Motivation Monday

Motivation from unlikely sources
The 'uber runner' is a lady that we see on the trails quite often when walking the dog or out running. She appears to be extremely fit and absolutely glides over the ground. We have seen her out in the snow, all weathers and at all times of the year, she is seemingly absolutely committed to regular runs. It is fair to say that both my Mrs. Taffi and I are completely jealous of her apparent talent and drive for running. The 'uber runner' is a mysterious motivation, we would both like to run like her but we know nothing else about her. We smile and nod as fellow trail users but she wears headphones so there isn't an easy way of saying "oh, hello again you seem to run a lot, are you training for a marathon?" or any such attempt at a conversation.

People that you don't know, and people that you see perhaps only at specific events can be motivation. They don't have to be famous, notorious or a celebrated sports person to be an inspirational figure.

Time pressure motivation
Last night motivated by the fact that it is now only being three weeks to the marathon I got on the cross-trainer again for an hour. It was a good session despite the silly socks keeping my calf happily warm and the fact that my ipod told me it was gone 8pm during my first 20 minute block (yes, it is the same machine that like to kick you off after 20mins #formergymequipment). There were no huge aftershocks in my calf so happy days :-)

Having to wear natty football socks to keep my calf happy

Cross trainer madness again and this time at gone 8pm?!?!?

Possible reprieve - magic strapping

Today I my marathon attempt received a possible reprieve...

Blogger's own leg all strapped up with 'magic' strapping

...I attended a physio session today with Physio4motion and found that all was not quite as bad as I had feared. The man worked magic to make my calf feel much more normal again, and then applied some strapping which is supporting everything brilliantly. I mentioned yesterday that I felt I'd need a minor miracle and it came in that the damage wasn't as bad that I'd feared meaning I might (though still a mighty big 'might') get to the start line in three weeks time.

There is another change in the planned training between now and the race, again I have more stretches and exercises to do in coming days / weeks. All being well, and possibly with race day strapping, I should at least be beginning the race after that we'll have to wait and see.

Injury potentially ending an ambition and other weighty issues

End of a marathon ambition? - My day started out with a great deal of plans for weekend plans including running and outdoor fitness, and then the wheels began to fall off the grand plan today. I went to outdoor fitness yesterday evening and really enjoyed myself, my hip didn't seem to be an issue and all I noticed was a little tightness in my left calf that I happily ignored. This morning I planned to run for an hour and do roughly 10k / 6miles. My calf was tight as I set off but not terribly so and I thought it would loosen off through the run.

Four miles into the run and the calf hadn't loosened, and was getting stiffer. I stopped at four miles because my hip decided to join the party and as soon as I felt it I knew I was in trouble. I walked the rest of the way, my calf felt a little better and my hip was not a problem at all. Once at home I iced it and then took the hound for his short walk. All seemed fine though I knew I'd have to look after it for a while and go easy at outdoor fitness over the weekend.

Later in the day we went out to the beach so the kids could make sandcastles and have a paddle. I was fine though moving a little gingerly over the rocks, pebbles and sand. We had a good time in spite of the cold wind, and as fast I could put up castles the kids loved knocking them over. As we set off back to the car and an ice cream everything was fabulous. Just before we crested an incline while carrying my son bang (!), the pain in my calf was fierce. Three shots of pain made me lift my foot from the ground and cry out.

My left calf is either stage 2 or stage 3 blown, I can walk on it but if I push off to walk totally normally I get fresh pain. If I walk slowly but twist slightly in a particular direction - pain. I hope to get it assessed soon, but at the moment I feel that my hope of running my first marathon in just over 3 weeks time is out the window. It was already an uphill task, but this injury I think has taken it into the realms of an impossible task. My only hope is that it isn't as severe as I believe and that physio can offer me some sort of a minor miracle.

Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Weighty issues - It has been a while since I made any real mention of weight, specifically my own. Oddly enough that is because for all intents and purposes it has been pretty stable through 2012, hovering at a pound or two over 14st (196lbs). Stability has been great, and I was even hoping to lose a bit more before the marathon.

Back to pack - On a very slightly brighter note I have started packed lunches again for work. For a number of reasons cost (buying lunch is expensive), convenience (I know I'll like what I make for myself), calories (no hidden calories, I know what I am getting), and fun (I have a really cool lunch box to bring to work). I'll have to start browsing a few blogs for some new inspiration for contents.

Wittering on Wednesday ...(2)

More outdoor
Last night I attended my fourth session with the Outdoor Fitness crew and wow was it tough! There were bunch of hill sprints with the usual spot exercises, and again some pairs work. All of this was good fun and again I met some lovely people. This morning though I ache like a very achy person, and wish I had taken myself off to my bed early. I have plans to go at least twice more (possibly trice more) this week - I figure aches on top of aches won't hurt as much, and happily my hip is not reacting to badly to the sessions.

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
It is all a little more than follow the leader, but this was the best image I could rapidly grab [I will investigate better ones]
 

In some ways I am wondering what next? In the four sessions I have attended I have 'experienced' four different trainers / leaders and so the variety has been pretty broad. It isn't possible to say which I have enjoyed more because aside from common themes they have all brought interesting and subtle twists. These being anything from how the interact to exercise style to different kinds of intensity. At the early stage of my block I am wondering where I could fit this into my week going forward beyond these six weeks and also beyond my marathon training block.

Podcast powered

There is something tempting about listening to a podcast or an audio book while training / running. The temptation of getting 'two for one' out your time is very appealing. I used to try and listen to crime thrillers in the gym several years ago, but found they struggled to compete with the background noise (even after I had invested in better headphones). In fact I usually enjoyed the plots better during the short walks to and from the gym, wherein each book seemed to last so long I lost the will to remember the threads of the stories. So personally I like the concept but have struggled a bit with getting a great deal out of it.

Image: Pixomar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In the last week or two I caved into advertising and tried out the wisdom of Jillian Michaels podcast (free via apple's itunes istore, the most recent can be found at http://bit.ly/JillianMichaelsPodcast). Just so we're clear, the advertising came in the form of tweets and facebook comments from the eponymous Jillian after I clicked 'follow' and 'like' respectively. I tend to follow athletes and sports people as a form of living my sporting life vicariously, I am not ashamed to say that I am an avid sports watching fan (the Olympic period is always an absolute treat for me). Anyway I downloaded the podcast an dipped my toe into the world of American fitness and lifestyle tips and found it was actually pretty good. I don't mean it in a derisory way but it is just like listening to the radio but with topics that are generally more useful than which celebrity did what, when, with whom which you get between tracks on a lot of 'regular' radio stations. The banter is fun, the topics illuminating, and so I will be listening to more in the near term.

Music to exercise by?

When I do exercise with music I generally go loud and large, stuff like the Prodigy (heavy dance tracks), the King's of Leon, the Foo Fighters (driving rock), basically stuff that is real adrenaline fuel. I have never really found anything that I can run long distances to outdoors, the rhythms of a long run for me at least, haven't fitted my (albeit eclectic) music collection. As I have moved to higher mileage I have found that I need to listen to my rhythms, breathing, footfall, and even the noises my t-shirts make (?). So music with exercise has become for me very environment driven: indoor gym = music, outdoor run = no music, and perhaps I am not so very unique in doing this?

Motivation Monday

Just recently I re-read an old post which reinforced my motivations, that I wrote way back in 2005, called "The couch escape". It was interesting to read where I had been and very much where I hope to never be again. I find that a lot of my motivation comes from briefly remembering how things felt at my health low - very often it is simply remembering the effort I had to find to pick myself off the ski slope at my heaviest.

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The balance between feeling encouraged or discouraged really can be so easily tipped towards the positive with activity (getting out for a run, eating healthily, planning for a fun trip, chatting with a buddy about their / your efforts, etc.), but on other days it can slip all to swiftly towards the negative and feelings of discouragement. The day to day tends to make you forget just how far it is that you have already come and just how much you can achieve with the right motivations. It is at times like this that I look back to where the journey started and remind myself how much I've already achieved. Realising the great distance travelled in the right direction can be just that motivational nudge to keep me going down the healthy road and keep me 'on the move'.

PS. speaking of motivation... it is 26 days to go until I try and run 26 miles around Milton Keynes... I would be deeply grateful and spurred on if you could support one of my two choosen charities and please sponsor my madness...

The Huntington's Disease Association
http://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Hollins-2012
&
Cancer Research UK
http://www.runningsponsorme.org/andrewhollins

Outdoor Fitness

I am signed up with Outdoor Fitness for 6 weeks of sessions and seeing what it will do for me. I did my first session on Monday evening, and aside from being a slightly confused 'newbie' I think I did okay. The fact that I had to take things easy because of my ongoing hip / back (sacroiliac joint) problems meant that I didn't reach falling down tired. Although that said the sweat was literally pouring off me a couple of times.

Lime Avenue (Pontcanna Field, Cardiff) - photo by Peter Cox
(borrowed from a BBC local page http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/sites/streetsofcardiff/pages/yourphotos_pontcanna.shtml)

On Tuesday I did it all over again, a different instructor, a mostly different group of people (though I can't say I gave over much time to memorising faces when I spent so of it staring at either the ground or the sky doing press-up, squat thrusts, sit-ups, burpees, etc.), and the weather was lovely again. The workout is deceptive, it builds through out and the changing locations with changing routines don't allow you a great deal of time to think "oh, this is another exercise hitting my quads" and so forth. We did a fair bit in pairs which meant a poor guy had to piggy back me along at a 3 stone disadvantage, I like to think he appreciated the challenge (!).

The final session of the week (thanks to a busy family weekend) was last night. In the glorious sunny weather the session turned out to be mostly baseball / rounders with an exercise twist - every time your team lost out i.e. lost a run or lost a batter the whole team did a 5 burpee or some such exercise penalty. I haven't played in I don't know how long so it was awesome fun, even with the 'penalties'. It is not that I am saying this because I scored two runs, oh no, it was a genuinely fun, energetic giggle. The guy I'd met earlier in the week confessed he'd been coming a year and never had this kind of session. So true to their word the outdoor experience is absolutely mixed, varied and puts a lot of fun into exercise.

On reflection my week of running around a huge open park with about twenty people and a mad keen instructor was actually much, much more fun than I had perhaps anticipated, certainly the time flew by. The hour long session felt like much less because primarily of the variety and pace of everything. As part of my fitness 'mix' this certainly seems to be an interesting addition, I'm so interested to find out how I'll feel at the end of the sessions block I am involved with.

Wittering on Wednesday

Daylight

With the conversion of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland across to BST (British Summer Time) this weekend just gone the whole day suddenly alters. The apparent arrival of longer lighter evenings open up the day to many options, in my life that is getting out and about (cycling, running, rowing more in the weekday evenings). I can almost feel any hint of what might be called collective seasonal affective disorder burning off everyone in the last few days.

Blogger's own snapshot - City centre park coming into full blossom

The fact it has coincided with very lovely sunny weather might well have accentuated the benefit of the clock shift this year. That it also coincides with my training for a marathon this year might be heightening the feeling for me as it now means that evening runs will often be in daylight (and on routes that have felt unsafe all Winter as they are unlit paths / trials).

Training / fitness

I have been renewing my 'friendship' with the calorie tracking myfitnesspal app (see www.myfitnesspal.com), thanks to having read a post by 'Morning Runner', specifically "WIAW (after a 20 miler)". I was using this app last year (I have the tag on my blog showing my progress still), but had gotten out of the habit. Reading a post by one of the many extremely clued in running bloggers that I have been browsing in spare moments which mentioned the app got me thinking, and moreover remembering how well it worked for me before the Cardiff Half last autumn. So I am back 'on the wagon' so to speak, and hopefully over the next few weeks I'll begin to see real benefits. One benefit, as pointed out in the post I read, is that it helps you keep track of 'refueling' after heavy exercise days, as it is all to easy to wake up the day after a busy day feeling awful just because the exercise left you with net negative calorie count for the previous day.

Motivation right here, I've got to get into green ;-) - an image pulled from my myfitnesspal tools page

Having had a look around my myfitnesspal online pages, with charts of last years effort and so forth, I came across the BMI calculator (result shown above). I was mildly miffed (!) that my BMI came in just over the green / yellow boundary, it would be so fantastic to get myself firmly planted somewhere in the upper quartile of the healthy range... oh, and so much easier to run a marathon if I can shift a few pounds, and not have to haul the extra around 26.2 miles!

Blogging and stuff

While I am wittering on about blogs I've read lately I often have a look at blogger 'Blogs of note' page on the way into or out of my blog. One that has caught my eye and my attention of late is '366 Random Acts Of Kindness', it is thoroughly simply and yet complete genius. A guy has decided to take the leap year and spend a large part of it paying forward kind acts (see his post 'Tomorrow it begins...' for his full motivation). Some of the acts at first look seem so, so simple and then you realise "hey, I could do that" - and there in lies the essence of the genius. I will be checking back regularly to see how he gets on.

PS. I am enjoying the new Blogger user interface it is certainly cleaner and crisper looking than I was used to. It seems that I can navigate my way around it to - which is always a good thing ;-)

How last week turned out - A week in review

It was a topsy turvy week last week, between physio sessions and considering my marathon training. In the end I resolved to keep training as best and as varied as I can for the next four weeks and then assess where I am. This is in the end all about getting 'on the move' and getting (maintaining) fitness, so I have relaxed a little at the realisation that this isn't the only marathon - it is a goal I set myself and I can give myself permission to move it if my body isn't capable, on that day, of completing it. By the way it is very much about completion in spite of my original flirtation with time/pace charts (I have revised these thoughts as well).

In the week just gone I got back to aerobics sessions and instantly realised this was a major missing ingredient in my 2012 fitness efforts. I switched to longer mileage on the road, then for time and other reasons dropped the simple aerobic workouts with all their active stretching, strength and lateral movement elements. A lesson learned last week that I hope will lodge itself firmly in my memory - "variety is the spice and the essence of training".

X-trainer a go-go - fuel, water, towel, ipod and an exciting beige wall to stare at.

Variety of a sort I suppose, also came in the form of my re-acquaintance with the elliptical cross-trainer in the rowing club gym. On advice from the physio the trainer was to be used to help keep workouts going while my hip / back gets sorted out. Two hours on the cross trainer went by pretty well much helped by the fact it's programmed to reset every twenty minutes (a throwback to it's former life in another gym I suspect). The frequent interruptions kept my relatively mind busy. 

I don't normally train outside with any music, but in the gym with it's associated background noise I found the ipod equally useful for my sanity. From my calculations of the distance after each twenty minute reset I covered at least a half-marathon distance on it which was pleasing to say the least. More sessions to come and more tactics to cancel out the tedium might be needed along the way... I am thinking a film loaded on the ipod might be useful, or a good audio book at the very least :-)

Regular Friday stroll - with a good friend

No exercise other than stretching today... well except for the regular stroll with the hound this morning. We get out most mornings for at least a trip round the block, although most of the time a stroll round along the river. I measured our strolls once or twice, but I forget how far we roam in a normal week and thats kinda how I like it. Our red hound does help keep me "on the move" in his own special way.

Our faithful greyhound looking all noble by the river

Oh dear that wasn't good

I got myself out on the road last night for the first time since my half marathon DNF, and it hurt like fury. My calf was so tight that I had to walk three times around a 3.8 mile circuit. Happily my hip was only sore after the run as I sat down to look at my GPS watch data. Lots of stretching had to be done in the lounge later in the evening to keep things comfortable. The pace when I was moving wasn't too bad, but it didn't feel at all free and flowing.

Image: zirconicusso / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

From here the plan still is to do more of these short runs and to get myself back onto a cross trainer to do some long low impact sessions. The rest of the plan is to do some light aerobics sessions, and to stretch, stretch, stretch!

Last night I looked at a googlemaps / mapmyrun 3D flying overview of the Milton Keynes marathon course, which was useful to assess the overall terrain and how many turns or level changes to expect along the way. I thought it would be a very useful motivation, and I think if I view it a few more times it could be a good tool.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

...there I feel a little better... images in a post. I have not been particularly creative of late and frankly haven't had the greatest amount of time to sit down at the keyboard with these things. There are a bunch of photos from my recent 10k run that I have to get around to uploading. I'll have to get a little more strategic about my blogging again :-)

Physio session and another anatomy lesson

Yesterday saw another trip to the physiotherapist - I say another trip but I am lucky that I don't go 'that' often, it just feels that way when injury strikes. The pain from the half marathon attempt had not subsided and at times I have been finding it very hard to get out of the car - the power / strength in my hip muscles would seem to vanish as I tried to stand up out of the seat.

After a period of my relaying recent exercise / running history we got to the moment where the physio says something like "Okay, I think I know where the trouble may lie. Let's do some tests and find out". Therein I undertook the various required assessment movements and then received my anatomy lesson around the hip / spine area and meet my sacroiliac joint - not one I had ever heard of or indeed really wanted to meet. Finally a series of manipulations freed up what apparently was an immobilised (very stiff) right side and left me freer to move and flex through my hips.

Here on in I have a set of new strengthening exercises / stretches to do to for the whole area (right and left sides), to better respond to lateral pressures of running and eventually be better prepared to run long and tired without developing issues. I have 40 days to go until my first marathon and I have sworn to follow advice (do more cross-training, do the strengthening, and be extremely careful with mileage - more frequent shortened runs, rather than runs punctuated by huge long runs).

The physio is a genius, he lays things out with the most fantastic common sense and in an extremely user-friendly way. At this point I can only hope that I can be as much of a genius and stick to his advice.... especially if want any hope of standing on the start line with realistic hopes of finishing my first marathon.

Triumph and disaster - highs and lows of a running week

Last week I had a week of opposites running wise, I start this roller coaster at the St.Davids day 10k run where I set a huge personal best. My GPS watch told me I went under 50mins for the first time, which even with the course change I think would stand (chip times were gun-to-finish thanks to the last minute course correction, so no official chip timed PB).

Fabulous then? So fabulous I then ran my now regular 9miler the following night at a fair 'ole' pace as well, so fabulous I then said "Sure I'll go running" to my training buddy the next evening... in total 24miles+ in three days (at intensity). Ah, now I knew the Bath Half was the following weekend (of course) so I resolved to rest for the rest of the week going into it... ahem, here comes the down slope to this story.

In work the rest of the week I was doing something 'new' which meant standing for near enough the entire working day 3 days running (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday). So I wasn't much resting there, it is a complete change to my usually varied sitting / standing (mostly sitting) work routine. On the top I caught a viral infection that took up residence in my ear making me dizzy from the Wednesday onwards. Hmmm, you can perhaps get a sense of how well my half marathon weekend went... it was my first ever DNF... my first ever running FAIL!... I got to half way and pulled out.

There are though after a few days reflection some positives: (1) I now know I have the mental strength to make the right decisions for my health during an event / race [it would have been all to easy to have struggled on and broken myself completely], (2) the preparation logistically before the race went well, we were organised and in good time, (3) it seems that I am not too badly hurt, though yet more stretches have been added to my repetioire, (4) I know what signs to look out for that would stop me setting foot on any start line should they arise just before race day.

Numbers update...

Some numbers borrowed slightly from the Milton Keynes marathon page, I have... dayshours to go until my first marathon (26.2 miles, gulp!).

In other numbers, 4 days until the St. David's Day 10k, 11 days until the Bath Half-marathon (13.1 miles). I ran 9 miles on Monday, and 5 miles yesterday, at an average of 9 minutes per mile.

In other related news, I have to report that suddenly it seems spring has 'sprung'. I managed an evening run that started in daylight, the temperatures are higher (I have not worn my LiveStrong running jacket this week), and moreover all the running events are looming large! I can not decide at the moment whether to hit the 10k and / or half-marathon for PRs, or to use them as marathon training runs with marathon pacing for at least half of each event. This all stems from the feeling that I could very well set a new personal benchmark in either of them if I committed to it on the back of recent marathon training. The longer view of course is that I should not break myself during the program of marathon preparation, but the temptation is huge at the moment... number of times I will 'flip / flop' on how to run these events... incalculable! (help!).

400th post - which the blogger finds incredible!

 


[Possibly the most exciting 400th celebration picture 'in the world'
- I plumbed the depths of my creativity here!]



I am amazed that this is my 400th blog post, it is incredible that I am still going. The whole thing has been quite a journey, with periods of heavy posting and of low posting, with changes of emphasis (even blog title), with many varied visitors, with often evolving 'style', and much much more. It is funny as I have said before that this is my longest running journal / diary by some massive distance. Also as I have mentioned before I do this in most part for me, and it that sense it has often proved a valuable motivational aid (a good friend).

What was I actually going to blog about before I noticed that this was number 400? Well, I was going to coo about having completed a tough but reassuring 9 mile run last night (it had been a few days since I was able to run last). Instead I'll save all that for another time - if I remember ;-)

Mild, overcast, with a gentle breeze.

Marathon training got tough

Marathon training gets mentally tougher as the runs get longer
[Another bloggers own cartoon effort using the 'fine art' PowerPoint drawing tool ;-) ]

I had been happily increasing miles and reckoning on finding the whole process difficult but none to complicated. It is now abundantly clear to me that I massively over simplified the process of getting to 26.2 miles. There are complications around nutrition, stretching, time, recovery... near enough anything you care to name. At the moment I have the feeling I have biten off more than I can chew, the next couple of weeks will be critical to see if I can really build some belief in my ability to get round with ruining myself in the process.

Lessons learned the hard way

With age and experience come many things but unfortunately not the ability to avoid silly mistakes as I discovered after a long run this weekend. I set out early on Saturday to get a really long run under my belt and made a series of fundamental gaffes. By getting up early to fit the 3hour run into the day I didn't leave enough time to digest breakfast, and though I headed off armed with liquid refueling gels in my running belt I didn't take any water. As you might well imagine (or know if you are a runner) I was building a perfect storm, only I didn't realise at the time.

The run itself went very well for 10miles and then on top of the impending nutritional issues I felt my right calf 'squelch' - somewhere in my calf / Achilles a tear had happened. I ran on more slowly and found it eased, I am still feeling the ache a day or two later but its seems not too bad. After the run I popped some ibuprofen to treat the inflammation (another potential error). The run totalled 18.6miles and represents the biggest single distance I have ever run to date, and the after glow felt pretty good... until I went to bed and found my stomach felt incredibly unsettled... that is when I discovered runners runs! The lack of digestion of breakfast, the lack of thought about what I eat the day before, the lack of water during the run, the lack of consideration about how many gels I took (five in all), the lack of knowledge about the potential contribution of aspirin and ibuprofen to runners belly, all added up to a lesson learned the very hard way every hour all through the night!

In every other way I felt fine post run and was so please to have completed it and managed 37 miles for the week. I am now looking into and seeking much more nutrition advice as I don't want to run long again without having done everything I can to avoid runners runs. It was so disruptive that it ruined my weekend, and led to the worst meeting I can remember in work today. I am finding out that training for a marathon is the hard part and that perhaps the run itself will be straight forward by comparison. 

Training update

I have been training relatively well (though not blogging about it, sorry), managing to get the miles up and seeing some improvement in split times over regular loops. Recently I've been getting around a varied 9 mile loop with some regularity (once to twice a week) and doing some other shorter stuff in between. Aside from one big fartlek run I seem to have been shy of pace work proper, though I like to think I have balanced this with the persistent 9 mile runs.

Training hasn't been the plainest sailing... life has shown it's talent for stepping in when you have a brilliantly constructed plan. My son was very ill last week which meant a night in hospital, and I am deep in working out where my career will go next (constructing applications to extend current work, and applications for other related positions). I can only be happy that with everything going on I am feeling more and more able to get around a marathon course. As it happens if I can't do the race for any reason we'll still be taking a nice weekend away in Milton Keynes otherwise - I have already booked non-refundable hotel accommodation!

This weekend I hope to go long (at least 15miles) with a new running buddy, and later today I am off for a 6 'miler' with my long term training buddy (or my "other wife" as my wife wryly refers to him). Keep adding up miles is my plan... and along the way I might get to set a PR at the half-marathon distance as my 'warm-up event' the Bath Half is only a month away now :-) 

My first marathon - USP / POD ?

I am trying to raise some money for two charities as part of my attempt at completing my first ever marathon, and it has begun to strike me that I don't have a modern USP (unique selling point) or POD (point of difference). That I lack that X-factor-style (reality show-style) heart rending back story. It used to be very much the case that anyone running a marathon (any marathon not even a major city marathon) would inspire awe and instant sponsorship if doing it for a cause.

So I asked myself a series of 'devils adovcate'-type questions and pondered answers:-

What's your motivation? - Well, at its simplest - the satisfaction of a long held personal goal and the gratification of raising some money for charity.

How is your challenge sell'able? - in many ways it isn't, I am not running 10 in 10 weeks, running from one end of the country to the other, or even running an 'uncommon' distance. I am running one marathon (possibly my only one) to test my strength of resolve and encourage colleagues, friends and family to consider my chosen charities.

So the charities are close to your personal experience? - actually, no, they are extremely worthy charities that I have experience of through my workplace/s. I haven't directly suffered from either Huntington's or cancer. A member of my immediate family died of cancer but that isn't all that uncommon to anyone within a relatively wide family. I once worked as a care worker helping a guy with Huntington's disease and I have met families through an open-day in the workplace, but those are the limits of my personal experience.

So what is different about your challenge? - Well, no I don't consider that there is anything 'different'. I have lost a lot of weight over a period of nearly ten years that was initiated by running and aerobics in the beginning (losing over 25 kg, or 4 stone in weight). I have experiences with the diseases the charities seek to alleviate as part of being a scientist researching aspects of both diseases as part of two separate contracts. So I am just a guy attempting to run 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), a marathon for charity.

Surely you have a challenge within your challenge? - No, I am not running in a costume, running while juggling, running backwards, or any other extra challenge. The challenge for me is to complete the long training program around work and my family life, and to complete the event with a big smile without breaking myself.

Hmm, so you are just running a marathon? - Yes, after a few years of failing to win a place in the London Marathon ballot, and knowing that meeting a charity place minimum fundraising target would take an effort that would affect my work, I chose to find another marathon and challenge myself to complete the distance.

Milton Keynes? - Yeah, it is their first effort at holding a marathon in Milton Keynes and that seemed to resonate with the fact that it will also be my first effort at a marathon. I have been there a couple of times and think it will be a brilliant place for a marathon.

Good luck with your challenge - Thanks, I am running for...

The Huntington's Disease Association       http://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Hollins-2012

&

Cancer Research UK       http://www.runningsponsorme.org/andrewhollins

This line of thinking was inspired by a couple replies I had from public relations people in my workplace after I sent around a mass email asking for sponsorship. I got to thinking about how likely I was to get sponsorship and whether in all actuality my run was in any way 'truly' noteworthy. I hope that there are enough people out there who aren't as cynical as the little voice in my head saying "dude, you're just running a marathon!".

Only time will tell, and on reflection I don't have a target for fundraising in the first place so I shouldn't feel so very bothered about how notable or otherwise the whole effort is (in fact I am probably missing another USP there). I am only perhaps sad that such an undertaking by anyone is currently perceived as 'minor' compared to the much reported efforts of 'celebs' walking across the Antarctic, cycling across Europe, or even running a marathon... every day for weeks.

14 weeks to go

My training plan tells me that I have 14 weeks to go until the MK marathon... GULP! This means I am 4 weeks into the plan, and happy I can run a good half marathon but not entirely convinced about a full. I finished last week with the second highest mileage I think I have ever run for a single week, which gives me some sense of the scale of this thing (I ran a total of 29 miles over 7 days, whereas I want to run 26.2 in half a day!). To say that I am developing the jitters is perhaps an understatement... I have them and it is bordering on the fears!

I am deeply enjoying the training so far and last week was a real achievement... it is growing on me that I will have to set and set and set many such achievements over the next 14 weeks!

Picking up the miles

I have had a real stinker of a cold which laid me up for a few days right at the start of my sixteen week marathon. Even though it hasn't completely gone I have at least this week managed to pick up some miles. Doing 11.5 miles at the start of the week and 8.2 yesterday, with only what I consider (hope are) general stiffness and aches to show for them. When I am looking at training and training plans it is really all about the numbers. The numbers look good for the week, but the numbers ahead are more than a little daunting right now - especially the number "26.2".

It will be tough to turn up to my first marathon likely never haven't done it in training. I am one of those people who feels greatly comforted by complete and thorough dress rehearsals. Perhaps this is being heighten also by the notion that I won't have run on the course before either. Hmmm, I am hoping with following the training plan comes a little more race confidence.

Well now New Year discovery - I need to be another Andy

I have on occasion noted how my weight relates to sports people (not my fitness though it has to be said), at one time I was as heavy as Worlds strongest man contestants and heavyweight boxers, then rugby players and rowers, and lately I wasn't sure where I fell on this comparison spectrum. Moreover I was unsure what type of sport person weighed what BMI sheets tell me is my ideal weight... it turns out the answer is tennis, and indeed another Andy.

Image of Andy Muarry borrowed from an article in the guardian online http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/sep/01/usopentennis.andymurray. Original image

"Andy Murray following his five-set victory over Jurgen Melzer". Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images.

Yes, the sports person who I reckon comes in at roughly my 'ideal' BMI is the world class tennis Brit, Andy Murray. According to event stats that I bumped into online he's roughly my height and roughly 2 stone lighter, i.e. around my ideal BMI. This might not seem to mean a great deal to anyone else, but in terms of my motivation it is actually useful. I had labored under the impression that being that weight I would be considered 'skeletal' but my view has been adjusted by the revelation. I didn't really have a proper New Years resolution but now it seems to be to trim down to Andy Murray proportions - sadly matching weight won't mean matching talent but hey I reckon I will be running PRs if I do manage to shed anything like the 2 stone.

Okay, it really is only a feeble a motivational 'trick', I know that really being somewhere near that weight will make running my first marathon a great deal easier on me cardiovascularly and muscloskeletally (heart and joints, etc. ;-) ).

1yr caffeine clean - a blogger pats himself on the back a bit

One whole year caffeine free, time does fly. How did I find it? Well truth be told there has been the odd hour of a long day now and then when I have been sorely tempted to 'use' some coffee medicinally, but I easily set the temptation aside. I have found too many benefits to really consider going back on my stance - see my original post on the issue 'Caffeine-free' from back in July 2011.

Perhaps the funniest part of being caffeine 'dry' is the reaction of others, it can be really odd. The drinking of tea, coffee, cola, etc. seems to be hard wired into society, so much so that at many meetings I had noted there is nothing caffeine free available to drink (I once had to take a coffee cup into the bathroom to fill up with water as I was caught out by thirst). People don't seem to know what to do with themselves when you say "That's okay I don't drink caffeine thanks", often they get very animated and oddly apologetic while rapidly telling you how they consume their coffee / tea. It is a little like everyone is mildly addicted (and some heavily) and while beneath the surface very aware of it they only get challenged by it when someone says "No thanks, I don't". It's funny how many friends and colleagues are willing participants in the caffeine roller coaster - awake, charged, tired, anxious, alert, hyper, sleepless, twitchy - and so on. I for one will continue on my merry way without it thanks.

Oh, I enjoyed that - a good running day

Tonight I headed out to run an hour and indeed managed just that on an improvised route. I managed 1hr and 48sec for 6.7miles and enjoyed it immensely. It was an interesting route through the city centre passing Cardiff Castle, the weather was half decent, I aced my rhythm, managed to cruise the pace, and hit a potent negative split to boot... runs like this are a large part of the reason why I run.

Slings and arrows of finding new balance

Bloggers own - Drawn in a my own special way using Microsoft Powerpoint

There are many things that crop up when you begin anew with training and eating plans, quite aside from the straightforward logistics of how, when and how much. Indeed I have found that one of the major consequences can indeed be mood. In the efforts of eating sensibly and training more it is all to easy to forget to keep an eye on the consequences of the changes in balance going on within your physiology and biochemistry, of your whole body very much including the brain. I suppose in most cases involving sensible exercise plans mood changes mostly brought on simply by tiredness of extra training and reduced calorie load. Happily in my experience these effects do not last very long, undoubtedly because bodies (and brains) are very adept at finding and maintaining new balance once a new regime has become the 'norm'.

The last few days I have been very on the move and aware of tiredness, but I am so happy to be going in the right direction again. I am still looking around and trying to absorb as many ideas and as much information as I can about marathon training to make sure I tackle the next 15weeks as sensibly as possible and injury free as possible. Know a good source of knowledge? Let me know if you have a moment, ta.

Real training has begun again

Over the last couple of days I have taken time to get back into the frame of mind that paid off very handsomely this year when I was preparing for the Cardiff half-marathon. I have started tracking my calories again using the myfitnesspal app, I have spent time musing a running plan courtesy of Marathon Coach by Running Method app, I have returned to leaping about my lounge with the 30-day Shred Jillian Michael's DVD (Mrs. Taffi is both tickled and baffled by this), and moreover I have even been out on a run.

It is a shock to the system to have jumped back into all the things I was doing a few months ago, and it is true to say my body is complaining quite a bit. Happily I remember that the first few days were a challenge when I got going back in the summer before it began to feel more comfortable. My goal this time is larger not only in distance (to run a marathon) but also in terms of weight loss, I feel I need to reach somewhere comfortably below 13st (182lb or 82.5kg) to make the run that bit easier on me). It has become clear that one of my bigger challenges in the next few months (however I do over 26.2 miles) is to find another challenge for immediately afterwards. The last couple of months without an immediate goal deadline have seen a blip in weight and fitness, which while not terrible were very noticeable [see my Weight page - which I have just updated]. All I need to be careful of is picking the right size of challenge next time, I will certainly not run any further than 26.2 miles for example.

The excitement of reaching my goal later in the spring is certainly driving me at the moment, and pushing me back into the regime that worked for the half-marathon without too much resistance. I suppose it might be the newness of the challenge, or the thought of a marathon completion, whatever it is I am hoping to ride its wave for a good few weeks into the longer mileage runs ;-)

PS. happy New Year! I hope 2012 is full of good things for everyone.

End of 2011... running start to 2012...

Been a little while since I posted, I have had the pleasure of putting in an application for Fellowship funding in work and running (exercising) took a back seat for a couple of weeks. Seems my blog decided to follow as all my words were being used in writing about a possible career direction for the next 3 years.

 

I have to be brutally honest and report that I have not been kind to myself eating wise during those computer desk bound days (gained half a stone!). I am 10 weeks from a half marathon and 18 from the full marathon, and so I need no more motivation than that to get out on the trail on again. All being well I will be reporting my training here, and perhaps begging for input if (when) things get tough. In the meanwhile, I hope everyone had a good Christmas and will have an even better New Year.

Some numbers for the end of 2011...

• 318.38 miles total run this year (well that I logged in one running app).
• 13st 6lb (188lb or 85kg) the lightest I weighed all year and in the last 10+ years.
• 400+ visits to my blog.
• 67 blog posts.
• 15 blogs on my Blog list.
• 122 days until my first marathon (from today).
• 1-year caffeine clean almost to the day and doing great ;-)
• 6 years 1 month 24 days since I started my blog.

Wow that is strange... urge to exercise out of the blue

I am having to stay at home and wait for a plumber (ah, the joys of the seasonal heating). Now that isn't strange that is simply a statement, the strange bit is that I am considering doing an exercise DVD in a coffee break from working at the PC (happily I can do some work from home). I know roughly when the plumber will arrive so I don't have to worry about being in my sweats when he arrives. Strange that I'd even consider doing it? I really must have suffered a mental 'flip' in recent years, a younger me in the past won't have considered such nonsense. Interesting what you catch yourself doing when the fitness bug is in you!

Time out

Seems like I took a time out, and perhaps I have. The training has dipped, and work has taken over for a while even causing a stall in my weight loss. It is not that I consciously tried to avoid training and eat a bit more it just happened. Happily things haven't turned completely sour on the fitness front but its time to get back on track. Wednesday is as good a day as any to start a fresh! I have a new potential training partner for my New Years marathon training and my long time training / rowing buddy has returned to training after his knee injury so I really have no excuses for not training.

Busy, busy

Phew, what a week! I know that I have been over-compensating to a degree after the health scare that proved so very distracting... but I am now running out of steam a little. Happily a new routine is coming along, one where I am in the room more of the time rather than having my head in the doctors office. At the moment I have been busy busy in work rather than in terms of training. A few runs should set things back into a real balance.

Image: 10incheslab / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In the meanwhile I did manage to update my 'Weight page' and include this month's weigh in. The trend still looks great though things clearly have slowed... once things have settled down I'm going to set about losing a few more pounds ahead of the serious business of the marathon training plan in the New Year.

That feels better

The evening after my first long run since the half marathon and I feel much better for it. I was not intending to have such a long hiatus after the race but among other things a major health scare proved too much of a braking force on my training. It is some weeks before I have to kick the training into high gear for the marathon attempt so at least I have time to get back into the swing of things.

I watched some of the New York marathon on TV this afternoon while my kids rushed about around me. It was amazing to watch the shear speed of the elite runners, sadly I didn't get to see the mass run. Motivation is flowing freely having watched inspirational runners, had a good run, and most of all having received the good news this week that my worries were not (as I had feared) cancer. More running, more work, and more of many many things now.

Minor twitter balls-up perhaps?

I realised last night that perhaps I made a minor twitter balls up... I shared via twitter my view of the half marathon I ran in a post below "Race report - Cardiff Half-marathon" which appeared then on the official race website twitter feed box. The title of my post might lead a reader into thinking it was so form of newspaper or official 'report' / 'critique', and I apologise if anyone thought that or were expecting something other than my thoughts (and how I got round).

Lesson learnt, so if I do something similar again I will endeavour to choose a less declarative title. Of course I could have simply written my of a formal 'critique' in the first place, but I opted to save my thoughts for the official feedback form where it will (I hope) be more useful :-)

Back on the move: days off were a bad idea

It was a bad idea at the start, but I kidded myself into having a couple of days 'off' the myfitnesspal calorie / activity tracker after completing the half marathon over the weekend. As it happened the end of the stomach bug saw my appetite surge so there wasn't a great deal of mental resistance to the idea. Oh boy, do I now remember why I have enjoyed the food to fuel process over the last three months... I felt so ill and bloated after a couple of days of 'old me' style eating!

Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It was not as if I went out to a restaurant and ordered the works. I simply picked a bit more for lunch, an extra snack here and there, and didn't apply my calorie in / out thinking. The simply truth I discovered (accidentally) is that it doesn't take very long at all to truly re-educate your system to new eating habits. Okay, so the brain can be conned here and there, but my body really let me know fast that this last couple of days was different, that it felt heavy, and that it felt too much. If only I had known to listen to this kind of thing over a decade ago when I was climbing to my heaviest and physically lowest ebb.

Wow, what a belt indeed

In browsing the blogosphere some while back I spotted product review page by a blogger with a section of reviews of things they had tried / bought and found that worked (blog - 'I'd Rather Be Eating'; page "what am i a camel ifitness review". I read with interest their review of a running belt that they had worn for the first time in a marathon and had absolutely no issues with. As someone who suffers chaffing really badly (I wear a compression vest or t-shirt to avoid horrible joggers nipple!), I had always been shy of wearing any kind of belt or bag whilst running.

Inspired by the review and then by the ifitness website I purchased one and tried it out on a long weekend run. Wow, no rub even having loaded my iPhone, keys and a gel pack onto it.

That was a couple of months ago now and I have enjoyed using it on near enough every run. It is great to have a phone with me, and I have been trying out the gel packs in earnest now (with a possible future marathon in mind). It is completely comfortable, I forget that I am running with it and has thus far stood the test of British weather / profuse sweat. If you want to try a belt I can recommend you have a look around their website.

Race report - Cardiff Half-marathon

Well we did it, I got round despite a cold all week prior (and a stomach bug brewing) and my wife completed her first ever half. The day couldn't have been better weather wise, clear, bright, not overly warm, light cool breezes here and there. Our preparation on the morning went very well. We got the kids organised, got out of the house only a few minutes late, headed into the city centre dropped off our stuff and then walked down to the start in Cardiff Bay.

We arrived in the start area 'just in time', I made a rushed decision about which pace area to wait in and ended up in the wrong one (the band ahead of my planned pace!). I had no time to work out if the new start area truly worked, but my impression was it was a little claustrophobic. Certainly the athlete's village looked the part as we rushed through looking for the start areas.

After the start I went out to fast (I know, I know, school-boy error!) and so rewrote my race plan in the first mile and a half. I opted to hold the pace and then try to manage the degradation in pace using my GPS watch as a gauge. I did just fine at maintaining the initial over the top momentum through the first 45mins up to my planned isogel and drink zone (the second drink station on the course - the drink stations were excellent all around the course). It was not until past a quick 10km (45secs outside my 10k PB) that I began to have to graft hard. Working to maintain pace and over the next 4 miles manage the beginnings of the pace fade. I went from 8min 45sec/mile over the first 6 miles out to 8min 52sec/mile by the 10th mile.

At that point I was still confident I could maintain and keep the average pace for the whole race to a value that would bring me in well inside 2hrs. However I made a major miscalculation... yes, my watch measures my running, but over a set course with wide roads and bends it is possible to run more than the set (measured) race distance / race line. So while my pace was looking good I hadn't noted that my watch was increasingly disagreeing with the mile markers. Somehow I ignored them and believe I would complete in under 2hrs regardless.

I got to mile 11 in 1hr 40min flat, leaving me 20mins to complete.... but my knee began to ache and my befuddlement with the watch pace continued. Then around 12miles the race pace guy for sub-2hr went by me, I hadn't seen him the entire race so was fearful. Only for another half mile later another sub-2hr pace group to come by. I was physically and mentally GONE, there was little left and fight as I might I couldn't pull a sub-ten minute mile out of myself. I tried to sprint at the line but my legs were spent and at this point my stomach was in painful spasm (the stomach bug had made itself known). I crossed the line angry and infuriated with myself. Sure I ran 13.1 miles in under 2hrs (GPS to be believed), but I began to realise that my staying out of the way of faster runners because of my poor start slot judgement I ran the long way around so many bends (including one very long 1.5 mile section). I learned any number of lessons the hard way, even though I had read about them all and probably even advised other to beware.

The race was great, the day was great, and in the fullness of hindsight I was unlucky with illness. The race organisation is improving, it after all only it's second year as a 'large' 15,000 competitor city half. There was little wrong that another year or two of running the event from the same base won't fix. Let's just conclude from the fact that I just finished registering for next year that I'm hooked on the race :-)

PS. no pictures of our own sorry. We were busy and the family were looking after the kids back at home. I'll paste a link to the official pics at some point soon.

My biggest sporting challenge yet - 26.2miles

After some thought (okay, borderline procrastination) I looked at marathons around the time of the London race and made my choice to actually run one. I have selected the Milton Keynes marathon 2012. It is the inaugural Milton Keynes marathon, the course promises to be flat appears and based around stadiummk facilities.

Milton Keynes Marathon

Anyway I have decided it is time to have a go despite having once saying I would only ever run a marathon once if I want now to run a major city marathon (London, Berlin, Paris) I will have to run two!  I have started to plan training and approach, but any advice is more than welcome. So far I have gotten as far as...

1. Fundraising - Since it was a charity page that helped me find the event I have been giving a lot of thought to a choice of charity and now have a shortlist in mind.
2. Training - At the moment I plan to start a 16week program in early January giving me November and December to get back to some sculling and rowing training (or as I am now thinking of it 'strength training').

26.2 miles of running seems like an awfully long way right now and no doubt come January (training run one) it will seem that bit further. Any which way I will very definitely be "on the move" this Winter.

Winter wondering

I am still trying to figure out how to spend my Winter training after failing to get into the London Marathon via the ballot. It is true that there are charity places still available, but I don't feel that I can commit to both the training and raising a couple of thousand in sponsorship.

The wondering about the Winter has further been mixed by the arrival of my rowing club membership renewal form. I have unfinished business with rowing (especially having lost weight recently), namely getting my sculling novices and a really 'good' PR for the 2k ergo test. Run or row? Or both? That is the biggest puzzle at the moment, with the background givens that I have much work to do in work and at home too.

Going to have to keep working on the answers, I really don't know which direction to head in just now.

Weight update

This morning I finally got around to updating the weight chart on my "Weight page". It was quite satisfying because I hadn't done it for a while and the recent changes are significant. The update has taken me a little while as I had to redraw the graph a little to include a new minimum of 13st instead of the old 14st. Another small sign of changing times I suppose that I needed to broaden out the graph to include a new lower target. There was a time that I remember so very well that 13st felt so very far away. It's nice to be here and it's nice to be heading into the Cardiff Half marathon next week with these recent advances on my side.

All time trend line as it looks today

Much ado about clothing

I find myself in a happy muddle over clothes (no, it's okay I have some on), having shrunk 20lbs or more in the last 10 weeks I have to consider my wardrobe. It isn't that I am a 'fashonista' or even particularly self conscious about style, it is simply that my stuff is all... a bit... big. There are a few options that sprung to mind: (1) get rid and start over, (2) adapt and make do, (3) do nothing in case this is all an anomaly. The middle option seems the most prudent and sensible. I can't help but feel there will be a steady flow of my clothes heading to the charity shops over coming weeks / months.

Perhaps my biggest concern is buying for now and then having to buy again. Case in point, I brought new jeans a little over two weeks ago and I am already finding that they might be getting loose. This is I suppose where a number 3 type option could be useful in an adapted form... do nothing until I am sure I have found my natural plateau and THEN buy new stuff. I am not used to this level of thought about clothes (call it a 'man' thing if you wish) and I am finding it all oddly stressful. Yes, I have lost weight before, but no not in such a concerted way as to have created this dilemma (previously I've lost this kind of weight over 10 months plus not 10 weeks plus!).

Whatever I do about it, the best thing about this period has been that as I get on with training or catch myself in the mirror I could swear I feel / look younger.

PS. I will try to remember to update my weight graph this weekend to give a 'scale' to the cause of the above ado.

Swansea Bay 10k - family day out

Sunday saw the family travel across to Swansea to watch Mrs. Taffi run the 10k race. It was a lovely day weather wise, and the organisation of the event was second to none. Sadly Mrs. Taffi was suffering a full on and stinking cold. She set out feeling very unsure of her run strategy and then during the run suffered a couple of further set backs (most notably her ipod shuffle dying somewhere the half way mark). In the end she came in in a time just around 1hr 3min, bettering her PR by 4mins (that seems to be catching in our house) and doing brilliantly considering the gods of luck were working against her somewhat.

It is the first 10k race that I remember watching and it was really quite an experience. Watching the leaders coming in was a sight to behold for a confirmed plodder, they move so freely and with such speed. The event was won by a Kenyan, Edwin Kipkorir (who I think was a previous winner). The stream of runner that built up behind was amazing to watch. Everyone with there own style, facial expression, apparent motivation. I was taken by the gradual change in the runners as the finish time ticked onwards towards the hour and beyond. It was clear that although you might look at someone and guess their time, it is no real indicator of their potential time. I know have great hopes of improving my PR next year having seen guys of my frame blitzing to good times.

Mrs. Taffi is now recovering from both run and cold, and I think also looking forward to next year. She really wants to find out how she can do when everything goes 'right'... yes, that is right... she is addicted ;-)

Not long to the Cardiff Half-marathon now, and the two of us are getting excited in our own different ways. I am off for an hours easy run later, trying to convince myself that I can truly make 9min/mile the new 10min/mile and perhaps begin to move slowly towards the speeds needed to run like the 10k in 45min runners?!?!

PS. I hope to hear about the London Marathon Ballot in just over a week, having never been this run fit and not having been lighter in the last ten years... I am even more excited than I have been in past ballots. Lets hope this one does not turn out like the others... #desperatetogetinthisyear

Win win!!

Okay so I haven't blogged a lot lately, but happily I have been working on good news.

myfitnesspal.com - my progress chart.

After finishing the Cardiff 10k having smashed my PR.

The evidence is in the two pictures above. I think from my captions you can already see why I am currently a happy bunny. My progress with weight has lead me to an all time low for this century (ahem!), which meant I met my goal of 14 stone (196lbs). Happily I am feeling so good on losing the weight that I have revised my target and am hoping to park myself in the middle of my BMI (body mass index) range... eventually.

The second picture is from after my half-marathon warm up event, the Cardiff 10K. I set out with the knowledge that I had beaten my competition PR in training, and hoped to see if I could add to that benchmark. Happily I beat my old competition PR by over 4minutes and came in at 53min 4sec. I am quietly hopefully of a PR in the half-marathon next month. These two pictures are I believe totally linked, it is not simply that I have gotten stronger following the half-marathon training plan, it must be because I am so much lighter that contributed hugely. At the end of the 10K race I found I had a Usian Bolt-like sprint finish in me that I hope implies I had stamina in reserve for the longer distance (though perhaps I was kicking myself that I could have paced myself to a faster 10K PR).

Off the back of the 10K I signed up for the 2012 Bath Half-marathon next March. It seems I am developing a habit of entering new races the day after completing another! My thinking was that if (and it is a huge 'if') I make it through the London Marathon ballot this time around then I would need a half race around then to progress training for the big one. If I don't get through to London then it is a fabulous run to do anyway from what people tell me?

All is well, and I am off to get my kit on for what looks like being a very wet training run - overcast, steady rain, moderate to gusty wind.

Fantastic, absolutely brilliant weigh in - under 200lbs (90kg)

I am totally over the moon with recent weight progress, fuelled by running training and also the calorie counting I have managed a great personal landmark. For the first time in this century, in well over ten years, I weigh less than 200lbs (90kg). It has been a long time coming a goal that often looked in reach only to slip away (usually around a Christmas period). The very real challenge now is to keep the good work up so that I get a little below 14stone and then keep it there!

Next week I'll be tackling the Cardiff 10k race. It will be very interesting to see if I can improve on my personal best. I have a plan for how to run it, but having just come back from holiday I am not sure I've done enough recent running training (apologies for the break in blogging).