2.36km in 15:34; run 2 walk 1

It's great, being a beginner at running. Once you've done the walking, bought the shoes, and taken that first running stride - which rather reminded me of jumping into a cold swimming pool - then it just gets better and better. Every run is a personal record of some sort; this morning I knocked 35 seconds off my mile pace, without particularly trying to. I can feel myself getting stronger from run to run, as my metabolism responds to this strange new activity, and the feeling after each run is just fantastic. Last night I was like a little kid on Christmas eve - I kept waking up and looking at the clock to see if it was time to go running yet.

There's something new on each outing. Today was the first time I've run a loop, rather than out-and-back, and also the first route that hasn't been completely flat. I was surprised how much difference a bit of uphill made (this is Cambridge, it was pretty gentle really), and also how much more uphill than downhill there seemed to be.

Of course, it's very early days - tomorrow it'll be a month since my first run, and (since I didn't do any running on holiday) I've had a grand total of just eleven outings so far. There's a long, long way to go to my first objectives, which are to lose 15 pounds and to get fit enough to run 10k without stopping. All the beginner guides stress the importance of building up slowly and taking plenty of rest days. Occasionally I'll catch a glimpse of myself reflected in a window, and it's not a pretty sight. But I am starting to believe that I really can turn into a runner.

Blimey.