What on earth possessed me?

To my family’s astonishment and mine, I have now been running regularly for 8 months and it has become an important part of my life, not just because I am now exercising consistently for the first time ever, but also because I have met some really lovely people along the way. The company of my “fellow endurance athletes” (as it pleases us to call ourselves!) has been a most wonderful bonus.

My first diary entry reads: “Found 8x 60 second runs pretty challenging”. Andy encouraged us to go at an easy pace and the feeling in the group was supportive and collaborative, not competitive. Even so, I was very conscious of my limitations. But when one of the other runners bounced up to me a big smile and said: “We DID it!” I suddenly realised that we had! The mood over coffee in the Oval Café that day was celebratory. We had left the couch!

In my homework that first week, my diary notes that I was overtaken by a lady with a pushchair, several dog walkers and a couple of small children on fairy cycles. But, so what? I was out there doing it! I was an athlete!

By week 4, I record having managed two lots of 800 metres: “Never thought I would manage it but I did!” I remember how daunted I felt, running round the Oval that day but Andy has a way of introducing new things in such a low key, but positive, way that you achieve them – almost in spite of yourself! I think that was also the week that I felt I had to stop and explain myself to an elderly couple on the Nickey Line, because I just couldn’t get up enough speed to pass them and I had been lurking behind them, breathing hard, for an embarrassingly long time!

By week 6, there was a real growth in confidence: “I was very slow – but don’t care, as I enjoyed setting myself a manageable pace”. I think I had discovered by then the importance of pacing myself and of “running easy”.

In Week 8, a Park Run was scheduled at Wardown Park. When we started RESOLUTION Runners, I made a show of listening respectfully when Andy said to put it in the diary, but I didn’t really think that it applied to me! But, guess what? I did it. We all did. Afterwards, I wrote: “The end but was hard, some of the others accelerated and I just couldn’t. But I made it. And the feeling of elation was incomparable”. Quite a different diary entry from my first.

Now a reality check. I took up running when I was 59. I’m very happy if I only ever run 5k. I’d like to think that, over time, I might manage to go a little further, or a little faster. But, the main thing is, I’m out there and I’m exercising. I’m learning to listen to my body. If something aches, I don’t push it – I don’t want an injury that will stall my burgeoning running career! Feeling physically tired is a bit of a novelty after years of feeling mentally worn out. I go to bed a bit earlier and I sleep better, too. Overall, I think I feel more relaxed. And now, when I get one of those embarrassing forms at the doctor’s that asks how active my lifestyle is, I don’t have to cringe and apologise, or massage the truth. Result!

I’ve just signed up to my 5th RUN Harpenden group. In every group, I have been one of the slowest. New runners start and quickly outstrip me. But the companionship is amazing and, although we are all serious about improving our running, we laugh a lot, too. We use the Whatapp group to organise homework sessions and we share each other’s triumphs and disappointments over coffee in the Oval Café, or along the Nickey Line. We like a snazzy new bit of running gear, but we can also improvise brilliantly with whatever is to hand, and kitchen timers and whistles have played a role in our running journey!

Remembering how I thought I couldn’t possibly achieve 5k, I wonder what else I could do in life, if I dared to give it a go.