Went on a long run with a few friends today. I've always heard and read people talk about how much better running with someone is. And while I've never doubted that, running has always been my personal time. So I've never really searched out running partners.
However, a bunch of us are all training for the same half marathon and doing our long runs together was suggested. We met up at our local rails to trail, with a goal of 8 miles yesterday.
It really shouldn't surprise me that it was fun, and challenging. Like I said, I've read over and over about how great running buddies are. I've had friends tell me over and over. But I was still surprised.
We ended up doing 9.5 miles, with an average pace of 11 minute miles, which is 1:30 faster than what I averaged last year on long runs. And I haven't been training as much this year. Two hours of running flew by. We didn't run together the entire time, as we're all slightly different paces, which makes it the best of both worlds. Someone to talk to for awhile, some alone time to build mental toughness, and knowing your faster friends are waiting for you at the turnaround point or at the end to keep you moving.
I'll probably still do the majority of my runs on my own, for the simple fact that schedules don't work out, and it is still my personal time. But I'm definitely a convert to the idea of running with a buddy for the long runs.
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