I'd like to think it's all connected...

It's bright and early on Sunday morning, I've just come back from a wee jog, and am ready to blog. In my new life here in London, I'm determined to resume my previous attempts at running regularly. I do love jogging, especially outside and especially in weather like we have today. My (very short) jaunt this morning, however, reminded me that the sport is really only fun when one has built up enough stamina to run for at least 5 minutes without flapping around desperately, red-faced, gasping for air, while trying to tend to a persistently runny nose.

I do, however, have lovely, shiny new running shoes. While shopping for them at the Running Room this weekend, I chatted with a friendly fellow customer. Taking up running, he told me, had genuinely made other things in his life easier. It has helped him to manage stress. I told him about a professor I had a couple of years ago: he runs marathons, and once commented that his concentration and writing ability skyrocketed when he started training regularly.

Now, at the risk of sounding like what my mother would call an "eat-a-tree-person", I'm going to entertain this idea of a sort of organic, holistic, multi-layered personal learning and development program. I am beginning my ventures into digital history at square one. My blog will reflect that reality, and will likely (for the first little while, at least), be the virtual equivalent of my current sputtering, clumsy, not-so-attractive (though very determined!) attempts at resuming jogging. With any luck, both activities will develop in tandem - and perhaps even inform one another? On a scarier side note, I am also learning how to drive this fall and winter. Let's hope that I can at least start that activity at a level above sputtering and gasping. Consider yourself warned!