“Let’s go out Friday night,” she said. “Let’s go dancing, I haven’t been dancing for ages!”

“Okay, but I have a hair appointment after work. I am hoping to leave work early, and come home and get changed first, but if not I will have to come home before coming out. I should be there 8 o’clock at the latest though.”

“That’s no problem, I am going straight from work though.”

“As long as you don’t leave the minute I walk through the door,” I joked, because this is what she did one time when we had agreed to meet on a Friday. She was so drunk, and “oh so tired” that she was leaving. Luckily that time Krazy K had been there.

“Oh no, I don’t intend to drink that much.”

I get home from hairdressers, covered in little tiny hairs. So I jump in the shower. I iron my jeans and top. I get dressed. I ring for a taxi and am putting on my makeup when the phone rings.

“Where are you?”

“I just rang for a taxi, I am on my way.”

“Oh,” she slurred, “It’s just that I am not going to stay much longer, I am only going to be here for 1 or 2 drinks.”

“Umm, right, where are you planning on going then? Home?”

“Yes.”

“It’s going to cost me £35 in taxi fares to get there and back. I am not going to pay that for 1 drink.”

I am fuming. She said she expected me much earlier, and I did point out that I said it would probably be about 8 o’clock. So here I am, home alone, all dolled up, while she is pissed and has had enough and is going home.

Grrrrrrrr.

I was so bad on Tuesday night. I came home from work absolutely shattered, so decided to have a short nap before heading out. I set my phone alarm for quarter to 7, and dozed off.

I must have switched alarm off without realising. Because I didn’t wake up until nearly 9 o’clock.

So I didn’t go out.

This was super bad, because I knew I couldn’t go out on Wednesday, because I had to leave early in the morning to take the car for it’s service, and then on the night I was off to see AM for a well past due date with some hot wax and some massage oil (big, big ouchee, that’ll teach me to leave it so long!)

So this morning I got up at 6.15, did my stretches and headed out. I didn’t do any running - my back wasn’t hurting at the time I should have been running, but more than half way round I was starting to feel it, so it was the right decision to make.

Tomorrow I have to get up early and go again, because straight from work I am going to have my hair cut, and then I will be off out for a night of drink and debauchery with X. Saturday I head off to see my parents, as it is my niece’s birthday, and we are also going to the Good Food show at the NEC on Sunday.

Monday I have a job interview in London. Eek!

I really didn’t want to go tonight.

I need to figure out the best time to go. I was hungry when I got home, so I decided to have my dinner early, and go later. But I think that is what made it so hard to get motivated and go out.

But go out I did, not until 8.30 - thank god for the long days!

I have decided to throw the training plan out of the window. There is no way I could even consider the ‘walk 4 minutes, run 3 minutes’ at the moment - if ever - so I am going to do my own.

Tonight I decided to go with the 5 and 2 combo again, running as much as I could but knowing the 2 minutes was not on the cards. After the first 5 minutes, I ran, but could only manage a minute (but I note that I did run further in this minute than I did last time). However, I felt like I wanted to run before the end of the next 5 minute track, so in the end I just ignored the music, and ran when I felt like it, stopped when I was struggling for breath, walked until I wanted to run again. I reckon I managed 3 lots of 1 minute runs, and 2 lots of less than a minute.

So I have just devised a 4 and 1 combo - with a 5 minute warm up I reckon I could manage 5 of them.

I hope to get up a little earlier tomorrow and make something healthy to eat about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. That way I can go as soon as I come home from work. More people in the park at that time, but much easier than sitting down for a couple of hours and then going out.

Regarding people in the park, I do seem to be getting less embarrassed about it, although starting to run, and stopping the run in front of people I don’t like to do. However, if I am running and there are people on the way, I just stick the blinkers on and keep on running.

I planned to go for a walk yesterday, after I had done all my shopping.

I got up, and spent a leisurely time getting ready, because it was raining. I headed out not long before lunch, went to the best bakers for some lovely bread and the best crumpets I have ever eaten. I then decided the rain seemed to be stopping, so headed into town.

I changed my name at the bank, which was a relatively painless experience, although I couldn’t close the very old joint account as I didn’t have the bank card with me.

I had my free Starbucks coffee (about 3 years ago I signed up for their Starbucks card because doing so gave me a free drink - once I had run out of money on it I never used it again, but they keep sending me vouchers for free drinks - happy days!), then went and bought some more lovely healthy food from the market.

By now the rain had stopped, and it was even getting warm, so when I got back to the car I took my jacket off. I then went to the supermarket to get all the other bits and pieces I hadn’t got.

What a difference 20 minutes makes! The sun was trying to come out when I went into Waitrose. There was torrential rain when I had finished shopping. And I didn’t have my jacket because I’d left it in the car! There was thunder and lightning, and even hailstones. I stood in the entrance to Waitrose for 20 minutes, before venturing out, and still getting wet, but not as soaked as I could have been.

So, I didn’t go out yesterday.

I did go out today though - but again, later than I planned because just as I decided to go out, the heavens decided to empty themselves.

When I went out it was very weird, because the roads were actually steaming, although I didn’t think it was that warm.

I managed 2 lots of 1 minute runs, but for the third time I only managed about 30 seconds before having to stop and get my breath. However, I did do another 30 seconds later on, when I had my house in sight.

Tomorrow I am due to begin 4 minute walks and 3 minute runs. Ha! I might aim for the 2 minute runs - just the one week behind in the training plan then!

Well, last night I got the towel out, and did my ankle stretches. And again this morning.

And tonight I didn’t put the bandage on to go out.

What a difference!

Well, compared to last night anyway. I knew the training plan was a tad ambitious - according to the plan I should be at 5 minutes walking, 2 minutes running, 3 times.

I managed 5 minutes walking, 1 minute running, 1 minute dawdling trying to get my breath back, and repeat twice more!

Still, that’s 3 lots of 1 minute - about where I should have been last week. And miles ahead of where I was 2 weeks ago, when this all began.

Another thing - this week I have been eating crap. With my mom and dad here at the weekend, I didn’t get to do my usual cook-a-thon, with food for the week, so I have been eating canteen food, which is the epitome of crap! So, tomorrow I will go to the market, get myself some lovely fresh food, and cook lots of lovely meals for the week. This should make the whole training thing easier. I know from when I was doing all the exercise classes that it was definitely easier to do when I had been eating less crappy food (note I didn’t say ‘healthy food’…..)

Just over 1 month to go. I might be able to manage to run for about 5 minutes in total by the time the race comes around!

I didn’t go out yesterday - getting up early in the morning is proving a lot harder than I thought. Not sure why, because I have done it before. And last night I just couldn’t be arsed to go out.

And again this morning, even though the alarm went off, I didn’t get up, so had been preparing myself all day for going out tonight. I really didn’t want to, I am feeling very tired. However, eventually I got myself in gear, got changed and headed out.

Straight away I knew I wasn’t going to be running. I’m not sure if I have always been walking this way, or if it’s a recent thing but I was acutely aware that I am not putting my left foot down correctly. It is going down almost flat-footed. And hence my shin began aching within about 5 minutes of walking.

I had to stop half way around, not because I was tired or out of breath, but because of my shin.

How on earth do you stretch your shin out?

Tomorrow I will try without the tubi-grip bandage on, which I have been using to give extra support to my ankle, but I think it is hampering how easily I can actually bend my foot, which I think is part of the problem.

I think I deserve a medal, seeing as I dragged my sorry arse out of bed at 6.20 this morning, and it’s my birthday!

Still not convinced the early morning is a good thing - although it is definitely easier than getting motivated when I come home from work, when it is so much easier to ‘get distracted’ and not actually do anything. However, it is definitely harder than doing it later in the day - maybe I am not fully awake yet?

Anyway, before I went I did 10 minutes of that good old 1980’s faithful Callanetics, just some of the ones that stretch out the back. Then I headed out, following the same routine as yesterday. I couldn’t manage a minute of running though, although I did managed 3 lots of not-quite-a-minute this time.

I am off out for a curry with X now, so not sure what tomorrow’s session will be like - plus of course the extra effect on my poos!

A rethink of strategy is needed.

I crawled out of bed at 6.30 this morning. By the time I was awake enough, and dressed enough to go out, it was quarter to 7. Mp3 player on, and set to the ‘5 and 2′ playlist (I am nothing if not an optimist).

I thought there might be problems a couple of minutes in.

I sleep face down, which means often I wake in the morning with an ache in the small of my back if I haven’t moved around too much. This normally is fine by the time I am showered and dressed and ready to get out of the house.

It is not fine when I just get up, get dressed and go out.

I hit the 5 minute mark, and the 2 minute track for me to run to came on. Off I jogged (*cough*), but after less than a minute I had to stop. Not because I was out of breath (I was, but could have managed a whole minute I reckon) but because my back was hurting. When the second 2 minutes came around, I attempted about 5 steps and then just walked the rest of the way.

So.

The plan is to get up at 6.15, and do some back stretches before I go out for my walk/run. Hopefully that will work, because otherwise I am going to have to go back to going after work, which in this heat is going to be unbearable, plus there are far too many people out and about to see me waddle!