Getting used to the back of the pack

Last night I headed out to the MRTC Bartlett running group by myself. Becky was resting up for the Cooper Young 4-miler this Friday, and I thought I would be brave and go by myself. I thought I would try to keep up with the pack of middle-aged women who run with the group. Haha - that's funny!

The run went like this:
Mile 1 - Megan keeps up with the middle-aged women (granted at the back of the group). Megan and Spunky (the older man who directs the group, and runs with the new folks so they don't get lost) talk about the Women's Running 5k, and when he hears that she ran it in 33:23, Spunky says "Well, that's good for your first race!"

"Oh no," Megan puffs, "is was like my 8th race."

"Oh," says Spunky, "then I guess it wasn't a good race?"

"Oh no," Megan puffs again, "it was my PR."

"....well...good," says Spunky.

At one mile, Megan looks at her watch and sees 10:30. This is the fastest mile that Megan has run since high school.

Mile 2 - Megan slows her pace a bit and thankfully Spunky stays with her. They keep up with the last two women in the pack, one of whom is 70 years old. Short walk break at a hill, and a short break while waiting for the Bartlett Blvd stop light. As the group runs across Bartlett Blvd, a nice man in a car yells and gives the group the finger because the runners are in his way.

*2 minute water break at the community club house*

Mile 3 and Mile 4 - Megan's face is red (although in her defense standing outside in the heat makes it red), she is huffing and puffing, but she is running. A simple rule is followed: walk on the uphills, run on the downhills and flats. Knowing that the finish is just past the last hill, Megan opts to run up it, pumping those arms like the Women Running coaches taught her. Finish time is 49 minutes, but with the stoplight and water break, the four miles were probably done in 46 minutes. That's an average of 11:30 per mile. Uggh.. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call a tempo run.

Despite possibly being the hardest run I have ever completed, I felt really good afterward! After I got through my G2 and started breathing normally, I noticed that my legs felt good, my arms felt good, my abs felt good...pretty much everything felt great. My body was kind of saying, "yeah, that's what I like - get me moving!"

So, I was the very last person to finish, but I ran faster and stronger than ever. One of these days maybe I will reach my goal of keeping up with the middle-aged women...maybe even the one running with a jogging stroller!