Hungry Run - Jan 30 - 55 mins - 80 days to marathon

Must have missed a meal somewhere over the last three days as I've been starving, not a good thing when you need to go for a run. However, set out last night and through a combination of 3 days rest, 50% loss of the Xmas spare tyre and an overwhelming desire to get home and eat carbs, I as good as sprinted around my normal hour course.

Felt great, waethers turned mild again so no multi-layered running. Noticably large number of runners out and about....must be combo of good weather and marathon training.

Next run thurs and hoping to tough out 105+ mins.

Easy Run - Jan 27 - 40 mins - 83 days to marathon

Pottered around Hyde Park in a nice slow lap - quite sore from Thursday night still and think I'll now take 3 days off to recover. Next decent run will be Tuesday pm.

Still astounded at how the pledges and donations continue to come in. Nearing £1500 over the weekend - its fricking brilliant.

Slept and ate well all weekend in the name of recovery. Visibly loosing the xmas spare tyre, all good. Weather looks warmer / milder next week so looking forwards to capitalising on this.

£1227.90 - Rocking Fundraisers

I'm in awe of my friends, my colleagues and family. I've only been fundraising for a week and I'm honoured to be not only on track for my £2000 target but equally overwhelmed with the genorosity everyone who has given/pledged has shown. You're all wonderful.

Planning a pub quiz before the end of Jan to keep fundraising.

Lycra Clad Brass Monkey - Jan 25 - 95 mins - 85 days to marathon

BRRrrr.

If I wasn't Marathon training then there is no way I'd have been out running last night.
By the time I arrived home after work the thermometer on the balcony already said 2 degrees - under.

It felt colder. Much colder. Cold enough to freeze my pants off plus their contents.
The only way forwards was to dig out my old cycling lycra one-piece body suit, wear it under my running tights and gently lob the 2007 fashion guide out of the window.

Looking cool was definitely lower down the list than actually being cold.

Hat, gloves, no scarf but lots of Lycra. All in black.
I felt as if I was in some sort of body stocking, some sort of running black sausage, shrink wrapped in elasticated lycra. I looked like a burglar on my way to gate crash a fetish party.

Fortunately being neither master criminal nor deviant I had other plans. I had a round trip taking me to Battersea Power station via Trafalgar Square and the London Eye to complete.

Janeywifes reaction upon my return, outright laughter, confirmed my suspicions - Vogue would have turned me away for being an insult to chic. In fact, I think Runners Weekly probably would have turned me away too.

Not that I cared. Not a single jot. I completed 11 miles in 95mins. I was warm throughout and on a cold night felt good all the way round. My confidence over distance is growing, Janeywife is convinced my audacity is growing in equal measure but when I'm running I'm not out to look good. Just feel it.

Confidence is high and I'm enjoying my runs, regardless of the weather. I'm making mental notes towards the end of a 11 miler that this distance is only nearing the half way mark. I know I've still a long way to go, but I'm now feeling like I've already come a long way too.

On the rack! Jan 23rd - 40 mins gentle run - 87 days to marathon

I warmed down and stretched after Sundays race, but clearly insufficiently! I thought I'd done enough but I don't think a Swedish masseuse could have done more for me - I'd have liked to found out but didn't come across one.

Monday a.m. felt like my leg tendons and ligaments, as well as the all associated leg muscles had contracted an inch and then been yanked back taught. Repeatedly.

Took the legs out for a little refresher to keep them briefed on who's boss without causing full scale revolt. Nice gentle trot. Nothing more. Nothing less. Worked a treat - after 20min's everything from the thigh down was unraveling nicely and feeling substanitally looser. Once home did some floor exercises (more stretching) though just realised that this sounds like I'm turning into a ballerina. Works though.

Janeywife has bought me some sports massage sessions for Xmas. I think its time to cash one in. Gentleman's tonic here I come.

10 KM RACE! Jan 21st - 89 days to marathon

Wet. Windy. Muddy. Hilly. 598 fellow racers.

Raced the Epsom Oddballs 10k with Neal and Jon Bison. Neal ran like a rabbit on crack, disappearing up the field, picking off runners like a sniper in Nikes. Bison and I found our pace, added an extra 10% effort and toughed it out.

There's one thing a race does - it demands that you run, not plod round in your comfort zone.

I know the reason I like running on my own whilst training, because I can up or down my pace as comfort demands. However, in a race you don't want to be beaten by veteran runners, overweight housewives, or kids so the rules change. Firstly, you do anything to run a proud race. That usually involves assessing your limits on the start line and then, along with the rule book, tossing both out of the window as the starter pulls the trigger on his start pistol.

The Epsom 10K is a classic guts out, up and down combination of muddy single track wood trail, wind swept horse racing track, mixed with heart wrenching climbs and uneven, tricky under foot descents. In essence it's the quintessential cross country. The one that has the finish line sadistically placed half way up a finishing hill climb, the type that makes you barf as you cross the tape if you run it hard enough.

I ran a proud race, starting fast but not too quick and picking off the runners I wanted to beat, gulping air like a horse to hold my own throughout, finishing with just enough steam in the tank to close out with a sprint. All to reach that euphoric feeling of completion 50mins after starting, a comparitively slow 10K time (personal best around 43mins on flat raod) but respectable for a cross country. Placed 195th out of 598.

I wasn't sick on the finish line, but did feel ready to. I ran hard enough to avoid busting/straining/tearing/ripping anything, but with enough grit to really feel that this will add to my training when it comes to strength building. Clean, healthy fun with a little pinch of Sunday morning masochism.

Neal 41mins 59 secs - placed 35th. Myself 50mins 03 secs - placed 195. Jon Bison 52mins 20 secs - placed 243rd

Next race Wimbledon 10K Sunday March 11th

Battle of the Somme - Jan 17th 33 mins - 94 days to marathon

Wet and windy. Gentle trot around Hyde Park to keep legs fresh. reminds me of Jon Steel's (LoveBison) Somme/Marathon Analogy.

Bison loves this analogy. The start point to the London Marathon is on Blackheath. When it rains on Marathon day it looks like the battle of the Somme has taken place, albeit sponsorsed by Ron Hill, Adidas, Reebok et al.

Why the Battle of the Somme - ?? - well the '000s of poor souls lying on the ground (stretching - not dead...!!) in bin bags (apparently the ever useful, multi-pupose garbage sack is a disposable life saver to help with keeping warm prior to the start) in a light drizzle, making grunting noises and slathering themselves in Vaseline has parallels with a dayglo WW1 battle ground.

I'm sure the Somme and its associated WW1 horrors were a million miles from the start of the Marathon, but I like the imagery it provokes and possible attaches, both mental and real.

Marginally scared. You bet.

Buy Shares in Petroleum jelly - Jan 15th 83 mins - 96 days to marathon

A leg stretcher. Plodded for nearly an hour and a half.

Invest in Petroleum - thats my advice!! The amount of Petroleum based vaseline I'm getting through is remarkable. Every crack (sorry, but true) and crevice and then the most important areas, nipples! Although the twins will never ever serve any practical purpse (unless I become a twisted sadist fetishist!!) these are the two other areas of my body (other than my legs) which get the VIP pre-run treatment.

Stop reading now if you don't want a nasty fact.

When I supported Bison's 06 Marathon effort there were wave after wave of runners pass, and the ones that stood out in the continuous drizzle were the ones with long red streaks running down there shirts starting, yep, at thier nipples.

There is one significant truism here for marathon runners. Look after your nipples and your nipples will look after you.

10k race on Sunday with the running gurus Bison and Neal. I'm in good shape. Well, good enough shape to plod around a 10k hilly and no doubt water soaked Epsom cross country course.

Nasty Day-Glo and Lycra - Jan 13th 75 mins - 98 days to marathon

Ahhhh daylight running rocks. Being able to see where I'm going, not having to worry about pot holes in the dark, not having to run looking like an 80's throwback bedecked in dayglo. Still, I'm confident that there is more bad taste in running than anywhere else. Anyone who crosses over from regular gym wear to skimpy shorts, lyrca, (figure hugging and often packet gripping lycra), wifebeater vests, dayglo accessories, has to have some strange devotion to getting into shape. Only then does running wear start to look like the shoe fits and even then, its still a pretty nasty shoe.

Maybe running at night isn't too bad as it saves exposing the general public to the wardrobe of sins trotting around central London.

Spare Tyre (s) - Jan 11th 60 mins - 100 days to marathon

Returned to Primrose Hill for another Hill session. Took the long way around Regents Park to warm up the cheeky boys. The Hill was quite refreshing and I've noticed a marked increase in people out training. Maybe they've all got spare tyres that they hold in at the moment but hope that through upping the ante the tyres will go

God knows I am.

BIG trouble with horse dung - Jan 9th 40 mins - 102 days to marathon

Leg refresher. Keep reminding them who's boss but doing it nicely, preferably without making them go on strike. The knee love-in continues but not at the expense of the calfs, thighs, glutes, t-bands and parts of my legs that I only discover when I go online to check if I'm missing out any exercises.

No troubles so far. Apart from walking half of the park mud and probably a good amount of horse dung into the flat. That went down like a lead balloon. Still I'd rather leave tonto's droppings in the hall and be hollered at rather than have my knees hollering at me.

Vetran Pace - Jan 7th 50 mins - 104 days to marathon

Went up to Primrose hill to try out a hill session and was plesantly suprised at the amount of stamina. It wasn't easy but not as hard as i expected after a run around across Regents Park and the 5 reps up the hill. Trotted back and was overtaken by three other runners, two of whom were old enough to be my parents.

I admit that my running is definitely at a senior verging on veteran pace. I'm just ahead of my time.

Weather incredibly mild. Sweated like a horse. felt like I'd been ridden like one and put away wet. The tyre will go!

Jan 5th Gentle 40 mins - 106 days to marathon

Another steady paced build to remind my legs what running is. I think they're remembering but I'm not in any rush to force them into submission by trying to hurtle around Hyde Park. Another 40 mins down into Knightsbridge, home, stretch and strech and strech to make sure my knees keep in good shape.

Jan 3rd Gentle 40 mins re-test - 108 days to marathon

My knee, specifically my left knee exploded on Dec 21st. There was therefore only one thing for it and that was to rest over Xmas. Rest and eat. And eat, and eat and eat....

After a final blow out on New Years eve I climbed on the scales and slowly felt my jaw drop as the needle rapidly swung clockwise towards 13, 14 and then finally coming to rest on 15 stone.

Apart from eating there has been one other Xmas preoccupation - knee repair. I've spent two weeks working through a succession of knee exercises and I'm confident that todays run, altough minor is the first step back towards the marathon.

40 mins around the park. I felt every step ripple through the xmas waist tyre but the good news was no knee pain. I'm now planning to run every other night but at my pace, I'm no fast runner but I do have the stamina for a marathon, now its case of building it and focusing on duration not speed around the course.