Week 1: Where do I belong?

Well, this morning was the first Saturday of training.

It was initially a bit like being a freshman the first day of high school. There were the upperclassmen who knew everything and were veterans and then the sophomore-types and then the people like me who were totally new. After completing registration and getting a nice battleship-grey shirt, it was a bit of hurry-up and wait; but, still it was interesting seeing the incredible variety of people in the school hall. There was a real Marine Corps-type cadence/chant given by Leroy (?), which got me going ... ah, this is like the Servite days!

A key question is what pace group to be in, at least for the week. I frankly had no bloody idea, besides avoiding the semi-Kenyan-section (a.k.a. the really fast runners). One man was a bit discouraging when he said I should go to the run/power walk group, and not even the fastest of those! On the other hand, I had run a relatively decent time in a 5k in August (my first 5k).

I decided to go for it and stay in an all-running group, Group 8 (or in Chad Johnson-speak; Grupo Ocho). Once the registrations had been completed, the leaders introduced themselves and spoke a bit about the process and were very encouraging. They also gave the happy news that the marathon will end in Santa Monica! The groups (runners, run/walkers, and walkers) all headed out to the Strand and soon with surprisingly basically no stretching (Servite coaches would have been in shock), we started.

It was a decent day to run, a bit overcast. There were people on the Strand paths and other groups as well. There was also the still striking images of poverty (homeless people, some mentally-ill people), urban issues (litter, empty stores, graffiti), and affluence (the luxury hotels). I got into a decent rhythm fairly quickly and felt pretty good (it was only supposed to be 3 miles; but, a few months ago, this would not be really viable).

Group 8 made a semi-organized turnaround away from the Pier end and headed back towards Venice. The group's pace leaders were fun and energetic, which helped. (I must say the walking groups seemed to be having the best time!) It was a large group of 74 runners and some began to falter and/or tire; but, we made it back and stretched more than at the start, which apparently is the norm for distance running (Note to self: Stop thinking like a sprinter/middle distance runner!). Then it was back to the school for bananas and water and a bit of a sense of "Hey, I can do this." I also spoke with a pace leader about some group questions. We found out they had missed the turn and we actually did 3.7 miles (the horror!); but, at a good clip. Not a bad run and actually less than I had been doing Saturdays; but, it is nicer with people, the ocean view, ...

So, I am not sure if this is the group for me. I may try a faster group (the pace leader said Group 7 or may be Group 6). I definitely think I can do the running and not have to go for power walk/run.

On the way home, I began to think about the morning and the marathon. May be this is more than just trying to get into shape or trying to do a crazy physical challenge. May be it is going to be a journey for me far beyond just miles. I started thinking about how in so many other parts of my life right now I am trying to figure out, "Where do I belong?"