Day Five

OK then the day began at midnight on day 4 and there are no pics until we are nearly at the summit.

I did not make a diary entry about this day so I am writing from memory and it will likely read a little differently from the other days. So, at midnight we set off and I could see little torch twinkles up ahead from climbers who had set off in to the night before us. We had a bit of banter with the porters who would not be joining us for the summit climb charlie made it quite clear that he wanted mula to serve us breakfast on the summit 'hey no problem' was the cry from inside the porters tent! We all laughed.

So off we went and the going was much like the previous days; pole pole but the terrain was actually very different. The mountain made its origins clearer because we were now trudging through ash and it parts it was quite steep. It was also bloody cold, almost as soon as we stopped you began to feel cold. Not like after a run on a cold night in the UK where you are aware that you are cooling off but actually cold very quickly. I felt a bit odd from the altitude so whenever possible I would slip a few chunks of chocolate in to my mouth to help keep my blood sugars bolstered against the exertion and the cold. The group seemed to be coping well and I think all of us just wanted to keep moving. so we did!

This night was hard, I only really remember the good stuff now so i am a little annoyed that i did not make a diary entry at the time but I wont sugar coat things it was hard. I was actually getting angry with Edie, the guide because I did not trust him when he said 'its not far'. We would ask again how far to that marker? from there to the top? 'Not far'....."for fucks sake 'how long will it take to walk 'not far' "?

The group was OK but clearly this was not the easiest night out we had enjoyed and the double vision and headache that had troubled Jo during day 4 eventually became a deal breaker. We were gutted to see her turn back. I had secretly planned this trip with her for weeks and I was seriously gutted that she would not be at the summit. I think Charlie offered to go down with her first and I added my voice to it as well. Jo being the star she is though made it clear that she would be even more pissed off with the situation if we went down with out a pic of the summit for her.

Jo had been walking with double vision under the full moon, in the bitter cold for several hours and I will honestly say that I would not of endured what she did that night. I am a soft anxious worrier of a person compared to her. I would of gone rapidly in to hypochondriac mode if I was many hours from medical help and I had been suffering from double vision for hours on end. I would been totally convinced I was dying from a brain tumour or something! Jo, I salute you!

Anyway, with very heavy hearts we said goodbye to Jo and pushed on.

I forget the name of the place we went to that is about an hour from the summit where we crouched down out of the wind for a few minutes. This was an important landmark as many people are satisfied with this as a kind of secondary summit and many people get here and turn back. We however were not going down just yet. I was personally begging Mr Sunshine to make an appearance at this stage, I just wanted the pick-me-up it normally gives me. But today, this morning, at this point in time, after 7hours of ascending in the bitter cold I was pleading with it to pop up.....I could see the night was lessening and the curvature of the earth would soon give up its hold on the sunshine but it could not come soon enough. Its funny how when your up high on a mountain you think about the curvature of the earth and how it effects the sunrise.....but right now I just wanted to see that old friend Mr Sunshine putting his hat on!

The next memory I have is knowing that the last walk to summit was in front of me and the Sun was now lighting up the world behind me, I cant remember the view exactly but I do remember looking back over my shoulder and nearly crying. It was achingly beautiful and not a moment too soon.

We walked the last bit quickly, maybe too quickly and I actually timed this section on my GPS device. we did it quicker than is advised at this altitude but we wanted to get it done. We got to the sign marking the summit and I threw my bag on the floor to get the sticker out I wanted to put on the sign....did that....got some pics.....holy cow done it......do I actually have the warmth in my hands to do a video message for my daughter? Yes! (will add it soon!). More hugs, emotional situation, Charlie obviously gutted his sister was not there, I tried to say 'mate lets tag this and get our arses back down'. It was spectacularly beautiful. I remember Rich asking me to take pics and thinking what a pain in the arse he was because he had this big bloody camera that needing focusing. My hands were in no mood to be out in the cold any longer than needed!

Soon Edie reminded us that its not a good idea to hang around at this altitude for too long so we turned on our heels and made for camp. I think we were all keen to get down and see Jo.



The journey down in terms of the sheer physicality of it was more difficult. It was incredibly steep and the ash sent you flying down at ever greater speeds. It really pummelled your legs - kind of fun in parts but easy to see how you could get injured.

After several hours of making our way down, and removing several layers of clothes to deal with the now hot sun we made it to camp. Charlie had gotten down incredibly quickly to see Jo and I was kind of in awe of the leg strength he must possess to of descended so much quicker than me. Anyway the main thing was he was now with his sister.

This was pretty much where my trip started to go downhill. I felt rough and the long walk down to the final camp was made even longer by frequent stops to vomit up the precious fluid I had drunk and to drop my trousers in the bushes to expel wretchedly. It was not fun and I was bloody pissed off with my body for letting me down. Everyone said it must be altitude sickness but I did not think it was. We will never know. They were prob right but either way it was bloody annoying.

We eventually made camp and that was it, I got some rehydrate powders down me and spent the rest of the evening drinking this bottle of nectar and making frequent trips to the toilet. The next day was the walk back to civilisation......

Day Four

Brilliant felt great today, tonight we are sleeping higher than lava tower (4550m) and still feel great. Met a guide who took a 9 year old up to the summit today! The start of today (breakfast climb) amazing and exhilerating-wish i had got some pictures. In parts we were climbing instead of walking.
Everytime I turned around today and saw clouds beneath me I was surprised-just beautiful. We stopped for food at a camp (4000m i think) and it was unreal! We could not believe it when Mula brought out a big plate of chicken and chips! it was delicious! Unreal!

Its 8pm nearly and at 12 we leave for the final push! Ring sticker at the ready! about to change batteries in headtorch then try to rest.

Writing from memory some months later I can say that I dont remember actually sleeping much!

The main thing I remember about this day and i remember saying it at the time was that this is what I was expectiung from the trip. Incredible views, sunshine, that feeling of walking in another world. Totally beautiful, the best day so far, easily!

Day Three

I remember the ice on the tents when we woke and sitting eating breakfast outside (see pic). There porridge rocked!

Diary time....

'8pm. Today has been an eye opener. very hard, we finished at 5pm after leaving at 08.15. Felt altitude today and felt rougher when ever I stopped, but no headache like the others. That is until we started our descent from Lava Tower. Filled bottle at stream near bottom so I had a supply ready for camp. On arrival I washed feet and hand the put thermal leggings on and long sleeve top and done. That is, I got in bed to let body rest before dinner-Headache until warmed up and sat in guides tent later on.


Tomorrow is easier but just as much ascent I think-lets just hope its more manageable than today. Old anxieties main problem. Richard was slower on way down and I have to say that descent is noticeable harder on the legs.

Dinner was nice soup and then mash with veg and chicken. Followed by tablets-is the Diamox even working? Today made the summit a pretty daunting prospect. seriously had thoughts about quitting which is bloody alien to me. Over dinner we realised that we make the final attempt at summit tomorrow night. Holy Shit.

Really looking forward to seeing Milly, she feels so far away that writing this makes a bit of salt water build in the corners of my eyes. Change the subject Bruce.

Just remembered that the toilets at this site are the worst yet-can smell them from 15 feet away. The shit on the floor prob does not help. Its 8.21 now and Richard is writing his journal next to me and both of us are complaining about our arm aching.

Sun was out for first few hours of today and piled on the cream but dam it got cold as we ascended. Descent hurt legs more.

I am so going to see Milly as soon as I get back. Stop it.

Tonight we are sleeping right under Kili, it looks unreal in the clear night-like a cheap special effect. Have been above at least layer of cloud all day......but really covered some ground. Yesterday Kili was so far away but now we are looking up at it as opposed to over to it. I am feeling better now I think its just anxiety in my belly. Proper frost when we spoke this morning. Today's climb went on and on and I hope that my body has read the script and is acclimatising while I sleep low after walking high. Olaf the the second guide was quicker than Edie (Idrisa) perhaps this was part of the problem?

I now have so much respect for anyone who climbs Everest. Don't ever do it Bruce'.............

I remember sitting in my tent and writing this. For one of the first times in my life I felt like I was in a remote part of the world. Remote enough for it to have an effect on an emergency. I think this is why my Daughter felt so far away. Other symptoms suffered by the group were terrible headaches and one member even had a prolonged spell of double vision. I would not of liked that! Physically I got off very lightly but I would of preferred to have the physical symptoms to deal with.

Even after this day- a prolonged trek, the body is not sore, feet ankles and lower legs are all fine it really was the altitude that made it difficult. Please have a special look at the last picture-its the view from the tent at the end of the day. Looking down on the clouds - YEAH BABY!

Day Two

'Up and packed sleeping bag away. Too hot in sleeping bag last night god knows why I put my thermal leggings on to sleep in. Took them off in the night. Its 8.6 degrees out here and my hands are cold but I am loving it. Remembered Malaria tablet at 11pm last night. Rich (my tent mate) woke up ill in the night-allergic reaction or something. It is now 6.55am.

Now 4.43pm and we arrived at camp at 2.15pm, exactly 6 hours after we left. Some talk of getting a bit more distance covered and sleeping at shira 2 instead of shira 1 but porters were understandably reluctant to take tents down etc. We understood but Edie (our Guide) said we had done well and finished really early. I loved today, could not wait to get walking and loved it all. Lunch was a strange sandwich, chicken breast, boiled egg, orange, biscuits, banana and fair whack of dairy milk chocolate. Might of felt a bit of altitude today and was pleased to come down a little to the campsite. On approach to the campsite we saw Kili and we all admitted to being a little scared because we had barely scratched the surface. So big. When we were at the campsite we splashed around in the water-glorious. Hot peanuts and popcorn before dinner, deleted some pictures from camera and now writing this-its 4.55pm. Feet are fine, not had a dump yet though. Just took a Diamox pill as daunted by the size of that thing. When you see it through the clouds-we are not really even on its slopes. Lunch was eaten n the clouds and campsite is often enveloped by clouds. Evidently we are quite high.
Just gave the cook some paracetamol to the chef as his tooth is fucked, his whole jaw line is swollen-his name is Mula.
Idrisa, our guide gave us all names today: Charlie is Caca, Jo is Dadda, Rich is Cacca billy and i am Babba (Daddy!).
Milly felt a long way away last night.
8.10pm eaten and had a shit. Great.
Dinner was a Beautiful cucumber soup followed by beef stew and rice.
Temp now is 2.2deg C. Will check again soon I think the wind is the bad thing though as laying in the tent and using the toilet was fine.
Just checked temp again and its 1.0Deg C-its 9.25pm.
Chaz suffered with a headaches today.

Kili is a big beautiful ghost in the moonlight-its stunning.'

Thats the diary done but wanted to add that the river thing was awesome, just love that kind of shit. Perfect clear water, perfect scenery, great friends.

Day One, Lemosho Route

Enjoying the bank holiday? Gooood, I am. Apart from the NSDI (non specific drinking injury), somehow I managed to break my shoulder on Saturday night. Well, it feels like that anyway.

Anyway, back to Africa! The ambush on Charlie was orchestrated brilliantly by His sister and I. However by the time they arrived at about 10.30pm I had been sitting around the hotel bored out of my brain all day so as soon as the door opened I literally rugby tackled the poor chap! Kind of killed the moment a little but not to worry!

After the shock reunion, beers were in order so we went to the bar for a quick one and this gave me a chance to meet the fourth and final member of the group, Richard. South African guy who reminded me of an old friend in blighty, so all in all things were looking rosey.

Diary time:

........'Charlie woke up and peed loudly, then at 6.30 Charlie jumped around! Brekky in the hotel, bit worried about the raw egg but tummy fine so far. Guides changed from the ones that Charlie and Jo had met last night. Big road accident involving Brother of original guide which prevented him from continuing (we were to find out later that it had been a fatal accident). Our guides gave us a big bottle of water at the hotel and told us to drink it all asap. From there we headed into town to collect something and then on to a garage/supermarket to get the prop shaft removed (whatever that is). apparently it was making a funny noise and needed to come off even though this also did away with the 4WD.

After a long wait while the Land Rover was worked on and buying a little bottle of whiskey for the summit we were off. Soon we were off into some hardcore off-roading. Followed by some more dicking around at a base camp where we had to sign paperwork and give our passport numbers. More off roading before Lunch and then walking began at about 2pm after eating in a forest clearing at the end of the road/trail. Saw some monkeys which looked like big skunks. Walked until 5.

We are now at 2600m and I am sitting in the dark writing this and waiting for dinner. It is 7pm. Last 2 hours been spent washing and sorting stuff out. Almost forgot to mention that when they dished the kit out, my cold weather coat did not show up.....big problem. Then Charlie unpacked his sleeping bag to reveal my jacket! Good for me but not so good for Charlie! Soon sorted though as the guides had spares...... Guess they like carrying extra weight for the hell of it!

I have a slight headache which is unusual for me and we have a 6 hour walk tomorrow....I cant wait to get stuck in'.

Just remembered that we had spaghetti bolognese that night. Perfect.

To give some idea of the walking, it was through rainforest and we walked for almost exactly 2 hours. Initially it felt like painfully slow progress but after an hour or so we settled in to the 'Pole, pole' (pron; Poley) routine. Which you can prob guess is 'slowly, slowly' in Swahili. To indicate how slow this is Charlie and I both agreed that had we been left to our own devices we would of taken around 45minutes.

Lets do this!

Time to fill in the blanks. I last properly wrote to you just before I was about to head off on Big Brothers Stag do. It was great and great stories to tell but perhaps not in a blog that is meant to be about running/fitness stuff.

After a few delays got home from Hamburg at about 10pm. I promptly made a start on packing as I did not want to leave everything to Monday-even though I was not flying out until Monday evening. Annoyingly my camera broke in Hamburg so I had to waste precious time getting that replaced as well.

Got to the airport in plenty of time, as ever it was a case of hurry and wait until my gate was called.........

Once in Africa I kept a bit of a diary so I will simply add that now.........

'Africa, pretty wild in some ways! flight to Nairobi, Kenya was cool. I was sat next to a lovely old Canadian lady and she was brilliant company, we decided that she could take the vacancy of being my new gran! She had dreamed of going on Safari her whole life and finally she was doing it. I was thrilled for her and it was a delight hearing her story about the safari themed party she had thrown for her Children and Grandchildren before she left.

Nairobi airport was a nightmare, no on could tell me what gate to go to and when I finally found myself on the tarmac of the runway to board our little prop plane to Kilimanjaro Airport, I had this sinking feeling that my case was not going to arrive. They kept bringing a few cases at a time....sadly i was right. Mine was no where to be seen. I hassled the ground crew endlessly to go and see if it was going around one of the carousels in the terminal but no one helped. Finally my saviour appeared. A young lady took pity on me and ran in to the back of the airport through this big tunnel-clearly we should not of been doing this but frankly I did not care.

We ended up looking through this very wide, panoramic window into the terminal where we could see the cases going round. Baggage handlers worked next to us processing cases and two security guards stood in front of us shouting! This poor girl, was clearly scared for her job and actually told me this. I did not really help matters buy interrupting them to keep saying, 'I appreciate what you are saying but I can see my case, look! Its there!' By the time I had grabbed it and run back to my plane the propellers were turning and I had assumed I had missed it. But amazingly the captain stopped the engines and let me get on!! I was chuffed to bits!

Saw Kili from the plane and I felt very Indiana Jones being on a old fashioned prop plane. I took a pic of the mountain from the plane.....my god it looked big and it really woke me up to what i was doing! It was literally towering above the clouds-I had never seen anything like it before.

After we landed (sideways! Not joking) I waited by the plane to thank the captain for waiting for me and he was very nice about the whole thing. Getting visa was a very simple affair and I even managed to help a couple of honeymooners get there documents organised. Nothing serious just changed a few dollars up for them and wished them congratulations.

I had a driver waiting for me which felt good, I had my bags with me (nice feeling!) and everything was looking simple. The 40 minute car ride turned out to be quite an experience! All I will say is that their method of overtaking differs slightly to ours. The key difference being that they don't seem to mind if something is coming in the other direction. This was my first time on the great continent of Africa and I have to say it was almost as I expected it. People on old bikes, dusty children, groups of young men, lonely looking women walking to god knows where, carts being pushed and firewood being chopped and carried.

The driver asked me about the two other people he was picking up tonight and I said they are lovely people but DON'T TELL THEM MY NAME! I think he understood. At the hotel reception I went through the same routine about my arrival being a surprise....I am pretty sure they understood.

Then I had a sleep for an hour or so (first time under mosquito nets! Exciting stuff!), got up, had some food in hotel (pretty good) and attempted to wander in to town. I promptly gave up after being hassled and hassled and hassled by locals. Some of them aggressive, some of them drunk, some of them simply wanting my custom. I have never been anywhere where I am so obviously the foreigner. For the first time in my life having white skin was odd. interesting stuff.

Anyway. its 2.45 pm local time and I am sitting here writing this diary. Will have a shower and sort stuff out and wait to spring the ambush on Charlie! happy days!'

Will try and add another day from the diary tomorrow!

I am back!

Its been a fun filled couple of months but I have not written in here at all. One of the reasons I stopped writing in here was because I bursting at the seams to talk about a trip I had planned but it was a surprise so had to keep quiet! The trouble was I did not get going again!

But here is a summary of the last few events that I participated in:

Kilimanjaro Climb!!!!!!!!!!!!
Night & Day Ultra Marathon
All night 120 mile Bike ride
24 hour Mountain bike race

I actually kept a bit of a journal for Kili so will publish that on here very soon and fill in details about the events as I go along.

Other points worth making are the fact that I have done bugger all running lately but have completely fallen in love with my trusty mountain bike all over again! Don't need to buy a new one now! Phew!

headless chicken

I need to update this but have very little recollection of what I did and when! I was at Le Mans for the race this weekend just gone and I know that I had a very intense four or five days before that, what with upper body work and cycling lots but have been right off the running because this bloody scab on my Achilles tendon has still not heeled form over 2 weeks ago! I guess this means I am getting old and I don't heal as quickly as I use to. What an appalling thought!

Since getting back from Le Mans I trained hard in order to de-tox and I have eaten like an athlete! love it.

OK.....trouble is I am off to Hamburg for my Brothers Stag do tomorrow morning at 7am and I am driving to Brighton tonight to take my daughter out for dinner. (Obviously doing all these trips destroy my Dad time).

Will write again Monday....in the meantime if you could all eat healthily and drink lots of water for me then I would be grateful. I sure as hell wont be saint-like in Germany!

quick update

Took Saturday off from exercise as I was stuck in the car most of the day. Sunday did a hardcore 11miles in the heat and managed 1hr 17mins but it felt quicker in the sunshine! Grrrr.

Did nothing yesterday as it was a funny/busy day. I have done nothing today either as I had to go to the Dr's this morn but tonight I will def be getting out. Keep you posted.

Sure there was some other stuff I was meant to put on here. Mmmm, get back to you.

Not bad, not 2 bad

Ho-kay. Have no idea how I got to work on Tuesday but Wednesday I ran in and ran home again and most enjoyable it was too. I don't know how long it took me but I don't care. Before running home I used an old training technique from my youth. Namely different types of press up broken up with sit-ups. eg I would do 10 clap press ups, then sit-ups, then ten press ups with my hands touching each other, then ten wide, ten normal, ten on finger tips. all in all 50 press ups done but it felt like more!

Thursday and Friday (today) I have cycled in and yest morning I did walking squats to exhaustion when I got to work-So I have sore buns now.

I also had a little crash last night, was lucky to not collide with a nearby obstacle but still hit the top of my head quite hard and its still sore. Bent the break lever a bit but the bike is fine. This morning I also had a bit of a tumble......get a grip man!

Have a good weekend.

Getting worried

Although I cycled in to work every day last week and I do tend to 'make it count' as a workout I am still woefully behind in terms of running. I really need to do some long runs of over 20miles or I am going to fail at the Night & day ultra - something I don't want.

I hate to admit it but the weather has put me off getting out there this weekend (bank holiday as well!) It has done nothing but rain solidly all weekend. Its enough to bring you down.

Along with worrying about running fitness I am also starting to think my upper body could really benefit from some intensive work so instead of braving the rain yesterday I did some upper body and core training. Loved it, which make a change lately as I don't enjoy pushing weights like I use to.

So, that is it really, cycled to work all last week and did some strength work sat morning. Oh yeah and went to a wicked concert last night at the shepherds bush empire but that's not really relevant to the blog!

Hope your all enjoying your bank holiday weekend.

Massive thanks to Nigel and Carolyn for donating £50 each!!!!!!!! Awesome stuff.

Sunday

Daughter was ill this weekend so she didn't want to travel to Dad's-the cheek of it makes me shudder. Don't worry next time I see her she is grounded. God I miss her.

So, whilst I missed her I have been really rather productive. In fact, I am sitting at the office right now and have been getting some work done. Those little things that make all the difference, the things you never normally do-planning, mostly! I did the same Yesterday (lots done!). Then came the really important stuff....... checked out some great video's on Youtube, downloaded some music, updated the iPod (that I never use). Amazingly I did not force my self to go out drinking 'because I could'. Bravo.

Anyway, exercise; Hard and fast 7 miles on Friday night, Sat night (last night) did a steady 14 with rucksack on and first thing this morning I did a very challenging 6 miles-then hit the weights as my upper body has gone to ruin. The Idea being to start preparing for the next race that has a leg at night then first thing in the morning.

It served as a big wake up call! The steady 14 was tough! I have done this 14.25mile lap a few times lately and loved it. I have been running it quickly with no weight on my back and no fluids to carry around. Too be honest the steady plod method took a lot more out of me. Strange. But a vital call to arms. That said, after a stiff and tired start, I surprised my self with the six mile blast first thing this morn!

On top of all this I have ridden into the office and I am about to leave......a rich, heavy and fatty roast dinner has got my name written all over it. Might even have a splash of plonk with it.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Its a dirty job....

Those of you who have read my entries moaning about our canine friends will know that this blog is not always positive. And I want to have a small moment of self pity once again.

Goddam mud, gravel and flies are really aggravating me at the moment. Its not that I mind getting dirty because I really don't its just all the extra washing and cleaning that you have to do. Not just clothes but the shower gets filthy as well and you have hose and oil the bike every day and yadda yadda yadda. The thing that is really annoying though is the dirt and gravel that is getting in my shorts and underwear at the moment. Really, really p*ssing me off. Last night I literally had about 4 or 5 big pebbles in my Bum crack and that was in addition to the usual dust and gravel. I am being serious! I have re-fitted my rear mud guard to see if this helps.

I think I need to get some of those cycling shorts with a really high back, with braces like dungarees. Bib shorts I think they called. That should fix it.

Fly's seem to be committing suicide in my right eye ball with shocking regularity at the moment as well. Gravel seems to be a problem in this area too. I want to get some of those clear safety glasses but I would feel like a bit of a prat wearing them.

Hill session

Cute little hill session tonight. There is a nice incline about 5 minutes running time from me so it was commandeered for a quick session. An old school friend use to live at the top of the hill, I assume his parents still do. This got me thinking about being at school and all the people I have lost touch with over the years.

I was also thinking about how I took being very lean and defined for granted. Sure, I lifted weights from a young age - before any of my friends did - and I wanted to be muscular but they were just always there....or so I remember. Halcyon days indeed! Abs def not made much of an appearance lately! Is it just age that changes this?

Any way 6 hard hill reps and I felt it. Nicely done old man.

Ignore the Whiskey

Productive weekend. Good 14.25 mile run on sat Morning and good long bike ride with Nick on Sunday. The rain was a bit of a pain but never mind the important thing is we got stuck in. About 30miles and good portion of that was off-road so fairly taxing at times. All in all we were out for about 3 and half hours.

The bike was making some funny noises though and I identified the problem was the rear hub. Lots of oil applied and given her a day off and drove to work. Fingers crossed the odd noise will have gone next time i ride her. Otherwise I will even more a justification for buying a new one when I cant afford to!

Another point I would like to make is. Horses are bloody lethal! One poor girl was struggling to contain one little gee-gee when we went passed yesterday and another was completely thrown off next a main road after being dragged through a bush. Poor thing.

So if I forget the large quantity of whisky I drank last night it was a very good weekend.

I am tired of being right!

Yep, the rain arrived about a week ago and the sun has barely been polite enough to say hello since. Put your hat on mate and come out to play!

OK so this week has been even worse than normal! Yikes it must of been bad.

Basically I have cycled to work and back twice and went to running club on Wednesday. Tonight was an epic blast back in the rain and I got rather dirty but it rocked! proper epic hack home. Awesome.

Right, running a bit late to go and grab my princess so must dash. Last thing though......check out the new link I added today. I sent my entry form off yesterday! Rather excited and yes I am doing it solo. Cant wait. None of my useless friends are even up for getting a team effort organised. Hurry up and come home Stocko, my fitness level needs you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update

Running club on Wednesday night was the first time we used the 'summer lap'. Its bang on 5 miles and its pretty much the route that taught me to love to running when I was in my mid teens. Out in the countryside and past some beautiful lakes. It shares about 80% of my standard 6mile/10k route.

I think and I am not 100% sure on this but I believe I ran a PB on Wednesday night. By my reckoning I ran 32.59 and as far as I can remember I don't think I have run it in under 34mins. Cycling is obviously helping me out more than I thought because I have been doing very little running lately. Interestingly it was my cardiovascular capacity that was holding me back. At no stage did my legs feel tired, instead I was struggling for breath and feeling a little pukey when I pushed for a hard finish. Interesting.

Anyway, I sit here slightly downbeat because I wanted to get up early do the same 14miles that I did last sat morning but I opted for the soft option and had a lay-in. Tosser. Being a Dad has now taken over the day and its impossible to get out. When will I ever learn?

Have a good bank holiday everyone.

May Day, May day!

So here we are the 1st of May and the UK in basking in some sunshine, but yes, the populous are already moaning. Saying that we need some rain. Guess what......it rains a lot in the UK! It will be here soon enough!

Fairless pointless post this as I only have a couple of routine cycle rides to tell you about but thought I would share some snaps with you.

the first picture is of lots of blossom covering the path, it does not really do the pinkness justice and the second really shows off the best of an English summer-the bright yellow field looks good as well.

Not a bad looking commute to work is it?

Weekender

Bonjourno boys. Took Friday off and went for a run sat morning....bit late getting up so decided to make it a 10ish miler. However I took a bit of a wrong turn and ended up a bit closer to a neighbouring village than I had intended. Not to worry.

End result was 14.25 miles covered in just under 1hour 55mins. The half marathon section was covered in 1hr 44. Then off to get suit fitted for Bro's wedding. As I did not eat after the run I was feeling a bit light headed during the fitting. When the cruel bastard of a tailor yanked up the trousers and gave my crown Jewell's a knocking I felt even worse!

Cycled to work this morning and actually timed it for the first time in ages. 29mins dead. 7miles off road. I think the last recorded time was around 45minutes!

Just been sitting on my office window seal for Lunch and it is properly hot and sunny. Cant believe it is still April.

Need to run more!

Have cycled to and from work everyday this week and cant tell you how much I am loving it. Trouble is I need to sharpen up my running pretty hastily as I have my next Ultra in a little over 2 months. So, despite feeling quite sleepy last night I got myself to running club. We ended up doing a speed session which was definitely a kick in the pants I needed. I would never of pushed my self as hard if I had gone out on my own. I think about 7 miles in total were covered but around two thirds of that was at pace.

It made me feel a little like vomiting at the time but really glad I did it.

Yes, you guessed it, had another great ride in the this morning as well. Must go running at the weekend!

Oops

Forgot to mention the fact that Sally at Marie Curie Cancer Care also sponsored me! Sorry-thanks a lot! Very cool of you.

Awesome ride home from work last night and great ride in this morning......trouble is, it just makes me want to spend the day hacking around the country lanes instead of sitting behind a desk!

Thanks again Sally.

Fundraising update

A good few days all in all. On top of my speed dates being incredibly generous A few people who have sponsored me before have once again dug deep.

Mr anonymous.....thank you, look forward to watching some racing with you over the summer.

Greggy. Your the man.

Special thanks to Kate Mitchell, an old school friend whom I rarely see, for donating a second time. Magic.

I especially hope you three had good weekends!

Training update

Alrighty then, the weekend was not the weekend it should of been but I enjoyed it none the less and don't feel guilty about not doing a long steady run.

Had a cracking ride on Saturday afternoon and then on Sunday Morning I charged out of the house after watching some of the London marathon on TV and ran a brilliant 7 miles. The hardest I had pushed my self in ages. Raahh!

Well done to all London Marathoners, it looked like an incredible day in the capital and I am rather jealous.

Cycled in to work this morning as per usual and I reckon I still have least one fly in my left eye! Deeply annoying, it was if I heard it slap my eye ball! Blimey that's making me feel ill...... I must start wearing sunglasses even when it is not sunny.

Hope you had a good weekend.

New endurance event discovered!

last night saw me tackle my first ever evening of speed dating! let me explain, I got an email on Tuesday from Karen at Marie Curie Cancer Care asking if I knew any single men, as they were short for an event they were organising. So I though; 'what the hell, sounds like a giggle'. I love being right.

However, after about 3 or 4 'dates' I was starting to wonder if I would last the distance. A few more and I was starting to lose my voice! The upshot of it all was that it helped bolster my faith in lady kind. I think that almost without exception everyone I met seemed really, really nice. I would definitely make friends with virtually all of them. Great evening.

So, given that this is not about running why am I writing this? Well, the organisers were kind enough to let me appeal for donations a couple of times throughout the evening. The 'crazy Marathon Guy' even got asked to draw the raffle, I felt quite special! I was surprised when people actually seemed to be writing the web address down, so when a couple of Girls I had just dated started handing me money I was literally shell shocked. I promised a mention to them on the blog-wish I could do more, but here goes.....

HUGE THANKS TO VICKY, CATHERINE, JODIE and LAUREN. Genuinely surprised by your generosity and I am sincerely grateful. I have emailed Karen at Marie Curie this morning about how best to add it to there/my account.......in hindsight I should of just given it to her last night. By that time I was not really thinking straight though! Like the title suggests, I think I have discovered another ultra endurance event.

I am not sure if I said I would log the amounts on my blog or not so, just so you can be sure that I wont be spending your money on a trip to Rio it will get added to the 'offline donations' on my Justgiving website just as soon as Marie Curie let me know the best way to get it all logged. Here it is:

Vicky £2.50 (your a hero! if only more people did this I would be cruising)
Catherine £10 (wow!)
Lauren £10 (wow!)
Jodie £20 (HOLY COW!)

Pretty much speechless, thank you. Oh yeah, not to forget my partner in Crime, Greg.....he was splendid enough to donate another £50 yesterday! What a guy, I hope lots of ladies ticked his box! If not, whats the matter with you?!

Training update

After the start I made to getting fit again on Sunday and Monday I followed up pretty well. Tuesday and Wednesday saw me cycle to work and back and Wednesday Evening I got myself to running club for the first time in a few weeks. Amazingly I put in a pretty quick 10k which I was really pleased with considering my severe lack of running lately. Now I think about, it I also went for another cycle ride on Tuesday Evening with a friend. Well done Brucey.

Yesterday (Thursday) simply could not accommodate any training and today will be the same as I have not even cycled to work. My excuse is that I am having lunch with an old friend so needed the car to be able to meet them.

All in all a pretty good week, I feel a longish run coming on at the weekend as well.

Young at heart

Remember that song by the Bluebells? Hated it, but both seem pretty relevant today, firstly because after reading a great book about an Ultra Runner it reminded me of some great exercise memories. In particular whilst I was still at school. Winning the 800 and 200m on sports day with all the school cheering and running around the school field in sunshine with friends. I had forgotten just how important running had been to me then, great to reminisce.

Secondly of course because of the bluebells I photographed yesterday morning whilst cycling to work. Beautiful.

My great friend Charles Stockford ran his first Marathon on Sunday in sunny Canberra. He managed the blisteringly quick time of 3hrs 26mins and said that it was an awesome experience. I bet it was! Running a sub 3.30 on your first attempt is no small achievement! Well done dude.

I had got out for a run on Sunday morning for the first time in ages and thank goodness I did, I would of felt like even more of a loser if Chaz had called with great news and I had not even broken my recent exercise drought! I also got out for a good hard hour on the bike in the afternoon and it all felt great....apart from the fact that it reminded me how stupid I have been to lose all my hard won fitness. Yesterday I also cycled to and from work (40mins each way) and went for a 30 min run after I got home as well. One of the reasons I was fired up was because yesterday afternoon I entered another Ultra.......and its only a couple of months away. Yikes.

The Night & Day marathon series is organised by the same people that did Tring2Town and basically consists of running 2 Marathons in 24 hours. You start one at 6pm and then start the next at 6am the following morning. Its local to me as well. Result!

Anyway, sorry I have not been doing much lately but I hope that I am back in the groove now.

shocking

Been really useless lately, i have not run much at all lately. In fact I have done next to no running since T2T at the end of Jan. Not good enough. I am not even motivated to write about my lack of motivation so it must be bad.

I will write about other 'body' stuff instead. I sustained a bang to the head on Tuesday night and I went to bed shortly afterwards. I had fainted and even though I had landed hard enough to cut my shoulder and hip in the kitchen floor I did not pay too much attention what contact my head might of made.

Pretty bad is my guess, I woke an hour or so later, feeling very nauseous and wanted to be sick, so I went to the toilet but it did not come. But I certainly could not sleep because I felt so sick. A sure sign of a nasty knock to the head.

When I rose on Wednesday morning I showered and drove to work but with a big headache and as I never suffer from headaches it's really noticeable when I do. The feinting could be explained but the continuing headache was a trifle worrying so I went to see the Dr and she very pleasantly told me I was alright and that there was no pressure on the backs of my eyes etc.

I have had concussion several times before but never really like this. I normally just get the drowsiness but the headache was a new one on me. I still don't feel totally with it but tomorrow I intend to go for an early morning run and start getting back on track.

Keep you posted!

In the meantime I will share a pic from a recent trip to Germany.

You cant make it out but in the mist lays the mighty Nurburgring Nordschleife.

well being

Tricky one to tie down that, work life balance, eating properly, family relationships all the things we are meant to get right all the time. So, I did not train at the weekend which was a bit of a wasted opportunity because I did not have my daughter. What I should of done was gone for an all day ride or run or pottered about with my old track car. In my defence I did tinker with the car all morning but then, with my Bothers we took my Mum out for Lunch.

Upon arriving at the country pub there was an old school friend whom I had not seen for ages. After a very nice lunch I decided not to get a lift back with the others and instead got stuck in to an all day drinking session. Well, after all how often do you get the chance to do this once your a parent? By 10.30 I was so drunk I went home. Then I went out again to go for a sobering walk. Which had the odd effect of not actually sobering me up at all. I was definitely in a bit of a pickle. I am not a regular drinker and if I do get out for a drink it will almost always be a quick 1 or 2 pints and even this means I feel less rested upon waking. Saturday was slightly different.

Here is the thing, I did not have a terrible hang over on Sunday and I did not get run over whilst out for my drunken walk, I did get mugged nor I did not wake up with a complete stranger. So, whilst I felt tired for most of the day I got off fairly lightly. But here's the rub. I felt wrong this morning as well. Dull, hazy and no where near my best. I even had the morning off work to get a some bits done and even when I cycled to work at midday I still felt less than sharp. Riding to work along my familiar railway with familiar obstacles was so much more demanding. This was undoubtedly because of the booze. Conventional wisdom would say that I was fine and should be feeling normal but I was not. I would obviously of passed a breath test but I would most definitely not of wanted to do any serious driving at today. I tried to put this in the context of doing a track day or one of my other fetishes the Nurburgring. Absolute non starter.

I have to admit to liking the odd drink, but I am cringing when I think about just what I did to my body on Saturday.

Foxy rush hour

Glorious bloody ride in this morning! I only saw one person on the whole of the trail. Such a shame that he was a rude prick who was too selfish to keep his dog under control. When I asked if he was going to do anything about his dog trying to commit suicide under my front wheel I am not sure if he was shouting at me or the dog? Oh well, perhaps I will find out another morning.



But, selfish god owners aside (an abundant breed).....actually lets have a quick rant-its my blog after all. Dogs? Why? I just don't get it. Firstly, you have to spend precious time walking them so they control your time outdoors. Secondly, they produce crap which makes otherwise reasonable people want to stab you. Thirdly, they make your hands smell when you stroke them, fourth they make the owners house smell (for all the dog owners shaking their heads at this....YES! Even your House). Finally, you pay an arm and a leg on food and pets bills. When I have put this watertight case to people they respond with 'but there always pleased to see you'. Three words: get some friends.


Anyway, given that we seem to be a nation of dog owners/lovers I have probably halved my already modest readership, never mind. Frankly if you fall in to the bracket of selfish dog owner I would rather you did not share this adventure with me. Next time your dog jumps up at me or someone else don't say; 'He's alright, he wont hurt you' consider the fact that your dog should not be jumping at anyone with out being invited to do so. Once your dog has invaded my space I will decide whether or not your dog is alright or not. Take responsibility, I am fucking furious with you that I have to spend my time cleaning my trousers because your dog is 'alright'. Instead of telling me it's 'alright' how about you apologise profusely and decide that in the future you will keep your dog under control like the law suggests. Perhaps if you are reading and you are one of the people who does not clean up after your dog I sincerely hope you come across an otherwise reasonable person who wishes to hit you with a blunt (or sharp, I'm easy) object. You disgust me.

OK, so I promised you some pictures but I am little annoyed because I nearly captured the best blooming picture ever this morning. A Fox ran out in front of me and ran along in front of me for a few seconds. I scrambled to get the camera out as quickly as possible but gloved hands were not terribly conducive to the task and I missed the moment. So, with camera back in pocket I carried on riding and the little blighter teased me by jumping out again! Yep, missed it again. It had such a big bushy tale as well! I know they are viewed as a pest to many and for all I know this might be right but I was thrilled with my encounter this morning.


A rather negative blog this morning but trust me I am in a good mood, how could I not be when I have started they day with a wonderful bit of exercise in the sunshine?

Sorry, sorry

Firstly my dedicated readership deserves an apology, since T2T I have been very inactive on here and I really do apologise. 2 reasons for this, firstly becasue I have not been doing as much running and secondly my PC is at my new office so I dont sit at home in the evnings updating my blog.

Shame really, becasue I have had some great experiences with this commuting lark! I did not go for a run over the weekend but Monday morning saw me run in to work for the first time! I cunningly dropped my bag containing clothes, lunch etc off at the office when I passed it on Sunday evening. This meant a simple run into work on Monday morning unburdened with a heavy rucksack. It was 7 miles of absolute bliss! Well, that is a little generous......after having not run for a while my legs took a while to wake up but after 3/4 miles I flying along and it was another beautiful morning! The run home with a light rucksack in the evening was a slightly different affair. I had not eaten since lunch and with 3 or 4 miles left I felt so hungry it was incredible. My hands were shaking, I felt light headed and all I could think of was scoffing dinner down as quickly as possible and then going out for a takeaway. Oh how I fantasised about the high calorie options, McDonalds, no no non, Chinese, ooooh, how about a curry but then again a nice greasey Pizza. The thought of all of them was mental torment! God knows how our great explorers, Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stoud managed for Months in Antarctica.

By the time I got home I felt so empty it was nuts! I felt like a complete wimp because I was so hungry! I have, after all, fasted for 4 whole days before and felt fine - but I did not do any exercise whilst doing that. Dinner that evening lasted a while.....quick banana and a drink on arrival, cold cuts of roast pork (lots), jacket potatoe, cheddar cheese, salad, Chorizo, coleslaw, ham sandwich with proper baked ham/more salad, more cheese with biscuits finished off with apple crumble and custard. Which, in turn, was finished off again with large amounts of Cadbury's dairly milk. Its been a while since I have eaten like that......and I am sure I have missed stuff out!

Tuesday and this Wednesday have seen me cycle in and do my strength training circuit upon waking as well. All I can say is; Man! The weather has been awesome this week and I have loved every minute of riding/running to and from work! really should of taken some pictures! Promise I will tomorrow.

Hope the sun is shining wherever you may be and more importantly you are making the most of it! Get stuck in! Its good for you!

Also, I would like to express my heartfelt and sincere encouragement and admiration to arguably the greatest living Englishman, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. As I write this he is ascending the North face of the Eiger, a challenge of truly epic proportions and risk. Sir, I salute you. Coincidentally we are raising money for the same great charity Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Commuting rocks

Afternoon. I have not run since last Wednesday, that's 9 days! Lazy swine. However I have not been a complete porker as I have still been strength training most mornings and yesterday was the first day I rode to work! I have just moved to an office set in beautiful parkland surroundings and its just off one of my usual cycles routes! Perfect. A 7 mile off road trail thrash to work every morning.....am I lucky or what! Lets ignore the fact that I need to work harder now.

I moved in last Thursday and owing to sorting a few things out I have not made the most of it but yesterday and today I really have!

Let me set the scene.......You have to cross a busy, new dual carriage way to get on the trail and I do this by way of a big bridge with steep ascent and descent. I am not generally a fan of exercising with earphones in but yesterday I stopped atop this bridge and put my iPod on. Whilst hurtling downhill off the bridge to join the trail with cars to my right and music playing I was smiling so widely I nearly pulled a muscle in my cheek. Oh yeah yesterday morning was also bright and sunny as well. I was thrilled to be alive!

Anyway, must get out for a run this weekend.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

HOP ON BABY!

Just got off the phone to the great Charles Stockford. Why? Good question, particularly when I have just moved in to expensive new offices and I really should be working hard to pay the rent!

However, today was the big day! Today was Marathon Des Sables Registration day! I was like a coiled spring this morning on the website....5 mins before reg opened I was ready to rock! Pleased to say that I nailed it and got a place for myself and El Stocko.

Please feel free to send your congratulations via fax, post, email or a comment!

Running club

Not been doing much lately but I have started to do a nice little circuit every morning when I wake up. Consists of Press ups, bicep curls and sit ups to exhaustion. I complete this circuit 3 times and have been doing this daily for almost 2 weeks and can already feel the difference.

Apart from this I have been cycling with some regularity but hardly running at all. Running club last night was tough almost exclusively speed work and it was probably the hardest session we have ever done which was good. As a result I can still feel it a little in my legs this morning which is very satisfying.

I have not entered anymore events as yet but will keep you posted!

hey shaggy

Yeah, been pretty lazy, right. Yeah, proper not good man.

Lazy English, lazy Englishman, sure suits me lately. Well, just over 3 weeks since the race and I have been very relaxed in my approach. The weekend saw a cycle ride and Monday morning I went for an early morning run (Birthday present to my self) and I sit here muddy and a little sweaty after a bike ride this evening. Rubbish night really, I totally sabotaged the evening by dropping my phone so I went back to look for it and very graciously my comrades followed me. Cheers chaps and once again sorry.

Have some pics from Sat ride....but you guessed it, I cant be bothered to put them on. Now if you'll excuse me I am going to go and admire my 2pack in the shower.

Thursday cycle

Doubly good day for cycling yesterday. Got out for the usual Thursday night ride with Nick and actually took the map with us which enabled us to discover a few new bits. We only covered about 13miles in the 1hr 40mins that we were out but it was one of the best rides we have done. Great to broaden the horizons a little and the map has shown us some great options for some longer efforts when a spare weekend presents itself.

One of the cool things about last night was that because the trail was covered in snow it kind of lit itself up. Meaning lights were not needed. Looked great.

Wish I had taken my camera again but never mind.

Wonderful world

What a way to start the day! I set my alarm to get me up this morning. Why? Because we were due a heavy snow shower and I wanted to see it before all the cars turned it into chocolate slush puppy. So glad I did, it was fricking beautiful out there. On the trail there was nothing but animal tracks and did I mention it was beautiful?

Why is it so satisfying to know you are the first or only person to see something beautiful? Humans seem to be obsessed with first place.

I gave my friend Charlie a call in Australia because I knew it would be so different to the weather he was having. He was in a bar playing pool and it was 35degrees outside! Some parts of the ride were fairly bleak but I am so glad I did it.