Georgina Lucy | 1 May 2017

Finally completing a 10K…!

Last April I watched my husband complete the London Marathon. It was such an amazing atmosphere and seeing so many people accomplish something so impressive made me think….I wonder what that would feel like?

Well, I wasn’t interested in what running 26 miles would feel like, that’s taking things a little bit too far, but I was intrigued about whether I could complete a run and not conk out half way through, so there and then I signed up for a 10K.

The 10K was in September and I was going through the training schedule (and not really loving it I have to say) and to my utter delight I got an email from the organisers to say that the date of the event had changed and it had been changed to a date I couldn’t do. What a shame! I was glad to have an excuse not to do it if I’m honest.

I’ve never been a runner and have always been told by my mum that ‘we are not a sporty family’ so I’ve always approached sport with that mindset. I came last in cross country runs at school and hated them. Whilst I didn’t do a 10K last year I did continue to run a little bit here and there and did a couple of 5K park runs.I was astounded in October when I managed to complete a park run without stopping or walking. Having a friend to chat to whilst doing it helped loads (thanks Nic!)

One of our recent park runs….?

I have to say I was proud of myself for completing a 5K. I’d attempted another park run in July and it was a bit of a flop – I had to walk a bit and really need a wee, and had period pain (sorry TMI). So after my successful 5K I did another on Christmas Eve which felt like another little victory.

As well as feeling proud of myself for gradually improving my running (honestly I couldn’t even run for 5 minutes when I first decided to try running) I noticed other benefits too. I spend a lot of my time sitting and it felt good to get outside and move my body. I also spend a lot of my time thinking and sometimes thinking can turn into worrying or getting stressed out over stuff. Running really helped with that.

At the start of the year I’d made a decision about something and had a nagging feeling it was the wrong decision and I felt very torn about what to do and how to approach the situation. I had all kinds of options flying about in my head and it was making me feel rather stressed out. I went for a run and when I returned everything felt clearer and I knew how I needed to approach the situation. I think it’s a winning combination of fresh air + the flow of feel-good hormones + time alone with your thoughts. Being alone with your thoughts can be quite scary and uncomfortable but actually it’s important we make time for this as so often our minds are stimulated by so much noise and chaos. This aspect to running was definitely an added bonus for me – it really does nurture your mental health, as much as your physical health.

So when the new year came around and I was a little more comfortable with running I decided I did want to do a 10K. I’d been inspired by spectating the 2016 London Marathon and the admiration I’d had for those taking part hadn’t left me so I signed up for the Birmingham 10K and yesterday I did it! I actually finished! I had trained for it but there were definitely weeks when I didn’t do as much running as what my schedule told me I should be doing but I didn’t get disheartened and kept persevering each week. Even if I only did one run, it was better than nothing.

Yesterday’s run was tough in places (the incline towards the end ughhh). I just wanted to finish it without walking or stopping and had I been doing it on my own I probably would have gone round verrryyy slowly but I ran with my very determined sister-in-law who is training for a half marathon and we started quite quickly (for us) so we kept that up for quite a while. It’s funny as I felt like I crossed that finish line at lightning speed but I watched the video this morning and it’s like I’m running in slow motion through mud, but I did it woohoo!

Finishing that race was a real achievement and nothing I’d ever thought I’d be able to do. It’s taught me that even when something feels totally outside of your reach, it’s possible with a bit of determination and dedication. I am applying the same mentality to some other goals for 2017 and feel this has given me a boost in confidence to achieve other things.

If there is something you’ve always wanted to try but assumed you wouldn’t be able to do, my advice to you would be to give it a bash. For me, it’s taken a year of dipping in and out of it and getting my head around the idea of ‘taking up running’ but I’m glad I stuck with it. Now I need to set some more challenges…

Looking proud of ourselves because WE DID IT! ??

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