I’m going to try something this Thursday, and it’s something I’m pretty nervous about. It’s something I wouldn’t normally do.
You see, I’m a loner. My friends all live 2 hours away in different directions. I live in this bustling city Madison, WI, which is actually a fairly large city with a lot going on. When I describe Madison, I call it an active city. Active as in, yes there’s a lot of fitness-minded people here, a zillion gyms to choose from, and active as in there’s always something going on.
So why would I be a loner in this city? It’s something from time to time that gets me down. I’ve met one couple that I get together with from time to time, and this couple that I met have been the only friends I’ve made in Madison since I moved here in 2004. So… it’s 2010, I’ve been in this great city for six years and still haven’t made any connections?
What am I going to do about that? I’m going to attend a group run on Thursday. Uh-huh.
Did I mention I’m shy? Often times I blame my shyness for my lack of meeting new people, but I know that I’ve tried. I’ve gone to Flickr-meets (www.flickr.com), I joined the busiest gym, I go to all the local festivals, I took dance class…
In the mean time, I took up running..which is mostly a solo hobby/sport/addiction. On a lot of my runs I’ll notice other runners who run with another person, and I think, “That would be nice“.
So it’s going to be nice. I’m going to try it. This Thursday. Try and stop me.
Finding my happy pace 
Good for you for planning to attend the group run. A good way to meet & chat with new people is to have something in common you relate to – like running. Perhaps, youll even find a running buddy or two. I run with someone and though we don’t talk during – it’s great company and motivation and then we always chit chat after. Have fun on Thurs.
This is great news! I hope you find some new friends. On the positive side – now you will have other peeps who will love talking running with you. I’m quite excited for your marathon countdown also.
I joined a running group the first time I trained for a half. I can say it definitely helped with learning out to keep pace! It can’t hurt to put yourself out there. Let me know how it goes!!
OK now, WAIT-JUST-A-MINUTE. You live in Madison? I LIVE IN MADISON. I run. I feel a lot of your “loner” pain, although I’ve made a few great friends here. WHY AREN’T WE FRIENDS? We are going to remedy this. Probably immediately.
How was the group run? There are a few here too and I was a bit intimidated to try. Like would they all be faster than me…? I’m shy too.