Ayr 'Turkey Trot' 10k

It was +3 today, apart from the wind, Scottish Summer!

Today i ran the annual boxing day 'Turkey Trot' in Ayr - a little 10km race along the sea, to burn off those Christmas mince pies. I had caught a bit of a flu the other day, probably due to the crap weather, and Christmas boozing, so i just took it gently - i dont recommend running with the flu by the way in freezing cold, by the way, no matter how well your dressed.

Noticing how fit everyone was, (my pal i ran it with must have got about 10th place!) the positive I took from the race was, that I must be kidding myself if i think i can complete the Marathon des Sables in an ok time with my current lack of training or discipline. However, at least thats the kick i need to actually now get in shape. The weather is truly awful for training here in the frozen north but i can only put a disciplined effort together for January and February, get a decent paid of shoes i can run with in the snow or the desert, and find a place to actually live where it may get above zero degrees before March, then im in with half a chance.

Well, heres to crazy dreams, and Great Expectations,

Merry Chirstmas, readers!

The Joy of the Carrick Way (running up hills in freezing snow)

In a fit of guilt due to not training, I decided to go for a run in the Carrick Hills today, in Ayrshire, south of Glasgow, where my little sister lives with her husband.

In theory there is a track there called the 'Carrick way' - I even found a stone that says so, but with the snow, it was pretty much guesswork all the way.

This makes me think there is a track somewhere

Anyway, if you want to run for a cheeky 10 miles (16km) or so through roughish terrain, you can start at Sauchrie or Minneshant and basically just head up the road that goes uphill, westwards towards where the sea should be eventually. Run up the road and you'll see after 3miles or so (from Millieshant or a mile from Sauchrie), another road pointing upwards with hiking path signs and so on. Take that road for 3 miles more and you get to a junction which, for the unprepared like me, can mean a choice of life or death.

Even by the time i got to the junction, my body was telling me quite straightforwardly that i need to change my diet, cut out processed food and stop eating chips, and do some training sometimes, so this kind of thing would be heavily involved in my new years resoultions, if i ever made any.

Anyway you can go left or right to the same destination - the left path is is a normal road, it winds gently round the hills and ends up after 5miles in Dunure, a pretty little village on the Ayrshire coast (which has the foodlicious Dunure Inn if you like fresh seafood and a big warm fire)

 The right path i do not recommend unless its a lovely summers day and you are maybe the kind of guy who, unlike me, does fell running on a regular basis. In theory its nothing more than a rough path through some marsh, woods and over the hill, and in theory is 3miles to Dunure. Just jump over the turnstyle and your on the 'Carrick Way' ,

By the way i would just like to state here publicly that i think that the Carrick Way is nothing more than an urban myth to trick idiots who run up hills in winter. Im pretty sure it doesnt actually exist. (even the website alludes to that fact)


Another  knackered and freezing victim of the 'pretend paths in the middle of nowhere' trick, yesterday


As is my destiny, I of course took the road less travelled, and within 5 minutes in the snow got soaked as the ice over the marsh broke. Thanks God i thought, I only have to run up the bloody hill now and i'll possibly see the sea. Of course snow, while its great on the feet, means that quickly any semblance of a path up the hill was lost. Its also slippy as hell when your running up a hill on it. And anyway, I had no idea where Dunure is except by the sea, somewhere nearby, so with this logic i ran towards some random stones at the top of the hill (which are actually cairns, marking the site where people die) With no food, and nothing more on that my silly looking 'pro combat' running tights and a few layers of christmas fat, both of my imaginary freinds were now questioning my sanity, but due to limited other choices, i had to press on (and at at a quick pace to avoid hypothermia)

The well defined path up the hill

Unfortunatley when i got to the top of the hill it was snowing heavily so couldn't see any sea, never mind a path, but after picking my way through a load of jaggy bushes, I eventually found a small river you could follow to get down towards the road on the other side.

Which brought me to a field full of cows. As i ran, the cows started following me, which was great fun, I actually as they sped up I thought it would cool to set a stampede going - until i realised they were in fact horny bulls, so i had to vault into the next field to avoid a pretty interesting death.

However, the worst was now over, as from here i could see a farmhouse, which brought me to a road, and eventually some roadsigns to Dunure, and 5 more miles later i found myself warming my freezing self by the fire in Dunure Inn, gulping down some lovely homemade soup.

A field of horny bulls, taken from the safety of the next field

In normal weather though, the route i believe is quite a good run, and you can add to it after Dunure, right along to Girvan (another 10miles or so) or Ayr (5miles +) so you could knock out 15-20miles in total here, with some lovely scenery.

Dunure Castle today, looking rugged and handsome (like me)

EUREKA MOMENT

I saw a stroke of Genius today. While doing an admittedly lame training 'walk' for 10miles, I was pretty encouraged to see quite a few runners, especiually out in the 'burbs, running with spikes or weird contraptions on their running shoes for the snow. But the smart ones - the few smart ones, were running in the cycle lane. Eureka! 

Of course the cycle lane on the main road was totally cleared of snow. And no cyclists are so stupid to go out in minus 5 and snow (only runners are so stupid) so you have a clear road to run, maybe a full 10miles worth, all through the winter. I think ill give it a shot tomorrow, instead of the indoor track. The only real danger here are cars - being in UK, no one bothers to get winter tyres despite a foot of snow, so i think its worth looking out for rear wheel drive BMW's careering my way.

My walking today wasn't actually so bad. I felt i got a workout at least, with the pack on. And the snow of course slowed me down and used more calories than it would normally. Now tomorrow night i'm off to London for a week, where I understand the weather is pretty crap - wet, cold, slushy snow. So i think a lot of walking will be involved there, and a fair amount of slipping. Seems everyone i know has a cold (Estonian wimps can handle minus 20 but not minus 3 in dirty London!) but luckily, unlike USA it is possible to buy fruit and vegetables in London.

Winter Training in the Frozen North

 With a foot of snow here in Glasgow, yesterday I trained at the Kelvin Hall indoor sports arena, a draughty old 'municipal' indoor track in the West End to test out if my technique is still up to scratch. Having not really run much in the last month, i decided to run without a pack, and also without any music.

The lack of music was great -music tends to drown out what your body is telling you, although the pace can pick you up when you need it. With no i-pod i could feel that im pretty out of shape (i should train more than once a month maybe?) Anyway my plan now is to use these sessions to up my tempo a bit, and see how good a pace i can keep up for 10km.

No pack also made a big difference, so much so that ill drop the pack for runs this month, and walk with it instead in the snow. It will be desperately boring so i think music is necessary here.

Im still trying to tie in running with a pack with Chi-running - they basically arent compatible and i still have a problem here- chi running is all about being light, using core muscles, not using the legs etc. but a pack automatically loads all your muscles an extra 10% of your bodyweight.

So this month i plan to continue to combine building up the miles with chi-running indoors, without a pack, and walking long walks in the snow with a pack on. It's about 5 miles to the centre of Glasgow from my home so my December training will consist of 2 times walking a week to strengthen the legs and core, and an hour and half run in the indoor track, in between days.

The great thing about being back in an English speaking country are that there are plenty other runners, and clubs and so on i can join to keep motivated, it was pretty cheering to see some fellow sufferers training in Kelvin Hall yesterday !

After this month, January and February have to be hard training months, so depending on business commitments ill maybe move to a warmer drier country to train properly so i can relax a bit in March ahead of the race. This is the slackers ultramarathon after all ;o)

Buffalo 'Turkey Trot' on thanksgiving day

Thankgiving day in Buffalo for runners is all about the Turkey Trot - the Buffalo version of this is oldest run in USA, and did its 115th continuous stint yesterday. Its a shorty, only 8km, but stll, it takes a lot to wake up for the 9am in the freezing cold and wind (and sometimes snow). The idea is you do the run to burn off all the calories your about to load on for thanksgiving dinner that night.

As for me, i went to sleep about 10.30 the night before. Kind of turned over a bit about 8, and slept soundly through the whole frozen escapade. It was oversubscribed anyway, but certainly next year ill give it shot. Hope it was good guys.

Some guy who looks a bit like yours truly, in intense fitness training today at breakfast time(photo credit H Goral)

The weather here isnt helping my training. It's bitterly cold out right now with the wind biting right through even guys with tights on. I've therefor decided to postpone my running until i get back to Scotland on Sunday.

Goat Island, Niagara Falls

I'd love to tell you how i woke up early yesterday, and ran along a beautiful track along the Genesee river from Downtown Rochester, New York, south past the University and back, a really scenic 15km. But instead I banged at my alarm clock until it almost broke, and then turned over and slept until 8.30am, too late for the run. However, it looks like a GREAT little run.

But to make up for it, last night i ran round Goat Island, at Niagara falls, i think one of the most beautiful runs ive seen - Goat Island is probably (i didnt check) about 2km round, so you can do the circuits past the roaring Niagara Falls, which at dusk right now, in fall, is pretty amazing.

I can feel the backpack training beginning to pay off though, but i'll keep the weight down to 5kg (ie my 5 books in the backpack) and strenghten those little legs until December.

Men in Tights

I got up early this morning in Buffalo, USA, and had my first run around downtown in this lovely (but freezing) city. I ran down main street, which is pedestrianised for a mile or two, then up it again to Delaware park area, then across to Delaware Street, and down again to the City Hall. I had a light backpack on, as per my promise to always do that, and it was actually pretty pleasant despite the cold (it was about zero)

I was however prepared. Last night i bought a pair of 'combat pro' running...er...tights. They are plainly called 'combat pro' to reassure american buyers that they are not gay just becuase they are running around in tights. A bit like speedos in US (have you ever seen a shop selling speedos in US?) Although it is totally normal in Europe, if someone in USA sees you running around in either speedos or running tights (or especially both) then there is a strong message that you must be European, which of course means you must be a socialist, which of course means you are likely to be a tree hugging, pro-tax, anti-american homo who poses a threat to their great freedom (not that they ever do anything with that freedom)

Anyway, what did i care this morning. i got a few smiles from naughty old ladies, since the tights allowed my ample meat and 2 veg to be exposed there for all to ogle (now i know why these ballet dancers put socks down there!) I made sure to think some less pleasant thoughts as i ran past the 'Rightous Babe' church on Delaware and Tupper St - whoever thought of nameing a church after a female superhero? (i just made that up, but i can just imagine a hotty cheerleader with a bible in her hand, saving the world from Satan)

Ok and i think my cold is gone, finally. It was never really bad anyway so ill go back to running now regularly. The tights really helped in the cold weather actually so i think i can run pretty much anytime anywhere now, so no excuses. The pack gave a little pressure on the legs and knees but i can feel them strengthening a bit, so ill keep it gentle up until christmas, then start increasing the weight.

I think im comfortable enough in my own sexuality to continue wearing tights while running in minus temperatures. If i start seeing guys in Indian, Fireman, builder and Cop uniforms runing after me making YMCA signs then i know its time to go back to indoor tracks....

Doubling the challenge accidentally deliberately

I need to buy a book on discipline and general health and how to murder unscrupulous landladies.

This month so far, I had an argument over my electric bills and so the lovely landlady changed my locks on my flat, with all my stuff in it. As a foreigner in the 3rd world i think being ripped off is seen as fair play here, which is crap but ill use it as motivation for running. Challenges can always be used positively-  The removal guys decided to put most of my stuff i need for running into storage instead of my new flat. I still have the cold after 2 weeks, and i havent ran any meaningful distance for 2 weeks, so...win win, i've automaticaly made my life and training twice as hard!

But fear not running fiends, in my head im still an Ultramarathon star, and thats half the battle right? Ok, its zero degrees so raining snow every day, its dark most of the time, and slippy, and i go to USA on monday for ten days. But at this eleventh hour, i think its the time when guys like me actually begin to function (ie when its pretty much too late) Im sure im not the only guy who thinks 'shit she may dump me i'd better buy her flowers' or 'yeah isnt it that Maths exam tomorrow? better get a look at those books then'. You could, if you were an optimist use the view that im simply 'training efficiently' ie training just almost enough and no more.

Realising i have just over 4 months to become a superathlete from a currently chubby slob, ill do another 10km tonight with a backpack on. I have moved temporarily to Kopli, so there is a 80% of being relieved of my backpack by some Russian gentlemen, so maybe just stones in there could be the answer, or lighterfluid for the muggers to drink. Sunday i plan to move to an 'as long as i can do it' run with a backpack on, to see how far i can actually go without feeling tired. This may be 500metres.

However it has hit me now that 'backpack is king' for this particular race - its actually no big deal if i can knock out 80km in x time, becuase ill be running in 50 degrees heat with a heavy pack on - if i can run with ski clothes and a heavy pack, for 40+km at a time then actually getting a decent time will just be a bonus and reward from my good training.

Ok more later in the month, im not thinking about the fact that we are about to hit snow and minus temperatures. It could be perfect desert training. At least it will be too cold for muggers. (Kopli in fact isnt that bad, but i feel that its both good fun and tasteful to poke fun of poor areas)

Suicide Charity

I thought i was immue to colds but now after running yesteday in the cold, i have a fully fledged snotty nose and cough. Does anyone have any tips on how to avoid colds while running long distances in cold wet drizzly weather?

I plan a long run tomorrow with a backpack as well as yoga so ill spend today stuffing myself with lemons and honey and ginger (and not drinking wine or entertaining fast company) Relevantly, i have finally set up a webpage so people can donate to the suicide charity, Papyrus  - its www.justgiving.com/alan-findlay1 so please give some money!

NOVEMBER TRAINING SCHEDULE (OCTOBER TRAINING TARGETS - FAIL)

So now its the end of the month, i should have my Chi-Running technieque perfect. i Should be looking in the mirror at a chiseled torso. But of course i havent and i ament. My discipline and focus is horrendous. I ran 10km with a 8kg backpack on today and while it didnt really slow me down, I could feel that to go a long distance with a pack on, id need to develop my leg and lower back muscles - totally inconsistant with chi-running of course. So what to do? I suppose now next month, ill run all month with a lightish pack on, and try to build up the long miles that way. November isnt the warmest month in Estonia. In fact is downright depressing, and doubly so if your the kind of guy who needs to spend 67% of his spare time running in minus 3 with a backpack on.

Im making some 'to do' list for this month -

1. Run more than once or twice a week.
2. Run with backpack every run.
3. Eat normally (healthily will come in January - normally i mean like fruit and veg and not a Glaswegian diet) Try to avoid fish and chips, vodka and beer.
4. continue to improve technique

My aim at the end of this month will be to complete either this 80km ultrmarathon in Wales, without a backpack or, if im in USA on business, to do the las vegas marathon, with a backpack on.

I noticed nowadays the running road is pretty quiet - i see a few smug looking beanpoles running and overtaking me sometimes but when im going back for the next lap they are gone - part timers, one and all, i got this feelig they are the type of people who stop eating so they look thin, then run 5km fast and think they are athletes. Total tourists. mental note  -  future targets for being tripped up when im in better shape

NUTRITION, TECHNIQUE AND DISCIPLINE (WOULD BE GREAT IF I HAD ANY)

I’ve spent considerable time reading about how good nutrition affects running performance, and how a good diet is the cornerstone of any athletes life. Avoid sweets, fried and processed food, eat lots of fruit and veg. Avoid tea, coffee, don’t eat or drink too many dairy products.  Anyway my discipline sucks, here’s what i ate today.

8am breakfast of 2 x Weetabix, milk and honey (Nutrition Brownie Points – 7/10)

11am elevenses – smoked salmon on a white roll, 2 coffees and white sugar (NBP – 5/10)

2.30pm lunch – fish and chips, tea with milk and honey (NBP – 3/10)

11pm – large bag of smoked bacon crisps, half a bar of chocolate, spoonfuls of honey (NBP- 1/10 may as well have had a beer)

Anyway i’m going to write down what i eat every day now in a little journal - I think by exposing myself and writing down exactly what crap i put in my system every day, then i will force myself to a healthy diet. No, pervert reader,  I didn’t mean that kind of exposing myself.

Tonight, despite still aching legs from Sundays Yoga (I kid you not!) and after my fish and chips digested, i thought i’d do a stint in the freezing rain with a half marathon. I focussed on going slow and getting the technique correct, and although theres a lot of room for improvement, i think it started to work towards the end, or at least it either wasn’t sore or I was through the pain barrier. At this distance though, I could feel I could have done with some sugar to keep my energy levels up but that’s a small issue – I always take a little bottle with water and honey  (a true superfood and something that must make up 80% of my diet) but next time i’ll try adding some jelly babies which I hear are perfect for giving you a boost.

This month I plan to focus on diet, and technique. After this I don’t even know which country I’ll be living in so that will decide if I do this 50miler or just the Las Vegas Marathon in December.

50miles, well it’s easy to talk about when your’ sitting in your living room watching TV, but the reality is, there are all sorts of new issues come out – regulating your temperature, all those niggling pains from bad running technique and of course dehydration, hypothermia, and the other potentially fatal illness that comes from lack of sodium can make these ‘Ultramarathon’ races quite dangerous.  Anyway, now I have a task for the month, watch this space!

Crosstraining with YOGA (oct 2010)

'GIMLI: Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for? ...'

I spoke to a veteran Ultramarathon runner the othe day, he's convinced me that i should do a 50mile(80km)  'training run' in the Welsh hills in December, so at least i have some 'mini' goal to train for now. I also asked him about crosstraining - its where you should really do other sports too to balance you out a bit and to give your legs a rest sometimes, normally with running you should be doing swimming or bike ie triathlon sports, as they are still good endurance sports but using different muscle groups.

However ive decided to take a chance that..well.....it may work, it may ruin my life. Call me stupid, call me a vegan metrosexual, call me a pervert, but I've decided to cross train with YOGA. Ok, i understand, its not the obvious choice for Ultramarathon training, but hear me out.

Ive already started this Chi Running, even to the extent of buying the book for £8.99. And it seems that its all about 'Chi' - basically on the odd occassion i finally find my sweet spot and am running in the zone, and not using any energy - well its almost like meditation anyway. Yoga, if i understand it correctly, strenghtens my 'Chi' (whatever that is) and helps with breathing, strengthening my core muscles, and increases my focus.

The point of Chi Running is that you are running using your core muscles, and you are focussed, so you dont need big and inefficent leg muscles to run. So actually, if im strengthening my core muscles and improve my focus, i couldnt possibly get a better cross train.

Ok i will try a 30km run this weekend after a week of Yoga and lets see how it pans out. Probably if i beleive it works then it will, until that Glasgow deep fried mars bar diet heart attack kicks in of course.

I actually went to Yoga for the first time in my life last night. I noticed 1. There were some fat people who seemed they were experts. 2. I was the only straight guy (which is a good reason not to use the showers) and 3. I found myself sweating like a rapist after 20minutes standing around on a small mat.  so all this is new and confusing but out of the maelstrom im sure ill know for sure if it works or not on this 80km run
 

WHY DO RUNNERS RUN? (IT'S THE DRUGS!)

I went for my first proper training run for a month today.  I’ll try to keep an intermittent log in here, as I will be taking bets on my ability to complete this 254km Sahara race over the next wee while, with the proceeds going to PAPYRUS, a charity that helps young people with depression . I did a cautious 5 miles (8km) in a not very fast 46 minutes in chilly but quite ok plus 4 degrees today, with a bit of hail towards the end.  I’m pretty fat from the USA though so that kept me warm.  

The first run is always an amazing one though – After a mile or so I always cough like hell, it feels like all the crap living and awful processed American food being expended from my body, and usually I have a tough time in the first few miles just remembering how to run – but after 2 or 3 I got into the swing of the Chi Running again and could open the clutch a bit. I’ve decided to raise money for the suicide charity, I think quite an apt good cause considering the nature of the race i’ve entered. So if you’d like to give, just email me – there will be details on my facebook page too. The strangest thing happened though – despite having not ran for a month, i wasn’t even out of breath today, so tomorrow i’ll attempt a cheeky ten miles, just a slow one, in an attempt to 1. Toughen up my feet with blisters and 2. Get used to running in crappy hailstones (the forecast is even for snow i believe) So long as the saunas on when i get back, then i shouldn’t catch a cold. 

At the moment im fat as hell, and red, so its time to bet against me finishing Marathon Des Sables!

Anyway back to the running – the first run for a while, always reminds you of why you run.

And i’m sure you are asking yourself – ‘Yes Alan –actually why the hell do people run?

Well this is an interesting and you could say core question. You non runners will see runners out in pissing rain, snow, hail and storms, and even deserts thinking – ‘This guy is 100% crazy – otherwise why is he putting himself through this hell? ’ A point I can understand fully by the way. Other non runners will tell you it’s boring, it messes up your knees, its gives you a cold, only a total nutjob would get up at 5am and decide to do such a pointless thing like run 20km up a hill and back. WHY?

Well – every runner will tell you a few different things, but the root of it all is - Running  makes you happy. Your brain releases Endorfins and you get a great feeling of wellbeing after the exercise. So it’s basically drug addiction. Of course people say they run for the discipline, they run to relax and clear their mind, they run so they look good, they run because they will improve stamina and be better in bed. And all these are true. But... during and (especially)) after a long run, you feel great, confident, positive, and want to do it all over again – and that’s why it’s addictive.   When you’re running smoothly, you’re totally in touch with your body and what it’s doing, it’s like meditation – at these times its easy even to fall asleep, (so don’t do it on a busy road)

And with Chi Running you don’t even expend enough energy to get tired, so you can run a longer distance than you normally would if you were pounding the pavement and messing up your knees. 

I’ve also stopped drinking now so if anyone sees me with a beer/wine/pint of vodka please punch me in the face (guys) or kiss me (pretty girls) or at least put a bet against me finishing the Marathon Des Sables (all girls and guys)

CHI RUNNING (and the fact that the solution always comes when you are on the toilet not thinking about anything in particular) (august 2010)

I had an interesting conversation the other day about 'The Secret' and how it does seem that if you really need somthing, then somehow there is always a lifeline thrown your way. As soon as that one door closes then the other one opens and you look back and realised that you should have actually closed that door ages ago anyway (you all know what im talking about!)

Anyway one thing happened to me recently that illustrated this, my Ultramarathon training had been proving...well basically impossible. Ultramarathon means you have to train long long distances, and these longer runs are great for bringing out niggling injuries (im no spring chicken anymore remember)- if you are pounding a pavement for 150km a week then the repetition with normal or 'power' running totally breaks you. Its ok to run through the pain, but it was beginning to get to me, how the hell am i going to run 254km straight, if after 30km i get such pain in my knee that i can hardly walk never mind run? Well i suppose its at these times when you simply dont have a solution, that you get totally depressed - what kind of idiot would i be to mess up my health just for a stupid run?

To be honest this was almost what i wanted - its always easy to look for excuses so you dont have to do somthing difficult, and its just when things look too difficult that all those demons come out to tell you that you dont have the strength to go on. Its the same with any challenge. However instead of giving up and looking like a dick, i searched and searched and finally found the perfect solution (or rather it found me) - Chi Running.

Its a technique where you use gravity and your core muscles to run. You use about 30% of the energy you normally do and you dont get injured. Win win! If you are even half serious about running, i suggest you buy this book (or cheat and read it here for free)  The most important chapter, if you are browsing, is to read chapter 4 which is on p58
Chi Running Book

It means i can go out, get drunk on friday and saturday, and still run 25km on a hot and humid sunday afternoon (the true story of my weekend)

But more importantly, here, the moral of the story is that, from out of nowhere, just as i was thinking i was totally fucked, a solution provided itself, and now i actually know i can do this race. Now all i need is the same thing to happen in all the other messed up parts of my life ;o)

Daft Ideas to take yourself out of the Gene Pool no 1 - Marathon Des Sables

Today I should receive confirmation that my entry to the Marathon des Sables was successful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_des_Sables

 The race begins in April 2011, which basically means I need to be fit/drunk enough to run 6 marathons (254km) with all my food, sleeping bag, clothes etc.  on my back through the Sahara desert in 45 degree heat. It’s the best known ‘Ultramarathon’ in the world and I heard it’s the hardest ( i don’t beleive it though) , so...here I am, about to look like a fool again.

 The first day looks easy enough, 17 oddmiles, just to warm up – then a full marathon then a day rest. The next day you climb 20 odd miles through some of the highest sand dunes in the Sahara, with no paths, only a compass. I guess i just have to follow the path of the leading runners, not the camels. (During the 1994 race,Italian Police officer Mauro Prosperi lost his way during a sand storm and wandered lost for more than 9 days, losing over 13 kg (30 lb) of body weight)....nice

The next day is the toughest – a cheeky little double marathon through the searing heat - a 91km run through the desert. Those two days i understand kills the bulk of the weak and stupid off.  Then the (stronger and stupid)  survivors have a final marathon, then a smaller 25km ‘Sprint’ to the finish. 

Anyway what the hell at least I’ve started training, of sorts. I managed to get 10km under an hour last week (yes i know it’s only 3% of the race distance you have to start somewhere!) , but even with that I made the schoolboy error of pushing it too hard, and ran with a 20kg backpack on – result? My left knee is swollen to hell and I can’t run for 2 weeks. However  I do have a schedule organised, i’ve pestered a few nutters who’ve done it (or similar) before,  and cobbled together a training programme, which, yes dear readers does involve some small amount of beer but not much (better with whisky – less calories)  but mostly stuffing my face with fruit and veg and meat, and lots of honey.

My plan currently is pretty simple, similar to the Ironman training (without so much of the swimming or cycling) to run 2 or 3 times in the week, with a biggie at the weekend, then throwing in an 8kg pack when my poor joints are more used to it. I don’t plan to wash or change clothes (or make any friends) during the race so i think i can get away with 8kg of food.

 I suppose this means goodbye to those lovely healthy weekend binge drinks and waking up with strange animals/dwarfs/amputees/circus performers, but i don’t think I’ll miss that so much somehow. Anyway, ill drop in some updates on my training from time to time, as really if I don’t totally change my lifestyle right now, this race will be one long suicide, and if I die, it will really kind of be my own stupid fault.

People do die doing these kind of zany pranks but, dear readers, on this occasion i have no intention of doing so. I even put together a great collection of ironic  ‘suicide/death related’ thrash metal  songs to run to, so i can put them on if i’m in trouble to cheer myself up.

 However i do intend taking bets on my ability to finish (as well as donations to a charity that i haven’t sorted out yet) so more on this later. Currently, in my bad shape ill give EVENS on my finishing the race, with the proceeds going 50% to my costs and 50% to the charity (if i lose i’ll give you the money but you should just give it ot the charity) Anyway, gives me an incentive to actually train for 16 hours a week, which isn’t much fun believe me (but at least ill look good)

 Ok now for my first ever road trip through Finland, im on the Helsinki Ferry, which is of course filled to the brim with freindly beer and shot drinking inbreds, I get the feeling that rural Estonia only touches on retards compared to 'marry your sister' rural Finland, but who knows maybe we get a pleasant surprise...

HERE IT IS!

Ive just now got my place accepted for the Marathon De Sables (link) so i thought id write a blog about my training schedule (or lack of it) and my vain attempts to get even slightly fit and stop eating chips.

Anyway, here goes, please feel free to post comments and tips especially welcome.

Im going to publish some older posts now from a different blog, just to give you the story so far....