Running with others: chosen topic

When I run, I often run alone. It is a time for me to push myself and challenge my body both physically and mentally. However, I have found that when I run alone I start to justify how long I will run or what pace I should keep. I do not push past my limits because it is not comfortable. I finish unsatisfied because I know that my body can press on, but as soon as the thought of slowing down enters my mind, I submit to that thought and give in.
Running with other people is often something that I enjoy, but also dread. Even though conversation is short, I receive energy and motivation from the other person to keep running. I have found that I am able to push myself harder because I want to keep up with the other person. When one of us starts to fall off the pace, the other is the pace setter and pushes you to keep moving forward. I reach that same point of wanting to quit as I do running alone, but I get encouragement from my running companion to push past the point of exhaustion and keep running. When we finally finish, the reward of the pain the two of us endured is worth it because we know that we were pushed to our limits.

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