InspiredToRun.co.uk

I don't know why I didn't start running a long time ago. I am 34yrs old this month; I started running four years ago, a few months after my daughter was born. What is it that stopped me from doing it before? Probably the great nights between the sheets with my other half, and the love of nights in with wine and cigarettes. Can't believe that those were the only things that I did in my spare time. The thing is, I have always loved walking out in the countryside away from everyone and everything, especially when I was younger, living in a foriegn country, working as an au-pair. I had all the time in the world to myself then, I used to walk everywhere. If I had to go anywhere I would walk, partly because I couldn't drive and couldn't afford to keep paying for public transport - well I had to be able to afford a packet of fags for later.

The thing is, if I think back now, I used to walk along for miles smoking my fags, It's almost as if running has overtaken the kick I used to get from the fag I smoked as I was hiking along the Swiss lakeside. If I lived there now, I would be running along the lakeside, with the wind in my hair, and the beautiful clear air coursing through my lungs. Wow - I wish I had known then how great it is to run. What a waste of a great opportunity that was. I was only 19, perhaps I could have ended up being a world class athelete, especially as the  Olympic museum was officially opened when I was there. I remember it clearly, I saw the king of Spain arrive for the ceremony.

When I first put my trainers on, that rainy afternoon in Devon, four years ago, I don't remember thinking anything much other than 'just have a go, don't pressure yourself, you might not be able to run further than the end of the road'. I think I managed to run about half a mile, before I nearly managed to suck my lungs up through my nostrils. Still - half a mile. Not bad. I was quite chuffed, walked quarter of a mile then ran again the rest of the mile block around my estate.  Couldn't wait to feel that pain again, couldn't wait to run the whole mile non stop, couldn't wait to run the whole two miles, the whole four miles, if I can do four I can easily do six, if I can do six that quickly I think I will enter the local half marathon... that wasn't a bad time for first attempt at a half, bet I could do it under two hours now that I know the course, have to do the London marathon!

What happened to that fag-smoking, spotty, fat, miserable wife, mother of two? Well, she is a mother of three now,  and she loves running and only has a fag when she goes on her annual night out with the girls.  Running is not about trying to keep yourself alive for longer, as far as I'm concerned it's about making yourself feel good while you are here. It's about being outside and breathing in the fresh air, not watching someone else do it on the TV while you sit and eat digestives and moan about being bored stiff. I can't live without it. If I have to go for more than  three days without a run I start getting grumpy; when I am stressed it is the only way to bring a smile to my face. I love the rain and hate the sun, I love it when my muscles ache.  I am the person that I was supposed to be from the start, I am self motivated, determined, strong willed, fit, and look good in a bikini(well my husband thinks so, ask him).