Running With Friends

Today I got up at o’dark hundred (aka, 5:15am) because I had my first official “run with friends.”  And boy was I nervous!

Last week, when I was doing my four-mile run after getting strawberries, I came across my friend Jessica on the trail.  We chatted for a moment and then parted ways, and as she ran in the opposite direction from me, she suggested that we run together the following Saturday at 6am.  I spent the next several hours thinking about her comment, but not really sure if I wanted to take her up on it.  I mean…running with another person? What would that be like?  How would I keep up?  Would I be expected to carry on a conversation??

And yet, at the same time, the idea of running with someone else did have merits.  If nothing else, it meant if I collapsed on the trail during my long run, there would be someone there to help me, lol!  So, eventually I made arrangements to run with Jessica the following weekend (yes, at 6am!).  I had 4.5 miles to do for my 10k training, and she agreed to do that mileage (though I knew she was used to much longer runs).  Later that week, our friend Katie decided to come, too.  My first thought was–oh great, now there are two people I’ll have to try to keep up with!  😛  Oh, and both are recent marathon runners, lol!

I was nervous all week about the run, and I went to bed last night feeling anxious.  Still, I knew I had to get past it, so when I got up this morning, I pushed aside my fears, grabbed all my stuff (including my camera, of course) and headed out to the park. I got there pretty early, because I didn’t want to be the goofball that gets there late and slows down the “real” runners.  The good news is, my early arrival allowed me to snap some pictures of what was turning out to be a beautiful sunrise.

It was as I was taking this second picture that I was hit with a sudden realization: I forgot my Garmin!! Damn it!!!  This meant that I would have to run without knowing my distance or pace, no map afterwards to pore over–nothing!  Considering what a numbers geek I am about running, I knew this was going to be very hard to do.  I didn’t have time to go home, unfortunately, but I did remember an app that I had downloaded for my phone (MapMyRun) before I got my Garmin.  I got it ready to go before the run, but because it was in my armband holder, I was unable to look at it easily while we were on the trail, so I just hoped that I’d set it up correctly!

We started a few minutes after 6am, and I found myself a bit uncertain.  I couldn’t tell what my pace was without my Garmin, and I was really worried about slowing my friends down.  Both Jessica and Katie assured me several times that I was the one setting the pace, and I decided to just run at a pace that I felt I could withstand for four and a half miles, and hope that it wasn’t horrible!

Running with people was a new experience for me, for sure.  The biggest change was having a conversation while I ran! Most of the time when I run, I barely have enough breath to say hi to people I see on my route, much less carry on a full conversation.  However, because we were going at a pace that was pretty comfortable for me (well, as comfortable  as running can be, lol!), I was able to carry on the conversation pretty well.  I won’t say I could’ve recited War and Peace to them, but I was able to keep up with the topics without feeling like I was going to pass out.  😉

It was actually surprising to me just how enjoyable it was to run and talk.  We covered all kinds of topics, and there were actually only a few times that I thought to wonder what our distance was.  I do remember at one point, I heard Jessica’s Garmin beep, which I knew meant we’d just hit another mile.  I was positive it was mile 3, which excited me, since we only had to do 4.5.  Jessica then said, “We’re almost half-way done, Steph!”  “What?!” I answered, “We’re only at two miles?!”  Ha ha!  Although they offered to slow down or stop if I needed to, I sucked it up and kept going.  I knew I had it in me, I was just feeling a little whiny at that moment. 😉

When we got toward the end, I had a moment of confusion where I was sure we were only going 4.25 miles.  A little runner’s hallucination, I guess, because I was the one who had told Jessica a week ago that I was supposed to run 4.5 today! 😉  Eventually they straightened me out, lol, and when we hit 4.5, I was actually surprised–I think I could’ve gone another half mile.  Well, maybe another couple hundred yards, but the point is, I felt surprisingly good.  We walked for a while to get back to our cars, and we had the chance to talk more freely, which was also fun (and easier on my heartrate, ha ha!).  Once back at the car, we took a few pictures.

After that, Jessica and Katie went on for a longer run.  And I, of course, went on to take some pictures, because I am that runner who forgets her Garmin, but always has her camera, lol!  Truly, though, I’m glad I had my camera, because the sunrise was just gorgeous.  I found myself commenting about the views throughout our run.

As far as the run itself, I found that the MapMyRun app was okay, although it did seem to drop signal for about 1/4 mile or so.  But, it did give me a map, and since I love maps, that made me happy.  I was able to get my timing from Katie, and our average pace for the 4.5 miles was about 11:32.  Really slow, but that’s okay–I ran 4.5 miles! 😉

The whole thing was truly a great experience…Jessica and Katie were great to run with, and they made me feel very good about my running and not at all as though I was slowing them down.  And all the conversation was just an added bonus!  It really helped keep my mind off the run and made the time pass much more quickly.

One thing’s for sure…I am definitely sold on the idea of running with friends!