Running has never been my thing, ever. In school I used to try every tactic to get out of running, in cross country me and a few friends would loop back round and find a bench to sit on while everyone else ran the full length. When I started to go to the gym the treadmill was either ignored or used as a last resort. I'm unfit and running would tire me out quickly and I felt embarrassed.
So your probably wondering why I'm running 10 kilometres?! I was persuaded by a group of my friends that we should run together back at uni, that turned in to running a 5k race and then some how progressed into doing a 10k race at the end of September, which I reluctantly agreed to, being told that training wouldn't be that hard!
LIES. Training is hard. Especially when you're unfit like me and haven't run in years, but I've signed up and paid my money so the training is in full swing. My mum even treated me to a brand new pair of running trainers, which is these beauties above. I'm in love with them.
I'm currently 4 weeks into my training and I'm following the NHS Couch 2 5k plan, where you do intervals of running and walking and gradually increase the running part. When I started running even a minute felt difficult, and although the start of each week and the increase in running feels impossible I've managed to complete each day and can feel my fitness improving.
I've improved from running only 1 minute at a time to running 5 minutes, this is a huge step for me and I'm really proud that I've not only managed to stick to the plan but Im also pushing myself and improving daily. I'm aiming to finish the C25K plan by mid August as Im running 6 days a week instead of 3. After this I should be able to run 5k, I'll then work on improving until I can run 10k which should be about an hours run.
I'm starting to enjoy running even though it can still be really difficult, especially as I run at night after getting home from work, and it can feel like a chore having to go out straight from work. I find running at night/the evening is better for me than getting up early in the morning, and the heat at the moment makes running in the day impossible!
So wish me good luck in my training as I definitely need it. I'll keep you updated on how I'm doing, and I'd love to hear any tips you have for running a 10k, or just running in general.