I did approach the Christmas period with a sense of foreboding – it’s a usual time to eat and drink too much, put on some weight, and lose all the fitness I’d worked so hard to build after injuring my ankle.

However, I did not eat to excess, and I managed a fell race on Boxing day. My legs in truth still haven’t recovered fully; my running is dreadful at present. The daily cycle commute of 30 miles is a wonderful cross train however, and whilst my legs feel like two blocks of lead, I am encouraged by my fitness. I don’t appear to have lost much, (not that I had a huge amount before Christmas mind!), and I have lost half a kilo. Ideally I would like to lose 5-8 KGs for racing, but given that I’m so far off being able to race yet, I can’t be too unhappy.

So today I will be entering the Haworth Hobble. And a-hobbling I shall be. I plan to walk/jog the distance this year, my real aim is to do a good years work on the hills, and then run it next year. I can’t see me ever getting near the winning times which are usually and incredibly down near the 4 hour mark, but I’d like to be able to compete, and that will require a long set up time. Plans after that vary, but they certainly include moving house in order to be able to train in hills!