Running out of health

I go to see an osteopath fairly regularly, just to stay lined up. Last time he told me that my joints were as stiff as an old lady's and that I really needed to exercise. And no, walking to the supermarket and back with heavy bags 3 times a week did not count. Neither did walking 20 minutes into town instead of taking a bus. Doh. The thing is, I'm small (5'2.5"/160cm, and 112 lbs/8 stone/52kg - depending on what language you speak) and naturally fairly muscular, so you wouldn't automatically think just from looking at me that I needed to lose weight or get fit.

So I set myself a goal of exercising twice a week "to start with", I thought optimistically. The first week I swam. Boring boring boring. So I wondered about jogging, which I haven't done for years. You have to understand that jogging in 31 degrees of heat is not a thought that makes me spring out of bed in the mornings.

But Royal Sporting House are doing this deal where you trade in your old running shoes and get 25% off a new pair of selected brands. Cool. So I... er... got the bus into town yesterday with my old trainers and chopped them in for a snazzy new pair of purple Reeboks. And... er... got the bus back. Well it was raining.

And today I took my new Reeboks for a run. Oh my. I must be woefully out of condition. I was red-faced, leaking out of every pore, hammering heart, wobbly legs - aagh! My first run was 2km followed by a quick change and 4 lengths of the pool just to cool me down. A bit pathetic really. I'm planning on building it up to a point where I don't have to keep stopping and gasping for breath. There's hope. I mean I didn't know whether I'd keep up the blogging, but I'm still here, aren't I?

Apparently blood type Os like me are supposed to need exercise. Well this fitness regime had better pay off...