Things are getting serious now...

17th July: the training schedule has officially started. From now til D-Day (or should that be M-Day) I will be running at least 4 times a week - and probably more the endorphins take a hold and I get totally addicted.

I have acquired myself a timetable with suggested runs - and this includes fartlek at least once a week. Fartlek (what a great word) is where you run fast then slow then fast then slow. Apparently it's what the professionals do too, so my Kelly Holmes aspirations are on their way to fulfilment I'm sure.

There's some off-road thrown in and of course the 'Big Sunday Run' will be getting longer and longer. I'm hoping to hit 10 miles this weekend which will be the furthest I've run to date.

The other aspect of taking it all seriously is that I've started to look like a proper runner. Points to note:

1. I have those tiny shorts which have loose sides for optimum stride (just like the ones Al Turnbull used to wear at uni for anyone lucky enough to remember)

2. I have an ergonomically designed water bottle which fits perfectly into my hand or tucks neatly into my waistband

3. I have a bad-ass runners watch which does all sorts of wizardry so I can time my laps, my fartlek, my off road. It's girlie blue because running doesn't mean you can't still be feminine (though the perspiration levels may indicate otherwise)

4. I use a runner's loop when tying my shoelaces so that my trainers make me look more like Kelly Holmes.

I know these all work - people watch me fly past them on the streets of Roundhay with awe and admiration.

That's all for now.

Anna.

x

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fartlek