"Racing" again

I recently started running with people who are closer to my speed. I make that sound like there was a time when I ran with people who were faster than me. In fact, I ran BEHIND people who were faster. I'd set out on an 18-mile training run with 30 other triathletes and see them for about 20 seconds. We'd pass each other and give high fives but I'd be alone for the entire 3 hours. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed my alone time, but I was a bit jealous of the groups of chatty girls and guys, skipping along and acting silly. My iPod didn't offer the same kind of satisfaction I get from a long talk with a friend.

So now I run with Jamie, a consistent 11-minute miler, and Victoria, who claims she's only slowing down a little bit for me, but from the looks of her she could be an Olympic marathoner. I want to run with her though, so I don't build her up too much, lest she leave me in her dust. Someday she'll have to join the ranks of the fasties, but I'm holding her in my pattern until her knees agree with speed. Yesterday Jamie, Victoria and I ran the Jingle Bell 10k which started in Potomac Park, near the Lincoln Memorial. I had an 11-mile run on my schedule so V and I started from my house to the race start to add on an additional 5 miles. The three of us ran the 6-mile race with ease, even though it was Jamie's first race at that distance and the longest I've run in 6 months.

At the finish of the race I realized how comfortable I felt, both that day and the previous day when I ran the Reindeer Romp 5K with the Girls on the Run team I helped coach this semester. Recognizing that my running has progressed was surprising, and I began to wonder if I could be much faster than I previously thought. For three years now I've trained for long-distance triathlons in a low heart rate zone, forcing myself to believe that breathing hard was detrimental to training.