Yet another name to cross off my "run with" list...

I have got to stop "keeping up" with the runners from the faster pace groups when my pacer is not there. Tonight after watching an interesting documentary about a group of 'couch potatoes' who all trained for 9 months and ran Boston (special group, didn't have to qualify), we went out for our Steady run of the week.
Steady Run
Steady run is a run below targeted race pace.
Run at comfortable speed; if in doubt, go slow.
So for the 5:45 - to finish group (which I am in), the steady pace should be around 8:59/km. Aiming for the 5:30 finish time (which I am doing), the steady pace increases to 8:37/km. The lady I was running with tonight paces the 4:45 group (um...that's an HOUR faster than my time), so she said "she go in the middle of what we're both pacing" to be nice to me...we did 7:31/km...her pace is 7:30. Not sure how "in the middle" that was, but I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE!!!! Yet, I stubbornly kept up...looked like hell, but I kept up...Garrath thought he'd have to call 9-1-1, but I.kept.up!!! My heart rate was way too high at 152, I looked like I swam back across the river (it was warmer tonight at +7C, but that is not hot by any stretch) and I am feeling the stress in my legs. Garrath did comment that this woman runs too fast for her pace group, and does her Sunday LSD's way too fast as well...good to know. I will run my 29 next week all by myself...I will not kill myself trying to keep up with this group for 29km.
Stats tonight boil down to: 8.85km (her Garmin said 9-something, mine said 8:85 and she argued with me about it...whatever), 1:06:27, 152 bpm, 7:31/km and 655 calories burned. My butt hurts - of course that could have something to do with the fact that we also ran up 10th Street, the day after doing 10 hill repeats...10th Street is like Centre St, only longer! But I did it (and I beat her to the top) without walking or dropping my pace. I am getting stronger...just not at the 4:45 time frame yet!
After stretching, I came home and changed into warm, dry clothes and am going to flake for a bit on the couch before hitting the sack. I am off tomorrow, but since I haven't seen H-woman for so long, and she's heading to Hamilton to run Around the Bay this weekend (and a good luck shout out to all the bloggers running this weekend, like Laura), I offered to pick her up and take her to the airport in the morning. This way we can have a coffee and visit before her flight. Granted, it'll be at 5 in the morning, but the joyous part is I can just come home and go back to bed! It's just like an afternoon nap, only earlier!!!
With that...later,