The first week off training since I found out I had a place in the marathon is over and I wont pretend that it has been easy. There have been two or three times when really I didn't fancy placing a foot outside the door and the odd moment while actually running when I was considering the whole idea as being completely daft. Luckily my heart won over my brain and 73 kilometers or 45.6 miles have been completed since last Monday.

But of course it is daft, trying to squeeze in the maximum amount of training but the onset of winter could not be described as anything different. Coming back from a hard day at work and turning straight back out of the door again for a run is a perfectly good reason for the funny looks from non runners. The first flutters of snow cannot be too far away but hopefully running until the end of December will not cause too many problems. After which a combination swimming, expat style cross country skiing and gym work will be the order of the day. With any luck I should be able to be running outside again but having to start to taper but the quantity and quality all depends on the weather.

What lies in future in terms of my training is still uncertain but week one has in retrospect been a good one. There may have been times when I didn't want to run, but I did all the same. There have been chances to skip a section or not run the extra loop of the lake, but I ran them all the same. Daft it may be, but being able to say that I didn't cheat on myself makes it all worth while and something that I can be proud of, heres to a second week of the same.