Mr. Turtle here. My coach gave me today’s assignment: run 8 km (about 5 miles) without letting my heart rate go over 160. Technically speaking, yes, it was running. But I was being overtaken by: - moms walking their kids to school, - grandmas with shopping carts heading out for groceries, - pigeons waddling along the path on their pink little feet in search of food The last group, it seemed to me, was giving me condescending looks. I have no idea what those amazing people who run fast at a heart rate of 140 are actually doing. Apparently, they achieve nirvana right there in the middle of the run. Basically, my Running Super Goal is this: to learn to enjoy running 10 km (about 6.2 miles) in under an hour. (But also be able to do it in 50 minutes.) For now, I’m still in the zone of “it feels great to run with my heart rate no higher than 150–155, and in every way that’s wonderful, but it’s so slow that I feel awkward in front of the other runners in the park.” In other words, running has me in the friend zone. But I’m not giving up! #running #turtle_power #donatello #🐢🐢🐢