Running alone

Running alone - two sides to consider

Yesterday I went for the nice run I'd been looking forward to so much.  This is the thing about running; it was before breakfast, familiar trails, usual distance - but each run has something different about it, either something I see, experience, think about or achieve.

So while I was running yesterday I had been thinking about the forthcoming 2011 Luton Marathon and recognised that I was 90% certain I'd go for it.  I'd been thinking of the merits of joining a running club but had decided against it.  Then as I was just coming up to my last mile I found myself running alongside someone else.  I quite enjoyed it!

I have commented before in my blog about the snootiness of some other runners and cyclists - and then someone always seems to pop up to restore my faith in human nature.  Yesterday it was a man called Simon ("hello Simon") who I found myself running alongside.  His pace was a little quicker than mine but I really enjoyed chatting to him as we ran alongside each other - he was like an impromptu pace setter for me and it did me some good!

It turned out that he was training for the Luton Marathon, quite a coincidence, so maybe we'll bump into each other again.

Once or twice in the past I have found myself running alongside other people and our pace always seems to pick up, sort of edging each other on until the pace levels out at a good threshold speed.  Having someone to train with can be mutually encouraging and of course, there must be that comradeship and company.   Here I feel I can't speak with much experience and probably the subject of another blog post some other time!

Oh, the run itself.  It was good.  I remember after the initial couple of miles when I was thinking how stiff I was along with I'll run for maybe just 5 miles and then have a longer run in a few days, it just got better and better.  After 1 hour I was going well and by the time I got home I felt as if I could carry on much further.