I am happy to report that Barry is back! As I lolloped around the lake while everyone else was still in bed this morning, there he was- plastic bottle in mouth, tail wagging, and a cheeky glint in his eye. I really wanted to stop and get a photo of him, but unfortunately, I was moving way too fast to be able to stop in time- so fast, in fact, he was almost a blur. Maybe next time!

I am also slightly confused as to how this seems to be getting harder. I have been following my training plan and definitely not overdoing it, yet this morning was the toughest day yet. The muscles in my haunches burnt, I couldn’t seem to catch my breath and even the cheesy 80’s/90’s dance music in my headphones didn’t help. On the plus side, I have lost 700g in weight which almost makes putting myself through his ordeal, worth it!

Side note: it turns out that my headphones are not soundproof from the outside as I discovered when I popped into a shop to grab water on my way back. It became rather apparent that the whole queue could hear me unashamedly listening to “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” by C+C Music Factory (don’t pretend you are too cool to know what song I mean).

In an attempt to keep improving, rather than just plateauing, getting disheartened and giving up, I am going to increase my training sessions to four times a week (urgh) whilst keeping the pace steady and not overdoing it.

I am overjoyed that some of you have had enough faith in me to put your hands in your pockets and donate to this great cause! When I set out to do this, I set a target of EUR 300, but am happy to say we have just surpassed the halfway point with over a month left to go. I haven’t even started emotionally blackmailing my friends and colleagues yet, so I guess the sky is the limit!

If you haven’t donated yet, please do. This is not about me running, this is about making sure one of the few truly independent media voices in Malta is able to keep running. We rely on donations to make it from month to month, instead of selling ourselves out for political funding or government advertising. Don’t let us be silenced, every cent helps!