u/Claff93

I'm going to file the DC Pro as a successful weekend. I ran in a huge class (28 drivers) and optimistically hoped I could finish in the top half. I was happily surprised to sit tenth after the first session, but expected my usual tumbling down the standings as other drivers fixed cones and red lights. But I only fell to 11th in the second session, even with coning away a massive improvement on the right side. In the final session, I fixed the cone but didn't get all the time back, but it was enough to get back to tenth after everyone ran.

It was fun to play in a big class, with positions changing all the time, and getting myself into the trophies (top eight) at times before getting knocked out late. I'm happy that S1 is just the X classes now rather than the mixed bag of stuff it was last year, so I'm looking forward to the rest of the Pros on our schedule.

Kate did not have the luxury of running in an index class that keeps similar cars (and PAXes) together, and then it gets worse when SSC and its super-soft index gets bumped into L1. On the plus side, she did get her first perfect .500 light, so that's pretty cool.

We'll give the car a quick nut-and-bolt check tomorrow before chucking it back on the trailer and head out for Spring Nationals in just a few days. Bo the ND is getting put through the wringer this month and it's not quite halfway through it.

I've only run with this social run group twice. Last week I joined the fast group on a 5K group and hung with the leader the entire time (24 minutes).

This time they asked me to lead the fast group. I accepted, saying that I'd shoot for a 7:30-8:00 pace. We took off and I don't know how many joined this group. The club does fast 5K, slow 5K, fast mile, and slow mile groups and they all kinda leave at the same time so it's hard to figure out who's running with which group.

Early on I had one guy right on my tail. Glancing back, I couldn't see anyone else but it was hard to tell with a quick look back. I checked with the guy behind me and he said he was doing fine. I asked if I was holding him up and he said he was happy with the pace. I tried to be consistent 7:30 but saw occasional 7:15s on my watch.

At the two mile mark the guy tailing me faded back. I slowed a little to make sure I was still in his sight so he wouldn't miss turns, although I'm pretty sure he's run with this club before and knew the route. My third mile was a 8:30 pace.

So the question to the group is, what exactly is my responsibility when leading the fast group? Do I just run my pace and if the other runners can't keep up, that's on them? Should I be trying to assess others' speed and adjust mine so I stay ahead of them so we're all running together? Is 7:30 too fast for a casual running club that's still pretty new?