Approaching the home straight

Morning sports fans,

It's been a while and I apologise but a combination of being really busy and still having no broadband (thanks for nothing Orange) has kept me from my favourite past time of inflicting gruesome details about my training regime up you.

Some good news on the weight loss front this week as I've been weighing in at 14st 2lbs, which has been very pleasing and so close to four stone down from the start of this journey. I still feel I could have lost more had I not stalled in the summer, but that's life I guess. Without the gastro-band option it does take time and ultimately I hope to be feeling better for the gradual reduction.

Also it is apparently five weeks until I have to star tapering down to the big day, and that really doesn't feel long enough to go from 14/15 miles up to 26. That famous atmosphere everybody talks about really needs to do its trick on the day I think.

I had a horrible moment on a run at the start of the week when I came off a kerb and felt my ankle twist slightly, feeling queasy just thinking about it. In a flash I saw the whole thing falling down around my ears, the dream was over, and I'd be spending April 25 sitting on the couch wishing I could be there. But likely it wasn't a proper sprain and I ran it off within minutes. But it served as a reminder of how frail the body is really, even a chunky lump like me, it doesn't take much.

Training has been a bit of a slog lately as well. I ran for two hrs and 26mins last Sunday and it was tough from the start. Everything felt rubbish for the whole way round. My legs felt heavy and like I was wading through tar. My headphones didn't fit properly and were annoying bashing around at the back of my head, my left nipple did its usual painful bleeding trick, and I just couldn't find the energy, although I did keep going. If nothing else, I proved I could just get through it and get to the end, so that was something.

Fortunately the shorter runs I did this week ahead of the Bath Half Marathon were much better and in contrast felt like I has springs in my legs and was happy to motor on, so I'm taking that as an encouraging sign for tomorrow.

I am looking forward to Bath tomorrow, it should be a good gauge of how I will get on in London in the sense of running in a big event. It's very different to plodding along on your own for two hours in the dark.