Running with Colleagues

Today was a fairly rainy day with a high humidity index.  Work was a bit of an early start, with a meeting at 8, and then the rest of the morning was a series of annoyances and by the time 11:30 came around, I did not feel like a run in the least bit.  That plus the fact that the other participating runners were of the fleet-footed variety - in the extreme.  There was Jonathan who ran Boston last year in 3:28, Jill who runs a 7 minute mile (yes really) and all the others who run sub-eight minute miles.  On a good day, I can manage a 9:13 pace.....
At this point I wanted to cop out.  This is quite typical of me.  I feel stressed out running with others, and when my head is 'in' work, I cannot disengage.  I am sure there must be some kind of formula, as this must get easier, yes?  Anyway, we were a group of 8 in the end, and off we went.  I think that must have been one of the fastest 3.78 miles I ran.  Jill led the pack, and the start was intense, but I could not hold that pace for long, and after about 2 miles, the distance started increasing between all of us.  Still, even though I was running pretty fast (for me), they were far ahead.  I think I put in a good effort, but I ran my own 'race'.  I am glad that I went counter-tendency and did the run, even though I needed all afternoon to recover!
So tomorrow I have a 14 mile long run.  I missed last week's, so I hope I am not too rusty. I am just thankful that I can do it.  Let's see how it goes.
Finally, I received a reply to my email from Matt Fizgerald.  And yes, all of you were right!  So thank you again for the kind words and excellent advice.  Matt's email was the cherry on the cake....


Natalia,

Thanks for your message. Don't lose confidence! You still have plenty of time to build the endurance you will need on November 21. While my plan may have less volume than some other beginner plans, it has more high-intensity work, and ultimately that's more beneficial. Stick to the plan and you'll be ready, I promise!

I know I have to work a lot harder as I only have 9 weeks left.  As mentioned in a previous post, I am sticking with my programme.  Indeed, as with all things,  you have to see these things to the end if you want to assess whether it works or not.