Run #2

My second week of training is going well.

My pace group is made up of 4 people:
- Irma (my co-worker)
- Joe (a very sharp and witty guy in his 60's)
- myself
- Steve (Who I missed meeting last week, who didn't show up this week, and whom I still have yet to meet!).

Another gal, Lisa (a 6th grade teacher who just quit her job and plans to travel after this run) joined us this week since the rest of her group didn't show.

The four of us ran 2 miles along the beach and through Golden Gate Park. Along the way we saw a group of bison in the park. Who knew they lived there! It was pretty cool.

My last run I ran at the Berkeley Marina and it was just a very different crowd and group of people. I really enjoy the commute to the city (Irma and I have been carpooling), and the scenery in San Francisco during this time of year is just awesome!

This time I'm training at a ratio of 3:1, and my per mile minute is 14. It's a bit slower than my previous training, but this time around I joined more as an encouragement for Irma to run rather than a personal challenge. She was really inspired by my running blog and my own personal experience that she wanted to join. She's a lot like me in that sometimes trepidation can get the better of her, and something in me said this is something I should do with her. Last time it was all new to me so I had no idea what to expect. This time I plan to just really enjoy the running and the experience this time. I think as I progress in the training I will start to focus on a time goal (maybe aim for 2:30 completion time?) to give me some sort of goal to focus on, since I already know I can finish it. :-D

And after the last two weeks, I also realized there's a deep joy I receive when I hear Irma gush about how much she's loving the training and how positive she's feeling after the runs. I'm one of a handful of alumni who are training again with this group, so being around all these first-timers is just so refreshing. There's such a sense of gratitude when I hear and see everyone just growing through their fears and really grasping their awesome ability to conquer any fears or personal demons that they have. It's a good feeling and I sense that this time around the training and relationships I build will be pretty significant in terms of the path my life will take. But, I am getting ahead of myself here. ;-)

More later!