The Lone Ranger

All of the experts agree, having someone in your life who can keep you accountable to your goals will help you to be successful in the long run. A friend, and "accountability buddy," a workout partner, a blog *cough cough*. The thing is, until recently, I've never really taken heed to that advice. I've always gone my own way and done things by myself and for myself. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the company of others and I love my friends but when it came to my health and fitness I was a complete hermit.

I never took much joy in getting together with a group, or even just one friend, to hit the pavement for an early morning long run. I was always just a touch jealous of those who did but that feeling never pushed me over the edget to partake in that camraderie. When I did/do run with others, I'm constantly feeling like I'm holding my running buddy back or that I'm just not quite fit/fast/quiet/talkative enough. It was the same in the pool, on the bike, lifting in the gym, and so on. I could put my earbuds in and workout my own way and not worry about anyone else. I reveled in that alone time. That time to think, push myself, listen to my music, and to be in my own head.

Despite all of that, over the years I've had a few great workout/training partners come and go and while we might not still exercise together, we're still great friends. At the time, we were just what we needed for each other and we filled just enough of a role in our each other's journey to keep one another moving in the right direction.

Now that I am where I am, I'm starting to realize that those brief stints of exercise camraderie were more powerful than I ever gave them credit for. I took for granted how much I really did rely on those relationships to keep things fresh and fun. While I'm surrounded by people all day long who would jump at the chance to workout together, I haven't found the right fit...until now.

Through reading my blog, a couple of my local friends reached out and invited me to partake in their journey with them. To be honest, I was apprehensive at first. I've been dealing with some Lyme flare-up issues, I'm out of shape and these girls both just ran a marathon, and I like to have control over my workouts. Regardless, I thought to myself, obviously what I've been doing the last couple of years isn't working so now's the time to break down that wall and go for it. Last week the three of us embarked on regular early morning workouts before work and I have to say, it was awesome. The accountability of having to meet each other at the gym got me out of bed when I definitely otherwise would have hit snooze a dozen times. Our commitment to each other got us out the door, had us laughing before 6am, and had us completing some quality workouts before most people open their eyes.

So here I am, excited for another week of meeting my friends at the gym to challenge each other, push ourselves, work towards each of our goals, and have some fun in the process. Thank you girls, for reminding me how much fun this can be!

Put your goals out there, challenge yourself, and have fun. That's what it's all about, right?

Until next time...