AAAAAAAGHH!

You may have suspicions that all is not well; intuitive little know-it-all aren't you?!

What is going on? Blocked nose is back, deaf ear is back, and to complete the hat-trick I now have a swollen eye!! I have a bad feeling I am quite simply cracking up. Annoying, yes; frustrating, definitely; and once again, exercise sessions are in serious doubt this week.

Wish I had a clue what has caused this relapse (plus dicky eye). Physically I feel a little tired (although that might not be down to....whatever it is I've got....just due to the busyness of life), but other than that I don't feel that poorly; plus the Compeed plasters are working wonders (blister?......what blister??!!). I don't want to put questionable fitness to the test by going out for a run though. Damn it; hotel bound once again.

Trying to stay calm, and not fall into the vicious mental circle of poorly = no exercise = no long runs = how the blumminell am I going to run 26 miles???!

Still, the night has not been a complete loss. I wasn't as hotel-bound as I might have made out as Stockport County were playing tonight, and as luck would have it (bad luck that is!) they were up against Dartford, whose ground is not too far away from Stevenage. It's been with a strange, not wholly unpleasant feeling of isolation that I have been spending my working week in Hertfordshire (the definitive clean slate in many ways). From Monday morning to Thursday night, I mentally separate myself from 'normal life' in favour of this alternate reality in the South East. It therefore feels rather weird - not to mention rather good - when slap bang in the middle of this otherworld I see something so familiar as the football team I have been supporting for so many  years, not to mention the brother I have known for....well.......ALL my years!

But don't worry, the eeriness was soon restored after the final whistle....as we didn't lose......! That was quite possible the freakiest thing of all!!

I won't beat about the Shepherd's Bush, these are tricky times in the challenge; I don't seem to be - if you'll pardon the pun - getting a good run at it at the moment. Maybe this is the final test in my resolve to make it to the finish, or maybe - heaven help me - this is only the first in a looooong line of tests before the big day. Whichever one it is (pleasepleasepleeeeeeease the first one), I'm equal to it.

Them's fightin' wurrrrrds!!           

47 days and still counting.......someone please make it stop....!!