I was expecting by now to be back online and blogging regularly, but the Telecoms companies (and how on Earth do they allow themselves to be so unutterably useless, never mind how Ofcom allows them to be so) have messed up royally. So I'm not. I'd like to spend some time on this before reporting on my progress.

We informed Sky that we were switching to Virgin, and that installation was booked for the 17th March. So, for reasons best known to themselves, they cut off our phone line, and therefore our Broadband connection, on the 26th February. And then proceeded to issue us with a bill to the end of April. Letter-writing a-go-go.

Then, on 17th March, Virgin completely failed to put in an appearance. They were called, natch, and told us 'it's been rebooked for 6 April'. No, 'we're sorry'. They just came right out with it. Which, of course begged the question, 'who on earth did you rebook it with, cos it certainly wasn't with us'! 'We've been trying to call you', they said. 'On the line that Sky have obviously killed off because you're supposed to be here bloody well installing it?' Seriously, does nobody have a brain? Or a sense of responsibility? Or a simple desire to do a decent job? They had our e-mail address, a webmail one we can pick up anywhere, such as at work every single sodding day. They have our address and could have written. But, no. They just kept trying to phone a number that would obviously be out of commission at some point prior to their visit. This appointment was booked 6 weeks in advance, so how the hell could it suddenly be undoable and how could they possibly think that changing it without using one of the perfectly viable methods of getting in touch was an acceptable thing to do?

Anyway, without calling down the wrath of the censorship gods on my head, I can't really say much more. Suffice to say, Virgin is the first company we've ever lodged a complaint with BEFORE even becoming a customer. There may no longer be a monopoly in the telecomms industry, but with every option being utterly useless, it's pretty much like trying to decide who to vote for in a general election. Utterly pointless and soul-destroying. No wonder there's a minimum contract rule, or none of them would ever retain customers.

Back to my moutons. Running. I've been doing it. Lots and lots and lots of it. I'm in the final stages of building up the mileage at the weekends before 2 weeks of 'tapering' leading up to the big day. The lighter mornings and evenings, along with the much-improved weather, are making it a positive pleasure to head out for each session lately, although finishing the long runs is still a painful experience. The numbers of people out-and-about seem to be increasing as the marathon draws ever closer, but the mood seems to be improving as well. There's a lot of fellow-feeling floating about the place, everyone's up for a wave and a smile and fitter people even manage a few words of encouragement if they see you're suffering. Talking while running - not a myth!

It's been so long since I wrote, I can't fully remember the last report I wrote, so I'll focus on the last 2 long runs. Last Sunday I did 15 miles and yesterday was 17. I had not done a long run in 3 weeks prior to the 15 miles and it nearly killed me. It took 2 hours 30 minutes, which is 10-minute-mile pace and a bit disappointing. On the plus side, it's the first time I've run so far East on one of these sessions, and blimey the views from the clifftops in Thingummydeanhaven are stunning. I've been wondering about the visual stimulation this course might offer, having only ever run the London course in the past. I never run with music on the big day, to absorb the atmosphere and really get the most out of the experience, but it has been worrying me. Having seen this section of the course now (I really hope, though, that they put some portaloos up there, because otherwise it's completely convenience-free) I'm looking forward to that bit. And there's always Shoreham power station to keep you chuntering along towards the end!

Sarcasm (I don't think I can properly lay claim to irony) aside, it is very important to have something to look forward to when trying to get round 26 miles on foot. We got an impressive- and expensive-looking brochure through the door the other day from the organisers, explaining what was happening on the day and why and trying to get the community enthused about it instead of focussing on the inconvenience of some parts of the city being temporarily inaccessible. I REALLY HOPE THIS WORKS. And it appears there's quite a lot of roadside entertainment planned, which is nice. And, to be honest, having run London twice I couldn't tell you what the Cutty Sark looks like. Tower Bridge? Really? Docklands? When? You know what I mean. But the Brighton course now seems lovely, in spite of the hills.

Dreams of 4 hours are fading, to be honest, particularly after yesterday's 17 miles, which took 2 hours 56. I'm almost resigned to walking parts of the course - I'm thinking a bit of mile 15 and a bit of mile 20, realistically. I just want it to happen, now, and quickly, and then spend some time sitting down. Next weekend will be my last long run, 19 miles I hope, before I begin to cut back in final preparation. I'll know better after that how the day might go. In the meantime, if you got one of the brochures, I hope you're excited about what will be one of the city's biggest annual events and motivated to come out and join in. It should be a great day - for spectators at least, we runners may struggle to smile all the way round, but there will be grins and probably tears aplenty as we each cross the finish line!