Having vowed to never try running again, one writer has signed up for an unthinkable challenge: a massive 10K race. Here’s how she’s started training for it.

I’m crap at running. In fact, I’m so crap at it, I’ve even written an article about how rubbish a runner I am. On discovering how bad I am at jogging, I swore never to try it again.

So, it’s a little worrying to find that I’ve agreed to train and do the Asics Austrian Women’s Run – an event which brings together over 20,000 women from all over the world. While running may not be my forte (to put it mildly), the idea of being part of such a huge, empowering challenge seems too good an opportunity to miss. 

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It’s not that I’m not fit; I’ve survived 20 minutes on a treadmill before. But whenever I’ve tried to take my runs outside the gym and onto the road or park path, the pain and discomfort has been intense and immediate.

In the hope of developing the mental resilience to keep going, I’ve agreed to run through the heart of Vienna. And fortunately, Asics has been on hand to provide a detailed training plan. So, here’s how a committed non-runner has started training for their first 10k.

Getting a gait analysis and advice for beginners

When I announce to friends that I’m training for the women’s run, a friend of mine recommend listening to music that can drown out negative thoughts. So, I get hold of some headphones and start thinking about curating a decent playlist.

I meet my Asics trainer, Ania Gabb, on a Teams call, who then takes me for a gait test at the Asics Oxford Street store.

Before setting foot on a road or treadmill, you want to make sure that you’re running in the right kind of shoes. Down at the shop, I run for 30 seconds on a treadmill while a webcam records how my feet landed with every step. The computer determines that I’m in the 20-30% of the population who runs with a neutral gait – meaning that my foot placement doesn’t roll in or out as I run. The onsite expert then talks me through the kinds of trainers you need for a 5k or 10k.

It might sound ridiculous, but up until that point, I didn’t think that footwear would be such a vital part of the running process. I’ve always exercised in the same pair of trainers. But when you consider that a 10k could see you running for over an hour, you need better support, room and impact absorption.

Heading out for a test run… and almost dying

After the shoe shop comes the test run. I say ‘test’, but it’s really more of a way for the coach to assess my current level of confidence and ability before designing a programme for me to follow. And despite Ania being really friendly and cool about us running slowly and being able to stop at any point, I really struggle.

As soon as we start, Ania starts asking me questions… to which I breathlessly try to offer answers. Having barely mastered the art of running for longer than two minutes in real life, trying to speak and run feels like I’m drowning in thin air. I hate every second. 

I’m so pissed off at the thought of having put myself in such an unpleasant and fruitless position. I’m shit at running, and yet, here I am, wasting the time of an Asics Frontrunner.

We break up the run with an attempt at making ‘strides’ – short bouts of faster running with intervals of recovery. Strides are known to help improve running form, loosen up muscles, prevent injury and build up speed as a beginner runner.

It’s at this point that Ania enthusiastically tells me the story of a contestant from Love Island (Priya Gopaldas), who claims to have woken up one day during lockdown and decided to run 30km non-stop. Today, she’s an ultramarathon runner and a fellow Asics Frontrunner ambassador. While her story is undoubtedly inspiring, it only makes me feel worse about my pathetic attempt to put one step in front of the other. After what felt like an eternity, we finally stop.

Solo training weeks one and two: how to work up to a 5K

Ania sets three challenges for the first week: a 20 minute run on the treadmill, and two easy outdoor runs made up of three-minute intervals between walking and jogging.

The first run feels natural as I’ve run on the treadmill before. Treadmill running is fine, because there’s nothing to distract you (like wind or other people overtaking you). After a few minutes, I feel like I’m moving in a meditative-like state, and it’s that deep-work mindspace I need to access for outdoor running.

I enjoy the two interval sessions. Surprisingly, because I can focus on running for a very short period of time – safe in the knowledge that it’s going to end soon.

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The second week sees me running outdoors continuously for 20 minutes. Ania tells me I can go as slow as I like, so long as I don’t stop. I’ve never run for that long before so before I set off, I try to remove as many distractions as possible.

I buy a premium Spotify account so that I’m not bothered by adverts mid-canter, I get a bum bag for my phone (so that I’m not tempted to keep an eye on the clock to see how far I’ve run) and I download a running app to track my progress in the background.

Headphones on, soundtrack blaring, I set off down a Devonshire country road to face my own 20-minute demon. For the first few minutes, I’m in agony. My chest hurts, my ribs hurt, there’s a burning sensation in my legs. My breath is out of sync, but I’m determined to keep on running. Before long, the music quietens down and an American voice announces that I’ve run for five minutes and tells me how far I’ve run and the pace. Five minutes down, I focus on making it to 10.

Eventually my heart and my breath begin to dance in rhythm, the pains around my body fade and I begin to move into that meditative state that I had found on the treadmill. I’m running. There’s no ‘high’ but I am putting one foot in front of the other. As I edge towards my goal, an upbeat but euphoric song begins to play (Jerusalema by Master KG). I feel overcome with emotion havingbroken through that solid mental barrier. I actually cried when the American voice told me I’d been running for 20 minutes.

Since that breakthrough, I’ve come to realise that I can and will run a 10k. I just need to reset my environment to cultivate a meditative-like state.

The race is set to take place in Austria on 22 May, so I’ve got four weeks of training left. I’ve got up to running for 30 minutes without stopping – around 5k. Over the next month, I’ll be doubling that effort. Maybe it’ll happen, maybe it won’t, but regardless, I’m going to give it my best shot.

Stay tuned for more of Stephanie’s journey to 10K. 

Images: Getty

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