O. M. Actual G

I have just run without stopping for an hour. SIXTY FUCKING MINUTES. That is all.





Well, no, obviously that's not all. That's not all at all. Because now I'm tingling and buzzing all over and, having milked as much congratulations from my family a) sport on the telly and b) texts from mates will allow, I need to tell someone else. So before I've even showered, I'm struggling to type with my swollen lumpy fingers and tell you all about it.

And before you mad runners who talk about runs which are 'blissful' or 'awesome' get all excited at how buzzy I am, I should point out that the buzz was not present until the gruelling running stopped.

I am still slow. I have worked out that if I run 10k at this pace, it would take me 1 hour 23 minutes. Slower than a snail. However, in the week, I have been able to sustain a faster pace for longer - 30 minutes at a pace that would see a 1 hour 18 minute 10k which is only three minutes away from my goal.

So, for the next three weeks, I need to spend my week getting faster and my weekends running for longer and there is a very very slim chance that I get my sorry arse round the 10k in 3 weeks time without stopping in 1 hour 15 minutes.

I think my motivation was helped by this week's ludicrous running purchase. iTunes will find itself richer to the tune of £9.99 because I bought "Now That's What I Call Running". Usually, I run to speech because I find that following a story helps take my mind off the horrible running, but sometimes I think perhaps I need to force myself to think about the running in order to try and do it better. So I've downloaded some dreadful music which will make me feel very old (plus Eye of the Tiger, obviously) in the hope it will have a positive effect on my speed.

Course now I see that written down, I realise they're songs, not miracles. Still, I ran for an hour today. Who cares.




Don't forget, I'm doing this - and the half marathon in October - because Brook needs the support. Anything you can donate will be very gratefully recieved. www.justgiving.com/hilliershitthetarmac