In a little bit over a week, I've attempted to take on four different running partners and last month I even temporarily joined a running group. I put an ad on Facebook, looking for a running partner and many have responded. This was my ad:
Am training for my next fight and so I'm looking for a serious running partner for the following:Weekday mornings -- 3 short runs (7-9kms) + 1 mountain HIIT run (5km)Weekend -- 1 longer run (12-15km)I really don't care if you're male or female, just that you're committed and your pacing is around the 5min/km mark. I run with earphones on and music blasting so I'm not interested in conversation. I'm interested in training hard and am willing to throw in a free VIP membership to my boxing club for as long as you are my running partner. PM me if you can make the commitment. Thank you.
I've had quite a few responses but more than half were just per nonsense. I can't help but wonder here if the English-speaking people who responded to my ad can actually read and understand the very language they're teaching, their native language, seriously. Whether it was one respondent asking if we could have dinner together first or another asking me for my picture, I thought I made myself clear that I just wanted a running partner. I'm not going to have dinner with you or send you my picture because your choice of food isn't an interest of mine nor is whether or not we can make good conversation, and I don't care if you think I'm good-looking enough to run with or not. I don't care if you're a one-eyed, purple, people-eating monster. If you can run and can keep a pace of around 5mins/km then let's go run together.
Today I met up with a fourth, another potential partner, and we headed out for a run. I was particularly super optimistic about today's partner because of various reasons with the obvious being because they are female. She had responded to my ad on a Facebook group page and seemed enthusiastic and very sweet. The other three runners and almost all of the other respondents were males but this one was a female and, unlike the others, she was married. She's a Korean gal married to an American solider and this instantly sparked my interest because we shared a common thread -- we both are in a transnational marriage. Her English is awesome and the fact that she wasn't a "foreign crowd groupie" here in Cheonan was such a relief.
She showed up at Hulk's this morning and we headed out on the route I had mapped out. It was to be a 9.5km run. About two kilometers into the run she started walking and mentioned to me that it had been years since she last ran. I was rather disappointed but we were already out on the path, she was really sweet, and so I tried to make the most of the situation. I'd run ahead, then loop around to run back to her and every so often I threw her some words of encouragement and a smile. This continued until we got to Dankook, at which I told her to turn left, I'd go right, and we'd circle around the lake and cross paths. So she took a left, me a right, and off we both went. I sped away, resulting in my fastest kilometre ever -- 4:03mins/km. When I came full circle around the lake and still hadn't cross paths with her, I started to worry so I texted a good friend. She told me to do another lap around the lake and look for her. So that's exactly what I did but yet again I came full circle and still no sign of her. That's when I called Snickers and asked him what to do. "Just come home", he told me, so that's what I did. Upon turning the corner at Hulk's, I looked up and there she sat all smiley-faced. It was such a relief that nothing had happened to her and that she found her way back. I know she's not from Cheonan and currently doesn't actually live in Korea, she's just visiting her family and lives in Japan.
I'm still looking for a running partner that will fit what I'm looking for. I want a runner partner who is better than me, someone that makes me run out of my comfort zone. I want someone who runs at a 5mins/km pacing because that's my goal pacing. Today's running partner was definitely successful in making me run outside of my comfort zone but not for the reasons I had aimed for.
Snickers knows all too well how disappointing and discouraging trying to find an appropriate running partner has been for me. I even tried joining a Cheonan running group but ended up meeting running buddies who wanted nothing more than to practice their English with me or "hunt me", as Snickers would call it.
I don't want another friend, I don't want to train someone how to be a stronger runner and I sure as heck don't want to be a free English tutor. I want a running partner that matches me. I'm beginning to think this is too much to ask.
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