The Friendship Factor

It's more than "together we go far", its FUN

When I sat down to write Carrie’s training plan for the coming week, I was reminded of how cool this journey that we are on is. After many weeks of just going through the motions of training while struggling with lower back spasms, I needed that reminder. It’s easy to get lost in the mundaneness when the goal is still so far away.

Looking over Carrie’s training log from the last couple of weeks was exciting. Not only because she is making progress, but because she is putting in the work. It makes it feel real. Ironman is happening, we are really doing this. Eeeeeek!

I can with 100% certainty say that if we hadn’t committed to this goal together, I would not be doing an Ironman in 2023. It was definitely a one day goal for me, but not a priority. This made me think of how many other cool adventures I’ve undertaken because I had a friend to do it with.

Alone is fine, I like alone a lot! The introvert in me protects my alone time, but when it comes to doing new things the company of a friend is priceless. Things are just less scary and daunting when someone is doing it alongside you, whether it’s in person or virtually.

I basically started ultra running alongside my friend Sharlota Kay who lives in NYC in 2020. I remember her asking me to do the Yeti challenge where you run 5 miles every 4 hours for 24 hours. We lined up our schedules despite the 3 hour time difference and we each logged 31 miles in 24 hours. It felt good knowing someone else was out there doing it. Sharing the experience was also comforting, I’m not crazy for being scared of running in the middle of the night right?

That initial challenge made us better friends and also better athletes. I know I look to Sharlota for advice on my endurance adventures and I know she appreciates my cheerleading. Seeing each other accomplish big goals helps us individually to thrive for more. Sharlota is my favourite running buddy, and we have never really run together in person. She is my go to person though whenever I need advice or some tough love.

There is something really special about friends that I run with. Perhaps it’s that we are agreeing to meet up do something really hard. We know going into it that we will probably struggle a bit in the best case scenario or downright suffer on some days, yet we show up. I don’t know what the magic sauce is, but I know I have the best conversations while running.

As I’m writing this I’m feeling a lot of gratitude for the simple practice of running and who I get to share it with. I don’t want to turn this post into a full on love letter, but I do have to shout out a few people who either inspired me to do it in the first place or keep me motivated to thrive for more within this sport.

• Jordan Tyson is the OG. Jordy introduced me to trail running and ultra running at large, I had no idea this level of insanity existed before. I don’t know if I know a more genuine, humble, positive person. Running with Jordy equals chill vibes and the most random stories.

• Then there are long Sunday runs with Sasha. We started running together about 4 years ago and it feels like going to church. Part confessional, part uplifting sermon, it’s always heartfelt. We started running together as I was dealing with infertility issues, I think he knows more about ovulation, IUI & IVF than most dudes.

• This one feels weird to write but my Strava friends make a big difference in my everyday running journey. Most of them I’ve met running at races so maybe we have run together once-ish… but there is something about witnessing the persistence of others that helps you be inspired consistently.

I’m not sure where triathlon and I stand right now, but I’m so grateful to have started this journey with Carrie. More than covering the distance of the Ironman, the journey there is the exciting part, and I know I would not have started it alone.

If I may step on my soapbox for a second; pick a friend you’d like to spend more time with and set an audacious goal together. You would probably be able to do it on your own, but you’ll have more fun this way.