running & relationship tips

Where did the week go? Don’t care. It’s Friday!A mattress for you:And a low, tight bun! Victory!What was supposed to be a five-mile run turned into a seven-mile run because I got lost. Thank you to all the strangers who stopped and help point me back in the right direction.

Where were all the DC runners last night, you ask?

Escaping the heat and partying here, of course.Ireland’s Four Courts hosted us for another superb happy hour. Drinks, chicken fingers, and lots of training talk. I wouldn’t have it any other way.Even though Anthony isn’t running marathons anymore, he still loves to come chat with all the crazy marathoners, half-marathoners, and ultrarunners that flock to the DC Road Runners club.Speaking of Anthony. Because it’s Friday and we all love a good batch of oversharing on the internet, let’s talk about running and relationships. I’ve written a bit about this before, but running has played a notable role in our relationship — good and bad! It’s one of the hobbies we first shared together and has taught us some big lessons.

There are a lot of good things about being in a relationship and being a marathon runner. First, if your partner is a runner, you have a training buddy. Anthony’s always been a runner —  sometimes a marathoner, more recently a casual five-miler — which means that he’s usually up to join me for 2-20 miles. Second, you have a race day fan. Third, you have training support. Anthony encourages me to go out for my runs and helps me stay cool about training, overtraining, dealing with injuries, failures, etc. He’s always ready to listen to me list off each split time for a track workout or help me analyze each moment of a race or allow me to eat all of the bread, coffee, and gatorade in his apartment.

But of course, there are some struggles too. The biggest being time! Making time to run a ton of miles, working a 9-6 job, and being in a relationship can be difficult. Over the years we’ve learned a couple tricks to help best juggle our schedules, running, and our relationship:

• Run in the morning. Getting your workout over and done with first thing leaves the rest of your day free. That way, if a dinner date is on the schedule, or we just want to hang out together after a long day, there’s nothing interfering with our time together.
• Add some routine to your weekends. I’ve been doing long runs on Saturdays since the day Anthony and I met — which means that there’s really never any question about what I’m doing Saturday morning. Anthony also joined a rugby league that meets on Saturday morning, so we’re both on the same page when it comes to planning our weekends. We’re cool with calling it early on Friday night, and waking up to a nice 6 a.m. alarm the next day.
• Turn off the TV. When we are home together and sit down for dinner, we usually keep the TV off and have an actual conversation. It’s magical. Of course this rule can be bent on Mondays because that’s when The Bachelorette is on.
• Train together. Like I noted, it’s a beautiful thing when the person you love and the hobby you love come together into a single event.
• Skip or reschedule a workout. In the end, running will never love me back like Anthony does. And running isn’t a person. So, at times, it’s best to take a break from your running relationship and make time for your real relationship instead.

And THAT is all of the oversharing I have for you today. Have a great one!

• What’s your secret to balancing training and a relationship?
• How many “lost miles” have you ever racked up on a run? (I think mine was 7 extra miles?
• What are you MOST looking forward to this weekend?

Of interest:

• Channelling Contessa: Watermelon lemon sorbet
• Forbes: How running can change the world: interview with Ashoka Fellow Molly Barker
• Women’s Health: Best running inspiration ever