In 2012, I ran my first ever half marathon - the Great North Run to be exact. I enjoyed the event so much, I signed up for two more half marathons in 2013 and after nursing a knee injury, I have signed up for my 4th half marathon this year. If we rewind to my school days, you will see a chubby, bookish child who hated P.E. I was terrible at sports, always picked last for teams, picked on for throwing like a girl and despised by my sports teachers. I hated hockey because my gum guard made me retch, I hated netball because I was put on the E Team (not the B Team....the E Team...) and one time, I was made to do the High Jump at sports day. I'm 5 foot 5....it all ended in tears and with a large bruise on my bottom. Most of all, I hated running. It made me feel sick, and it was so tiring. I was considerably slower than everyone else in my class, and I didn't like the way it made my chest burn on a cold day.
The point I'm trying to make is, I am not a good runner. I don't always enjoy my training runs, and I spend more time putting off going on a run than I do running, but something keeps me signing up for these events. If you're a novice runner who's looking to enter your first event, it doesn't have to be a half marathon - it could be a 5k, a 10k....anything, you might appreciate some advice from someone who is far from superhuman!
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Source: greatrun.org |