Day 6 - Group Run

This morning I was fortunate enough to participate in one of my favorite rituals of mass meetings... the early morning group run. At the reception last night Bob and I spread the word among the folks who we knew were runners. Lots of takers at 8:00pm last night. Not surprisingly the number was trimmed to 6 when 7:00am came around.

As the group gathered, each of us made a quick trek out into the cold, over by the fountain, out from under the roof, and back in. To most people, this would seem strange. But for us, we instantly recognized the behavior. Of the six runners, five of us had GPS watches. Sure we're a bunch of geeks, but we like our data! As we headed out, there by the fountain, on the ground, lay the GPS watches, like 5 little fish out of water, waiting to be strapped on to dutifully record the run for posterity. This was likely one of the most well chronicled group runs in history. (Check out the data.)

Without the wicked wind of yesterday, the weather, though colder (33F), was much more pleasant. We ran away from the bridge this time on a nice little trail that loops around a marina. We were treated to a sunrise over the water with the bridge in the background and dozens of sail boats bobbing in the distance. We joked and chatted and laughed the whole run.

The community of runners is as diverse as any group you'll find. We all have different speeds, goals, reasons to be out there. We've all come to running our own way. Yet we easily merge together when the run starts. The conversations are easy and lively. And, runners are just good people.

Thanks Rob, Bob, Seth, Christian, and Sven for a great run. Same time tomorrow?

The numbers for today: brisk 5.1 miles at 8:28 pace (with a nice 2 mile section under 8:00).