So you’ve met some awesome vinas through the RunnerS Community on our app (WOO!) and you’re ready to progress to the meeting-in-person stage of your friendship. Congrats!
But what if you’re a newbie runner, and your new vina is a seasoned marathoner? What if you both struggle balancing fitness with being busy moms? What if you literally cannot talk while you run, and therefore you won’t really be good company?
Don’t sweat it. We’ve got you covered for a few different types of vina dates for your new runner buddy:
If you and your new vina are at different levels of running:
Maybe your new vina has run the Boston Marathon five years in a row, and maybe you’re lucky if you can fit in a couple miles once or twice a week. Meeting up for a run would require one (or both) of you to drastically adjust your pace, which isn’t really so fun, so what do you do if you want to do something fitness-y that you both can benefit from?
How about some cross-training together instead? All runners, no matter what their level, can benefit from including some non-running exercise in their routine to work on strength, mobility, and injury prevention, so how about meeting up for yoga or a weightlifting class instead? Choose something that you’re both good at, or that you both could work on improving.
If you and your new vina can barely make time for running between everything else:
Maybe you’re a busy working mom who runs, and your child-free runner friends don’t quite get you. Nor do your non-runner mommy friends. But you’ve met an amazing mommy-runner vina, but you’re both struggling with finding opportunities to get together.
How about signing up for a fun run and training for it together, either running together in person, or keeping each other accountable online? Choosing a fun run means that it will be low pressure and kid/stroller-friendly. (Some races even have a separate stroller division!)
Also consider joining your local chapter of Moms Run This Town together to meet up with other runner moms and to get some deals on running gear and race registrations!
If you would literally rather die than exercise in front of someone else:
Maybe being red-faced, sweaty, and unable to speak is not the greatest first impression to make when meeting up with a new vina. How about getting pedicures together? It’ll give you both a chance to chat and get to know each other (without heavy breathing), and because you’re both runners, neither of you will judge the other for having feet that aren’t quite dainty or pretty.
Got any other great ideas for runner dates? Let us know in the comments!
VINAZINE 