Running with the Pack

Last friday was my first attempt to run with Raquel during a race. We both decided to start small with a 5K. It wasn't just any 5K though, this one had a theme. It was the Palo Alto Moonlight 5K. The course was on a trail through little lakes and reservoirs, and was only lit by the full moon. Isn't that a romantic and original concept? I can honestly say that I've never done a night run like that before. They recommended that we wear head lamps and hold flashlights, but I didn't bring anything thinking that my eyesight was sufficient and I'd try to keep up with Raquel, who was wearing a head lamp. Also, I invited my friends, Nat and Kimi, as additional reinforcements because there is safety in numbers.

My strategy was to let Nat and Kimi shoot ahead and play a game of chase with them for the whole race. That didn't quite go as planned. In the beginning, I decided to weave my way through the crowd and try to break free with Raquel valiantly keeping up and giving me some light. We had a good pace going for about 1.5 miles. But at that 1.5 mile marker, all of a sudden I felt the consequences of my early exertions and I ended up walking. I think I let my negative thoughts get the best of me: "Oh man.. I can't keep up this pace with Raquel." "My legs are feeling like lead, I've never done this pace before." "If I keep running at this speed, I might break an ankle because I can't really see the dirt trail, even with Raquel's light.". And like the loyal girlfriend that she is, Raquel stayed with me the whole time even though I know she had the energy to run farther. In the end, I mangaged a walk/run method after Nat and Kimi eventually caught up to us. We all finished the race together, but with a really slow time.

Afterwards, I asked Raquel how she felt about our joint run. And she told me that she was ridiculously tired when I stopped to walk, so it was a good thing that I slowed down. But, I know her better, that's her version of cheering me up. She also said that I seemed more self-conscious about my appearance when she was next to me. For example, she thought I was worried about my sweat, my hair being out of place, and that I didn't look cute. Now, I know that I definitely wasn't worried about that, so I'm trying to figure out if she was transferring some of her worries on to me.

Overall, I still prefer running solo over running with friends. But, I don't think that I dread pack running as much as I did before. I'm going to need a few more practice runs with Raquel to get used to her pace and presence. Next time, I'll have to apply some positive mantras to balance the negative thoughts. Apparently, I'll also have to remember to wear my cuter running clothes and to style my hair.