So what got me started running?. Well it was mid 2010 when one of mates had a right go at me about how unfit I was, after seeing me being out of breath after a light 5 minute run. You know what he was absolutely right, at the time I weighed about 15 stone, my self-esteem and confidence was really low and the only thing that seemed to be growing was my beer belly.
It was at this stage that I decided things need to change and quickly so I decided to join a local running group at work, which was tailored at beginners. I was really nervous about trying this as I was worried that everyone would laugh at me. However when I attended the first session I could not have been more wrong as I found there were a lot of people in the same boat as me and along with the coaches who knew exactly what they were doing we all supported each other.
I won’t lie I really struggled with the first few sessions however with time I felt myself gradually starting to improve and with this I started to feel more confident and happier in myself. As I continued to grow in confidence I decided to challenge myself a little further and do my first ever Parkrun, which I ran/walked in just over 40 minutes. Not the best time in the world but to me it was an achievement just to finish.
Anyway I continued to gradually improve and eventually the following year got my Parkrun time down to a more respectable 32 mins although still running/walking and as I began to become more confident I decided to push the boat up and sign up for the North Tyneside 10k in April. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this and in the build up to the race I even thought about pulling out as I was afraid of embarrassing myself. However when I lined up on the start line nothing could be further from this. I was blown away by the atmosphere and just how friendly everybody was and this really spurred me on. I finished my first 10k in 1hr 12mins. Not bad for someone who last year could not even run around the block, without wanting to collapse in a heap.
Buoyed on by this I signed up for both the Sunderland and Great North 10k’s and for me personally the daddy of all challenges in the Great North Run. I remember my mate’s reaction when I told him this “your doing what?!!!” was his reaction. Anyway having completed both Sunderland and the Great North 10k’s. I focused on my GNR training and was amazed at how my running and general confidence had improved during this time.
I won’t lie I really struggled with the first few sessions however with time I felt myself gradually starting to improve and with this I started to feel more confident and happier in myself. As I continued to grow in confidence I decided to challenge myself a little further and do my first ever Parkrun, which I ran/walked in just over 40 minutes. Not the best time in the world but to me it was an achievement just to finish.
Anyway I continued to gradually improve and eventually the following year got my Parkrun time down to a more respectable 32 mins although still running/walking and as I began to become more confident I decided to push the boat up and sign up for the North Tyneside 10k in April. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this and in the build up to the race I even thought about pulling out as I was afraid of embarrassing myself. However when I lined up on the start line nothing could be further from this. I was blown away by the atmosphere and just how friendly everybody was and this really spurred me on. I finished my first 10k in 1hr 12mins. Not bad for someone who last year could not even run around the block, without wanting to collapse in a heap.
Buoyed on by this I signed up for both the Sunderland and Great North 10k’s and for me personally the daddy of all challenges in the Great North Run. I remember my mate’s reaction when I told him this “your doing what?!!!” was his reaction. Anyway having completed both Sunderland and the Great North 10k’s. I focused on my GNR training and was amazed at how my running and general confidence had improved during this time.
In the build up to the GNR I had a few days where I didn’t think I would be able to do it, however the closer the date came the more certain I was I would finish. In the end I finished in 2hrs 33mins and as I crossed the finish line I almost burst into tears as it sunk just how far I had come, from being quite obese to finishing the GNR in the space of just over a year. The sense of achievement I felt from this was unreal and it made me realise that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
For this year having developed an addiction for entering races, I decided I wanted to push myself further and decided to join the Elvet Striders running club as I wanted to be part of the camaraderie of a running club again having had to stop attending my previous club due to work commitments.
For this year having developed an addiction for entering races, I decided I wanted to push myself further and decided to join the Elvet Striders running club as I wanted to be part of the camaraderie of a running club again having had to stop attending my previous club due to work commitments.
Since joining the Striders my running has improved immensely, having achieved a Sub 30 parkrun and almost a sub 60 10k (which I’ll hopefully achieve this year.). I also signed up for my first ever marathon in May (Edinburgh), which I almost completed before sunstroke got the better of me at 21 miles (which I’m still gutted about).
My main focus now is again the GNR in September, the Kielder Marathon in October (no bus ride included) and all the training involved in the build up to this. My goal for the GNR is ideally to beat last year’s time and to use it as a tune me up for Kielder, but most of all to enjoy the day for what it is and to look back at how far I have come from 2010 to now, having dropped two stone since I started running.
Hopefully I haven’t waffled onto much but I just wanted to share my experience of running, the confidence I have gained from doing this and to show others that it can be done (if I can do it anybody can).
Let’s see how far I can go for the rest of 2012.
My main focus now is again the GNR in September, the Kielder Marathon in October (no bus ride included) and all the training involved in the build up to this. My goal for the GNR is ideally to beat last year’s time and to use it as a tune me up for Kielder, but most of all to enjoy the day for what it is and to look back at how far I have come from 2010 to now, having dropped two stone since I started running.
Hopefully I haven’t waffled onto much but I just wanted to share my experience of running, the confidence I have gained from doing this and to show others that it can be done (if I can do it anybody can).
Let’s see how far I can go for the rest of 2012.