Joined a Running Club

I had the sincere intention of posting last night, immediately following my run. However, more pressing things, like my weekly girls’ night and Thai food, took precedence. So, here I am almost 24 hours late providing an update/recap for those of you who care. If you are reading this, I’m assuming you care (at least in a tiny, insignificant, passing, Charlie-Sheen-didn’t-do-anything-crazy-today, sort of way).

Shortly after moving to Spokane in late 2007 to attend the hell most commonly referred to as law school, I learned about a ‘little’ running club on Thursday nights. The Flying Irish. Now this club sets off on from a fairly popular Spokane staple, called O’Doherty’s – which in case you didn’t gather from the name, is an Irish pub. Like many things associated with exercising, I had the good intention of partaking and never committed. I had been invited by several of my friends over the years and I always seemed to have an excuse (really lame crappy excuses). However, now that I am committing myself to a half-marathon, this seemed as good of time as ever to finally take the plunge.

This may be weird, but I was extremely nervous. I had these wild imaginative thoughts that this running club somehow must feast upon the carcasses of “newbies” who dare to show up, while humiliating them beyond repair. Of course, I was mistaken. Not only was a person staked out looking for newbies to greet and to specifically direct them to the signing in process – but also, the running club is well over a hundred people, so its not like anyone notices and/or cares if you’ve done it once, twice, or 198 times (I throw that in because evidently last night’s run was the 198^th Flying Irish Run). The size of the club actually rivals some races I have been in and I’m sure the allure of beer has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Last night’s run was a 3.3 mile route called the “Seven Bridges” – a zig zag through downtown Spokane, and that, well obviously, involves crossing seven bridges. My fiancé, my fiancé’s co-worker, and one of my girlfriends - decided to partake last night as first timers as well. Being with 3 other newbies made the whole experience far less intimidating. The best part – accompanied by my friend, I ran the whole thing! [with the exception of a brief shoe tying stop] I was grateful for the company – she is like me, a chatter box – so the 3.3 miles sailed by as we chatted about, well, anything that came to mind.

While the club is not sponsored by O’Doherty’s – the bar does play a gracious host. Seeing as we had just finished a “Flying Irish Run” – it was deemed necessary for the girls in our group to indulge in the deliciousness of a round of Irish Car Bombs. MMMmmm good. It is interesting to be in a bar filled with people drinking after exercising. I would be lying if it didn’t smell a little bit like a gym bag. And then there was the dude who ran the 3.3 miles with make-shift shoes (i.e. plastic bags and cardboard) whom we bumped into at the bar – apparently he had forgotten his shoes at home – now that’s dedication (and just plain weird).

Also – once you participate 6 times (5 to go for me!), you have to stand on the bar and tell an Irish joke so that you can get your Flying Irish Running Club Shirt . If you have any good Irish jokes, pass them along, as I’ll need one in a few weeks.

Bottom line of this post – so far this week, after last night’s run, I have logged 8.3 miles!! Not exactly medal worthy – but not a shoddy week so far!