The effect relationships have on running

uh..while in highschool i started dating a chick who didnt run...but she started running and joined the team...maybe to impress me? later i found out so....everything was great till i went off to college(year ahead of her) and started putting in all the time it takes to be on a succesful top 3 D1 program....well she stopped running and spent that time screwing other guys at the home town college, except i didnt know that...she would call right before practice and start bitching at me, huge fights, yada yada yada you all knwo how it goes.....BUT somehow when i stepped on the track, or road or course, i could drop her form my mind, or if i didnt, it jsut made me run harder....so it wasnt all bad, except for all the hot real runner girls i could have had that year if not for being true to the one back home....anyway we broke up after i found out what a slut she was, and now i only go after chicks who run in college and run alot , and are also hot and succesful, cuz, well they know what it takes....

women run slower: dead legs

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT relationships hurt running. I am not gonna tell you the whole story but to summarize I spent way to much time and energy putting the girl first and running took a back seat... way back. Pace and mileage slipped, days skipped to travel and watch her run, exc. You really do seem to get too content and you loose your edge when you get a great girl. I think it seriously makes you too happy. This sport really is about the individual, and when someone else comes into your life that isn't an intregal part of the sport (ie. the married/elite coach/athlete pairs) then a conflict of interest incurs...

It's helped my running.

And honestly, I'd put the relationship before the running if I had to. It's just more important to me, brings me more pleasure.

Luckily, she runs too, and runs fast. So there are absolutely no conflicts. And we can run together and still get a decent run in.

I have kind of the opposite "problem", i.e. I tend to run too much because my GF got into it and it is something we do together.

When we started dating, I was seriously into another sport, at which I have some talent and actually make part of my living off of (I have little talent at running and am only semi-decent because I love it and train like a fiend). She was very good at this other sport, but it was seasonal, and she started running with me in the off-season. Now she has improved to the point where she is heading towards the Olympic Trials (after only three years) in a track event, and instead of putting in the training for my "main" sport, I am putting in the miles with her. At some point I will have to switch back, but it will take away from our time/energy together. I guess it's a case of "be careful what you wish for".....

Interesting thread. My history is this: I was in a 2 year relationship while running in college with another runner. In retrospect, I think it actually added to my performance and hers as well, especially in the college environment with practice, class, social agendas, etc. There was someone else who understood WHY, which (and lets be honest here) many non-runners simply will never understand. Now two years later, single, still running a lot, it is very hard to maintain the same running regimen with females who haven't had a competitive athletic background and don't understand WHY. Thats why I still look for the "athletic kinds", simply because they do understand that undying desire we have to continue to train and compete, not to mention they are normally better looking!!