Over the weekend, I had a 16 mile run planned. The Saturday group that I typically do my long runs with were planning to do a shorter distance which meant I had to get up earlier and log my miles before the group starts. (It’s always easier to have company at the end of a long run.) Since our group was planning to run 8 miles, I was set to run 8 miles solo before meeting them. Luckily, @Kineticfix also had a long run planned and we were able to coordinate some miles together.
Nothing like messaging a friend and saying “hey, come meet me at 6:30 in the morning on a corner in San Francisco and let’s run really far together.” Okay, the tweet was a bit different, but you get the idea.
We headed off in a general direction towards the Presidio knowing that we just needed four miles out and we could retrace our steps back to get in the 8. Since she had run a couple of miles to meet me and was planning on some miles closer to home, she was just going to join me for the first 8. The miles FLEW by. We immediately jumped into a conversation, made a turn here, saw a view there and all of a sudden we were back where we started.
Ditto! Thank you @PavementRunner for an awesome workout; 8 miles flew by. Can't wait to do it again soon! Hope the second 8 went well, too
— Kinetic Fix (@KineticFix) August 10, 2013
At this point, the group was starting to show up for our 8 mile run. @Kineticfix headed off to finish her run and we later agreed (on twitter of course) that we should run together again. Yay for new running buddies. With 8 miles already in my pocket, I was looking forward to feeding off the energy of a larger group for the second half. We headed down towards AT&T park for a simple out and back.
Mile 12, behind AT&T park.
Remember my last post where my running buddy Larry wanted to run the last 3 miles of a half marathon at a 7:30 pace because he is training for a (fast) marathon. Well, leave it to him AGAIN to say “want to run some 7 minute miles?” Just a note that he comes up with this BRILLIANT idea at his mile 5 and my mile 13… of course, my answer is “sure.” We then split off from the group to run an extra mile or so and clocked these splits:
We eventually caught back up with our group and finished the run together. My original 16 mile plan had turned into almost a 17.5 mile run with some speed work thrown in at the end. With friends like these, who needs a track workout?
We all grabbed some coffee afterwards and chatted about our weekend plans, upcoming races and general conversation. I’m lucky to have a great group of friends that love to run. It really helps make the miles fly by. We are a little crazy, but a little crazy never hurt anyone, right?
How was your weekend?
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Running friends are the best! What may seem crazy to others is average to them. Plus, they push you out of your comfort zone which is always good for improving. Sounds like a great group!
I love running with friends and watching the miles fly by!!! I become so much faster when I am running with a group…they push me farther and faster without even knowing it!!
And that’s exactly why I’ve been running with my pack for almost 10 years now…nothing beats it! Glad you had such a great one.
Friends + lots of miles = awesome catch up time for sure
when i was running, running with friends was always more enjoyable!!
This post made me realize now much I miss not running with a group. I will definitely join one this September after I return from my CA race trip.
was just talking to a friend this weekend about how much more interesting things are when you run with friends instead of alone. she’s training for her first half and finds herself getting super bored unless someone else is running with her!
Wow! Some speedy splits in the middle there. Nice work! I agree- long runs are so much better with friends, the miles fly by.
I just recently starting running with people, now that I’ve joined a running club. On Sunday, I went trail running with a group, and though I hadn’t planned on it, we ended up going 12 miles. I usually do my long runs solo, but the 12-miler felt so much shorter when running with friends.
That is so awesome. Love how much fun you had :)
I’ve been wanting to run with my gf for a while now and our schedules just don’t match :( I’m sending her another text now!
I’m a little jealous of your run route and your cooler temps! Great job on the miles! :-)
Awesome miles!!
I haven’t begun to run those distances yet, but they are coming now that I have registered for Little Rock Marathon. I’m hoping to have similar experiences later this year.
I had a fantastic long run with a couple friends this weekend — we just chat and the miles tick right by!
wow- great mileage, running with friends makes a huge difference.