Oh. My. God. Running is really freaking hard.

I’ve never enjoyed running for its own sake. I may have mentioned it once or twice before. Anyway, now I find myself in a situation where I am running half marathon (thanks Fergo), the Reading Half Marathon to be precise. In just over a month’s time.

Aaaaaaargh!

SIDE NOTE: There is still time to register! Registration closes tonight at midnight – if you fancy joining us on the day, go to http://www.readinghalfmarathon.com/ to sign up!

So, I’ve been hitting the pavement and the treadmill and I’m not going to lie to you gang, I am finding it difficult. I’d never truly appreciated just how different the fitness is compared to the stop-start of field sports.

Here are two different days tracked on my Fitbit:

Those red bits? They’re running-induced, peak cardio. The sweat. Oh god, the sweat.

I’ve been making an effort to go running three times a week, over and above other things like my commute on my bike or rugby training. For a couple of weeks I honestly thought running might kill me. I didn’t feel like I was making any progress. My legs ached between runs, my feet hurt and I couldn’t keep up with washing all the sweaty kit! But today I had a bit of a eureka moment.

Whilst cycling home I reached the dreaded killer hill in the final stretch of my journey – it’s a long slow pull up 240 feet over a mile – and whilst my legs still felt it, I was not huffing and puffing the way I used to. I actually felt pretty good by the time I reached the top. My cardio fitness has definitely improved and IT FEELS GOOD!

Now I just need to work on the achy feet and legs… more time needed in the company of my foam roller, I think!