My first blog- 31st December 2009

This is my first ever blog, and therefore my first ever post. So don’t expect too much just yet. I’m sure it will take me a while to work out how best to write these posts, how to make them interesting and easy to read. I will work hard with every post to improve both the content and the quality of the writing.

The good news is I am confident that I am clear on why I am writing the blog, and what will be in it.

Why the blog? As the heading says this is an improbable dream yet one I’ve had for a while. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I realised it was achievable.... Difficult, challenging, confronting but not impossible.

And this means that for now at least my motivation is high. There is much I want to achieve, and to do them I need the aerobic endurance and the mental and body strength of an endurance athlete. And I need a lifestyle that enables me to achieve my goals. My plan is to work consistently and determinedly towards this lifestyle and this person.

Naturally, I don’t know how long this motivation will last. I’ve been living the life of a full time sports person for the last 12 weeks so one of the questions is how will I go in maintaining this goal when ‘normal life / work etc’ kicks in? Time will tell but at the moment, and for at least the last three months, I have been totally focused on improving my fitness and on ‘finding my goals’. I now feel committed enough to my new path to be able to detail my goals and my journey on a regular basis.

So this blog is how I learn to live the life of an endurance athlete, and how I become a better person as a result. What about the posts themselves? What are my rules for ensuring readability and focus?

Well firstly, I will keep them short. Don’t know how long exactly. I will learn the optimum word count and try hard to keep to that limit.

Second, I will keep them focused and reflective. This blog is not a travelogue. It is not about what I do, but rather it’s about what I’ve learnt from what I do; about becoming an endurance athlete, of changing my life, of getting fitter and stronger, about setting goals, and achieving them, of failing occasionally, and what all that teaches me about myself.

Lastly, I will try to write in a style that uncovers the lessons learnt, rather than preaches some sort of version of the truth. I will try to make each post a search for new ideas, of discovering new concepts, of a new way of thinking about life in general.

By the way, I found some great tips on blogging at http://www.bloggingtips.com/

So that’s my first posts. Hope it’s of interest......
More, later.

Word count – 477.