Well, they won't take the shoes back now

Not that I want to take my lovely new running shoes back, you understand, but they had their first outing on the road today and are accordingly just a wee bit mucky. We have had the usual exotic Sunday Chez TGIW: out of bed, drink tea till I gain consciousness (yes, I can make tea before I wake up,it is one of my special talents) , shove chicken into oven, throw buttered rolls at the children till they shut up, throw cat food at the cat until she shuts up and then bawl at the kids until they get dressed. Restful.

Then pile all 3 boys (husband included) into the car. Drop FB and SB off at karate with husband's sister and husband and I proceed to carry out a guerilla raid on Makro to stock up on loo roll and washing powder and plates. Yes, plates. The boys are getting very good at making their own breakfasts and snacks. Less so at preserving the crockery, but that's what cheap crockery is for, right?

Husband and I managed, in less than 1 hour 15 minutes, to get right across the city to Makro, find everything, pay for it, get past that guy who has just watched you pay for everything but insists on checking your receipt again (why? He can see everything came off the conveyor belt onto your trolley. It would make more sense if he body-searched you to check you don't have a 12 pound frozen turkey down your trousers. But I digress), load the car and get home in time to greet the boys as they arrived home. If shopping for kitchen roll was an Olympic sport, we would definitely be in with a shout for a medal.

Once everything was unloaded, husband set to work dismembering the chicken I cooked earlier and I got dressed for a run. As you will recall, I have not run outside for a very long time and I was a bit nervous, to be honest. So I decided to play it safe, run a short-ish route I knew should take about 35 minutes and treat that as a gentle reintroduction. But can you spot what I didn't do? Can you? That's right - I didn't eat or drink much. I had a pretty small breakfast (small bowl of muesli, skimmed milk, apple juice, for I am back on the wagon!) first thing and nothing thereafter, so I think, with the great benefit of hindsight, I was not particularly well hydrated or nourished.

The result was an unspectacular run which felt like hard work and during which I had to walk a bit now and then. So be it, I won't make that mistake again. But I went out, christened the new shoes (which feel good and I don't have blisters this time) and reintroduced my legs to the concept of hills. All to the good. I will try to maintain the outdoor habit and continue to use the tready when the gentle Scottish climate and lack of daylight prevent me from getting out. 3 months now to the Great Edinburgh Run and I need to be able to at least double the length of my runs in that time. Which I know I can do, but just remind me of it every now and then will you? Thanks.

I am planning on ruining the good work I have done so far by making home-made pizza for dinner though!