I mentioned in my very first post that I am not really that chubby any more. Part of the reason is that I have been running off and on for roughly two years. I can now run for about 1 hour 30 without having to walk.
I remember when I first made the decision to get fit and start running. So I thought I would talk a little about getting started and the process I went through.
To begin with, I find it is best to set yourself a goal such as a fun run and sign yourself up. A charity one would be especially helpful, because you are taking sponsorship from your friends and family and don't want to let them down. Of course make sure you have plenty of time to get to that stage. If you struggle to walk a few miles it is not wise to sign up for a race in two weeks time.
My good friend Nicola and I signed up for the Standalone Farm 10k run, that was our goal. I think we gave ourselves a about 3 months to train, we weren't aiming for a great time, just to be able to run the whole course.
We started off running for one minute, then walking for one minute over the first 20 minutes. When we could manage that fine we built it up, running 2 minutes, walking 1. And gradually increasing the time.
You don't need to be able to run the full 10k non stop before race day, I always find that the adrenaline, other runners and crowd all help pull you along.
There are many 5k schedules around, here is a good one I got from the Runners World website http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/racing/six-week-beginner-5k-schedule/67.html Sites such as Runners World have some really good tips and articles and the forums are always interesting!
In the end, we completed the 10k in about 58 minutes. I wouldn't say I enjoyed the race but I loved the high at the end and throughly enjoyed telling people I had succeeded.
And so now I think my next goal is the Hunter Valley marathon http://www.huntervalleymarathon.net/default.asp?PageID=3429. I am keeping my eye on the website for second registration opens in order to scare myself into training.
Chubby Katie
