Running for Beginners

My rubbish running ability has always been a major sticking point. Let’s face it: "going for a walk" doesn’t have quite the same cool ring, does it? But even when I’ve been ultra fit, I’ve always baulked when the subject of running was raised. Frankly, it’s boring, hard, painful and I hate it!

Then, after listening to a friend rant about how it had "changed her life", I began to fantasise about finally getting hooked on running and, uncharacteristically, decided to make jogging my new sport. Soon, I prayed, I’d be like those ultra-fit folk who swear by "runner’s high" and happily be doing daily hour-long runs on the beach with my long, strawberry blonde hair flowing far behind me in a ponytail.

Instead, I spent two weeks mostly walking and wheezing up and down my street in the searing summer heat. It didn’t get any easier and it didn’t help that I had a clearly incredibly bored neighbour cheering me on for my high entertainment value.

The final straw was when an onlooker bizarrely awarded me a half-eaten pack of Tic Tacs for "trying so hard". I wasn’t impressed and didn’t run again. Annoyingly, I realised that my friend and regular runner, Tamara, was right when she suggested I book some sessions with a personal trainer to put me on the right track. Humph!