So my weekend was good - enhanced somewhat by the joyous concept of only nine more working days, followed by a month in Scotland.

Seeing as I have all this chemistry experience (3/4 of a degree and a years work in the pharmaceutical industry), for the duration of my stay in Scotland I have accepted a job as...wait for it...a pipe fitter and labourer. Quality.

Plus I'll no longer have a computer as I just lent my PC to my brother's girlfriend - I'll have to sneak a few goes on my mates one to check in every so often, but you won't be seeing so much of me.

Spent Saturday morning in the gym with my good friend David, who, in the spirit of friendship, donned some body armour and sparred with me. Or, to be more accurate, ran away from me for three quarters of an hour. We then had some lunch and went into London to meet some workmates who had skipped straight to liquid refreshments and shots of O2 in Oxygen on Leicester square - I would say that I refrained from participating in the festivities but I'd be a total liar. By the time Happy hour rolled round, I was well into my third Singapore Sling (tastes like fizz bombs, yum!) and thoroughly enjoying myself. Once in the Langley, my cheeriness evaporated in light of the squalid trendy hell-hole that it is, so I decided to leave. At which point the heavens opened.

I would say that the rain was terrible, but it really cleared the streets for once - I think I was the only person not hiding in Starbucks - and for once I quite enjoyed a wander in London.

On Sunday I got up and dismantled a bookshelf at 7 a.m. before eating some pasta and stretching...
...at 10.28 I was standing with 500 others at the start line of the Harlow 10 mile road race, getting psyched up to run.

Now, my training hasn't been going so well recently: I hurt my ankle at the gym not too long ago and have been reluctant to do anything over 3 miles as a result, so I wasn't too hopeful about putting in a decent time. In fact, when we started, I plodded along with the rest of the Sunday runners like an unhappy little automaton.

But when I got to the 4 mile mark, and the sun came out, and people were all out in their back gardens cheering us on, I felt so good that I just started accelerating, and finished with a time of 74 minutes. Which isn't too bad for my first 10 mile event.

Mind you, I could hardly walk to work this morning, and my abdominals are sore to the touch.

And I do this for fun?

Plus, I got a pair of smart trousers for less than half price whilst wandering round Next. All in all a ruling weekend.

Bourne