On the 28th April I'll be plodding along for about four hours on the, undoubtedly rainy, streets of Manchester in what is, thankfully, the flattest route in Europe. My 16 week plan starts on Monday, except it'll have to be Tuesday as, for some reason, the plan says the race will be on a Saturday. The hotel is booked (although I haven't sorted the Monday off work yet - I'll bloody need it) and I'm already contemplating a new pair of trainers early on in the training to avoid the potential disaster if last time.
I'd be happy to finish but once my competitive streak kicks in I'll be looking at sub 4 hours really. I've let my fitness go since the Great North Run so I'll be pretty much starting from scratch. No idea if I'll achieve it or not but I'm doing a parkrun tomorrow to get my head in the game as an American might say. I've got 15 miles to do this week. More than I've run for a good three months. I'm cutting right down on booze (rat-arsed last night though, watching The Purnells, The Smiles and Collectors Club at Doctor Brown's)
Music is going to have to play a big part in getting me through this so any suggestions would be welcome. 4 hours is going to need some hefty playlisting. How does Rick Wakeman's King Arthur thing go? War of The Worlds too maybe? Or just Sandinista! If I can handle listening right through. Anyway, whatever I decide...you'll be...the first...to know...
