It's Wednesday! Wednesday for me is all about leading the Tarmac Trooper's running club after work, and the sweet treats (Gummy bears) waiting for us at the finish line.
For my club members, Wednesday's running club also means a multitude of things which I will try to sum up for you. Most outsiders would be forgiven to think a running club is what it says on the label, but if you took time to peel back the layers you will discover more then you can imagine.
Before I begin to offer you a glimpse into this new social phenomena, you need to learn a few simple rules that colours the group's social structure:
The rule book
Social Group Pattern
- male dominant group
- female dominant group
- equal ratio in sex
The Overall Motivation of the group
- Health (because the doctor sent them here)
- Personal fitness
- Seeking thrills (popular for singles to use this as a dating pool/ social event)
Leadership
- Runner orientated
- Self-orientated
Ready, Steady, GO!
Going back to what we were discussing earlier, a running club is not all about pounding the pavement, the sweating or slogging the distance. Dependent on the combinations of social factors above, the nature of the running club can change from week to week. For example, the TT running club re-launched itself in June advertising for beginners to join the group. The new members changed the sex ratio from an equal 50/50 to a female dominant group, with a majority seeking personal fitness, and interestingly a couple of new guys showed up for thrill seeking!
Sadly, for those guys, this female dominant group had form a bond early and rejected the guys advances, the social order was well established before any sparks took off. From a leader's point of view, I was glad as the members would be more focused on the runner's programme, and in parallel to the running there was the endless supply of gossips & light hearted chatter.
My Comfort Zone
Sometimes, it's hard to bring my runners out of their comfort zone when it comes to running outdoors on a sunny summer day. Life today, we had chosen a new route to test my members ability to deal with the unknowns. It's been said that runners body will adapt to a pattern quickly, knowing when to speed up, when to slow down and when to keep to a steady pace which reduces the overall effort of the runner. In a running programme where you are trying to build up endurance and strength, running the same route will stall progress and can be incredibly demotivating. As said by one of my runners, Amy, "I'm bored of this route, i want a challenge!" and I swiftly replied "Alright Amy, let's focus on your speed and we will work out a new route for next session."
Yeah... cheekiness and banter is one of the things I look forward to on a Wednesday evening too.
Tools
Download an app: There's nothing more convenient than being able to search for good running routes right near you, wherever you are. Use an app like MapMyRun to see where people near you like to go for a run. You'll be able to see reviews of each route as well as information like elevation or whether there are water fountains along the way.
Do your research: Before you go, hop online to find a route. USA Track and Field's route finder offers an extensive user-generated list of routes in your city based on the distance you'd like to go; if you need a more curated list, try WalkJogRun — here, you can input an address to find user-vetted routes that are closest to your starting point. View distance, elevation, and turns stats when you click on each run.
Keep track: Remember to keep track of your routes so you can remember which ones you liked the best, that way you can repeat your favorites as the training weeks go on. These free or cheap iPhone running apps help you log your the what-where-when of your runs as you go.
No comments:
Post a Comment