I'm not a runner. Am I?

I'm not a runner. Despite having spent these past eight weeks going to running classes and parkrun religiously, and despite having signed up for a half dozen events, and despite having been for a gait analysis and spending £70 on new trainers and socks, and despite the pain I now have in my soleus muscles almost continually from pushing myself each session, I'm not a runner.

My first running injury

I'm such a sensible girl you know, I got a niggle in my leg within a couple of weeks of starting running and so when it didn't go away after a week of trying to rest it I booked an appointment to see my very sympathetic sport-friendly doctor. I had gone to see her before starting out mountain biking all those many moons ago and she commended me on my sensible attitude towards getting a check-up before I started clocking up too many miles. I've clearly watched too many documentaries about obesity which have a disclaimer at the end pleading with you to "consult your doctor before embarking on any strenuous exercise".

So I booked the appointment 2 weeks ago and in true style the niggle has since lessened to a barely noticeable twinge. But still, just to make sure I went along to get it checked out.

5km is so last month, 5 miles is where it's at!

The first aim for anyone starting out running seems to be 5km. Despite living in prehistoric Britain - where bananas can't be weighed in pounds but all the roads are measured in miles - 5km is the desirable first achievement for the average 0 - 10 week plan. Well, no offence to those plans but if you just shut up and run it doesn't take that long. I did it in 3 weeks and started from rock bottom carrying about 3 stone more than my body has ever been used to.