Running in the rain

I was completely soaked in this photo - not with sweat, but with rain! It's the second time I've run in the rain - in recent years anyway, and I really enjoyed it. I think I'd find heavy rain hard to cope with, but a light shower is quite refreshing.

I started running on March 25th,just after lockdown started, as I was no longer able to do my usual activities of hillwalking, scrambling and climbing. I used to run years ago, but in 2015 I had to stop due to a thyroid problem, so it's great to be able to run again.

In the old days I used to do the 5K Park Run every week. In recent weeks I've been using the NHS "Couch to 5K" app, and it's incredible to look back at how much of a struggle it was to run for 10 or 15 minutes just a few weeks ago.

I did my first 5K run for years on the 23rd May, and it took me 39 minutes and 30 seconds. That's a pretty slow time, but I felt elated. And it was on quite a stormy day with rain and strong wind. That added to the excitement!

Improving my pace and stamina

Since then, I've been doing the "Couch to 5K+" programme, altering between a 35-min stamina run, a 20-min speed run, where you do intervals (ie running fast for a 1-minute burst) and a 30-minute "stepping stone" run. My pace has increased - I'm now running at a pace of 5K in just over 37 minutes.

I can feel the running improving my cardio fitness. When I started running for longer periods, it felt difficult to get a good lungful of air. Now it feels much more comfortable to run for 30 minutes.

The first couple of times I did the "speed run" I found it completely exhausting. Last time I did it, it almost felt too easy!

That's what I love about running. If you don't try to do too much, too quickly, you can really feel your fitness starting to improve.

Once I feel comfortable doing 5K runs, I plan to start doing more elevated runs, and eventually hill running.

This has been an unexpected benefit of lockdown. I never expected it to make me fitter!