For Part 1 click here. For Part 2 click here.
In the first 2 parts of My Running Journey, I described my journey as pretty much a solo effort. I did the training alone, I came up with my own plan, and I intended to run the race alone. The two friends who encouraged my decision to run a half marathon would not be running alongside me. One of them is about 20 years younger than me and much too fast to run at my pace, and the other ended up with a knee injury that ended her running. Still, I was not alone. I received a lot of encouragement from my colleagues and my boyfriend (who supported me in spite of believing I would hurt my knees).
One friend, who will hopefully be profiled in a future blog, was especially inspirational. A runner from an early age, she suffered a traumatic brain injury and yet continued to run. She had recently qualified for and competed in the Boston Marathon. She is only a few years younger than me, but much more experienced and faster than me. When I told her about my plans to run in the Rock and Roll Half Marathon, I think she was more excited for me than me! She brought me running magazines, training plans and vast amounts of encouragement. Then she offered to run the race with me. I kept telling her that I was way too slow for her, but she insisted. It turned out that she was having some health issues and her doctor wanted her to slow down. She was signed up for the full marathon, but chose to run the half with me. It was a perfect symbiotic relationship—I slowed her down and she kept me on pace.
I’ll never know how well I would have done without her, but with her I finished the race at exactly my goal time—2 hours and 30 minutes.
Since then, I have run a few races with her with both of us running at our own pace. I still enjoy the meditative nature of running solo, but I now mix in running with others. I’ve discovered that the running community in my area is supportive, diverse and really fun.