Was the play-off final that bad?

[El Gordo]

Hi Ian.

The play-off final was a devastating experience. Really.

I was so excited by the build-up that I stopped running. Then after the match I got incredibly drunk which laid me low for a few days, followed by a very bad cold which was a further handicap. By this time I'd put on so much weight that even my XXL T-shirts didn't fit anymore.

It's only this week that I've started back running again, managing 3 miles on Tuesday and Wednesday and 4 this morning. The plan is to do 5 or 6 at the weekend. I need to re-lose all the weight that I've put back on in the last few weeks though.

I had to abandon the Wargrave 10K last weekend, and the chances of getting round the Borehamwood Half on June 22 seemed remote, so instead I've entered the Datchet Dash (10K) on Sat June 21st, 8 days from now.

If I get round in less than an hour I'll start the 18 week training for Dublin the next day.

If I take longer than an hour I'm going to throw all my running equipment in the canal and take up smoking again.

There's some uncertainty about what to do with this site. I've had a lot of emails in the last few weeks from friends old and new, asking me what's going on, and I need to decide soon. I'm planning on writing a book, and I don't know to what extent maintaining the site is draining what little writing energy I have at the end of each day.

Fortunately, this recent inertia seems to be on the way out, and I'm already feeling a lot more energetic and motivated, so it will all be resolved soon, I'm sure.

Glad to see that your own running seems to be back on track. (Check out Ian's running site at http://www.ianpainter.com)

Stay tuned.

Cheers

Andy