My Love-Hate Relationship with Group Running

Confession time: I love my running buddies, but I don't always love running with them.  I've never reacted well to not being able to set my own pace, and I really don't like feeling like I'm holding people back.  I thought this would get better as I became a more experienced runner, but so far it really hasn't, probably because I'm still self-conscious about my (lack of) speed and not all that confident in my running ability.  I run alone as much as possible, but my running Miyagi, Mc L, says running with other people is good for me, so I'm trying.

As some of you know, I'm a graduate student and a "resident tutor".  I live in a "house" with about 400 undergrads and 17 other "tutors," fellow grad students who basically act as RAs.  A few years ago, before I came to the house, another tutor started a house running group that meets once a week for an easy three miles before breakfast in the dining hall.  I join them whenever my injury status/training plan allow.  We try to get undergraduates to run with us, but most of the time it's just a few tutors.

My running group doing what we do best -- eating breakfast!

I've had two really fun group/partner running experiences that I can remember.  One was a 7 mile training run with my friend Diane.  We run about the same pace over longer distances -- at least when I'm in good shape.  She also spurred me to a 5K PR at the Tavern to Tavern 5K by going out pretty quickly in the first two miles and taking me with her.

Not sure whether I was happier about the PR or the excuse to drink beer at 9:30am

Another was the North Shore Half Marathon with my mom.  It was her first half marathon and my third, so I knew I could cover the distance and that we would be running slower and walking more than I had in the first two.  We ended up finishing in 2:27, under our 2:30 goal and only ten minutes off my then-PR.  I felt great at the end and it was probably the most enjoyable run I've had on a race course.

Rocking our matching hats and medals

I think I'll always love being using a run to get some alone time with an audio book, but I really would like to enjoy running with a partner/group, both to help me get faster and to make running a more social activity for me.

Do you prefer running alone or with a partner/group?  Any tips for becoming more comfortable running in a group?