29/03/22 19:51 

Fairlop Oak, mixed grill and an unexpected mocha.  Unexpected? I was originally planning on having a rum and lemonade but something told me not to.  So I didn’t.  I have, however, gone for the non-decaf variety of coffee.  So here I am, no writing box as I couldn’t be bothered moving things from my hand-luggage (which is quite possibly the smallest hand-luggage I’ve ever taken anywhere) to the box and then back again.  But it’s fine.  I cleared the table myself and the brown leather notebook cover is protecting the book, nicely. 

It’s weird when I think about it.  In roughly 110 hours, I’ll be heading off for my marathon, erm, marathon around Paris and I’ve not been running since Friday.  It’ll be over a week by Sunday.  And that last run was only ten kilometres.  A mere 32 kilometres less than I’ll be completing.  But it’s okay.  I don’t expect to finish it having ran all the way.  I’m hoping to run the first half and maybe run for around a quarter of the final half.  I’m looking at beating the 5-hour 30-minute mark and by running slower at the beginning, I should be able to go further for longer and at a quicker pace.  Does that make sense?  I’ll be listening to Duolingo French lessons to keep my pace at around 10:30 a mile. 

Whilst not having to worry about the logistics of taking my boys back to their mother afterwards (á la London marathon) I’m shifting my concerns to pre-race.  The meals I eat have to be both nutritious and place no trauma on my digestive system.  I’ve generally been okay in Paris, but worry is still worry.  And the boys are going to play in the Chelmsford rugby festival without me being there.  I hope they’ll have their phones with them so I can check on their progress during my walking phases.  They’ll be able to use Find My to keep an eye on me as well as the official Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris app.  They’re getting a lift from the parents of a team-mate of my youngest. 

Talking of apps, I’ve added my Tous Anti-Covid French certificate to my Apple Watch.  That’ll hopefully help reduce the requirement to keep pulling out my phone and showing my pass sanitaire.  I do enjoy that, though.  It makes me feel like a resident, a local, a regular.    

The more I focus on the marathon, the more excited I get.  But the more excited I get, the more I worry that something’s going to go wrong.  I know I’ve done the London and I know I’m not running the whole 26 miles.  I also know I simply have to focus on completing the journey which really isn’t that big a deal for me.  The walk back to the hotel?  That’s a distance.  The stairs to my room?  I dread to think.  Bath or shower?  Who knows.  Laying down until the morning?  Bliss.  Standing up to go to the toilet on Monday morning?  Not going to pretend – that’s my main worry.  As well as bringing the bottles and extra purchases back in my already heaving suitcase.  I was wondering last night why it was full when I took more to Ibiza in October.  Ibiza saw me with one pair of shoes packed.  This time, I have smart shoes, Skechers and my New Balance.  Plus a few warmer clothes as the weather has decided to play silly games.  The first week of April should be glorious sunshine.  Oh well, it could be the longest run in the rain I’ve ever done.  It won’t be the coldest, though, so that’s something, I guess. 

On another exciting note, I got my new business cards through today.  And with a few tweaks, they and the stickers will look awesome.  First print, like pancakes, never turn out as they should.  But then again, I never usually cook 100 pancakes straight off the bat. 

And yes, I wrote this evening’s entry in green ink.