Here's something I wish I'd known when I started. (there's sooo many things I wish I'd know, this is just one of them)
I still consider myself to be new to running as I've really only been running for about 9 months and I have never completed a race of any distance.
When I started running I was doing distances of 3-5km (2-3.1 miles) for a couple of months, before working my way up to 10km (6.2 miles) which is where I hovered for a bit.
Around this time, people that I know would invite me to join them on their run. These were no ordinary people though; these were distance runners. People who had completed half marathons and full marathons. Way out of my league, or so I thought.
Why would they invite me to run with them?
I thought they were just being polite and didn't really mean it.
Besides that, I was always scared that I would hold them back and that they'd get annoyed with me for 'wrecking' their run. So, I always said no. Or i'd say something along the lines of "oh I'd just slow you down" and leave it at that.
Now that I am doing longer distances I find myself in the odd position of being that person who is constantly inviting (nagging) other new people to join me and I am getting the same response that I used to give people; "oh, I wouldn't be able to keep up".
But I'd like to tell you that it's not about keeping up.
Honestly.
Obviously I don't know what everyone else's running schedules are but, personally, I do one big run once a week. The rest of the week for me is what I consider to be short runs of anywhere between 5 and 10 km's (3.1 - 6.2 miles).
The day after my big run is when I am meant to be doing a recovery run. A recovery run is also called a slow run and it is literally that - a slow, easy run at an easy pace.
Now, again, I don't know about other runners, but an 'easy pace' is harder than it sounds when you spend the rest of the week trying to perfect the one, slightly faster, pace.
I do try my best to go slower but I just end up running at my regular pace.
This is where a new runner makes the PERFECT running partner. We run, we chat, I go easy, and you, the new runner, can dictate the pace. It doesn't matter how slow you think that is. As long as we keep moving along it is perfect for me.
Once a week I try to do sprint sessions or sets of stairs and a new person is again the PERFECT partner to base against. I have been running once a week with some girlfriends who are just new and we do some killer stairs together. My aim is to do 2 sets to their 1.
Or I might get to a point where there is a short cut or a long way around. My friends take the short cut and I use the long way to do a sprint session and try to get to the meeting point at the same time.
It (hopefully) encourages them to keep going, keep getting better each week. There will come a time where they beat me up the stairs and at the sprint point. I know it and I hope they know it too. When that times comes we'll just re-draw the line. It makes me smile thinking about it.
The final positive is that, for me, it's nice to have some company as I am normally a solo runner.
If I can inspire someone at the same time then that's awesome.
And it reminds me how far I have come from a year ago when I couldn't even run 1 km without stopping.
