Who needs the added pressure of a year of being accountable to something you said you'd do at 11.45 on the 31st of December, after one too many raspberry lemonades anyway?
Somehow, through a combination of peer pressure and doctors' orders, I'vebeen convinced to run at least two kilometres a day for the remainder of the year. It was like a ''buy 11 months, get the 12th free'' deal, so I took January as a free month and have committed from here on out. I used to run, I think I used to enjoy it, but the thought process of a returning runner is an interesting one.
Let me ''run'' you through a typical 2km in my head.
For the first few hundred metres it's a positive time — "Wow, this is pretty good! I'm not as unfit as I thought I was! I could run a half marathon this year, maybe even a full!" — but around the 500-metre mark the wheels start to wobble.
''What is that weird pain in my butt? My lungs hurt, is that normal? Maybe I should stop just in case ... no, keep going ... it's only 2ks."
A small beep emerges from my wrist as the running watch I received when I had dreams of being a regular runner tells me I have reached the halfway point.
"Halfway to death," my brain screams. "Why am I doing this again? Wouldn't it be much nicer to be sitting with a hot coffee, the only burn being the refreshing morning beverage hitting your tongue and not your entire lower body?''
At 1.5km. Just 500 metres to go. "If you stop now, no one's going to know. It's 5.05am, there's no one here. It's just you and the streets, and the waving Art Deco lady statue. She won't judge you, she's been standing in the same spot for years!"
Truth is, people would know. The watch on my wrist is tracking me and I have friends who will see my failure to run about as far as my nine-year-old daughter cross-country, so on I push.
At 2km. "I've made it! John Walker, eat your heart out! Must have been running for ages, I'll check my watch ... eleven-and-a-half minutes. Why did it feel like eleven-and-a-half hours?"
My New Year resolution for next year? No more resolutions! — Adam
