Hi everyone! Fun fact: in all the time I’ve been running, my husband has barely ever gone with me. There have been many times when I did my long runs that I asked him to come along for safety reasons and he walked around on the trail until I was done running, but I can probably count the number of times we’ve both gone running together on one hand. And I can only count 1 time that we actually ran “together”, not just on the same trail at the same time going different paces and distances (which for the record is not running together!). This has always been fine with me since not everyone likes running and I would never push someone into doing it with me. But recently Andrew has been making comments about how he wants to try running again, and how maybe being up in Seward will help him get back into shape because we have no TV, a slow internet connection, and endless sunlight. He just hasn’t made it out the door for a run yet.
So as I laced up for my Thursday night run, I thought about how much I really wanted some company on the trail and asked Andrew if he’d like to join me. There were four stages to this conversation:
1. Me asking if he wanted to join me, and him thinking about it. He says yes and I get excited.
2. He remembers that it’s 9:30 pm (still light out here, but pretty late) and in the low 40s with wind. He says he doesn’t think he wants to go. He then mumbles something about how he hates running anyways.
3. Me trying to find some way to get him to change his mind back to yes without sounding like a naggy wife.
4. Him agreeing to go, and me getting super excited but not showing it.
I knew that since I’m technically training for a half marathon right now I should probably do some sort of fast-ish run for a few miles (see how great I am at training?) but I also knew that this was a really big step for Andrew and if I left him behind on the trail he wouldn’t run very far at all and would probably hate it. So after grabbing my phone and heading out the door I made a conscious decision to leave my RunKeeper app off and to just run 1 mile out and 1 mile back at whatever pace Andrew felt comfortable with. And we were off!
Running out towards the bay
A tsunami is the only way you’ll ever get me to run up Mt. Marathon!
Tons of sunlight at 9:30 pm!
I can’t let Andrew be the only one in our running pics tonight!
Running back towards town
Our view of the harbor
For Andrew’s first run in a long time he did an amazing job! If you’re reading this right now, you are totally awesome for running 2 miles 🙂 I did make one mistake though – Andrew really wanted to know how far he ran, and he didn’t believe me that he actually ran 2 miles! I think he thought I was tricking him by only running a half mile total or something. So I showed him my past RunKeeper maps and used google maps to determine that he had in fact run 2 miles total. Which is an amazing distance considering he hasn’t ran at all in 2014! He did get pretty grumpy out there when it got hard but I tried to calmly remind him that we couldn’t stop until we got back home and that seemed to help him enjoy the run more. Being a “coach” is hard because I don’t want to push him too hard but I also want him to learn how to push through the mentally tough parts of running and test his limits. To be honest, I was quiet most of the run and only really pushed him when we were back in town and he was dying to stop a block too early.
After we got back to the bunkhouse I told Andrew that I was going to run another quick mile before calling it a night. Our run was slower than my usual pace which was nice, but I also really wanted to run fast for a few minutes too! He was fine with that, so I ran up the hill to the end of the road and the ran back down. Once again I ran without any tracking but it took me about 10 minutes so I’m thinking it was a mile. The entire road behind our place is a long, gradual hill (it actually is the start of a mountain) and I’m excited to use that for hill training all summer long. Overall it was a great run for both of us. I’m hoping we’ll be able to go out on more runs together! I think running a nice way to bond with the person you love ❤
Have you ever helped someone get into running? What are your tips for me as a “coach” and Andrew as a new runner?
Mom in the Mtns 
My husband and I run together all the time. We’ve crossed many of finish lines hand in hand. It’s such an awesome thing to do together and we both always agree that we feel super close when we run or race together. I hope he keeps up running with you. It’s seriously the best thing ever having my best friend and love of my life as my running partner!
Awwww that is so awesome! I would love to run a race with Andrew. Hopefully we can get there someday!
How weird is it that its that light at 9:30pm? I would have major sleep issues if it was light like that all the time. My fiance is not a runner. I hope that maybe I’ll convince him to be. I won’t push him to anything he doesn’t want to do, but I think it would be quite fun to do 5ks or something together occasionally! Plus he’d see me a lot more if he ran 🙂
Haha yeah, I bought a sleep mask. It will be crazy in June! And yeah, Andrew will see me a lot more if he runs with me, I’m always running! I hope your fiancé gives running a try!
That’s so great that your hubby agreed to join you on your run! I’m having a hard time dealing with all the gorgeous pictures you’re posting too! It makes me reconsider never wanting to visit cold Alaska 🙂
I helped a friend train for her first half marathon a couple year ago, while training to run a PR of my own, and it worked out great. I ran my tempo runs and long runs alone, then we did our speedwork on the track together. My easy/recovery runs were her tempo and long runs, so we both got the mileage we needed at the paces we wanted.
That’s awesome! I always wanted a running buddy, but it’s so tough when you are both at different speeds! And Alaska really isn’t that cold in the summer, just really beautiful! It’s like spring or fall on the east coast so I’m loving the 60 degree temps every day! You should definitely visit sometime!
I would love it if my husband ran with me. He just does not like it at all. The views are beautiful! How has it been adjustng to all the day light?
I know how you feel, getting my husband to try running has taken a long time! And the daylight situation here is interesting…it stays lighter longer every day until the summer solstice, so it will only get lighter! I just try to close the blinds and not notice it but I did just buy a sleep mask too!
Room darkening blinds and curtains help a lot too!
i’m so envious of how light it is at 9:30 there; i do all my runs at night but feel way more comfortable with some daylight.
my boyfriend and i are at WAY different speeds (he tried a 10k one day and did it in 57 minutes; i trained for months and it took me an hour and 10 minutes…)so i don’t think we’ll be running together for awhile haha
I run at night too! That’s why I’m loving this! And yeah, we are both at very different paces so I know how you feel. Training with another person is hard!
Love it! I just got my dad into running. He finished the couch to 5k program and we are running our first 5k together this weekend in Pennsylvania. I think it was the race that motivated him.
That is so awesome! I wish my dad would run with me! I tried the race thing with Andrew before – we both actually ran a 5k in Philly last spring (we ran it separately) and we ended up both being miserable and having bad times. He hates running in front of people so races are kind of tough for him. We’ll see if he wants to run one in Alaska though, who knows?
How awesome he ran with you! And your route is absolutely breathtaking!
Thanks! Yeah it’s definitely the most beautiful place I’ve ever run, and I’m glad I could share it with him!
I am new to running and only run 2 miles per run so kudos to your husband for making it that far on his first time out with you! My husband is very anti-running, yet he recently made a comment showing an interest in going running with me sometime. It has yet to happen, but I’m excited nonetheless. Alaska looks so amazing! I want to take my Malamute there someday to show her her roots 🙂
2 miles is tough so I have to give you props! Yeah getting anti-running husbands into running is a really slippery slope. I almost feel like I’m nagging him when I’m like “Okay time to go running” and he clearly doesn’t want to go, but on the other hand the more they do it the less it will hurt. We basically have to set down ground rules before we talk about running so that we don’t fight with each other! But mine is starting to like it (I think) so hopefully he’s getting something out of it. And you should definitely come to Alaska! It’s the most beautiful place ever – we came for vacation and decided to move here! And your dog would love the weather here 🙂