So you know how we talked about motivation? And I was
talking about group runs?
Well I did it! At least the once.
Last Tuesday I went to my first group run with my friend
Samantha. It was a Pi-K. 3.14 miles. Pi, get it? I thought it was funny. And I thought at least I would be a good excuse to eat some pie afterwards. That's sound logic right?
When we first got there we kept to ourselves. Not because
people were not welcoming but because we didn't want to intrude on anyone
else’s conversation. I’m sure if we had walked up to people and introduced
ourselves they would have been more than happy to talk to us.
The girl who ran the thing was really nice; she gave us
tickets for free booze (hooray!) and explained how the whole thing worked.
Basically, follow the signs, have fun, be safe, end up back here. Pretty
simple.
We started with a lap around the parking lot and continued
on through an office area (that includes my own office) along with some fancy
pants apartments and some shops. And a movie theatre. Can’t forget the movie
theatre.
Now despite the assurances of the guy at the shop that told
me about this group, I was the slowest person in the group aside from the woman
with a stroller and the lady walking with her dog. So I was really happy to
have Samantha with me. She was willing to slow down a little bit for me so I
could keep up with her. She also kept me from giving up. Around the 1 mile mark
I was like “What the fudge man? It’s only been a mile?” I wanted to turn back
but she made me keep going. I felt bad after a while because she clearly wanted
to (and was able to) go a bit faster than me but I just couldn’t do it on this
particular day.
Part of it was I felt a little out of control. We were just
deciding as we went when to run and when to walk. Ok, run to that sign. Ok,
let’s walk. Ok, now let’s run to that tree! Ok, now let’s walk again. When I’m
going by landmarks, I tend to sprint to get it over with which is not good
endurance wise. I was also having trouble catching my breath and I think my
heart was beating a little bit fast. And my former blister sites started to get
a little hot. But we made it back which is all that matters at this point. Even
if we were second to last to finish. (Baby lady and Dog lady walked so they
were technically last.)
When we got back, there were presents! Booze, a free t-shirt
and a free Galloway book! Score! A local nutrition shop was also there giving
out some protein shakes. Also awesome. It was a very festive atmosphere but we
were both ready to go. Samantha had to head to her second job and I was ready
to go home.
Will I do it again? Absolutely. But I’ll need some rules.
1. Do intervals. – I’ve been doing 1 minutes running: 4
minutes walking the past week which has turned out pretty well and has
definitely helped with the endurance factor. It will also help me feel a little more in control.
2. Talk to people – I’m not very social by nature so it’s
always a bit of a crazy impulse when I introduce myself to a stranger at an
event. Hopefully, if I introduce myself in this group it will entice me to show
up almost all the time. Having Samantha there really helps but having a backup
buddy wouldn’t hurt.
So that’s something to look forward to occasionally. Maybe
every other week? Or maybe every week. I don’t know yet. I’m winging it right
now.
Expedition Everest is on Saturday. And it’s supposed to
rain. So that’ll be fun, right? I keep checking the weather obsessively hoping
the forecast has changed. Cross your fingers for me?
Have you ever participated in a group run? Were you the last to finish (commiserate with me!)?
Expedition
Everest 5k – 3 days | Happy Haunted 5k – 157 days | Wine and Dine Half Marathon
– 192 days | Avengers Half Marathon – 200 days | Walt Disney World Half
Marathon – 255 days | Disney Princess Half Marathon - 298 days
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