Day 4 - rest day

I am at a bit of a loss to know where to start. Simply because it was a month ago and I am struggling to remember it!

It was a day of catching up with other people and hearing there stories of the 'long stage'. It was interesting to hear how I had missed people who had also bedded down for a while at CP 5 or people who left just before I got there. Crucially, none of our crowd had let it beat them but to be honest I was not really surprised by this. Everyone we had befriended were just brilliant people and were there for the right reasons.....Incidentally, they all kicked by butt.

Today was about having some food and catching up with good mates and sharing my stories and laughing at each others feet. This was punctuated with regular trips to the toilet and man this was painful. Hobbling to the toilets was such an embuggerance and squatting on sore feet was still so painful. Oddly enough, I didn't really think about the fact that I had to run a Marathon through the Sahara the next day. After all that was ages away!

The last runner came in long after dark and controleurs came round the tents ask us to come and welcome him in. I decided against the walk to the finish line and then decided that I really should make the effort (I had heard from previous competitors that this was a really highlight). I attempted the hobble and it took so dam long I missed it. Dickhead.

Anyway I am struggling to remember much more. Sorry guys if I have missed something special.

Day 3 of running

So, there I was on the start line staring down the barrel of nearly 60 miles across the Sahara with diarrhoea. Does immodium even work??? Insanity, but what were the options? Between the ears I felt great, I just had to make sure I did not dehydrate and keep moving forward. If I could do that glory awaited! Sure it was going to hurt more and take a lot longer than I had planned but hey, I was actually pretty at ease with the whole situation.

It was so inconvenient having to stop and shit every 30 minutes or so but mentally I felt fine. I would bump into familiar faces at CP's and most of them said I did not look great. Oddly I felt a little offended because mentally I felt fine. I had already started considering a decent rest after CP 4 though to make sure I was not pummeling myself into the ground too much. I cant be arsed to talk about the details of the route but if we got to CP4 (50km) within 16 hours we were quids in. CP 4 also blessed me with a pack of tissues from another runner who took pity on my request for toilet paper. Thank you.

The stage between 4 and 5 was pretty brutal, we got this monumental rock climb that required being on all fours at times and would of been hard on fresh legs in daylight. I found out the next day that someone had fallen and had to be helicoptered out. Ouch! After this climb they hit us with a really hard set of dunes, navigation was hard and I was dead pleased to have my super bright little torch. These Dunes went on forever and I mean forever. This was the time I asked myself some of those serious questions about how much you want to finish. I remember having a little sit down on one of the sand dunes and wondered if it was steep enough to slide down on my bum! It was, Hooray! With this little morale boost I pushed on. It was at this point an Austrian gent and me teamed up. It was obvious that all we could think about was the next checkpoint. My brain was constantly asking where is this FUCKING checkpoint. The Austrian gent with me was in his 60's and I was feeling too polite to swear in front of him. With thinly veiled desperation I said; 'where is this checkpoint'. He replied with; 'yeah where is this fucking checkpoint'. Perfect. I smiled to myself.

The dunes eventually ended and in the distance I could see CP5 (64.5km). I marched on but 10 metres before the line I had to drop my shorts again. Heartbreaking. Even worse I was running very low on toilet paper. It was too cold to be standing there bollock naked and trust me when you squat on feet after 16hours of walking/running they hurt. I mean really hurt. My feet literally felt like they were going to burst. It was yet another miserable few minutes.

After crossing the line I got my water and requested more. This incurred a time penalty but after the day I'd had I was hardly heading for a podium finish. Better that I avoided dehydration. CP5 gave me the best treat of the race, perhaps my life! A campfire!!!!! I sat next to that bad boy and took stock. It was 1.20am and I had been on the move since about 9am the previous morning. My feet were hurting and the balls of my feet def had something worrying going on. I boiled some water on the campfire and made a meal. I ate and dozed, ate and dozed. The heat from the fire was bliss. A little after 2am I got up and went to the medical tent for more immodium. I felt a little funny and had to concentrate, nope, still felt funny so walked back to my fire and rucksac and collapsed. Blackout baby!! The worrying thing was I was not sure if I had fallen on my bag or the fire. Genuinely scared for a second but my pretty face got to live on.

I layed in the dirt for a while with the wind blowing and wondered why I was not feeling cold. I was also hoping no one had noticed my faint. The medics might of pulled me out the race if they had noticed.

The faint was not an unpleasant sensation, it felt quite nice in a strange way and it made decisions quite easy. I had time to burn until the final cut off and 'only' two stages to go - best to rest and let my body find some kind of equilibrium again. I got my sleeping bag out and slept under the stars, every so often I would wake to see more sleeping bags had appeared around me. Naturally I had to get up and answer natures call a couple of times and within a minute of getting out of my sleeping bag I was shaking uncontrollably. It was cold but it meant my PHD Minimus sleeping bag was doing me proud!!!! In the morning light I remember watching sand blowing off the top of a Dune about a km away, it flowed off in a clear vortex and it looked amazing. I wont ever forget that.

Morning came and a vid camera was shoved in my face, I tried to look cool and relaxed, not sure what they wanted from me. Then Louise shouted my name out! Nice to see a familiar face. She had arrived at CP5 at around 4.30am! I would not of swapped places with her for all the tea in China! I was dead chuffed with my sleep!

I decided seeing Doc trotter about my feet made sense and joined the queue just as she went for Brekky and ended up waiting for an hour and finally got going at around 7am i think, or maybe 8?

The final two stages were hot and I was glad to finally hit the finish line at around 2.30pm in the afternoon. With tears in my eyes I hugged Angelique and Charlie at the finish line. Angelique smelt a lot better.

Day two of running

The morning brought good news about Penny. She had made a full recovery and was ready to rock! Was genuinely pleased for her.

On to business; This day was a shock. The first stage really got to me, I am guessing it was because I drank so much water on the start line and diluted my electrolytes, who knows? I do know it was hard though, I had to stop at about 10 minutes in to adjust kit and told Charlie to get a move on. After that point I spent the day pretty much on my own having the odd chat with other runner. I even got asked by a complete stranger if I knew a girl called Justine. I did! she had told him I was running and to look out for me! small world!

This first stage dragged, tricky terrain and finding a rhythm was hard I slowed to a walk and felt pretty daunted by the whole thing. Stage 1 of only day 2 and I was buggered! CP1 eventually came in to view and I was pleased to get there! I got my water ration and popped a Nuun pill. This really helped but what helped most was hearing people who got to the CP a little after me who were really pleased with their time! Its all a matter of perspective! Feeling rejuvenated I headed off. The next two stages were long and hard but I felt like I was making forward progress so it was bearable.

The day finished with a hard but relatively short stint in some dunes. I was pleased to be finished and was surprised when Charlie said he had only been back about 30mins. I had taken around 6 hours. Everyone felt pretty beat up after day two and it was reassuring that almost everyone had found the days course hard.

On the down side. this was the night I starting making regular and I mean regular trips to the latrine. Tomorrow was the longest stage of the race a massive 81km (the longest in the history of the race). With a funny tummy it was going to be a long day! I am not sure what time we got the news that night but before we went to sleep we got word that to make up for the cancelled day they had boosted the day to 91km. By far the longest stage in the MDS's 24 year history! We were daunted but pleased, we may of been robbed of a day but now we had a new bragging right!

Day 5....first day running!!!

woke at 5.30am and FELT SO DAM HAPPY!!!!!!

Got ready and was on the bus for 7am and at the start line area for 9.30am. Man it was cold hanging around the start but god it all felt good, chatting with official photographers and getting our first ration of water! This was real baby!!

The race started just after 10 and man it was awesome, hugging and kissing anyone and everyone, wishing new friends and strangers good luck, listening to Patricks speech, helicopter hovering overhead, race countdown 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.........2,1 GOOOOOOOOO!

We were off and the dunes were a couple k in the distance. God they were beautiful. Me and chaz ran together for all of day one and it was awesome. Few problems with the straps holding my roll mat on but Stocko did me proud and the adrenaline and smiles were still brimming over at the first checkpoint which signalled the end of the largest dunes in Morocco! We def ran from Checkpoint 1 to CP2 a bit tooo enthusiastically but what the hell it felt great! When we got to CP2 it was set amongst some beautiful ruins and the helicopter swooped low over us. AWESOME!!!!!

CP2 also gave us the funniest quote of the day. When taking a leak before setting off again Charlie, calmly delivered the following unforgettable line: "there is a fly on my peanus". We laughed. Alot. The next stage was a mix of kind of grassy hills followed by another Dune field which was smaller but even more stunning than the first. Happy days. Arrived at the finish line around 5 and a half hours after we had started.

More water rations and finally assigned to a tent. Tent 65! A couple of people tent mates were already back and one of them (Tim) had smashed the first day - he had been back ages! On a more worrying note, one of the people we had befriended Penny had gone down with salt depletion and was very ill - she was not overly interested in continuing the race. Yikes, felt really gutted for her.

Got some recovermax down me and got cooking. Managed to have two pouches before dinner and was in bed at 7.45. I have dreamed about laying under a desert sky for years and the night sky in the desert did not let me down!

Day 4

I was dreading today. It was admin day. The day they weigh and check your kit and pay particlar attention to your Medical certificates. Flares and salt tablets also get distributed. I knew it was going to be one long queue!

However, we arrived early at a sprawling hotel complex out in the desert and met a few more great comrades in the line and the time just flew by! The kit checks were basically signing a bit of paper declaring you had everything and that was that! I was expecting to unpack everything, then get a few raised eyebrows over my weird ECG reading. Not a bit of it! The French organisers really came into their own and the whole thing was very painless! Happy days! After this I bought a pair of desert goggles and set about hanging out the whole day! One thing that stands out is a woman that had a broken arm, apparently she had gone for a run on the first day out in Morocco and fell over. She was in a cast and you could see her bruised fingers....her race was over before it had begun.

It was mostly Sunny and we we went up on the roof of the hotel to hang out, we had a great lunch laid on for us and we had nothing else to do but wait for Patric Bauer's speech. When this finally happened he declared that because of the unique weather conditions we had to make some decisions together. Everyone suddenly felt very included and wondered what the options might be! Then he stuck it to us: "Cancel the race or carry on". Er, not quite what we were all expecting Patrick but I guess any more options would only of caused arguments!

We got back to our hotel at around 7 and enjoyed some more sweet tea. Tomorrow we are off!!!!

Day 3

Well, today consisted of drinking sweet tea, watching the rain start, stop and start stop. We even went for a run in the rain which was awesome! At some stage today we found out that day 1 was def cancelled and everyone is really on tenter hooks waiting for more news.


We had a great little announcement from great French guy. His short speech finished with: "I have no more information - any questions?" It certainly raised a laugh from his (very) captive audience.


On top of all this we ate too much and met Michaela and Debs friends Zayne and Sara. Oh yeah and ate way too much. Boredom is a terrible thing.

Day 2

Early start after Charlie got his alarm wrong (its becoming a habit!!). Bloody good job though because Jeremy knocked on our door telling us that the coach was now leaving at 8am instead of 9! No dramas and headed off to brekky for another big feed before being shipped into the desert!

Once on the bus we were handed our roadbooks for the race. For me this was really, really special. It made everything so real. We had a couple of great girls on the bus behind us, Michaela and Debs. The Controleur with us, Angelique was also great. Let the conversation flow!

A short while after we set off, something strange happened. It started raining and 5 hours later it was still raining. My mind inevitably started thinking about how this could affect us. If the campsite is wet then we were in trouble.....the one thing no one can be prepared for is wet weather. Our sleeping bags in particular are totally useless if they get wet. Do I just attract bad weather?? Its the Sahara for Christs sake!!!

There was a crazily fat bloke on the bus who was jumping off at every stop and chain smoking. Angelique finally cracked and asked if he was running. 'Yes', came the reply! My curiosity also got the better of me and asked if he was taking ciggies out on the run with him. Again, 'yes' was the answer. 'How many' I asked. '20 a day' came the reply. I clearly looked surprised and he followed up with: 'well, there not heavy are they?'.

You cant argue with logic like that!

After a packed lunch and few pee stops we were at our destination and army trucks were ready to take us to the first campsite. Charlie and i missed the first trucks so got out the rain and back on the bus. Then we were told we were heading off on the bus to another place because access was becoming difficult because of the rain. So, there we were parked up in this little town while alternative arrangements were made. An hour turned into several and rumours started to get scary! The fact the french competitors could not even get past roads that we had travelled on a few hours before hand was worrying. Or, Perhaps they just surrendered to easily.

After lots of waiting around and more worrying rumours we were told we were going to be sent to a hotel and to expect an update tomorrow. Mmmmmmm.

First day of trip....

Despite no sleep the night before flying I had a cracking day travelling to Morocco. I knew I would forget something though and it was whilst eating a bowl of pasta at the airport that I remembered my lucky shorts had been left on the radiator in the Bathroom. Dickhead. Anyway the check in queue looked like a Raidlight convention with everyone carrying the same red and grey backpacks.....this was really happening!! Met up with Charlies mate, Matt as well. Ended up next to another runner from Ireland called Gary on the plane as well and it was clear that this trip was going to be as much about the people I met as the desert.

Getting off the plane was pretty hot and after a tortuously slow wait for passport control to show up and do their job...painful! % minutes of coach ride to the airport and we were at our hotel, the room was fine but the pool area was properly outstanding and I was having some pretty vivid fantasies about being back there in a week and being able to enjoy a cold beer!!

Before dinner we popped for mineral water and attempted a comedy haggle and I suggested popping for sweet tea at a little restaurant opposite our hotel. It went down very well and little did we know that we were going to have ample opportunity to enjoy lots more over the coming days!

Dinner that night was a hefty affair with more new faces and great banter. I think I totalled about 4 or 5 plates of food. Happy days!

wish me luck!

Ooops, running a bit behind. Still not properly packed and its getting late.

My rucksack seems huge. Just keep reminding myself that its all food and after a couple days running it will soon shrink.

This time tomorrow I will be bedding down in 5 star luxury before a long coach ride in to one of the worlds great deserts. Sweet dreams everyone.

Ps. Thanks to everyone who has sponsored me and please feel free to go to the darbaroud website and email while I am out there. My race number is 763.

Neverland

Everyone keeps asking me if I am excited, or nervous etc. It all seems a bit unreal at the moment. I feel like its happening and I am comfy with that but at the same time it feels like I should not of rested so much and should be doing some training. Then thoughts about the nitty gritty kick in: can I get away with less food? Need to buy lipsyl, new socks? What about a lighter? Where the hell am I going to fit the flares and survival kit the organisers give me? Where can I get straps for attaching roll-matt to my rucksac?.........you get the idea.

I am definitely in the final throws of getting this show on the road and I have to say that packing is my least favourite bit of these trips. I remember Kili being the same. Its kind of bitter sweet, I love the running around and jumping in the car to scream off to the shops for that little thing I forgot. Its the sinking feeling you get when you keep remembering things that make it stressful! The really cool bit is you know that when you do leave the house and head to the airport you have this amazing sense of order and focus about the task ahead. Really looking forward to that.

Anyway, lets focus on something else: Acclimatisation. I have been going to the sauna everyday since last Tuesday and it has been getting easier. This morning I managed 30 minutes straight quite easily. Followed with a short break then 10mins and then 5 break etc etc. To top it off I was chatting with a stunning Italian air hostess this morning. Que bella!

Will try and update again before I leave but no promises. For all that know me, feel free to text and call in the next few days so say hi and good luck!!

Nearly there

Hello, hello. Well it has been a while since I got back from that great few days with Stockford in Gran Canaria. I took the best part of ten days off after that and I have to say I felt crap. My body went to sleep after a few days and I started getting aches and pains. Best thing for it was do some exercise!

So, the two key things I have done since returning have been a nice 20 miler last Thursday and and a 50 miler two days ago. Feel pretty good all things considered!

I should also mention that after a nerve racking wait for a second opinion I have the all clear on my medical! So I am hot to trot baby!

Its all about sunbeds and saunas here on in!!!!!!!!

Well apart from the all the bits of kit I still have to organise.....I mean, Christ, it feels never ending at times! Ordered all my food yesterday and hopefully it will arrive soon. The reason being that HOLY CRAP that I fly to Morocco in 8 days!! Holy shit balls! Hahahahah!!!

Gran Canaria - Day 4

Well, well, what do you know! We ended up getting pretty blitzed before during and after the rugby! So Sunday was a bit of a wasted opportunity but we did head into the Dunes again for a bit of a session........a photo session! Vanity, definitely my favourite sin.

Gran Canaria - Day 3

Day 3 was again about 20 miles and honestly one of the best runs of my entire life. Exploration, excitement, good personal performance, great company, great weather, the ocean, beaches.....outstanding. I even persuaded Charlie to stop for a little sunbathe once we were about an hour from getting back.

One particular bit worth a mention was flying round a precarious little path that did not leave much room for error. It was just awesome. Stimulating and beautiful sum it up pretty well. Anyway, I will let the pics do the talking.

After we got back we headed back to the beach to watch England get beaten by Ireland in the 6 nations.

Gran canaria - Day 2

In the evening of day 1 we were sitting at the poolside when a very organized looking couple strolled past with a walking sticks. We grabbed them for a chat in order pick there brains about where it was good to walk and run. They were kind enough to get their maps out and showed us the route they had taken up into the mountains. That was Day 2 sorted!

So after the same hefty breakfast we struck out in to the mountains. Despite the heading in a direction that turned out to be a bit crap for running we eventually found a good track up the mountain and had a great days running. We totalled just over 20 miles and it felt really good. The brisk downhill parts on the way back were great and I could feel my core and upper body working to stabilise itself. I love this stuff!! As charlie remarked the joints and cartilage take a pounding but we really powered our way back and it left that bionic feeling in me for the rest of the day. Nice. We were out for just over four hours again.

Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention the outstanding t-bone we had in the evening of day 1! The restaurant owner even gave us a lift home!

Gran canaria - Day 1

Hola!

Okay I got back on Monday night and have been a bit slack about getting this done. So unlike me.

Day one, we had a breakfast identical to our MDS rations, filled our packs, affixed gaiters to shoes and set off in the sunshine towards the beach. Have I ever mentioned I love beaches?! So, we ran along looking like a complete pair of idiots for about 10mins till we hit the coast. I gather the sand dunes in maspalomas are quite famous and they certainly gave us a taste of just how challenging the huge ones in the Sahara are going to be. Especially as our gaiters were effective for about 10 minutes. After that our shoes were full of sand. Bugger.

So after getting the sound out we continued through the nudist areas and down the coast. Why are nudists never super hot? Not grossly overweight would be a good start!

Towards the end of my first bottle of water I tried a new electrolyte tablet called Nuun and have to report it was a very tasty way of maintaining the the correct balance - nice change from water as well. Little moral buzz as well - happy days. I was also using some new sunglasses and hat for the first time. Both worked really well. effective and comfortable.

We were out for a little over three hours and very pleased with our first day. Lessons included gaiters need more work, Nuun is good, massive calorie intake before run works well - ration pack is 800 calories!

Weekender

Okay, very quickly. Coming off the back of a pretty successful weekend so here it is in all its glory.

Saturday and Sunday: 20 miles with full load on. Just over 3 hours on both occasions.

In a funny way Sunday felt slightly easier.

Even went out Saturday night with a few friends but was very disciplined and had 1 pint of beer and a couple of Cranberry juices. Yes, people did make fun of me. But they don't look as good naked as I do. Got it?

hard and fast

Good hard 10 miles or so last night. Not done this kind of run for what feels like ages. I would be more specific on distance but my GPS gadget let me down....nevermind, it felt good!

Certain muscles struggled a little because I have not used them on my long slow runs but overall I felt strong and capable. Plan a good core workout this evening and then a curry with a few beers. What? Its mt Birthday! 31 today.......I know, I know the years have been kind.

Chillaxing

Bonjourno boys and girls.

After feeling a little more tired than I expected on Friday after my run I decided to take a little bit of time off running so went for a lovely nice ride on Saturday morning and it freaking rocked!!!! To be honest I was not really in the mood for cycling hard but it was such a beauty morning that just cruised around for about 3 hours. A bit of sunshine makes all the difference ay?

Anyway for my loyal reader I have a week summary and some pics for you! One is from a run around London in the Summer with my big brother.

Sat: 32 miles run with rucksack

Mon: Core workout

Tues: Hill session (5 miles)

Wed: Running club (7 miles - hills again!!!)

Thurs: Rest

Fri: 18miles with rucksack

Sat: 3hours on bike (fairly gentle)

Sun: Rest

So all in all a pretty good week and taking a few days off running feels correct.

bunking off

It was a lovely afternoon today so I decided to bunk off work at about 1pm and go for a run instead. Knocked out a cheeky 18miles (planned on 20) but was bored so trimmed a bit off!

It was actually pretty tiring and when I finished I really felt it. I had planned on doing 20 tomorrow as well but my left foot and ankle seems to be struggling a little at the moment. Nothing serious just a little bit of soreness. As seems to be the norm lately the rest of me has recovered in double quick time though. Happy days.

Instead I am going to get out on my bike for the first time in a while. I am actually really looking forward to it, got my camelbak sorted and packed with bits and bobs and all my clothes sorted. Not usually so organised......normally in the car driving to pick my girl up so at a loose end.

Anyone else watching the Sunday night project? Lilly Allen is Hot! Never really seen it before but..... Wah wah wee wah!!

Him upstairs

I hate the weather in the UK. Got that?

Today it has been seriously toilet. Its still seriously cold and it rained solidly all day. Minging. It struck me a while back that I started this blog and 'mds project' a little over 2 years ago. In that time we have had the two wettest summers on record and now the coldest winter in 20 years. Confirmation, if it were needed, that there is no god!

I am sat here after a relatively enjoyable day gagging for some fresh air, but it is still raining and I cant be arsed with it. I have done a core workout this evening though but my heart was not really in it.

What do you mean your bored reading this drivel?

Saturday

This is an easy report to write! Cold, long and painful.

fell over on the ice 30mins in and it hurt. Heavier rucksack than normal made my legs ache earlier than last couple of weeks and it was bloody cold still....the ice on some of the back roads was still a couple of inches thick in places.

I did 32miles (approx 51km) in total and really felt the second half. Despite the discomfort I could certainly of trudged on and once again my recovery has been convincing. Amazingly so. Thankfully I had the iPod with me for a change and it came in handy for the second half of the run. I listened (audiobook) to some of 'god is not great' by Christopher Hitchens but there is only so much mental bombardment you can take when your pain receptors are firing like howitzers. For the last 5 miles I switched to something a little lighter.

It was a slowish run at 6 hours but glad I did it.

it all started so well

I started this blog so well and the last 6 months it has just been just another thing in my life that has been ignored. Oh well, no sense in getting down about it!

Training got way off track towards the end of last year and then, when I actually hauled my arse out of bed for an early morning marathon I fell in the dark and hurt my ankle. I managed 20miles on it but by the time I had finished, it had swollen up like a balloon. I was rather concerned. It was OK though and the physio was not too worried about. This was just before Xmas so I made the most of my inactivity and got drunk for a couple of weeks instead. This was also fine because I managed to pick up a sinus/chest infection which lingered for most of Jan! Happy days.

The fear was really descending on me and I knew I had to get a Marathon under my belt to push some of the fear away. So, on Sat 24th of Jan I got up and ran just over a Marathon with my rucksack on. I felt great! How could this be? I should be dying! I concluded that the chesty/sinus thing had been dragging be down more than I had realised and it must finally be out my system. By the time Monday came round I felt 100% recovered. No stiffness, no fatigue. Nada. So I did some cycling, core work, some upper body work and hill sprints throughout the week and ran another Marathon on sat 31st of Jan. Once again I had my rucksack on and this time I did it in around 4hrs 15mins. Once again I felt great and come Monday I felt 100% again! The run hurt a bit more but who cares? Its the recovery that is going to be all important.

So, after that it has all been about sledging in the snow with my daughter! What with all the falls and knocks and throwing snowballs I was more stiff than I was from running a Marathon. I am just not as young as I was!

Anyway, if anyone still reads this then please, please donate a few quid through the link on the left. Over and out.

I would like to make it clear that in no way do I endorse Obama, even though I have stolen his ad campaign. He will not gain my respect until he sponsors my sorry ass!!!!!!!!!!!

nice and dry

Well, its been around 3 weeks since I realised that just 2-3 pints twice a week was making me feel rubbish so I stopped doing it. I feel so much better for it and despite fancying a beer last night I decided to go to bed early. This made sense because I had not had much sleep for the previous couple of nights and this morning I was out on the bike at 7.30am, on a Saturday, at 07.30...on a Saturday...you get the picture.

Dam it was a beautiful morning, sun was just coming up, still a bit of mist sitting on the fields, frost making everything look wintery. Lovelllly. Holy-shit-balls though it was cold! Took me ages to get warm but when I did it was thoroughly enjoyable although I did wish I had eaten a little something before i went out. An hour later, I was pleased to have seen the best bit of the day. I even saw one of our country's most successful front men out for a run with his personal trainer! I did lower the tone a bit though by having a blazing row with a woman whose dogs were not under control - silly cow.

Week summary
Monday - day off after big weekend
Tuesday....cant remember......er best i feel this in later!

Have a good weekend everyone and I will fill this in later when I have checked my training diary.

Lazy bones

Well, well, well who has been a lazy boy then?

Its hard to summon the strength to go back over the things that I have done in the weeks that I have been too lazy to blog but the things that stand out are an outstanding trip to Spain with Charlie to take in some spanish girls, paellla and a little f1, oh and some running. The other is sleepless in the saddle (24hr mtb race) it was just as memorable mainly becasue it was the sort of experience that I just wan tto forget all about. The weather made it absolute hell.

We also dropped out of a 3 day ultra Marathon because, well we were u n prepared mainly in terms of kit instead of fitness but what a couple of dickheads for missing the opportunity!

Oh well, at least it is now possible to really focus on the MDS and do this we must. I have even taken the last two weeks off from drinking and got organised. Yay to me.

Lets give you some pics of spain and the mtb race to make up for being a loser.

Let me know if you have any trouble figuring out what ones were taken in England.

Guest appearance!

Well, I have some good stuff to add but more importantly I have an entry from a great friend of mine called Adam. I mentioned him a couple of weeks ago and invited him to be my first ever guest blogger! Take it away Adam..............

Ok so it’s been three weeks today since I went to sunny Dunmow to borrow a bike from my good mate Bruce and start my training for SITS. I had not been on a bike ride since I was 14!! The feeling of freedom it gave me just getting out there and riding is something I’ll never forget and I haven’t looked back since.

There were a couple of things that compelled me to give the 24 hour marathon a go and the main reason was fitness (I think). I am / was 3 stone overweight and if I am honest had probably let my 20’s go by without more than 5 months of sustained exercise in the gym when I was 24 and single! I got fit that time and lost weight, met my girl, married her, had two kids and in no time was fat again. I needed a jolt and motivation this time to keep going - so doing something extreme like this was ideal even if I was more than a little apprehensive.

Cycling machines are my worst as well. So boring! We’ve got one that sits in the living room - its part of the family and gets dusted every few days. I didn’t give mountain biking a thought. Just not me. How wrong was I! I can’t imagine not having a bike to ride now.

In three weeks I have gone out on average 4 days a week on various rides and not just discovered a love for the biking but for the first time really discovered where I live! Welwyn Garden City rocks. So many cycle routes and the woods 5 minutes away from me has become the battle ground where so many of my demons are being slayed I tell you. Uphill struggle rewarded with fast treacherous downhill. I found myself whooping with joy at times - how good is that feeling… forget the brakes - Woohoo!!

It’s freedom, pure and simple.

Suffice to say I’ve lost some weight already although I’m not weighing myself I just look a bit better. I am fitter and have worked well up to now. I have three weeks before the actual race and I am quite exited and nervous. I am enjoying the pursuit of fitness like nothing else so the actual race will be something amazing I am sure. Cheers Bruce, inspired me baby.

What a plonker

Well, I have been useless. Apart from the the last three days I pretty much took 10 days off of training!! WHAT A LOSER. I have missed key sessions, some really important long runs and long cycles and seriously pissed myself off.

Its now 3 and a half weeks until Sleepless in the Saddle and I need to get moving! I figure I will max it for 3 weeks and then ease off the days before the race! Sounds scientific ay!??

Must stay focused now and have had a pretty good 2 days of training. Still a bit anxious about my left calf but it held up fine during a gentle 10k yest morning so fingers crossed its pretty much fixed.

Must start taking some pics and putting them on here!

Week summary

Sat: 20 mile run
Sun: Strength (upper body, legs and core)
Monday: Rode to work and back and a quick 40min pop at lunch.
Mon Eve: Very gentle ride of about 2 hours
Tue: Cycled to work and hard 3 hours on the bike in evening
Wed: Got drunk
Thur: 10k fartlek running (a very satisfying 43 mins)
Fri: Core work out and 45min fartlek cycling

Monday night is worth an additional note. A friend of mine who is making a fitness comeback came and joined me for a ride. He has decided to take on the monumental challenge of Sleepless in the Saddle (24hr Mountain Bike race). Respect due! Bloody infectious to see someone getting excited about a new physical challenge and glad I could help out in a very small way. The race is just 5 weeks away! Can't wait!

Physio........
Went to see a physio about my calf on Thursday and she was not too worried about it and I received a bit of ultra sound and some massage. Specific stretching was also prescribed. Other than that, I found out a lot more about her life and opinions than I was frankly interested in and would of paid more to leave sooner. Fingers crossed the calf will settle down properly now.

Calf problems

So, did a 20 mile run sat morning and after 10 minutes my head felt clear and Bruce was a happy boy. I still felt like this after an hour but after that I was bored stiff and really felt like phoning someone to come pick me up. I didn't but the point is I so rarely feel like that that I have shared it with you. Be grateful, got it?!

I had planned to another 20 on Sunday but my left calf is still causing probs so going to see a physio asap to get it looked at. Instead I did some strength training. Walking lunges, pull ups, squats, press ups, sit ups and these funny things I call 'drags'. Some army type people used them to torture me many years ago and every so often I include them in a work out. They basically involve laying one foot over the other whilst laying on your front. Then you extend your arms (bit like doing a press up) then you have to drag yourself along. Killer upper body workout, but also great core conditioning as well. The only trouble is you get red ants biting your hands and it puts an odd pressure on the ankle that is being sandwiched between the ground and the other foot.

My abs and pecs are a bit sore today which feels great!

Go Heller

Many congratulations to the citizens of D.C this evening.

Chaz, last bit of politics mate!

I could murder a curry!

Its a dam good job I finished training late this evening because otherwise I would of been straight up the curry house for a ruby. Tomorrow night I am all over that like a jellyfish!

Cant remember what I last wrote on here so thinking that I have not updated since Sunday. So after my Marathon on Sunday morning I have been a little gentle on my beautiful body.

Monday: Gentle ride to work and back (about hour in the saddle)
Tuesday: Gentle ride to work and then thundered home in record time.
Wednesday: cycled to work and back then after dinner I got serious.......

Well kind of. I did my core workout and upper body workout but frankly I felt knackered and did not really push myself as hard a I could/should of. After doing this strength work I went out on the bike for a hill session. 20 reps up a long hill which took me just over an hour.

Its now nearly midnight and all I can think of is having a curry. Sweet dreams readers.

On days like these

Morning all, you know its days like these I feel a bit odd about exercise. I feel completely lost sitting at my desk, I feel like I should be out running or cycling or doing something more linear. You head out for a run......you do it, done! Work; leave some messages, get something else done, go round in a few circles, overall purpose gets fulfilled when several other people finally get organised......sometimes months later......get the idea.

I find myself scanning through the training programme, wishing that it was Wednesday already so that I could get stuck in to that big training session I have planned....I am starting to think that I should step my training schedule up because I find my self just getting more and more hungry for additional sessions.

Whilst stepping out of the ordinary is awesome, it also underlines how ordinary life can suck!

On that happy note I hope you all have a good week!

Weekend

Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Gentle 26 miles.

So, cheeky Marathon this morning. Time was tricky so after 2 and a half hours sleep I woke up at 3am and was on the road at 4am. Obviously took it easy, eating and drinking along the way but I did not really feel the need to be eating and drinking that much so I guess that's why I did it in just over 4 hours. A half respectable marathon time all things considered.
Considering a Marathon is always a big deal and my weekly running mileage has been pretty low I feel really good. Grabbed a few quick cat naps during the day but have felt pretty wired all day.

The run itself was a complete joy. It was fairly dark when I headed out even though I was only a day shy of the equinox. Another surprise was just how warm it was. After 30Min's I was really sweating but the thing I really remember was just how much of a boost it is doing a big run so early in the morning. Even if you think you are doing badly you take a look at the watch and think 'Good man! Been running for 2 hours and its still only 6am!'

All in all a beautiful run and the weather was really kind. Too kind in fact, the 1.5 litres of fluid I had were not really adequate. Some tightness in my left calf which I have never had before so will keep an eye on it but not too worried.

Time for bed.

Last two days

Wednesday: Warm up then 10 hill reps of approx 40 seconds (running)

Thursday: cycled to work and back then 3 and half hour ride in the evening. 11.20 finish.

Just got back and wanted to quickly update this blog, going to have a couple of days off training now and have a steady run on Sunday. I reckon the training plan has worked out well this week because apparently the weather is going to be shite for the next few days!

Maintained a pretty good pace during the ride and feel really good, not too tired.....should of stayed out a couple more hours! Neck was a little stiff towards the end but other than that, all was fine! Tonight was actually a bit of a departure from the original plan. Had scheduled another strength session but changed it a week or so ago after the last ride.....figured it could be accommodated when I took a second look at it.

Waffle, waffle, waffle, waffle. Sweet dreams all, I am off for a shower.

Bike Gadgets!

Bike lights

Many of you must of been wondering just what light I am going to use for the all night stage of the 24 hour race? I am sure you have been wondering just how many lights provide enough light and last all night....and not have a battery bigger than the average house.

What do you mean you have never given it a second thought?

I decided after much research that I should just spank the credit card and get the best money could buy - Lupine. I opted for their new LED product which last summer was the 'wilma'. I went for the one with the second largest battery pack, the Wilma 6. The reason for this had to do with positioning of water bottles and battery on frame.....all of which is now redundant because I have a new bike (see below). I wont go into all the things this light does but worth mentioning that the power output is completely controllable for brightness.

Burn times are as follows:

15W: 4 hours
9W: 6 hours 30 minutes
1W: 42 hours (still brighter than a standard commuter light)
0.5W: 84 hours

I have kept my programming simple and have mine set up to run at 2 brightness levels. 90% and 40%. A simple touch of button takes you between the two.

Here is what it looks like when used in anger.

The burn times seem to be conservative, it really is a top notch product and beautifully made. Running the light at 40% during the majority of the race will doubtless make it last all night.

Hand grips

After just one practice lap of the course last year I knew my hands would not stand up to 24 hours on my hard standard grips. The hammering to the hands was unreal.

I decided to treat myself to some grips I had been thinking about for ages......as luck would have it one of the trade tents had them for sale!

They really are the brilliant and if your going to do a long cross country mountain bike race then i really, really reckon you should give them a whirl! They are made by Ergon and are the large GR2's

Let this post to serve as a reminder to all of you that boredom is a terrible thing.

Hard-core

Strength training this evening. Pushed pretty hard but at the same time keeping things at a fairly low level of intensity. By that, I mean not banging through the circuit as fast as possible. I catch my breath between each set and then hammer the next one out concentrating on technique. Intensity will build in the coming weeks.

What I did:

Core strength first - each circuit consisted of 9 different exercises. I did the circuit 3 times. This took about 45 minutes.

Then upper body. 5 Different exercises per circuit and again 3 circuits. About 25 minutes.

Finally legs: Simply 3 sets of squats. Man I felt this! prob 6 minutes.

Its worth saying that doing a dedicated core workout has already paid MASSIVE DIVIDENDS. NO lower back back sitting in the car, NO lower back after a four hour bike ride, NO lower back pain after a hard run and increased movement in lower back. So satisfying when you make things happen ay?

5 day Summary:

Fri: Rest
Sat: Rest
Sun: hard 90 minute run
Mon: Active rest..... Cycled to work and back (about an hour in the saddle in total)
Tue: Cycled to work and back + Strength training.

Oh yeah gave my gorgeous bike a bit of TLC this evening......Man I can't wait for sleepless in the saddle!

Need to get some photo's on here...how about one of my new(ish) wonder bike?

1,2, resting....1,2

Clever title ay? I am dickhead sometimes.

A general post this time about rest. This is one of those subjects that every 'expert' talks about in the same way they talk about hydration. 'Make sure you drink enough, try to make sure your constantly taking fluid on, even in the cold you still lose fluids.....' Sound familiar? Well, blow me cupcake.

'I think you are over training, have to been increasing your weekly running mileage by more that 15% at a time, are you taking rest days?' Okay good advice, no wait, actually blow me cupcake.

Its personal, sometimes you know you have to just punch through this 'good advice' and accept the 'risks' of doing do. The real problem is that that all the expert voices can start to drown out the most important voice of all. The one coming from your own body!

Writing out my training plan a couple of weeks ago, it all seemed too crammed and unrealistic - jumps in distances looked too big etc etc. Generous blocks of rest were included as well as cautious sessions or 'active rest' as it's known. I feel great and know that I could of done more and pushed harder.
This is where it gets confusing.....if I had done this would I be sitting here injured and severely pissed off? Alternatively I might be sat here stronger, fitter and more confident in what I was capable of. My recurring lower leg injury (medial tibial stress syndrome) has gently re-surfaced and I expected it to. Physio is now being done before I go to bed to sort it out and it will doubtless fade into the background.

I feel a bit confused myself about how much I could or should be doing. I am being cautious and roughly sticking to my plan of getting a base of strength and cardio ability locked in. Then I can really hammer myself - hopefully with reduced chances of injury. I feel there is so much more to come and I am literally arguing with myself about what to do tonight. I really want to do that 4 hour cycle ride again, rationalising that if I feel like I want to then I cant be too tired. The other half is saying, stick to the plan for one more week Bruce and then start doing additional stuff.

Really interesting topic this. The answer is unique to the individual. Dependent on current fitness levels, training experience (months, years decades), age, stress levels, diet, climate, illness, genetic makeup and probably loads of other things.

My guess is that even people who are serious about fitness or a particular sport could train a bit harder and usually a lot harder than they think they can. That probably includes me - even in this cautious stage.

Comments rock!

Cheers Helen and Charlie, gives me a serious boner when people actually comment on ye old blog!

Anyway, it seems that the petrol crisis is deepening and many stations have run dry......only joking people, I am in a much better mood today!

Hokay, so I have had one of those weekends that was way busier than expected. Plumbing emergency upon plumbing emergency and unexpected trip in to London to help my Brother out of a spot. But don't worry I still managed a Run and a Fathers day curry which was preceded by a rather splendid siesta.

Okay running was cut short by the various things going on but I managed to get out for a blast on Sunday Morning. Time was short so abandoned the 20miler idea and thought I would blast out for 50 minutes and then come back again. Got home a lot quicker and was back 1hr and 30 after I left. I reckon I must of done at least a half Marathon. I cant wait to verify the distance on my gps gadget, because that's a pretty respectable time.

One other interesting thing about the run was that I carried a water bottle in my hand and when my arm tired from holding it I would swap hands. In a very real way, this change really seemed to reset my mind and I could stay focused on pushing hard. Is this some kind of left brain, right brain thing where one side distracts the other from the pain and fatigue? Any theories you guys have would be cool! The more ridiculous the better!

Hope you all had a good weekend and did not get burnt in the sunshine! Who would be that daft?

Running in a new direction

People who know me personally will know that certain things about my country drive me nuts. I was also thinking that as no one reads this blog anyway I could start spouting off about those things on here to make my self feel better! Just what the world needs another half wit going off about how he can save the world!

I always said to my self that I would keep this blog to training and fitness matters but as no one reads the dam thing I am seriously thinking about branching out.

Any objections?! Course not, your all too busy queuing for petrol......its started!

Tired but happy

OK, quick update...

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Hard (and hot!) 10k.
Wednesday: Core and lower back training.
Thursday: 4 and a half hours on the bike.

I guess the 10k and cycle are worth a mention. Really felt the 10k and was really pleased at how hard I pushed myself. Really hit 'the wall' (going anaerobic) about 8 minutes from the end and that was interesting. The weekend had taken more out of me than I had realised.
The cycle ride was great! After a massive dinner I headed out about 7.30 and got back at midnight. Scoffing cereal bars and losing myself in that tired tunnel vision you get when your fatigued and its dark. Awesome stuff!

Couple of rest days planned now and then a run on Sunday, but we'll have to see if I can sit still until then! I really should do dome upper body work this week......

Have a good weekend everyone.

Update

I keep promising myself I will stop waffling so this one is going to be brief!

Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 20 Mile run
Sunday: nearly 3 hours on mountain bike

Interesting stuff getting the rucksack on again and carrying fluids and food for a run! I was really excited the night before and really pleased I did it. I had planned to run 25 but I really felt the 20 in my legs so not over doing it seemed to make sense. It did it in a very cautious 3 hours 17.

Fair bit planned this week so really looking forward to it!

Ps. No spelling mistakes, why does that turn me on so dam much?

Wooden legs!

Morning all, great couple of days but now my legs are feeling a little stiff! Good. Means I am working them!

Monday: Rested after having had 3 pretty hefty days
Tuesday: Core strength, Upper body strength, short run and then leg strength. prob 2 hours.
Wednesday: Hill reps on bike. 12 reps.

Thursday morn = Stiff legs!

Last night I realised that the area I live in is as flat as a pancake! The only hills are pretty short and certainly all the off road hilly bits just aren't that steep. So I had to settle for doing the hill reps on road.

Unfortunately I don't have my daughter this weekend (school trip) so I have a weekend all to myself......if the sun is out I will be unstoppable!

Loving training at the moment, just wish the weather would sort itself out!

And there off.....no wait...

Well, a couple of days after I just decided to get going again I sat at work feeling decidely odd. My head started to ache, I had sinus pain and I felt very light headed. I had an early night that night and improved quickly thereafter. That was on Wednesday of last week and what with Charlies 30th celebbrations and My Mums Birthday on the same weekend it all got rather hectic and exercise was lost.

Anyway I reckon this was a good thing to ensure I had what must of been some sort of virus out of my system. It has been immensely frustrating and the weather in the UK has been shite as well. However I can now be sure that my ongoing cold was not hayfever but some kind of light virus that had been lurking in the background.

So what have I done recently?

So, I have cycled to work and back twice (Wednesday and Thursday)
Friday: Hill reps 10 x reps of 40 approx seconds (this hurt)
Saturday am: Hard and fast 10k (also hurt!)
Saturday pm: Core and upper body work out (again....)
Sunday am: Very gentle run of around 1hr 45. I am guessing 12miles.

I feel great for it and cant wait to do more. My legs are a little sore but my recent focus on core strength is already paying dividends. Lower back pain has reduced massively and even sitting in the car for hours on end collecting my daughter is less uncomfortable. Result!

Need to get some pics on here soon!

Cold?

I finally just decided to get stuck in and ignore the cold. After a week of taking it very easy I was desperate to start dedicating some proper time to working on my lower back and core strength. So, Saturday afternoon I got the Swiss ball out and ploughed on with the new routine. Kept it all gentle so as not to prolong the cold though.

Come Sunday evening I was actually feeling anxious because I had not run for over a week so I decided that I would run to work and back on Monday regardless of my cold (total of 14 miles). Well, still had the cold and ran in but I am seriously starting to wonder if I have developed hay fever? I have heard you can develop it at anytime in life. This would be a major annoyance if I had! It is now Wednesday and I still have this dam 'cold'.........

Anyway, great run in to work and back on Monday and then a great weights session/core routine again in the evening. Still a little bit stiff but that might be from clattering over curbs when go-karting last night (bit bumpy!).

The last few weeks

The last few weeks have seen me get pretty serious with training and I have been loving it. Starting to look a little leaner and loving being out on the bike. The sunshine has really helped and I have been so excited about the 24hr mountain bike race on August 9th/10th.

So why am I sitting here on a Saturday Morning with a laptop on my legs? Well, because I have a cold, and jolly annoying it is too. I am really wanting to be out running or cycling or at the very least be doing some strength work indoors. Instead I am sat indoors with rain falling outside.

There have been some great sessions during the last month though, some gentle 15mile runs, some reasonably quick 10k's, cycling to work, the odd hill session (running), the odd long session on the bike and I just cant get enough of it! Monday night just gone saw me get a great 2 hour session in on the bike. Great practice for the race because it was mostly dark and riding by artificial light is a very different experience to day time. Not least on this occasion because I actually had a bat bump in to my chin and then skid off my neck as I was cycling along! That was definitely a first! I also saw a huge owl and cool little badger that.......I love that!

The morning before this night ride though I decided to see an Osteopath. Nothing particularly wrong with my back I have just had a few niggles over the last few months and wanted to get it sorted before anything went majorly wrong. He crunched me about and generally said I was in pretty good shape. Despite this though my lower back was pretty sore on Tuesday after my cycle and I reckon I really need to work on my core strength to compensate for the strain being placed on my back whilst cycling.

Other than these generalities I am annoyed to say that the first event of the year was cancelled at the last minute. It was called Tough Challenge (11.5.08) and was billed as the toughest half marathon in the country. A bit relieved but it would of been better to have an event under my belt.

Anyway, back to writing that training plan. keep you posted..........

I need more cow bell...MDS dates released

Well, well, well. Was expecting a call this morning from South Africa so took the mobile in to the shower with me and low and behold I get a text from my partner in crime, Charlie. Big news often comes at odd times and this was big news indeed. The dates for the MDS 2009 had just been officially released.

The 24th Marathon Des Sables takes place 27th of March to 6th April 2009.

Coincidentally I had been up late staring at a training plan that took me up to mid September. I was shuffling various sessions around and stressing about how little time I had to get ready for SPAR Coast (3 day Ultra of 105 miles). Spar coast will be hard and with only 4 months to get ready for it I am little pushed for time. Not too mention the fact that I am entered in a 24 hour montain bike race a month before SPAR Coast. The word 'yikes' comes to mind.

The main goal posts hav been laid out now. In 10 months and 10 days I will be in Morroco to fulfill a dream I have held for 10 years. Is it me or is there a lots of '10's in hat last sentence? Time to ge serious about all this.

2007 summary

Well it started off well with a successful attempt at the Tring2Town 45 mile Ultra Marathon. I think inexperience and less than adequate prep cost me better performances in SITS and Night and Day Ultra. But then, that is the point of doing these events. Hopefully I wont make a hash of the MDS in 11 months time!

Bring on 2008's events......first one is this Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More info soon!

Oh yeah my partner in crime has kicked his Blog in to gear as well check it out;

http://www.charlierunsmds.blogspot.com/

Sleepless in the Saddle

A few weeks before the Dunwich Dynamo I was agonising over whether to purchase a ridiculously expensive light for this race 24 hour epic. I had resolved that if I felt strong through out the Dun Run then i would purchase the wonder light.

Well, Dun Run was a success and if I was doing the SITS race then I needed illumination that would last all night. The other tricky bit of the equation is that you actually need a light that is not just designed to make you seen by others (i.e motorists). For an off road night race you actually need one that enables you to see where you are going. This sounds simple and after all how expensive can such a gizmo really cost? The answer is hundreds. However, if I was up for this I kind of just needed to take the plunge and do it.

Anyway, what a lot of waffle about a light.

So i travelled up to Derby the Friday afternoon before the race and pitched my tent in the solo entrants area and set about fixing a puncture that had somehow occurred to my spare bike in the back of the car. Mmmm. Still scratching my head about that one. The whole set up for the race was awesome, there was a real carnival type vibe and everyone was really friendly and happy to help. I had a wander around the stalls and then got a quick lap of the course under my belt so I knew what to expect during the race. Holy Cow! It was a epic ride! By the end of one lap i decided it was time to treat my self to the big over sized handle bar grips that I had wanted for a while and had spotted in one of the trade tents. Suffice to say it was hard work and was very glad to have given my self a taster of what to expect. I registered my arrival and got my timing chip before having a cook up and watching a DVD in my tent.

The race it self kicked of at 2pm on Saturday and during the morning I took advantage of the shimano tent to get my bike checked over, they tuned my gears and even replaced a cable free of charge which I was very chuffed with.

The race began with a Le Mans style start where we all had to run for about a mile and then grab our bikes to cross the start line. All went well for the first few hours and I planned to stop at around 8pm to attach my light and get a good helping of food in before settling in to the night stage of the race. I remember stopping and texting my Brother's saying it was great, but stupidly hard and my hands were ruined and knee was hurting.

The hurt in the right knee soon developed in to get the most horrendous pain. I pushed on for a couple more hours but it became excruciating and I was worried I was going to do my self permanent damage. So I am guessing at around midnight I retired, pissed off, to my tent for a rest and then it started raining. I guess I stopped at the right time! I laid there in disbelief at what I was doing. When not riding, my knee felt perfect and I felt pretty fresh and awake and yet I had to stop. This was really odd. Eventually I fell asleep and woke at about 7am, I opened the tent to see other riders still going strong and glanced at my bike which I had dropped at the opening of my tent a few hours before.......

I could not believe what I was seeing. The seat had slid almost all the way down to the frame! No wonder my knee felt like it was about to fall apart. I pulled my cycling shorts back on and jumped back on the bike to re-enter the race. I could not understand a) why it had happened and b) why I had not noticed? The answer to the first question soon hit me. When I had taken the bike the service guy he has loosened the seat collar off before fixing it to his work stand.....I should of checked it after I got it back. As for why I had not noticed I can only put it down to fatigue and inexperience.

Anyway, so I got a few more laps in the morning and finished mid table out of approx 80 solo riders....bring on 2008. This time I intend to not make another dumb mistake like last year.

Dunwich Dynamo

What? The Dunwich Dy....what? Basically its a fun event organised by a London cycling club. It consists of riding 120 miles from London to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast. There is no official start time and everyone kind of just heads off at about 8ish. That's 8PM! Oh yeah! Its a night ride on the Saturday in July closest to the full moon.

Sitting here writing that now I am reminded of what a romantic notion that is. Just think......lovely summer night, gentle breeze, full moon, solitude out in the country.....bit of adventure thrown in for good measure. Sign Me up!!! Well, at 8pm on the night of the race it started raining and did not stop until about 4am. It sucked. Without a crowd of people suffering with you its the sort of thing you would quit pretty easily.

I have to say though it was a bloody great experience and one that me and some friends had been meaning to do for ages. We first found out about it when we were leaving the pub one night in my little town of Great Dunmow and we were swamped by cyclists! It was an amazing spectacle so we we were sold! Had the Dun Run's route not snaked it's way through my little town we would never have known about it.

What this also meant is that we could stop at my house and binge on Pizza chocolate-happy days! I filled my boots! however leaving the house was the hardest bit of the journey, as we cycled up the hill out town I could literally feel my shoes filling with water from the rain and road spray. It was cold and I was now thoroughly waterlogged......with at least 6 hours left till the finish.

Anyway, the computer just crashed and I just lost a load of this post (that angers me) and I cant be bothered to write it again..............

Long story short we made it to the beach and had an amazing cooked brekky at the end just before my Big Brother collected us. I will find pics of me and Nick triumphantly waterlogged asap.

I hate it when computers don't bloody work properly!