Running is no longer a solitary chore

I tend to be a music at the highest decible possible/ suffer alone kind of runner.. at least until yesterday when I took my first jaunt with a small group of friends.   I've avoided running anywhere near people I know successfully for several years since I've picked up running (ok --- really walking with some jogging thrown in for good measure most of the time!).  In fact, more often than not I run in the very private space of my basement on my trusty friend/enemy the treadmill.    Don't get me wrong, I actually think I prefer running outdoors (especially somewhere with a view or sand between my toes) but when outside there's always the chance of running into a neighbor when I'm gasping for air, red faced, and feeling like I'm about to fall over... or worse yet the chance to trip, fall, or some other clumsy incident.   So the idea of running with people that I know, and am friends with, that I see on a really regular basis was sort of terrifying to me.  Suddenly though, I found myself without any other commitments and the weather was gorgeous, so I put on my best brave face and said I would go.  And it was fun.. well as fun as running can be.   I proclaimed early and often that I'm super slow, have pretty much no endurance and that I was likely to trip -- I'm long past the days of pretending to be better at something than I am and trying to keep up :-) And guess what - people who are you're friends will understand all that and mostly refrain from poking fun.  Now I'm not particularly great at conversastion when focusing on putting one foot in front of the other at a speed higher than snail but it was nice to have people to chat with during the walking breaks and to curse with when the running got hard.  Misery does love company after all!