My sisters are very good at telling things exactly how they are. One thing they have very strong views on is my running. A few years back they informed me that I should never, ever run in public as I look like a cross between Pheobe from Friends and a three legged donkey. Combine that with the fact that on more than one occasion I’ve been laughed at by complete strangers when I’ve run for a train, I haven’t run for a long, long time. (And missed a few trains as a result).

So it was slightly odd to find myself leaving the house in the pouring rain at 8.30 yesterday morning to do a running taster session. I felt sick from nerves and really just wanted to go back to bed…

Nervous (really old) trainers that had never actually been run in

I signed up because the lovely people I do fitball with ALL assured me that even I could run, and frankly, having exchanged cigarettes for an additional days worth of calories, everyday, I need to do something about the saddlebags which are currently making themselves at home on my hips, and Saturday is the only day I can really fit another thing into my week. All I could think of at 8.30am though was ‘why didn’t you just stop with the biscuits?!’ I started looking at the next few hours of torture as a one off that would just be turned into a blog post and that would be that.

But weirdness happened. The other people were lovely, the coach was brilliant, the rain didn’t seem so bad, I stopped feeling sick and….I really enjoyed it!  We only jogged for 30 seconds at a time with a minute of walking in between (we all have to start somewhere, ok?), but as we were all chatting and getting to know each other, I didn’t really notice the running.  We were in a gorgeous Bumpkinstown park and the only eyes passing judgement on my Pheobe / donkey running style were the local deer, and they were far enough away that I couldn’t hear their laughing.

So that was the taster. I honestly thought that would be it for my running experience, but I found myself signing up to the full six week course when I got home.  Lovely coach assured us that by the end of it we will be able to run 4 miles.  I laughed. I would say ‘stranger things have happened’, but they haven’t. If I can get get through the next six weeks without breaking and maybe losing some of the contents of my saddle bags though, I’ll consider that a massive success :o)

Used, muddy and happy trainers