The next level

So I have mentioned running with a group. It's been a few weeks (3 weeks?) and it's been awesome. The people there are all very friendly and welcoming. I tried out a different group before finding them and I didn't quite feel it, but with this group has been a different story. I guess it also helped that I already knew someone and didn't just show up  by myself. Come to think about it, I haven't ran with my friend during our group runs, we run different paces, and that is what is so great about a group, you have all sorts of runners going at different paces you will never be left to run alone. I have run with a different person every weekend ever since starting with the group, which is good, different stories and conversation makes the miles go by a lot faster. I am running with Boston qualifiers, college runners, veteran runners, running moms, etc, etc. It definitely has "forced" me to step it up. There's just something about running with other people, kind of like a race, you feed off of their energy. It's not even competitive, you just go with it and before you know you settle into a good rhythm, 16 miles have gone by, and you finish strong.

This week I also joined a few from the group for a couple of morning runs. I make quite a drive just to meet them, but I so much rather do that than running alone. Like I said, running with them has forced me to step it up to the next level, even getting up earlier. Their during the week runs start at 4:30 am! Who am I, and what has become of me? A running junkie? Ha! But they have been great runs, filled with speed and hills! The girl I ran with this morning decided to let me know towards the end of our 7 miler that she was only 24 yrs old and used to run in college, her specialty : the 800 mts. Uh...thanks for telling me that towards the end of our run. She was lucky I didn't pass out, then she'd have to stop to do CPR on me and that would have ruined her time.

But, really I am glad to have found this people and excited to be learning new things about what my body can do. Kind of like when I first started running after my first baby. Finding out that I could run a little faster and further than a 5 K, I just didn't know it. I'm kind of getting that same sense of satisfaction and accomplishments all over again, and it feels good.

The quest for this weekend: 18 miles. My furthest run yet.

What I did this week:

Sat: 16 miles (not 17 as planned)
Monday: 4 miles, recovery run
Tuesday: 9 miles of rolling never ending hills
Wednesday: rested (should have run 4-5 easy miles)
Thursday 7 miles at 8'30 pace

Happy running to all of you out there! May you conquer all your running quests!