Most of the benefits of training with a group are pretty obvious. There is safety in numbers, as larger groups are easier to spot in traffic. Also, in the unfortunate instance of a turned ankle or other injury, there is someone around to offer assistance or get help.
There is also the benefit of having someone to challenge and push you through those last hard intervals. Running with faster folks can make you faster, especially if you are running with them along a not-so-familiar route and risk getting lost if you don't keep up.
There is also the motivating advantage of knowing that your group will be waiting for you for that Sunday morning run. Or, is that just peer pressure, and, in turn, a negative. Hmm. There is the benefit of social interaction, spending time with friends.
But group training can be too much of a good thing at times. What I see all to often are planned easy days that turn into races or hard tempo sessions. Easy recovery days are where the gains of training are made, and sometimes runners would be better off going solo and sticking to the training plan rather than getting caught up in the "competition" group runs sometimes spur, even if by accident. Also, due to varying pace and fitness levels, one person's easy pace might put another runner into tempo mode.
Lastly, going solo can provide an athlete with mental toughness. Being able to push through the last miles of those solo long runs can give a runner the mental edge to hang in there during the tough last miles of a marathon or half.
That said, see you guys tonight for our tempo run.
WELL SAID COACH... and I believe the last half of the second paragraph sums up my existence!!!
ReplyDeleteGood article. I have been on both sides of the fence here. Group runs are a great thing, what I find is that groups are really beneficial to me designated hard days. The easy ones, I prefer long runs in the solitude of the woods.
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