Day 15: Time management

This day was The Girlfriend's birthday. This meant that I HAD TO BE HOME RIGHT after work. The only problem was, that between 6 AM and 4 PM when I finished, I had only 2 1/2 hours to complete my full distance, including changing and eating time. That meant I had to run FAST.

As soon as my 8 o'clock client left, (which was about three minutes before the end of his hour,) I dashed to the locker room and put on running clothes. Then, it was time to run to the nearest treadmill to run until 10:20. Just over 7 miles later, I dashed to the locker room to change clothes. No time to shower before I had to conduct an interview. Luckily, I work at a gym, and so it is minimally acceptable to turn up to an interview where you are mock client already smelling like an armpit.

Practical interview finished, in which the subject had his face in my feet, near my crotch, and near my armpit, I grabbed a water bottle and another granola bar and got back on the treadmill. 45 minutes later, the girlfriend turned up looking pissed. She had taken the day off of work, and had gotten bored at home. Stuck between running too fast to talk to her, or having to complete a third run after I finished work, I kept the treadmill speed high and kept trucking. I did at least turn off the Biggest Loser episode that I was watching on my iPad in order to run in silence next to her. It was the season finale, stopped five minutes from the end. Now that's love. Later, when I got home, she said that she just felt like running was more important than she was. I objected! In my opinion, running 8:30 pace on legs as tired as mine for 18 miles in order to get home for cupcakes is definitely love.

Then, with only 1.4 miles to go, I got off the treadmill at 2:01 for a 2 o'clock meeting. Luckily, my final client was in the pool. I followed him for just over a mile, and then ran a final quarter-mile before running out the door to my car.

Then, finally, I showered.

Ultraendurance is not so good for relationships. Luckily, you only turn 30 once, I have a wonderful girlfriend, and I never ever plan to train this much again once this is over.