Running for my life!

I am not a natural runner.  I'm not, in fact, a natural sportswoman.  My PE career at school was distinctly un-glittering and I managed five years of gym lessons where the only thing I managed to achieve was a forward roll.  Hockey lessons, I spent in goal with a couple of other like-minded individuals where we figured out if we just stood shoulder-to-shoulder there was some hope that the ball wouldn't go past us.

Therefore, it surprised me as much as everyone else when last year I entered Race for Life.  It was in July so I decided that May would be a sensible time to start my training.  I had a theory that I should just run as far as I could and then beat that every time.  My supportive BFF Samantha said she would start the training with me, so early one evening in May we dressed up as if we were runners and set off from her house.  We ran to the end of her road and around the corner and then I stopped, (nearly died) and told her that was it, I was done.  We walked back to her house and her husband was really concerned that one of us was injured as we had been out for all of about four minutes.  I think they both thought I was a little odd as I bundled back into my car and did not hold out much hope for me running 5k in eight weeks time.  Sam said she wouldn't even have bothered getting changed if she knew that was all we were doing!

So, I slogged on, and it was a slog.  I still don't like running.  I get a sense of achievement when I've done it but during the actual process I hate every last sodding step.  I had a few offers from people who wanted to come running with me but I nearly always said no.  I don't want to talk, any spare breath I have whilst I'm running is used for expletives and I'm not a happy exercise companion.  I did begin to notice however that after a few months of this torture, my body was beginning to become a teeny-tiny bit less flobbedy.  Amazing.  I can still eat like a horse and drink like a fish but I no longer look like such a heifer!  The only trap is that I know now I can never stop.  The fear of flabbiness will keep me dragging myself around the streets of Marshalswick twice a week for as long as I can.  If you happen to pass me whilst I'm out running, please don't toot, wave, or even smile; you won't get anything pleasant in return, believe me.

Last year I wouldn't let anyone come and watch me doing Race for Life, not even Stu!  I still hadn't managed to run anywhere near 5k in my foolproof training plan.  My friend Julie, who is nowadays quite a runner, kindly said she would go slowly round with me but I was still convinced that I wouldn't manage it.  I did however and it was an amazing experience, really emotional!  This year I ran it alone but let Stu support me from the sidelines and knocked 7 minutes off my time.  I'm now sitting revelling in the post-exercise endorphins and toying with the idea of signing up to the Herts 10k in October.  Knowing my limits has never been a strong point of mine in any part of my life so maybe I should have a glass of wine and think it through for a little while longer.  Would be silly to get silly about running now, wouldn't it......