Training Partner(s)

Blaze and Marie's daughter, Emily


Since one training partner (Marie) is pregnant (although she still runs about 2-3 miles every morning....tough lady at 20 weeks!) and another is still recovering from a stress fracture, I often find myself running most of the route by myself after they turn around and head back toward the neighborhood. Since it's 5am, dark and the path is quite desolate at that time of day, I take Marie's dog, Blaze, with me. He's a fabulous running dog! It's a false sense of security I know....you see, Blaze is probably the friendliest dog I know. He gives me lots breaks as he marks his territory & alerts me to all the nocturnal creatures (yes, we've seen deer, a family of racoons, a even a fox on our morning journeys). This morning was a different story. It was raining (misty, really) and Blaze refused to run in it. Guess he has his standards. So I returned him after a mile and went out for the rest of my run. I don't mind the rain so much...and thankfully, it wasn't too cold either.




A couple of weeks ago I sent a link to Jason through IM saying, "I want this for Christmas..HAHA" knowing he would probably ignore me. He surprised me by replying by saying, "get it now if you want to". (He is quick to indulge!) I don't spend money on my running....us neighborhood ladies laugh as we run in our tattered decade old hoodies, tights with holes in them, and other mismatched meyham! It's dark...we don't care. This purchase was different. I haven't worn a watch running in a long time. I've been just running....to run. I haven't cared to time myself, keep track of pace, etc. (Aside from the fact I lost my watch and never really replaced it) But I work at home...feet from my kitchen. I like to eat. I'd rather run more...to eat more. So in an effort to step it up a bit, the GPS watches peaked my interest...so this has become my second new training partner. It tells me when I hit each mile, mile pace, overall pace and synchs to the computer, facebook, & this blog. Talk about accountability! So in these long winter months ahead...when I really don't want to crawl out of my warm bed to bundle up and brace for the frigid temps, I hope my new partner(s) will motivate me.
That and all the Holiday goodness I don't have the will-power to avoid!