When I compete it’s generally against myself.  At work I always ask myself – can I better my last exclusive/write cleaner copy etc? In the gym I try to use heavier weights/stay a bit longer on the cycle/treadmill than during my last visit.  I try not to get competitive with friends – that’s asking for trouble and with family – well why would I?

I ran my first 10k in ages this last weekend. Now this time last year I managed to run 4 10km runs over 4 weekends. Quite a feat – for anyone. Especially someone who was warned (at age 16) that long distance running would damage my legs.

So I was quite shocked when half way through this run – at the 5km point – I slowed down to the extent that I wanted to quit. Like really, really wanted to quit.  I’ve never felt quite so like giving up – in a race – as I did at that point.

I knew I’d not done enough training, so had anticipated it would be tough, but I could not have anticipated exactly how tough it would be.

I talked myself out of it, reminding myself that if my grandmothers had chosen to ‘quit’ during the Blitz I – and my parents – wouldn’t be here today.

It seemed to work, and I even managed to make up a bit of time, although not enough to beat my fastest time of 55 minutes (which I did during my first ever 10k run).

Running’s not the best sport if you are in need of motivation – there’s no teamwork involved – as there is when putting a website/newspaper/magazine together

I could really have done with a friend – a running buddy on this race.  But although my time was rubbish, it was actually the best race I’ve run.

And next week I’ll be doing it again with my sister at the Race for Life in Harlow. While I know I’ll probably never be able to run a marathon, I know I’m not a quitter, and that’s just as good.

Ella Mag’s Samantha and Katie have entered the 10k Race for Life this summer.

It’s Katie’s first ever 10k and she’s feeling nervous while  Samantha, who managed four 10ks over four consecutive weekends last May,  hasn’t run any distance races for a while (since last May in fact).

Each week they will be charting their fitness progress and sharing their tips with you. You can sponsor them – or even better join them at a Race for Life near you.

We ought to warn you that before attempting any form of exercise you should get yourself checked out by your GP. We’re not saying you’re unfit, just that it’s better to be safe – lecture over!

Week one

Chris at our local Nuffield gym gave us this basic programme, which you can build up depending on how fitter you get. You can also adapt it if you’d rather exercise outdoors, by doing timed jobs combined with walking, and as you get fitter jogs punctuated with sprints; you’ll need to find a park where you can mark your circuits (timing them means having to faff around with a watch)

If you have access to a gym you’ll need a treadmill.

Start with a three minute warm up, you need a gradient of at least 2 (0 just doesn’t cut it sorry) at around 6-6.5km.

After three minutes increase your speed to 7.5km, aim to do this for two minutes, then you can go back down to the slower speed.  If you are new to exercise you may just want to aim for ten minutes.

As you get fitter you can  increase the top speed to 9km which you should aim to do for a minute. You’ll also need to turn the gradient up. Go back down to 7.5km as your’ rest’. Start with one round and aim to do at least three times a week. Each week increase the number of rounds you do.

And chill!

Having flexibility is great for overall health, Samantha and Katie are winding down each training session with a few downward dogs. If you know the basics you can round off your training with a few sun salutations. If not get thee to a yoga class.  The British Wheel of Yoga has a great website where you can find your nearest qualified yoga teacher

If this article has inspired you, you might want to read  Jeff Prestridge’s 10 marathons in 10 days  (yep you’ve read that right) challenge this May. He’s blogging about it, and you can donate here.

Like this. Read more here.