you are probably wrong.  I simply won't run less during the week to feel better.  I have not reached that stage yet.  Sure I'll run 30 seconds faster a mile faster a mile if that's the deal, but past that erodes my running enthusiasm for the days ahead. 

The disclaimer is this is not the present situation with any of my running friends.  The runs have been actually at pace perfect.  However, Ice Age looms just over 4 months away and if it appears I'm sand bagging I am not.  That's all I have for that day.