Better TogetherLast month I was forced to take a long break from running - 3 weeks without running a step. I lost fitness. I got used to NOT running! And right now, the comeback is tough. My heart rate is high, my pace is rock bottom. I feel awful. But I’ve got something big in my favour - a teammate. Juanita lives on the other side of the country. We paired up to run 200 miles in 6 weeks in the eRace Racism Challenge. I signed up before I was sidelined and so Juanita’s been carrying our team while I couldn’t run. Now I have a lot of ground to make up. I’m heading out to run when I’d rather stay in and I’m running farther than planned. Without Juanita who knows how long I’d take to get back into running? The truth is I would get back eventually, but solo progress is slow and lonely. Connecting with others accelerates our progress and helps us actually do what we want to do. ◘ Antonio & Kyle (pictured above) have the same goal: a sub-5 minute mile. They run together only once a week, and in that one workout they do their best running. The presence of the other raises expectations and keeps them grinding every day in between. They are better together. ◘ 10 runners separated by state, provincial and country borders are all running the same workouts and sharing their experiences online. They’re part of the Virtual Training Group, and they’re motivating and challenging each other. ◘ And then there are the lone wolves… some individuals I coach run alone all the time. But as their coach, I’m also a teammate and we’re working together. We need people who will get excited when we hit that PR and who understand the work that went into it. We need others to challenge us, keep us accountable, and share in our success. Running really is better together. Sincerely,
Nicole
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