Tues 13 Aug 2002

A good 5.5 miler this evening. Supposed to be just 3 miles, but I think I need to up my mileage a bit. It's pretty modest as it is on the novice marathon training course, but if I will insist on missing long weekend runs I need to at least pay some lip service to making an extra effort during the week.

The run took me along the canal and round the block. It's a while since I've been along there. Who wouldn't be fed up with the flies and the ever-encroaching nettles across the towpath? The flora seems to have been cut back a bit and the fauna (if midges are worthy of the word) also seemed to be less intrusive than usual. Perhaps the earlier start made a difference. Fooled 'em.

Today I received my number for the Burnham Beeches Half Marathon on Sunday, so I need to take this week seriously. Tonight was a good start.

Wed 14 Aug 2002

All things considered, a glass or two of some decent New Zealand sauvignon blanc in the garden might have been a more sensible way of passing a warm, airless midsummer evening. But no, I decided to dress up in a skimpy number and run 7.34 miles round the streets instead. Not very quickly, it's true, but I did it. It was tough, but I have a half marathon to run on Sunday and I need to do some preparation.

That's it. I have to go and say my prayers now.

Dear God, please rain lightly on Sunday morning at Burnham Beeches. Between 10 and 12 would be great. Thanks. Oh yes, and while I've got you on the line, thanks for the Man United defeat in Budapest this evening. I wasn't sure if you'd received that message. Would it be pushing my luck to mention that the away match at Barnsley on Saturday could be tricky.....? Cheers.

Thurs 15 Aug 2002

A terrible run this evening. Should have been 4 miles but it was so hot - even at 9pm - that I barely reached a mile before I stopped to walk. I ended up feebly half-walking, half-jogging for the rest of the way. Returned home feeling that I'd been for a pleasant evening stroll rather than a run.

Fri 16 Aug 2002

Am I really plannning to run a half marathon on Sunday? After a generally successful first half of the week in terms of runs, weight loss and optimism, it's all started to go wrong. This morning I had a sudden overwhelming urge to eat. Cereal, bagels and fruit before I left home. Healthy enough, yes, but it filled me out, leaving me feeling leaden and out of condition. And as often happens in these situations I picked up an 'in for a penny' attitude. Just before arriving at work I bought 2 bars of chocolate, then rounded off with an early lunch of a fried egg sandwich and some crisps. This evening it was off to the pub for a few pints of beer and several bags of crisps and peanuts. Just before midnight I cooked up some pasta and finished off with some rice pudding and ice cream.

Yep, it's as bad as that.

Sat 17 Aug 2002

This morning the scales showed me 4 pounds heavier than yesterday. Hardly a surprise after yesterday's binge. Another bagel-filled day. Plenty of healthy carbohydrate, but calorific. Two for breakfast with bananas, two for lunch with molten cheese and HP Sauce, and one this evening with more fruit. I'm also guzzling gallons of water, partly because it's such a sweltering day, and partly to pre-hydrate before tomorrow's Burnham Beeches Half Marathon.

I find it hard to imagine taking part in this event. I feel so bloated and inert at this moment, just 12 hours before the race starts. At least I'm starting to see the funny side of it. I'll make a final decision when I wake tomorrow (indeed if I wake tomorrow), but it would be a bit feeble for me to cry off at this stage. More important, if I'm to get round Chicago on October 13th, these distances are necessary.

I can't imagine doing another marathon after this one.I'd like to think that I'll carry on running after this one, but perhaps not marathons. Half marathons are a more reasonable distance for fried-egg munching, beer-swilling forty-something porkers. And you still get a medal.

Sun 19 Aug 2002

Today I did the Burnham Beeches Half Marathon.

Or was it the other way round?

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