This afternoon I received a call from Noma from the LT Museum, the charity I am fundraising for in this year’s London marathon, to ask how I was getting on with training, fundraising etc. I explained that training had been a bit so-so after Ashby 20, as Philip has decided that he’s too old to eat before going to bed (he’d rather nap than feed) and that night sleep is for babies. He is a big boy now (all of three months old!), and he intended to party till the sun came up!

His mother and I are persevering, in the same way that castaways on a raft with no drinking water might, losing their feeble grip on sanity and grateful for the occasional downpour (that’s the weekend to you and me!)

In an act of desperation last night, I put some Italian rap on for him as he was drifting off during his evening feed: he used to react to it before he was born, so we’d play some Jovanotti for him when he hadn’t kicked for a while and he’d start his little dance. Sure enough, he opened his eyes, filled his little belly and slept… like a baby big boy who’s daddy is very proud of!

Noma was quite reassuring with regards to my fundraising progress as well, pointing out that it has been progressing as these normally do in the build-up to the event and that it should peak in the days immediately before and after the Marathon itself. I was quite relieved by this to be honest, because I have to admit that lately I have been living in fear of a knock on the door by a couple of London Transport Museum “heavies”, breaking a couple of my ribs (it would be counter-productive to damage their marathon runner’s kneecaps after all!) and telling me what I nice house I have, and wouldn’t it be a shame if something were to happen to it, what with the wildfire season approaching and all?

There is still a possibility it might come to that though, so if you do feel like making a contribution to my fundraising, please do so here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LeonardSymeonides

Or if you are doing so from Greece, please donate to the Museum directly here: http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/support-us/make-a-donation and let me know you have done so, so I can ask them to allocate the funds to my fundraising campaign!

But no, it was great to talk to her, and a pleasant change from exchanging emails (or in my case, flagging them to respond to and then forgetting!), and it reinforced the whole having a team behind me aspect of running for a Charity! And what with the longer days, my new heart rate monitor strap (my previous one had become extremely random) and it being a Friday, I can’t wait to hit those mixed intervals tonight! I might even get off the roads and onto pathways and listen to some Jovanotti through my headphones (if it worked for Philip…)