Does anyone have a running club I could join?

Tuesday I ran two miles on the treadmill at the gym at a 1% incline.  It was hot and tiring but felt pretty good.  Thursday I canceled my meet-up with the girls, because I really need to use an instrument at work before my co-worker came in for the day to use it.  So instead, we ran two miles on Friday.  My third run for the week was on Saturday (yesterday) and it was pretty awesome.  This was the first time I used my Serena Williams Spontaneous Speed iTunes interval training that I purchased at the end of December.  The weather was cold when I first walked out in shorts and a t-shirt, but felt wonderful for running!  It was a little bit too windy for my likely, but much better than not having a breeze.  I had to walk a couple of times, and I was constantly fighting off a side stitch, so I did not push nearly as hard as I could have.  I started running and the timer on Garmy when Serena said, "Go" and stopped when she ended with "good job" or whatever the closing was.  I timed that at 28:44.  My goal was 3 miles, which I reached at 31:29 for an overall average pace of 10:29 mi/min.  I am psyched!  It has been a while since I have run 3 miles.  If you recall, not so long ago I set out with a goal of 3 miles, barely made two and ended up in tears.  It was pathetic.  While 31:29 may not be fast, it is faster than I thought I was running and the finish felt great!  My goal is to complete 3 miles before the iTunes track runs out.  I also just downloaded some new music that I cannot wait to test out on my next run!

When I came back from my run, I saw that I had a comment from Mindy (it's nice to know someone is reading...yay!) who introduced me to dailymile.com.  It is a great place to log runs and communicate with others.  Steve in a Speedo?! recently reviewed the site, and he described is as twitter-like and good for people who only run.  He preferred other sites for those who would rather log a variety of training work-outs.  I joined dailymile, and I think it will help keep me motivated to run.  If anyone else cares to join, feel free to add me as a friend.

On Friday, my original running partner/old roommate was in town, and she looked wonderful!  We went to lunch, and she told me that she is training for a half marathon.  She moved last summer to NC and joined a running group.  They run four days a week.  I am jealous!  I mean insanely jealous!  I have been wanting to run with a running group... I even found a local Galloway training group, but my friend who agreed to do the marathon with me thinks that running at 4:45 am two days a week is too early (not that I completely disagree).  Although I have found in the past that doing early runs then taking a nap is my preferred method.  There is just something about that nap before work... amazing!  The long runs with that group take place on Saturday, and that was the deal-breaker for my friend, which I completely understand.  Her boyfriend lives a couple of hours away, so they only see each other on the weekends.  While I could join the group myself, that would eliminate me training with my friend, and where is the fun in that?  I have however been looking for some kind of group.  I want to meet some new people who will keep me motivated and challenge me to increase my pace.  Ideally, I would love to find a group that runs in the evenings on week days.  I have found a couple through Meetup.com that meet on weekends.  There is also a local running club that meets a few times a month for runs and dinner or coffee.  I'm thinking about joining that group to at least have something.  I'm not sure why I'm so dead-set on wanting to join a group.  I think it's mostly wanting to do something new that encourages me to keep running.  I also love to meet new people and find new places to run.  If there is anyone in the central Florida area who knows of a group, please let me know!

In non-running related business... Chris and I went to see the play Romeo & Juliet where one of the girls that I tutor was Juliet.  It was probably the best Romeo & Juliet play that I have seen.  There were only five people in the cast, so they played multiple roles.  A guy played Juliet's nurse, and he was HILARIOUS!  Juliet was breath-taking as always!  After the play, we went out for dinner which was really nice.  Today we went for a long walk, which we both enjoyed. 

In very exciting news... My best friends (you know, the awesome couple that have a son named Nick Danger!) are officially going to be foster/adoptive parents!  The paperwork was just finalized, and I am oh so very happy for them!  YAY!!!  They are seriously two of the most amazing people that I know!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!