WEEK ONE (April 9-15)

Well, I ceremonially ate my final fast food burger on Monday, and on Tuesday signed up for the big race on September 16.

There's no pulling out now without the loss of my £22.50 entry fee (and the shame of failure after committing to this public diary).

From all the magazines and expert advice I've sought, a few things have been made clear.

Most importantly, I mustn't train too hard too early… that would be bad for both body and morale.

Remnants from 'The Last Supper' And luckily, I'm not physically capable of doing that anyway!

Starting from a very low fitness level, so throughout this first week I'm taking it pretty easy.

Trying to go out for a run every second day, and in between just doing light sessions at the gym (rowing and cycling) or going about usual sporting activities (five-a-side football and cricket practice).

The first run was a sobering experience.

Went to the big park down by the River Trent embankment area and spent 20 minutes on the move, alternating one minute of walking and one minute running. Was very hard work and running a 13-mile race seems like an impossibility right now.

However all the books I've read say it'll probably be 10 weeks before I can run continuously for 20 minutes.

After a run at Radcliffe-on-Trent I'll be charting my progress here each week and hope to try a few different things to keep myself interested (mainly because at this stage I find running very boring!)

Would really like to hear from other runners (expert and beginners) and share your ideas and thoughts here on these pages.

In particular, any advice or memories from when you first started out?

Bye for now.