Group runs make it hard to run slow

I ran the hilly course with the 6 a.m. group of runners from Luke's Locker Thursday morning.

There. Were. Hills. Friggin. Everywhere.

And there were also about 20 people running.

I was just going to make it a slow run, you know, put the miles in but try to stay fresh for this Saturday's 25k. But when there are so many people running, and you are bumping elbows in the first few tenths of a mile, your adrenaline just takes over, and you don't wanna be outrun by that guy with the gray hair, or the lady whose got kids as old as you are.

All that was missing was bib numbers and somebody to sing the National Anthem.

This hill course _ the elevation on one of the hills was 75 feet in 1/2 mile according to my Garmin 305 Forerunner _ turned out to be a mini time trial for me.

I did 5.77 miles in 45:33. After the first mile warm up, each subsequent mile was sub 8.

It's the first time I've run this course in under 46 minutes.

And I felt pretty good afterward, like I could have run four more miles at that pace if there were water stops.

I know. I know. I shouldn't run so hard (heart rate averaged 85 percent maximum and soared to 90 percent near the end of the run) with such a long "race" coming up. But it felt so good, and with where my running has come from (I was happy with a sub 10-minute mile a year ago) I think I'll enjoy my new found speed.