My New Running Club

Since moving to Columbus I've run three times with the Columbus Westside Running Club (CWRC), a short drive from home. They run at Westgate Park on Tuesday nights. It has been dark and/or cold for every run so far, so it's hard to meet people. I remember the names of a handful of runners. I'm sure I'll get to know more of them when the weather is better and people stick around longer after the runs.


Unlike other running clubs that run a fixed distance each time, CWRC runs for an hour starting at 6:30, and each person completes as many 1.2 mile loops around the park as they want. Some incorporate intervals into their workout. Some members are walkers. Each week the club rotates having the walkers and runners do loops in opposite directions, so you pass and can high-five people along the way. The first week I was unfamiliar with the trail (and also couldn't find my headlamp) and didn't want to run alone, so I ran with Dixie, who is close to my pace. It was nice to have someone to talk to. The second week I ran a little bit with Karen, but she's faster than me, so after a while I had to let her run ahead. But by this time I knew the trail and also had my headlamp.

A few CWRC members chatting after my second run with the club

All decked out in my reflective gear and headlamp

Last night I ran with Carl, the club president. He's faster than me but he slowed to my pace in order to chat about the Bataan Memorial Death March marathon, which he will be running next month. He knew I had run it in 2014 and read my blog, and wanted to ask some questions about gear and approaches to the big hill. It was nice to share my thoughts on one of the most incredible events I have ever run. Carl has been training hard and expects to be slower than his normal marathon time. I think he's going to do great. His girlfriend Becca, also in the club, will be running the shorter Bataan event. I say shorter, because it's not exactly a half marathon; it's a little bit longer than a half. Both are challenging courses and will be very meaningful experiences for Carl and Becca. I look forward to hearing about their races in March.

This is Westgate Park in the Hilltop area of Columbus, and where CWRC meets on Tuesdays. We run the perimeter of the park and since it's been dark every time, I don't have a clue what the park really looks like. See the street running north of the "M" in "Meet here"? That's my brother's street; he lives just a half block away. He's not a runner, but he doesn't mind if I stop by after my run to share a beer with him.
My running has not been consistent since my move. It wasn't consistent before my move either. I'm not quite in a routine yet. I haven't fully unpacked and nothing is hung on the walls yet. And I'm still looking for a job. The unknown elements of my life and the stress that they bring haven't been helpful to me in getting into a routine. But I'm trying to get into the habit of running on Tuesdays with CWRC. I need to get consistent with other workouts too. One step at a time, I guess. I'm happy to be part of a club that was been welcoming to me and I look forward to getting to know more of the members and participating in community events with them.

Comments

  1. .L.U.C.K.YFebruary 15, 2017 at 8:41 AM

    Sandy,
    Thank you for this wonderful post. I am so happy you joined us and cannot wait to spend more miles with you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CarlVeeeFebruary 15, 2017 at 9:17 AM

    I had a great time knocking down miles with you yesterday! Love this blog entry!!! 🙌🙌

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2019 Hong Kong Marathon Race Report

Image
I registered for the Hong Kong Marathon  on a whim. I was already going to Asia to attend my friend Christine’s wedding in Thailand and then run the Tokyo Marathon the following weekend. My friend Dave posted on Facebook about the Hong Kong Marathon, which was a week before the wedding. I entered the lottery not expecting to be selected, but I was. It was going to be a two-country-marathon adventure.  It’s the year of the pig (or boar) and we got this medallion in our race packet.  I was woefully under-prepared for the Hong Kong Marathon. My training suffered through the winter, but knowing I had a 6-hour time limit for the marathon, I wasn’t terribly worried - until I got sick. At the end of January I caught a severe cold that I’m still not fully over, three weeks later. I was weak, slept little, and worked out zero times in all of February. But the Asia trip was coming anyway, and being a realist, I gave myself permission to DNS (did not start) or DNF (did n...
Read more

2017 Hefei International Marathon Race Report

Image
Most of my regular followers will know that I was selected as part of a team of five to represent Columbus, Ohio at the marathon of our sister city Hefei, China. I blogged about the announcement here and here , and about my team's fundraiser here . On November 8, 2017, we set off to the Far East, arriving in Hefei, China late evening on November 9th. We spent five days in Hefei, after which everyone went separate directions. My travels took me to Bangkok, Thailand, and then back to China to spend time in and around Beijing. But this post is about Hefei and the marathon I ran there. Post marathon with Courtney, Bernard, me, Echo and Lily in back The Hefei International Marathon is a large event, with tens of thousands of participants across all race distances (marathon, half marathon, 5K and 10K). The marathon had the smallest race field of all events, but included some very competitive elite runners. The Lead-Up Through the sister city marathon exchange, our team o...
Read more

2018 Running Recap

Image
I haven't blogged all year. In fact, I didn't even finish my 2017 race reports. What happened? I still ran. In fact, I ran several races, and did meet some of my annual running goals. But I also focused on other areas of my life that needed attention. I dropped the ball on some things, and I missed some of my other running goals. Right now I'm not going to write new running goals, because I'm not ready. I will, however, state one broad goal, and that is this: I will post a running-related story once per month in 2019. So, here's the 2018 recap: My 2018 Goals I will lead the 11:00 pace group for CWRC. CWRC is the Columbus Westside Running Club , which I joined after moving to Columbus, and this goal was about the winter/spring training program leading up to spring races. I started this, but I didn't finish. Very early on it became clear to me that I was not in the game mentally and not prepared to lead others on a weekly basis. A January training run ...
Read more