I distinctly remember, oh so long ago, having legs. Definitely. I can picture them now, dangling beneath me and providing a crude form of propulsion.

That time seems so long ago now. At the moment, instead of legs, I possess a pair of almost completely useless - and rather achy - limbs. While they are the shape of legs, they are certainly not functionally the same.

Today, as it happens, was the first time I used the gym at work. Over a year and a half after starting at my job - a job that included access to an extremely well equipped gym in the building - I’ve finally made it in to the gym for a resistance session.

I put off going to the gym for a while, preferring to start my road to fitness by stopping smoking, drinking smarter, sleeping better, improving my diet, playing more squash and racketball and following a basic running plan. It’s been a busy past year, but I’ve still got a long way to go before I’d consider myself in decent shape.

Going to the gym is certainly a good way to get some highly specific and targeted exercise, and it’s even better when it’s free, so I’d always planned to use it in some way, but really didn’t (and still don’t) know what I want from it. I have no ambition to pack on mountains of muscle, but a little wouldn’t hurt. I certainly want to shed some fat and improve my fitness.

I think I’ll just go with the flow for the first few weeks and then look at creating (or having created) a fitness plan that targets those specific things, rather than drift aimlessly.

So today we did some strength training - and it was all about legs. The machines look rather like devices of torture, but so far have been simple enough to use. They can all be used to target different areas, and I can vouch for the effectiveness of that - there’s no muscle group in my legs that doesn’t hurt.

Three things that will prove interesting …

1. I’m told that the real pain won’t kick in until tomorrow or maybe friday. I can’t wait.

2. I joined the league at my local squash club and am now into month 2 of that. My next game is … tomorrow. I hope I’m in a state to have a decent game, but right now it does not look hopeful.

3. Friday is my next session, and rumour has it that could be an arms and chest strength session. If it’s anything like today’s session, I’ve probably got a weekend of being unable to perform simple tasks to look forward to. Blog posts may be thin on the ground!

It’s been a few months since my last post, and that’s just poor blogging (as Sam pointed out). I’ve been meaning to start writing again, but … well, haven’t got around to it.

Primarily the reason for that is guilt.

I finished the Couch to 5k plan, and am extremely proud of myself for doing so. Unfortunately, I failed dismally to keep up the running after the end of the plan.

In the last week of the plan, my shins were painful while running, and I decided that since the plan was finished I’d take a week off to let my legs, and the rest of me, recover. A week turned into two, which turned into a month (procrastination is powerful). All the while, I was trying to motivate myself to write about the end of the plan on here.

After a month, I managed to make it out for another run. I assumed I could go out and run 5k straight away after a short break. I was wrong. The cold had set in, and I found breathing difficult during the run (throat and lungs were burning fiercely after a short part of the run). Since then I’ve not been anxious to go out again, and without someone else to run with its fallen by the wayside.

That is, until last week, when I decided the best thing to do would be … to start the plan all over again! I know what’s involved now and know I can do it. The first run was a doddle compared to the first time I did the plan. And I can work back up to reasonable distances. All I need now is a way to ensure I keep running when the plan’s finished this time.

For anyone who was following my progress, the plan was awesome. The last two weeks were actually bordering on enjoyable - I found myself able to relax while running and felt really good about the whole thing. 3 times a week was managable, and I was certainly feeling the effects.

Since then, I’ve not been a complete slacker - I’m now playing squash and racketball 3 or 4 times a week, and have joined a local league. All is not lost!

Really this is days twenty two and twenty three rolled into one - there’s not a lot to say about the running at this stage! I’m now on to week 8 of the Couch to 5k plan. I really didn’t think I’d keep it up this long (said the Bishop to the Actress … da dum, tsschh) but am really happy to have done so. Plans rock.

Today, as for the other runs this week, I’m running 2.75 miles. I’m now fully on to distance rather than time - the point is to be running 5k after all. The runs are not getting much easier now, but they’re all doable. I can hold a conversation while running and recover reasonably quickly. My legs ache for a few hours, but that’s about it for the side-effects. At this point, I can see this being a habit I can keep up without too much trouble.

Ok, this isn’t actually part of the Couch to 5k plan, however …

My running partner is a day behind, and so this morning I decided to join her on her route (a nice seafront run). I missed a day earlier in the plan, so saw this as a nice opportunity to catch up. I’ve got no squash tomorrow, so no worries about being able to do anything following 2 days running in a row (which I’ve not done yet).

And it was much tougher than normal. Apparently those days of rest aren’t just there to make the plan look pretty. Without a day to recover from the last run, my legs starting aching much much faster than usual. The route itself was fairly tame - nice and flat - and we went early so it wasn’t too hot. Still, by the end I couldn’t have continued much further. Still a long way to go, I think!

The third and final run of week 7 of the Couch to 5k plan - only two weeks to go until the plan is officially complete! I am happy to report that I’ve lost … wait for it … absolutely no weight at all. I’m fitter though - the rest will happen in its own time.

I was back to my field-y golf-y uphill route today and my legs suffered for it. However, I did find I was able to enjoy the run more and spend a bit more time with my thoughts (which previously have been limited to “must … keep … running … mmm bacon”).

On to the second run of week 7 of the Couch to 5k plan today - another 25 minute jog around Hove.

I covered a bit over 2.5 miles and found it a little harder than Monday’s run. Still, things will only improve with time. The last 7 minutes or so of today’s run were particularly tough, as my legs were complaining rather a lot. I ignored them as they were just being lazy and though I ache now rather more than after Monday’s run, it’s a good kind of ache.

I also ran a different route today. It’s starting to get light later in the day, and my usual route is soon going to be pitch black at the time I go running, so I need an alternate. Today’s route is a strong contender, though I still haven’t run along the seafront where I live. Perhaps that’s something to do on Friday.

Week 7 of the Couch to 5k plan started today, and there was no way I was going to miss a second run, so out I went, bright and early.

Weeks 7, 8 and 9 are pretty simple. No walking, just running. And the distances increase every week. This week consists of three 2.5 mile (25 minute) runs.

This morning’s was managable, but not easy. I finished, and managed to run the whole lot. My legs have not yet forgiven me, however.

On an unrelated note, I discovered afterwards that maple syrup on weetabix (with milk, of course) is a really nice breakfast. Probably not going to help with any weight loss programs, but taste is important too!

I’ve been a naughty little runner. A heavy night on Thursday, followed by another on Friday, meant I missed my third run of week 6. Bah. Couldn’t go on Sunday as I was playing racketball. So I compensated for missing the run by playing far too long and running much more than normal. It felt pretty good actually.

A small amount of silence might be appropriate - for today marks the end of the walking portion of the Couch to 5k plan. Today’s two 10-minute runs were slapped either side of a 3 minute walk like a weird exercise sandwich. From here on in, it’s only running. 2.25 miles on Friday. 2.5 miles next week. 2.75 miles the week after. And then 3 miles.

It’s still going well, and I’m having no trouble getting up and out and sticking to the schedule. This plan rocks.

It’s starting to get to the stage where I’m beginning to worry about what I’m going to write about once I’ve finished the Couch to 5k plan. I’ve posted a lot about it, in large part because I think that writing about it will help keep me doing it. Not that I’m even sure anything is needed on that front any more - I’m enjoying it now. There are only a few short weeks left - only another eleven runs with corresponding posts.

Today was the first run/walk of week 6. Just one more run/walk left, then it’s all running. No more walking. Drat. Walking is the easy bit. And despite the fact that today’s run appeared, on the face of it, as thought it would be easier than the second and third run of week 5, in fact I found it tougher. Thinking about it, it might have been due to the stag party I attended on Saturday.

Plans for after the Couch to 5k plan are now starting to come together. I’m going to keep running, and aim to increase the distances over time. There are plenty of half marathons next year, with the first in Brighton in February. That might be too soon, but I’ve got half an eye on it and will see how things go.