Before the Santa Rosa Marathon, I was feeling a little unmotivated to run. I think it was due to several factors. I had some things going on in my personal life and it was affecting my running. I was pretty busy and I was having a hard time juggling life and running.
So I decided that after the marathon, I would take a break. I would lower my weekly mileage; I would take time to read, relax, hang out with friend, and do yoga. The day after the marathon, I found a Groupon for Bikram yoga in a studio near my house. I was getting a great start on my new plan!
But then...
...thanks to Fitfluential, of which I am an ambassador, I got an entry into the Nike Womens Marathon, which you may have heard of? It's in San Francisco. It's got hills. It's 26.2 miles long.
So I decided to try a new tactic.
That Sunday, I met up with a runner I found on Meetup. She had posted that she was going to be doing her last 22 mile run before her marathon on the 23rd. I thought it wouldn't hurt me to try it. 4 girls, including me, ended up running together. We all ran at about the same pace. It was great. First of all, it was a route I had never run before, so it was nice to have a change up in that aspect. Second, it was nice to have company for three hours. It was a little nerve wracking at first. It's a little weird, meeting up with people you don't know, and putting yourself in a position where you have to spend the next three hours together. You could totally hate each other. They could run too fast or too slow. They could be mean or horrible.
But we didn't hate each other. They didn't run too slow. And they weren't mean or horrible, not in the least.
I am not a convert. I am not going to start running with someone every time. I like to run when I want to, as fast or as slow as I want to. I don't want to drive somewhere to go running after work. I am picky about that. However, it is nice once a week or once every two weeks, to have someone to while away a few hours together, someone to socialize with that doesn't involve work or food or booze.
I met up with one of the girls again this weekend. We ran 20 miles around Oakland. We started at 6 in the morning. By 9 a.m, we were done. It was perfect. It's nice to have someone to motivate you to keep going, to get up early, and to keep up the pace (we ran it at an 8:30).
Something even better? Is that she and one of the other girls got into Boston. We are planning a get together where we can talk Boston and details and where we can get excited and giddy and be running nerds together. I can't wait.
So far this training cycle (all 5 weeks of it) is going well!
What's the closest together you have ever run two marathons? Have you ever joined a social group online? Have you ever had a blind date or a time when you met up with people you had never hung out with before?
So I decided that after the marathon, I would take a break. I would lower my weekly mileage; I would take time to read, relax, hang out with friend, and do yoga. The day after the marathon, I found a Groupon for Bikram yoga in a studio near my house. I was getting a great start on my new plan!
But then...
...thanks to Fitfluential, of which I am an ambassador, I got an entry into the Nike Womens Marathon, which you may have heard of? It's in San Francisco. It's got hills. It's 26.2 miles long.
So I decided to try a new tactic.
That Sunday, I met up with a runner I found on Meetup. She had posted that she was going to be doing her last 22 mile run before her marathon on the 23rd. I thought it wouldn't hurt me to try it. 4 girls, including me, ended up running together. We all ran at about the same pace. It was great. First of all, it was a route I had never run before, so it was nice to have a change up in that aspect. Second, it was nice to have company for three hours. It was a little nerve wracking at first. It's a little weird, meeting up with people you don't know, and putting yourself in a position where you have to spend the next three hours together. You could totally hate each other. They could run too fast or too slow. They could be mean or horrible.
But we didn't hate each other. They didn't run too slow. And they weren't mean or horrible, not in the least.
I am not a convert. I am not going to start running with someone every time. I like to run when I want to, as fast or as slow as I want to. I don't want to drive somewhere to go running after work. I am picky about that. However, it is nice once a week or once every two weeks, to have someone to while away a few hours together, someone to socialize with that doesn't involve work or food or booze.
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| PM run around Lake Merrit |
I met up with one of the girls again this weekend. We ran 20 miles around Oakland. We started at 6 in the morning. By 9 a.m, we were done. It was perfect. It's nice to have someone to motivate you to keep going, to get up early, and to keep up the pace (we ran it at an 8:30).
Something even better? Is that she and one of the other girls got into Boston. We are planning a get together where we can talk Boston and details and where we can get excited and giddy and be running nerds together. I can't wait.
So far this training cycle (all 5 weeks of it) is going well!
What's the closest together you have ever run two marathons? Have you ever joined a social group online? Have you ever had a blind date or a time when you met up with people you had never hung out with before?
Always nice to get some new motivation. I usually do long runs alone but completed this week's with company as well. It was much better! It seems anytime I've met up with strangers to run it always works out!
ReplyDeleteI always run with just my dog and I used to think I wouldn't like to run with others but I am starting to change my tune, it would be nice on those long runs! Glad you had a great meetup.
ReplyDeleteThat's nice - Boston training buddies! I used to do long runs with girls I met casually, but our speeds were all vastly different so even when we tried to stay together we would drift apart. I joined the Varsity running group here and it gives me more options - there are members running all sorts of speeds.
ReplyDeleteOh that's awesome that you found a Boston training buddy! Good for you for giving it a chance and running with people you don't/didn't know!
ReplyDeletefun!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Good luck with both trainings. I do run with a friend for long runs, but I also do a few on my own.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar situation last night. I tried a new Pilates studio, one that was closer to my home. It happened to be one of those classes where everyone talks to each other all class long. Initially I switched to a different studio because I didn't like that- I wanted to be focused and not distracted with talk during class. But I found that the chatter last night helped me because it was a change of pace. I think once in awhile, it's good for me to work out with other people, but I'll always like those classes where everyone is focused on themselves and isn't talking to each other.
ReplyDeleteAwww, I love this running romance. So cool that you met some girls to add to your list of runner friends whom you can meet up with whenever it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, I was the president of the local chapter of my alumni club. I was going to train for a fall marathon and decided to put a call out to any other alumni who might want to complete long runs together on the weekends. I wound up becoming regular running buddies with 2-3 people from my alumni club - it was a perfectly brilliant way to complete the longer runs!
That's so cool you found new running buddies through Meetup - and that some of them are running Boston! I keep meaning to try out a book club through there, but the dates never work for me. Hopefully soon!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool and amazing that you all ran at a similar pace and got along so well:) I love it! It's so nice to talk to people with the same interests too. hard to find:)
ReplyDeleteI want to meet up with a running club that I found online here, but the timing has just been so off since I arrived. It's great that you found some people who you jive with to run with now and again!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that it worked out well for you. I am so much slower that I would never have the nerve to offer to run with a stranger. Isn't it great that you hit it off and now have Boston Buddies to run and train and yak with? So happy for you.
ReplyDeleteYou've lucked out with finding some good running partners! Even better that you guys will have Boston in common too.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you found some good running partners. It will be nice to run with them occasionally when it works out for you. I especially enjoy company on my long runs, so I would seek out others if I wasn't in a running group. I am in a group but I usually run the mid-week workouts alone. There are people in front or behind me, but i usually go at my own pace so it's like running alone in some ways.
ReplyDeleteI have had lots of blind dates or meet ups with people I hadn't met before. It's a bit nerve wracking, but I usually have a great experience and am glad I went!