Things I’ve learnt whilst training for a 10k

Before signing up to this 10k, I don’t think I had ran outside for anything other than to run for the ice cream van when I was desperate for a 99. People laughed when I told them I’d signed up, and asked what drove me to do it.

As a total running virgin, I decided to grab an app off of the App Store, find my swankiest pair of trainers and hit the streets to begin my 10k training. That was two weeks ago now, and I so far have not been hit by a car (yet), have not done myself an injury (yet) and finally have some muscle growth back in the twiglet legs.

I have learnt that the whole cast of Bugs Life is out in force around this time of year, and you will end up swallowing them whilst you’re gasping to get some air in your dishevelled lungs (yes, this may have happened to me). I’ve also learnt to breathe more through my nose for the above reason.

Elderly people will actually smile at you when you run past, though this may be in confusion at your garish, yet swanky, running trainers. Little kids will try to race you without looking obvious, and no, I will not let a child win purely because they’re a child – life is tough kid, so is running on little legs.

You learn to do a subtle nod at every runner passing by – you both know it sucks, there’s no need to be anything but delightful to your fellow runner.

There is such a thing as a super playlist to get you through everything in life. My playlist is now a delightful mix of Dj Khaled, Tina Turner and Skrillex, in that order. Need a pick me up? Spotify playlist. Need a ‘I think my legs are falling off’ motivation? Spotify playlist.

My polar watch has now become my greatest ally. I have recently been looking in to upgrading my Polar, as it is becoming slower and, quite frankly, not very stylish around the office. I love that it tracks all my movement, but the sheer size of it and its depleting battery life has had me looking elsewhere. However, when I run outdoors, it is incredible at tracking my movement, my distance, my calories used and my average pace per mile. 

 

Factor 50 and running go hand in hand. After one particular run, I ended up shuffling home the colour of a tomato, and it wasn’t just because of my running technique. It’s no secret that my natural skin tone is akin to Casper the Ghost, and if I don’t lather myself in Factor 50 sun lotion when the first sign of the sun appears, then me and my skin will have a falling out for the next couple of days. Now when I run, I spray myself liberally with as much lotion as my skin can handle, grab my hat and run through the streets with my mouth firmly closed shut.