Would I embarrass myself if I joined an athletics club?

This past summer I have started running, and have really surprised myself with how my stamina has improved, and how much I enjoy it. I have gone from barely being able to run 1 mile two months, to running 9.4 miles today.

I will start back in school next year. My school has an athletics club, and I am contemplating joining it. However, I am worried that it will be completely focused on speed running and sprinting. I am not particularly fast, not could I see myself winning races or anything. Today, my run of 9.4 miles took me 91 minutes, which seems to be a fairly average time.

Are there any past or present athletic club members here? Is it mainly about speed running, i.e. would the time usually be spent having races, etc. If so, I wouldn't be so keen on it, as I can just see everyone sprinting ahead, leaving me to straggle in last.

Maybe I will join regardless, afterall I could improve right?

Can anyone offer me advice?

Go for it!  I bet that the first meeting of the year will be an informative meeting, at the very least go to that one and see if it sounds like something you want to do.  I bet you will end up learning things you wouldn't have otherwise (and also improving!)

WOW--9.4 miles in 90 minutes! that is a 10mph pace and I think that is awesome! And only in 2 months!!!! Way to go! My son was in HS cross country. He wasn't the fastest but he plugged along and used it to keep in shape for HIS sport--varsity wrestling. (he is now an officer in the Army and runs with the best of them!) There were other runners that used it for football, baseball, or just because they liked running with the team. EVERYONE improved and supported each other. I agree with Alle above, try the meeting and if it sounds good--go for it. what have you got to lose? You might meet other people and find a running partner or two!! Good luck and HAVE FUN! 

9.4 miles in 90 minutes is actually a little over 6 mph pace, but yeah. That's excellent pace for a novice runner. I've been at it for almost a year now and you're already at my level, perhaps even faster than I am.

I say go for it.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Please take care; you have accelerated your running EXTREMELY quickly. The recommended increase (in mileage) is only 10% per week and in 8 weeks, you've gone from 1 mile to 9. Although you can do it now and so far seem to be doing ok, this puts you at very high risk for injury.

By all means, join the club and talk to the trainer/coach. Be sure he/she understands what you have done and ask for advice about backing off and accelerating more slowly. You will probably have a lot of fun and learn a lot and prevent future injury IF the coach is a good one. Some coaches will be too fixated on the star athletes only, but keep asking for advice (here and there and elsewhere) and stick with the club anyway for the comraderie and support.

Good luck.

Yeah, I think I will definately try at least one or two sessions! I told myself I would branch out this year anyway, so this will help me make new friends!

A question - what speed would be considered above average/good for say 5km or 4miles? I would just like to have some guideline to compare myself with, not that it will bother me too much if I never reach it! I would like to run 5km in 22minutes - it currently takes me around 27/28. Achievable or not?

Mkculs - Thanks for the advice, from now on I am taking the mileage increase slowly, at first I just kind of wanted to push myself to see how much I could achieve!

I was in track, and I can tell you I am no runner, but I threw shot and disk.  We would still run to keep in shape but that was not the focus.

22 minutes is definitely doable -- and is an excellent finishing time for a 5K -- and by the way, your time of 27-28 minutes is a very respectable time for a 5K (especially for a novice runner).  There will always be jackrabbits who finish in the high teens -- don't worry about them.  Build your speed gradually to avoid injury; be sure that you're doing some form of cross-training to avoid overuse problems and it sounds like you're on your way!

Definitely join your athletic club -- don't even give embarrassing yourself a second thought -- have fun!

I totally screwed up my mph calculation--oops!!!

Not everybody is an olympic runner, and the athletic club may have a select few of very competitive runners, but most everybody will be normal (recreational runners), so go ahead and join up! 

Also, I want to second that piece of advice about only increasing your weekly mileage by 10% a week.  So if you ran 9 miles this week, don't do more than 10 miles next week.  It's all fun and games until you have shin splints or plantar fasciitis.  Increase your mileage slowly and you'll be much less likely to get injured. 

Right, so I have made up my mind! I am GOING to join this club!

I am finding it so hard to up just by 10%. Today, I just kept going and going, until I had ran for 2 hours and 7 minutes. I had no idea what distance it was, but I was hoping for a half-marathon length. When I went home I checked it out on mapmyrun.com. Turned out to be 15.85miles! I really couldn't believe it, but I was thrilled. My speed worked out to be around 7.5mph!

My speed always varies so much! Sometimes like today, I find running very easy, and I run long distances at over 7mph, othertimes I feel as if I am working so much harder and my speed is around 6mph!

I really need to try and pay attention to what you all are saying about increasing by no more than 10%. I don't suppose the fact that I am young gives me any brownie points when it comes to this??!

Tomorrow - 9-10 miles only! I plan to run the marathon in June, and am aching to increase!

It definitely sounds like you have a natural talent for running.  Could be that the way your body is built makes you a "natural".  Still in all, use some caution and good old fashioned common sense about how fast you increase so you can keep on enjoying that natural ability :)

Unfortunately your age does not buy you a "get out of jail free" card for increasing your mileage. Even teenagers get knee, hip, heel, and shin injuries. The reason for caution is this: if you injure soft tissue in your joints you will be sidelined for MONTHS. No exaggeration. I once had to take 15 months off of running from a heel injury - that's a long time!

Here are some resources to back up what we're saying. (I expect you will also get a lot of good coaching once you join the athletic club)

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_1/107.s html

http://www.best-running-tips.com/increasing-m ileage-safely.html

Paularuck - Thank you, but somehow I doubt it! I love running, but I'm not particularly talented IMHO!

Andesite - thanks for those links, they were really helpful! So, I was feeling the consequences of increasing the maximimum I had ever run by almost 70% yesterday. Today, I feel as if I have overly strained my feet and calf muscles. When I raise my toes, I feel a sharp jabbing pain in my left foot. I tried to go for a run today, was planning to do jus 3 miles. It was not a success! I had to stop after 30 seconds, as the pain was getting too bad.

Note to self - listen to the much wiser, experienced people on here! I will take a break for today and tomorrow, maybe the day after that, then it will be back to running 8-10 miles, or less! Afterall, the marathon isn't until June, so I have plenty of time!

Thanks to everyone who answered!

Ouch!  I hope that toe issue gets resolved quickly! 

A marathon in June sounds like a great goal!  There are lots of books out there and training guides on the web to help you map out a training program (Google "marathon training" and you'll be quickly overwhelmed).  As for general advice, I like the Complete Book of Running for Women. 

Let us know when the Athletic Club starts, I'm curious to know what kind of workouts they will have you do!