HOME BOY

I've come back to Australia and starting to settle in for my holiday. We are back in Cairns staying with my sister and family. My wife and boys have been here already a couple of weeks and the kids are going to school here for the duration of our stay.

Next weekend we travel down to Townsville and I'll run the full marathon down there. I'm tapering pretty hard this week and only be doing runs under 30mins and a few sessions of 4X400s at marathon pace. I think I ran too fast and hard the week before the Hawaiian marathon and suffered because of it, besides I think I need the whole week to fully recover from a few niggles that have shown themselves due to my high mileage and sustained, 12 week, build up.

After a day off yesterday and a short sharp session this afternoon I'm not really feeling that confident as I have sore ankles and not much energy. But you know I always feel that way the week before and seem to come good on race day. I have to believe that all my good training is in there and ready to manifest itself come Sunday.

On the eve of , possibly, breaking 3 hours, I want to thank a lot of people for following my blog and making their comments. Comments that have indeed kept me going and had me smiling most of the time. But I think I better not get in front of myself. Post race will be a better time to express these sentiments.

For now I'll say thanks and see you on the otherside of 3 hours.

First Photo, me in front of a bus advertising "The Great Pyramid Race" held in my sisters home town on August 15th. While I'll be in no shape to run up that mountain I will do the 5K.

Second photo, my normal boy and retarded one get dressed for school.

COMPLICATIONS AROSE, ENSUED, AND WERE OVERCOME

Two weeks to go before my full marathon in Townsville. I'm pretty happy with the position I'm in this far out. Although there were problems during the build up the positives vastly outweigh the negatives so if there is any justice in this World I'll PB and have a good race going sub 3 for the first time.

I have put a lot more miles, and time into this training compared to the last two marathons so I expect, not unrealistically, to run better. I heard Steve Moneghetti once say that he was never nervous before a marathon as he was so obsessive about completing all his training as set "crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is" that the result would more often than not take care of itself and he'd run a good one.

I feel pretty much like this but still I'm a bit nervous cause as anyone who has been following my progress up until this point would know if there is a way to mess up I can find it. The term "Maestro of the Fuck up" is an accurate description.But surely there aren't too many more stupid things I can do so one would have to take comfort in that.

I'll have to take care the next few weeks not to overdo it or under do it, watch that I don't go on a food and beer binge and/or slip on a banana skin but as simple as it seems it is going to take probably more effort than the previous 11 weeks of running myself silly.

Any advice would be appreciated but basically I will try to drop a few miles all the while keeping up the intensity and chill.

I'm in the best shape of my life. The other day while running past the plate glass window of a shop I caught my reflection and thought to myself "Wow you look like a bloody Kenyan" and as the saying goes if you look like a marathoner chances are that will run like one.

You know if I wasn't so worried about jinxing myself up I'd say something ridiculous like "Bring it on" ;)

BACK ON TRACK

Just a quick update to let you know I'm fine and back running to my marathon plan.

I went for a second opinion on my condition at another local clinic and the nurse said I had to stop wanking, when I asked why, she said, "Because I'm trying to examine you!"

No really ;) it has just sort of taken care of itself. I reckon it had a lot to do with too much too soon, running that is.

Anyway I'll let you know more on my training the next post. But for now I'd like to thank everyone for their great runs on the Gold Coast last weekend. Great work and very inspirational!