A new beginning

Along with several colleagues, I was among the first thousand people to register for the inaugural Brighton marathon, happening next April 18 (exactly a week after my birthday). It's time to do some exercise again!

I haven't cycled to work in months and the running has been very patchy. I went for a run this morning (by the way, christ it's hot) and going past the plate glass frontage of the local off licence (where we have been a bit too regularly lately!) was an unneeded and unnecessarily cruel reminder of why the only mirror I look in at home is the one that's only just big enough to shave in. My face, I mean. Even I'm not THAT gay.

Anyway, it is a bit early to start training for the marathin in earnest. What I really need to try and do in the short term is try to get some kind of physical activity built in as a regular part of my week. Cycling, running, whatever. Knowing me, I probably will launch into the marathon training programme fairly soon and just do it multiple times.

I have recorded previous training programmes for London in as amusing a way as possible in the past, and will be doing the same here again. Read the back-catalogue if you have some spare time - if you're a first-timer who's registered for Brighton there could be some useful tips and if you're struggling, at least you'll know you're not alone!

Looking forward to hill runs and those dreaded fartleks - guaranteed to turn my face and, occasionally, the pavement 'all the colours of the speculum', as Victoria Wood once said. Bring it on!

At least (apart from a little bit around Brighton marina, which I've tackled before in the Sussex beacon Half Marathon) the course is almost completely flat. I'm therefore heading down towards the seafront for training runs now and missing the hills out unless the training programme acutally specifies a hill session. It's fairly flat to the South of us, not completely flat, obviously, or we'd have to be airlifted to safety every time the tide came in. People of South Portslade, Shoreham, Lancing, Worthing, Hove and Brighton be prepared for a regular display of moobs and wobble-bot over the next few months. I PROMISE ALWAYS TO WEAR A TOP!!! I hope you will do me the same courtesy. You know who you are.