Running in a group is...

[PippiRuns]

GREAT! I had butterflies in my stomach when I jumped on my bike to go an meet my new running mates in Valby Løbeklub.

When I got there, I realised that there were three teams starting together - the beginners (A Good Start) run 3-6 km in a very moderate tempo with a bit of walking in between, the more experienced (Run for Fun) run 7 km and the long distance runners run 10 km on Tuesdays, longer on the weekends.

We all warmed up together and then split up. I, of course, ran with the beginners - I think we were 8 people - our trainer Marianne turned out to be a very friendly and attentive lady - she kept an eye on me and the other newbee and made sure we were comfortable the whole way through. Our route was very hilly (yes, we have hills in Denmark) and we did intervals, twice we stopped and did a bit of strength training. Up until now I have avoided hills, so that brought a whole new dimension into my running. Intervals was also a new thing for me. Very satisfying somehow...

And it was so much fun! We ran/walked/exercised for 55 minutes - we ran slowly, fast, sprinted and competed, picked each other up, did squats, push ups, we laughed and small talked as we ran. Very, very nice experience.

I'll definitely join the club!

[90ldfinch Graduate]

Great news, Iben- glad you enjoyed it. 👍

[yatesco Graduate]

Look at you, cycling to a run! How cool is that :-).

[PippiRuns in reply to yatesco]

Not cool - ordinary. I cycle everywhere, always have - don't own a car. Cars don't make sense in the city.

[Miller2 in reply to PippiRuns]

I remember when I visited Copenhagen it was wonderful to see how geared up the city is for cyclists. Bike lanes etc everywhere. Over here you would take your life in your hands in a city if you travelled on a bike! You are very lucky in your country Iben!

[PippiRuns in reply to Miller2]

So true! Copenhagen is a bike-haven.

[PippiRuns in reply to yatesco]

How's the MFP-logging going? Good I hope.

[yatesco Graduate in reply to PippiRuns]

Yep, a few calories over today, but yesterday's run left me with a few hundred calories deficit so all good. You?

[PippiRuns in reply to yatesco]

Today I'm way under my calorie limit, so I've made up for the mess I made yesterday when I had wine at a friends house. We are doing gooood, aren't we.

In a couple of months you'll be posting photos like Rignold did this afternoon.. I'm still trying to recover from that.

[ju-ju- Graduate]

Sounds really lovely, well done and enjoy it!!!

[B0bP Graduate]

Good for you iben.

I bet it's nice to have a social side of running.

I mostly run on my own except on some Saturday morning when the wife and I Parkrun.

[PippiRuns in reply to B0bP]

I am a very social person - I get energy out of being with other people - so I knew I had to give it at try. But I must admit, I was quite nervous that I might not be able to keep up with the others as I am still slow and that has kept me from joining the club earlier.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

That is truly wonderful... you have found kindred spirits! åndsfælle?

I am so glad you enjoyed it.. it sounds truly perfect!

[PippiRuns in reply to Oldfloss]

Yes, åndsfæller is the correct translation. And I hope it will turn out just as great as It felt today.

[poppypug Graduate]

Ah this is great Iben !

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. This will open a whole world for you of events and get togethers !

This sounds so right for you xxx

[PippiRuns in reply to poppypug]

Yes, I'm hoping you are right. Getting pushed a bit by peers - and inspired - is not a bad thing.

[Monkey25 Graduate]

Sounds like you had a real fun day. It's good to try different things.☺

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

Your running club seems very good to me - my running club is not "elitist" in any way - but they are all good runners and just go out and "do their thing" . There is no organisation at all really regarding pacing - who is fast and who is slow.

[Holly303]

There's a few groups near me that I was tempted to join but is it best to wait until completing the couch25K first as it will mess up the program?

[PippiRuns in reply to Holly303]

Yes, I think you're right to wait until after you've finished the programme. You'll feel more able to keep up with them and it won't mess up the built in progress of the programme.

[Feelingsilly]

Wow sounds like a brilliant club to go to, with lots of scope to move up as you progress aswell! Lovely to meet local runners at a similar level to you, Well done for being brave enough to go 🏃🏼👍🏻

[PippiRuns in reply to Feelingsilly]

Thanks, I am really happy that I did. The funny thing is, it was not until I read your reply that I realised that I will probably be running with the 7k group, maybe even the 10k group sometime in the future. Wow!

[Hidden]

Sounds like a good club with an established route for progression. Glad you enjoyed it.

[PippiRuns in reply to Hidden]

Yes, and I hadn't even considered the progression part.