I met Carla through a friend who suggested that we meet. She was looking for a new running buddy and so was I. We both needed the motivation and committing to a complete stranger seemed like the solution. We exchanged email messages and spied on each other’s blogs. “She seems normal and sane,” I joked. “I’m normal and sane,” I reassured myself. The truth was that I was somewhat apprehensive. The last time I contacted a stranger online with the hopes of developing a friendship was back in 1997. Chat rooms were still cool; ICQ and IRC were revolutionary. Nowadays, corresponding with a stranger via email can seem creepy, but we were desperate for a run. So today, we met up for the first time and did a quick run. We chatted like old friends and went at the same pace. It felt great to be running with someone again. “This is promising,” I thought.
My shoes were happy to be out again.
During this run, I also noticed that I was feeling a lot more fit. I’m on my second week of the Plana Forma 4×4 Challenge (4 times a week, 4 consecutive weeks) and was starting to feel frustrated that I wasn’t seeing any results. But today, I noticed that my core was engaged and that my running posture had improved. I also noticed the absence of the discomfort that usually came from my ITB. These dancing sadists are on to something, I tell you.
9 more classes until I finish the 4x4 challenge! What's next, Forma?
So here’s to making new friends and to seeing results! I actually feel like I can finally get back into running form and making a friend along the way isn’t bad at all.
I typed up a blog post about it too, but scheduled it to go live tomorrow morning, since I already posted today.
It was fun! In a torture sort of way :)
Yey, I’m a great matchmaker! Haha!