Ruth Walker: ‘The target is to run further every week, building up the time on my feet’

I know what you’re thinking. I’d be thinking the same thing if I were you. In fact, I am thinking the same thing. And it worries me. It’s the Healthy Bite tag. A bit of a misnomer, really, considering my rather, shall we say laissez-faire attitude to fitness lately.

As I type this column, an empty Twirl wrapper sits in front of me. Taunting me with its shiny purple foil and its jaunty yellow type. Tempting me to have another. I so want another. One more wouldn’t hurt, would it? Only 115 calories (per finger). We won’t talk about the saturated fat ...

But something has to give. And the way things are going, it looks as though it could be the top button of my jeans.

Weird thing is, it turns out it’s not enough to just sign up for the Rock ’n’ Roll half marathon. I have to put in some training too. Who knew? And while things were looking good for a couple of weeks, it all, somehow ... just ... stopped. Work, family crises, nasty weather, the sniffles – I won’t bore you with the details.

That was two weeks ago. Then a package arrived from Maxifuel, the sports nutrition people. Gels. Powders. Tablets. All called intimidating things like Viperactive, Viperboost, Electrotabs and Recovermax. Just saying the names had me fizzing with energy (rapidly followed by a yawn and a pressing urge to lie down).

The gels are fuel for long runs; the powders for hydration and energy; the other stuff to repair muscle and replace spent energy after exercise. There is also a handy 12-week training programme for a half marathon on the website. But with just five weeks until race day, it all seemed a little academic.

The general target is to run a little further every week, gradually building up the time on my feet until two hours no longer has me gasping for air, clutching at my chest and wondering who’ll get my Prada when I’m dead and gone. (The answer? Nobody. I’m taking those babies with me to the great walk-in wardrobe in the sky.)

So, fuelled by one part shame, two parts Viperactive, I hit the pavements. The first day I run 11km. The next, 12km. It’s not quite up to training schedule standards (who am I kidding, it’s nowhere near it) but further than I thought I might manage after two weeks of sloth.

I also manage three hours at the gym – Fit Guy is focusing on aerobic fitness for stamina, and core and tendon strength to help avoid injury. Next week, I should be at my training peak, fitting in a hard 40-minute run, intervals, a gentle 6km trot and a whopping 20km, with rest days in between. Then the schedule starts winding down in preparation for the race. Daunting? Yes. But not impossible. Not if I get plenty of rest and make sure I eat right.

“Never set out on an empty stomach,” the training diary advises. Not much chance of that here at pigsville. And: “High amounts of fat in the diet can result in unhealthy weight gain as well as stomach upsets during training. Try to avoid foods containing more than 5g of fat, even on rest days.”

That’ll be the second Twirl out then.