I am a slug..............

...........Well I do feel very sluggish. I think the heat's getting to me. Yesterday's 6 miles was very hard going and I just couldn't coax myself out of bed this morning either. Anyway, I'm into the last quarter of my run; only144 miles (1008 laps) left to go and only 4 weekends before I do my marathon. I'm hoping it's going to be a lot cooler on that day. I'm still 14 miles ahead and my toe blisters are getting worse!

Thank you to the Coleman sisters for getting me onto the Sun website (see the link below)! And I'd also like to say hello to all the students from the URNU Aberdeen who are following my progress. I hope Mitch manages to coerce you into sending a cheque down!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/416241/Look-whos-helping.html

Vaseline is an amazing thing.

I managed to run 18 miles on Sunday even though I had to stop 3 times in order that the sea boats could be launched/recovered/re-launched. The weather was a lot hotter and because I run much earlier than on previous runs, it was a humid for longer. But all that considered, I didn't feel too bad after and even this morning I felt good enough to sneak 2 miles in!

I have no new injuries to report apart from a small amount of chafing; my blisters are still there but are currently well strapped up. I used loads of vaseline in the latter stages of my 18 miler as my shorts were rubbing a lot and it's because of vaseline that my chafing was limited to a small area. Hopefully, I won't be walking like I've just got off a horse for long!

I'm now 14 miles ahead of schedule and have completed 434 miles (3038 laps) and have 27% left to run. My combined running time is over 64 hours and my average time for a mile is around 9 minutes.

You run around for 33 miles waiting for a Neil Diamond tune.........

.............then 3 come along at once! It didn't help matters, though, in the last 7 mile run I did. The heat is affecting me massively at the moment. It's making running so much harder. I'm glad I have a 2 day rest before I go for 18 miles (or more) on Sunday. I'm drinking loads while I'm running too, which means that I'm having to go to the toilet (for a posh Paula) more often. But still, the hardship I'm going through is nothing compared to what the boys and girls out in Iraq and Afghanistan are going through. So I'll stop going on about it and Jog on!

186 (1302 laps) miles left, approx 31% and I'm still 10 miles ahead. Happy days.

Not feeling the love.

I think it's because Neil Diamond hasn't featured in any of my recent runs. Or it could be that it's actually too hot to run at the moment and I'm fresh out of all motivation for running. Who knows?

Anyway, moan over, I'm 10 miles ahead of schedule with 193 miles left to complete (in approximately 35 running days). That equates to between 35 and 42 laps a day. It's quite a lot really. It's only 5 and a half weeks until I run my marathon!

Horrendous!

I have to say that this 18 mile run has been the hardest run of my life to date. I've run longer distances, but never in the hot and humid conditions of the Arabian Gulf. I struggled to catch my breath for the first 6 miles and then the sun came up and super heated everything. It was very hard going, but I managed to complete it in 3 hours 10 minutes. I have to admit that I did walk 6 laps, just to get my breath back of course! I think I've had about 15 litres of fluid since I got up at 0350 this morning, which is why I think my legs haven't become stiff yet; all the trips to the heads (toilet) are preventing it!

I have 208 miles left to run and I'm 6 miles ahead of schedule. I'm now going to enjoy my 2 rest days!!

Blisters...............

.........Are not good. And I have a few. Which again is not good. I know they won't have gone by the time I do 18 miles on Saturday (it should've been Sunday, but that's a different story), so I'll just have to cope the best I can. I've considered a few different strategies, (and the vodka one was looking good for a long while and is still one of my better ideas) but I think I'm going to wedge my socks full of vaseline. I'll scour t'internet for other solutions, though, just to see if there's a better option. I'll also trim my talons to see if that makes a difference!

I'm currently 4 miles ahead of schedule, with 226 miles left to do. I'm still quite upbeat about running, although this cold, that I've had for about 2 weeks, is starting to get quite annoying. 1582 laps to go!!