And I officially got my butt kicked...

Last night was the first Tuesday that I was actually able to run with the Lincoln Park Pacers. I signed up for the running club, oh, probably in January or something, and this was the first week that I was able to get out there and run with them. Which is totally my fault because I forgot that they do runs on Saturday mornings too. Oops. I am going to have to get better about that.

Anyway, I had no idea what to expect and last night it was a little blistery for a late-April-practically-May-for-goodness-sake evening. We meet in Lincoln Park at Diversey Parkway and Lakeshore, which is not too far from Adam's. I took the train down so I'd have about 7 blocks to walk and warm up. I knew that they run about 5 miles and I had a feeling it was going to be fast. There were only about 9 or 10 of us running last night since it was so windy. The ringleaders were actual marathon pacers (I will do an entire post on my debate about running with a pace group in the marathon later), which means they are freakin' fast! I told them my measly 11 minute per mile pace and we started off. One guy stayed with me for the out part of the run, which we ran north to Montrose and ended up on top of this hill, which I've been told is pretty much the only mountain in Chicago, haha. I think we were running about 9 minute miles, which was totally killer for me. At the top of the hill, we regrouped and headed the 2.5 miles back. I ran with two different guys on the way back, the LPP's were so nice to run a little slower with me but man, they were still running faster than I ever like to push myself. I believe that I have overcome a lot of my breathing issues, but when your mother has like 6 inhalers just to get through the day, it has to affect your own lung capacity, right?

It was awesome though, we did 5 miles in right around 45 minutes. I was totally beaten down, which is good. Running with other people is probably my least favorite thing in the world because I am so slow and if I speed up, I have so much trouble controlling my breathing. Surprisingly, last night was awesome. It was kind of like having a personal trainer, except they weren't really pushy and let me have enough of my own space to pace myself and actually complete the run. Thanks, Lincoln Park Pacers. I'll be seeing you in the park more often!