A Combination Post

Runner's World just sent me an email proposing that if I want to get lucky I need to factor running into my love life.  The last time I checked it was difficult enough for me to manage normal dating.  Now granted running and dating does give me the chance to figure out how much effort I will need to flee the relationship but I don't think that is what you should be thinking about in the beginning anyways, right?  I shouldn't be figuring out how many miles at a sub 9 minute mile I would need to do to get away... especially since I've stopped online dating.

But that's not the point of this... my question is more generic, is mixing a run and a date together a good idea?  I posted the question back in 2009 when I started running because Asics ran an ad about the idea.  At that point I posted the "rules" if you will and I still think they apply - quite simply play nice and dress appropriately - in theory the standard rules that apply to non-running dates or running dates that are not well date-dates.

So here are my questions - what makes a running date a date-date?  A sweaty hug? A post run smoothie? And why would you consider doing a running date with someone of the opposite sex you are not related to?  Sure I run with my Dad but this is a very different topic.  I can see the appeal - testing out to see if your date is someone who cares about their health or more specifically has had a good sip of the marathon kool-aid.  Sure you do need someone to understand the insanity of running a marathon - my first two meetings/extended dates with my ex-boyfriend (we were a long distance relationship) happened around the Philadelphia half and the Houston Full.   He saw the ugliest part of it - getting me to the race and back in Houston, fighting me as I refused to eat.  I don't know if a relationship should be based on something like running... these are all the things I mulling over after my first non-date running date with a new partner this past Sunday, the whole process made me feel like it was a date in the sense that it still came with anxieties.  Though they were more about how fast should I run that what should I order, or I hope I don't look like a drowned rat when it's all said and done rather than I wonder if this is too much cleavage.

So this Valentine's Day maybe just run on your own or find someone to run with... and remember it's up to you how far you want to go, for me 5 miles is about right.

And since it is still Music Monday and given everything that has happened may I suggest: