Running round the world

OK. So that's not strictly true. Having finished the London Marathon, I really haven't run anywhere far. But I am heading round the world. Or at least, sampling a few little corners of it. And I can't wait.
What is it with turning 30? I think it gave me a Carrie Bradshaw crisis. After spending the first six months in a fitness frenzy, I've now given up my job and am flying to Rio on Sunday. For nine months, my boyfriend, Andy, and I will be living out of two obscenely heavy rucksacks, sleeping in shady hostels, on buses and on the couches of random strangers. We'll be surfing in Brazil (or trying to), climbing glaciers in Patagonia, eating steak in Argentina, following the Inca Trail through Peru and doing all manner of exciting things that right now, we don't even know exist as we head round South America. Then, when the mood takes us, we'll fly over to New Zealand and Australia before finally heading home via Japan.
I never thought I'd make it on a trip like this. I especially didn't think I'd make it this morning when, after packing up all our stuff in Nottingham, hiring a van, driving it down to Devon, unloading it, heading to the tip and dropping the van back, we made it to our train with 20 seconds to spare. It was more stressful than work! Let's hope every step of our travels is not quite that frantic. But it's all an adventure...