running clubs?

[Heather!]

so what are your thoughts on running clubs? i, personally, have regarded them as rather queer in the past; more or less for people who'd rather socialize than actually run... but i wanted to try something a bit new so checked out one that my shoe store offers.

i gotta admit i like it. it was nice to try out a new route. it was nice to meet some new people (some of whom were very nice looking young men). and while there were a (big) number of joggers there, there were also people at my level and some who were real damn fast. plus they have drinks after the wednesday night runs so...

does anyone else belong to one?

[runninwild]

I've been searching for one since I've been here, but I haven't had much luck. I'd really like to find one exactly like what you have just described. This motivates me to look harder, so I'll have something to contribute to this blog. I'll let you know what I find.

[Parker]

I had a pretty good one that I ran with before deployment. Disbanded while I was gone unfortunately.

I'm not a fan of the one in my area now. It seems like everyone is way slower, or way faster, and that there's no middle ground. Seriously, last time I tried running with them, people started talking about their marathon times. There was about 4 guys that were hoping to break 2:45, and a bunch of people who really wanted to break 4 hours. Where does that leave me with a 3:14 time?

[Heather!]

yeah this one is very broken up: there's a group of fast guys, a group of fast girls, and then everyone else kinda breaks up into pairs behind us. but it seems like there are enough people to satisfy everyone's needs. although, there have been a few times where i went a little faster than my group but not quite fast enough to run the whole way with the guys so i ended up being by myself (and once i got a little lost)... but all in all it's been quite an asset as far as training goes.

[Tommy Heikkinen]

I never really had anyone to train with during high school besides the occasional running partner, but those came and went. Now that I'm actually training with a team (the vast majority of whom are much faster than me) I've seen my times drop a lot. I pr'ed in the 8k by more than 2.5 minutes. I think that because I'm always chasing to keep up with the faster runners I've been getting better workouts too, wheras in highschool I would run at whatever pace felt easy, and even if that was sub 7 minute miles I wouldn't push to the point where it would hurt. So Parker I would err on the side of the sub 2:45 guys. Even if you can't keep up every day, worst case scenario is that race day you end up running too fast...

[Beau]

If I understand correctly, the mystery of running clubs that emphasize training is that everyone improves their times. I am the fastest runner in my running club by a wide margin and am seeing my times drop after just a year and half (went from a 3:00 to a 2:50 marathon). Something about the camaraderie and sense of belonging that helps you push beyond.

[Heather!]

i think part of it too (for me at least) is that i feel like now there are people who know me and my abilities and goals and i don't want to disappoint them. i almost feel like i have to report to them and if my times aren't what they should be, everyone will be let down... ya know? i also think that when one person does well it inspires the rest of the group to push themselves: my friend ashley came in 2nd in a bigger marathon and it made me so excited to run another one