September 2010
1 post
c.13 Miles
It’s difficult to measure distances when different mapping sites offer different guestimates, but this run is between 12 and 13 miles. Only 15 days to go so starting to taper down the running distances and do a lot of short and sharp runs to keep me ticking over.
July 2010
1 post
Lean Machine
OK, so running has been going well in the grand scheme of things…the trend is on the up despite some occasional blips. The humidity has made it pretty tough to grind out anything above 5 miles, but my max distance is up to about 8 or 9 now, which is roughly where I’d want to be with 6 or so weeks to go.
The main thing I’ve realised it that to be an effective runner, you need to...
June 2010
1 post
May 2010
2 posts
"Top tip"
Running on my Thursday run to work (the second of the working week and thus the harder of the two), I was making decent time and negotiated Sloane Square well before striding out with my eyes set on Victoria.
With my aim to make my 5 miles in about 45 mins, the final stretch post-Sloane Square is always when I need to dig a bit deeper and keep my head up. Big mistake. When I’d rounded the...
Barnes Bridge
This is the view from Barnes Bridge at the halfway point of my 7 mile run.
April 2010
3 posts
Eddie Izzard
A lot of people have asked me how Eddie Izzard ran his 43 marathons in 51 days, and I have no idea. My conclusion is you actually have to be a bit mental. Not only that, but his stupendous feat makes a half or even a whole marathon seem pedestrian, which is hugely unfair, especially on those running the London marathon next weekend and have been training for a year!
I’m in awe of what...
7 Mile Run
This is a new 7 mile run along the river from Putney to Barnes, which maps out at 3.5 miles there and obviously the same back. The route actually follows the length of the Varsity Boat Race, which was the inspiration for the run. It’s quite a rugged terrain (not paved) which can get annoying when running on what is essentially rubble.
I’m trying to stretch my run to increase the...
My Gait
Well, today I went to have my running style analysed for my new running shoes. Being a born cynic I was waiting for this to be bollocks, but seeing as it was a free service and the guys in the shop are all great I was keen to see what it would do.
It’s amazing - especially when you’re as bio-mechanically deformed and abnormal as it appears I am - but the difference the right shoe can...
March 2010
3 posts
A shoe that fits
When running cumulative distances, it’s important to make sure you have the right footwear for your running style (or so I’m told). Not only would this be the next stage of my preparation anyway, but I’ve learnt this the hard way. Having done a few sessions and a couple of 6-mile runs on the route I detailed in my last post, I managed to sustain a mild ankle injury which has...
6 mile run
This is a standard route straight to Westminster and then around St James Park from my house in Putney. It’s about 6 miles give or take. I’ll be doing this on Sunday morning and then working up to running to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I’ll aim to put some more generic London routes up as I expand this run.
February 2010
4 posts
> Donate to Alzheimer's Society →
“We gotta get out while we’re young
‘Cause tramps like us, baby we...”
– Bruce Springsteen
The Cause
A couple of years ago I was clinically obese, weighing in at a whopping 19 stone (266lbs/121 kgs). According to the doctor I had the blood pressure of a 60 year old man - an unhealthy one at that - and was uncomfortable nearly every minute of every day.
Around the same time my grandmother developed the first signs of Alzheimer’s, and while I set about a rigid regime to improve my health and...