Running and Relationships

Alright, I was wondering when I'd get around to blogging about this. The biggest difference between marathon training '07 and '08 for me has been finding my amazing gf, Raquel. Well, that's not entirely true, because I actually met her in the last three months of '07 training, but I think I still got the majority of my workouts in. In any case, I definitely have less dedicated training time now. Lucky for me, she's also an athlete. Unfortunately, she hates running. Not that it would have made a difference because I like to run alone (It's "me" time).

One of my personal hurdles for Training '08 is to change my running motivation. Historically, running has not only been a personal athletic goal, but it served a greater purpose as my stress outlet. Now, my de-stress options after has work expanded to: going home to get coddled with ice cream and 5 hours of CSI:Las Vegas. Alright...let's weigh the options, boys and girls: Coddling from gf Vs. 3-4 hours of working out, pampering Vs. running, ice cream Vs. sweat... Well, the old me would have chosen running, but I think it was CSI that tipped the scales (j/k, Raquel). Obviously, if I let "finishing the race under 2.5 hours" solely carry my motivation, I wouldn't leave the couch.

So here is my "Have your cake and eat it too" solution. Be an active couple. You know what I'm talking about. The couple you see in REI advertisements: climbing mountains, camping, hiking, biking, and just conquering the world together. Yeah. Be that couple. True, this may not work for every couple. But life totally gave me a break this time, so I'm exploiting it. Maybe my training schedule isn't as rigid as it used to be, but it all evens out. You're always going to have distractions, gf or otherwise, when you're training. But, the key is to make it work for you.

My enhanced Training '08 motivation is to run at a performance level that gives justice not only to Raquel's on-going support, but also to every friend that's followed my training. How can I not run my best when I receive 30-something encouraging text messages from my dear friends during the race? How can I not run my best when 15 of them drag their butts out on a Sunday just to catch a glimpse of me in the crowd? and lastly...How can I not run my best when Raquel helps me train for 6 months, wakes up at 5 am for a race she isn't running, and jumps in at mile 11 to help set my pace higher so that I can finish well.

Dude...now that's relationships (platonic and romantic) at it's finest.