the weekend

There will unfortunately be no Great North Run for me this weekend. No injury, no last minute nerves but just circumstances out of anyone's hands. It will be such a shame not to make the trip and to trudge through the miles, and I will certainly miss not spending time with the LS ladies and meeting the rest of Team LS. But i was incredible lucky to have taken part last year and to this day i still look back upon that week up in Newcastle with the fondest of memories - it was truly epic! That's what i'll be thinking on Sunday morning.

There will be no regrets at all. There will be other runs, other Great North Runs in fact. And the simple truth remains that there are just some things in life more important. I am very grateful to the guys - Sal, Lis, Abi, Phoebe and Kay for the chance to run and am just sorry I won't be there to see all the awesome fruits of their labour. Thank you again all and see you Tuesday.

It's been a funny old week to be honest. Lisa's obviously been up in Newcastle for a few days and before she left i was looking forward to a couple of stereotypical nights - beer, pizza and sport. A couple of hours after getting home i was bored out of my skull - no pizza (had to use up old pasta), a craving for milk as opposed to beer and about the nearest thing to sport on the box was watching a police foot chase in 'The Bill' - fully dry. This morning began on a far more positive note though. For months now i've been losing clothes quicker than Peter Pan lost his marbles in Hook (now there's a good film....just annoys me that Rufeo died, he was a cool kid). Without pointing the finger directly, I have had my suspicions that a certainly lady (aka the blue eyed stare) has been weeding out any parts of the wardrobe that might be deemed 'rank'. But alas, as i searched high and low for some shoes, i unearthed a chest (not really unearthed, it's always been there, just that nobody ever opens it) and there they were. The likes of Coral (pinkish jumper that divides society), Tommy (shorts for bed), the only white shirt i've ever owned and my grey sports jumper that Abi and Lisa both once said to me they hated because it didn't have any shape! Come again...?

And it then got even better when i uncovered my watch (an 18th birthday present). Fingers crossed the luck will come in threes which mean i might have a shot at devouring that fruit pastille i lost down the back of the sofa last week....orange as well!

So this morning i was looking forward to getting back into the land of the living. Our pod at work is hugely depleted at the moment, what with people off on honey moons and holidays, up at the GNR and in Birmingham for a fitness conference. As a result it's been left to just the three amigos today - myself, Rob - a tall, polite and handsome chap of 26 years who is currently trying to get over a recent tri-athlon defeat to Dave (no big deal i hear you say, just try telling him that! He's been blaming it on some kind of puncture but we're yet to be convinced). If you're trying to picture Rob think of Rob Wainwright, the old Scottish rugby player, and you're getting close.

And then there's Guy Forget, where to start with this man. No relation to his namesake and the old tennis legend but a youngster who shares the Frenchman's flamboyance and flair. Originally from Somerset, Forge has a lifestyle more befitting a man from the wine regions of the South. Relaxed, debonnair and adds a touch of class to the day job.

We're getting on well and there's high productivity on the pod at the moment. Rob's knuckling down with the latest press release and is listening to some music - tends to go for Enya. Whilst Forge has his feet on the desk and is currently honing his card tricks. He's decked out in white linen today with a pair of Gucci sunglasses and is shortly off to enjoy a South American cigar and have his shoes polished...touch of class i told you.

Best get back to it also...will write again shortly....

Nantes

what a way to spend a weekend!

A few of us managed to get tickets to England v Samoa in the world cup and by heck did the trip live up to it's billing! Having left work early on Friday afternoon we were soon across the border and on the open road. Great to catch up with friends from back home and also from university and although with hindsight it was not perhaps ideal preparation it was an enjoyable way to end a long week. Not much sleep across the two days but no hangovers either, and it was good to see England grab a few points along the way. Everyone's got their opinions on England Rugby at the moment but i just hope that we can make it through the Tonga game and then just chuck everything we've got at the Aussies. If we make the quarters then that's our shot to play without any clouds hanging over us. Expectations will be low so fingers crossed they'll run it from everywhere - a little like Norwich City....

On that note Tim, reading the match reports was not altogether a good way to spend five minutes. Bought back some happier memories of my only trip to Molineux for the play-off semi final many years ago....how times have changed.... Not going to be an easy season this one for us i don't think - looking in better shape though in the midlands for both you and Jason with West Brom!


Unfortunately no running over past couple of days but we're heading out this evening and then winding our way towards Sunday. Only a few miles though tonight as an anniversary has come out of nowhere and there's some romance to be taken care of. History doesn't bode well for Pinder Jnr on these sort of occasions so i'll need to pull something out of the bag. Latest update does not look good but i'll keep you posted....and if you don't hear from me tomorrow you can safely assume that very little went to plan....

Also, i just wanted to wish the guys good luck for this week up in Newcastle. We saw Phoebe, Kay and Sal off this morning and no doubt they had a safe and fun journey up North....eye, spy, with my little eye! They've been working like trojans as everyone knows but this week will be epic to see it all come together - very gutted not to have a seat in the Landrover with them but already looking forward to seeing them at the weekend. Abi and Lis are off tomorrow as well i think so not long before the whole motley crew are together - has anybody warned the geordies!

all the best,

nick

with baited breath....

Truth be told the training for this run hasn't quite proved to be as consistent as I'd originally envisioned. And I fear that maintaining a dedicated regime and keeping focus just might not be in my nature. I've done a fair few races of different mileage, but can I honestly look at myself and say that I had trained as well as I could have done for any of them - simple answer is no.

It annoys me, this part of my personality, really annoys me. For years I've talked about getting rid of the old love handles. And yet the despite all this talk the plain fact is that I've been to a gym around three times in the past three years. I also talk about geting a really good half marathon time, but then I've never really given myself a chance because I follow a decent training run with two weeks off as a reward!

Disappointing really, but then some things have happened recently to completely change my frame of mind. There's a simple reason I don't gym it and that's because I find it pretty dull. So why should i feel guilty? My mother doesn't like sailing, so she doesn't go sailing. My old man doesn't like ballet, so he doesn't go to see ballet. For sure I want to be fit and in good health, but there are plenty of things I enjoy that can help me get to that goal.

That's where running fits in. I enjoy running when i'm in the state of mind, when i have something to focus on. But i'd be lying if i said i enjoyed it enough for it to take over my life. My Great North Run won't be any more enjoyable if i break 1.50 or anything like that. It's about enjoying the challenge for me and making sure i absolutely savour the atmosphere!

Cannot wait....happy weekends

Great North Run

Nothing tastes quite as good as a post run hot dog, lathered in tomato ketchup. And the Geordies do a good banger so that thought will get me going more than most. So much is down to the day though now – as long as we’ve all trained hard then that’s all you can ask. It will be a special occasion for certain, it’s a special race! And just as long as I beat the Lucozade Sport bottle I’ll be a happy man!