Run 1

Saturday September 19th 2009.

Today I ran for the first time in over twenty years. When I say run I really mean run. That is, proper running. Not the sort of running you do when you realise your train's leaving in 42 seconds and you sprint to the platform to get it. I mean, proper running. Running for the fun of it.

"Ah," said Arthur, "this must be some strange usage of the word fun I wasn't previously aware of..."

There is, of course, a reason behind me running. Last Monday I put in an entry for the 2010 Reading Half Marathon, to be held March 21st 2010. That's 13.1 miles. For someone who hasn't ran in over twenty years (the last time being during PE lessons in the 80s; but more on these another time) that's one heck of leap.

So why did I do it?

To answer this question, we have to go back to the 2009 Reading Half Marathon. There we were, me and my daughter Maddie, stood watching the race go by. Part of the course goes just round the corner from where we live, so we went to have a look and to cheer people on, and to see if we could see a few of my work colleagues who were running. They they were, all manner of people running by. We were cheering them on. Maddie was especially cheering on anyone in pink or yellow (or even better; both) as they're her favourite colours. It was great.

Then, she looks up at me. And in the way that only small four year old children can do, she asks;

"Why aren't you in the race, daddy...?"

And I was stumped. I just could not think of a good reason why I didn't enter. So, I promised her I would enter the race the next year. I was half thinking that she might forget about this, and the idea could be quickly dropped. For anyone else thinking along these lines, I offer this piece of advice;

Never underestimate a child's ability to remember things you want them to forget.

So. She mentioned it again. And again. And again. There was no way out of it.

Unless, of course, I couldn't actually get a place in the race when the entries came out. After all, the London Marathon apparently fills its places within about 108 picoseconds of the entry list opening.

But, no. I got the email, and submitted an entry. And got back an email that said "Your entry into the Reading Half Marathon has been successful."

There's no way out now.

So, today, I went for my first run.

I had a route planned out. It was quite a short one, really, two miles. Round the block, more or less. I should have been able to do it quite easily, I thought. But, no. I start off well, going at a decent pace. It's not too bad at all. I can do this, I think. But then I get to about half a mile and already the old lungs are starting to feel a bit tight. I slow down a bit, but it's not enough, so slow to a walk. I walk a bit, then run a bit more, but realise that I'm really not going to do the whole course, so I cut off the end of it. Just over a mile and I start to regroup a little. Get a bit of a second wind, and start to think that I could have done the whole course. By the time I'm home, I'm feeling tired, but essentially quite good. The whole run was about 1.5 miles, over 16 minutes.

For a first run, it's not that bad at all. Not really. I could have had an asthma attack and died, I guess. One thing I think I do have to gauge is the difference between when the ol' asthma is affecting me, and when I'm out of breath due to the exercise. That will come with time.

Also, no music today; apparently listening to music whilst running can help give you that extra oomph. Maybe next time.

Anyhow, I'll end with the stats;

Run 1

Distance; 1.47 miles

Time taken; 16:07 mins

Average speed; 5.5 mph

Average heart rate; 152 bpm

Culmulative distance ran; 1.47 miles.

Culmulative time running; 16:07 mins