And if I only could...

Those of you who have known me for a long time may find the following post a little hard to swallow. This evening I turned down an invitation to go to the pub in order to go running instead. Come to think of it, there may be two separately strange things in that last sentence...

I don't think I've really done any running since cross-country at school and that would have been at least 13 years ago and so probably is close enough to "never" as you can get. In fact, I haven't really done any exercise at all ever. I climbed the steps in work once but that was only because the lifts were out of order.

But tonight I did some actual running. I'd call it jogging but jogging sounds so middle-aged and I don't want to sound middle-aged. There is a reason for this Mr Hyde style turnabout, though it's a pretty tenuous one. I'm going skiing in February for the first time, and I was told that it might be a good idea to do some exercise in the meantime. I can't quite remember why, I wasn't paying too much attention. But in the same way as I seem to say I'll do absolutely anything these days, I said I'd come along for some weekly running sessions. There were a couple of girls starting running at the same time so I figured that we could all be crap together to start with and it would be easy and straightforward.

Darn it turns out I'd been slightly misled.

I'd missed the first session last week due to having said "yes" to another, completely unrelated, stupid thing. So I thought that this week, I wouldn't be that far behind. I wouldn't be starting from a Being Good At Running position too far behind the girls.

We ran for about forty minutes (possibly around three miles? - it was hard to tell because I didn't take a trundle wheel with me) altogether. About two thirds of the way round, the girls said I was doing really well for my first time. I said that likewise they were doing well for their second time. But it turns out it wasn't their second time at all. One of them has been running for a year, and the other I think for longer! Bloody girls. They always mislead you. Can't be trusted, the lot of 'em.

Anyway, I kept up all the way (with only two v short breaks) and I don't think they were going slowly for my benefit (though I wouldn't have complained too much if they had!) and finally we got back to the start where we stopped.

And then I died. Or at least wanted to.

Overall, I was quite happy with myself that I'd managed to do it. I have this vague feeling that you're not supposed to just go straight from doing no exercise at all to doing a three mile run. You're supposed to build up to these things slowly. But I say, sod that. In for a penny, in for a pound. Help a sad pirate.

It's funny the way that had I been doing it on my own, I don't think I'd have pushed myself anywhere near as much. I'd have taken many more breaks and not gone as far. Realistically I wouldn't have gone at all. Having other people there just makes the whole thing more... not sure what the word is. It's not "enjoyable". Well, it just makes it more.

So that was my introduction to the crazy world of exercise. Next session will be next week. Which will probably be easier. Hopefully.

It would have been nice to have gone to the pub as well though. But maybe the running will make me sleep well.

I can imagine that to many of you reading, this will all sound a bit pathetic. But isn't that what you come here for?

I wonder if I'll hurt tomorrow?