aches and pains, I really want a beer, and the marathon is in 6 days

Monday the 19th of April

I'm trying to get my head up to speed with what I'm going to be doing in 6 days from now, but as usual my brain has the lackadaisical air of a sleeping donkey under a tree. My left knee is ok but now ALL my leg muscles feel tight and labored. If this carry's on into this weekend then we are in trouble.

I start the run home from work and the only saving grace is that I can run through the pain, which I think will be a very useful asset come Sunday midday.

I've always had a running dialogue with my body, as if all the parts have their own representative. For example, I'll always talk my stomach out of being sick if I can help it, and try to negotiate with my stomach to broker a deal.

But I've got a feeling this Sunday we are heading straight for a body strike, with mass walk outs and planned demonstrations and picketing. I feel sorry for my body, like it's the students in Tiananmen Square, and my head is the Chinese government. It's not going to be pretty.

I heard today that Father is coming to watch me collapse over the line. The lietastic one wants to watch me as he's 'very proud' that I'm doing it at all.

I have mixed feelings about this, especially since I have visions of him wearing a tee shirt that says 'I'm still number 1' on the front, and 'I'm not your real Dad' on the back. But it'll be good to see some faces when I get over, even if it's just for them to drive me to hospital.

I am very aware of how much I want a beer at the moment, the glorious weather and self imposed ban is making it very hard to resist a ice cold beer. It's like Friday after work every day at the moment. Spitting feathers.

I get through the run at a decent pace and now have a plan in place for how I'm going to run the 26.2 miles.

Will I beat the legend of Mr Howard Potter? Will I spend a month in the marathon archives after the race to prove that he ran it in 3,58? Will I finish at all? What time will I finish in? How will I feel? And most importantly, What will I think about?

I'll let you know on Monday.