You're a runner now

When I signed up for the Great Scottish Run half marathon the goal was simply to see if I might be capable of doing a full marathon, perhaps the following year, to raise some money for charity. Afterwards, I imagined that I would most likely return to running a few miles per week, purely to keep fit.

What came as a surprise, both to me and my husband, was how much I looked forward to the days when I did my long runs. I think I may go as far as to say I was excited about them. To run further than I had ever run before was such a sense of achievement. Then my husband gave me his old running watch to borrow and introduced me to pace. I soon became a bit obsessed with this and logged my runs in a little book to scrutinise my pace later. As my long runs increased I worked out that I was on target to achieve a time of under 2 hours for the half marathon and this became my new goal.

But it wasn't just about reaching my target. Running made me explore my local area more. I saw my town from a new viewpoint - away from traffic and always being in a hurry - where people take the time to say hello to each other: people and their dogs, families on their bikes and the little old man out for his Sunday stroll.

I also started to learn a little bit more about the human body: about our ability to use oxygen more efficiently as we get fitter, common aches and pains that runners get - and how to overcome them - and how to find shoes that suit the way our feet pronate when we run.

I recall one time returning from training and in my post-run-endorphin-fuelled buzz saying to my husband that I wish everyone could experience that feeling.

You're a runner now,' my husband confirmed.

He was right. It's funny how you set out with a particular goal in mind and then find yourself taken on a different journey. I had hoped to sign up for the Edinburgh Marathon 2017 as soon as I completed the half marathon this year, but when I realised I wasn't ready for this I initially felt a bit sad - that maybe I would lose momentum with the whole thing and never complete a marathon. Anything beyond 'next year' just seemed so far away.

Then I realised that it just doesn't matter. Maybe I'll be ready to do a marathon in 2018, or 2019. Or maybe I'll never be ready - who knows. I'll just keep running and see where it takes me.