Run Girl Run!

So, as I mentioned earlier - Hubby and I met up with a running group in San Francisco after work and did a run with them.  It was our first time with this group so we didn't really know what to expect.  I've had bad experiences running with folks in San Francisco before because... well they are all so FIT.  But this group seemed to be a nice cross section and I felt really comfortable.

The plan for tonight was to do a 4.5 mile run around Lake Merced.  At the designated time we all lined up, someone yelled "GO" and we were off!

I really wasn't expecting to be able to keep up with the pack.  It's just not the way it is for me - I'm slow and I know it :).  They all pulled away at first and then, magically, they stopped gaining ground!  I did a mental check and found that i wasn't struggling, really, so I just went with the flow, keeping a few folks in site.

The first mile rolled past rather quickly and I checked my watch.. WHAT!  11 minutes!?  I kept going.  Mile two came -- another 11 minute mile!?  But now the running path was starting to head up hill.  I was hitting the wall that I always seem to hit somewhere in mile three.  I was tired, I was winded,  I was hurting... But I was determined.  Even as I saw the others pulling away and eventually go out of site I knew what my goal was.  I was going to run 3.2 miles (a 5K).  

I kept running.  I felt like I was barely moving.  I wanted to stop, to walk for a while, or even maybe halt all together to catch my breath.  But I kept running.  I was determined, no matter how slow I had to go, that I would reach my goal of 3.2 miles.

And I did!  I finished that 3.2 miles in 37:15 - averaging an 11:38min/mile pace!  (that's 5.2 @ 1% incline if you're used to the treadmill).

But I wasn't done yet.  Nope - the route was 4.5 miles long.  I had reached a milestone, but wasn't to the finish yet!  The last 1.3 miles I did a run/walk combo and in the end, I finished the 4.5 miles in 53:53 - averaging a 12:06 min/mile pace.  Not too shabby!

What was really exciting was that when I got to thinking about how far I've come...I realized that the first "Marker Set" we did while training to do Lavaman we were asked to run 2 Miles and record our time. That first time out (On 11/20/09) I ran that 2 miles in 31:35.  Just a little faster then I ran OVER 3 miles tonight!  WHOO HOO!!