A Personal Fitness Blog

As A Novice Runner

When I decided to start running last summer, I was at a loss as to how to move forward towards doing a 5k as i couldn’t run for more than a minute without having to stop.

A friend from my Call Of Duty days told me of an organisation called Parkrun, which was free to take part, no pressure to run fast, official timing and always one local. I was still nervous about going for the 1st time but…

Its Been A While……

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a long time since my last post, but by no means has it been quiet for me.

The past couple of months have been difficult both physically and work wise, struggled with shin splints, overloaded with work and Open University Studies and changed Gyms as well. So pretty much normal in a runners life!

Starting with the dreaded shin splints, these felt like they were never going to…

Shin Splint Woes….

So another week rolls on by which I hope was a good one for you all.

Another 2 training sessions with Cotswold Allrunners which were really enjoyable. Particularly Tuesday which was problem free, which in turn meant I was able to relax more with my running.

Tonight’s session was different. same route as last Thursday but same outcome, on a steady incline my old foe the shin splints reared their…

As Weeks Go…..

For regular followers of my blog, many will know that I have taken the next step in my development as a runner by starting a 6 week course with my local running club Cotswold Allrunners.

The first session was in fact 3 days ago followed quickly by another run yesterday (Thursday 14/01). Now Tuesdays session was more of an introduction and assessment which went quite well with a bit of hill…

So there we have it, My first meaningful walk/exercise in over 20 years is done.  Just over 90 minutes of walking at a steady pace resulted in a 5.17 mile walk.

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning for it too, Bright sunshine, light breeze and not too warm. (well not at 8am when I set off)

To be honest I thoroughly enjoyed it too with some good old tunes to listen to on my route, which was the canal path in Stroud from Wallbridge to Dudbridge and back again. That same route will be good for a gentle jog once I get my running equipment.

By the time I got back home, I felt like I had done exercise but not over exerted myself, so the few weeks at Cardiac Rehab must have done something good :D

The 2 videos I have uploaded will probably make you laugh but all good fun, and you can see how nice a day it was for a walk by the photos too.

On February 12th 2015 I was admitted to hospital after suffering a Heart Attack 5 days prior.

Now I am 44 years old and this shook both me and my wife Helen to the core. So much so I have made some changes to my lifestyle like quitting smoking and cutting salts and fats from diet.

This left just my fitness which has been poor for years. So I have decided to get myself fitter with one huge target.

That target is to be able to run a half-marathon within 2 years. This is not much for most people but will be an immense challenge for me personally.

I will keep you all posted as I progress but in the meantime feel free to follow this blog and also to ask any questions.