The beauty to running with a group comes in the following:
Last night was cold. Not the coldest night, but cold enough and with a steady wind. After a long day of work, the last thing I wanted to do was go run in that stuff. The second last thing I wanted to do was go run tempo.
Needless to say, I forced myself out the door to meet up with the Jason, Michael, Verdo, and a few others... as I felt obligated to... as we have this unspoken reliance upon one another during these freezing temps.
Two miles into our run, they began their tempo workout. After kicking and screaming for a bit, I decided to up my pace, but not quite to their effort. After all, the faster I ran, the sooner I'd finish. They went out in a ~5:50 mile, and I was dropped quickly, but I still managed a 6:01.
Before I knew it, I got into a nice groove and never lost sight of the pack up ahead. Mile 2, I made up ground. Without realizing how much I upped my effort, I went 5:47. It still felt comfortable. I caught Michael and turned after the 2nd mile. We then went through mile 3 at 5:48. I buried mile 4 at a 5:41.
Not a blazing pace, but considering they're the fastest miles I've run in 3 months - I'll happily take it. So 9 miles total, 4 miles of a progressing tempo... when my alternative was to sit on my ass and get fat. Today I feel good about myself.
Getting out the door is 1/2 the battle. And thanks to running in a group of dedicated guys, we'll be able to slug our way through this winter.
Last night was cold. Not the coldest night, but cold enough and with a steady wind. After a long day of work, the last thing I wanted to do was go run in that stuff. The second last thing I wanted to do was go run tempo.
Needless to say, I forced myself out the door to meet up with the Jason, Michael, Verdo, and a few others... as I felt obligated to... as we have this unspoken reliance upon one another during these freezing temps.
Two miles into our run, they began their tempo workout. After kicking and screaming for a bit, I decided to up my pace, but not quite to their effort. After all, the faster I ran, the sooner I'd finish. They went out in a ~5:50 mile, and I was dropped quickly, but I still managed a 6:01.
Before I knew it, I got into a nice groove and never lost sight of the pack up ahead. Mile 2, I made up ground. Without realizing how much I upped my effort, I went 5:47. It still felt comfortable. I caught Michael and turned after the 2nd mile. We then went through mile 3 at 5:48. I buried mile 4 at a 5:41.
Not a blazing pace, but considering they're the fastest miles I've run in 3 months - I'll happily take it. So 9 miles total, 4 miles of a progressing tempo... when my alternative was to sit on my ass and get fat. Today I feel good about myself.
Getting out the door is 1/2 the battle. And thanks to running in a group of dedicated guys, we'll be able to slug our way through this winter.
You and your guys inspire me. Great post!
ReplyDelete