Training for a marathon with your significant other can be an excellent way to bond and grow your relationship. Think about it: You're both working toward a goal, encouraging each other to persevere and do your best. And that memory of crossing the finish line together will be treasured forever.
With the GMS Queen City Marathon coming up in September, now's the time to start training with your partner. Here are four ways marathon training with your better half can be a relationship-builder:
1. You keep going even when times are tough
Every relationship has its ups and down, and life can present many challenges. The key to a strong relationship is being able to not just overcome these obstacles together, but become closer for having gone through them. Training for a marathon is not easy — there may be times when one or both of you want to call it quits. But when you both decide to hit the pavement together, it proves you take commitment to each other and your goals seriously.
2. You empathize with each other
Each person in a relationship has their own schedule, and when you're both working and taking care of independent errands and responsibilities, it's important to take time to touch base and connect with each other throughout the week. Training for a marathon with your partner is a valuable opportunity to be on the same page and spend quality time with each other. As Sports Guide Magazine noted, you operate on the same wavelength during marathon training, feeling the same pain, frustration, fatigue and exhilaration as your partner does, bringing you closer.
Running a marathon with your partner can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
3. You hold each other accountable
When training alone, it can be easy to let a workout or run slip through the cracks - who's going to know, anyway? But training with your partner makes you more accountable and can inspire you to keep going even when you're tired. When you see your partner get up early to pound the pavement with confidence, it can inspire you to get up too.
4. You accomplished a goal together
One of the beautiful things about strong relationships is the ability to work towards a goal together - buying your dream house, saving for a trip around the world or building a family. Training for a marathon is a similar goal that requires preparation, advanced planning and commitment. And, crossing that finish line can strengthen your bond and prove what you can accomplish when you work together.
Tips for training for a marathon with your partner
Find a schedule that works for both of you
If you love getting up at sunrise and your sweetheart prefers to sleep in, you're not magically going to get them to wake up at the crack of dawn every morning. Instead, compromise on a training schedule that works for both of you.
Give praise often
Running is hard, even for the most seasoned marathoners. Frequently praising and complimenting your partner on their efforts can help them build up the confidence to keep going.
Focus on the experience, not the results
If you both want to finish the marathon in record time, that's a great goal! But don't let a stringent focus on the results detract you from the daily, small joys of training with your partner. It's about the journey, not the destination!
Listen well
Part of overcoming challenges as a couple is listening to each other, hearing the other person's fears, concerns and anxieties. That goes for training together too. If your partner had a long day at work and wants to push back a workout to a later time or needs to take a break, listen to them, acknowledge their needs and feelings and work out a different plan.
With these tips, training with your partner can be a rewarding and exciting experience that takes your relationship to a deeper level.