Twenty. Miles. Is. A. Long. Way. Indeed.

Days to go: 20
Current weight: 15 stone 0 pounds
Total lost so far: 16 pounds
... and the 'Big One' happened today, more of which below.

Well, you may have noticed that the counter has now dropped into days away from the London Marathon, rather than weeks. And you also may have noticed that I didn't post anything last week. Reason being: it's our Easter Holiday from uni and as such, we went away for a few days to Monkey World in Dorset (www.monkeyworld.org). Becca did threaten to leave me there, especially as she thinks I rather too closely resemble some of their rescued apes. But I made it back safe.

Just prior to going, I managed 21.1km last Saturday in a reasonable (by which you can read relatively slow) time of 2 hours 7 minutes. Not bad for the limited time actually running and only a few bike rides to keep the cardio work going. And this week, sleeping on an airbed had hardly made the recovery all that effective.

So it was with minimal preparation that today, I headed out for the advised maximum pre-Marathon run of up to 20 miles or 3 hours 30minutes. Which, in an odd twist, is exactly what I managed on both counts. Typical that in my previous blog I prayed for the good weather to return, so today it was obviously the hottest day of the year so far.

But I managed it. And suffice to say it definitely feels like I've run a full 7 miles further than I ever have before. However, couple of small blisters aside, I actually don't feel too bad. I reckon, all things considered, that I'll be able to run the London Marathon in 4 hours and 40 minutes. any quicker than that and I'll be over the moon!

Right, recovery sleep is definitely the order of the day. More updates oon.

And if the point of me doing all this writing has passed you by recently, THEN PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE PLEDGE WHATEVER YOU CAN MUSTER FOR LEONARD CHESHIRE DISABILITY AT www.justgiving.com/stuyeomans.

That's all for the time being. Happy pledging.

The same fat content as a club sandwich

Weeks to go: 16 and counting
Current weight: 15 stone 8 pounds
Total lost so far: 8 pounds
....no change in the last week.

Okay, so maybe there should be a little mickey-taking due to the fact that I've not lost anything this week. But in my defence, I was still ill for four days and then there was the inevitable New Year's Eve celebrations as well. You'll all be comforted to know that I ignored my own previous advice and liberally used Guinness, red wine and whiskey to see in 2009. And before I forget, Happy New Year to you all!

However, January sees me shun alcoholic drink in favour of a monastic lifestyle of a healthy diet, a bit of running and dedication to my university work. Actually, monks are known for producing some of the best and most powerful alcoholic beverages, especially in Belgium, so that doesn't really make sense. But you get the picture.

No body fat measurement for you today as the calipers have not been directly at my friend's disposal, but the last time it was taken, it was a whopping 27.5%. That's the same as chocolate, icing and a Burger King "Grilled Chicken Caesar Club Sandwich". I am beaming with pride as you can guess.

This is pretty shocking as the ideal limits for an active, athletic male is roughly between 8-14%. Now at the moment, 'ideal' doesn't necessarily tally with the 'average' bodyfat percentage, which is an unfortunate indictment on the UK population. But you can check out a few good options at http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/ and also at http://www.nhs.uk/ if you fancy a few changes to your current routine.

The 16 week routine for surviving a Marathon starts in earnest fom tomorrow, so I'll update you on that next time. Eat healthy and run happy. Cheers!