Running with a Partner

Have you ever set your alarm clock extra early with every intention of getting up in the morning and knocking out your workout early? Well I have, and it usually ends up with me hitting the snooze button and cramming in my workout after work. I have seen so many tips online that talk about treating your workouts like an appointment that you can't miss. There is only one problem with that. If I miss an appointment that I set with myself, then I am the only person that it is affecting. I have a solution though, so don't worry. Find a workout buddy! If you plan to meet with a friend for an early morning workout, you are far more likely to force yourself out if bed to get going. It is embarrassing to have to cancel a workout with a friend, especially if you don't have a good reason. No, an extra hour of sleep is not a good enough reason to bail out on a friend. This past week, I tried this tactic. I have a co-worker named Ashley who is interested in running the color-run with me in October. She is a dancer (although she would argue with me about that) so she is in good shape, but she has not ran in a long time. She asked if I wouldn't mind running with her a couple of times per week in order to get her ready for the race. We decided that Tuesdays and Thursdays work best for both of our schedules. Tuesday at 5:30 am when my alarm went off, there was no inner struggle. I knew that if I didn't go, I would leave Ashley hanging. I got right up, got my workout gear on, and ran out the door. We met up at 6:00 am and headed to the track. I am on week 5 of couch to 5k, which starts out with a five minute warm up walk. I started to walk right out onto the track, and she stopped me and said, "Aren't we going to stretch?" I am really glad she suggested that, because my calves were not nearly as tight afterwards as they usually are. I was really proud of Ashley. For not having ran in a while, she did awesome. She kept up with me and did all of the running intervals except for one. There is no way that I could have done that on day one, so major props to her. We took a picture after our run so that I could post it with this blogpost, but I look absolutely horrendous in it so I am going to keep that little gem to myself. I do hope that you will consider working out with a friend though. I understand that it makes some people uncomfortable. I used to HATE working out with anybody. I could not keep up and it embarrassed me, but if you can get past the competition aspect the benefits truly are amazing. I know that on Monday and Wednesday nights I have to go to bed early, because now I really do have an appointment that I can't miss!