First Group Run (Ever)

Well, to round out what has been a whole host of new experiences lately, this morning was my first (ever) Galloway Group run!  The group meets at 6:30am, and I needed to get there early since I missed the first official run two weeks ago - this meant I had to leave the house at 5:45!  I joined the WWF (We Will Finish) group for this first run - they do a 2:1 run:walk ratio.  I was a little concerned about the higher ratio, but figured I'd see how I felt after the run and make adjustments next week if needed.  Also, even though it isn't considered a truly "long" run, it was on the schedule as one, so they said we were going to try to run 2 min/mi slower than race pace.

As we were running, I took the opportunity to run with several different people and really enjoyed having other people nearby to chat with.  However, once again I was surprised by the hilliness of Dallas (175 ft of elevation gain)!  It turns out we were in the same area as that dreaded hill up to the exchange point for the Rock'n'Roll Dallas Relay.  Our planned 4.8 mile run ended up being a little longer than planned due to a missing street sign, which resulted in us missing a turn, and suddenly 4.8 miles turned into 5.6!  Oh well - what doesn't kill you..., right?

Did I mention it was steamy!?!?  Temps in the high 70s/low 80s and humid.  I ended up having to cut short each of the last three run intervals and walk a little longer inbetween - my legs were ok, but my breathing was too fast and I was seriously huffing and puffing!  I talked to the group coordinator about it after the run and she suggested either dropping back to the back of the pack of my group or perhaps even switching to the next slowest group for the longer runs.  I think this will be something I'll have to play by ear as we continue - maybe stick with the current group for short runs and fall back for the longer ones?

All in all, it was a good morning!  I'm excited about the group and what lies ahead of us in marathon training!

Today's run:

• 5.6 miles; 1:15:51; 13:33 min/mi avg. pace
• Total mileage includes some walking at the beginning, but I didn't keep track of when we switched.
• Also, once again, I forgot to turn my Garmin back on, so I'm using the "total elapsed time" from start to finish of the run - a little longer than actual running time.