Why I’ll Miss my Running Buddy!

I’m about to lose my running buddy. My friend Jenny is about to move about as far away from here as you can get without leaving the country, all the way to the west coast. Boo. We went for a final run together a couple of days ago and it made me realize how great it is to have a running buddy. Which makes me even more sad that Jenny’s leaving!

Reasons why having a running buddy is awesome:

• When you run with someone else, your pace is different. If it’s slower with your friend, you can use that to slow down your long run average speed, or use your runs together as recovery runs. If it’s faster, you can think of it as a tempo run. It’s always good to switch it up a little (and easier when someone’s ‘accidentally’ helping your pace just by running with you).
• Accountability. When you make plans to meet up for a run with someone, it’s pretty bad form to back out last minute. Even a good friend won’t put up with last minute cancels for long. Built-in motivation to get your butt out and running!
• When you’re training for long distance, the long runs can be pretty tedious. Having a running buddy for all, or even just part of the long training runs make them waaaaay more bearable.
• I’m a firm believer that running together strengthens any kind of relationship. There’s something about having a companion when you’re pushing yourself to do something physically hard, something about being able to talk freely without actually looking at your running partner, and wanting to talk to take your mind off the length of the run – you open up, you express yourself differently than maybe you would if you were sitting across from a friend in a cafe.
• Since you always see each other when you’re red-faced, sweaty & in running gear, then when you go out and are dressed up, you both can’t believe how amazingly gorgeous each other looks. 😉

Jenny has been an important friend in my life the past few years. We met when we were both personal trainers at Equinox Fitness and became fast friends through regular run dates along the Hudson river.Then, when my husband Fran was sick, Jenny came to grab coffee with me at the hospital. She thought she was walking in to a coffee date to try to take my mind off the fact that Fran was really ill and the doctors couldn’t work out what was wrong – a bad enough scenario. However, hers was the first familiar face I saw just after the surgeon told me they’d had to put Fran in a medically induced coma and he most likely wasn’t going to make it. (Important – and happy – note: he did make it!) Sometimes traumatic experiences bring you closer to people, and that’s what happened with us. Jenny was one of several friends who were there for me no matter what during that crappy time, and ever since, we’ve been super tight.

 

 

While I’m so sad to see her leave, I know she’s moving on to awesome times ahead in sunny California. You’ve probably heard me mention Jenny a bunch of times on the blog – she’s my yogi friend, she’s the photographer behind many photos on the blog (including my header photos), and she shot and edited the Mama and Baby workout video I put together last year. She’s an incredibly talented dancer and choreographer, so watch out, LA!

Even though we’ve only known each other a few years, I know I will count Jenny as a lifelong friend. We’ve had so many long, deep conversations when we’ve been out running. She didn’t even mind when a handsome young man muscled his way into our running dates – in fact, she kind of fell in love with him a little bit. 😉

Jenny – thanks for being a great friend. Thanks for all the runs and workouts and coffee dates and yoga. There are so many reasons why I’ll miss my running buddy, but I wish you all wonderful things in your new adventure! Next time we see each other, let’s go for a run! Then let’s grab a couple of beers. 😉