Learning to say the "N" word

I have a hard time when it comes to saying "NO". I always say yes, even though I know that it might not be the best decision. I hate disappointing people and I feel like I can take on the world. When in fact, I really can't. Not to get into too much detail, but I have work, responsibilities at home, and then there is this marathon I am training for. On my off running days, I have FGF and a little bit of time to catch up on what I have been getting behind on. In my ideal world,  I would be a stay at home mom to Tia and Maisy, but unfortunately that isn't happening just yet.

Now that spring is finally making an appearance I also have Run Club on Tuesday night. Run Club takes a lot of my spare time. This year some of the duties will have to be delegated to other participants because I can't do everything. With Run Club starting tonight, Tuesdays will be chaos. Work, FGF, and then Run Club all wrapped up into one day. I will be ready for bed by 9pm!

You may have heard me mention of a gig at Fleet Feet that I had taken on as a running mentor for beginning half marathoners. I was really excited about this opportunity and I absolutely loved the participants. When I had been approached to be a mentor it was over a month ago before I got into the longer marathon training workouts. Several weeks went by and I never heard anything so I figured that they had enough mentors. Last Tuesday I got an email asking if I would be interested in being a mentor for either the Bloomsday or the Windermere 1/2 Marathon training group. I said I wouldn't mind mentoring the Bloomsday group because I didn't think Windermere would be a good idea since I wouldn't be available on race day. That seemed to be okay so they asked if I could come at 5:00 pm the following day since it was the first training run. It really caught me off guard since the communication had been broken weeks ago. I said sure and went with it. Next thing I know I am a mentor for the half marathon group, which I didn't want to be, but again I went with it.

The last two Wednesdays have been long. I had to be at Fleet Feet at 5:30 pm and then wasn't getting home until around 7pm when I still had to do my own running workout. Running in the morning really isn't an option for me because with FGF the night before I don't have enough recovery time and the workout would be a waste. Running at 7pm until close to 9pm is far from ideal. It was awfu!!!! By the time I got done running I wasn't hungry for dinner. Who eats dinner at 9pm and then goes to bed 30-45 minutes later? Plus, who wants to run at 7pm? Not me!!!!

Saturdays with Fleet Feet would prove to be even trickier since it is my long run day. I can't be there at 8:30 am and "run" with the group and then turn around and knock out my long run. I was told that I could just use the group run as my "warm up". Well, sorry, it doesn't really work that way. I have certain paces for each run, I pay a coach for this training plan and I am going to stick to it. A warm up for me as an 8:00 min pace and not a 12:00 min pace. The group run mileage is just junk miles and does no good for me. Looking ahead at my training schedule I have three 22 mile long runs + two 24 mile long runs. Starting those anytime after 10-11:00 am is not an option. Especially after 3-8 easy miles with the group.

In the end, Matt wasn't thrilled about my decision to do the Fleet Feet gig so I had to make a tough decision.  I totally understand where Matt was coming from, he is my voice of reason when it comes to my training. After a few back and forth text messages I knew that I need to bow down from being a mentor. It just wasn't realistic of me to think that I could commit to this group. I know that the hours required were very little, but I have a lot going on right now. Including that marathon I am trying to train for. I needed to learn to so "NO" which was not easy and was a really hard decision for me to make. I love running. I love everything about running and I love to see people get excited about it for the first time. This just wasn't the right time for me to commit to being a mentor. I know that down the road there will be more opportunities like this and that will be at a better time.

Questions for you:
Do you have a hard time saying no?
Do you tend to over commit yourself and not realize it?

--Tasha