Last night I went out for what can only be described
as an impromptu run. I have been exercising again recently, this time with
bodyweight circuit training. I have been doing my workout every other day,
each time aiming to increase reps for each exercise. This circuit I follow
is star jumps (jumping jacks), squats, lunges, press ups, crunches and squat
thrusts. I have been making progress. On the last session I managed over 600
exercises.

I have also been doing dumbbell curls on other days, sometimes both morning
and evening. I keep a pair of dumbbells under the bed so that they are
always easily to get hold of. I am currently using a 10kg dumbbell and
perform a few sets of 10 on each arm.

But, last night I fancied something different. I needed to get out of the
house fo a bit, so decided to go for a run. I planned it to be about 30
minutes jogging, following the route I used to do last year. However, half
way round, I decided to go a little further, so I ran up Vicerage Lane that
leads out of Great Baddow. I did not leave the house until about midnight
(computer problems kept me in) but this meant that the roads were very
quiet. In fact, I did not pass a single car all night on the back lanes.

Running along the country lane in the dark was a very strange experience. I
had been raining, but was still overcast, so very dark in some spots. At one
point I did stop and walk as I could not see anything. Then later, seconds
after thinking to myself "what would happen if I twisted my dodgy ankle out
here" I almost fell into a pot hole (more a river valley actually). But I
plodded on. I had no choice. My knowledge of the back roads is not too good
(although better after last night) so I was not entirely sure if I would be
able to circle around back home without running for miles and miles. I did
not want to have to turn back, so I ploughed on into the night.

After about halk an hour my legs were tiring, but whereas this would
normally be the end of my run, I forced myself to carry on. By the time I
was at the 3/4 stage, I was loosened up more, and running relaxed, and
starting to enjoy it. I was barely jogging really, as I was going so slow,
but I felt fluid in my plod.

I eventually got to the end of the back lanes and found myself back on
familiar territory. This gave more more determination to get home, and I
actually increased my pace (albeit still a slow pace).

Another thing that kept me going was recalling the blog on footballer Kieron
Dyer that I wrote on the train, on my way home from work yesterday. He used
to run cross country, and says that this foundation has given him the
stamina required to keep up a good pace on the football pitch for 90 minutes
in a game.

I really am not a great fan of running, but last night was pleasant. I will
be running again soon, but only after my legs start working again. Oh, I
measured my run on walkjogrun.net, and I ran about 4.3 miles, which for me
is a long way. It took me 1 hour and 20 minutes (approx. As I did not time
properly). S slow run, as people generally run double that in the same time,
but it was my first in a long time.