Slow

So, I'm hitting a wall of sorts. I haven't run in about a week, but went out today for a 5 mile run. And I was hovering around an hour for 5 miles.

Yes, I am slow.

No, I don't know how to get faster.

I hear all of this stuff about tempo runs and strides and other ways to get faster. Except when I'm out there, I can't seem to go faster than I do.

Oh, and did I mention that I still take one minute walk breaks after 7 minutes of running (which is better than what I was doing at 6 minutes of running)?

And it's causing a struggle in me. When I was out today, I thought that maybe I should just give up running, since my pace is slow and maybe I should just change to walking.

But then there's that constant message you get from the running community that you shouldn't compare yourself to others or it doesn't matter how fast you go...except that races are timed and when your "running" pace is close to a walking pace, at what point are you not a runner?

In my head, I just want to finish my half marathon. But on the other side of my head, I'm embarrassed at my times and sort of think I have no business "running".

I don't know where this leaves me after the half. At this point, I just need to cross the finish line without getting picked up by the car that follows.