Running with Friends
A few years ago when I started training for my first half marathon, I was doing all my training by myself. I finally asked Susan if she wanted to run with me at work. Susan was a seasoned runner; I was a yogi, cyclist and snowboarder but not a runner, though I was able to keep up with her on our 4 mile lunch runs.
Part of me was convinced that she was just running slower to humor me. She had been telling me that every weekend she ran with a great group of people and that I should join them. It took me several weeks (maybe a month) to finally agree to meet them for a run. I was convinced they were going to be super fast, and I would end up turning around and running back to my car.
The run was scheduled for a Sunday morning, and I spend way too much time on Saturday coming with weird scenarios in my head about these "super fast runners" and how they were going to leave me. I was proud of myself Sunday that I got into the car and drove across town to meet everyone. Well that was until I got there: on the corner where we were suppose to meet were all these super skinny runners in their little flappy shorts in the cold, with their compression socks on, doing all sorts of strange stretches and running in places. I sat in the car thinking, "What hell have I gotten myself into?" I was about to drive home, when all of a sudden I saw Susan across the street with some "normal" looking people. I was so relieved! Of course no one left me in their dust, and everyone was extremely nice and very encouraging.
Fast forward to today-- Susan and I aren't quite the people I saw on the corner that day, but we are the crazy trail runners with our hydration packs, gators and gear, running long distances for fun that most people only run if they were training for a marathon. Needless to say we aren't getting a lot of people asking if they can run with us on the weekends. So when Dana sent out an email to our running list asking if anyone wanted to run 8 miles this weekend, I was excited about the possibility of having more company on our weekend run. Susan I had planned on running 12-13, so it was pretty simple to come up with a route that worked for everyone.
I hope that as more people start their training for the fall marathons we will get to run with more of our running buddies.
Route Starting at the Thurman - Leif Erikson Trail head:
Leif - Nature : 3.4
Nature - Firelane 1 : .93
FL 1 - wildwood : .07
WW - Wild Cherry : ~3.3 (longer run continues on)
Wild Cherry - Leif : .56
Leif to car : .26
total 8.52
total so far 7.7
WW (at Wild Cherry) to Upper Macleay parking lot : 2.8
Upper Macleay p to Apsen : 1.36
Aspen to car : .75
total 12.61
Part of me was convinced that she was just running slower to humor me. She had been telling me that every weekend she ran with a great group of people and that I should join them. It took me several weeks (maybe a month) to finally agree to meet them for a run. I was convinced they were going to be super fast, and I would end up turning around and running back to my car.
The run was scheduled for a Sunday morning, and I spend way too much time on Saturday coming with weird scenarios in my head about these "super fast runners" and how they were going to leave me. I was proud of myself Sunday that I got into the car and drove across town to meet everyone. Well that was until I got there: on the corner where we were suppose to meet were all these super skinny runners in their little flappy shorts in the cold, with their compression socks on, doing all sorts of strange stretches and running in places. I sat in the car thinking, "What hell have I gotten myself into?" I was about to drive home, when all of a sudden I saw Susan across the street with some "normal" looking people. I was so relieved! Of course no one left me in their dust, and everyone was extremely nice and very encouraging.
Fast forward to today-- Susan and I aren't quite the people I saw on the corner that day, but we are the crazy trail runners with our hydration packs, gators and gear, running long distances for fun that most people only run if they were training for a marathon. Needless to say we aren't getting a lot of people asking if they can run with us on the weekends. So when Dana sent out an email to our running list asking if anyone wanted to run 8 miles this weekend, I was excited about the possibility of having more company on our weekend run. Susan I had planned on running 12-13, so it was pretty simple to come up with a route that worked for everyone.
I hope that as more people start their training for the fall marathons we will get to run with more of our running buddies.
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| I am not sure why Leif was closed at mile 5.22 today, but luckily we were only running to mile 3.5. |
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| Susan at the Stone House. |
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| Mile 5 turn around point (Upper Macleay parking lot) |
Route Starting at the Thurman - Leif Erikson Trail head:
Leif - Nature : 3.4
Nature - Firelane 1 : .93
FL 1 - wildwood : .07
WW - Wild Cherry : ~3.3 (longer run continues on)
Wild Cherry - Leif : .56
Leif to car : .26
total 8.52
total so far 7.7
WW (at Wild Cherry) to Upper Macleay parking lot : 2.8
Upper Macleay p to Apsen : 1.36
Aspen to car : .75
total 12.61
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