Day 680

1.  There is of course an alternative ending that I didn't consider yesterday...the one with the unexpected twist

2.  Where the central character spends two years following her desire to run a marathon only to stumble across an A Level Textiles course and discover that running isn't the dream she wants to be chasing at all!

3.  Suddenly immersed in a world of silk painting, relief printing and reverse appliqué she abandons her trainers and IT Band issues and skips off merrily into the quilted sunset without a second glance...

4.  Oooooooh she'e tempted!

5.  But oh the family drama that would play out behind her.  Now in a soap opera, Miss Happy-Go-Lucky trots off and we cut to a still of her sister, face like thunder having just gone public with her intention to run London! Doof! Doof! Doof! (Eastenders style....)

London - 55
Total Distance covered     1166.2 miles

Day 679 - EIGHT

1.  Gave myself a bit of a stern talking to this morning....

2.  Basically this is a story, and as the author I get to choose how the final chapters play out. 

3.  Am I going to have my readers wade through the best part of two hundred and seventy pages to have it peter out in the most anticlimactic ending imaginable? Where it starts with a woman who wants to run a marathon but has a concern over whether it will be possible given an issue she has with her knee. She finds out that there is nothing wrong with her knee that exercises won't sort, but then can't be bothered doing the exercises and so runs the marathon in pain having learnt nothing over the two years she was planning it... 

4.  Or does she battle against her predisposition of wanting to take the easy route, to procrastinate and avoid any form of gym based exercise until finally the penny drops with eight weeks to go?!

5.  Only time will tell but (SPOILER ALERT!!!!) she did do more rehab exercises today than she's done in a very long time.

London - 56
Total Distance covered     1166.2 miles

Day 678

1.  Fun morning volunteering at parkrun -  my newly knitted scarf attracted the attention of some fellow knitters and consequently most of the chat I was involved in revolved around wool and knitting patterns - finally I was amongst my own! 

2.  My poncho is finished too (is it obvious I've not been running?) there was nothing left to do this afternoon except start pulling out my jumper to re-knit into something new... 

3.  Many metaphors surfaced during the process... Is this really my life unraveling? My marathon plans coming apart row after row? Or is it more a case of me stripping things back to basics to be rebuilt into something better than before?

4.  What I came to regret was affirming to my new knitting bee that I wouldn't do any knitting unless it was preceded by some exercises! Given that knit is all I seem to want to do I'm hoping this might do the trick in motivating me... But early signs aren't overly positive. I have kept to my word and consequently haven't knitted all day! 

5.  Alas no photographic evidence exists of yesterday's hair styling disaster schoolfriendofMG750! But think this

Meets

And you won't be far off!!! 

London - 57
Total Distance covered     1166.2 miles

Day 677

OK so if the marathon is about getting to know yourself - here's what we've learned so far...

1. I seek advice and then don't follow it if it's not something I want to hear or involves doing exercises. 

2.   I am already an endurance athlete is the 'sport' of procrastination - hour after hour without any signs of fatigue.

3.  For someone who is so introspective and deliberates over minute details I am prone to an impulse purchase of running shoes. 

4.  For someone who hates having their haircut and is never happy with the results I display the same impulsive tendencies. The more important the decision the more rash I seem to get. 

5.  Which is why when my hairdresser left recently instead of seeking the counsel and advice of my friends of where to go, I took a notion to go to a salon I ran past on my twenty mile run! Delirium had clearly clouded my vision as when I arrived it was a bit more old lady than I'd remembered! The hairdresser was lovely and (straightened) it may yet turn out to be my best haircut ever but it's hard to tell. Beside herself with excitement over not having to have to get her rollers and setting lotion out, she cut and then set about styling my hair. Oh Lordy I look like I'm about to get married and it's the mid seventies! I was coping relatively well until Al came home, said reminded him of someone and then started googling pictures of Deirdre Barlow! 

London - 58

Total Distance covered     1166.2 miles

Day 676

1. My hopes for a quick fix didn't quite work out as planned...

2. The Biomecanics Man had to cancel our appointment and I can't get back to see him until this time next week!

3.  But I can't afford to waste a week so looks like I'm going to have to do it the hard way... 

4.  Reduce my running miles and up my exercises! 

5.  What is it they say about you coming back to the same point until you learn what it is you were supposed to get the first time round?!

London - 59
Total Distance covered     1166.2 miles

Day 675

1.

2.  ... and my legs are in a dreadful state! 

3.  All my new found enthusiasm isn't going to count for anything if I can't run... 

4.  So it's back to the Biomechanics Man tomorrow to be fixed! 

5.  In the meantime it seems that all I want to do is sleep! Night night xx

London - 60
Total Distance covered     1166.2 miles

Day 674

1.  Very tempted to give my legs a rest today, but also very curious as to how they would feel... in the end the cat was killed and off I went.

2.  New lacing technique seemed to work (thanks FMG) and I am liking my new trainers a bit more as my feet were for the most part OK.

3.  What aren't OK are my IT Bands.  Really having a problem running downhill which is going to make finding circular routes around here a little tricky!

4.  It would appear that for whilst I am still swooning over DT it is Floella who has invaded my subconscious.  Firstly on her recommendation I came back from my run seriously contemplating an ice bath!!

5.  (Almost) more worryingly I have spent the past two days walking round singing the theme tune to Play Away! Go on click the link - you know you want to!

London - 61
Distance covered                    5.1 miles   
Total Distance covered     1166.2 miles

Day 673

1.  Operation eat less didn't go particularly well today.

2.  Last night we went to see H in a performance and ate after we got home, this evening we ate before we went but I'd forgotten this by the time it finished and came home expecting to eat again!

3.  I also can't cut down on carbs if there is nothing else in the house to eat - actually I could have had an apple or some raw carrot but that didn't seem to cross my mind until just now (and I'm a day behind in writing this so it's a bit late to do anything about it!)

4.  My get marathon fit campaign didn't fare much better.

5.  Never a good day when Mr L goes back to work, the boys had an extra day off... no school run equalled no need to go out the house early equalled no impetus to go to the gym and resulted in me still being in my pyjamas at lunchtime!

London - 62
Total Distance covered     1161.1 miles

Day 672 - NINE

1.  I keep remembering bits from yesterday - although some bits are unforgettable! - in particular words of advice from Floella.

2.  More specifically the suggestion to cut down on the carbs so there is less of you to lug round. 

3.  Unfortunately I was tucking into croissants, butter and jam when this particular thought came back to me! 

4.  Then there was the inference yesterday that by marathon day we would be at the peak of physical and mental perfection... 

5.  Mentally today I feel on top of the world, physically I feel old, overweight, a bit too spotty for a woman in her mid forties and very very far from an athlete of any sort let alone one approaching personal greatness! I think I'm supposed to be at the fine tuning rather than overhaul stage but oh well better late than never, besides a lot can be achieved in nine weeks if I can just stay awake long enough to apply myself and then stop procrastinating long enough to maintain my focus.

Just remembered something else - apparently a bi product of marathon training is that you get to know yourself well. Perhaps I should have taken notes Baroness Benjamin clearly knew what she was talking about!

London - 63
Total Distance covered     1161.1 miles

Day 671

1.  A 4 am alarm call, a 6 am train, a most interesting conversation with three gentlemen en route, and this marathon girl arrived in London!  I like being up early whilst the rest of the world sleeps.  It was very quiet on my walk from Sloan Square to Battersea Park, save for some runners and a few Chelsea Pensioners, and I arrived with a fresh feeling of optimism - in part due to the time of day, in part due to the resplendent Magnolia tree signalling that Spring is on it's way (appreciated that we might have to wait a little bit longer for it in Yorkshire) but mainly due to the fact that it was flat!!!  Perhaps my feet will cope after all!

2.  Not sure what to expect, and lets face it after the Christmas meet up my expectations were quite low, I was very pleasantly surprised by the training day to the extent that I had a great time! Which is absolutely, totally and utterly 100% down to the fact that I MET DALEY THOMPSON!!!!!

3.  Actually that's not fair to the team from Barnardo's, who took us through the marathon day, the cheer stations and the after 'party', and more especially to Baroness Foella Benjamin who, not looking a day older than when she was on Play Away, arrived to give us a pep talk and was just fabulous! Her infectious energy and enthusiasm enough to reignite my self belief that not only can I do this, but I that I might enjoy the experience!  Or at least the feeling at the end, although hopefully not enough that I follow her lead and run ten consecutive London Marathon's!  She also reminded us of the children that we are going to be helping through the money we've raised, and I think I needed to hear that too.

4.  Chat over it was outside for our warm up session with Snowy.  By this point I was seriously worried that Daley wasn't coming, but fear not! He did indeed put in an appearance and I think it's fair to say I was (and still am) somewhat star struck! A warm up lap round the track with him and then we were put in the capable hands of Snowy for our extended warm up session, the purpose of which was - I think - to last long enough for us all to have an individual photo taken with the great man himself.  Thirty years I've been waiting for this opportunity, and the photographer chose to take action shots of us running along the track together NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! This is my worse nightmare! I look hideous running as all race photos ever taken and emailed to me afterwards will testify! But it did mean I got a couple of minutes talking to him!!!  SchoolfriendofMG750 I told him we'd been in Olympus Sport to see him circa 1985 and for whilst I don't think he actually remembered us (or being there at all?!) he clearly thought I deserved a hug for my perseverance! Oh I'll never wash my coat nor wear it in the rain again!!!!

5. Bailing out of the option for a long run round the park, I did however do one lap with a lovely lady who I'm looking forward to seeing again, by which point we will both have just run our first marathon!  My feet were a lot better than when I finished on Thursday and with some top tips from Snowy on hot and cold treatment, which I'm liking the sound of as I can do whilst lying in the bath, I'm almost looking forward to the next milestone of twenty three miles!  I think it's fair to say my mojo has returned!

London - 64
Distance covered                      2 miles
Total Distance covered     1161.1 miles

Day 670

1.  I have self diagnosed myself to have extensor tendinitis and instantly felt better just for it having a name!

2.  Most common causes repeated friction and compression from ill fitting shoes - that'll be me then! It can also be brought on by running up and down hills hmmm......

3.  On the upside with some ice, some exercises (that look suspiciously like ones I've already been given), lots of rest with my feet elevated and I should be fine! 

4.  Oh and no more running in my Addidas trainers no matter how spongy the souls are! Nikes here I come! Although the article did mention something about good support being important by which I'm don't think they meant strange stretchy elastic shoes! 

5.  Spent a really lovely day in the company of Mr L - including a walk with the dog (feet and legs can't be that bad then!) even managed to jog for a few paces just to prove to myself that I would be able to run again although I don't think by support they meant wellies either!

London - 65
Total Distance covered     1159.1 miles

Day 669

1.  Twenty miles.... Blooming 'eck it was long way.

2.  Very disappointingly the problem I had with my feet on my last long run reappeared about mile fourteen and the last six miles were excruciating, and slow, and were possibly closer to run for 1 minute walk for 3 than the other way round. 

3.  Several times I regretted turning down FMG's offer of meeting me en route with sustenance. Although it truth I think I would have collapsed in a heap at the sight of a friendly face, as Al will testify on my arrival home!  Thank you Mr L for looking after me so well since then.

4.  I am so disappointed with my feet. I don't know what's causing it, and I can't seem to alter my running gait to alleviate it.  I know running a marathon isn't supposed to be easy but this is starting to feel a little sadomasochistic.  I don't want to inflict that much pain on myself!

5.  On the plus side it was a huge box ticked in terms of mental toughness and I have found a use for my new shoes.  Didn't run in them but they worked a treat as post run footwear - just such a shame they are such a foul colour!

London - 66
Distance covered                  20.5 miles
Total Distance covered     1159.1 miles

Day 668

1.  I think I want to go to the Barnardo's training day in London on Saturday.

2.  I know! I was exceptionally unimpressed with their Christmas meet up but with expectations this low surely it can't be worse than anticipated?!

3.  It makes me sad when I think back to when I first chose Barnardo's how excited I was about their training day and Daley Thompson and I'm about to let all that pass in a wave of apathy.

4.  I have completely lost my marathon mojo and perhaps going and reminding myself what it's all about might help...

5. Although if I ignore the pain in my right leg and head out on my planned 20 mile route tomorrow I might be reminded soon enough! 

London - 67
Total Distance covered     1138.6 miles

Day 667

1. First outing in my new trainers - I remain unconvinced! There is a lot more room in them which is a good thing, but a lot less cushioning on the sole which might end up being a bad thing.

2.  I think what I'm saying is my ideal shoe would be the tops of one and soles of another - handy! 

3.  What might be equally as impossible is shoes that will actually mend my 'broken' feet! I think I might need to lower my expectations to 'not make them any worse!'

4.  Had my appointment with the specialist dietician this afternoon... Help!! Almost everything I eat is on the should be avoided list! Which might explain the problem! That and it could be stress related - odd then in someone as laid back as me....

5.  Good news is that I am going to start after the marathon! Not only will this spare you the risk of daily updates on the state of my digestive system, but it will give me the chance to eat up all the food in the house that I shouldn't be eating! I think this may be missing the point. Perhaps instead I should start trying to incorporate the principals into my diet. Not only might I feel better but think how slim I could be.... shame to waste those biscuits though!

London - 68
Distance covered                    4.5 miles
Total Distance covered     1138.6 miles

Day 666

1.  Day 666.... And the devil is definitely still toying with me.

2.  I did try to break the cycle by going to the gym this morning but it didn't have quite the upsurge in adrenaline that I was hoping for.  That may well be because I didn't pass the critical point of exertion required for any adrenaline or endorphin release! 

3.  I have twenty miles to run this weekend and I am starting to get so apprehensive about it that I might go on Thursday instead - just to get it over with and enable me to stop thinking about it.

4.  There is also the small added incentive that currently the forecast looks like this... 

 

And if I can't face twenty miles, I really can't face it in the rain after last time. 

5.  Twenty miles?!  I just want to sleep - except I can't... I'm too worried about running the equivalent of almost seven parkruns in a row!! 

London - 69
Total Distance covered     1134.1 miles

Day 665 - TEN

R1. Uh-oh! Ten weeks today!

2.  I think by now it should feel like it's starting to come together, instead I feel simultaneously over and underwhelmed by the whole thing. 

3.  Thoughts meander from it's too far, and I've bitten off more than I can chew, to I really don't care if I do it or not, I just can't be bothered training any more.

4.  So in an attempt to lift my mood I went trainer shopping.  Why did I think this would work?! Hating my Addidas, I thought I'd go back to being a Skechers girl.  After five minutes with the hopeless assistant in the shop I changed my mind! 

5.  In the end I went to a proper running shop and was sold a pair of Nike. I went looking for something as comfortable as my Skechers and I found it, but they are more like slippers than running shoes and I am very sceptical about their suitability although I did tell the man in the shop I was running a marathon... 

Oh well perhaps if all else fails I could don my pyjamas and go in fancy dress!  

London - 70
Total Distance covered     1134.1 miles

Day 664

1.  The memory of running in the rain last weekend has clearly not quite left me yet.... the weather was cold and a little bit wet this morning and I REALLY didn't want to go running.

2. Amid stories from parkrun HQ of a man who usually dresses in orange running his hundredth recently and everyone turning out in orange to mark the occasion and decorating the course with orange balloons and there being orange cake at the end - my 100th parkrun at Dewsbury was somewhat of an anticlimax! Not that I could have mustered any enthusiasm for balloons of any colour this morning!

3.  That said Al and Dougal ran round with me this morning which was nice, and Al has said that he's looking forward to my marathon being over so we can run parkrun together again...

4.  At first glance you might think how sweet, at second glance you might wonder why we have to wait?  It's because he only ran as slowly as me this morning because he was poorly and he's hoping I get faster again post marathon so I can keep up!  Charming!!

5.  Leaving the park early and abandoning the post run coffee in pursuit of some extra training miles, it was lovely to see FMG come running round the corner, a familiar look of determination on her face.  Been too long since I've seen that expression.  Good to have you back! xx

London - 71
Distance covered                       6 miles
Total Distance covered     1134.1 miles

Day 663

1.  Perfect and ideal excuse not to go to the gym today - Al had the day off. Finally the chance to spend some time together!

2.  Seemed to spend a lot of it trying to talk him out of going to parkrun tomorrow... I know fellow parkrunner - how could I?! But I'm tired and my cold doesn't want to shift, and I really rather fancied the idea of going out somewhere nice for breakfast instead - sorry!

3.  Almost had him won over, when we realised that no parkrun meant no dog exercised, and so we might as well run and get it over with.

4. Meanwhile I have managed to get myself into a bit of a flap about what a mess the house is...  and so continues the yo-yo nature of my mind! Yesterday brimming full of possibilities about all the wonderful things I was going to create - today stressing over all the jobs that I didn't do yesterday whilst I was daydreaming of far more exciting things.

5.  If you recognise this cycle from the past twenty months or so, believe me when I say it's been going on a lot longer than that.  BUT writing about it, and continually arriving back at the same place is making me realise that I really have to do something about it, even though I think I've arrived at that conclusion several times before.... I think it's fair to say I'm going round in circles!

London - 72
Total Distance covered     1128.1 miles

Day 662

1.  I have just spent rather a long time going back through my blog because I was a little surprised that I've ONLY run 128 miles since the start of December!  It's right though - I've had more time off than I thought!

2.  Just as well I didn't shirk on today's run then! Hard going but glad I did it, although my right foot is complaining a bit and I am tempted to go and put a hot water bottle on in when I've finished writing this.  Might not do any good but as least I'd be warm.

3.  Damn! I've just remembered the ironing pile, sitting on the sofa with my feet up will have to wait.

4.  After all the agony of the bag making last year, I am having a lovely time being creative just for me. Bag and a skirt finished, I am now racing to get my poncho completed before the wool I have just ordered for my next project arrives! (don't tell Al!). Then there's the jumper I knitted last year and don't like so am going to unravel and knit into something else....

5.  My head is bursting with all the the things I want to do, and it's clearly affecting my ability to think straight or remember what I'm supposed to be doing - forget the ironing, H has just arrived downstairs, kit bag slung across shoulder, apparently I have chauffeuring duties. Good job I wasn't already in my pyjama's!

London - 73
Distance covered                     5 miles
Total Distance covered     1128.1 miles

Day 661

1. Back in the gym this morning - worked  myself half as hard again as I did on Monday which should mean I'm back to my full program on Friday.

2.  Unless I can think of some plausible reason why I need to take it easy before then! 

3.  Same circuit round the fields as Monday but this time in glorious winter sunshine. What a difference! Even the particularly unfriendly stiles didn't feel as high but that may be due to my increased mobility since then! Or maybe it's a sign that my step ups in the gym are working... 

4.  Ha! Ha! Mr Farmer! You thought you'd stop me tramping across your field by raising the stile to mid thigh height but you didn't reckon on my commitment to cross training! (OK so commitment might be pushing it a bit...)

5.  Squeezed in a bit of time for some sewing this afternoon - not overly easy with a sewing buddy on your lap! 

London - 74
Total Distance covered     1123.1 miles

Day 660

1.  Tough call this morning - rest my legs or try and run the hurt out of them....

2.  Beautiful bit of sunshine and deep down already knew the answer- run! 

3.  Like the gym yesterday I feel better for going, and am daring to believe I might be ready for my next long run in a little less than a fortnight! 

4.  I am somewhat encouraged by the fact that my recovery time is getting shorter, and starting to wonder if that's what marathon training is like.... Die on the long run, recover quick enough for the horror to be blurred in your memory and set back out to do it all again! 

5.  Proud wife this evening watching Mr L play in his school band.  Good job he was playing guitar and not singing as he's lost his voice - perhaps a little more poorly than I gave him credit for on Sunday - sorry!

London - 75
Distance covered                    3.8 miles
Total Distance covered     1123.1 miles

Day 659

1.  Only one way that running is going to get any easier - time to get back into the gym. Eleven weeks to get from Granny to Girl!!

2.  A week off with the cold and now with 'broken' feet, I took it steady and didn't stay long - but I went! 

3.  Feel better for having been but whether or not I run tomorrow will, in the first instance, be weather dependent! I am NOT going if it's raining! 

4.  My now dry kit had been weighed - I was carrying an extra 850 grams of water on Saturday! Which I think equates to 850 ml, which definitely equates to drenched! 

4.  Unfortunately it was back out in the rain with Dougal this afternoon. For a dog who used to refuse to get his paws wet he did very we'll negotiating the new stream that is now running down the middle of the field where the grass once was!

London - 76
Total Distance covered     1119.3 miles

Day 658

1.  Al's poorly.  Woke up in the early hours shivering and had to miss this morning's 10K race that he had entered.  Continuing my current theme of death "I can't go outside in lycra" isn't a bad epitaph, being the last words he said to me as he drifted back into a deep feverish sleep!

2.  Thankfully he's not that poorly - despite what he'd have me believe!!!!!

3.   Despite never intending running the race, nor volunteering to marshal  I was invited to the annual post race brunch at our friends and like last year, it was a truly lovely way to spend a couple of hours. Bucks Fizz, scrambled eggs and bagels, tea and cake and the chance to catch up with friends without having had to run first.

4.  Which is just as well as I don't think I'd have got very far today.  My feet have started to ease slightly, and after consulting with fellow parkrunner I think the most likely explanation as to why they are like they are, is that I ran the whole way home with my toes curled dreading the next icy splash.

5.  In an ideal world I would have drifted home from my social engagement and spent the afternoon with my feet in a foot spa.  In reality I'd to walk the dog - ouch! - cook the tea, chauffeur the boys, sort the washing and storm about feeling increasingly hard done to that it wasn't me sat under a blanket in front of the fire. Anger is going some way to masking the pain from my feet, but I may yet have to resort to alcohol and that is almost unheard of. Unless of course it's a mojitio but I'm far too cross to have one of those... spitting feathers?! Heaven help any stray bit of mint that escaped the glass!

London - 77
Total Distance covered     1119.3 miles

Day 657

I wanted to die - seventeen miles in the cold and pouring rain was just hideous. Don't do it.  Run if you want to, train for a marathon if you must, but don't run in weather like we ran in today.  I'd say it was hell, but I've been given to believe that it's a tad warmer there!

1.  Bradford parkrun was great - lovely park, nice course.  I will be going back in the summer when it's not raining, I'm not running home, and I can keep up with fellow parkrunner who remained unreachable despite two shoe lace tying stops! Congratulations on completing parkrun number 100 Mr L!!

2.  Parkrun over it was time for three (fool) hardy runners to set off on our long route home - as I was fortunate enough to be joined by two friends who are training for the Manchester Marathon a fortnight before London.

3.  I am so glad they were with me.  I don't know that I'd have made it home without them.  The pain in my knees by mile twelve was so bad I foolishly thought it couldn't get any worse as we committed to the five mile loop home. Oh how wrong could I be! My ankles seized up, my hips were at risk of joining them, every time I thought it couldn't get any worse I would step in a puddle and fill my shoe with some more freezing water, the much longed for downhill stretch was unbearable - in short, it was (company aside) the most miserable running experience of my life - yet somehow I kept moving and made it home.

4.  Never have I been so glad to see someone as I was to see the fourth member of our 'team' sat knitting in her car outside our house (no one else was home) awaiting our return.  Without her there to unlock the door I would have been found by Al several hours later collapsed in a soggy heap at the back door.  I have weighed my running kit and trainers and when they eventually dry out I will weigh them again by way of telling you just how wet we were! 

5.  I did eventually thaw and dry out but my feet remain like two excruciatingly sore bricks at the end of my legs! They've seized up, don't want to move and absolutely don't want to flex beyond ninety degrees - marathongirl?! Marathongranny more like.

London - 78
Distance covered                  17 miles
Total Distance covered     1119.3 miles

Day 656

1.  The Royal Parks Half Marathon don't want me - I am more than a little relieved.  I just want to run the marathon and not have to think about training again.  How long I hang my trainers up for remains to be seen but I dream of being off the training treadmill!

2.  Meanwhile there is the small matter of seventeen miles to run tomorrow, in what now looks like it will be pouring rain.

3.  In an attempt to combine this with parkrun and get it done tomorrow, there is a plan to join the parkrun tourists for a change and visit Bradford - run our first three miles there and then wind a rather meandering, if somewhat hilly, fourteen miles home.

4.  I have mapped it out on map-o-meter, downloaded the app so I have access to the route and tested the app on my dog walk this afternoon.  Unfortunately whilst it will show me the route and where I am on it if I look at my phone, I can't get it to give me audible directions! I am therefore contemplating writing them out and sticking them to my water bottle, which I'm sure will work a treat given the forecast!

5.  The way I'm feeling today this may be my last run, in that it may just be enough to kill me.  The boys have been warned to make the most of the time they have left with me, however C wasn't convinced of his need to cancel his weekend away with Etsy Favouriter and H's response was he'd have to beat me at parkrun tomorrow if it's to be my last! I've yet to tell Al that our final memory together will be his 100th parkrun in the morning!!! But the lady at the supermarket has been warned that if she sees me next week I may well be an apparition. Although that said I sincerely hope the afterlife doesn't involve shopping for food!

London - 79
Total Distance covered     1102.3 miles

Day 655

1.  I went to bed last night feeling like I'd wasted the day, by the time I got up this morning that had snowballed into my whole life... all 400,000 hours of it (give or take a few!).

2.  Not all of it bad decisions you'll be glad to hear Mr L, and two fabulous sons, but not a lot to showcase in the Diary of Marathongirl750 aged forty five and three quarters!

3.  But some timely advice from the Business Bakery....

and I was back writing my To-Do List and whizzing my way through it with gusto! Just a shame the jobs weren't more glamorous than hoovering, putting some washing on, finally taking the thrown out clothes to the charity shop and writing tomorrows shopping list!

4.  Must be feeling a bit better - I'm starting to feel guilty about not having run or been to the gym all week.

5.  Shame (or fortuitous?) that I wasn't able to do either today as I had a dog walk already booked in with FMG!

London - 80
Total Distance covered     1102.3 miles

Day 654

1.  Ha! My sister's plans for a good 'no training' excuse thwarted by the arrival of her suitcase?! I really should have had more faith... my sister's plans for a good 'no training' excuse were back in force with the 'slight' over consumption of too much alcohol the night before! Doesn't sound like you at all sis!!

2.  Having given myself the week off I am enjoying the freedom of not having to work out when I'm going to run/go to the gym, and loving the extra time in my day.  Not that I'm putting it to particularly good use...

3.  Of all the things that I could be doing, I spent the day doing possibly the least necessary! What is the one thing I could sew that I REALLY don't need to make? Yep you got it, a bag.  Surely the seventy I made for Barnardo's were enough?! Apparently not.  Apparently what I need to do most right now is unpick a bag I made ten years ago and turn it into a new bag.

4. This would be fine as a side project, if I didn't already have at least one of those.  But it was all I did, and all I could think about all day.  I forgot that Al was in late, I forgot to make tea, I forgot that H needed to go out and therefore needed tea at a particular time, when I did make the tea I forgot to put the pasta on and then I forgot that extracting the boys meatballs from the oven whilst the pasta cooked would have saved them from the incarcerated state that they were eventually served in.

5.  I am now cross with myself for wasting the day and I didn't even finish the damn bag! Which I think is Lose! Lose! Oh good oh!!

London - 81
Total Distance covered     1102.3 miles

Day 653

1.  Different day, different mindset! Knitting went on the needles at the first attempt! And she's off.....

2.  My sister's hopes for a good no training excuse have been thwarted by the arrival of her luggage... Filbert Street here you come!

3.  Think it would be easier to run up stairs! Which according to Strava is what fellowteamBarnardo'srunner has been up to in Glasgow today...

4.  Full credit to you V - still feeling poorly, even the thought of climbing the stairs to go to bed is tiring me out! 

5.  I did however have a little burst of energy that coincided with Dougal's witching hour this afternoon.  Discovered that you can do a sort of jive with him whilst playing tug of war with a stick! Might have been better if I'd found this out earlier in the day before C came home to find his mother dancing with the dog! I'd better get better soon, I'm clearly going stir crazy with my current reduction in exercise!

London - 82
Total Distance covered     1102.3 miles

Day 652

1.  My cold is getting worse - no gym for me today.

2.  No knitting either! Just when I could have used my cold as the perfect excuse to sit under a blanket and crack on, I can't concentrate long enough to knit the first row of the second piece consequently it has been started and pulled back many many times!

3.  Meanwhile in the States sisterofMG750 isn't fairing much better - she has arrived in San Francisco but her luggage (and in particular her trainers) have not. 

4.  So it looks like no training for either of us this week. 

5.  But... I'm hoping with a few days rest I'll be raring to go on Saturday - for all seventeen miles of it! Help!!!

London - 83
Total Distance covered     1102.3 miles