Positively tropical (let's hope it comes back soon)

Weeks to go: 5
Current weight: 15 stone 1 pound
Total lost so far: 15 pounds
...am I destined to never go below 15 stone?!

Typical: the target of 14 stone was looking all achievable up til about 4 weeks ago when I first attained this weight. Now, after a series of self-inflicted injuries and poor self-control near a well-stocked fridge, I appear to have plateaued out a bit. But bigger picture: I still intend to finish the London Marathon and raise plenty of cash for Leonard Cheshire Disability (www.lcdisability.org) so PLEASE SPONSOR ME at www.justgiving.com/stuyeomans.

However, good news is that my hip and shin are both not quite as painful after yesterday's run than they were previously. I reckon that's a green light to start making the run's little longer, if not more regular. Accepted wisdom (i.e. the regime in Marathon News magazine) says that the longest run you do in your build up is either 20 miles (gulp) or 3 hours 30 mins (double gulp), what ever is the shortest.

Good grief.

Well, seeing as this should be done in the next week or two, the delay in my training means this should probably fall during the week between 30th March and 5th April. Time to plan. It isn't wise try to cram in lots of run-time between now and then, but other exercise will always help to maintain my fitness. The run time is what will count: so fingers crossed.

In terms of the tropical - that refers to the blazing sun of Sunday morning's run. Whilst the first 5 minutes were pleasant and meant I wasn't cold to begin with, it did mean I was a bit overdressed for the subsequent 42 minutes. Cue sweat pouring into my eyes and squinting into the harsh glare. Not great and a great reminder to keep yourself at the right temperature for comfort during exercise. That and a hat or sunglasses to make life even easier. Only reason being is that if you're distracted in any way, or suffering any discomfort, it takes an incredible toll on your mental strength to finish such a ludicrous distance. And I'm all for making life that little bit easier.

So, next time should have me finding out exactly how I feel after, say, 90 minutes of running and will be a fair indicator of how I'll feel for the longer run the week after. Wish me luck and, if you haven't done so already... please sponsor me!!

Happy running. And by the way, it's now freezing cold and chucking it down with rain now. Predictible unpredictibility of the British weather.

Less of a runner, more of a snow plough

Weeks to go: 12
Current weight: 15 stone 1 pound
Total lost so far: 15 pounds
...that'll be halfway there on the weightloss then. Quality!

Living proof that adhering to a prescribed schedule of training, and eating only what an average human male should, means appropriate levels of weight loss. Couple of pounds a week, as I said before, is healthy. Paula Radcliffe will have to keep an eye over her shoulder during that Marathon, I'll be storming towards the finishing line like a racing snake.

The snow plough mentioned above is a nod towards the pretty terrible weather that the South East has been suffering today, the day I do my longest run so far. First half was bearable but coming back into town, the snow and hail was horizontal into my face. This, as you can imagine, has severly dented my enthusiasm for all but the fairest weather running. I think any activity where your eyesight is compromised by the elements can't be all that clever... or fun. But 105 minutes and 11 miles later, I reckon I'm on course for beating my half marathon time in Eastbourne in 4 weeks.

However, I'm definitely need of a day off. Especially seeing as running's not exactly my normal exercise of choice. The body needs time to adapt after each session, recover and repair any damage. I was given a choice of two programmes when I started this training; one of which had good gaps between each session and the other where I had to run 3 days in a row every week. I opted for the one with the rest days, and not through sheer laziness. I figured that my body would need at least 48 hours between runs the majority of the time. And in retropect, it was fairly accurate analysis of my own abilities.

See, anyone can do things like this if you go about it the right way. Happy snow ploughing.

Water, water everywhere (so enough for 8 glasses a day)

Weeks to go: 13
Current weight: No idea this week - not near my usual scales
Total lost so far: 11 pounds (could be more, could be less; wait and see next week)
...it'll add a bit of suspense to the week ahead.

One of the lesser pleasant aspects of living in England is the unpredictable weather. Namely this week the rain that has been lashing down and making the drive to work (ironically, in a hydrotherapy pool) more like sailing. However, I've been very lucky and it hasn't rained during any runs I've done.

But that's about to change this evening as Brighton shows no signs of brightening up, the sea is crashing up the beach and the wind is carrying small children away from their parents. Perfect conditions for my first proper long run later this afternoon.

But all this talk of water gets me thinking about a conversation I had with a dietician a while back. Apparently the human body needs 35mls of water per kilogram of bodyweight over the course of a day. So for an average 70kg man, this equates to 2450mls or about 2 and a half litres. If a glass holds 250mls, then that explains why 8 glasses of water a day should do it. Making up the shortfall can be tea, coffee, juice, milk, etc. Guinness is not mentioned, but that's possibly for the best. And if you're exercising a lot, you need to up this even more to replace fluids lost through breathing harder and sweating. Some people swear by drinking plenty of water, others remain less convinced, but I thought the medical requirements might serve to help explain the reasoning behind it all.

Weight update next time. Happy running/swimming/floating/splashing.