Help - I've become a runner!
I started running to exercise, but it’s really a mind game, and a massive coping mechanism. And now I'm running a marathon.
A couple of years ago, I got very into running. It felt like a weird plot twist for me (an extremely cardio adverse child / teenager), but it’s stuck and I’ve now become one of those people who talks about electrolytes and energy gels.
I sometimes wonder if I’m part of the classic late thirties to long distance running pipeline, but what started as something I did for my body, has turned into something that’s really important to lots of areas of my life.
I wrote a piece for The Guardian a couple of weeks ago, about how running with my daughter, at junior parkrun helped me change my attitude to exercise.
And last month I ran second half marathon, which was really fun, and much less scary than the first time I did one.
What stood was the crowd support. So much of running long distances is running alone, but being in a group with thousands of other people, and having thousands of other people cheering me and screaming my name was amazing.
It goes to show that the unseen miles and work you put in on your own is worth it and that people really do want you to do well.
Unfortunately I’ve now got an injury and for the last couple of weeks I’ve not been able to run. This has proved to me how much of an important thing running is for my mind. I’ve been desperate to go for a run to clear my head, have some time to think and to generally process.
I’m not sure if my life has been coincidentally more hectic over the last couple of weeks, of if it’s just because I don’t have my usual coping mechanism, but it’s shown me that running is a great tool to run away from AND deal with your problems.
I’m doing my physio religiously and really hoping I’ll be back to running soon – especially because I am training for the London Marathon next year (of course I am!) – I’m fundraising for Mencap (and if you’d like to sponsor me, that would be incredible).
I am expecting this to be the biggest mind game yet in my running adventures, but I am really looking forward to getting back out there, putting one foot in front the other and no doubt, dealing with a few problems on the way.
