I have had the words of that great football philosopher ringing in my ears this week. Yes, none other than Alan Curbishley (if nothing else, my mate Ed will be glad that I wrote that, even if everyone else thinks I'm losing it.)

I once remember hearing an interview with "Curbs" after his team, Charlton, had been going through an incredibly inconsistent spell, when he mused "Things are never quite as good as they seem and they are never quite as bad as they seem."  Although not a line to rival Wordsworth or the Bard himself, it was certainly an apt summary of my last week in the world of running.

Last Friday I was flying high. I had bagged over 70 miles with the weekend still to come, including a good session on the Tuesday and some tempo work on the Thursday. I'd even managed a pilates class, a circuit class and a strength and conditioning set. I was really looking forward to the weekend and ran hoem with a spring in my step on Friday evening. I had some good training planned and my wife had some family coming over to visit. I was highly optimistic that I was on course to give myself a real shot of achieving my aim of a top 10 finish at the Northern (and maybe even thinking that I had grounds for privately raising my expectations upwards...) But things are never quite as good as they seem...

At 9pm on Friday, I started feeling a bit ropey and it quickly became apparent that my weekend plans were going out of the window. I spent 16 hours in bed on Saturday feeling sick and was devoid of any appetite all weekend. I was off work on Monday and eventually dragged myself into work on Tuesday, which left me exhausted. Wednesday was really miserable. I felt absolutely terrible and still very sick and was beginning to wonder if I would ever feel well again! I drove into work, but could barely even get myself out of the car to walk in. I ended up sleeping for an extra 40 minutes slumped over the steering wheel. I should probably have gone home as I was at the end of my tether and was questioning whether my whole winter was falling apart and whether I'd caught some awful illness that had prematurely ended my running career! As far as the  Northerns went, I reckoned that my goal should still be top 10 - with another couple of noughts stuck on the end... But things are never quite as bad as they seem.....

As it was, by Wednesday evening I felt a little bit better and then on Thursday I woke up finally feeling human again. The difference from Wednesday when I had sat in my car trying to move, but failing miserably, was remarkable. I ran on Thursday morning and although I felt a little tired in the last mile, I had no ill effects.

Friday went OK and on Saturday I enjoyed a really good session with some of the Alty lads in a park in the southern Lake District. Although I wasn't quite at my best, it was a good work out and showed that I was recovering quickly. It also just showed how ridiculous my thoughts were that I thought my winter was over and that you should never be too down about your running - there is always something positive on the horizon. I'm as guilty as the next man of sometimes getting a bit down in the dumps when I'm ill/injured, but even though I know it, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everything is against you, when the reality is nothing of the sort. In particular, its crucial to always have some perspective on things, not least of all so you don't drive those close to you, like friends and family, insane, when things don't go quite right.

At the same time, its important not to get too carried away with yourself sometimes. Of course, when a big race comes around, its easy to let your mind wander and start getting too excited about outcomes and results, carefully running through individual and team placings in your mind, days before the race starts and forgetting that there is still 40 minutes of pain to endure before you get there first and that a lot can happen on race day! In many ways, being ill has perhaps dampened my own expectations a little for next week and after what I've already written in this blog, maybe that's not such a bad thing, after all. Needless to say though, I'll be giving it everything on Saturday - see you all there.