Running

On Sunday, my eldest daughter's boyfriend took part in The Great North Run, completing the 13 mile course in 1hour 57 minutes and raising money for three different charities close to his heart. As I was watching the television coverage of the event, I found myself wishing that I was there running rather than sitting on my sofa.

Recently, my daughter and I joined the Beginners group of our local Running Club. An eight week programme steers you gently from non runner status to being able to run continuously for 30 minutes, which with a push could equate to a 5K race. Last year I ran the 5K Race for Life in just under 40 minutes without any structured training programme so the target of 5K in 30 minutes seems very achievable.

I don't honestly imagine I would have the stamina and fitness to do a half marathon but I am now considering setting myself the goal of taking part in a 10K race. There is an annual race around my town, previously sponsored by Muller Dairies. The route actually goes right past my house. It would be amazing to be one of the runners rather than a spectator, sitting on my front wall cheering the runners on.

It is good to have big dreams but I am aware that I have a lot of work to do before I am close to being ready to turn the dream into reality. Tonight is Week 3 on the Running Club Beginners programme. We will be running 3 minutes then waking 1 minute and repeating this 6 times. I will do this again on Wednesday and a third time at the weekend before moving onto Week 4 - run 5 mins, walk 2 mins, repeat 4 times.

I never thought that I would actually enjoy running but I really am. I look forward to my runs. I even feel inspired enough to buy myself a fluorescent pink (or yellow!) running jacket (on my shopping list but I may opt for a reflective sash for less conspicuous high visibility!)

I also think that the running is starting to have an effect on my figure too. Wobbly bits seem less wobbly. It may not be such a noble motivator as running a half marathon for charity, but the thought of banishing my bulges will definitely help keep me going - hopefully, all the way to the finish line.