Even though there are tons of running stores and running groups in the D.C. area who host weekly group runs, I have never joined in until last week, when I ventured out to the “Run Like A Girl” night at my local Road Runner Sports store.
My main motivation was to buy new running shoes. The Mizunos I got for the Army 10 Miler have earned their retirement, after getting me through that race, the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run, and the GW Parkway Classic.
(Click the image to see the trouble my dog got into while I was out buying these shoes!)
Through my involvement with Fitfluential I’ve had an opportunity to try several different Saucony shoes that have less support and stability than my Mizunos. While I only use the Virrata on the treadmill, I’ve taken the Kinvara 4 out on longer runs with no regrets. My Mizunos feel clunky after the light weight Kinvaras, but my feet felt tired after an 8 mile run in the Kinvaras, so I wanted to get something with a bit more support for my longer runs.
I got to the store early so that I would have plenty of time to try on new shoes.
First I tried the Newton Distance.
Then I tried the Saucony Fastwitch.
An Adidas rep was there for the group run, so I tried the Adidas Eboost for the run.
The plan for the run was a 4 mile out-and-back on a nearby path. I didn’t take a head count, but there were probably 10-15 women there, which seems like a good turnout for a week night event. It took me a while to find runners with a similar pace–the first group I started out with was too slow for me–but then I settled into a good pace with a few others.
One thing that frustrated me was that so many people were wearing headphones. I usually run with my iPod nano (unless I am running with my friend), but I left it at home because I thought this was supposed to be a more social run. I wanted to be friendly to the other runners, but I didn’t want to talk to them if they couldn’t hear me, or annoy them if they wanted to be left alone. The group I ended up with was friendly, and did chat even though most of them had headphones, but it made breaking the ice a bit more difficult.
After the run, the store had a table set out with refreshments and held a raffle drawing for several prizes (race entries, store gear, etc.). I didn’t win anything, but I did buy some new shoes (the Saucony Fastwitch felt the best) and a few other items to take advantage of the 20% discount.
All in all it was a good experience, but I’m not likely to do it again soon. It took a lot of planning to get out of work in time to change and get to the store on time–the rush hour traffic between my office and the Road Runner Sports store is worse than my usual commute home. It probably was good for me to run in the afternoon for a change, but I greatly prefer running in the morning. The event started at 6:30 (with the run starting at 7:00) and ended at 8:00 (after the raffle). By the time I got home and showered, it was almost 9:00 pm and I still had to eat dinner.
Do you enjoy group runs?
Does your running store host in-store events?
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I've never done a group run. I hate the pressure of having to be somewhere at a specific time. That's weird that so many people were wearing headphones. I would have gone without too.
Tiger Lily!!! And here I thought she was perfect. Glad to see she's really a dog. Glad it wasn't a chocolate pie.
I haven't done a group run in a long time. I've been thinking about joining a running group again but I'm like you – I like the convenience of doing my own thing!!
I've tried group runs before but the evening hours don't work that well for me given my kids sports schedules.
Curious to hear what you think of the Saucony Fastwitch.
So far so good. My first run was 9 miles, which is long for me. Maybe not the best idea but no regrets! I think I should put my inserts in them before I judge them fairly against my Mizunos.
I find it's a nice change to switch up your routine every once in a while but like you, I prefer afternoon runs and therefore the running groups that meet at night. I have two different groups I run with twice a week in the mornings. The two morning groups are offshoots of the local evening running club who like me, prefer morning runs.
Wearing headphones at a group run completely baffles me. It defeats the purpose. I blogged about that one time on a training blog at my job and someone told me that I shouldn't worry about what people do … ummm … yeah. Still doesn't make sense. 🙂
I used to do regular Saturday runs with my running club (and track on Wednesday!), but as time has moved on, people have moved, gotten older, had children, etc. So now, when I run with a group it is usually my cross country team. And I never get the headphones thing. Why run with other people if you're going to cut yourself off from the group? Stupid.
I'm mostly a solo runner too. I agree that it's kind of a hassle to arrive on time, to travel there, etc, etc. It's so much quicker and convenient to run right out your front door.
That's pretty rude to join a group run and use headphones in my opinion. In my first ever group run experience a girl wore headphones and then talked VERY LOUDLY over her own music, Uggggh.
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