Stretch have you joined your local club on interval training sessions at all? Maybe you experienced similar to me if you have? I went to a few sessions last year in the Netherlands and found them rather focussed particularly with focus on warming up, stretching, and drills, pre the track session. All of this with a designated trainer as it's requirement for track sessions. These sessions are by no means for top athletes only as all abilities take part. From the little bit I've seen at various events in Europe, running groups place a lot of emphasis on the warm up pre the event. Very interesting to see how focussed some of the groups are. Massive contrast to some events I've done in SA where the regular runners literally arrive at the start as the race is already starting. Of course some running clubs in SA might be similar in terms of track sessions and proper warming up etc but probably not really focussed on the amateur runner? I'm all for the social aspect of running sessions for all abilities, but at the same time the warm up and drills etc are super important for injury prevention. Going from regular session after session of regular single paced running to smashing out intervals is a recipe for disaster. It takes a very different focus and preparation.
