My New Running Partner

Tuesday when I was driving up to my house I almost hit a guy. He was running, it was dark, I was tired. He smiled at me, waved, said sorry (though it was totally my fault) and kept running. I’d never seen him before in our small cul de sac. I was happy to see someone so happy running.

I went inside, brewed some Roobio for ice tea, grabbed the husband and the puppies, and we headed out for our nightly walk. On our way back down the hill, back towards our townhouse, Running Man reappeared, running in circles at an intersection. I smiled at him and asked if he was getting in a good work out in. He told me he had started running on Saturday, that he was trying to do it consistently to get in better shape. I told him I started running the day before and we commiserated over the feeling of burting lungs and the evil that is Tallahassee hills. He told me he really wanted to “stick with it” and not give up after a week or two like usual. I told him my goal of running a 5k on Thanksgiving morning with my dad and added “We should run together!”.

Now don’t ask me what made me randomly blurt that out to a random stranger, in the middle of a road on a dark night, who looked much fitter than I. But for whatever reason- and much to my suprise- he said yes. We made arrangements to go jogging after he got back from class the next night. I walked away partially excited, partially petrified. Did I just make a commitment to exercise with someone else? That I didn’t know? How crazy was I to randomly arrange to go running with a male stranger at 9:30 at night?

The next day I wondered if he was going to show up. Around 9 pm I got my workout clothes on and bid my time by watching Project Runway. 9:25. 9:30. 9:40. I was starting to give up hope and was nervous about how awkward it would be when I randomly ran into him again in the neighborhood. Resigned that I was running alone, I synced a new exercise playlist on my mp3 player, drank some water, and mentally tried to prepare myself for 30 minutes of self-induced pain. Knockknockknock. My new running partner was standing at my front door. He appolized for being late, said he came straight from school, was going to go home and change, and come back over. About 5 minutes later we were off.

The couch to 5k program calls for a 5 minute warmup walk. This was good as it gave Running Man and I a chance to get to know each other a little. He is a business adminstration major. He’s from Louisiana. We chatted and walked. I told him my fitness level was abysmal, that I used to run 5k’s all the time when I was really young, that I went to the other college in town and was getting my double masters. I glanced at my Mio Heartrate monitor and we picked it up to a jog. The first half of the run went well. We were able to talk and intermidently run/walk. He seemed really nice and genuine. He told me he was trying to make substantial changes in the way he ate and exercised, and trying to keep a very positive attutude and outlook while doing it. We couldn’t be a better fit I thought as I told him my views on utilizing positive psychology in exercise and life.

The second half of the run was rougher. We had to go up “evil hill”; the one that makes your calves burn and halts your ability to carry on conversation while scaling it. We finished our 30 minutes though, he said he enjoyed the interval aspect of it, and we decided to exchange contact information so we could easily get in touch to schedule runs or let to other know if we weren’t able to make it for whatever reason. We decided we would aim to go jogging every other day and would sign up for a 5k towards the end of our training schedule to complete together. Then we gabbed for a bit about tv: he has an affinity for Project Runway, America’s Next Top Model, and Tabitha’s Salon Makeover just like me.

We ended the night with a high five, both feeling pretty happy I think. I’m hoping this works as peer pressure is a good motivator for me to get working out and keep working out. That is one of the reasons I love group classes; once I’m in them, no way I’m quitting in front of everyone else there. And if I get a new friend out of it? Well that would just be icing on the cake.

Scooby is endlessly happy about my taking up running.
This is his “OMG are we going on a run?!?!” Face.