2 days left...

... and I'm freaking out.

My personal trainer has just done something amazing for me. He's kinda 'run a sim'. Two days ago, he told me: "On Wednesday, I want you to run for 18 minutes." After running the 3K at the May Celebrations on 05/25, we discussed how long it'd have taken me to get to the finish line if I'd run all of it (I only managed to run 60-65%). We agreed it may have taken me 18 minutes, and that's why he came up with this brilliant idea: I was going to run for 18 minutes today. Well, I couldn't help screaming when he made the announcement. I knew he had a good point so I couldn't find any good reason to object, but of course my inner voice told me, "You know you can't run for eighteen minutes, so what's the point???" I was so shocked that I didn't even utter a 'yes' or a 'no'...

"... and I'll be running with you", he said. Wooooooow!!! That was really awesome! Branwell hurt his knee about two months ago, and he's been taking good care of it since then - he's even had to stop playing football, something he's found particularly hard to do because he really LOVES football. So running together somehow implied that he was making my needs a priority, even if this meant that he'd have to commit himself to force his knee a bit here. And no doubt he was pushing me to run 3K without stopping, but at the same time he'd be there to encourage me all the way. Yes - truly amazing.

So we ran together. Well, I should say we jogged, and sometimes I nearly walked, but it was still moving as if I was running. Or something like that. Wow, I was so tired after the first 4 minutes, having a look at my watch every 20 seconds... The way my trainer backed me up was more than impressive (thanks, Bran!). He just wouldn't let me fail. He kept telling me "You're doing good" all the time. He also asked many times how I was feeling, if my bad knee hurt, if everything was OK. 

And he let me take control of the timing. So I'd stop when I needed to stop. And I just DIDN'T WANT to stop, so when I passed the pain threshold, he explained how our bodies worked and how I should feel afterwards. So I DIDN'T stop until I felt I'd had enough. AND THAT WAS 24 MINUTES AFTER STARTING JOGGING. Unbelievable!!! I beat my personal best... wow, that couldn't possibly describe it; the last time I'd run, I'd only jogged for 10 minutes! And, WOW, that was only 15 days ago! It was... it was... CRAZY! Not only had I passed the 12-minute running test - I'd doubled the bet and done it T-W-I-C-E!!!

... Now my trainer is taking for granted I CAN run for 20 minutes, so I'm supposed to do my 3K running without stopping. I mean, it makes sense, why wouldn't I be able to run all of it, if it might take me 18 minutes (or at least, no more than 20) and I can run for 24? Well, it's hard to figure it out, to picture it in my mind. I still believe I can't run over 300 metres (0.33K). Sometimes I just have to take my trainer's word for what I can or can't do. He knows better than I do!

And he tried to tell me that, anyway, it'd be OK if I didn't manage to run the whole distance on Sunday. I just couldn't hear him. I don't want to fail. I need to do this! And so I'm calling all angels for help. H-E-L-P!!! Preeeee!!! Preeeee!!! Help meeeeeeee!!!