A larded bumpy blip but New Year awaits!

Events have led to no recent entry onto this diary. These will be exposed shortly but first the good bit - the running.

11 December - another great run. Bassett and I met up in St Johns Wood and ran and ran. Over to, through and around Regents Park, up Primrose Hill (not as big as I thought but oh what views), round and up to Hampstead Heath, up, up to the top of Parliament Hill (on a clear day like this simply jaw droppingly nice), down, over to the ladyfriend playing football, begun to seize up and then round the hills and all the way back again to St Johns Wood for a deserved sausage sandwich and play on the new Wii. Two of London's biggest hills and 14km. Great day!

18 December - pretty great. We ran all the way from Waterloo/Southwark, to Notting Hill and Back again. Getting on for half a mararthon through the parks with all their greenery, serenity and ducks. Only downer of the 18th was running into a tree and pretty much knocking myself out. Less said about that the better beyond a couple of concussed days, some bleeding, a trip to the Minor Injuries Clinic at Barts and still receeding scrapes that are not best. Neither is coming into a respectable work for the second time in a month with a black eye. Even if they are not pub-brawl related, people jump to conclusions. Trees and footie boots are big enough obstacles for me.

Actually this needs slightly more information as this is the downer part. That added to the run in and run down to Christmas after no holiday for four months and no curreng Gym (finally finished last week) meant running was not much on the agenda. Add to that the excesses of the last few days of festive festivities and I like many others am feeling rather sodden, gluuttey and larded down. The positives left to focus on are a new year when I am supposed to get all fit, healthy and focused, along with a general feeling that this year might as well be a damn good'un.

Add to all this that I have the fortune of meeting that fantastic woman who set up and runs Parikrma at the start of January, some trips to Greece, Israel and Hungary in Jan/Feb and an array of training regimes to choose from pretty damn quickly should make the winter blues fall away.... oh well not fall away but at least part!

The we have that so waited for Marathon!

In the bag:
84km and $160

Not too bad

Arnie and I finally started our joint training for the 26 miles 385 yards (I understand that the marathon only became that distance from 1924 and that the actual distance from Marathon to Athens - the route on which the legend arose- is "only" 21.4 miles), by a leisurely 11km run or so from Waterloo up through Westminster, St James' Park, Green Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Notting Hill Holland Park, Kensington and finally down to Earls Court. A beautiful day that just sets you right after the week before. The highlight of this for me was seeing Speakers Corner for the first time (legendary corner of Hyde Park where, as I found out, people tend to shout at each other).

Anyway won't waste anymore time when the 4th day of the Ashes is approaching except to start a couple of tallys that will hopefully rise quite significantly over the coming 4 months:

Money raised for Parikrma: $150
Distance covered: 52km

NB: the km count includes those couple of recent runs with Dave and Jules since in aid of a bit of necessary pre-prep training!

YEEEEESSSSSSSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Checking my mailbox this afternoon still worse for ware after last nights mildly messy work xmas party I had reason to jump up and down and wear an inane grin that has barely released its grip all day - I AM IN THE LONDON MARATHON.

I knew it as soon as I saw the rather large letter - it would be cruel to give so much info to someone who failed on the ballot. I just cannot believe my luck. I mean you have to wait 5 years of failed ballots before automatic entry and I got it first time. Its simply bloody excellent. Here is a challenge and one I relish. I came back from a year away last year hardened in my reslove to not just let life fly by when starting work and this is my way of doing it. A new challenge, a new test and a whole new type of experience. Brilliant.

This means I can raise money for a charity of my choice and an amazingly worthy charity it is. The Parikrma foundation. A charity that not only takes 100's of kids from the poorest slums in Bangalore (India), feeds them, educates them and stuffs them full of confidence to take on the world, but aims to fundamentally change the school system in the world's second most populous country. They round off the job by aiming to guarentee every child a place at university. I have no negative word for this organization that holds a very special place in my heart after working with the kids next year and now I have the opportunity to repay just a small amount of what they have given me. I believe it just costs $150 per child per year and I will start off my fundraising by putting that sum in myself. You have to start somewhere. Just think if only $1500 was raised that still takes a young child from one of the most poverty stricken backgrounds in the world to having an opportunity to take on the world. What a wonderful gift to be able to give.

More details of the charity and how anyone can support them will follow. For now I better get out running. Tomorrow I will put on the shoes, meet Arnie and see how far our feet and lardy bodies will take us...