If, like me, you don’t own a treadmill and don’t have gym membership then you will at times be forced to run in some less than ideal conditions.  I am not talking about a slight wind or a bit of a drizzle – which can actually be quite pleasant when you have warmed up – no I am talking about the extremes of elements.  I have run in hail, torrential rain, hurricane winds, when it was -4°C, in the dark, across frosty paths… and that was just this fortnight!  I have also run through summer thunderstorms, in blistering heat, on ice, in thick mud, through suddenly descending fog like something out of a James Herbert novel and did I mention temperatures below freezing?

It is tempting to hibernate these cold months away and save outdoor running for spring when the weather is a bit kinder but I urge you not to, you see, because there is something primal and satisfying about facing the elements and running anyway.

A headwind might make you feel like you’re running in slow motion but it also connects you with nature in a way that you wouldn’t ordinarily do.  Getting drenched as you loop the park might not sound like fun but it does return you to a more childlike gleeful state back when jumping in puddles was fun and not something to be avoided.  The cold is harder for me to deal with, it occasionally makes my fingers and toes turn white and lose feeling… but I am also motivated to run faster to warm up and thus I have had some of my best times when wrapped top to bottom and trying to escape the chill.  (Additionally I like to see my breath as I exhale and may or may not pretend to be a steam train).  People forget that actually running in heat is the real worst of it.  Risk of dehydration, overheating, exhaustion are all more common in hot weather than in cold – so actually braving the crisp morning or getting wet are not the worst things to have ever happened.

Of course there is still the matter of getting that foot out the door motivation.  It is awfully hard to drag yourself away from a cosy bed to slog it around the block when there is frost on the ground or if it looks like it might rain.  Believe me.  But I also know whenever I am out (driving or cycling or running) regardless of the weather and/or time of day you still see runners out there, braving the elements – or rather, perhaps, embracing them.

Point of fact: last weekend when the whole of Southern England and Wales had moderate-to-severe weather warnings to indicate that there were extreme winds of up to 60 mph, on our 10 K run to Long Wittenham and back Andreas and I passed not one, not two but at least six other runners!  It is a strange and addictive bug, this ailment of running, but I wouldn’t change it!

That said, since the temperature is now above zero and the sun is out I’m off for a quick jog whilst it lasts!

So I finally put up the cash for a pre-emptive appointment with a physiotherapist for some tips on how to improve my running and how to prevent injuries before they happen.  In principle it sounds like a sensible idea.  I love running.  I want to participate in running for the rest of my life and I want to run long distances.  So a check up on my form, flexibility etc. now, before I have any major problems makes sense.  A good physio should be able to spot tightness and muscle weaknesses from a mile away and should be able to give advice on the best way to correct any of these imbalances…

But… I was surprisingly reluctant to organise it.  I didn’t have any problems, not really, who was I trying to be?

My major concern was not money (it was £45 for an hour if you were interested) but rather this imposter feeling I got about the whole thing.  I am not an elite runner trying for county best or world records.  I am a slow recreational runner just trying to be kind of average.  I felt silly.  Like I would be wasting the physios’ time.  To make matters worse to get to the physios office you have to first walk through a gym.

I haven’t been to a gym since one brief foray into the world of physical activity in 2010.  That gym was air conditioned and had a lot of TV screens whereas this gym was sort of squished into a long, dark corridor.  The first thing that hit me was the smell; stale body odour permeates the air and immediately makes me want to turn back.  And then the second thing was this – an almost overwhelming urge to cry because I so did not belong here.  Everyone was young, sleek and positively bouncy – moving effortlessly from squat to lunge to strange metal equipment whilst holding seamless conversations.  Whilst I, clad in cycle helmet and backpack and reflective gear, look like a giant fluorescent snail clumsily traversing a path.  I am so disorientated by their youthful exuberance and perfect bodies that I managed to get lost.  Yes, lost, in a corridor. Bah!

After further navigation I manage to arrive for the actual appointment without crying!  And so it begins.  To start with I have to answer a series of health and lifestyle questions and whilst I am still apprehensive the guy (Nick) is a runner too and soon my enthusiasm returns.  As we talk about marathons and planned races and targets I feel myself getting calmer.  Nick doesn’t treat me like someone who is dabbling in sport or dwell on the fact that I used to weigh 91 kg he just wants to know, genuinely it seems, what I want to do now and how he can help get me there.

I change into my running gear and then we have an hour of chatting, awkward posturing and nervous running back and forth on a track.  I am not exactly enjoying the moment but Nick tries to make it as comfortable as possible, explaining things in a warm professional tone, nodding encouragement and throwing out the names of muscles at random (I don’t have the heart at this point to tell him I am not that kind of Doctor).

In the end I get my verdict: I am an over-pronating, heel striking, tight hip flexor, weak right knee monster.  Not that Nick described me quite that way, I am paraphrasing a little.  But good news is shoes and balancing on one leg whilst I brush my teeth can help with my stability, stretches can loosen my hips and a variety of exercises with a resistance band can fix my out-of-track knee.  Not so bad after all.  This is prehab baby, not rehab! Plus I am honestly impressed that physio Nick managed to pick out my right knee (if you remember that is what was hurting after the Clacton on Sea Half Marathon!) – Weirdly I never noticed that it sort of grinds before.

As I exit through the gym, wearing Ugg boots with my running gear and looking more mismatched than ever, I honestly don’t care what these people make of me.  I am a runner.  Anyone can be a runner – isn’t that what I have been saying all along?!  It’s time I took my own advice and actually believed that about myself.