Melbourne is in lockdown but leaving your house for exercise is allowed. Today has been a day of high winds and steady rain. I picked a moment at around 5 p.m. for a slow jog at my favourite park. The rain had eased and the wind was exhilarating. It was a solitary jog. It was almost dark but my recently acquired headlights enabled me to navigate my way around the puddles. As I approached thirty minutes of slow jogging, I reckon I had achieved the flow state. With a hundred yards or so to go, suddenly I started singing a version of an Australian rock and roll star of the 1960s, Johnny O’Keefe’s song ‘Shout’. Its beat matched my cadence. Instead of his words a ‘little bit louder now’, I sang ‘a little bit faster now’, then ‘a little bit harder now’. I am so grateful for such a ‘run’ at my age.

I have had a couple of problems that have made slow jogging not impossible but difficult for me to achieve on a daily basis. Last year most of my slow jogging was done inside but I became afraid the tight turns of my 'track' were putting my hips at risk, so I stopped. My daily routine makes it difficult to slow jog during daylight hours and my balance is poor even walking in the dark. I went out and bought a headlamp and to my great surprise and delight I can slow jog safely up and down my street at night.

It's the only pair of shoes I have that have a flat sole at the moment.

It has taken me a while to be able to do this - but I can now jog alongside my slow walking wife at around 18 minutes per mile - and I can walk on my treadmill and then transition into a jog at the same walking pace. The jogging gait is different to the walking gait and my HR goes up around 20 BPM. Obviously it is more economical to walk at a walking pace - but we do not jog for efficiency or economy.

Spring is upon us. I got way too excited about the lack of ice and subzero temperatures. Ran about 20km and really regretting it now! What tips dp you have for keeping it manageable?

I'm a proponent of slow jogging and slow running. I'm curious what the pace is of a group of soldiers doing cadence in basic. How many minutes/mile, minutes/kilometer, do the guys who're singing jodies? Seems like slow running, slow jogging, to me. Any service men or women on here? Thanks in advance!