Okay, okay, I like Seal.

Had a big weekend. I ran eight miles and admitted internally to really liking some songs by Seal. I didn’t mean to like Seal. But twice this weekend, I turned up the radio in my car and thoroughly enjoyed singing along until I realized what I was singing along with. The internal dialogue went something like “This is a great song, kinda sounds like Peter Gabriel before he got cheesy. What is this? I’m going to turn it up and sing aloud. Heck, why not roll down the windows and broadcast this to the world. Wait a second, is this Seal? This is Seal. Oh, my gosh, I’m so not rolling down the windows. Wait, liking Seal isn’t that bad. Maybe it’s a sign of maturity. Okay, windows, down you go.”

And there you have it, I like Seal. I also like Kelly Clarkson. But I’m a bit more ashamed of this one. So, the windows are staying up when she comes on.

But about the eight mile run. It is now my official farthest distance yet. And, I ran it on m y own, with no training partner pushing me to keep going. I just ran and ran and ran and then at mile five, I stopped by my sister’s house for water. I didn’t want to stop, but it was 90 degrees at 8:30 a.m. and I had no choice. I literally may have died if I didn’t. Especially because of this freakish girl that was running my route. This is how our conversation went (remember, I didn’t previously know her.)

Freakish runner girl (FRG) : It’s frickin’ hot out here to be running.

Me: Yes, it’s very hot.

FRG: What mile are you on?

Me: 4.5, you?

FRG: 4. How far are you going?

Me: 8. you?

FRG: 4.2

Me: (thinking this) Who is this girl and why are we talking?

FRG: You training for anything?

Me: Yes, a half marathon in September.

FRG: Oh, mine is in November. So you are ahead of me in your training schedule.

Me: Yep. Okay.

FRG: Let’s push each other up this last hill.

Me: Okay.

So, we’re sprinting up this hill and I still have almost half my run left. She, on the other hand, lived at the top of the hill. So, we’re sprinting and sweating and I’m thinking, boy this FRG is competitive. I beat her to the top of the hill. And then I stopped at my sister’s for water and a good laugh about the story before I went on. I secretly kind of liked the competition and the chat, but the other part of me would have rather had a silent, completly introspective run with the Seal songs in my head keeping my feet pounding, resulting in ugly toes and feet and well, I can't wait to count the blisters after the longer runs.