10K training officially began July 13th with what is known to Galloway run-walk-runners as the Magic Mile. A magic mile is essentially warming up, running a mile, cooling down. The time it takes to do that 1-mile run (or walk or mix, whatever you like) determines the pace at which you will train for your distance event. There’s some magical math involved because running a long distance will be done at a slower pace per mile than just a single mile. The body gets tired, right?
I was up and at ‘em early on magic mile day wearing my Galloway running shirt and prepared with my morning caffeine, my during-running hydration, and spare snacks and water in the car for afterward. Nothing like over preparing. In reality, I would have been fine with just my my water bottle for running as it was quite warm that day. Oh, and the morning iced tea. I mean, let’s not get carried away and forget the important drinks. I arrived early to the track and took a few minutes to check out what was happening. Generally, a large gathering of run club members who hadn’t seen each other in weeks. There was hugging, catching up, and camaraderie. I knew 2 people and it was holy-crap-early-for-a-Saturday, so I said hello to the two people I knew and mostly stood quietly in the shade as I expect any nerdy introvert would do in a crowd of strangers.
What I love about Galloway is the focus on injury prevention. Before any running began, there was an instruction session on warming up. Stretching is pretty much a no-no pre-run, but warming up the muscles is strongly encouraged. Moves were demonstrated. Warming happened. Then some walking. Then the run. Then more walking to cool down. And it was done. I did okay. The MapMyRun app told me I did 14:42 for my mile. The timekeepers said 16:35, but they were measuring by number of times around the track and tracking many people. I’m okay with either. I had a heart condition, so I’m very okay with starting in the slow group. (Foreshadowing Alert: Being in the slow group will annoy me later on.)

Our distance training was the next week. By this time, we’ve been sorted into different pace groups using the magic mile math of Galloway. Each group has a pace group leader who keeps us going during our training runs. My pace group, Team Yellow, are training at a 20 minute mile. That’s 3 miles an hour. Long run trainings on Saturdays have some basic rules. My favorites are:

• There’s no such thing as running too slow on the long run day
• The pace group leader is always in front
• No one is left behind, we run at a pace so all in the group can keep up
• No huffing and puffing. If you can’t have a conversation without gasping for air, you are running too fast.

The first long run for those training for a 10K did a 3-mile run/walk. At our 20 min/mile pace, we ran for 10 seconds, then walked for 30 seconds; repeating this pattern until we reached 3 miles. I loved my group. They are nice and we talked the whole way covering every possible topic except politics. This was largely a getting-to-know-you conversation as most of us had just met.
It was a good run, but a little easy. More than once I walked the 10-second run to avoid hitting the person in front of me. It’s hard to learn to run slow, but it really helps you focus on form and how your feet hit the ground. I also learned that most women struggle with finding a decent bra to run in, and a lot of current and former librarians and teachers run. What, I wonder, are educators running from? My main takeaway, however was this: I barely broke a sweat. It just seemed too easy. Before the next training session, I tried to gently inquire about changing pace groups.
We are told repeatedly that pace group changes will ONLY happen with new magic mile times. We run magic miles about once a month. So, for now, this is my group. I tried to suggest the variance between my app’s timing and that which was recorded on the track. No deal. I was informed that I should not expect to sweat during a long run like a big workout, and I was encouraged to trust the process. I knew that, ultimately, I would probably appreciate the slower run when we got to longer distances, so I am here, trusting the process and focusing on form and how my body is doing during longer distances.
I’m also using my mid-week runs to work on improving my speed and conditioning to run faster for longer periods of time. That will help me improve my magic mile speed so hopefully I can move to a faster group. Perhaps that former coworker is correct, maybe I am a climber always making plans to get ahead. That’s another essay I’m still working the bad words out of, but in sum: he’s a meanie and I don’t think it’s wrong to want to achieve something.
When the next Saturday distance training arrived there were just 3 of us present for our run. For 10K participants, we would run 3 miles. Half marathon trainees would run 5. At the end of 3 miles, I felt good. I was not tired running at this slower pace. Plus, I was enjoying getting to know my running mates, and decided, quite on the spot, that I’d just switch to training for a half marathon. Group mates agreed, because, why not? 10K isn’t all that far, and half marathon is just two 10K’s, plus a touch more. So, half-marathon in October, here I come.
During this 3-turned-5-miler I learned that, in fact, we want the whole group to bump up to a faster pace. This is a goal I like because it can happen for all of us at once. I much prefer everyone advancing as a team versus leaving someone behind. The positivity and support that moved in every direction during that run were a great sign that this path is a good one. Plus, the response of Kathy when I got home and said, “Oh, by the way, I just committed myself to a half marathon,” was confirmation of my decision to do this. I am forever grateful that she enthusiastically supports whatever wild idea I have to improve myself, heal my body, or just try new things. And, in return, I continue to promise that I will wear the Fitbit that monitors my heart rate, drink enough, keep my nutrition in check, and do all the things to avoid injury.