Hey!! It's Christmas - a time of good beer to all men

Deck the bells with walls and cherries!!

Its Christmas time again. And at times like these my thoughts turn to those ordinary people in the world who are not as fortunate as us elite Olympians. You see I know how difficult it is in these Credit Scratch times when money is tight. Some people even have to have Bernard Matthews turkeys, you know!

I thought that I'd just drop you a seasonal line to let you know how my strict regime has been going – and also share with you my thoughts as we approach this festive period.

I must admit Ronettes that I've taken the foot of the electric this last couple of weeks and my training is not quite what it should be – but I'm confident that I'll get things back on track in the New Year. I've not done too many miles as the place has been stuffed with snow, ice and rain. Training is always difficult when the bad weather comes because the Half Share does struggle to get the path and road clear at Ron Towers – despite me buying her a new shovel for her birthday. So, I decided that I'd have a period of rest and focus instead on tapering and carbo loading. I did though make a couple of personal appearances. I pottered up to Caravan County to help start the Kent Christmas Cracker – and enjoyed helping dish out mullered wine and mint pies to runners. Last Saturday I carried out similar duties at the Christmas Pudding Dash in Battle and it was good to catch up with some of the legion of adoring fans I've assembled. Bit of an issue with the mullered wine and Ernie but I chucked him in the back of his Transit and we got out before the police arrived.

I've got my training plans in place for the New Year and I will be stepping up my mileage as I prepare for my celebrity appearance in next year's London Marathon. I've also got a string of overseas races planned in Cork, Bruges, Paris, Luxembourg, Norway, France, Amsterdam and, of course, my return to Indialand in October. So, it's going to be a busy year for Yours Truly as 2012 begins to loom large. I have also suggested that the Half Share puts her back into it and gets some miles under her belt – and I think she appreciated my concern when I pointed out that her midriff was not supposed to be hanging over her pinny.

So what is life like for an Olympic superstar I hear you shouting? I'm visiting family for a couple of days and I'm currently in a place called the Midlands which is somewhere that people go to to get used accents before visiting the north. I've brought my mate Ernie with me to help with my training programme.

Today is Christmas Eve and I'll be holding my usual Training Planning meeting with Ernie later today. We'll probably pop up to the Horse and Cucumber for a couple of tubes then go for a little tour of local places of worship before settling down with a kebab and watch Spartacus. Christmas Day we'll nip to the Rose and Thorn for a sip with the Landlord before sitting down to the full turkey monte which the Half Share should have defrosted by the time we get home. Then it's a well earned kip on the couch whilst the Cash Drainers sit watching Mary Poppins – and that's what is important for me. Christmas is a time for the kids and as long as they enjoy it then I'm happy. Well so long as they keep out of my way and keep the bally noise down.

I'll be returning to Ron Towers on Boxing Day and there's a small chance that I may make an appearance at a local 10K on Sunday. I'll also be aiming to return to Caravan County on New Year's Day for the Deal Bar Run - it says Bra Run in the papers but I presume thats a typing error.

I'll pop back with my Annual Christmas and New Year Message soon – but in the meantime have a happy and merry Christmas. And kids – remember that at this time of year there are always people worse off than yourself, so make sure you keep all your sweets and chocolates safe. You don't want people trying to pinch em!

In the words of the Bobby Davro song – rom pom pom pom.

Keep on tapering.

Ron