Competion vs supportive

We all joke that on a treadmill in the gym we are racing the person next to us. Of course I felt this way when I was in shape and could easily run at 6.0 now that I am struggling between 5-5.5 I don't always feel this way. Today was our first official WCRR half/full marathon training day, we did a 4 mile run. Now I had signed up to run in the Vegas group (all the groups are named after marathons), which is a 12-13 min pace. Previously when I was about 35 lbs lighter and ran alot faster I was in the catalina group (before they added Vegas) which was a 10-13 min group. Well we drive up (Dee and I, Todd had duty) to a very rainy morning. I hadn't planned for that type of weather in my wonderful sunny San Diego and was in capris and a tank top!!!! As I stood there shivering and nippling (embarrasing) I decided to hell with trying to keep up a faster pace for a solid 4 miles without knowing anyone in the group so I told Dee I was going to run with her. On our last 1/2 mile she told me she knew it was all about competition and I said no, not this time. I am truly wanting to run with her to help us both build up speed and stamina. So is it always about competition or can you sacrifice your speed/stamina to help others get to their goals?