This past weekend I was able to leave NYC and run in beautiful Dutchess County New York in the town of Clinton Corners. Myself and fellow DOFB member John 9, took a trip to visit some friends and while there decided to test the rolling hills with a 7 mile run. The scenery was beautiful but the weather was oppressive, it was in the high 80’s with 80% humidity, which do not make for great running conditions.

One of the highlights of the run for me was pushing my running partner on a pace that may have been a little too grueling for him and maybe myself as well. I was hurting and he may have been dead. The point here is that sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone while running and be pushed past the point where you normally stop.  I think that doing that to John 9, maybe without his consent, will help him overall and make him a better runner. By stepping out of your comfort zone, you see what you can accomplish if you push hard enough over time. It is not a strategy to employ every time out, but once in awhile it needs to be done to make you a better runner.

One note to this story is that Karma is a pain the ass. I decided to run with someone tonight that I had just met and thought it would be a nice easy run. Well she crushed me. We were running  a nice warm up mile and then suddenly we were running 7:45/miles and attempting to keep up a conversation. The conversation ended up with me breathing heavy (not in a cool way) and her just shaking her head in pity. But I needed that good kick in the ass to push me out of my comfort zone and am ready for another shot at her once I can walk again.