Good evening Blog,

Day 99. Went for my first run last night for a long, long time, due to a very inconvenient leg ailment known as 'shin splints'. Any avid jogger will know that they are extremely irritating in that they aren't particularly painful, but painful enough to prevent one from doing any serious running. Anyway, after a long lay-off, I finally put my procrastination to bed and started off, eager to give my new Nikes a road test.

Jolly comfy they were too, as Tarquin mentioned while we out and, although I was extremely careful not to put my right shin under any unnecessary duress, I returned to Panaya a fairly satisfied person.

It was while I was out running, in fact, that I came up with the 'hundred day' idea and the reason why I am writing it all down in a blog is for my own sake. I have started many crusades that have sadly, only too easily fallen by the wayside after a couple of days. I have wanted to run a marathon and I have wanted to improve my overall health for a couple of years, but I just needed that flash of inspiration that would actually focus me enough to do anything about it.

Well, whether it was because I had been updating one of my websites and having a check on a friend's blog while at it that stirred me, or whether it was Tongdee the Travelling Teddy Bear, I'm not sure. However, I feel that by using a blog to keep an eye on myself and to motivate my lazy fat arse to go and do something different for a while, then blogging seems a good way to do both.

On to the various equations involving the figure 100.

Last night I weighed a certain amount. Now I weigh .... 500 grams more than on the first day (yesterday) so I guess this side of things will be a little difficult.

I went out this morning, (something I rarely do first thing in the morning on my day off but not never), and bought some small, round, potato balls. I know 'ball' should qualify the shape of said potato snack but there are such games as rugby so I added round for sake of clarification. Anyway, these deep-fried tuberosum morcels came in two varieties: sesame seed-covered and icing sugar-dusted. The vendor explained to me that they were 2 baht each so I bought five of each kind, thus making this the first time I have ever bought this item in my 1 year and 5 month stay in this Land of Smiles,(!) despite passing by on numerous occasions, numerous small, round potato ball sales people who would have been more than happy to furnish me with 20 baht's worth. The fact that they tasted pretty rotten - sort of like papier-mache made with cooking oil then dipped in syrup for a day, is irrelevant.

Mission accomplished for day 1 and also day 2 as I bought a packet of green tea-bags from the local mini-mart and that was also virgin territory for me in Thailand. I am seeking a healthier caffein-enriched option to my coffee habit.

Hopefully, some of the things I do for the first time ever over the next 98 days will be slightly more interesting. I just hope that I will be able to divulge them all in this wee blog.

I'll see me tomorrow.