I managed a few minutes of warming up in the garage, then started the tracker app and took the big step out into the public arena (well, pavements). Traffic was light as I’d missed the rush hour and the air was warm enough to not rasp or freeze my ungloved fingers, but there were still a few pedestrians to dodge around and wish a belated “good morning”. 

Past the empty pub, on to the war memorial and the first kilometre stats are revealed to me by the app - not bad but clearly work to do, as expected. Past the damp park and on to the silent church square, left down the long tree lined road to the river where the second kilometre stats make me think it’s all about running the distance today and I shouldn’t let the stats get to me. Past a group of chatting walkers and on to the lock - the halfway point of my 5k and a psychological milestone. 

The distance back always starts well but sometimes ends differently, depending on my level of training and (often) how my stomach feels. I’m relieved I don’t get calf muscle tears anymore - when I started running years ago these would hit frequently and cripple me for a few minutes before I could recover sufficiently to get back up to my usual pace. My first 10k through Kew Gardens saw me hit three of four times in this way, ending in an overly dramatic dash to the finish line with a pained expression on my face. Before the tears I’d gone through the tiny lungs phase - I’d start running and very quickly run out of breath, stop, hands on knees and panting like dog while I recovered. That phase didn’t last too long, fortunately. I think I learned my running pace and stopped sprinting, then improved my pace. 

So that’s how it was for me - first my lungs were the bottleneck, then my calf muscles, and now my stomach. I don’t seem to be able to get through the last phase, but I’m glad I’m no longer in the first two, even when I come back to running after several months off. Today ended well - nothing hurts but many things are reminding me I’ve done a run, and there’s work ahead before the big day. But I’ve started, and that’s the important first step. On-on.