Friday, February 12, 2010

First Running Clinic...exciting!

"It is the soul's duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion."
Rebecca West

There are so many of us in that little Running Room store! Everyone gets sorted out and the new half-marathon group (that's me and about 24 others) starts the evening with a 3K run. I'm feeling good and it's going relatively well, except for the very cold wind in my face. I'm near the back of the pack, but not at the back of the pack. When we get back to the store, it's time to sit and get to know each other. There are Carole and Suzanne, both really nice women and the ones I sort of clicked with right from the start, mostly because they are sitting near enough to talk to, but they really are very nice. Both are first timers also, but Carole has run a few 10Ks and hopes to run her first half in under 2 hours. There is Marc who is doing the clinic so he can run with his friend who has lost 160 pounds over the last year (it kind of teared me up when he talked about him). There's one man who is a veteran and he is with his wife and friend. He basically is here to help them do this and vowed to take them through this and to the finish line (...touching). One mom has her 10 year old son with her and he ran the 3K with us, very cute. Oh and there is John who did the clinic last year, but did not run the half. He said that last year, he did not believe in his ability to do this, but that this year, he believes it and he will do it! Looks like an inspiring group, there were lots of smiles all around and you could feel the excitement in the air (the cold and windy air) :) 
I really look forward to seeing how everybody does. Oh, and now I know what everyone means about feeling pushed to go faster when running with a group. It's actually a little frustrating to see half the group take off at a pretty good pace right from the start. I went a little too fast at the beginning, but I quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to maintain that pace and I slowed down. Must be careful...
We had to say if we had a time goal for Ottawa and although there were a few under-2 hour wannabes, almost everyone said they just wanted to finish. Here's what I said, "I say that I just want to finish, but the truth is that I'd really like to do in no more than 2:30 hours."  :)
Okay, time to get my rear in gear and go have breakfast. Then it's nazi yoga followed by weights and abs. After lunch, haircut :) ...then a 3K with uber hubby (the 3K I didn't get done on Wednesday) and then errands. If anything worth reporting occurs, you'll hear about it on Sunday!
Have a great weekend.
Cheers!


22 comments:

Miglena said...

sounds like a great group!

Jamoosh said...

A worthy goal indeed!

Julie said...

Hi Anne,
When I first started running, I also started off by going to fast in the beginning!! I have learned my lesson...I would rather start out a little slower and then have enough energy to have a strong finish:) I am glad that you have fun and I think this running group will be good for you!!

Lily on the Road said...

You'll settle into your groove once the distances start to creep up and when you find the group of people you want to run with. Please remember that Sunday's run is a Long SLOW run, it is set up that way to train your body to be out on its feet and pushing yourself for endurance.

Slower is better, that way you won't get injured.

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

I know you can reach your goals. Look at the changes you have made already. So glad you enjoyed the clinic!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

Runners are amazing, and I've made life-long friends through the RR clinics -- even travelled with 8 women from my HM clinic to San Francisco for the Nike Women's Half in Sept! Sounds like you have a great group!

Marlene said...

Sounds like a great group! Like Mel, I have made some incredible friendships through RR clinics. Embrace it!

Giorgio said...

Hi Anne,
You described a great group.

I'm sure you well know your average pace. You need to follow it from the first km. to the finish line.

Have a good training.

Tricia said...

sounds like a great group!

momof3 said...

That sounds like an awesome group!!! I think you're going to have so much fun running with a group, I know if I'm having a rough day I can use the other runner's "energy" to help me along. Have a stellar weekend!

PS- my 8K was cancelled due to SNOW! Ack! But thanks for the kind words anyway. I'm going to try to run 8K on my own.

Steel Springs said...

It sounds like an excellent running group. It's neat that there are so many people from different backgrounds and with different motivation.

Beth said...

Well, it sounds like you have an awesome group there! I bet you will love it! Great job setting your goal. Enjoy your new adventure!

jenn w/ 2 n's said...

Cool! A group! I'm hoping to recruit some of my friends and make our own group.

I Wonder Wye said...

Awesome. I loved my race-walking group. Miss the sense of comrady. Used to work out and go to brunch. Loved the ache and the feeling of accomplishment so early in the morning.....enjoy!

ajh said...

I took a marathon class once and loved it. I still see some of the members at races.

Libby said...

Your group sounds like it will be great. I haven't tried running in a large group, maybe in the fall I'll check it out. I would be worried that everyone would go too fast and leave me all alone

Amy said...

First of all, thank you so much for sponsoring me for the Brussels 20K - you will be with me in spirit on May 30! And we will both be training for a half distance this spring!

It sounds like you are going to have a great time with your running group - my mom did one last year and she really got a lot out of it.

Meg said...

I can't say enough great things about running groups. It sounds like you're in for some fun and for some good challenges too!

Tara said...

Sounds like an amazing and inspiring group that you run with!

I am working on not starting out too fast. It's one of my goals this season, so far it is working!

momof3 said...

Ok - I saw your post about the snow, and I know, I know, it could be worse.
Hope you're having a great weekend!

ajh said...

I just read your comment on MCM mama's about 98s ice storm. I think we lost elec for 4-5 days and I complained a ton. You lost it for 21 days and your family didn't split up!!! Wow! But we also had a major flood in our town that year where bridges were washed away. Many many roads were completely gone. It was horrifying but also fascinating. We were isolated and couldn't get out of town for awhile. I have a whole scrapbook on it. 98 was quite a year.

hmm114 said...

Your running group sounds like it's awesome ! I think it's going to be a lot of help in pushing you..not that it seems like you need it at all. ;)