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Health & Fitness

This morning's push out the door: running with friends

Another good reason to get out the door: the friendships formed when you find someone else to push you to (and beyond) your limits.

This morning took a biiiiig push. I'm not one for morning runs, actually.  I know most people envision runners pushing cheerily through the 5 am fog, leaping over curbs as the first beams of sun hit the pavement. Yeah, that's not me.  If you were to check in with me at that hour, you'd not like what you see.  I'll take the heat and humidity that comes with late afternoon runs any day over the dead-leg, wheezy-lung, creaky-joint feeling of running after just having gotten out of bed. I suppose it doesn't make much sense, then, that I love racing. Races, especially ones in the city, require a person to wake up at an ungodly hour, but the excitement and adrenaline that surround race day usually overrule my morning lethargy.  Delicious exceptions to the rule are evening races such as Joliet's  Sundowner 5K and New Lenox's Proud American Days 5K .

Anyway, what did it for me today was meeting a very good friend to preview a course we intend to race next week. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, like a good run with a friend. The same miles that can otherwise drag when solo seem to flow smoothly in lock-step with another runner.  Listening to a hilarious story can make a person forget she's scaling a mile-long hill. Hearing a few encouraging words shouted during a speed workout can send a surge of strength that can make even the very difficult seem possible.

If you don't have a running partner to run with, I highly suggest finding a training group to run with.  Most specialty running stores host fun runs that leave from the store on certain nights of the week, and although specific pace groups are only offered through paid programs like the Chicago Area Runner's Association (CARA)--our regional group of which is called  the Yankee Runners, most fun run groups are free and offer enough support that you'll be able to find someone to run or walk with no matter what your pace.  Here's a list of local running stores that offer fun runs, free of charge.

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One of my favorites is the one offered by Running For Kicks in Palos Heights. This store, if you haven't already been there, is fantastic. Owner Mel Diab is very personable and organizes some pretty awesome races himself (notably the First Midwest Bank Southwest Half Marathon). The group leaves at 6 pm on Monday nights, and offers both 4 mile and 6 mile routes.  These Monday night runs have been integral in my own slow return to running (I took a 5 month hiatus this spring during our move from Homer Glen to New Lenox). Each time I finish a run with this group, I think to myself, "I never would have gone that far/fast/at all if I'd been alone tonight!" The friendships formed in groups like these come as close as a post-collegiate runner can get to feeling like a part of a team again, which is something I'll always chase.

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