Well, it must be time for a catch-up

I didn't realise that it was so long since I had written on here. So much of nothing has happened really!
After January, things took a proper downturn. My stomach problem returned, and chased any fitness I had accumulated out of the window. It took a whole month, punctuated with desperate trips to the gym to try and at least to keep up the pretence of training but as the condition is quite debilitating this was never going to be a success. Grizzly time was fast approaching and odds were heavily stacked in favour of my going down there as a spectator, much to my dismay.
And then..in the first week of March I suddenly got better. Such is the way sometimes. I immediately got out and started to try a few runs in the hope that I could get round the cub run, whatever the pace.
On race day I decided to hang on to Mike for as long as I could; We were blessed with fine Devon weather after such a dreadfully wet Winter. It was wonderful on top of those cliffs.
I had no problem at all with the run, I had bags of energy and could probably have squeezed out a better performance but I was celebrating the fact that it was such a glorious morning and that I could run again (and of course I was running with my friend !)
The aftermath was filled with new plans, although in fairness I didn't make the best of the weeks following the race. I entered a couple of races but was unable to get in much meaningful training - although I was capable of revising plan after plan .. :))
..and then I came up with the idea of the early-morning run, combining my naturally early rising habit with time to run before breakfast & whatever else the day held. If I could get in a few of those each week it would form the core of my weekly sessions - everything else could be a tailored run.
All began so well, and then I became ill again. This time one of those chest/throat infections which if you are an asthmatic like me seems to takes ages to come to the boil and then longer to leave your system. Aghhh!! It's so frustrating. I tried running through it, but in the end was forced to take bed rest (well, settee rest) . I consoled myself with some good reads and sport watching on TV, taking in the London Marathon and the Paris Roubaix bike race. And all the while, the lawn was growing into an unmanageable state outside too..
I missed the Sexarathon race I was simply too ill to take part. I have entered the series though so I need some return on my investment. I also have to 'get fit' for a 60 mile bike ride in May. Now I am nearing the end of this bout of illness it's back on the roads and the hills again.
My other, maybe longer term target is to get back to sub-20 for 5k. I have no real idea of how fast I can do it (when well) but I'm guessing there is room for improvement.
But first, I need to do some running. One step at a time..