Sunday Group Run

...did not work out as well as I had hoped. First of all, I am so used to running alone and running in a "building-up" kind of way rather than a "blast off". The first four miles we ran in the dark at a pretty quick pace (for me, that is). Then we headed back to the start to meet up with other folks who were just doing the 7 miler.

Bob, bless his heart, stayed with me the whole time. I knew he was struggling to stay as slow as I was, and I really appreciate him for that. The ladies I was running with (or trying desperately to keep up with), were very nice and congenial. They really expouse the virtues of "group runs", and it is a concept that is completely new to me. Bob made an excellent observation, "Lee Ann, you run faster by yourself." He is right. I was in unfamiliar territory (as scenic and historic as it was), I didn't have my Gatorade plant in between the waters, I ran sans iPod (well, I had it on me, and I didn't make it thru one song). And maybe if I stuck with a group, I would get faster. Especially on their "speed training" days on a high school track.

But I have to ask myself, "Is this what I want?". What the hell do I want? Do I want to be faster, or just run for the sake of running? Don't I enjoy it? Of course I do! Why complicate things with PRs and speed training? Why bother? But then the competition with myself and advancing myself for personal "feel good" reasons works, too! I know I wasn't built to be a runner, but I have started to define my own kind of running. Screw it if I don't fit the stereotype. Screw it that I am getting older and working harder at it. I can get out there for a 20-miler and run the whole way. So I'm not going to Boston. Who cares? I get to go to New York with the kiddos and the man again (when we get picked; and we will, dammit, for the NYC marathon).

If this is the worst of my problems, then I am probably doing ok!