Training begins in earnest. In just over 10 weeks I’ll be taking part in the Race for Life, an annual fundraiser in aid of Cancer Research UK. It’ll be my fifth time taking part in the event, but the first time doing the 10k. In fact, it’ll be my first 10k race ever – I really wanted to push myself this year.

So, what’s my motivation?

My first Race for Life was in 2001. At that time I didn’t have any close family or friends who had experienced life with cancer. The motivation then was to raise money for a charity focused on an illness which surely would affect people close to me in the years to come.

Sure enough over the intervening years, that became the reality.

As I write this post a good friend is going through chemo once again. Last year we all thought her treatment had been a success and she was well. She’s in her mid-thirties and was recently told by her doctors that there is nothing more they can do for her. The chemo will hopefully shrink and control the tumours, but nothing more.

That’s all the motivation I need. I’m not a religious person so the only faith I have is in the medicine, the doctors, the nurses, and the charities who fund the research that will discover – one day soon, I hope – a cure for cancer.

training

A few years ago I regularly ran 5k. But, then we had children and with that came tiredness, lethargy and lack of time. I’ve dabbled with gym membership and swim membership but – apart from training for last month’s Swimathon – I wasn’t going often enough to justify the expense. The good thing about running, is it’s free!

I thought it was worth buying some new training clothes

Faithful old trainers with new accessories

I’m not going to pretend that this is going to be easy. I haven’t done any serious running in a long while. But, I’ve bought myself some new kit and I’m going to give it my best.

I have friends who are also taking part in the Race for Life. We’re not all doing the same distance, or even running at the same venue. But, we’re in it together and will share training tips and keep each other motivated.

I’ve also been in contact with Lauren, who is the Girl Running Late. She lives locally and I hope to be able to join her for a couple of training runs – once I’m a little fitter! Lauren has already given me some great tips. The best so far is the yoga breathing; in her words, “It’s a runner’s best friend.”

Ely Cathedral, a prominent feature on my training route

I’m extremely lucky to have such a picturesque city to run around. Certainly makes training less of a chore. 🙂 Ely Cathedral dominates much of Ely’s skyline, so it’s a constant beacon wherever my route takes me.

Over the next ten weeks I’ll document my running and fitness journey on the blog. There will be good days and bad; I will share the triumphs, and the days where it just plain hurts.

If you have any running, or general fitness, tips to share, I’d love to hear them! I’m going to need all the help I can get. 🙂

Bye for now!