Today was our first day of training in Golden Gate Park. I picked up Buddy on the way, and we got horribly lost trying to find the run site. We eventually got there with about 5 minutes to spare. They had us do a 3-mile run, which they used to put us in our pace groups. I ran it in 31:03, which put me in the 11:30 minute/mile pace group (they slow you down a minute or two), named the "Kathy Switzer" group. I assume that Kathy Switzer is some famous runner, and not just our organizer's mom or something. This time is about what I expected, and should mean a 5-hour marathon.

My group was small and kind of quiet, so I was trying to be friendly and introducing myself to everyone and chatting. Before I knew what was happening, I was somehow elected the pace group leader, despite telling Buddy several times that I would do everything in my power not to be one. (They have to show up 15-minutes earlier than everyone else. Sorry Buddy!) I hope I don't get them all lost, seeing as I don't know San Francisco at all. Whee!

Edit: Some quick Googling reveals that Kathy Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. This was before women were officially allowed to run the race, so she obtained her number by entering as "K. Switzer." In a much-publicized event, race officials tried to tear her number off her shirt before being clocked by her boyfriend. Kathy Switzer rules!