The Running Buddy Equation

I love to run. Even on the treadmill.

But I was struggling on Friday. I wanted to run. And planned on it after taking T Junior to the zoo. I got on the treadmill. I ran for about 15 minutes and then I wanted to stop. Usually, that sort of feeling passes (or I ignore it), but this time it didn’t. Then, later on in the evening, I tried again (since I was still in my running clothes). I ran for about 20 minutes. I felt like crap and wanted to stop, so I just did. Again, that feeling usually goes away.

But I just couldn’t get into a groove on Friday and I just gave up. Then, on Saturday, I did nothing and didn’t even feel guilty about it. Probably because I knew I had 10 miles on Sunday with new running buddy, K, who is a member of the local group I am starting.

Saturday night, I was dreading getting up early on Sunday morning. But when it actually came, I was excited. I was even early to our meeting place (*gasp*).

K and I began talking as soon as we were out of our cars and didn’t stop until we got back in them 10 miles later. We gabbed so much, we didn’t pay attention to our pace very well. And by we, I mean I. I kept missing our walk interval. We were supposed to run 5 and walk 1, but it was more like 5-1, 7-1, 5-1, 7:30-1, 8-1, 5-1, 10-1…you get the idea. Oops.

And we were just truckin’ along, too, at about a 10:47 pace (and that’s with the walking factored in). This is faster than I usually go for long runs, but we were just running by feel and it’s the pace we were comfortable with.

This is a run I needed after Friday’s weird “I just want to stop” feeling. That’s the beauty of a running buddy. Ten miles passed in the blink of an eye. Next thing I knew, I was home and shivering in an ice bath, clutching a mug of hot coffee while T Junior entertained me with a joke involving a fly and a treadmill.

I love to run. But sometimes I need a little help from a running buddy.

You know what else running buddies do for you. They register you for races. Yep. Thanks to Jill and Diana, we’ve got a group registered for You Go Girl! in September. Thanks ladies!

Speaking of…

If you live in the Seattle area, let me know if you want to join our new running group, WeROKC (Women Runners of King County). We have members from Pierce, Snohomish and, of course, King counties.

If you don’t live in the area and you need/want to find a buddy to run with, check out Meetup.com or local running stores to see if there’s a group meeting in your area.