The Benefits of Running in a Pack
Posted on Jul 21, 2008 under Trail | No CommentMonday, January 7, 2002
Workout: medium/comfortable to Duarte
Time: slow (easy) Weather: warm
Today was the first day of school after winter break. I felt kind of weird to be running, it may have been because we were running at a different time of day, but it could have also been because I was tired from having to get up so early for school and then having to have to run after. I wasn’t necessarily tired, but I just didn’t feel like running. I guess this happens when you run 6-7 days a week for months at a time. There just doesn’t seem to be an end to it. So for today’s run on the trail, we went a little easier than usual, probably because there were other runners out there that didn’t really run like they were supposed to during the winter break. I was kind of glad though, but I should have made it some kind of workout and at some points in the run, I felt that I could have easily picked up the pace a little. Everyone started running before us and we were the last group of runners on the trail. Coming up, Felipe kind of took off and I tried to keep up with him. We stopped at the 2-mile mark and started resting. But Frank came by and told us to keep going (to Duarte), so we kept running. It’s always good to have other runners around to push you. If I were running alone, it would be a lot easier to slow down or even worse, stop running. But with other runners around, you sort of have to be on your toes, and even better, they’ll be around to push you when you need help. So we ran together as a pack, but I started falling back. So as I was falling back, Frank called me up to the group and that was enough for me to give a little surge to catch up. I mean, it wasn’t a hard pace, it was just the distance between me and the group was the hard part. So, once I got over that part, the rest was easier.
During my first year of running high school cross country, we had a very large freshman class of runners (I was a sophmore). So during races, we would see a runner from our team very often, which was great as we had more people to cheer for and gave us something to do before and after a race. My friend started a catchphrase, “pack power” which fit very well with running. Because running in a pack is a lot more easier than running by yourself. Everyone can push and encourage each other and make everyone better. If you’re running alone, it’s you and your mind. And when your body is tired, it’s going to convince your mind make the rest of your body give up.
