My elusive father rang me the other day. We don't have much contact, which is a shame, because he no longer has an internet connection or even a telephone line at home so I have to rely on him remembering to ring me on his mobile. He's also very forgetful. During the course of the conversation, I mentioned that I've been running a bit and that I've recently completed my first half-marathon.
"I don't believe it !" he said "You haven't run since you were about three!"
I should also point out that he is not Victor Meldrew and he can be prone to exaggeration.
When I thought about it, I realized that I probably hadn't run since I was at school, which was a long time ago. If I had told my games teachers then that one day I would be contemplating running a marathon they would probably just stared in disbelief. I remember loving running and jumping when I was at primary school - we would set up hurdles in the back garden and practice long jump and high jump and running was just something you did without thinking when you wanted to get somewhere quickly. Secondary school really killed any joy I had in sports and I know I'm not alone in that. I can't catch to save my life and could rarely manage to make a bat make contact with a ball so I may as well have been completely useless. What was described as "cross-country" was seen by many as a form of punishment and was really just running around the school playing field in the cold.
After leaving school, I suppose I was fairly active in that I walked or cycled everywhere but I certainly didn't have any thoughts of going to a gym or exercise class. I think there was a brief period when I was about 20 when I went along to an aerobics class with my mum, then again a brief period of going to the gym with a friend from work when I was about 29 and newly single, but I don't think I worked very hard at it. A year later, I was in a new relationship and pregnant and feeling exhausted and big. After my son arrived, I worked hard at losing all the baby weight and used a resistance machine regularly at home to get back in shape but that was it until about two years ago.
I was overweight and feeling worn out. I'd had aches and pains in joints and limbs for months and months and little energy left after getting through the day at work. I'd been to the doctor several times, checking for things like arthritis and having blood tests and at last it was concluded that I had fibromyalgia. I was prescribed daily tramadol and citalopram. It was good to have an answer at last and I went home and did lots of research on the internet. I'd thought about going to the gym or running over the previous couple of years and just not got any further than that because of the aches and pains. Now I found several mentions that exercise could be good for fibromyalgia and that prompted me to join a gym and to start attending a yoga class and a weight loss/fitness class.
I was very nervous to start with but loved the classes and worked hard at the gym too. For a few months I carried on with this but kept vaguely wondering if I could run. I'd gone to a few Women in Motion running classes a year or so earlier and, after finding it very painful for my knees, had got as far as buying proper running shoes before the little group fizzled out. I kept looking at the NHS C25K plan and wondering if I could do it. I downloaded the podcasts but still wasn't sure how to start. I wasn't confident enough to venture outdoors and run where people could actually see me. The gym closed down for a while and a nice new one was built. Soon after the new gym appeared, I decided I would follow the C25K plan on the treadmill until I felt confident enough to venture into the great outdoors. I discovered a wonderfully warm and supportive community of new runners and C25K graduates on the Health Unlocked C25K forum. At the end of February 2013, aged 45, I got up early and headed for the gym, knowing that it would be almost empty and hardly anyone would see me huffing and puffing on the treadmill.
I was embarking on a new and exciting journey that would take me up to running a whole 5km without stopping. I was determined to stick with the program. I was confident that would be as far as I wanted to go with my running journey - I would run a regular 5km a couple or three times a week, just enough to keep me active. I couldn't imagine ever wanting to go further than that.
To be continued.....
No comments:
Post a Comment