Sorry I missed this in the Christmas haze, thank you for your time. Still not sure about a running club, i'm not overly friendly
Chichester Parkrun is my local and have run a few times, not sure I could get sub 20 on it, especially as it's mostly ankle deep mud at the moment.
I wouldn't class myself as a particularly sociable person but I find that I enjoy being part of a club and it does push me on a bit as a runner as well as giving me access to dozens of races and also training that I wouldn't otherwise be likely to get. It's not for everyone so see what works for you but most clubs will offer you a taster session or two for free so all it costs you to find out if you might like to do more is your time. You can also do a bit of research beforehand to see what might suit you - for instance there are two clubs close to me and I'd met some of the members for both through parkrun, all nice people but one club is more geared to leisurely running and the other is more competition focused so at this stage I picked the latter.
unlikely to be anything to do with shoes or needing a stretch. Probably bad technique or pacing. Try not to over-stride, keeping a high cadence and landing near ball of foot or at least flattish on the foot, avoding heavy heal strikes. Otherwise make sure pace is nice and easy, starting off slow for 20 minutes or so. If you want soemthign more intense then increase the incline.
I'm never quite sure whether people get too hung up on trying to achieve "perfect" technique - sure, there probably is a biomechanical ideal to aim for but in my rather uninformed opinion if the technique isn't dangerous or clearly causing problems then I'd just get out and run. The human body has a remarkable way of adapting and there's always a risk with getting too focused on one element that you interfere with the unconscious part of your technique which compensates for all your other flaws. As you've said though if making changes it's probably best to try and do it gradually as it's more likely to be sustainable.
Are all you guys generally fast runners? I keep seeing the 6,7,8 min per mile on Strava from people. I know I shouldn't get caught up with the minutes per mile but I never see anything at my pace. My best is just over 10 minutes per mile although if I'm out with my girlfriend, that can be 12/13 minutes per mile. Sure to most that'll be slow, but doesn't feel slow to me while I'm out. I'm not even sure I could go faster.
I still class myself as a runner though, even if people would disagree. Did any of you run at a slower pace when you first started?
Fast is relative term so don't get too hung up on what other people do or how fast they say they go - the aim is presumably to go running for your own enjoyment and fitness therefore I'd suggest the person to measure yourself against is you. It can be useful to measure your progress over time to identify where you've improved or if you've reached a plateau and whether you want to change things up to break through that or if you're happy where you are. There's an aphorism that running never gets easier, you just get faster or go further.
Finally if you consider yourself a runner then you're a runner, it doesn't matter what other people think of you or your pace, the judgement reflects more on them than on you so go out and enjoy yourself. P.S. don't forget to take rest days, especially at the start, as your body needs a chance to recover from the new demands you're putting on it.
