Running Club

I had no idea there was a such thing as a running club until the other day. Chesley and her roommate were leaving their school's gym last Tuesday and ran into this guy who told them about it. They could see the running club taking place as they walked into the gym. Chesley decided that she wanted to go back the next week. I thought it sounded like it could be fun so I decided to go. Monday night I went to Target and bought a cheap digital watch. A watch is necessary for the running club, because everything is done based on times and keeping your pace.

So, tonight at 6 pm Chesley, two of her friends from her masters program, and I showed up at the outdoor track at their school. There were 50ish plus people there. The four of us had never been to anything like this before. We did some group stretching and then they divided us up into groups. 1 through 6. 6 being the slowest group. The 4 of us put ourselves in the 6th group.

I guess every week they have a different running workout for you to do. We ran (8) 400's. (A 400 equals a lap around the track.) After each 400 you walked half a lap. All the other groups had to run 12 laps, but since group 6 mostly consisted of beginners we only did 8 which is 2 miles. They also set a pace for you. So group 6 was at around a 9 minute mile pace.

As they are giving us our instructions I am thinking to myself that I won't be able to finish 8 laps but thats okay, I will just do as much as I can. I ran cross country and track in high school. I knew I wasn't in that kind of shape so I was just happy that I showed up for this. I workout on average twice a week. I do some Turbo Jam videos and walk/run on my treadmill while watching tv. I only run during commercials. So I was pretty sure that I would not be able to run 8 laps.

Well I did it!! I ran all 8 laps!!! This is a huge deal for me. I haven't ran that much in so long. And more importantly I haven't enjoyed it like that since high school. Every once in a while I catch myself missing workouts with a team, being in shape, and that feeling of accomplishment after a great workout. (You don't get that feeling when you only run during commerical breaks!)

I called my dad afterward to tell him what I had just done. My pace for the 400 was 2:10 - 2:15. He just laughed at those times, because I was running the 800 below that in hs. I wish he lived near me because he would love participating in something like this. There were people much older than him out there.

I can't wait until next week! Its so nice to go with friends. Even though none of us run at the same pace it is still nice to go and know people. I am going to have to go shoe shopping this weekend. I am running in the same pair I wore my senior year of high school (I've been out of HS for 7 years). I'm just really picky about my running shoes and it takes me forever to break them in. I know they have way too many miles on them, but they are just so comfy. I guess its time to trade them in...