Date: 15th January 2006 Christmas and New Year seem like a distant memory rather than a mere two weeks go. As predicted, I drank and ate a huge amount! I did manage to do a bit of running, though not as much as I’d liked to, or should, have done. I ended up feeling so sick of booze that I made a New Year’s resolution to give up alcohol till the London Marathon. I figured it will help my training, get rid of some excess weight and stop me using a hangover as an excuse to skip runs. So far, even though it’s only been two weeks, I can honestly say I haven’t missed alcohol at all. I know this might sound weird, but by cutting out booze is making my life a lot simpler. I now no longer have to decide to whether to have a night in the pub OR do a 10 mile run the next day – I can do both! It’s a real struggle to fit in the sheer hours of running – totting up the amount of time I’m on my feet is quite scary. This week I plan to spend seven hours running! Finding the time to do things like shopping has been hard – I even did a midnight shop at our local 24 hour supermarket last week! The time spent padding the streets of York has been going well. I ran 35 miles in the first week after Christmas, then 39 this week. My longest run so far is 11 miles, so I’m trying not to think of the extra 15.2 which I’ll be doing on the day! My pace is a bit slow for the moment. My clothes feel a bit looser this week although the huge amount of food I’m consuming will probably cancel out these benefits soon! Nick | 
