Club run sessions over the coming weeks

Back together as one big group again! It was great to see both our regulars and some of our newly graduated C25K people join our first session in Ironbridge yesterday.

Not only was it the first session in Ironbridge but it was also the first interval session for some time. The plan from here on is to alternate our Tuesday and Thursday sessions to include both distance running as well as interval training. That way we can enjoy each other’s company regardless of our ability whilst building up our individual fitness and strength as runners.

Intervals – what is it?

Many take a step back when they hear the word “intervals” the first time. I used to be one of them. You might worry that it’s too complicated or at a much higher level than where you feel you’re at. That’s what I thought as well as fearing it would be really hard work and depressing because I’d surely not do as well as everybody else. After giving it a go I realised it’s the complete opposite – it’s probably the most inclusive type of session as they come! Anyone can do it – regardless of if you are a beginner or a seasoned runner you are able to do it and get something out of it.

Let’s use the session we did yesterday as an example of what we might do at an interval session. We did loops around a designated area, the Station car park, so we were all in sight of each other. Being in this designated area meant we could go however fast or slow we wanted without worrying about loosing sight of the others. We did 2 min walk/gentle jog and 1 min run. Sounds familiar? So that’s not too scary!

For me, our interval sessions has been such a great way to build up my confidence and allow myself to get out of breath! I know it’s safe because I’m always in sight of my fellow runners and of the meeting point. I know I can push a bit extra if I want because I don’t need to worry about having enough energy to make it back. Equally, if I’m not feeling it then I can just plod along at what ever pace I’m comfortable with. I hope you never feel like you’re holding other people back – but if you sometimes battle with such thoughts, then intervals is the perfect session for you because you could crawl it if you wanted and everyone else could still go the pace they wanted without you worrying about falling behind!

C25K Facebook page

The C25K Facebook page will go silent now as we will not be posting there about regular running events. So for those of you who want to continue to keep in touch we invite you to join our regular Facebook group. You can find it by clicking this link .

Membership

It’s really easy to join our regular running group. Just download a membership form from here and once you’ve filled it in then bring it with you to a run leader or committee member when you next see us. If you have recently completed our C25K programme and want to join our regular sessions then it’s even easier! Just turn up to one of our sessions and I will transfer your C25K membership form over to our regular membership. It’s as easy as that.

So we hope you will all enjoy the variation of running sessions that are coming up! See you out there.

/Johanna