Tour de Charlotte Running continues!  After running with Charlotte Running Company on Monday, I decided I definately wanted to try out some more run clubs in Charlotte.  I must say though if you are in Charlotte and looking for a great group of people Charlotte Running Company is it!

Okay, enough with that, that was another blog!  I wasn’t sure I would be able to run with a group but the schedule was flexible for the evening and I was able to!  I decided since I needed to run, some extra miles I would run to the meeting spot.  It was a litte over 2 miles and made for a good warm up.  

 

 
The run group calls themselves ‘5 on the Booty’ I have no idea why, it has nothing to do with where they meet.  The meet at a bar called Hickory Tavern, perhaps it is because they run a 5 mile loop but I don’t know where the ‘booty’ comes from.  When I got there, some people were already there.  I noticed one woman from the night before, she was the only one I recognized we talked briefly.  Then the person I assume was the run group coordinator asked if anyone was new and not familiar with the route.  I spoke up and said I was new.  I was the only one…

  
Instead of him introducing himself he asked my pace, I told him I would probably run around 8:15-8:30.  He said okay I’ll run around that pace you can follow me, then he went back to talk to people he knew.  I was a little put off by this, but I assumed he didn’t mean to be rude.  Everyone seemed to know each other so I sort of felt out of place.  After what seemed like an hour, it was really only 10 mins the same person announced we would be starting the run.  We walked down to a running/biking path and some of the guys took their shirts off and put them behind the bushes.  I thought this was something you wouldn’t see in Baltimore, the shirts wouldn’t be there when we get back, haha.  One of the things that is great about the south!

The run started and the guy who said he was going to run around the pace I wanted to, put headphones in.  I don’t run with music anymore, I think you can listen to your body more closely without it and adjust, if necessary.  I thought to myself, well this is great, I’m not going to have anyone to talk to.  That’s fine I don’t need to talk when I run, but that is sort of why I like to run with people.  I decided to run a bit faster with a group of 5 that was out front, they were probably running around a 7 min pace and I didn’t want to run that fast, so I fell into the ‘lone’ zone.  Just running by myself, trying to keep the leaders in sight so I knew where to turn.  

During the run someone ran up along side me and then decided to pass me, all the sudden I felt like I was in a race, ugh!  I stayed about three paces behind him and when his pace slowed I took over again and didn’t let him pass again, but I did have to keep turning around and pointing to ask which way to turn, haha.  At the end of the 5 mile loop I had done 7 miles at an 8 min pace.  The person I was ‘racing’ finished a little behind me.  He came up and introduced himself, his name was Fry (sp?).  He said I was a good runner, so I felt like I proved myself, though I wasn’t exactly trying to do that.  We waiting for everyone to finish and I tried talking to a few people but they seemed more interested in mingling with who they already knew.  I also found it interesting that people who finsihed about 2 mins behind me said they ran a 7:48 pace, not sure how that happens, anyway I’m being petty now.

 

 
I still enjoyed the run, it was very scenic and much more flat then the night before.  Before I left I did say bye to Fry and he asked if I was joining them for a beer but I declined, I didn’t really feel welcomed like I had the night before.  

One thing I did take away from tonight is to make sure new people feel welcome when they come to a new run club.  I hope I do that back in Baltimore when someone comes to group I’ve been running with for a while.  As I mentioned in a previous blog I am an introvert, but I do try to make people feel welcome the best I can.

I still don’t know why the group is called 5 on the Booty or who that person was who asked my pace…

What do you do when your the new person?

-Veggie Fueled Runner