Running in a group--a whole different animal!

Until now, I have almost never run with anyone else. Everyone I know (my husband, Emily, Steve...) runs faster than I do, so running has always been a solitary pursuit for me. Which is fine--I have very vivid memories of running through town one foggy chilly dawn a few weeks ago. The white holiday lights strung in the trees glowed softly through the mist for me and me alone, and my footsteps and breathing were the only sounds in the world. It was haunting and beautiful, something I never would have experienced if I hadn't taken up running.

Today's group run was a wholly different experience, but just as nice as running in my own little mist-cloaked bubble. The group-ness of the experience started with the drive. One of the other women who was at my sign-up meeting lives just a mile or two from my house, so yesterday I boldly e-mailed her to suggest that we could carpool to the starting point. She gratefully accepted, so I found myself squinting through the blackness trying to make out house numbers at oh-dark-thirty this morning.

Annie is very nice, a college student studying nursing. She's new to the whole running thing, but she walked a half marathon last year, so she has some chops. We chatted easily the whole way up, a little nervous about the cold weather and navigating into a city neither of us knows very well. We saw one of those big roadside time/temp displays shortly before we arrived proclaiming it was 21°. "That's gotta be way off," I said hastily, and she just nodded hopefully.

The easiest way to find a group of runners, other than the telltale stretching moves that look just plain peculiar in any other context, is to look at their shoes. Many pairs were blindingly bright and shiny, as if they'd come straight out of the box, and all looked well cared for. There were about 30 of us standing there on the sidewalk under a frigid overcast sky in Cleveland ready to rumble, shifting from leg to leg in some mixture of anxiety, enthusiasm, and a desire not to freeze to death.

Ty, an LLS staff member, made a few announcements, and then we said hi to Coach Rob, one of our running coaches. Coach Rob is a big guy, the kind you might start to cross the street to avoid until you see his friendly face. He's like a German Shepherd with an eternally wagging tail. I would have taken my camera, but I didn't want to run with it, and I wasn't sure it would stand up to the cold. I'll try and add some pictures to later posts.

Just as we launched into our first-ever group run, Melissa fell in beside me. She was the third one at my sign-up meeting and said she would come this morning. I am impressed that all three of us actually showed up. She lives close by, so she was able to just walk over from her place (lucky woman!). The whole run, whether you were currently actively chatting or not, you couldn't help but hear little snippets of conversation--people introducing themselves, talking about running, why they joined Team in Training, and throwing in biographical tidbits. You felt like you were part of something bigger than just you and your feet: you were in a pack, a group breathed into life by something meaningful.

Running in the city was also a new experience for me. There were curbs to hop, a patch of ice or two to carefully run around, and stupid red lights that held us up for 30 seconds or better at a time. Once we had to run around a person camped out on the sidewalk. Melissa courteously said good morning to him.

I talked a bit with one other runner while we were out there, a guy named Mike. (Mike: "I work in the check service department..." Me, enthusiastically: "Wow, you speak Czech?! That is so cool!") He hasn't been running for long, but may go all the way and do the full marathon. You have to admire a guy who really goes for the gusto.

We certainly weren't breaking any land speed records--I finished the 3.15 mile run in 39 minutes and change. (I blame the stoplights.) Much to my delight, Annie came around the corner just a few minutes behind me, beaming that she had managed to run the whole way, with Melissa beside her. Everyone who finished earlier clapped for the people coming in behind them. It was just plain nice.

I think I like this group running thing.