I ran a half marathon yesterday.

It was surprisingly ok, although now I’m hobbling around with a sore right ankle, a sore left knee, and a purple toe.

My goal was simply to get to the finish line, ideally without stopping running. I’ve had a cough and chest infection for the last week, so wasn’t sure what to expect, but in the end I made it to the finish in 2:17:51. Not the fastest time in the world, but one that I’m very happy with for the moment as part of my wider training.

There were a couple of difficult miles towards the end, but otherwise it wasn’t at all the horrible experience that I’d been imagining. Maybe my other training was kicking in. (It can’t have been my running experience, as I’ve never run more than five miles before… should I admit that?)

Onwards and upwards now, towards more difficult and more painful training!

Oh, and look away if you don’t like unsightly pictures (with apologies for the quality):

In other news:

I’m starting my Yachtmaster Offshore Theory course on Friday (one of the compulsory courses for the row) – I’ll update on how it goes throughout the autumn.