It all started with an easy jog

What started off as a joke, simply to lose weight, turned out to be the greatest passion of my life, changing my entire outlook thus closing one door and yet opening another full of fun, adventure and self discovery.

Juggling with a full-time job, a baby and family commitments, no time was left for my usual aerobics, dance or gym classes. My only option was simply to go out as early as possible for an hour’s walk, which eventually, and surprisingly enough, turned into an easy jog.

Shortly after, through an article on the newspaper, I joined the Ladies Running Club and a month later, I was introduced to John Walsh, my coach, my mentor and over the years a great friend.

He was discreet, knowledgeable and wise, his zest and passion for life were influential. Although he may be gone, his spirit will always remain, with those who knew him well, and, above all, his runners.

Joe Micallef’s proposal to write this column a few weeks ago left me completely stunned.

How can I possibly emulate John Walsh?

Yes, I’ve run marathons both locally and abroad and I followed my heart and wildest dream to run the ‘Ultimate Human Race’ – the 89km Comrades Ultra Marathon in South Africa. But how can I express my simple knowledge of what I’ve achieved, I’ve lived and read about, in writing?

I’m not used to this and being a somewhat detached and reserved person I am not one to express myself well, neither.

I recall Joe’s laugh and his comment then: ‘It will be a commitment to write a weekly article for three months’.

I gave it a thought and ultimately decided to go for it.

Most runners are by now building up on their training. Road races are on the calendar, yet it is the Mdina-Spinola (M2S) which is the main and most popular attraction of all, being an opportunity for runners to gauge their preparation ahead of the half marathon.

This year, I’m told, there is another record entry of well over 400 participants for the M2S race on December 18. So, go to www.maltamarathon.com to apply now before all available places are taken up.

There are some people out there who can jog 30 minutes, four times weekly but feel that they aren’t capable of running 21.1 kilometres at one go.

With approximately 12 weeks remaining (the race will be held on February 26), they have enough time to complete the distance within the time limit. How fast they jog or run is of no importance, three hours is ample time to get to the finish.

They can be the slowest and most relaxed joggers, like me, simply content to cruise and enjoy the show, the space and the freedom of the moment. The above four-day weekly schedule indicates how many minutes of easy running one should do until the Malta Half Marathon, starting from next week.

Missing out on an odd run or two won’t ruin one’s plans.

The schedule helps athletes build up stamina from week to week. The longest runs are scheduled for Sundays as most people don’t need to go to work. Sunday is followed by a day off, then a shorter run on Tuesday and again the second longest run of the week on Thursday, by then one would have recovered from the Sunday run.

Follow the schedule and you should be ready for the half marathon.

“The surest way of finding the limits of our abilities is to act”! In the meantime enjoy your running and do no damage.