The Running Buddy Bond

One of my favorite things about running is the "running buddy" friendships I've made. There's something different about the "running buddy" friendship. Maybe it's the fact that there seems to be no boundaries as to what can be talked about while running with someone for 2 + hours. (You runners know what I mean.) When else can you go from talking about your favorite things like Nutella to your, ahem, digestive woes, in the same sentence and not think twice about it?  Or maybe it's the fact that you consistently rely on that person to get you through the love/hate cycles that come with running.

There's a lot of things that play in to the "running buddy" bond, but one thing I've noticed through the years of various running buddies is that no matter how different I think I am from my running buddy, the mere fact that we're both crazy enough to get up before the sun on a Saturday and run for 2+ hours is enough of a similarity to create a unique bond of friendship.

Today I was really grateful for my Texas running buddies, Ashley and Jenny.

Wish I had a picture of Ashley too! 

If it weren't for those two I wouldn't have gotten an awesome Saturday run in. Friday night rolls around and suddenly the thought of getting up at 5:30AM to run 14 miles doesn't sound half as good as it did Tuesday afternoon when I had committed to Ashley and Jenny that I'd be there. Then I remembered all the times that Jenny and Ashley did crazy early long runs with me, and less than pleasant Tuesday night track workouts while I was training for Boston. So I toughed up and set my alarm.

The next thing I know I was driving home from my run with a fresh memory of why I set that alarm every Friday night. That's what running buddies are for. We all need a little extra motivation to get out there and refresh our memory sometimes. 

Getting a good run in Saturday morning is like guaranteeing myself a good Saturday. My day got even better when I walked in the door to see these cute boys eating breakfast and Boston started clapping and said, "Good Job Mommy!" He says that every time I get home from a run or a workout, and it makes my day every single time.

What's your favorite thing to put Nutella on?

Ashley, Jenny and I talked about this for a good five minutes during our run. We even got some input from a lady we were running by. It was funny. As we were listing off strawberries, graham crackers, bread, we suddenly hear pretzels, bananas, marshmallows. My favorite used to be graham crackers with strawberries on top, but now it's just good ol' gluten-free strawberries.