6 Months On!

Well I was asked the question, how am I going 6 months after starting running. It has actually probably been a bit longer than that but here is a quick recap.
I can probably trace the beginnings back to July '05,I started with just walking 8 km or so on the weekend and then added in some short jogs during the week. After a couple of weeks I started adding jogging to the long run and ended up with a longest run of 10km. From this point I overtrained for a couple of weeks in the lead up to my
goal, the City to Bay (12km) and my shins/achillis were giving me a lot of grief.
Following the C2B I was determined to continue running, for the Health benefits mainly but also to beat my C2B time as it disappointed me (though my goal was just to finish). Sensibly I rested I took it very easy for the first couple of weeks and then started consistently running 3-4 times a week. These runs were mainly 2-3km 15
min runs with the occasional 4-5km run on the weekend.
In December I decided that this was not enough and had minimal benefit, basically that I wanted to be running 5km each time so I started to slowly increase my runs from 2km to 4km but then Christmas and an extremely busy January hit, moving, Australian open (I went on the weekend it was over 40 everyday, consequently I had the next week off running).
That brings us to the start of February. In February I found www.CoolRunning.com.au and it has been the motivation to step it up another level and aim even higher then the next C2B. I started training 4 times a week starting at 2x4km, 2.2km and 7km long run and over the last month and a half have increased that to 2x7km, 9km and 15km long run (hopefully longer this weekend).
The feeling is great, just knowing that I can cruise in 12km at the next C2B when it was such a struggle last year and looking forward to just getting out there on the road, letting the mind wander and the legs go one foot in front of the other.
Now I have a target, a half marathon at the start of May and I am quietly confident that I can finish that. I am also looking forward to seeing the effect of regular running on an undulating route as I have not been on a flat one since I moved in January, so have I improved more than I think I have? That is a question I would love to answer with a yes.

In short, after such a long winded entry, I am still seeing positive benefits, still having fun and have a clear idea of what goals I want to achieve, though I might reassess these at a later date when I have a better understanding of what level of running I can get to. What I am looking forward to...achieving my goals, meeting other runners continuing the slow change of my lifestyle for the better.