Too stressed to train properly..

Friday 29th August
5 miles (8k) on the treadmill, nice and steady. Should have probably given my legs a rest but wanted to do something to wind down after the week at work.

Saturday 30th August
Body pump in the morning. Rachel was covering for Ali today. Took it nice and easy.

Long run in the evening, did the Swindon half route but started from my house which probably made the run about 15 miles. Despite training earlier in the day, still managed to do it in 2hrs 20 mins, so the pace must have been reasonable. Good weather for it as well (for a change) and was able to run without a top on most of the way. Can't help thinking that might have been for the last time this year, certainly when I get back from my holiday after the marathon it'll be back to long-sleeved tops.

Sunday 31st August
At Lords for the one day international so complete rest. Sadly the weather was nothing like yesterday and the match was a stop-start affair, which was frustrating to say the very least. In fact, I left before the game was concluded because at that point there didn't appear to be any prospect of further play.

I learnt a couple of things today though, namely that I am now officially a two pint piss-queen who can't take his alcohol (certainly not like I used to) and I am very, very tired - evinced by the fact that I nodded off as soon as I sat down on a park bench in Leicester Square. Clearly the stress of holding down a responsible job, running the house, writing a novel and training for a marathon has caught up with me and I badly need a break from all of it.

Monday 1st September
Complete rest. SAP went live at work today and I had very little training, so the stress of that, combined with being tired from yesterday, meant I had no energy to train.

Tuesday 2nd September
2 miles on the treadmill, easy. This was because I had to work late (didn't leave until 6.30pm) and as a reward my boss invited me to dinner with some of the guys over from Germany, which was very nice. We went to the Dolce Vita in the town centre which is always good, but service was a bit slow tonight. Took full advantage of the invitation and had antipasti for starter, pizza for main course and ice cream for dessert. Be honest, wouldn't you?

Wednesday 3rd September
Took part in the inaugural "Back in a Flash 5k" at Coate Water. The only thing I can say is that apart from the social side of it (Andy, Steph and Mike Sas all took part as well and we had a drink together afterwards) it was an unmitigated disaster.

I had probably the most stressful day at work ever as everyone was calling me with queries and complaints, none of which I was able to resolve as I still hadn't had any decent training on SAP. By the time I left all I wanted to do was go home and cry. But I didn't want to let the others down so went to the race instead.

I knew I wouldn't be able to focus properly after such an awful day and I was right. Plus at the 2k marker I was in dire need of a "pit stop" and of course there was no such facility. This didn't settle and at 4k I was really suffering with a stitch. I had no idea a mere 5k could be so painful. My time was disappointing, over 25 minutes - you'd have to go back quite a while to find a 10k where the first half had taken me that long.

But then, after the day I'd had, what could I reasonably expect?

Thursday 4th September
Ran from home before breakfast, about 4-5 miles, through the town centre and up the railway path. Not at all easy, horrible weather, plus I couldn't help thinking about what lay ahead at work. Had to run in the morning though, because I had been invited to dinner again with work in the evening to say Goodbye to our German guests who go home tomorrow. It was at the Ganges in Wootton Bassett - thoroughly recommended.

Friday 5th September
Work has got better now but is still very busy and stressful and there are teething problems with the new system.

Set out to do an interval session at the lake, but was struggling as both legs got bitten by something nasty on Wednesday and have swollen up. Managed two good laps but that was all I could manage as one of my calves was starting to hurt quite a bit, probably to do with the insect bite.

After the week I've had, that was still not a bad effort.

Saturday 6th September
Body pump in the morning. Wasn't sure if I would be able to make it as the man from Virgin Media was coming to install a new box for me, but fortunately he was done and dusted before ten, so I was free to go.

Struggled a bit today, but to be fair I used good heavy weights, plus Ali is a great motivator. Wanted to go for a run afterwards but my calves are still swollen, so did some core work instead (which was overdue to be fair).

Plan for tomorrow is to do a decent long run, probably my last 20-miler before Berlin. The Chippenham half is next weekend, and after that it'll be time to start tapering down. I've learnt I need to be fresh if I'm to perform when it matters most.