Misery Does Not Love Company

I have never considered myself a big time runner. I run as part of my overall health strategy, but I love that I can do it almost anytime, anywhere. I've mentioned before that I was a swimmer, too. I actually grew up swimming, a decidedly individual sport. What I loved best about it was that only I was in control of how hard I worked and what the outcomes were of my races. I had a pretty good awareness of my ability and what to expect out of a race, except for a few pleasant (or unpleasant) surprises. Oddly, I can still remember some of those outlier performances...

When I stopped swimming, I took up water polo for a while. It was a strange transition to go from an individual to team sport, but since it was still water-based, I could do well. I also chose the most individual position on the team, goalie, so I could still have some control evaluating my own performance. It was a wonderful experience, I met some wonderful people, including my husband, and travelled to a lot of different places with the team. However, after a few years, I fell out of love with the sport and needed to do something else.

I swam for a while, but decided to take up running at that point. It was a really slow start, but the similarities to swimming - it never gets easier, you can do it on your own, it's great exercise - were, are, really beneficial. I would run on my own and I liked it - I never had to wait for anyone, meet at a certain time or place, etc. - I could just go. As I let my friends and family know I was running, they were thrilled and some asked if I wanted to do training runs or run races with them. As a new runner, I said "yes!" and figured it would help motivate me.

But, I learned something new about myself - I don't like running with other people. Maybe it's because I'm not fluid enough to have a conversation while I am running. Maybe it's because running is "me" time and I don't want to talk or think about other things. Maybe I prefer to be a hermit. Maybe I think running is miserable most of the time and I don't want anyone to see me that miserable. No matter what the real reason, I am more comfortable running by myself. However, I know plenty of people who prefer running groups and running races alongside friends and family. Those kinds of things warm my heart - really. I understand it, but I just can't get into it.

How do you like to run? If you like running with others, what makes that fun for you? What am I missing?