My mother has been a huge Michael Stanley fan for the last 40 years or so. Most of the songs just blur together because I was never the fan, but the song I do remember is “Misery Loves Company” and as a triathlete does the title not ring true?

Training for an endurance race can be a lonely road if you don’t have someone to train with. Assuming you didn’t have have a buddy sign up with you for the race, you may be hard pressed to find someone who is willing to join you on an 18 mile run or a 80 mile ride.

That just leaves you out there on the road – alone with your thoughts. Most of the time I’m able to clear my head and zone out unless I have something that has been bothering me. Don’t get me wrong, the serenity can be alieviating depending on the stress level in your life, but sometimes you wish you could just shoot the shit about whatever came to mind.

Don’t worry, you’re not going to crazy if you have to do this by yourself, but there will be times where you wish you had someone down for the ride. The time will go faster than you think and before you know it you’re crossing the finish line. Besides, you may meet people along the way that’ll turn into training buddies.