A running partner to keep me honest

Long runs are easier when you find someone to run with who runs at about the same pace as you do.

When I was running my long runs too fast, I was sort of a tweener. I was behind the really fast guys, but ahead of the rest of the pack, and so I spent three-fourths of my runs kinda by myself.

Since I'm now running "smarter" I've paired up with this cool guy, Jonathan. He has helped me keep my pace steady. For instance, during Saturday's 14-miler, every mile between 2 and 9 was between 8:27 and 8:35 min/mile. Now that's what I call consistency. (I picked up the pace the last five miles, going from mid 8s to mid 7s for the last five miles)

You'd be surprised (if you didnt already know) how "easy" running is when you run with someone else. Last Thursday, I was just going to do 10 miles. Jonathan was going to do 14. We got started, nice and easy pace, and I felt so good I decided to go four more miles.

Jonathan is on vacation with his wife and kids next week, so I'll have to be disciplined and keep a safe pace on my own.