My Buddy…My Buddy…Wherever I go…He Goes…My Buddy and Me!
Getting up early on a Saturday morning might not be at the top of your To-Do list. Neither is running eight miles. But I have a long run this Saturday (as I do on all Saturdays), and the Knoxville Endurance group will be meeting in the very beautiful Townsend, TN for a Pre-Boston Marathon training run. (Important Side Note: Running in the BM is not a requirement of participating in this event; duh, I’m going to be there!)
Because I’m always bringing up the rear solo, and because I’m not scheduled for nearly as many miles as the rest of the crew, chances are very likely that I’ll be running through the picturesque Smoky Mountains alone. While I’m used to running alone, and though I think it could be a fun way to practice meditative running, my husband and male coworker expressed serious concern about my participating in this mostly alone. To ease their worries, I posted my running route on my Daily Mile profile, but that has done little to assuage their concerns. My coworker is willing to make me a monkey fist with some spare paracord he has because he says that’s better (for me) than pepper spray or a gun/knife option; and my husband wants me to make a sincere attempt at recruiting a buddy to run with me.
It’s so nice to have people who care about me this way, and this would typically be a request I dish out to my Facebook crowd, but I’m not actually checking Facebook, and I know this request will auto-post there as well as on my LinkedIn page. So…(crickets chirping)…does anyone want to meet me in Townsend, TN at 8:45 AM this Saturday to run 8 miles? I promise it will be beautiful, and if you need me to provide transportation, I’ll do it. If you’re interested, please either leave a comment here, or send me an email.
Thanks so much!
Posted on March 19, 2013, in Knoxville Life, Married Life, Running and tagged fitness, goals, half-marathon, health, healthy-living, lifestyle change, running. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
(I just replied on FB, sorry! /facepalm) I don’t know if I can do 8 miles. What’s your usual strategy?
Well, I have a 5:00 run/0:30 walk plan right now. I’m averaging a 14:55 pace on long runs, so it would likely be a relaxing stroll with brief moments of exertion for you. Based on what my running coach did for my 10K race plan, I think he’s slowly gearing me towards doing tempo runs. I would ideally like to adopt that kind of approach. Miles 1-3 at strict easy pace 14:00-15:00, Miles 3-5 at 12:00-13:00, and Miles 5-8 at 14:00-15:00 again, all considering that I’ll be taking regularly scheduled walking breaks. This may all be a pipe dream if I’m still in pain like I have been, but I’m fairly determined/stubborn/hard-headed (take your pick).
Hmmm… let me think about it. I might be able to join you. I’m not running very consistently right now but when I do, I average about 9:30-10:00/mi and run about 1 mile then walk about 0.25. I’ll text you in the next day or so and let you know. Townsend would be pretty!
Katy, my BIL said he’d go with me. He’s nervous about the early wake-up and long distance, but he said since he’s got spring break next week, he’ll have enough down time to make up for it. Say a prayer; it will likely be the longest amount of time I’ll have spent with him that we’re not focused on school work. What do you talk about for 8 miles? My hope is that there’s a lot of comfortable silence, lol.
Ok good. If you both bring earbuds, you’ll have company without having to make small talk.
It’s going to be far too cold for me to run 8 miles, but I’ll join you another time!