BONJOUR mes amis et bonnet des douches! I have now returned from my holidays in France and am probably starting to look like a croissant now. The good news is that I feel very well rested after my injury scare and the ankle feels much, much better.

I managed one quick-ish run of around 4 miles while I was away and felt no ill-effects. However that doesn’t leave much to talk about other than all the wine and baguettes the Loire Valley has to offer! Very nice, by the way.

I feel really psyched up now for 2 more weeks of hard training. I shall try an 18-miler at the weekend and maybe another the week after, depending on how comfortable it feels (if it is comfy, then I know I am in good enough shape).

Last week I spoke about an old rivalry that will be re-kindled in Berlin. It is indeed between myself and the famous Haile Gebrselassie, marathon world record holder.

Last year in the London Marathon when we both ran against each other (in considerable heat) for the 1st time, it was in fact me that came out victorious.

Although he was well ahead of me at the time, he actually dropped out after 20 miles, complaining of stomach cramps. It is true that I had actually covered only 7 miles at that point, however, I did manage to put my head down and complete the race, thus notching up the victory(albeit 4 hours slower than his WR).

This time round, he’s racing again as the pre-race favourite, so I’d put your money on him!

Weekly Tip from the Top (half).

Set yourself a realistic goal. Almost everyone I know (including me) sets their sights just a little too high, particularly over the marathon distance. If you get to know your training distances, you can work out what you are capable of. Drive your routes in the car if you can to see how far you are running exactly.

People often say “you’ll be all right on the day with all the people cheering you on” or “the other runners will drag you round with them”, but in my experience you’ll be just as good as any other day and you are only as good as your training has made you.

Next week I’ll be back and probably moaning about how hard my long run was!

Please visit www.indianoceanrace.com to view the official website of the world record attempt, to meet Guy and Andrew and to make a donation if you so choose.