What have I let myself in for??

Not exactly an athlete, and this was 3 years ago!

At Christmas I realised I was horribly unfit. Well, actually, I realised well before that, I just couldn't be bothered to do anything about it. Anyway, come January and the first raft of New-Years resolutions (I hate that phrase), I joined a gym and decided that now it was time to get back into shape...and I really mean it this time...honest.

Well, 2 months later and I'd stuck to it, apart from the occasional pizza. Nobody is more surprised than me, but I'm actually still enjoying it and I'm starting to get my lungs back (I don't know how they get so small when the rest of you gets so big). Then someone mentioned that since I was getting a bit fitter, doing the Bristol Half Marathon might be a good idea.

When someone mentions silly things like this, I always end up doing them.

I did go for a run for a couple of miles to see if I could do at least a respectable distance, and I was pleasantly surprised that although it felt like it mortally wounded me, I didn't actually die from the experience. This was good news, I mean, how much harder can a half marathon be? (Anyone who's done one before, please don't answer that...).

So now I'm signed up, wondering what I've let myself in for. The longest run I've managed so far is 5km, which is just under a quarter of the distance I'll need to do in September. There are no goals at the moment other than to finish, but deep down I'd love 2hrs 15mins...even though I think I'll still be a bit too fat and lazy to do that, even with 6 months notice!

I'll be running for Clic Sargent, which supports children with cancer and their families. Not only did this offer a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me to tour Bristol in a pink vest, but Clic is a fantastic charity and I've seen first hand the support that give to families in traumatic times. If anyone wants to donate any money (and no amount is too small...every little helps!) then there's a link to my Virgin Money Giving page on the side of this page. I'm aiming for a £500 total, and hopefully I'll get there!

In the mean time, I'm going to give this my best shot. In a weird, perverse way, I'm even looking forward to it...and not just because of the pink vest!