Hi there! So I’m the new girl who will be taking over the
Get Started blog from Kate and will be chronicling my new venture into running
over the next six weeks. Before I begin though, a little about me…
My name is Jemma; I’m 28 years old and have always been what
you could call 'remedial' at any sort of sport. I was the child who got her pony
tail stuck in the cargo net mid-obstacle race at primary school whilst trying
to crawl under it. I was the teenager who used to hide from the teachers mid
cross country run. I was the older teenager who would feign an ankle injury to
get out of 100m sprints. And I am now the adult who has signed up to run a half
marathon in October and have absolutely no running ability what so ever. A few
panicked expletives do cross the mind at this point.
Luckily, I know a few marathon runners who I pumped for
information regarding how I can get myself at a level where I can run 13 odd
miles without collapsing. The one piece of advice that they all shared with me
(bar buying good running shoes of course) is to join a running club. I must
admit, I was sceptical. I assumed the Striders would be full of professional
runners and had absolutely no intention of joining until I spotted the 'Get
Started' course on their website. So I harangued my flatmate into joining with
me and dutifully paid my £12.50 in the hope that I will become 'A Runner' within the next six weeks. And here I am – still standing after my first week
and feeling absolutely elated!
So, Tuesday evening at 6:45pm, you would have seen me and my
flatmate sitting in her car scared stiff and preparing to run away. This was until
we realised that neither of us CAN run and that is the whole point of us
attending this course. The nerves were bad as we made our way up to the
athletics track in Verulamium Park. There were a number of groups standing
around the track and we must have looked a little lost. Luckily, some kindly
soul pointed us in the right direction (our first taste of just how friendly
and encouraging the Striders are) and we found the other 40 'Get Started' runners.
We started the warm up – running in a large circle whilst
stretching (at one point I did feel like I was in a Morecambe and Wise sketch
with some of the stretches we were asked to emulate) and I was tired. This then
made the panic set in – if I can’t handle a five minute warm-up, how was I
going to run around a lake for half hour?! However, I did it. We ran for three minutes and walked for one and I kept up the whole way.
What also surprised me
was that we ran a distance of 2.61 miles (Thank you, Nike GPS!) and I can’t tell
you just how proud of myself I was. Helen led our group (the Green group – or
intermediate beginner in my opinion) and was fantastic, making sure we all kept
up and motivating us to carry on.
Cut to the second session on Thursday. A little more
confident this time, I tried not to let the Morecambe & Wise warm-up phase
me. This time, our little band of merry runners was led by Abby, who was
completing a marathon that week. Again, I managed to keep up and chatted with
Abby and the rest of the group as we ran around the picturesque lake and
thinking just how nice this all is. Until Abby broke the news that she had
actually had us running four minutes to every one minute walk. Normally, this sort
of white lie in relation to exercise would make me want to instantly give up,
however I was actually none the wiser beforehand and my confidence shot through
the roof knowing that I could do this. This time, we ran for 2.5 miles; however
there was a little more running involved this time.
It is now Sunday, and I’m gearing up for my first lone run.
I’m not sure how I’m going to do without the support of the Striders, so wish
me luck. And I can’t wait for next Tuesday to see what I will achieve then….
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