Tonight was the regular weekly LVRR Group Run. Since it is winter, I figured that once again no one would show up, especially since I didn't promote it at all. I figured that if that was the case, I would drive over to the Saucon Rail Trail to run on a softer surface.
I went to the bathroom and imagine my surprise when I came out and saw two young women ready to run. It sure didn't hurt that that they were good looking too. Even more amazing, a minute or so later another woman asked if we were meeting for the group run and she came back shortly with a friend. I wouldn't have been shocked if it was just one or two people at most, but 4 new faces in the dead of winter was remarkable. I guess that just speaks to how pathetic this group run has become. I assume the warmer weather of today brought them out.
Two of the woman apparently actually ran with me in the pace group for the Runner's World Half Marathon. How about that? There were quite a few people and a lot of them were behind us, so I don't remember them. They said they tried to get to one of the group runs before, but couldn't make it in time.
After some brief chatting, we took off. Since none of them had run with this group before and I had not run the area in a couple weeks, I just went with the normal route. It was good because none of them were too fast, so I could run at a comfortable pace. They helped to hold me back as I was coming back. All 5 of us ran together throughout the run.
I should probably work on the route because there are some tricky situations. It is hard to see cars coming at the end of the Fahy Bridge. One of the women thought we would go over the Hill to Hill Bridge. Maybe we will do that next time. Thankfully, a car let us cross the road. Near Main Street another car stopped to ask for directions.
It was a great run. Group runs just fly by, especially when running at a conversational pace. It seems like they just get started and before you know it, they are over. I ran most of the run side by side with the one woman and we chatted away while the others did the same behind us. Hopefully, no one was stuck alone. There were 5 of us, so someone kind of had to be the odd person out.
The woman and I talked a lot about running and work and so on. By the way, I'm terrible with names, so I actually forgot everyone's name. It's tough to remember 4 new names. I have enough trouble with one. The two of them run on the Saucon Rail Trail a lot.
After leaving Main Street and downtown, the route itself becomes quite on eventful. That's why it was good to have conversation. I think I kept a pretty manageable pace for them too. No one fell behind.
The weather was great for this time of year. I actually wish I would've been able to run during the day when it was even warmer. It was still nice though. I wore shorts and some arm sleeves with a short sleeve shirt. That was plenty.
Just as we got past Wawa, the woman I was running with dropped back to talk to her friend. That was good because it allowed me to talk to the two younger women and get to know everyone in the group a little better. One of them ran at Freedom. I didn't think to ask her about some of the Freedom connections I have. Her mom also worked where my dad does (Air Products). The other had apparently run the Philadelphia Marathon the year before I did. That's the year that it was freezing cold. I'm glad I picked the correct year.
After navigating some traffic going near the Shops at the Sands, we were back into the Steel Complex. Before I knew it, we were done. I told everyone about the Breakfast Club Runners too. Any time that I get new people to the group runs, especially people from the eastern part of the Lehigh Valley, I like to tell that about that group. I hope that they'll join us then as well as come back to the LVRR Group Run. Only time will tell.
I think everyone had a good time and I'm really hoping they will come back in the future. I could certainly use some more regulars in the group. It's much better than running alone all winter. If we could get a regular group here, I wouldn't even mind keeping the runs in this location. I was hoping that moving the runs to Bethlehem could bring in some new people. It has done that. It just isn't a consistent group at this point. Maybe we can build on tonight. Hopefully I'll see everyone again.
I think I'm going to ride tomorrow. I need to start doing something every day. I need to lose some weight. Watching what I eat has been a good start. Now, I need to do more exercising. I might even add a few hills sprints as well tomorrow. That will allow me to strengthen, my legs and hopefully improve my breathing. My breathing was much better tonight than the last two times out. I'm sure the slower pace as well as the warmer weather both helped.
On Saturday, the BCR group is meeting at the Route 33 Boat Launch. I'm hoping to make it out there. That kind of depends on if I can get enough sleep and get up early enough. I want to test out my GoPro camera with the group. I didn't even bring it tonight because I figured that I would likely be running alone.
4.23 miles - 42:17 (10:00 pace)
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