In the beginning...
If, just a couple of years ago, you had told me that I would be well on my way to a fitness addiction within the next 12 months, I would probably have snorted in a mixture of disgust and amusement, told you not to be so stupid and reached for the nearest cake.
It was 17th April 2015. I had downloaded the NHS Choices Couch to 5k podcast series and was lacing up my running shoes for the first lesson.
This wasn't my first foray into the world of moving faster than a slow walk; the previous year, I had taken part in the Gloucester Race for Life and, more optimistically, the Bristol 10k, both with very little training and - in the case of the Bristol 10k - well beyond my means. I'd tried a few times to get myself to a stage where running was A Thing That I Could Do, but after countless failed attempts, the odd tear of self-pity and loathing and a fair amount of sheer laziness, had almost completely written myself off as just another asthmatic that would never be able to run. But something was niggling away in the back of my head that I would never know how I'd get on unless I tried. That niggle, paired with the fact that even my mum, a true warrior in her early 60s, was over halfway through the C25k and actually doing very well, was what saw me on that Friday evening, wearing my only leggings and an oversized "the cake is a lie" t-shirt, heading out the door to the opening seconds of Podcast Number 1.
Nature was not on my side that day, and the irony of plodding along in the pouring rain to a song with the lyrics "This is the greatest day" was not lost on me. Nevertheless, I persevered, telling myself that not every run I did would be in glorious sunshine and that I should just suck it up and get on with it.
The weeks went by and I stuck at it, even continuing the course when I was struck down with a chest infection (not advisable!). On 15th May, and after an almost sleepless night worrying about it, I successfully completed my first 20 minute run and, by 6th June, was just a couple of days away from the start of Week 9 when the very first Kingsway parkrun took place. I went along to test myself, with conflicting thoughts of wanting to be able to run the whole way (even though it would be the longest run I had ever done in my life) and simultaneously trying not to put too much pressure on myself - something I'm not overly good at doing.
That first parkrun - in which I didn't walk once - took me 37 minutes and 11 seconds, and I don't think I have ever felt such a personal sense of achievement as I did that morning. Completing the C25k the following week felt like a bit of a rite of passage, and I was determined that, now I'd got this far, I was not going to give up.
After that first parkrun, I felt unstoppable and, for the next few months, I carried on running by myself, using Week 9 of C25k every time; having got used to NHS Laura (the voiceover on the podcasts), I wasn't confident that I'd be able to get through 30 minutes without the friendly encouragement every 5-10 minutes. I'd treated myself to a shiny new purple Garmin Forerunner 10 by this time as well, and was enjoying looking at the stats after each run.
During these months, I had been aware of a local running club who met every Monday evening. I would often see them convening as I came home from work or ambled to Asda, but never thought for a second that I would be considered enough of a runner to join them. It took me until September - and a large amount of coaxing from Gary - to attend my first Kingsway Runners session and as I'm sure is apparent (!) have never looked back.
It was 17th April 2015. I had downloaded the NHS Choices Couch to 5k podcast series and was lacing up my running shoes for the first lesson.
This wasn't my first foray into the world of moving faster than a slow walk; the previous year, I had taken part in the Gloucester Race for Life and, more optimistically, the Bristol 10k, both with very little training and - in the case of the Bristol 10k - well beyond my means. I'd tried a few times to get myself to a stage where running was A Thing That I Could Do, but after countless failed attempts, the odd tear of self-pity and loathing and a fair amount of sheer laziness, had almost completely written myself off as just another asthmatic that would never be able to run. But something was niggling away in the back of my head that I would never know how I'd get on unless I tried. That niggle, paired with the fact that even my mum, a true warrior in her early 60s, was over halfway through the C25k and actually doing very well, was what saw me on that Friday evening, wearing my only leggings and an oversized "the cake is a lie" t-shirt, heading out the door to the opening seconds of Podcast Number 1.
Nature was not on my side that day, and the irony of plodding along in the pouring rain to a song with the lyrics "This is the greatest day" was not lost on me. Nevertheless, I persevered, telling myself that not every run I did would be in glorious sunshine and that I should just suck it up and get on with it.
The weeks went by and I stuck at it, even continuing the course when I was struck down with a chest infection (not advisable!). On 15th May, and after an almost sleepless night worrying about it, I successfully completed my first 20 minute run and, by 6th June, was just a couple of days away from the start of Week 9 when the very first Kingsway parkrun took place. I went along to test myself, with conflicting thoughts of wanting to be able to run the whole way (even though it would be the longest run I had ever done in my life) and simultaneously trying not to put too much pressure on myself - something I'm not overly good at doing.
That first parkrun - in which I didn't walk once - took me 37 minutes and 11 seconds, and I don't think I have ever felt such a personal sense of achievement as I did that morning. Completing the C25k the following week felt like a bit of a rite of passage, and I was determined that, now I'd got this far, I was not going to give up.
After that first parkrun, I felt unstoppable and, for the next few months, I carried on running by myself, using Week 9 of C25k every time; having got used to NHS Laura (the voiceover on the podcasts), I wasn't confident that I'd be able to get through 30 minutes without the friendly encouragement every 5-10 minutes. I'd treated myself to a shiny new purple Garmin Forerunner 10 by this time as well, and was enjoying looking at the stats after each run.
During these months, I had been aware of a local running club who met every Monday evening. I would often see them convening as I came home from work or ambled to Asda, but never thought for a second that I would be considered enough of a runner to join them. It took me until September - and a large amount of coaxing from Gary - to attend my first Kingsway Runners session and as I'm sure is apparent (!) have never looked back.
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