After 30+ years in the Army, I have had enough group runs. I now run alone for several reasons: 1) I can set my own schedule; 2) I train for specific runs and have a unique program of training runs (tempo/fartlek/etc) and cross training that doesn’t work for others; 3) I need to challenge myself and group runs move at the pace of the sl…
After 30+ years in the Army, I have had enough group runs. I now run alone for several reasons: 1) I can set my own schedule; 2) I train for specific runs and have a unique program of training runs (tempo/fartlek/etc) and cross training that doesn’t work for others; 3) I need to challenge myself and group runs move at the pace of the slowest runner, which most often isn’t challenging enough; and, 4) it’s tough to find people near my age who still run. While I miss the camaraderie and the Jodie calls, running alone now best suits my needs.
Those are great points, David, especially #3 -- which can be a real challenge in group runs. (I've found that myself in some group runs I've joined over the past couple years, that I'm quite often the fastest and find myself slowing down, even unconsciously. Which is fine for that day, but not good if you're trying to get better over time.)
After 30+ years in the Army, I have had enough group runs. I now run alone for several reasons: 1) I can set my own schedule; 2) I train for specific runs and have a unique program of training runs (tempo/fartlek/etc) and cross training that doesn’t work for others; 3) I need to challenge myself and group runs move at the pace of the slowest runner, which most often isn’t challenging enough; and, 4) it’s tough to find people near my age who still run. While I miss the camaraderie and the Jodie calls, running alone now best suits my needs.
Those are great points, David, especially #3 -- which can be a real challenge in group runs. (I've found that myself in some group runs I've joined over the past couple years, that I'm quite often the fastest and find myself slowing down, even unconsciously. Which is fine for that day, but not good if you're trying to get better over time.)