running partner
in all the time i've been running.. which is something like 21 months now (wow sad. i really am still the newbie!).. i've never been one to run with someone.
i mean, i've done it. and sometimes i've enjoyed it... but to be perfectly honest, i've just never really.. i dunno. needed it. i'm just a loner! i like running by myself, its kinda nice. i can clear my head out, enjoy some music and be on my merry way.
i don't need someone to run with... i'm with me! and i like it that way!
but ya know what?!?
that's a load of crap.
i mean really.
and proof of that, for me, came yesterday. in the shape of Bank Girl, and our after-work run.
Bank Girl is somewhat new to running. a lover of all things bike, Bank Girl has recently shown some interest in the sport and seems to have this idea in her head that i might be someone fun to run with.
i dunno where she got that idea from, but.. being that i'm "training for a half-marathon" this month, i need all the reasons to run i can get!
so yesterday, around 5:15pm, i met up with Bank Girl at her all too lovely home for a "slow jog". slow being a relative term as i had a definite fear that the run would consist of me sucking wind just trying to keep up.
but.. surprisingly enough... it didn't!
bank girl and i seemed to have been a perfect match. right from the get-go our pace was exact. i never once felt like she was holding back just so i could keep up, nor did i feel like she was holding me back from my regular speed-demon-esque ways.
or lack there of...*ahem*
it was actually a perfect run. we chatted, we laughed. we ran up hills, we ran down them. we stopped at crosswalks and sped through intersections...
we were little running partners. and i loved it.
on the way back to her house sometime after our turn-around, bank girl needed to slow down. and then later... she needed to stop. and to me? that was no big deal.
i could have kept going, sure. i kinda wanted to keep going just to enjoy the company and get a few more miles in... but she needed to rest, and i was fine with that.
and thats when i got to thinking...
maybe i've been giving this whole running partner thing a bad wrap. maybe i've been scared of a situation i just created in my head... maybe before, i was just too proud to say "when". too embarrassed to admit i needed a break or that i couldn't keep up. i told myself i didn't like running partners as a way to just avoid the situation completely.
to me... i never knew. i never knew it was no big deal. slowing down, speeding up.. thats part of it. that's the together part of running together... and...
that's a good thing! that's something to look forward to.
running partners might just be brilliant. running partners might put a whole new fun spin on things and... i don't know about you, but..
i could get used to that!
Comments
Amazing, huh? You can live with a running partner, or you can survive running alone (army guy). You can be a loner, or you can be part of a "team" (army guy).
You can train on your own, or you can share some of your experience (army guy).
Who knew?
*This comment has been brought to you by Mr. Subliminal*
Posted by: Iron Pol | March 7, 2007 3:06 PM
Yaay, go training partners. Now the important question. Is Bank girl single?
Posted by: andy | March 7, 2007 3:10 PM
I ran alone for several years before I joined a running club. Now I do both - I love my alone time (and I make a point of running alone at least once a week) but the camaraderie and support of another runner (or 30) is priceless.
Posted by: Sempre Libera | March 7, 2007 3:26 PM
I've been avoiding group runs for the same reason - what if I have to slow down or (supress laughter) speed up? You've given me some motivation to give it a whirl.
Glad you had an awesome run!
Posted by: Larissa | March 7, 2007 3:29 PM
yup, nothing beats a running partner. Even if you don't stick together during the whole run and just start together. It's someone to hold you accountable for being someplace to run. And besides that, runners are awesome people!
Posted by: Susan | March 7, 2007 3:46 PM
Without my running partners, I am sure I would be fifty times lazier than I am!
Posted by: Danielle in Iowa | March 7, 2007 4:30 PM
Sometimes I love to be on my own... it's my me time. But I do definitely enjoy the presence of another person which has usually been my sister or mom or dad. It just depends on my mood!
Posted by: Teacherwoman | March 7, 2007 5:35 PM
It's totally all about who you're with. I thought I didn't like running with this girl b/c she was slower than me and I found that annoying. It turns out I didn't yet realize I didn't like anything about her. My family members are slower than me and I love running with them.
Posted by: Audrey | March 7, 2007 6:04 PM
My running partner is my Brother-in-law who just started running. I can keep up with him...it's great.But I do like my alone runs especially with my Ipod.
Posted by: Jeff | March 7, 2007 7:07 PM
Sounds like heaven. It's not very often that you find someone who has the perfect pace to run with. I've always been a solo runner because everyone runs faster than I do and I can barely keep up. I'm running so hard that I can barely breathe, now yet carry on a conversation! But no way am I going to actually admit I can't keep up and tell them to slow down. Oh, no. Not me! Maybe that's a skill, I need to learn, huh?! Good luck with your training, AJ!
Posted by: runnergirl | March 7, 2007 7:15 PM
I have not had a running partner either. I hope that when I move to Chicago that I can find a good running partner. :D
Posted by: Denise "Firefly" | March 7, 2007 7:30 PM
after two years of running alone and preferring it, i am only JUST NOW realizing that running with a group can actually cause me to push myself just a teensy bit more than I would have if I were alone.
Why do people keep these things a secret from us?!?! WHY?!
:)
Posted by: jeanne | March 7, 2007 10:30 PM
Hmm...Jeanne has a point. As do you.
I just need to find myself someone my pace. I, too, suffer from the "I don't want to slow you down" mentality.
Brilliant. As always. :)
Posted by: RunningJayhawk | March 8, 2007 10:00 AM
I've done both and I like both for a variety of reasons. My favorite run with a partner was one where I thought I was trying to keep up with her and she thought she was trying to keep up with me and both sort of ran each other into the ground - and then we had a good laugh about it.
Posted by: 21stCenturyMom | March 8, 2007 10:09 AM
That's the way it is with partners of all kinds--including mine of nearly 18 years. Sometimes you have to accomodate each others' pace, sometimes you have to run alone, sometimes you're perfectly matched. But at all times you're partners.
I bet army guy runs . . . .
Posted by: Greyhound | March 8, 2007 11:39 AM
I do a weekly run with either a group or with a partner. I find it helps with the long runs and a good way to kill anywhere from 10-20 miles depending on what I am doing.
KU still sucks and UNC is going to rule (OMG they better now or I will choke them after all this trash talking)
Posted by: Kurt | March 12, 2007 10:34 AM
I like both, though I probably like running by myself a bit more. I admit, however, that running with someone or a group really helps on those 20-milers .....
Posted by: bex | March 13, 2007 7:46 AM
Awwwww...you got yourself a little buddy! Maybe that's all it took - someone that was in step with you at the same time. Good for you guys!
Posted by: J. Lee | March 14, 2007 9:27 AM