These shoes were made for running

..... well, this particular pair have clocked up a fair few miles already and will need to be replaced by a shiny new pair very soon. 500 miles is considered to be limit for a pair of running shoes. After that they start to lose their spring and ability to cushion the pounding punishment of road running, and the risk of injury increases exponentially. So most of the events on my schedule of races for the year will be run with a different pair.

Here is my provisional list of races for Project Five O:

6th March           Bath Half Marathon

12th May            Beat the Banana 5K (Hyde Park)

30th May            BUPA London 10K

12th June            St Albans Half Marathon

4th September     Richmond River 10K

25th September   Windsor Half Marathon

30th October       Great South Run (10 miles - Portsmouth)

27th November   Florence Marathon

11th December   Jingle Bell Jog 5K (St Albans)

This schedule may well change as the year progresses. I'm allowing myself at least two goes at most distances, and have pencilled in three half marathons. I think my PB from Fleet in 2006 for the half marathon is going to be the hardest to beat as it was achieved at the height of my fitness, and although Bath and St Albans are great events, they are probably too undulating for PB purposes. Therefore I'm hoping Windsor will provide a similar challenge to Fleet, which I ran in 2:09:12 in 2006.

Looking remarkably fresh and bouncy after 13.1 miles in Fleet 2006

Florence should provide a memorable finale to the year. I've not visited the city before but I have been told it's beautiful. It certainly looks stunning in the film A Room with a View starring a young Helena Bonham-Carter. Of course I have chosen Florence purely because I want to experience its wonderful culture and architecture. Nothing to do with the marathon course being very flat and, in fact, downhill overall.

I'm all excited now.

The Big Five O

This was me aged two and a half in December 1963, 47 years ago. Cute, wasn't I? OK, dodgy haircut I agree but cute in spite of it. It is now 1st January 2011, and I'm finding it hard to comprehend how quickly the intervening years have passed, but nevertheless here I am on the verge of a half century's occupancy of planet earth.

A report featured in the news this week predicts that one in five of people alive today will live long enough to receive their telegram from the Queen (or for those not in the already in their 80s or 90s, from Charles, William or his first born). I think most of the realistic candidates for this feat are probably some years younger than myself, already with black belts in yoga or pilates and eating vast quantities of super foods. Nevertheless, assuming that I first make it to the 15th April 2011 in one piece, I hope I'll remain healthy enough to be able to make significant inroads into my second half century.

To kick start this endeavour I have set myself the goal of running a personal best (PB) during 2011 in each of the following distances:

5K, 10K, 10 miles, half marathon (13.1 miles) and full marathon (26.2 miles)

I started running about 7 years ago, having exercised very little after retiring from playing local football in my mid-thirties. I'm certainly no natural athlete and as you will discover if you decide to visit this blog regularly over the year, my existing PBs are far from spectacular. However I'm proud of them and trying to better them (in all but one case five years after having achieved them) is not going to be easy. It may even prove to be impossible, but it's going to be fun having a go. I am confident of bettering my best 5K time though, as I have only ever run the distance once and that was last month whilst dressed as Santa and suffering from a mild dose of 'flu.

Why are most of my PBs five years old? Well, time does take its toll on the old legs of course, but in truth, having got myself very lean and fit (for me!) by 2005/2006 I have since gradually lessened the regularity and intensity of my training and allowed my weight to creep back up, which has added minutes to every mile I run. Project Five O seeks to take me back to where I was fitness and speed-wise in 2006, and a little bit beyond.

I will reveal more about my planned schedule for 2011 and previous attempts at each distance over the coming weeks. My intention is also to intersperse news of my progress and preparations with reports and thought on other things going on in this landmark year for me. I also anticipate looking back on a range of events from my first half century as memories are triggered throughout the year. I'm hoping to create something fairly light-hearted and engaging, and aim to post at least one entry every week. Thanks for taking the time to read this opening salvo, and I hope you will return from time to time to find out how I'm getting on.