Another tough morning, mentally/emotionally, meeting with the group. It's easy to go unnoticed once I'm there, if I really want to... I know this; so, I make myself go. I arrived RIGHT at 8AM only to drive around & around the parking lot looking for a parking spot. 😕 I trotted over to the group, cognizant of my labored breathing, already. As the group did dynamic hops, kicks & stretches, I joined in; then, we took off. I was dead last in my group. I struggled but was ok not to be noticed. Gloriously, my caffeine started to kick in to work its magic. My breathing became easier & I chatted with a fellow runner for a bit. I am not a talker while I run so while I did communicate briefly, I awkwardly stopped talking & just tried to slip into pace behind a very tall man. Eventually, our group split into two groups with a big space in between. I floated between the two groups & did my own solo thing. I was on my target pace but still group-running-SOLO. It was kind of the best of both worlds. 😊 When I got back my iRunner had me at 8 1/2 miles not 9. At this point, I didn't care. While I was personally planning on running 10, I am kind of planning on still running with Jim, today. He's planning an 8 miler; so, I'm okay with running 8 1/2 with the training group.

I, surprisingly, felt well. I've been dealing with some quirks but nothing ibuprofen didn't take care of, today. I was running faster than my group's "slow, easy pace" but it felt easy, today. I usually run by feel instead of pace. This usually bites me in the butt on longer races so I'll have to rely on my pace group more, eventually. The miles quickly went by.

For now, training in a new location - also with a group- is a novel thing. It made the miles pass quickly! So while I initially dread the idea of running with people; I know it's really not that bad. Everyone that strikes up a conversation with me has been SUPER nice. The burden has been on them to start the conversation-- but they have! They are not spooky or scary... runners are the most welcoming group of people, honestly. I've just been groomed to be an independent, solo person. --I'm trying to be more social. I showed up... but didn't stay afterwards. Baby steps to being a different person & runner...