It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If I tell you that I've worn that face for the last twenty-four hours, I probably wouldn't need to add that I'm not feeling anywhere near my normal self.

I'm determined not to wear that face tomorrow.

I've got a camera phone.

Want a ridiculously cheap mobile? I'm selling one on eBay. There's a day left on the auction, a bargain at

I'm running the Leeds Abbey Dash this November, running 10k to raise funds for Help the Aged. Please sponsor me!

110 days to go
So it was this evening that I pulled on my running shoes for the first time in a while and went for a "test run". I had no idea how I would feel and deliberately took a route where I could extend it or curtail it depending on how I felt I was getting on. In the end I felt pretty good and opted to go the long way, taking me close to Temple Newsam House instead of heading back through the housing estate. I was feeling really good, although it was clear early on that I'd probably taken on too much food at dinner time as I was feeling a bit bulky!

About three-quarters of the way around though, I felt the need to take a breather. I wasn't exhausted, but I figured it was a good idea. It wasn't. Even though I only stopped for two minutes, after my breather it was really hard going. My legs were like lead weights when I got started again, and I ended up jogging and walking the rest of the way back.

However, I still managed to cover about 4.2k (about 2.6 mile) which isn't bad at all for a test run. It's a nice little route that I think I'll stick to for now, and I'll see if I can work my way up to completing it without stopping. It's just a start, but to get anywhere near last year's performance I have to run more than double that route without stopping (and probably a lot quicker too). I have 110 days!