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June 27, 2007

Not a Joiner?

My current struggle with running is whether to join one of the many training groups in town. At one time or another I've run with just about all of the larger currently-existing ones - Rogue, Gazelles, and Carmen's group - and each has something that I love.

Rogue has a great training mind in Steve, and I love talking training and racing with him. And many of my long-time running friends run with them. BUT ... they don't really run together. Even the friends don't really run together. And the vibe is pretty competitive. When I ran with them a few years ago it was similar, but I was bossy enough to forge my own group of sorts, mainly because my training was ahead of theirs and I was a little ahead of them fitness-wise, which allowed me to get to water stops or finish an interval first, and I could say "you guys ready?" to the people who had been more or less running together and kind of shame everyone into starting or re-starting together.

Gilbert's group seems to fit my personality best, since he encourages people to run together. If you're new, he'll tell you whom you should run with. If you drop one of your own on a long run, you circle back to get her. He loves Mt. Bonnell and I love Mt. Bonnell. He loves road 1000 repeats and I love road 1000 repeats. He does long tempos each week. I think long tempos (probably technically the wrong word - more like "hard sustained efforts") are probably the best bang for your training buck. BUT ... I feel a certain loyalty to Rogue and Ruth and Steve, and would feel guilty running with their main competition of sorts.

Carmen's group is a really fun group of people. They have a good rapport with one another, and they so obviously enjoy spending time with one another. And they and have always made me feel so welcome, even though I've never been "official." And Carmen herself is so inspirational. Plus, with Carmen being associated with Rogue, I wouldn't have as traitorous a feeling running with her. BUT ... Carmen does two workouts on the weekends, and I've gotta share weekend mornings with Andy.

So right now I'm leaning toward doing my own thing. I have such set opinions on what I think I need to do anyway I'd just be a pain in the ass to a coach. And I need flexibility with planning runs. But I'll miss out on being part of the group and working with and encouraging other people. And it means that I'll have to put more effort into coordinating with other people if I don't want to run by myself (and most times I don't want to run by myself and like being accountable to meet other people.) And I'll have to plan out routes and water stops and put out gatorade and whatnot. Yuck.

Dilemmas.

Recent Running -

I ran 12 on Sunday pretty comfortably, mostly on my own. I went up Bonnell without walking, but ended up walking the stairs to the very top. That'll get easier as the weeks go on. I purchased a $2 32-oz bottle of Gatorade Rain approximately 8 miles into the run, and it tasted SO GOOD I didn't want to get rid of it, so I ran a few hilly miles with it tucked under my arm like a football. I looked like a dork, and it was awkward, but it was worth it.

Yesterday I did hill repeats. I've decided that hill repeats are the perfect workout for getting back into shape. You have to either work hard or quit. You can't just slack. And for the most part, you can avoid the complete disappointment of running your ass off for a quarter on the track only to find that you've just completed 400 yards at a pace you used to be able to sustain for 13.1 miles - an experience I'd rather avoid repeating, thanksverymuch. I didn't do very many repeats, but I had a real feeling of accomplishment when I finished. I'll definitely do them again next week.

This morning we ran 9 miles. It was a comfortable pace, and didn't seem that slow, but GPS had us down for just under 9 minute miles overall, with the later miles in the mid-8s. I'm chalking some of that pokiness up to the trail being a slower surface than most. We finished in the rain, which is always enjoyable ... in the summertime.

I'm hoping to get up to 43 miles this week, 50 the next, and then take a recovery week. And then, well, then I'll have to make some decisions on what I want to do next.

Posted by jenandmats at June 27, 2007 2:23 PM

Comments

Oh what I wouldn't give for your dilemma! I wish I had one running group to run with. I occasionally have a running partner, but that's about it.

Eh, I think you should choose what will work best for you. It sounds like either running solo or running with Gilbert's group fits your bid the best. Hopefully your friends/allies will understand that such a choice isn't supposed to be a source of competitiveness, rather a "what's best for the runner" type of deal. Then again, you are smack in the middle of running central there in Austin. Eeks, sorry, chica!

I've been running hills for about 8 weeks (Yes, a long bit of hills, but look at what I race on.). I'll keep doing hills all the way through the season, but I added speed for the first time today. I couldn't bear to face the clock, so I ran at "effort" for a given time. It was a mentally safer bet for one's first speed workout since fall.

I'm happy to have you around here again!
Meghan

Posted by: Meghan at June 27, 2007 7:53 PM

you are welcome in all three groups, make your own solo MMM club, and "guest" run in all three! :-)

Posted by: corrado giambalvo at June 28, 2007 9:49 AM