Well, I finally went for a trial run with my local running club last night.
I was very nervous for all the reasons I had discussed before. However, they were very welcoming and friendly and I was 1 of 3 newbies to the group. The other 2 had never run before so I thought I would be ok and was not as nervous as I’d been. I gave blood last week and have struggled a bit since with breathlessness. Apparently this is common until all your red blood cells have been replenished.
6.5k later, off road, up and down through the rolling hills of Yorkshire I reached the club house to finish the run. I may have been kn*****ed but i was not the last person home. Result!
So to answer my own questions from the first post on this topic ...
1) am I good enough? YES I was.
2) will it be too competitive? NO it wasn’t it was very encouraging & supportive.
3) will I be able to keep up? YES I could. The front runners looped round where possible to encourage those at the back.
So the big question is will I be joining?
I really enjoyed the run and the group, my legs ache like hell today though! The group was great and so supportive but I’m not sure about off road hill running. I can’t escape hills living where I do but i am able to choose easier routes.
So in conclusion I am going to go again and see if they do a different type of run and take it from there.