My Running Journey
Running. I’m obsessed! After years and years of feeling frustrated that I couldn’t progress past a slightly painful 5 km jog I have recently run a 10km race and LOVED IT! I beat my target time and it felt great. Even though the dark and cold evenings are rolling in I’m now managing to maintaining around 30km of running each week, planning a half marathon and feeling great. Winner. So how did this all come together? Well that’s what this blog is all about so if you’re interested to know, read on …
Running has always been something I enjoy. As a child I was massively into athletics and watched and participated with total passion. However, as I discovered going out and having a social life it all took a bit of a back seat. When I moved to Brighton in my late 20s I got back into running for fitness, and enjoyed my thinking and moving time along the seafront or around Preston Park. I felt good for getting out in the fresh air and back in my running shoes again. It was all very gentle, probably covering 3-5km per run but I’d made it a habit once more and, thinking back, that was one of the happiest calmest, most confident periods of my life.
Shortly after this time I got quite ill. I basically had complete exhaustion and my body was running on adrenalin. I was signed off work for almost 3 months and my body felt like lead. Although I recovered and got my energy back I didn’t run again for about 5 years and when I did, it felt like starting from square one once more. Our house backs onto some beautiful woods and there’s a great 2km loop that you can walk, or run. When we moved here my body was feeling pretty sluggish after some failed attempts at IVF and knew I wanted to get fit and feel better both mentally and physically. I remember starting off with one loop around the woods and feeling EXHAUSTED! It was so hard. I would do it maybe once or twice a week and then build up to two loops shortly after which my left knee would go and the injury would have me out for a month or so. It was so frustrating. The knee niggle wouldn’t go away and the cycle would repeat itself for years. Each time i’d build a little further but then find myself set back again.
As Ben’s running and fitness went from strength to strength my frustration was undoubtedly growing. He was brilliant and would offer me advice but I could never quite crack it. Last year however I agreed to get a running analysis done. There was a physiotherapy clinic near us that offered this and, despite being pretty scared I went and did it. Watching yourself running on video is horrendous but I am so glad that I did this. It turned out that my technique was pretty shocking (although they were very nice and never actually said this!). I came away with 3 clear things to work on:
Landing forwards in the middle of my foot rather than on my heel
Keeping my steps parallel as my left foot was crossing over the centre line
Kicking up higher at the back in order to bring my foot through further at the front
These things sound pretty simple but at first it was SO HARD! It’s like teaching yourself to run again. I would focus on one thing until I felt that I’d nailed it and then introduce the next. I had to cut down my distance and pretty much start again. My only regret was that I hadn’t done this sooner! I have barely felt a twinge since and haven’t had any serious injury. Wahoo, game on!
So, once I could run without pain I started to relax and, guess what happens when you relax, it all becomes all the more enjoyable! I also stopped running with music and I feel that this has helped me enjoy the whole process of running so much more. In the past I didn't think I could run WITHOUT music but on reflection I now think that was distracting from the process and the peace that I can find when i’m out in the fresh air. This year I haven’t listened to music once when running and I’m loving it.
So the hurdle I held in my mind was that I couldn’t imagine myself being able to run more than 5km. It turn out this was a mental block and nothing more! During this summer I decided to up my training and get in 4 or 5 runs each week. It wasn’t easy and I definitely wasn’t jumping out of bed desperate to get out on my woodland circuit but the more I did the better it felt, and so on …
Within a few weeks of being more consistent I felt ready to step up and one day I just decided to go for it. I did Ben’s 10km loop and just took it slow and steady. The sense of achievement afterwards was incredible! I later found out that I hadn’t got the route quite right and i’d only actually run 9km but you know what, it really doesn’t matter. I thought I had and that gave me the confidence to continue to step things up. When we were away in California Ben suggested I went running with him and I was terrified! He is such a capable, fit runner I thought I would just be holding him up and that I wouldn’t cope. It was tough but those sessions made me so much stronger. A fine example of one of my favourite sayings - if it doesn’t challenge you then it doesn’t change you.
So, October rolled around and it was almost time for my 10km run - the pancake run in Celebration, Florida. I was actually quite excited (along with a fair few nerves!!). I knew I could do the distance but wanted to do myself justice and push myself to a time that I felt would be a challenge for me but that I could hit. I was aiming for 48 minutes and got myself a running watch to track myself round the course. The actual race is now a bit of a blur. The scenery was stunning and it must be one of the nicest routes out there, a picture perfect Disney town on a warm Saturday morning with pancakes being cooked at the finish! There were a few hundred competitors but not too many serious runners and I knew I was towards the front of the pack. I just worked on keeping my focus and a steady pace. As we progressed through the kilometres I could see that I was catching up the two women ahead of me and I couldn’t believe it when I passed them with about 1.5km to go. I held on and in the words of Ben, I ‘emptied the tank’. It was amazing to cross the line as the first woman - what a bonus for my first race and I was proud that I’d hit my goal with a time of 46:31. Boom! Challenge achieved.
The feeling I get after I run is now one of my favourite things! In fact I think I’m addicted. I planned a mid week run with Ben and our friend Adam last week and I was actually looking forward to it all day! We just went on our second one tonight. I guess it’s a good addiction to have and the balance that I have found mentally is brilliant. I am a fairly anxious person but running has given me a sense of balance and calmness that wasn’t there before. Last weekend I felt a little blue but following a family run with Winnie in our beautiful local park I felt so much better. This is the main reason i’d urge anyone to run. Even if you don’t enter any races or set any major challenges, just getting out there in the fresh air, moving at whatever speed, I am pretty sure will have a positive impact on how you feel. Aside from my mood, I also feel more energised and less tired and who doesn’t want that in their life?
So I urge you, if you have a little feeling that you’d like to run, please don’t hesitate - just do it! Start with 1 minute bursts of running within a walk or running between two lamp posts. You will develop and improve, making gains both physically and mentally.
Next up for me is the Brighton 10K this weekend. I’d like to improve my time again but I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself or become obsessed with that. After that I just really want to maintain this consistency and see if I can do a half marathon early next year. Anyone want to join me?!