Group runs, the shudders and hot sprinters

I've never been a group exercise person. I've avoided aerobics, yoga, jazzercise and all similar activities that involved sweating in a confined space with lots of strangers. I never played sports as a kid and so naturally feel completely out of my league in any sort of team activity. Running is fantastic because you don't have to suffer though any of the pit falls of team sports. However, there comes a time when running by yourself seems less than enough.

I came across this group run that starts at Uncle Billy's Brewery. It seems less scary than early morning group runs because the end goal is to get sloshed on home brew. Still, some of the fear remains, especially because I'm really not sure how long it actually it is. Might be a few miles, might be 10?

They're on Wednesdays, so today. I subconsciously decided to not go when I went for a long run this morning. The weather was perfect and half way through I realized I didn't want to push it by going on another long run later that night. I actually got to 4 miles, which is great for me though I realize it's chicken scratch to most.

I would like to get up to 5 miles at least before the 10k in a couple of weeks which at this point I realize is totally doable. Mercifully, my shin splints are a thing of the past. The thing to avoid, I realized, is engaging in any kind of sprint behavior. I sprinted 3 days ago now and my quads are still very upset with me. It's incredible all the muscles sprinting actually requires, not to mention the stamina. I barely got to a tenth of a mile each time. Totally get the wide sea that separates marathon bodies and sprinter bodies.