Running Camp

Carlos' running has improve tremendously he's now doing 7 minute miles. My running has improved too, I went from strictly walking to running (in a few months) but I knew that if I wanted to take it to the next level I needed to get some sort of professional guidance.

I was cruising the web and found www.ez8running.com - it's an all women's running club who's goal is to get runners to an 8 minute mile. I thought about it for 3 months and got a notice that they were going to have another running clinic (m/w/f at 5:30am for 8 weeks). I hesitated because I like to sleep and I just didn't know if I had the will power to commit. I was also a bit intimated by the Coach who also happens to teach various boot camps. And lastly, I wasn't sure if I'd fit in - we are talking South County and I knew I wouldn't fit the profile (plastic and blonde) :D

After much thought, I went for it and signed up. I was prepared to go in blindly - I wasn't sure what to expect from fellow runners and how fit they would be.
So yesterday night (as I was preparing for my first class), I gathered all my running things and put them in one spot and I made sure to be in bed by 9:30pm (that's super early) since I'd have an early wake-up call.

I'm not going to lie - I was so anxious that I kept waking up. So I finally got out of bed by 4:50am. I got on the road at 5:10am and arrived to our designated meeting place in RSM (the city over from us) in no time. I soon realized that it was tiny group - there were only 3 other women (all seem very normal, down to earth, and encouraging) and all had participated in the coach's boot camps in the past. I felt a little out of place (for a few seconds) before she got us up and going. We did warm-ups, did some stretches, and then she wanted to time our mile.

-- Note: It's pitch black, I'm not familiar with the area and all I hear is annoying loud quacking (we're running around a lake after all). On top of that, the Santa Ana's are blowing (it must have been 50 mph - I swear).

So we start running our timed mile, two women took off like lighting -- I wasn't last (so that was nice, in a non-competitive type of way). I ran my little heart out hoping not to get swept into the lake by the crazy winds. My time: 9:45 (PRETTY GOOD) I was finally under 10 min. Just when I thought I could handle this - the Coach has us run relays, sprints, stairs. It was a workout but I survived my first day of running camp. I'm sure I'll have more stories to share!