Gordon posted a rather informative link in his sideblog which I thought was worth mentioning here. It’s a beginners guide to running a 5k. It has some very good advice and provides a two month training plan but I know it would drive me nuts. Then again, I’m not exactly a beginner.

One thing I would add to it as a piece of motivation, however, is enter a 5km race. Now racing and being competitive may not be your thing but that’s okay. There’s quite an atmosphere at these events and to be entirely honest, the only person you’ll compete against is yourself. If you’re concerned about how serious people are about it, look for a “Fun Run” because it will be entirely that. You’ll get the serious runners but you won’t see them for dust. Everyone else running will be like you and only out for the hell of it and you’ll find lots of people egging each other on.

The main thing is that it will give you something to aim for and you’ll be able to get a proper recorded time for a measured distance. Completing it will give you a great sense of satisfaction and a bit of a buzz. (That’s the idea anyway.) If you do decide to enter a competition then there are two things you need to make sure you do:

1. Make sure that during your training, you run outside for some of the runs. It’s all well and good using a gym treadmill to do train on and the treadmill, although potentially dull, is great for getting to know what a particular speed feels like. But running outside is an entirely different matter and is generally harder to do but with greater rewards.
2. This is more important. Get yourself a new pair of decent running shoes. I don’t mean go down to one of those high street chains that will sell you replica football shirts and the flashiest, sorry, streetest branded trainers that’ll match your bling. I mean find a specialist running shop and go talk to the people in there. A new pair of running shoes are worth their weight in gold. Sure they’re expensive - you’re talking between £50 and £100 - but if you stick with your old daps that you’ve kept in the attic since school, or that pair of squash shoes with the hole in that were left over from the days you tried to keep up with your boss on the squash court, you will pay more than that in physio bills.

I’m serious about this. If you’ve been trying to run and finding that your back hurts or (and this is very common) your shins ache, then chances are you’re running in an old pair of shoes. Old trainers, especially ones that are well worn, don’t keep your feet in the right position while running and if your feet rotate in or out then this will affect everything from your ankle up. It’s biomechanics.

So save yourself the agony on both your body and wallet (most physios I’ve come across are between £35-£50 per session and it never takes just one session to sort you out) and invest in a new pair of running shoes before you even think about going running.