Not Running Again

This Sunday is going to be really hard because I will be in front of the television watching other people run.

One of my targets for the year is to run at least one marathon. Initially I fixed on Lochaber because I had to duck out last year and felt there was unfinished business. As I said in this post I had no great expectations of a good time. All I wanted to do was to nurse my shins enough to allow me to compete - get to the starting line. Of that I felt confident.

The good news is that the mechanical parts of my body held up. The massage on the calves to break up the scar tissue really helped and after the Algarve I thought I was making progress. However fate has a habit of creeping up behind you and smacking you with a sandbag. I did not expect to be ill. It started with a cough, which I thought would get better. After a couple of weeks of no improvement I went to the doctors who said my lungs were crackly and gave me some antibiotics. After the week things seemed OK but then a week later the cough came back again - just as before. So here I am a few days before the marathon taking more antibiotics, feeling feeble and sorry for myself.

Ah well.

But I have to be positive and plan what I am going to do for the rest of the year. It will almost like starting again. I have to be patient and mostly run at an easy pace and mix it with cycling.

That sounds good. I am not going to set any targets - just get into shape. There will be another race at another time.

In the meantime to all of you who will make it to the starting line - you have my best wishes.

Just like Laura said a couple of days ago.