Group Run

Last night was a fun group run at the Finish Line Running Store. This is the first time where we've had more than a few people. There were a total of 8 of us and we ran a new route. I had no idea where we were running so I just followed the crowd. The five of us guys headed north while the three girls took a separate route.

It was frustrating because I went out of the store a minute early to get my GPS to find a satelitte. For some reason, it couldn't pick one up though. It took about half a mile before I finally got a signal.

The weather was nice and the pace ended up being perfect. It was challenging, but not so much so that I couldn't handle it. I ran with Steve, who I've run with before, and we took off away from the rest of the pack. Although the route was all on roads, they were actually rather quiet and made it easy to run on.

The course itself wasn't too hilly, but the under 8:30 minute pace did make it challenging for me to get up even the slightest inclines. In the final two miles, there was one steep uphill. I managed to dig in and follow Steve though. He made for a great pacer. He started to drop me a bit at the end. He definitely could've gone faster. I did have my usual kick at the finish though.

The route ended up being 5 miles and a little over half a minute off my 5K pace. These group runs are definitely a big help. Hopefully they'll allow me to progress a bit faster. Eventually, I'll be the pace setter, but for now it is good to have someone pull me along.

4.59 miles - 38:20 (8.21 pace)