How to make (real life) friends and alienate blog readers

In case you hadn’t realized it already – and I won’t be offended if you didn’t realize it at all – let me draw attention to the fact that my blog activity has been almost non-existent for the better part of the past 6 months or more. On the bright side, I did at least manage to write a post whenever I ran a race to keep with running blogger tradition and I didn’t let my domain name expire. I take my victories where I can get them.

The greatest reason for my absence merits its own post. Surprise! It’s not a post completely blowing how busy I’ve been out of proportion. Let’s be real, I haven’t been that busy.

I’ll start from the beginning.

For a long time – round about 4 years – I ran a lot of miles mostly alone. And it was nice. I am a pretty introverted person so I don’t dread the notion of exercising for two hours alone with my own thoughts and some (subjectively) good music. I grew to love running on my own, did 20 mile training runs alone, and made some really obvious improvements in speed and ability by forging my own path and having only me to hold myself accountable for my training.

But when I came home from my solo runs, at some point I found I needed an outlet to spout off at the mouth about the highs and lows of running and training. And that is how this blog became a regular part of my life. I loved coming here and to my social media accounts to say what was on my mind (which, let’s be honest, more often than not has to do with running) and have people chime in with comments. I also loved reading and seeing other peoples’ experiences online and how much I could relate to them. All of that, without ever having to step out of my comfort zone and have awkward interactions with people face to face.

Sometime last summer, around when I was finding myself in a bit of a running rut, the online interactions weren’t feeling like the same outlet that they used to be. And on top of that, I was desperately needing some real live motivation to get myself back into a good place with running after returning from a minor injury and feeling like I had lost so much of my fitness.

So I ultimately stepped out of my asocial comfort zone and found that motivation. I started tagging along with the Bull City Track Club – a team of runners put together by my favorite local running store, Bull City Running Company.

After the Bull City Race Fest Half Marathon.

As I met more new people during group runs and races, I found out that I was not nearly as shy and uncomfortable conversing with new people while running as I was standing still. Who knows why. But it helped me find a really amazing group of (real life) running friends.

Since I started running with friends multiple times a week and have generally spent more time around people who share my running obsession, I have more than enough in-person outlets to spout off to about the highs and lows of running and training. So I think, as a result, my motivation to write blog posts has taken a real hit.

I’m glad that the blog has taken the backseat. Because the new real life friends that I have found in the meantime are pretty fantastic. They’ve renewed my love of running and pushed me to run better than I thought I could.

Having all the fun at the Greater Triangle Beer Mile.

While I am not sure if/when I will ever get back to the habit of writing posts multiple times a week, I am going to try to save a little more of my thoughts and time to put toward keeping the blog more active in the coming months.

Thanks to all who are still reading for sticking around!

Do you prefer to run with friends or run solo? 

Social running

FIRST OF ALL: Have you entered the Blog Birthday Giveaway yet?! If not, please enter for the chance to win a $35 gift certificate to Road ID to spend on apparel, your own Road ID tag, or other gear. Comment on the giveaway post, follow my blog, and/or like my new Facebook page to enter yourself up to three times! You only have until Friday night to enter so get to it!

Last week I tried out the Full Steam Ahead! Run Club organized by Bull City Running Company. I was very pleasantly surprised. This group meets every Wednesday evening and has a 3, 4, and 6 mile route to chose from every time. The runs start and end at Full Steam Brewery in downtown Durham. I showed up expecting a handful of runners, wondering if I would be able to find them at the meeting spot. In fact, I arrived to a literal mass of runners spilling out of the entrance to the brewery, onto the sidewalk, and into the street. Finding the group wasn’t a problem at all, but finding a place to park my car proved a bit of a challenge.

I did an easy paced four mile run alongside three strangers and we became pretty quick friends. We talked about our jobs and where we lived a little bit. And we talked about races, training, and running routes A LOT. I could talk about running all day, but I usually hold back because I don’t want to scare off my friends and family. It was nice to openly act like a running nerd and not feel completely deranged (the usual vibe I get when I discuss marathons and 6 AM runs with anyone who doesn’t like running). The idea of meeting at the brewery is obviously brilliant because after the run there is plenty of water, beer, and pizza to go around.

During our run, one of my new friends asked me if I had been to many other group runs in the area. I realized I had never been to ANY group run… anywhere. Holy crap. How anti-social am I!? But now that I know about Full Steam Ahead! and have tried it out, I will definitely be working it into my routine.

Have a wonderful rest of your week! And don’t forget to enter the giveaway by Friday night!