way to go

It's been a while in the making, but it finally happened. It was too obvious I wouldn't be totally satisfied sitting on my bright blue sofa on long weekends or trying to figure out why all the stuff that hangs at the walls of Tate Modern is considered art. A life less physical is not what I'm after.

This weekend, I went to Hyde Park on both days. I did the same loop, around the park, twice each day. My heart rate monitor made sure I didn't get too excited about speed by beeping in a most annoying way every time my pulse got above what the watch considered a sensible value. It worked marvelously. Neither of the four loops deviated from the average 30 minutes by more than 45 seconds. Incredible, and a good way of building a foundation for more sustained running.

In this context – Do I really have to say that? – sustained running covers exactly 42.195 km. The London Marathon is a very exclusive event. If you don't already have an excellent finish time from another marathon, you have to put your application into a lottery, where the chance of winning is slim. I didn't even try to be among the 40,000 that are allowed to participate. Instead, a minute ago, I signed up for the Oberelbe Marathon, a much smaller affair held at the end of April that runs down the river Elbe towards the beautiful city of Dresden, Germany.

This also happens to be where I'm from, as everyone must know by now. Thus I get a trip back home that begins with great suffering and ends in the caring arms of mom. If only British Airways would allow me to book the flight. Somehow my card isn't accepted.

In any case, I have now a goal that will hopefully provide enough motivation to keep me going as energetically as I have started. I have just about fifteen weeks to teach my old legs new tricks.