I used to run a lot, I’ve only done one marathon but I’ve done a lot of half marathons and 10Ks in recent years. Now I was never massively fast (I’d definitely describe myself as the tortoise rather than the hare) but I could complete 5km within 25 minutes, 10km within an hour and so on so was comfortable signing up for runs and knowing I’d get around in one piece.
During the initial Lockdown when gyms were closed I ran most days and so was in a pretty good place running wise. Repeated Lockdowns, back and forth changes, injuries and personal issues just made me stop running for a while. Added to not being able to train at all, weight gain and general not feeling 100% my running ability is not where it was. I hadn’t run as much as 5km unbroken for a long time and the addition of more than 10kg of bodyweight in a short period of time made running for ten minutes plus really hard work.
I’ve signed up for a half marathon in May so now is the time that I need to get myself back to a point where it’s doable to run 13.1 miles. I’ve started running short periods (like 15/20 minutes) unbroken and last weekend ran 5km without walking. It took me about 38 minutes, but this weekend I got that down to 36 minutes. I’ve been meaning to try Park Run to help keep up a routine of running but my times have been putting me off. Realistically I know they’ll be other people running at my pace but my brain keeps telling me I’ll be last and so I keep chickening out.
The thing is if I was talking to a client I’d be reassuring them that they can do it, they won’t find themselves last and even if they did it wouldn’t matter and I’d mean it, but we’re always harsher towards ourselves aren’t we.
So this weekend I’m going to make myself go and give Park Run a go with the aim of doing it in less than 36 minutes. At no point am I under any illusion that this half marathon is going to be easy but I’m determined to get myself to the point where I can do it and run the whole thing. Zero ego, I might be slow and the next month or so will not be pretty but I know I’ll feel good if I get myself to this point.
Heather Sherwood Fitness 