When last I posted, I had just been sat on the couch eating Lidl Strawberry icecream straight from the tub with an ice pack on my leg, feeling very sorry for myself. I’ll be honest, the next 11 days followed in a pretty similar vein, but with incrementally decreasing amounts of ice cream. I became totally disillusioned with the whole notion of running the marathon. Not because I have any less desire to do it, but simply because it started to look like it was never going to be possible. The marathon is just over 7 months away, which means (notionally at least) that I have been training for 5 months. I think we can all pretty much agree that not being able to run a mile after 5 months of training for a marathon is not really a great return on ones investment?

So I ate and drank my way through just about any bit of food or drink that I could get my hands on and predictably piled on the weight (though, according to a chart I saw in a shop window I’m spot on target for my BMI) back up to about 12 Stone, having been down about 11 Stone 4lbs at 1 point.

However, a couple of days ago, while on my third bottle of wine of the evening on a break down in kinsale, I realised that the reason that I was running the marathon was as a motivational tool to get fit. So whether or not I make the start (or for that matter the finish line) is less of a concern than whether I am physically fit at the time of the marathon. If injury means I can’t run, then I guess I’ll have to take up cycling or swimming or something, but it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t keep exercising, keep trying and seeing if there’s any hope of making the marathon through physical therapy, or orthotic insoles or something.

And so, as I have done several times over the past 5 months already, I vowed to get back on the horse that is the Dublin City Marathon 2010 and to come back harder, better, faster, stronger (as Daft Punk might say) on day 147, Monday 22 March 2010…

Nothing like that feeling of the first day of lent, or perhaps new years day, when you’ve decided what you’re going to give up, or what your new years resolution is going to be. It’s very inspiring….until it all falls on it’s arse again and you feel worse than you did before you started. The last 11 days….