Start time: 04/15/06, 8:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 8 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 11:00min/mile

I went out running with last year’s training group on Saturday (the day before Easter, thus the thoroughly unwitty subject for this entry); it was a large group, with me, Julie, Ali, Alma, Carla, Craig, Katie, Mark, Randy, and Craig’s brothers Jeff and Scott. We headed out slow, and halfway through mile two we had several people hit a bathroom break, so we were off to a slow start. (12:09, 12:24) Before long we got our groove, and miles 3-6 involved a bunch of speeding up by the group. (11:04, 11:27, 10:42, 10:30) The group had started to stretch apart around the end of that stretch, though, and around mile 6.5 there was a sudden shuffle at the front and Katie was about 75 feet ahead of everyone else while the people she was running with had suddenly started dropping back quickly. I had been content to stay with the main part of the group (for me the run was as much social as it was exercise since aside from Julie I won’t be training with any of them this year) so Jeff and I ran ahead and caught her and took the last part of it in. (10:17, 9:19)

What can I say, Katie’s fast. It still amazes me to this day that she did not utterly crush me at the marathon (like she did at the Cherry Blossom 10-miler). I’m just happy that half of the time I can keep up with her, or alternately that she humors me by letting me think so!