Four Weeks with Runna: The Good, the Bad, and the “Fat Cow” Incident
12 august 2025
Four weeks into my Runna training plan and I’ve already had personal bests, new kit, sunrise runs… and been verbally abused from a passing car. Running is glamorous like that.
Running doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s a real struggle, and no matter how much I train, it never seems to get any easier.
Fun fact: I ran my first ever mile at 39. Before that, I couldn’t run for 60 seconds without questioning all my life choices. Five years on, I’m still not exactly setting records, but I’ve mastered the art of stubborn shuffling – and that counts for something.
In April last year, I went for my first ever trail run. About 15 minutes in, I rolled my ankle and ended up tearing two ligaments in my foot. It took six weeks – and a lot of physio – before I was walking properly again. While I’m now healed, I still get twinges and am much more cautious on my feet. Four weeks ago was my first run since the accident, which is probably why I signed up to Runna with equal parts optimism and fear.
Week 4 is now officially in the books. I say “officially” because I skipped one run, but I nailed both my tempo and long run, so not a total write-off. This week, I even set a new personal record for my 2-mile run – knocking 49 seconds off my previous time – and got the ultimate ego boost: my Garmin told me I was going too fast. Not such a “slow fat cow” after all.
That comment wasn’t hypothetical. Just last week, a couple of men drove past me mid-run and shouted: “Run faster, you fat cow.” I mean, I’d only started running again a week ago – give a girl a chance, god… Did I keep going? Yes. Did it replay in my head on a loop for days? Also yes.
People can be horrible sometimes. But they can also be incredible. After I shared the story on Instagram, my DMs were full of kindness and encouragement – and then something amazing happened. Garmin reached out and sent me their brand-new Fenix 8 to help me on my running journey.
This watch is next-level. It tracks every stat imaginable – pace, heart rate, elevation, recovery – and even subtly tells you to calm down when you’re going out too hard. It’s like having a coach strapped to your wrist, only less shouty. I’ve already become slightly obsessed with checking my data after each run (and, yes, I may have scrolled through my splits more times than I’d like to admit).
This morning, I was up before everyone else, running as the sun rose. It was cool, quiet, and beautiful – and yes, I still came home a sweaty mess. Progress is progress.
I thought I’d share some stats from this week, because it’s so easy to compare yourself to others. I follow some incredible runners on here, and while I’ve been quietly proud of my progress, I’ve always been too embarrassed to share my times. But as the saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy, so here they are.
Slowly but surely, I’m getting there. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last month, it’s this: running isn’t about being the fastest person out there. It’s about showing up, even when it’s hard, even when people shout things from car windows, even when you’re slower than you’d like.
