Gym will fix it

I have just signed my life away, £54 monthly. I have joined a gym. Previous attempts to get lean through frequent gym workouts have, like most things, ended prematurely, with me temporarily more toned but entirely less eager.
But as the time for my run draws near, I need that gaping hole in my monthly pay packet left by my monthly membership (complete with towels every visit) to spur me on to actually work out. I have been running, but I need to up the ante, and gym alongside can only serve to improve my all round fitness. Surely?
I fail to mention that me and Harry just returned from a weekend away where we spent hours a day with swim/steam. I couldn't opt for the £17 a month poolless gym now could I?

A shaky start and a few questions

Yesterday was my first official run. I say official, because I have previously made some pitiful attempts and given up, preferring the sanctuary of a hot bath and Sky Plus.
But after a visit from some encouraging folk at Active Derbyshire (plus a load of free pedometers thrown in for me and my delighted colleagues), I felt ready to hit the road.
I live in Sheffield, about a mile from the train station which I walk to and from each day. Realising that I have the will power of a ravenous lion faced with its first meal in weeks, I knew that if I didn’t incorporate my run into my daily routine, it just would not get done.
There are less than eight weeks until the big 10k, and I am hideously underprepared. I am, however, eager to go on with the endorphins just about fading from last nights small, but successful sprint.
But I do have a question - does running on the spot count? Ok two questions - is a treadmill as effective for training as running au naturel, so to speak?

I am going to see 127 hours tonight, so will probably suspend my next run until tomorrow.

An introduction

There are no two ways about it - I am bone idle. The walk each morning from Chesterfield train station, up the gruelling sloped pavement and across the bridge to the Derbyshire Times office is one that fills me with despair, day in, day out. The ridiculousness of this is only apparent when you consider that, according to googlemaps, this journey is all of 0.2 miles, and in reality I think it is actually much less.
I thought my lazy days were over when, last year, I opted for a pair of expensive running shoes as a gift from my parents. I lavished them with tales of how I would run and run and never stop and I whole-heartedly believed I would, until I first put sole to tarmac and discovered I am not all too keen on getting out of breath.
And so, daily runs turned into weekly jogs, then bi-monthly powerwalks followed by ample rest periods. I eventually hung up my running shoes, still clean, and took to the sofa.
It is probably because I am so terrible at running that a great ambition of mine has long been to complete a decent length run. I’m sure a little digging will produce many inspirational quotes to the effect of - tell someone they can’t do something and they will want to go and do it. I am a text book case.
So, when my colleague Ellen put the idea of a sponsored run to the office, it was almost without hesitation that a signed up.
This was before Christmas, when the thought of a New Year’s training schedule barely registered on my radar, what with all the overindulging and lazing around to keep me busy.
But, alas, January arrived and my running shoes were plucked from hibernation ready to face the cold reality of my decision. Admittedly, if we weren’t running for such a good cause - the disabled children’s charity Fairplay - the shoes would probably be racking up bids on ebay right now.
Luckily, my Derbyshire Times colleagues are relatively experienced when it comes to that thing called exercise. Training tips are thrown about the office on a daily basis, and I am comfortable in the knowledge I am not going it alone.
But I haven’t even been on a run yet. Tonight is my first - i’ll keep you posted.

www.justgiving.com/derbyshire-times
www.fair-play.co.uk