A Run Club? Really?

When I started this whole running thing, I really thought I just needed some shoes (I had a seven year old, falling apart, crappy New Balance version, which I thought would be fine) and a good sports bra and I would be on my merry way. I was very, very wrong. I signed up for Team In Training (TNT), was given my fund raising goal and a list of trainings. The Saturday trainings in Key West started at 6:30AM. I was horrified. Then I was told that it would get earlier. I thought they meant 6:15AM, and alas was once again mistaken. It got to be as early as 5AM. TNT Dude would have none of my bitching and told me to meet him at the Aventura (in Miami) golf course that evening. What I heard was “meet me for a leisurely 3 mile walk around the golf course” when what he actually said was “We’re going to walk as fast as humanly possible and there will be a whole group of over-achieving runners there that you will never be able to keep up with.” OK, that is not exactly the conversation, but it was close.

I had no idea that I would be “running” every Tuesday evening for the rest

of my life (hopefully) with the Lululemon (as in the store that has super-awesome, yet super-expensive workout clothes) Run Club. I didn’t even know that such as thing as running clubs existed. Who needs a running club when you have the benefit of seven year old shoes on your side?

The Lululemon Ambassador, Fausto, was nonplussed by the fact that I had never run more than three blocks. Ever. He was, however, horrified by the shoes. By the following Tuesday I had visited the running store, bought some shoes (“What kind of runner are you?” I was asked in the store; “I’m not”; I got the shoes anyway) and was back for another week of torture.

Every Tuesday, with the exception of the day we had a tropical storm and over the Season of Eating and Drinking, I have been running with this group. By “with” I really mean “at the same time, on the same course as” because I am just not a 8:00/mile runner, nor do I think I will ever be. This is not me being negative, or fishing for any sort of compliment, just a realistic observation.

The group is led by three people:  1. A very perky, extremely nice and encouraging personal trainer, Cori; 2.  Her encouraging –  in his own way – fiancé, Fausto, also a personal trainer; and 3.The I’m-not-going-to-let-a-little-bike-crash-keep-me-from-run-club Megan (who is also one of the busiest human beings alive, yet manages to be happy all the time). Despite the fact that I cannot keep up, they manage to keep me motivated and encouraged. They even manage to cheer for me when I am the last one around the loop. I think that some people may be cheering because they can finally go home.

So, the moral of the story is that there are groups for just about every interest (wine tasting, book clubs, you know, my kind of clubs) and are often quite a good source of encouragement and development. Plus, they make me feel guilty if I miss a run. Bottom line: Lululemon Run Club has made my mid-week training not only palatable, but enjoyable, and has taught me a lot. If you are near Aventura on a Tuesday evening come by, I will wave to your back as you pass me.