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Group Running v. "Keeping Easy Easy" (Read 850 times)

    So what's the conventional wisdom here?  Run with the group, enjoy the camaraderie, but end up running a couple of my weekly easy runs easy-medium?  

     

    I used to run with a small training group a couple years ago.  There were 7-10 of us.  We all ran different paces (< 7:00 up through 9:45 pace).

     

    A few days before the run, we did a "who, what, where, when, why" email that presented the route, and got everybody accustomed and prepared for the run.  The "what" portion was always "Tour de FloMo", the town I live in, and that was always my favorite part of writing the email and preparing for the run Smile.  (Someday, we need to setup an organized "Tour de FloMo" race...)

    We ran the 1st mile or two together for the most part (warm up for some, at pace for others).


    The majority of the runs were lollipop style runs where people could retrace their steps if they were having a bad day before the separation, and others would find them on their return.  If it was a really bad day, you could get back to your car in a few short miles.  The lollipop portion was always the same, but it could be 3 miles to get to the separation or 10 miles, depending on the distance we were aiming for for the week.  If you weren't seen during the run, then we knew that everybody was on pace and within 10 - 15 minutes of finishing.  We'd all wait at the finish for the last arrival, and we'd have milk and cookies and hang out on the back of a pickup truck for a few minutes.  For the longest routes, the slower people could either start early or run a shorter route so that we finished at about the same time.

     

    Overall, we ran separate but together, but we were a running "team".  But, the competition of running the same pace as your running buddies wasn't as important as working together and encouraging each other to get 'er done.


    Brian

    Life Goals:

    #1: Do what I can do

    #2: Enjoy life

     

     


    Why is it sideways?

      If it's like my group, this just sort of happens whether you want it or not.  One minute I'm just rolling along at 8:30 pace and before I know it I'm tearing along the last mile (with 4-5 others) trying to keep up with the sub 7 pace for no reason whatsoever other than unspoken competitiveness.  It's actually something I have to watch out for, especially if I ran hard that morning. 

       

      Beware the half-steppers!

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