Running again

Well, not so much running as advanced jogging, but I did turn up at my local running club for training yesterday.

There are running clubs everywhere; some are athletics clubs that primarily cater for people who want to run round in circles on nice dogpoo free tracks, leap over hurdles, throw pointy sticks and jump into sandpits; others are road running clubs for people who think that running 6+ miles every Wednesday is a good idea. Most clubs meet at 7pm on Wednesday. I don't know why; maybe because it's a few days away from the weekend races, maybe just because it's traditional, like Quakers meeting at 11am so they can all get home in time for lunch; most clubs also have other training days, but I'll get to that in a minute.

Anyways, my local club is mixed. Pointy sticks, sandpits, small kids whizzing in every direction and folks doing that impressively graceful I-couldn't-do-that-without-falling-over thing over hurdles. And instead of heading out onto the pavement, the road running group were out on the track as well.

Let me tell you about running times. No, you can't run away now, I've already started... Road runners (the ones who run miles on pavements rather than metres round and round a track) measure their speed by the number of minutes that they take to run a mile. A good steady plodder will run a 10-minute mile; fast runners are usually around a 5 minute mile, some people are slower (12 minute miles for the terminally unfit, i.e. me at the moment) and most people are somewhere inbetween. Most clubs have several groups going out; the main group is usually 8-minute mileing, with some slower and faster groups as appropriate. Now I knew I was in trouble when I asked the first road racer who arrived (apparently they're always late so I should fit in beautifully on that count) about the group speeds... and with a totally, take-it-to-the-bank (although that is becoming something less than a good metaphor these days) face, he told me the fast ones (including the other only girl there) were 5-minutes and the slow ones like him ran at 7 minute pace. 7! What the... I *dream* of 7-minute miles, of one day being able to run fast enough to feel like I'm floating rather than fighting to keep moving. 7!

Which is how I ended up being overtaken. Lots. Often. My first track session was... on a 400m track (400m = 1/4 mile), 3 laps slowly to warm up. Then 6 faster laps with a 50-second stop between each lap. Then the trainer (70 years old, so still a spring chicken in running terms) taking a good hard look at me and leaving me to run slowly steadily and continously until everyone else was ready to go home (and I'd done 4 1/2 miles in total rather than the 6 that was planned). Well, that went well. Not. But I'm going back. I can take humiliation, and there is no pride where getting healthy is concerned. And at least if the other b*ggers are running that much faster than me, I've always got something to aim at. Even if it is at the finishing line before I've got halfway.

And anyways, I've got out of the midweek (Monday) training session because it clashes with my needlework class. Although I strongly suspect that I might be going for a run before class anyways. I will get fit, I will get fit... meanwhile, if you're reading this and not totally put off yet, most clubs are listed on the Runners World site.