Yesterday I stepped out of my comfort zone and finally met up with the Sylvan Park Running group. They are a local group of runners that run 2x a week on a few 3 mi loops that they have created. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous...but I went.
I started walking up to the meeting spot and connected with a sweet lady named Marleene. She was relatively new to the area and is training for her 1st half! I proceeded to check out the other runners, and it seemed like a good group of young/old, men/women. I then asked Marleene if they run pretty fast and she said some do, but she let's them go on ahead of her! She said I could stick with her :)
I held my own with the pack for the first 1.5 mile, and then my " i haven't ran for 14 days out-of-shape-ness" kicked in. so did the hills. I told Marleene that I had to stop and walk, but go ahead! I then proceeded to get passed by everyone and their mom. I picked it up and started running again, and then saw Marleene stretching on the curb. She had waited for me!
I told her she should go ahead, but she kept by my side the rest of the loop. super super sweet. We chatted and got to know each other better. When we saw the rest of the group stretching at the finish my humor kicked in..." Don't worry! We were just bringing up the rear. Just making sure everyone made it!".
Despite the fact that I was really ok with Marleene running ahead of me, deep down inside I didn't want to be the last one to finish. I just have horrible past memories of always being last in runs and relay's during my soccer days. I have never been a fast runner, and probably won't ever be the " fastest ". but hey I'm trying and that's all that matters.
Overall, I'm really happy that I branched out and met some new people. While stretching I made some more friends and told them I would be back out tues. night!
On a side note....
I decided to keep my toenail. I clipped it down pretty short and it is still hanging on there. I know you were all waiting anxiously with my decision.
Have you ever had/ been a Marleene?
It's so fun to meet new runners! I went out to a group run the other night, and I was freaked out when I couldn't find the person I came to meet. I hate running alone at stuff like that, so bless Marleen for understanding that running alone is crappy. Especially when you go out of your way to run with a group!
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