Bored after a day in the lab and itching for some exercise, I decided I’d go down the gym and try to run a 4-minute mile.

The walk over allowed me some time to do the maths.

1 mile = 1.65km

4 minutes = 1/15th of an hour

1.65km x 15 = 24.75kph

Easy.

All I had to do was crank the treadmill up to 24.75 kilometres-per-hour and see if I could keep it up for four minutes. I realised, however, that the treadmills didn’t go that fast and I took it to be a sign that this was a rather silly idea.

That was a few years ago now but the idea lodged in my mind and I’ve now decided to start working towards running a fast mile. I’ll never do it in 4 minutes. I’ve only just started looking into it and can already tell that’s an incredible time. But that’s not what it’s about.

I’ve never really had to train hard for anything before. Sure, learning to swim and get in shape for my triathlon last year took a lot of time and effort, but I only had to keep going. I didn’t have to go hard or fast. I’m not very good at that and I’m not sure I’ve got the motivation for it so this will be new ground for me.

To start with, I suspect I’ll be able to get away with adding a few training sessions to my usual activities and watching my time drop slowly. But I reckon there’ll be a point at which I’ll need to make a decision. Whether I want to press on with it and cut back on some of the other things I enjoy (like long distance running, chocolate chip cookies and a normal body weight) or whether I’m happy to let it settle as another thing I’ve just had a quick bash at.

I’ll be documenting it through my Mile Diary which appears at What’s Your Challenge? and, later, on my own blog. You can read more about it here.