Stage 5: 42KToday was the marathon stage of the race. I managed to run the first half - I'd become bored with walking and wanted to test myself, but at the second checkpoint, at the 24K-mark, and with the temperature hovering around 50C, I took a break and never really got going ...
Tired of runners giving you excuses and disclaimers about why they've missed their target time or haven't broken a PB? Stop reading now. I recently ran the Standard Chartered Great City Race. This 5K race was supposed to be my practice event, to give me a good indication of how I...
Post chest infection, everything is back on track this week. Despite the rain, training is back in full flow and there are now about seven of us in the office attending a weekly sprints session on Tuesdays. Even though I did go a bit white towards the end of the last session, I c...
The cycling gods via Genesis Bikes have answered my prayers. This week I took delivery of my new and frankly beautiful Genesis Equilibrium 10.The Equilibrum 10 was Genesis' top-of-the-range road bike in 2010. This great all-rounder proves steel still has plenty to offer and it ...
I love training schedules - not so much dragging myself out of bed and doing the training, but the schedule itself. Deliberating over which RW plan to use. Putting it into a calendar template. Fiddling about with it in Excel. Lovingly picking out the colour-coding (does purple sa...
Well this week was almost a complete write-off. After catching a debilitating strain of man flu, I've been bed-ridden and missed work for three days straight. I diligently followed the 'neck rule'; any ailment that affects you below the neck (chesty coughs, injuries, stomach pain...
I started training for my 750m swim leg with a dangerous level of confidence. I had weekly swimming lessons throughout my childhood, topped off with lifesaving training (mostly swimming around in pyjamas staging elaborate 'rescues' of my clubmates). The legacy of this is that I h...
When we decided to take on a relay triathlon, I was full of beans for a new challenge - that is until we drew straws and I heard my discipline, cycling.It's fair to say that I've never been a cycling enthusiast. A few too many close shaves on the roads a few years ago made me det...
One of the many advantages of office life at TW is the staff. In the building, I have access to a plethora of ultra-runners, coaches and experienced athletes, all ready to give up their lunch breaks. Through lunchtime running clubs, I've managed (over the course of about 6 months...
This weekend marked my first attempt at an ultra. I thought I’d chosen wisely - a coastal trail series in Devon sounds idyllic, and I had pictured waves crashing against rock faces as I bounded over 35 miles of beautiful trails in the mild February sun. How wrong (and unprepared)...
