"That's insane! You're not really going to are you?" My Canadian Girlfriend says with a slight hint of disbelief. This is exactly the response I required to know that my latest crazy scheme is crazy enough to have become so crazy, it might just work. Part of the fun of being slightly unhinged and kooky is that you can suggest things and no one really knows if you're being serious or not. They tend to dip their head and look at you through their eyebrows and wait for you to admit that you're just joking. Depending on the gullibility of the person it's amazing what you can persuade people you are going to do.

Before I can be talked out of it, I am stood in the Disabled loo at work changing into my running gear. I have it all planned out. It is 7 miles from the roundabout outside work to the big clock opposite my flats and that should take me somewhere between 55 minutes and an hour. This will be my first road run in a year and my longest run in about 3 years but it will hopefully answer the question "How do I increase the intensity of my workouts without giving up any extra time?"

Being an obsessive compulsive about my "Things", I am trying to carry the absolute minimum to remain lightweight and streamlined but the absolute maximum I can so I can cover the most outlandish problem I can think of. I place my "Things" in my pockets and go to the car. Even at walking pace I can feel that I will jangle. First casualty is my mobile phone and the second casualty is my iPod. I haven't even finished my warm ups before I'm worrying about not being able to text all night. I resolve to buy a back pack if I'm going to do this again.

And we're off!!!

Mile 1 and 2 are nice. Some gentle downs and some steeper but invigorating ups. After passing the mile two marker, it's about now that I realise that running is much much much easier when you have a watch on. I have no idea if I'm running fast, slow or average. I carry on running.

A VW van passes me and makes a honking noise that I would normally expect to be made by Canadian Breasts. It takes me a few seconds to realise that
a) It had nothing to do with breasts.
b) He was honking at me
c) It was JR from work, who was confusing me by being neither on his bike nor in his Volvo.
I wave even though he's already probably too far away to see me in his mirrors.

I completely miss the side street that is the "Mile 3" marker. But since the next mile is entirely down hill, I don't really sweat over it. Nearly half-way! A runner appears from a side street about 200m ahead of me. Some competition!!! I try and haul him in. I get just about close enough to see that his T-Shirt is sponsored by the National Blood Service before he turns right and heads off towards his destination.

I can see the city centre and the horrible eye-sore that inhabits Exchange Square. The M.E.N campaign to keep the Big Wheel is so off the mark. What can possibly have inspired someone to take away a wonderful public space which, for some city centre dwellers, is the closest they come to having a garden? I'm looking for more than "To make an obscene amount of money out of tourists" as an answer.

I approach Mile 4. The worst mile. Not only is this the only mile where I expect to be dodging in and out of people but this is where I start to run away from My Canadian Girlfriend's flat and all the tram stops - this is now the "Point of no return". Once I commit to this mile I am stuck running all 7.

To be continued…….