I’m more than halfway through this year’s marathon training, and the question I still get with the greatest frequency is whether or not Martha is running this year. For those of you who are new to this blog, Martha is my co-worker and now dear friend and we trained for Boston last year and finished hand in hand. She also kept me going with hilarious stories on all of our long runs. This year, I’m doing a lot of my training on my own but am trying to find company for the long runs to maintain my sanity. Because my schedule and family demands are a bit crazy, I usually work something out last minute or hope that the music on my iPod shuffle will keep me going if I am solo.
This Sunday I had a new running companion for 15 miles up and down the Newton hills. Goldie, who works in the Psychiatry Department at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, also received a Boston number through the Hospital lottery this year. She had posted a blog response wondering if we could run together. We planned via email to meet at the Hospital and it sounded as though we’d be well matched in terms of mileage goals and pace.
I think the first words out of my mouth when we met in front of the Surgical Center were, “you’re young!” I don’t consider myself old at age 44, but finding that your running companion is twenty years younger than you does make you feel a bit antique. Although now I’m feeling pleased that I could keep up with someone twenty years younger!
I think the beauty of the sport of running is that it brings people together and the atmosphere at a road race is always fun and social but healthy. Despite our age difference, Goldie and I had plenty to talk about in our two and a half hours or so of battling the hills and the frigid wind on Sunday morning. It was great to meet someone new and share running and life experiences. It was inspiring to hear that Goldie is fitting her marathon training into an already packed schedule of a full-time job, an organic chemistry course and a serious relationship. I really enjoyed the run and getting to know another member of the Newton-Wellesley Hospital team.
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