August Miles + The Running Dilemma

August was the first month that didn’t include any track practices, social runs, or races. I was able to go on one long run with a friend, but besides that, my running life had me prowling like a lone wolf.

Week 1: 1-6: 25.85 miles
Week 2: 7-13: 20.49 miles
Week 3: 14-20: 27.07 miles
Week 4: 21-27: 44.42 miles (The most I’ve ran in a week!)
Week 5: 28-31: 20.58 miles
Total miles for August: 138.41! (The most I’ve ran in a month!)

Mama Lone Wolf

To run alone, or in a group...that is the question.

For me personally, solo running has always been preferable to social running. Maybe it’s because I’ve only had a little experience of running with others. The beginning of this year I joined a local running club and made some fellow running friends which has been the extent of my social running. Currently, I am doing some training with a friend for the Bellingham Bay Half Marathon. There are definitely pros and cons to both solo and group running. Whether I’m in a group or simply with another person, I find myself distracted and mentally scattered, which sometimes leads to a not-so-good run. If we’re talking, I may find myself out of breath the duration of the run. Sometimes I feel swift and comfortable following the other person’s (or group’s) pace, allowing them to take the lead, but then I may regret it while feeling exhausted trying to keep up. When I am with someone else, I either feel pressure to keep their pace or guilt for asking them to slow down a little bit. 

On the other hand, running with others can force me to push myself in ways that I never knew. I may reach a speed that I didn’t think was possible or learn a different training method that really works for me. Finishing a tough long run with a friend brings you both a sense of accomplishment and builds up confidence. At group track practices, the friendly competition helps me break through workouts that I wouldn’t feel like doing alone. People are supportive and cheer each other on, offering advice and sharing experience. 

Comfortable pace of a solo run.
Solo running allows me a much needed therapeutic and meditative time, obviously, by myself. As a stay-at-home mom, getting time to myself is necessary for my sanity and ability to be a happy mom! I go through mental processes, evaluations, spiritual journeys, and learn more about my identity with each run. I find myself lost “in the zone” so often that I’m nearly on autopilot. My body is in sync, my legs are strong, my breathing is natural, and I feel as if I could continue running forever. Keeping a strong pace, yet knowing when to ease up, is something that I’m only able to do while running alone. 

So which do you prefer, to run alone or in a group?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Open Letter to New Moms

Image
Dear Soon-to-Be New Mom,                 How are you feeling? That sweet baby of yours should be entering the world sometime between now and the next two weeks. I hope this last stretch of pregnancy has been going well for you. That was the only time I had days of “feeling so pregnant” and my body was tired . I knew those last few weeks were prime time to sleep in, take naps, and rest up , but I was too uncomfortable.   Know that even if you’ve been worried about getting your house set up or thinking about things that you need to buy, it really isn’t a big deal. Most of those things can wait, for a long time. Your baby will have a simple life for the first few months with only basic needs. There might be times where you’re awake every hour of the night to nurse or bottle feed and feel completely drained. You more than likely will cry over little things for a while, but that’s alright . Between the hormone change and lack of sleep, I was sensitive and cried a lot the first month or
Read more

What’s a Mock Cycle?

Image
We just finished up a big step in this surrogate journey...the Mock Cycle! Whenever I’ve heard the word “mock” before, it made me think of “mock trials” in high school or “mocktail drinks” before turning 21. So, what exactly is a Mock Cycle?  This process is done to determine how your body will react to hormone medications and exactly how much is needed for your endometrium to thicken (that’s a fancy word for uterine lining). A thick (ideally >8mm) lining is ideal for the embryo to implant during transfer. Some women swear by drinking pomegranate juice, taking Vitamin E supplements, getting weekly acupuncture, and many other methods to assist the medications in this process.  After quitting birth control and starting my menstrual cycle, the nurse scheduled me to begin meds on day three. Every other day I would stick on Vivelle patches which are transdermal Estradiol. The number of patches increased over time and Estradiol tablets were taken also. During this specific schedule, I had
Read more

Weekly Wrap #4

Image
Another month has come to an end, and this time it ended with the most monthly miles of 2017! The funny part about it is that I'm not really "training" for any race or event in particular. Yes, there are races scheduled each month through the summer and into the fall, but they are either shorter distances or I'm planning on running with the stroller. This weekend I have another 5k race coming up and am sort of unsure how I feel about it or what to expect. It has literally been over two years since I've ran a 5k by myself (not with the stroller) and at that time I had just started taking running "seriously". The goals in my head of what I would like to run, and what I might realistically run, are fairly different. We will see soon enough! SUNDAY: Rest MONDAY: RAN 10.03 miles @8:59 pace/walked 1.58 miles with stroller TUESDAY: Walked 1 mile with stroller/got a wellness massage J WEDNESDAY: RAN 9.01 miles @9:21 pace with stroller T
Read more