Ever wonder why you still do it?

Have you thought you may be going to the wrong club???

Find a group that you can run with in zone 2 if thats your plan but that also has faster groups so you can push yourself if need be.

If i rin with my club i quite often make that mytempo run ... but ocationaly run at the back with new runners.

I have a few friends i run with at other times and that gives me the flexabilty i need to stick to the plan

Yep.  I wonder why I still do it every morning when the alarm goes off.

What I've learned is that I do it because it ties me to what I used to be.  I was always running around as a kid.  I was a good runner in my high school and college days.  Not great but good.  And I liked myself then.

I run because of who it makes me now.  It challenges me in a world that seems to want nothing but ease.  I am so blessed to have the biggest concern on my life be trying to break 20:00 in a 5k.

I run because it carries me to who I am becoming, which has little to do with a stopwatch or a scale.  I'm quickly learning that endurance isn't just a physical trait, it's a spiritual one as well.  Running helps me to be a better person.

Maybe each of us should take a day and think about the INTERNAL reasons we do this and not the external ones.

Well said

x2 

x3

Run for you and your own goals and don't worry about everyone else.  I'm in the same boat being a beginner and recovering from knee surgery.  Take a look back at where you were when you started and the progress you've made so far.  Those accomplishments alone are impressive.  Good luck!

chirunner134 You are good at starting threads, why not take it to the next level and start  an Athena & Clydesdale only running club at a YMCA or other gym. There has to be others that feel this way in your area. It may even bring more people like us off the couch. They won't fear having to keep up with the little guys get frustrated and quit. I have been kicking around the idea of doing the same in my area. I have also started a blog http://clydesdaletriahlontraining.blogspot.com/ that documents the ups and down of a bigger triathlete. I read both Triathlete Mag. and Runner's world but all of the articles talk to the little runners and athletes so I started my own. It gives us big guys a place to go. Just an idea.

To echo what Hawkeye said, I don't do it for anyone else or to try to be social.  I do it for myself.  Training makes me feel better physically and mentally.  It gives me something to work for and something to look forward to. 

I've tried group training and it doesn't really work for me.  Either I'm slower than people and I have to work harder than I should or I have to slow down for other people and not get in the right workout.  So, I train mostly solo.  It's a little lonely, but I also have a lot of time to think about things.   

Gotta agree---you have to do it for you, no one else (that includes not trying to keep up w/ everyone else).

I do most of my training solo, because I don't want to have to worry about slowing someone else down, struggling to keep up, or (HA!) waiting for someone else... But I have a group of friends who are also into this stuff, and we'll occasionally work out together, but most often they're there for support.  Even if you don't work out w/ anyone else you can still get the social support you need.

Congratulate yourself for sticking w/ it, and just keep running.