If you follow me on Instagram then you might have noticed some of the pictures of my morning runs. For those that know me, they could easily tell you I do not run. I dance, but I do not run. I will gym, but I will not run.
However waaaay back in March, the boyf (who does Triathlon here at uni), wanted to sign up to a 10K. It was the Two Castles Run, from Warwick Castle to Kenilworth Castle. When he first mentioned it I paid no mind. Then at work one evening, a supervisor commented that she was thinking of doing it and had never before run in her life.
So I thought why couldn't I do it? I had run of sorts before (to the gym, and back home again afterwards). 10K is only about 6 miles, so why couldn't I do it?
Walking home the next day I said to the boyf that you know, maybe I could do the run as well. It's not really that far and I have plenty of time to start training.
So that's what I did!
Today actually marked a breakthrough for me! I ran just over 10K! This is the furthest that I have ever run before and it wasn't too bad. I had had a week off due to a dodgy knee [it goes every now and then, like an old woman, both of my knees are a bit dodgy]. Last week and the week before I had really been struggling to do my average distance let alone increase it.
But today I pushed through and ran over those 6 miles just to prove to myself that I could do it.
I started training at the end of March/April time. I started slow at first, just doing about 2 miles. I was running every other day (which I still do now). I gradually increased this to 3 miles and tried to go a little faster each time.
When I got back to uni, I started running along the canal (which is beautiful!) and had a much better idea of my distance and pace. I was doing about 4 miles (just over 6K) every other day. This was two weeks ago, when the knee suddenly went. Hayfever also decided to be that little bit worse (why wouldn't it??). So under instruction from the boyf, I took a week off.
And as this morning showed it really helped!!
Now don't get me wrong. I am by no means an expert on anything running or exercise related. I know what works for me and what I can do (which is a lot more than I ever thought!) And I pretty much hate running whilst I'm doing it. Some days it's okay. Other days I hate it and wonder why I'm doing it to myself. But I love the results. My legs look better than ever; I'm losing a little bit of weight; my skin looks clearer (partly also due to the increased intake of water!); and I just kind of feel better in myself. I'm running and I'm doing it for me.
The run itself is 12th June; three weeks away! And up until today I was not at all feeling prepped. But now I know that I can definitely do it, it's all about getting that better time and pushing myself a little bit harder. Which I know I definitely will.
Let me know if you're a runner and are training or thinking of starting!
xoxo
