ok....im joining running club tomorrow

[chrispackhamslovebunny]

and i am unreasonably nervous!

wish me luck please!
i am fat-( ish) i am not very fit. i am old. and i am only able to run for 30 mins without the need of a ventilator!

but i am going to heave my ass off the couch and go join at 6.30pm tomorrow....i hope i get a warm welcome!

anyone else a member of a club? what can i expect?

Well done.

I'm sure you will be welcomed with open arms.

I would imagine that a good number of them were fat(ish) when they started so wont judge you at all, just admire your determination to do something about it.

Warning........ it can be addictive. in a good way.

Try finding a Parkrun too, they are a brilliant way of getting going.

good luck.

Well done, hope you get on ok. If you were joining the club that I belong to, you would probably have someone running with you the whole time, chatting, trying to put you at your ease etc.

Second suggestion from Kuna to see if there is a parkrun (free 5k timed race every Saturday) in your area - try here

Good luck

thanks

sadly no park run nearby - loads where i work! none where i live, typical!

im quite nervous!....just going to have a bite to eat now to make sure im not running on a full stomach.

omg i hope i dont make a complete fool of myself. ive been running for a few weeks now, 3 or 4 times a week but alone with an ipod... i bought some proper stuff so i "feel" like a runner, but im a real plodder, not fast at all and all the runners i see are usually built like a whippet...i wish!

ill report back later! (then i cant chicken out!)

well i did it!

and much to my surprise i just ran 5k without stopping once in just over 30 minutes! i am amazed!
the bloke who runs the club ran with me, and i just went at his pace and i kept up! he was really lovely and says my pace is absolutely fine and that im not slow at all, i kept up with most of the women, but they do 10k, he says ill be up to 10k in a few weeks if i keep it up and i will have no problem keeping up with them. i am SO pleased with myself!

off again next week, though he knows i might not make it every single week due to other commitments, but he says if i keep going 'til jan i can join proper, and he says he thinks i could be doing 10 k races by spring.

yay me!

Brilliant, so pleased for you.

I think it is important to go every week initially if you possibly can, otherwise if you miss one or 2 early on, it is hard to go back. Especially at this time of year when cold and dark.

I was petrified when I first went along to running club (been a member for 18 months now), but have made some lovely friends of all ages.

Yay you, indeed! Hope you sleep well tonight!

yay you

awesome

just over 30 m for 5k is no mean feat for a 'fattish' person :)

how old and fat are you btw?

thank you!

i really wish i could go every week but i work rolling shifts which means its not always going to be possible - i wish it was! i did so much better running with someone than alone.

as it happens i can make the next 3 weeks, but then cant make the next 2, but then i can do the next 2! its complicated! i think on balance i will make meetings more often than i cant, but i do run alone anyway so i wont stop going.

i fully intend to be running with the rest of the ladies doing their 10k soon! and the prospect of races by spring has made me feel so much better - i thought i was really bad and it turns out im not. plus - if i can get my mileage up enough i might be able to shed a bit of this extra poundage....heres hoping if i can be sensible enough with my diet

even though ive done some stretches im aching a bit now....so going to go and hop into a nice relaxing bath.

i still look like -> !

im 39 and bigger than i want to be! all my running gear is either a 14 or a 16. officially my BMI says im just a bit overweight but i am small framed which means i dont carry extra weight very well - the last few years ive put on more than 2 stone.

but im doing this for fitness, hopefully to make some new friends and any weight i can ditch will be great too!

39! mere spring chicken.

Did you see the 100 yr old doing a marathon on sunday?

If I can manage a 5k parkrun at 48 in 22.04 at 2 stone over weight then you can

Keep it up you will soon be addicted.

btw its taken me 18 parkruns to get down to that time!!

well done

oh please dont....youre 48 and doing 5k in 22 minutes?

and i thought i was doing ok but in my defence this was my first ever run with a club and first timed run.

i know i am slow. i am hoping to improve on my time as the weeks go on. i am not fit and its taken quite a bit of courage to turn up alone at a club.

i was quite encouraged by what the man who ran with me tonight was saying.

thats my point....
2 years ago when I started 'running' I was a wobbly wheezing mess by the time I got to the end of our street (150mtrs) Now 2 and a bit years later I can happily do 14k (it did take me 1hr 20 m) I cwould have taken 32 hours to do 5k back then so you are doing really well and will get your time down rapidly.

My target is sub 22 by xmas..........

I am in awe if any proper runner! I will get there I am sure! I've got to concentrate on my distance I think first so I can run with the bulk of the group, maybe then I can get my times down, it's encouraging to hear everyone starts somewhere!

every run no matter how far starts with just one step.

The more you run the easier it gets. I try four times a week. Saturday am parkrun. then sunday, tues and thurs eve after dd in bed around 8pm though not tonight as I ran yesterday due to vet visit today.

Have an aim/ambition. Mine is a half marathon b4 I'm 50. Ive done a few 10ks which are good fun.

the 'proper' runners just annoy me as I can never keep up with them. the record for our park run is under 17 mins!! I just concentrate on the music in my ears, avoiding the goose poo (park run is around a lake) and keeping going.

Good running shoes made a huge difference to me, much less painful.

i have proper fitted shoes for my running gait but i still cant walk today! feel like a right old gimmer...ive got to try and get out again tomorrow but am feeling it in the legs and knees today...ouch! i think yesterday was a bit further than ive done so far.

dont forget to stretch first and cool down properly after.

It will get easier even though you feel like a 97 yr old today remember, no pain,no gain!

well i dragged myself out there again today for another 5k....is it best to stretch first and after? there seems to be a bit of conflicting advice out there on that score....i always make sure i cool down properly, but i dont tend to do any stretching before i go....perhaps thats why i ache next day.

i will try and do both, especially as i now want to start to increase my mileage a bit.

I always stretch b4 any run, just calves, thighs, back groin etc only spend 3-4 mins but my dw just gets changed and off she goes, no stretching, no warm up and never suffers the next day. I always slow to a trot for the last 500m and then potter about the house for 10 mins b4 sitting down to cool off.
What ever works for you cplb, we are all different.
Where are you in the world?
You say there is no park run near where you live but loads near your work, could you drive to a park run or look at starting one nearer to you?

thanks Kunahero, unfortunately i live in a bit of a backwater and i work a long way away from where i live, so no parkruns for me. it is a shame, but the park here is tiny - impossible to do a 5k i think - its fine, i ll keep going to the running club, and i ll keep running on alternate days too. i think im gonna get to the gym on the days in between my runs as well to try and maintain my strength training.
i dont feel to bad after todays run, but i think ill try stretching first too and see if it helps. Normally when i come home i stick a davina dvd on and do the cool down section, just so i know ive cooled down properly.
thanks for all the encouragement!

watching Davina on dvd would just get me all hot again!!!!

Did Parlrun again today (19th) and missed pers best by 1 second!!! so annoyed.

Parkrun

how annoying! keep at it! i take it there is one every week? better luck next week!

im going again tomorrow!

every saturday 9am, even on xmas day last year! 40+ turned up for that one though not me. My dw and I will be doing it on xmas eve this year. We are lucky enough to live just 1km from our local parkrun.

Keep us informed on how you do tomorrow.
Good luck, best well trainered foot forward.

ran further tonight....but did have to stop for a couple of walks, but felt like i could have kept going which must be a good sign! i think the route i took tonight works out at about 4 miles but really do need to get a garmin!

going to go and do weights at the gym tomorrow and run again on Wednesday with running club....watch this space!
cheers for the support - its spurring me on! (that and the fact i can have a guilt free !

bollocks! logged in with wrong name....still me though!