Three miles is a very long way. . .

I like to run, and I like to write. I also like thinking. But I could do all three things more often, hence this blog - to give me something to post I'll have to go for more runs, and in going for more runs I'll have more time to think. So the theory goes at least. In practice we'll see. . .

Anyway, I've always like sport - both watching and playing, but until my thirties I never particularly like running. If you weren't actively trying to chase something spherical, it just hurt, and what's the point in that? This changed when as I hit my thirties - a knee reconstruction meant rehab in order to chase spherical things again, and rehab meant running. Funny enough, once I got over the initial hump I discovered I enjoyed it immensely. Just me, my heart-rate monitor (and sometimes my ipod) and the road. I lost weight, felt good, loved it.

A couple of half marathons in 2008 later came the birth of my second son Theo, and the total body exhaustion that babies bring. Though I kept up the best intentions my running became sporadic at best. So this year it's all going to change, and I'm going to run more. My target is to get round Bristol half marathon in a half decent time at the start of September, and blog about it on the way.

So, that's the back story. And yesterday lunchtime saw the first run of my new, all running, all blogging lifestyle. And to come to the point, what did I think about? Mainly that three miles is an awful long way if you're out of practice.

I actually spent the first five minutes wondering what I should think about in order to blog - not a great start as, like trying to go to sleep, surely the trick is not to think about it and let the thoughts emerge? Fortunately, spontaneous thoughts did emerge - starting with 'wow, this is making my calfs stiff pretty quickly', moving on to 'and now the pain is creeping up to my lower back,' and then moving on to 'yep, I'm regretting that flapjack this morning now'. Two-thirds of the way through I did find some flow and started to think I was enjoying myself, but this was temporary. The final main thought was 'when will it end' and then relief.

I suspect as I get back into regular running I may have a few more runs like this. So this might be shaping up to be a fairly dull blog. Oh well, c'est la vie. . .

Running log
Distance: 3 miles
Pace: ?? didn't time it, probably 25-30 minutes
Location: St Pauls, St Werbergs city farm, Bristol

View this running route at FriendFit.com