Running a-Head!
You will hopefully have seen that my latest Headmistress Challenge is to attempt to run 10K by May. After one of my early runs I bumped in to one of our parents (who shall remain nameless) and when I told her what I was planning on doing she sounded, frankly, rather alarmed – “Gosh… 10K is quite a long way!
So, over the last 11 weeks I have stuck to a plan and sought inspiration from all available sources. I have read no less than 8 running books—personal favourites are 1) Eat, Drink, Run 2) Born to Run, and 3) Running Like a Girl; subscribed to 2 running magazines; purchased an embarrassing number of running related gadgets and clothes; and, according to Strava, I have clocked up a pretty reasonable 150km so far. My longest run without stopping was last Friday after school – I managed 50 minutes, and although I was slow by anyone’s standards, this represented a seismic shift in by belief in my own abilities. When I started out around the school grounds on a cold January evening, with intervals of 3 minutes running (read shuffling) and 2 minutes walking, I could not imagine I would be capable of this. I am starting to believe that I may just be able to run a full 10K by May!
So what have I learnt so far?
- Goals are SO important – signing up for the ABP Southampton 10K felt wildly ambitious back in January, but it gave me a goal. Deciding to do this as a challenge to raise money for the Prep Outdoor Project then made it real and that has kept me going when it has felt hard!
- The biggest hurdles have been in my mind – a common theme in many of the books I have read is that you run with your mind as much as your body, and that both are capable of far more than you think they are. There have been days when I have been exhausted, days when I have had reports to read, and days when everything has hurt; but what I have realised is that it never turns out to be as bad as I think… and I have never regretted going out for a run.
- Everything is easier if you ask for help - I would not have got as far as I have if Miss Iliffe had not said she would help me to train (and then stuck by my side as I puffed and wheezed my way around Winchester) – we all need help from others when we want to achieve something big.
I will be running the ABP Southampton 10K on May 5th – I’d love others in the school community to join in and help raise money for the Prep Outdoor Project… however if running is not for you, you can donate now by following this link: https://pledgit.net/stswithunsPOP.
I will be hugely grateful for your support.
