Week 1

In days gone by, legends of yore and suchlike, the journey was a stock source of storytelling. It was usually a fraught experience, full of danger, shaded paths, mysterious creatures, uncharted territories whence no man had ever returned alive. Today, in these more sanitised times when every inch of the planet has been mapped, claimed and parcelled up, and it's possible to zoom in on your house on Google Earth to check if you're in, we have to seek our adventures in other ways. We have to set boundaries for ourselves and seek the unknown amid the known.
One reason why journeys have always been so appealing to writers is that they are a natural form of narrative. A journey has a beginning, a middle and an end all of its own; there's no need for artifice or device. You just have to chronicle what happens, as it happens. And yet even the most predictable journey contains plenty of opportunity for suspense: often you literally don't know what's around the corner. This is the first entry in a blog that aims to chart just such a journey. One that will cover increasingly familiar terrain, but whose final outcome will be in the balance right up until the last strides.
I have been running 10 kilometre races and half marathons for nearly eight years now. When I was 27 I set myself a goal of completing 40 10K runs before I reached the age of 40. Four years later I entered a half marathon and ran it in 1 hour 32 minutes. I ran the same race two years ago and improved my time by seven minutes. It set me wondering: what is the ultimate time I might be able to achieve? Now, at the age of nearly 35, I intend to find out. Time is bearing down on me: I know that in a few years' time, I will begin the inevitable, inexorable process of decline. And so, next year, I plan to run the half marathon distance again. This blog will chart my progress between now and then, chart my training, map my reaction and reflect more generally on what motivates people to push themselves physically when it's so much less taxing just to jump in the car, or slump in front of the TV.
It's been nearly a year since I last ran a 10K (the hilly Barrhead route, in a fraction over 40 minutes). I've not been idle since then, but nor have I been particularly organised. Most weeks I've only been out once or twice, for a maximum of 45 minutes. This week I managed three runs, only one of which I timed. It was one of my regular routes, a 4.2-miler through Queen's Park, and I covered it in a sluggish 33 minutes 45 seconds (at my best I've run it in less than half an hour). Still, I've set down a marker, and can hopefully look forward to weeks of improvement.

Runs completed: 4.2 miles; 4.2 miles (33:45); 6.1 miles
Week's mileage: 14.5
Total mileage: 14.5
Shoe mileage: Saucony 6.1
Fitness level: 60%