Couch to…10K? I signed up for a race and only had 9 weeks to train!

Recently at work, a colleague and I were discussing the results of the women’s football and when asked if I played myself, I said no, but that I was really sporty… the word left my mouth before stopping to consider. Am I sporty? I’ve always considered myself as a sporty person. At school I was fast and was part of every after-school sports club and interschool tournament imaginable. In Sixth Form, I spent a large amount of my time with my Shinty team and attended training, matches, and fitness classes multiple times a week. At University, I tried something new and played Ultimate Frisbee which became a huge part of my three years in Winchester. We trained twice a week and participated in a tournament pretty much every month, attended fitness classes, and casual throw arounds, not to mention walking in what seemed one of the hilliest cities in England! Truthfully, I think I reached my fitness peak here. Although I would never call myself a runner, my time at university contained my longest running stint, where I would run with friends for fun, I ran Bath half marathon for charity, and got my Park Run 5k PB. After leaving Uni, ‘real adult’ life got in the way, and I let exercise slip away from being a priority.  In the last 5 years, I apparently still consider myself as ‘sporty’ but on reflection, I feel this is an extension from my childhood and university days, a self-identity hanging on by a thread that is gradually getting thinner and fraying at the ends!

While I am relatively active and walk everywhere, enjoy the occasional hike, and go for the odd swim or roller skate, I am also the heaviest I have ever been. I am aware that weight fluctuates with age etc. and while I am not by super bothered by a number on the scales, I also feel heavier, and a little sluggish too. I can’t squeeze into clothes I used to enjoy wearing. I lack energy and motivation, and this has all affected my self-confidence. I get myself into a spiral of guilt and avoidance. I think because I used to just be able to whack out a spontaneous 5km with no issues, I am still able to do that now. And, when I try, and obviously struggle with even 1km following a stretch of months, years even, since I last did any proper training, I feel disappointed and guilty for this loss of fitness and my body not being able to do what it used to do easily. I didn’t want to admit that I was no longer the sporty girl. So here I have two choices, to accept that I have lost this fitness and work from the beginning; or to avoid completely, because if I don’t try to run a 5km, then I can’t fail. Clearly one of these options is lot healthier, but I bet you can guess which one I fall into. The more I think about it though, the more I realise that of course my body cannot do what I am asking, as I have not given her the opportunity to!

Last year I kicked myself into gear and started the couch to 5K again. I really enjoyed the intervals and motivational voice, and I even joined a social running club. Unfortunately, a flare up of shin splints (that I first got training for my half marathon in 2016) made me stop for a few months and I lost my momentum. I tried again at the start of 2023, I even saved up to have my gait measured and brought proper running shoes (would totally recommend!)- yay, nothing could stop me now! I ran a few times and felt I was bouncing on air. I probably got up to running a slow 5km with a few breaks, but I was pleased with my process! However, due to bad weather, colds, and travelling, I got out of rhythm again and never took it back up. My lack of fitness revealed itself a couple of weeks ago when my friends and I had to race to catch a train back to Edinburgh and I struggled to keep up, albeit we had just attended a dinner party and had three different desserts… but I genuinely believed I was going to be the reason for us missing our transport home. My heart was pounding, my legs were heavy, and my breathing difficult. We made the train (phew!) but I thought then that rebuilding my fitness is really something I need to do, for me, physically and mentally. So that brings us to today. What would make me run and take training seriously? Inspired by a fellow blogger, I knew I needed to sign up for an event! As if my social media was sending me a sign, an advert to join the Edinburgh Women’s 10km popped up on my feed. A friendly event with the aim to get Women into running and support each other- perfect!! I have 9 weeks to train (eek!), and my goal is to run it in 1 hour. Right now, I think the realistic goal is to actually cross the finish line, but apparently, I like to set myself an impossible challenge. I feel excited, nervous, and ready to get started… watch this space!!

Running log (mainly to keep myself accountable)

Week 1

Fuelled by the Barbie playlist, I embarked on my first training run around the familiar route of my local park, not really sure what to expect. It had been 6 months since my last proper run, so rather than just running ‘blind’, I decided to follow ‘run 1, week 5’ of the Couch to 5K, which is about where I felt my ability lied just now. This consisted of a 5 minute warm up walk (and cool down afterwards) and then 3X 5 minute runs with a 3 minute recovery walk in between. AKA I ran for a total of 15 minutes. This is about a quarter of the time I will be running in 9 weeks… although hopefully at a slightly faster pace (eek). I would say I just about managed the 5 minute runs, but I definitely was not comfortable. However, when I thought about stopping to catch my breath or walking, Denise Lewis’ voice (through the Couch to 5K app) piped up to let me know that I only had one minute of running left, and it was both Denise, and Charlie XCX, that kept me going. I am grateful to myself for getting past that first run, as I find it is getting started that is often the most difficult. I am also very glad that I decided to use the Couch to 5K app to focus my run.

On my active rest day I went swimming in the local pool, and my legs were feeling achy, but good. Today was my second run and I did ‘run 2’ of week 5 from the C25K app. After the warm up, it was an 8 minute run, a 5 minute walk, followed by another 8 minute run. So in total the run was 16 minutes, just 1 minute extra than what I did on Monday. Sounded good! However, maybe this one was mind over matter because I really struggled with running for 8 minutes. I couldn’t get into the music like I did on Monday, and couldn’t switch my mind off running. I had to stop for a break in both runs which is disappointing and I couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened, especially as I had a sneak peak at the next run and it’s 20 minutes straight. I don’t think I am ready for that yet, so I think I will repeat this run and see where it takes me. I guess it’s a good reminder that process is not linear and some hurdles may take a while to get over. I will stay positive and see how the rest of the week goes!

My third run of the week did not happen. I am finding it difficult to make the time for a run. How do people do it? The C25K app suggests leaving a rest day between each run, so I ran on Monday, Wednesday, and should have been Friday, but we had friends staying Friday for the long weekend. Maybe I should have gotten up early before everyone else and ran at the weekend? I feel I have the same issue next week as I am away camping from Thursday-Sunday so there is no way I can fit in 3 runs… How do people get around this issue of time? If anyone has any suggestions, let me know! Looking at the positives, I did a total of over 51,000 steps over the Friday evening, Saturday, Sunday so maybe that’s good enough for now?

Week 2

The power of running with a friend! After struggling with my runs last week, and knowing myself that I am better when I run in company, I messaged my friend ‘do you fancy going for a (very slow) run?’ and she replied instantly ‘I can go for a very slow run!’. When it came up for the time we were to meet, I wasn’t feeling very keen, but felt I was held accountable- another good thing! Claire runs often and is training for a half marathon the same weekend as my 10K and was a great motivator!! She suggested we do a 5K but as slow and with as many stops as needed as long as we reached that distance. And 5K we did! Our time was about 37 minutes (paused when we stopped- should I be doing that, I’m not sure?) and I was thrilled. It seems that distracting my mind with chatting with a friend made me forget about the pain and breathlessness of running that I got to the distance. I was pleasantly surprised and really happy as this is not something I thought I would be able to manage on my second week of running. It’s strange as although I now know that I can run 5K (albeit with many stops), I also know that if I tried on my own, I would not make it. Maybe I should try an audio book or podcast for my next run on my own rather than just music?

It’s one of those weeks again where if I ensure a rest day in between, I am only able to fit in two runs, but never mind! I will make sure my runs are worth it! My active rest day became less of the ‘active’ and more just rest. I chilled, and had a bath with ‘muscle soak bubble bath’; could get used to this. With Claire’s encouragement, I joined the social running group I attended last year and I was quite nervous. Claire stayed with me at the back of the group and a few times I wanted to stop for a breather but there were runners on our heels and thought they would run into me if I stopped! I did struggle, a lot. However I did it! And we ran somewhere between 4.33 and 5k- although we all took the same route, everyone’s recordings on their watches and strava seemed to be slightly different which is a bit annoying. My watch said the least amount, so I will watch and strava next time on my own run to compare! One thing I also noticed is that a couple of times now I get pain, no, more of an ache in my shoulder when running? Weird. Seeing as I am using my legs. Maybe something I need to make sure I warm up/stretch before I run.

I went camping in the Lake District with some friends from University and it was bliss. As I’d ran two 5Ks this week, I didn’t feel too bad about not doing a third run. We also did a lot of trekking over hills in the Lakes, so hopefully I kept up some fitness and used my muscles. Next week I plan on incorporating some strength training, but first, starting off the week with a rest day following days of sleeping on an airbed and trekking a long old way.  

Week 3

7 weeks to go…

Changing things up this week starting with a rest day, and then yesterday I went to a strength training fitness class and wow am I feeling it today in my thighs and bum today. I will go on my first run tomorrow (Thursday) and see how I get on. I plan to walk and stretch on this rest day. Yesterday my boyfriend decided to go on a spontaneous run, after about a year or more since his last run…  and he did a 10K. In 58 minutes. I was super impressed and of course congratulated him on his efforts! But to be completely honest (and being completely human!) I couldn’t help but feel disheartened and a little jealous by this news, as for me it’s going to be such a process to get there, and I have been working hard! I had to remind myself that everyone is on their own journey though so onwards and upwards!!

Today I ran a solo 5K in just over 30 minutes! (okay, okay, I did press pause on my Strava/watch quite a few times while I got my breath back) but I managed to keep up with the 6minute per Km pace- very pleased with that. Just need to double the distance now- eek! I found the start of the run harder than the middle and last bit; feeling much better once I got into the rhythm of it. I also listened to an audiobook of ‘The Flatshare’ by Beth O’Leary, which made the run a lot more enjoyable as sometimes music doesn’t quite distract me enough from my body’s protests. The worlds of Tiffy and Leon got me through, and I focused a lot on their story so I will do this next time (lucky Beth O’Leary has several similar lighthearted and heartwarming books so I can run for days…). On a similar theme to my last actual run log- re my watch recording being less than everyone else’s Strava, I figured that unless I somehow managed to skip half a K, one of the recording devices was incorrect. I decided to test this and set my Huawei watch and also Strava on my phone. The results? Completely different!! Strava said 5K, and my watch said 3.39km???… I’m going to go with Strava with this one 😀

Wow what a rest day- I got a free 30 minute back, head, neck, and shoulder massage at work! Despite the low key anxiety that when the masseuse pushed firmly up and down my back that she was going to accidentally squeeze out a fart, and suppressing the urge to giggle when she touched my neck, it was thoroughly enjoyable and soo needed. My first weekend, and morning, run so far, and I definitely found this harder… does not stand in good stead considering the race is at 11am on a Sunday. My go to longer shorts (ABYL) were in the wash, so I chose an old pair of (slightly too tight) adidas shorts… big mistake. They were too short to actually do any riding up, and definitely did not prevent the thighs from rubbing- ouch. I ran 5K at a decent pace, but again, I probably stopped about 6 times, if not more. It concerns me slightly that I still cannot run a 5K without stopping. My goal for next week is to do just this, even if I walk/very slow jog, I will not stop (hopefully).

Week 4

Started the week with a rest day and then swam 1km (40 lengths woo!) to try and cross train. Yesterday (Wednesday), I ran a 5K and tried to stick to my goal of slowing the jog right down/walking when I am out of breath and I did stick to that, mostly. The urge to press pause in these moments and resume only when I am running at pace is real but I know this then doesn’t give a true reflection, what does everyone else do? I stopped three times: to snap a quick photo of Edinburgh, to change song on Spotify, and to blow my nose. The latter is a real issue for me- does anyone else’s nose run for England when doing physical activities? I try to do it as I go, but this can sometimes be difficult. Anyway, the run itself was alright, felt quite good. My right shin has started to twinge a bit, although it is probably fine, it gets into my head, and I can only focus on that. I’m probably worrying more than I need to, but I really need to prevent them from getting as bad as they were before. A friend recommended that I wear a calve sleeve, so I will follow this advice.

My first park run since 2017! The weather was miserable, and for many reasons I left my flat later than I’d planned to which made me in a bit of a frantic mindset. I had to park a 10 minute walk away from the start line and so there was definitely not enough time to go for a last wee. Seeing everyone looking very professional in their running jackets, and 10, 50, and 100 Park Runs tops made me feel nervous. I was hoping that running in a group would push me further and faster, but that didn’t seem to be the case as I just couldn’t seem to pick up speed, even when I could see the finish line, I just had nothing left in me to give. Nevertheless, I did the 5k WITH NO STOPS! Which I am taking as an achievement seeing as 4 weeks ago, I couldn’t run for more than 5 minutes at a time. I’m not going to lie, it was a struggle, and I did feel a bit disappointed that I always seemed to be at the back of the group. I completed it in 30.56, exactly six minutes slower than my last park run in 2017 (whelp!). But I did it, and that’s the main thing. I have absolutely no idea how I am going to run double that distance in just 5 weeks… I felt inspired by the people at the front who were already on the return when I was not even at the 2k point, wow. But the real stars for me were the lovely Parkrun volunteers, gosh what a great bunch of people. I really hope they know the impact they have on everyone taking part.

I had planned this week to carry out 3 runs. I had also planned to get some new running/sports kit as I currently only own one pair of shorts that don’t rid up and lead to chaffing… I had also planned three runs for next week, the first time I had purposely made a training plan to stick to (2k run, 0.5k walk x3; pace 5k; and slow 6k without stops) However, like all best made plans, life gets in the way. I had an unexpected allergic reaction causing a sore itchy red dry rash to explode all over my face, and not feel great with it, hopefully I will start to feel better soon and achieve the runs I want to next week.

Week 5

Spent Monday trying to get rid of the allergic reaction and took anti histamines every 4 hours, with some side effects. Tuesday I was better, but still felt pretty bunged up. I know it’s not as bad as how some people get, and I really feel for those who do. Today is Wednesday and I plan to run 6k with walking breaks- a 2k run followed by a 2 minute walk and repeat 3 times… I mostly followed this. I started off too fast and ran out of steam. I was wondering why I was getting out of breath so quickly when I glanced at my Strava and saw my pace was 5.24min/K so I slowed it right down and managed it okay, but I’m still struggling. And now very worried about actually completing the 10K. I know I will, as my boyfriend pointed out, I am too stubborn not to, but my goal for under an hour is looking less likely. I just don’t seem to have the energy for it. My shins twinged a bit, and my face stung, but I quite enjoyed the run in the pouring rain in a way.

A Friday after work is never a good time to run, but I had my friend Claire by my side, so I did actually enjoy it and felt energised by it. Chatting definitely helps and we made it to 6K which is my longest run on this running journey! Was so pleased with that. It was the first time I wore calf compression sleeves, which aside from being a look (lol), did help with shin pain and made me feel less concerned about damaging them. We also conveniently finished the 6K outside a pub so went inside for a nice couple of hours. The next day (Sat), I went to a ‘Body Balance’ class which is a combination of Tai Chi, Yoga, and Pilates and it felt great… and I followed this with a matcha green tea at a lovely independent café… followed by a huge slice of cake. 

Wow wow wow, very proud of this one. I ran a continuous 6K, on my own, in 36 minutes! I let out a little “Ah!” when Strava announced the end of the 5K in 30.04minutes and when it announced the 6K mark I was shocked 😮 I had a good mindset this morning and that makes all the difference. Firstly, I knew I had done it already so I knew my body was capable of it so I reminded myself of that along the way. Secondly, while I was waiting for my breakfast to go down, I was scrolling through Instagram and a video popped up on my feed of a woman who calls herself a slow runner and is training for the London Marathon next year. I ended up on her page and watched all her reels and they were so inspiring. The take-away message was not to be worried about speed, you can slow right down so you are just faster than a walk, and you’re still running, you’re still getting the distance. She said it doesn’t matter if you come last in a race, because that’s better than not finishing, which is better than not starting, which is better than not even trying. I think with this in mind I set off slowly, trying to keep my pace easy and just focus on the distance and not the time.

Week 6

I had a feeling it was going to go like this. I spent the two days after my 6K run buzzing and feeling hopeful, I had a rest day on Monday and went swimming for some cross training on Tuesday. On Wednesday I joined the social running group for a 5K… and really struggled. Thank goodness for Claire who stayed by my side even though the whole group ran about 200m ahead of us and we were left to complete the route by ourselves. I just lacked energy. I don’t know how I used to do it! I just physically couldn’t make myself go any faster. I think my objective is less about the time now, and more about actually making the 10K distance! I am starting to let go of the 1hour target, at this point, I just want to cross the finishing line. I am thinking of a 1hr 5min target, but would be happy anywhere up to 1hr 15mins.

7K!!! What a milestone. I was not looking forward to this run, especially as my shins were twinging as I walked to and from work. However, I somehow managed 7K!! Weirdly, and I can’t believe I am saying this, but the last two K seemed the easiest of them all. I felt I was running with strange form to start with, struggled in the middle and to make it to the 5K point, and then kind of breezed the final two K! Not sure how or why, but I’m not complaining!! Can that happen in the race please? I have been worried about not being able to make it to 10K, annoyed at myself for not progressing more, but I have to reflect that just 6 weeks ago I struggled to run for 8 minutes straight and I just ran for 42minutes! So happy to make it this far!! Very pleased with that.

Oh dear. My plan was to run on Sunday as well, but I woke up with lower back pain. I twisted funny getting something out of the car and thought oh dear that’s probably no good for my back, but didn’t think much else of it… until I woke up on Sunday morning and my back was hurting :’( I took ibuprofen and smelt of deep heat all day. Hoping it doesn’t affect my ability to run next week.

Week 7

3 weeks to go…

Still taking ibuprofen and reeking of deep heat, I went back and forth all Monday on whether I should go for a run or not. Would it loosen up my back or make things worse? I eventually landed on the decision that I shouldn’t go, but as I am going away this weekend, it probably means I will only get one run in this week which worries me… I went for a swim this morning and I think that eased my back a bit. Will continue with the anti-inflammatory and heat (I brought my hot water bottle to work so I don’t gas everyone out this time) and aim to get a long run in tomorrow.

Took some ibuprofen, smothered my back in deep heat, and put my compression socks on… and ran 8K. Took it slow and steady but really struggled with this one, the last 3K I was just pleading with Strava to tell me I’d reached the next K. While I am happy that I made it to the 8, I knew the whole run that I should probably not be running but resting my back. But as it was the only day I could make a run for the week (I’m going away for the long weekend), I had to at least try. If I didn’t have the 10K in 2.5 weeks I would have given it a miss and focused on recovery, but it was a weigh up of doing what’s best for my body and actually wanting to cross the finish line! Took my usual route to the sea, the run was uneventful apart from taking a wrong turn that took me to a dead end and I took my phone out to take a picture of the view to make it look like it was intentional… the life of an awkward runner.

Week 8

Two weeks to go, eek! Feeling very real now. After a whole week, my back hasn’t got much better, and I had even rested it for 4 days while I was away. So again, smelling of deep heat, I did a gentle 5K… and really struggled. How on earth am I supposed to double the distance in less than two weeks ahh! I ran that one 7K and felt amazing, struggled through an 8K last week, and now I can barely do a 5?! I guess I need to remember than running progress is not linear and I just need to trust the process.

Run two of the week, I made 7K, but again struggled to keep going and had to walk a few times. Feel like I have lost steam a little with it a little and just want it to be over and done with now. I find running on my own, even with music in, quite boring. It’s a strange one, I’ve spent most of my runs since re-starting this journey worried that I wasn’t going to make a 10K and was generally worried that I wouldn’t make it to the finish line without getting picked up by the sweeper bus, but simultaneously thinking I should be further along in my journey and would be ready to run a 10K in under an hour in 9 weeks. It’s hard to explain, I am a bit disappointed yet incredibly proud that I have even made it this far. And realistically, the ultimate reason and goal of signing up for the event in the first place was to get me to actually run so I can improve my fitness and build myself up to run for 10K, and also run for a whole hour!! Considering my first run, I was running in 5 minute blocks followed by a 3minute walk… and then in 8 weeks running for 50 minutes… I’m pleased with that.

Ran with Claire and made it to just over 8K. My legs were very tired, and I felt exhausted after a week of work, so I tried a SIS sachet to see if that would help. I didn’t notice too much difference physically, but maybe did give me the mental boost, even if this was a placebo. I brought two sachets so will try one again, but unsure if they are for me!

Made it to 10K!! (okay we did stop to take photos of the view and slowed some sections right down), but we made it! Claire was such a big support, and I do feel better about the event. With the pauses not included in the overall time, we did it in about 1hr 5minutes!!- I would be thrilled if I got this time on the day, but I’m aware that this didn’t include any stops. After running once last week due to my bad back (I’m getting old!), I went 4 times this week which is a record (and will probably never happen ever again)!

Week 9- This is it!

It’s come up so quickly! This week’s plan is to have an active rest day on Monday, maybe a gentle walk, some core work, and stretching/rolling, a run on Tuesday, maybe around the 7/8K mark, swimming on Wednesday with the sauna, then a tiny maybe 2k run on the Thursday just to ensure the legs are going, then rest Friday, Saturday, and race day on Sunday… I need to make sure I stretch and sort my feet (I know that’s gross, but they have many blisters and peeling bits of skin from running (ew I know). That’s the plan anyway, we’ll see how it actually goes.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I went for a run with the aim of 7K without stopping. I made it to the 7K, but as for stopping… I did that quite a lot. I know I’ve said before that running progress is not linear, but mine seems to be a very wiggly line of some good runs, and some runs where I have to stop like this one, only to see that I haven’t even made it to 1K… 😮 I wish I had a few more weeks to get to a more comfortable and confident point in my training, but alas the event is this Sunday, so we’ll just have to get on with it. I don’t feel prepared, physically or mentally. Also, I was supposed to get some new running kit, but it’s not really happened. I brought some second-hand shorts from Vinted, but I have no idea if they will get here on time! As for tops, who knows! Getting in some important reading in my lunch breaks including ‘How to keep running (even when you want to quit)’ – oh dear!

I went for a swim and sauna on Wednesday, but on Thursday I was back and forth of whether I should run, mainly because my shorts came (yay!), and I planned to wear these at the event and everyone knows that you shouldn’t try anything for the first time on the day, but my shins were feeling very sore and I figured that the new shorts are just going to have to work on the day!

The event: Edinburgh Women’s 10K

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh I made it!!

The night before and morning of the event, I regretted my life decisions. I was so nervous. My shins were bad and I felt so anxious leading up the event start time. The thing I was most worried about was the starting pens. When I signed up 9 weeks ago, I was very unrealistic and too optimistic with my time predictions and estimated a 56minute finish time- I knew this was extremely unlikely but wanted to be pushed to get the hour. I was meant to change it but missed the deadline. I just wanted to finish the race and was actually so unbothered by the time, I loosely set myself a target of 1:05, but I honestly did not care as long as I actually made it. I had visions of being in the ‘yellow’ pen and being overtaken by hundreds of people and being judged for being too cocky about my prediction. I nervously ate my wetabix 1.5 hours before the start time, while my bf painted a sign, and I struggled with pinning on my race number (who knew this was a such a difficult task!). When we got to the area, the queue for the toilets was huge and I wasn’t going to have enough time, and I hovered near the pen without getting in it. It turns out that I didn’t need to worry about this as everyone only vaguely went into their official pen, and the colours were mixed so I snuck in the back of yellow/start of the next pen. I was so nervous and felt quite emotional (I’m blaming this on hormones as was due to come on my period) and vowed to myself that I would never sign up to a race again.

In the few minutes before the start gun, the atmosphere was electric. I chatted nervously to my fellow runners, and we did a lot of ‘woooos’ and clapping as we walked to the start line. I remember taking a deep breath and the race began! The first K was such a high, I felt so empowered to be running with 2000 women, as us, running together. We were a pack, which I appreciated a lot as I was carried by the wave, but also made it very hard to get to any kind of pace, and the first K was actually 8.35min/K.  Cam was waiting just after the 1K with his sign (so cute) and ran along with me, which I found so funny and I felt so hyped by the crowd and running with the women as we ran downhill, I thought to myself, maybe I would like to do more running events. This thought wore off around the 3K mark. The crowds thinned, and it was a long there and back quiet road with not much to distract apart from the 2010s tunes I had playing through my earphones. The first few (amazing!) women were on the return already, wow! Next came the hill- the dreaded hill, that was one big floor in my training plan- I purposely chose flat routes, avoided all hills so I knew this would be a struggle. The hill went on foreverrrrrr. I was determined to keep running, but walkers were going the same speed as me, so I walked bits of it. I figured this was more productive and I could try and lower my heart rate and steady my breathing before running again. The one part of the race I walked and I got papped by the official photographer- typical! I ran the last bit of the hill and good job too as Cam was waiting at the top as I turned the corner into a slight decline! Someone from the crowd shouted “Downhill!!” for which I and my fellow runners were very grateful to hear after that horrible hill. The last 4-5K of the run was fairly flat with one sneaky incline in the middle. I could feel my legs were tiring but continued to be carried in the wave of runners. I kept trying to speed up, but physically couldn’t go any faster. When I reached the 9K mark I was thrilled, I knew I could make the last 1K, just a couple more songs and I would be done. I ran into Murrayfield rugby stadium and crossed the line not quite believing I had made it, and the time said 1hr 3 minutes something, and I was chuffed! But then, and I can’t quite believe I am saying this, I got a text from the event with a provisional chip time, and it said 1:00:43…whaaaaat?! This was confirmed later in the day and I couldn’t be more pleased with that.

Wow. What an amazing experience. I met my goals, regained some fitness, and can now run for a whole hour. Will I be signing up for any running events in the near future? Absolutely not. But I hope to keep up with the running a little (when my shins are recovered) and continue with this return to fitness journey.

I don’t expect anyone to have gotten this far, but if you stuck with it, then thank you!! 😊

Some tips for beginning your running journey/first race:

-Sign up for an event. I know I know, I complained and regretted this the whole time, but it was actually the only thing that finally kicked me into gear and get running.

-Find a running buddy, it makes things soo much better, I could not have done it without Claire. If your friends are not into running, look for a local social running club.

-Focus on reaching the distance and not about the time, a 5K, 10K, half marathon, Marathon, is still a 5K, 10K, half marathon, Marathon no matter the time you do it in! I was so caught up with a set time, but it was so much better when I let this go.

-Wear clothes you feel comfortable in, especially if your thighs rub together like mine- I would suggest longer cycle shorts, or use a chafe stick (my saviour on holidays!)

-Safety pin your number on the length and not using the corners 2/4 ripped off during the run.

-Try to enjoy it (is this hypocritical of me to say?)- remember you are running for you!  

Thanks again for reading, B