I'd been thinking about it for a couple of weeks and tonight was registration night for the beginner's programme, but I started to get cold feet and wasn't going to go.
So in a very convoluted fashion I got my daughter to message a school friend on facebook to give her mum my phone number and ask her if she would ring me as I knew she'd joined the group last year. Amazingly she rang just half an hour later and it turned out that she was still going along to the same group and was happy to give me a lift.
She said that I wouldn't be running tonight as it would just be registration for newbies but I thought I would go in my running clothes just in case and then I decided to run the mile to her house (I was fairly exhausted when I got there so I was a bit concerned that I shouldn't be joining a running group after all but it was slightly uphill and I never feel great in the first 10-15 minutes of a run)
When I got to the sports centre there were a group of people who had been members of the beginner's group for a while and then there were the new ones like me. I filled in my form and paid my subs and was going to ring my husband to come and pick me up but my friend asked the coach if I could go out with the regulars (I didn't discover until later, but she'd told him I could run 6k! I don't think she'd told him just how slowly I run!!)
So we did some warm ups which were good and then set off for a run round the streets before doing "bank training" up a moderately gentle hill. We probably covered about 2.5 miles but I'm sure I was going quite a bit faster than normal and as I'd already run the mile to my friend's house I didn't feel too bad when I slowed to a walk a couple of times.
I actually really enjoyed it and felt like I kept up most of the time so I'll definitely be going back next week. They weren't scary people at all - there were about 9 and they were all really nice.
Next week it will be back to proper beginner's level but I may be able to stick with the regulars if I can keep up!
Written by
lucylocket10
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No, I didn't spot any poisonous warts!!! They were all really friendly and not competitive at all even though they were the regular group rather than the beginners. It sounded like quite a few of the new people signing up had never done any running at all so it will be interesting to see what the next session is like.
A telling comment there: "I thought I would go in my running clothes just in case" - hahaha!! You definitely have the bug. Enjoy your new club - and I must say all these posts about clubs have got me all enthused; I looked at my local club's website some time ago and they sound very friendly too - I don't seem to have a good reason not to join now! Thanks so much for encouraging us
Oh you should join - you'd love it! I've already learnt some new things and expect to get lots of tips on how to make running easier and they were all so friendly!
Brave soul! I have been toying with the idea, but what happens when you walk? Does the running group just leave you behind in the dust? That's my biggest fear that I start out with the pack and then find myself alone on some street corner or section of the park all by myself. Second biggest fear is that I will force myself too much to keep up and lose the joy of running that I have so far. Keep us posted with your experience.
No, I wasn't left behind! I was actually fairly near the front of the 10 of us running and there was another new runner at the rear who did some walking too. What they do is organise a "loop back" point where the faster runners turn round and come to the back of the group so no one is ever left behind. I did find that I was probably running faster than I'm used to but it was ok and I probably could have carried on but there's that element of not knowing how much longer you need to run for so you can't push yourself to just keep going a little bit longer (does that make sense?). I actually came back from the group on such a high because it restored my confidence in my running. You should see if you can find a group near you - I bet you'll enjoy it and learn loads too!
When I went out on Tuesday for the first time...there were a few in my group that did some walking too (I did a far bit of walking up the muddy hills!) and the guy leading the group made sure he kept checking everyone was OK. There was no pressure to run the bits you couldn't.
Go on! Find a local group and join - I had so much fun learning new warm up and warm down exercises and other running techniques and it was great to start trying to run and talk at the same time!!
Actually there is a urban group of about 100+ runners that take to the streets at night once a week, very cool! They often run past my house, so if I get exhausted I can just bee-line it to my back door! It is amazing to see them run - like a herd of humans..
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Braved the running shop, happy new shoes!
So I braved the scary running shop
Brave pants not required :( 
Nothing too brave 
Finally braved the Parkrun
