For 34 and a half 21 years I did no regular exercise. Back in the days BC I did pilates on a semi-regular basis, but if a better offer (i.e. The Pub) came up I wouldn’t think twice about skipping the class. Occasionally I would decide to join Mr TOPP on a run. We would get about 200m from the front door, I’d be huffing and puffing and have to revert to a walk. I pretty much decided I am not a natural athlete, and certainly not a runner.

I’m lucky in that I am naturally quite slim (thanks for the genes parents) but I do have a penchant for crisps/cake/wine. I have always had quite active jobs, and now that I have two M’s to chase after I rarely stop in the daytime. But even that isn’t enough to fight the arse-spread for ever.

If you have followed my Personal Challenges over the last couple of years you’ll know that doing exercise has been something I keep trying to make myself do. The reason I have to keep trying to make myself do it is that I have never been any good at doing it.

Then.

Randomly last August, while Mr TOPP was at work and the M’s were at nursery, I purchased the Get Running app and went out for a run. My first run involved doing 8 x 1 minute runs with walking in between. I very nearly died. True story. When I asked Mr TOPP if he was impressed that I’d been running, he told me he would be when I had been for my third run. After 17 years together, he knows me pretty well. Dagnammit.

Eight weeks later and WAY more than my third run, I did a 5km race. In 30:51. *bows*

Back in August, when I had only been running for a week and a half, and could barely run for two minutes without keeling over, we had a mahoosive family gathering at my mum’s. It was quite an emotional time, and we may or may not have drunk quite a lot of fizzy pop. My cousin managed to get me to agree to run the Great North Run with her. She already had a place running for Parkinsons’s UK and used my drunken tired and emotional state to get me to agree to join her in memory of our Grandpa who had the disease.

I kind of hoped the wine would mean we both forgot about it the next morning. Turns out neither of us did. A couple of weeks ago, having not run properly since November, I entered the GNR ballot and went for an “easy” 10 minute run.

On Wednesday, I posted my application to Parkinson’s as I went for another ten minute run. I did 1.74 miles (including a 5 minute warm up/down). And then when I got home I found I had a place in the Great North Run. I have to run 7 times that in September. Holy. Fricking. Moly.

I’m in. I am actually going to be doing a half marathon.

Five months ago I couldn’t even run for a minute.

On Saturday I ran 4 miles.

In eight months time I have to run 13 miles.

I need a lie down.