Running with Marathoners makes the miles add up

Two weeks ago Chris and I headed up to the local Y and sat in on a meeting about a Triple Crown running group. Since then we have been running with the local marathoners and putting in some serious miles.

The group meets on Mondays and Saturdays and the leader of the running group will run at any time. Last week was the first Monday night meeting. Since Chris had family obligations, he could not make it. We ended up putting in just under 5.5 miles that night. On Saturday Chris and I headed up to the Y and met the running group for and early morning run. The group mainly consisted of the local marathoners and their friends. The official time for the running group was 8:30, but the main group meets anywhere from 5:00 - 6:00 am and heads out on their 6.3 mile loop, returning to the Y at the end of each loop to pick up anyone who has shown up to run.

We headed out on the first loop at a very comfortable 8:40 pace. I will say that I was a bit surprised. I had figured that they would be faster, not that I am complaining. Everyone in the group that we ran with on the first loop are Boston Qualifiers, which is just amazing. We ended up finishing the first 6.3 mile loop in just over 56 minutes. After standing around for a few minutes to gather all of the new arrivals we were off on lap 2. I will say that starting lap 2 kind of sucked. It was really hard to get going again, but after about the first half mile things fell back into rhythm. We ended up completing the second 6.3 mile loop in just over 55 minutes. Not sure how we shaved an entire minute off the pace, but we did. After 12.6 miles Chris and I were ready to call it a day.

Last night Chris had things to do at home, so I headed up to the Y and met the running group without my favorite running partner. When I arrived there were two new faces for the running group, which would only consist of 5 people for the evening run. One was returning to running and the other had only done indoor training. We decided to run 2 miles and bring the first runner back to the Y and then head out for some distance. The first two miles were not that enjoyable, we had to stop and walk a couple of times and the pace was quite slow. But everyone has to start somewhere and being part of a running group isn't just about me. After returning to the Y and dropping off the first runner, we were off. We put in another mile and a half before parting way with the last member of the group. Then myself and the 2 marathoners were on our way. We ended up putting in a total of 8.2 miles, according to the Garmin the leader was wearing, in just over 82 minutes. The average pace was slow, but I would say that the last 4 miles flew by.

I will say that I have been wrestling with the idea of running a marathon, but since heading out with the marathoners I have a clearer vision that it could actually be a feasible possibility.

We shall see.

Later