As much as I love tea & cake I decided recently it was time to up my fitness levels. My evenings often disappear in front of the television. Although I don’t have an office job, the amount of walking I do a day doesn’t really equate to enough to count myself as fit. I had wanted to start running for a while, but the first hurdle was getting out there and doing that first run!

I ended up in Central London on the day of the marathon, and that was what inspired me to get off the sofa that evening and just go. We were on the final corner and I really felt the sense of achievement in the air.

I’ve never been a particularly sporty person but that’s where the Couch-to-5K app came in. It’s designed to get you running for 30mins or 5km in just 9 weeks.

I’d made the mistake before of just trying to run around the park, doing it once and then not going again for ages, but that’s completely silly. A little bit of research told me that you should start off slowly and gradually increase your running time, which is what the podcasts talk you through. They do say slow and steady wins the race, don’t they? It’s definitely not a race at the moment but I’m getting there, and I will win.

Going out for a run has become part of my week, I’ve pretty much scheduled three runs a week without even noticing. Strange, it really isn’t me, but it’s quickly becoming me. Headphones in, music up and off I go.

I never thought I would enjoy running, and although I’m technically not running the whole time yet I can feel myself getting better as the weeks go by. The podcast gets increasingly harder, as running time inevitably increases. There are short bursts of power walking in between to get your breath back.

I’m 4 weeks in at the moment, I’m determined to get there and run the whole 5K. I’ve found the commentary very reassuring and actually there’s no way I wouldn’t keep going during a run. It’s very satisfying knowing I am doing this myself.

Now I can enjoy that piece of cake without feeling quite so guilty. What are you waiting for? If I can do it, you definitely can too.