I decided I’d like to do a bit more exercise than the odd surf trip, and gentle yoga every other day. The surf trips are intense exercise but then they are over and so the workouts stop. I bought a pair of running shoes a couple of weeks back and they waited for me to stop making excuses to start running: it’s too wet, I’d like to do other stuff (like not write the blog), etc. Today during work I really felt I needed it, so that was it: today.

I’d read up a bit about starting gently and doing a walk/run combo, and settled on the about.com 3 weeks to a 30 minute running habit daily email. That advises 10 min walk warm-up then 20 mins running 1 min, walking 1 min alternately. http://running.about.com/c/ec/1.htm

I set off quite excited, then disappointed that the Asics seemed to have a lump in the right insole, pressing into the ball of my right foot. I thought it might be my sock but it wasn’t. I think it had gone by the end of the session as it didn’t trouble me later. The 10 min walk at the beginning felt too long, walking along the nearby lanes under the trees – I was itching to run. At the 10 min mark off I went, easily, for a minute. It was fun to fly the lanes I usually walk, feet pounding on the tarmac, avoiding the odd pothole or stinger that stretched out from the hedge. The shoes rolled along nicely.

After a few repetitions of the running then walking minutes, a few aches came, but nothing too achatious – tops of feet, shins a bit, and then my gum, back lower, where my teeth still haven’t fully made it out. Some stiffness in the shoulders after a day at the desk. It got progressively harder as the minutes walking became not quite enough for the breathing to get back to normal. I settled into a nice rhythm of minutes.

I travelled far in the 20 minutes out, past the cottages on the Hinton Ampner lane, then turned back for the next 5 combos. Again, the walk was too long for the warm down (cool down?) at the end. Tomorrow I’ll do 5 mins walking start and finish.

I found a video on youtube http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bNxClAlcaNg for warm down stretches and followed those, then a good shower.

I’ll write about my experiences each day. Feel pretty energised now.