In the name of Plod

I had a spectacular running week last week. I coped with my extra lap and just enjoyed the run. I've also started well this week. I felt good running today and their were lots of women on the track. Hats off to all you ladies....

It takes a lot of guts to grasp the exercise nettle. Apart from the sheer determination and single-mindedness required to motivate yourself, you also have to overcome the way you feel about the way you look. I am still self-conscious about the way I run. I don't think of myself as a runner. But rather as someone who endures plodding around the track in the interests of physical and psychological self-preservation.  I try not to question if my bum looks big and wobbles while I plod. I've known the answer for years....yes, yes it does.

If I'd had the discipline, I would have introduced a private exercise regime. I would have bought a DVD or a home treadmill. But I can't exercise at home. There are too many other things to do. I had to have the discipline to just arrive at the gym each day with my kit. Once there, I knew what I had to do. But it was the 'getting there every day' bit which required the single-mindedness.

I exercised slowly and alone at the treadmill for almost 6 months, before I had the confidence to go to a class. And it was 10 months before I felt up to publicly running on a track. On the track, you are on 'display' not just to other runners and walkers but also those who are just going about their normal daily business. Unlike you, they are not lycraed up and puffing and panting. They are elegant, well-dressed and made-up.

I felt and still feel intimidated about exercising in public. I have not yet managed to road run or to enter any competitions. But I like to think I'm getting there, albeit slowly.