Pull The Other One

On my late afternoon 10k today I was travelling along quite nice, thinking that I'm starting to get training for the running section of The Triathlon Challenge well under control, when suddenly while in full flow down a hill on mile four...

I felt a sharp pain in my left calf. Within six strides I had completely pulled up, literally.

At this stage of my run I was midway along Palmerston Way in Leicester, around one mile from my girlfriend's pad. I had no phone, no money, it was cold and getting dark and I had shorts and a t-shirt on; so essentially I'd regressed back to my teenage days, hanging out too far from home on an autumn evening.

As I walked back, meandering my way through Stoneygate I took the chance to enjoy the fine old houses that make up my favourite side of the UK's most central county. I also noticed that walking like a gangster through posh urban roads doesn't inspire the goodness in peoples hearts; not one stranger bothered to ask if the wounded runner was OK.

It took yonks to finally exit Southernhay onto London Road and when I did I was greeted by a bus shelter advert for Lucozade featuring Mo Farah and the caption: 'Faster, Stronger, For Longer', how very apt.

My hungover missus made us *posh cheese on toast for supper - it's not the ideal recovery meal, but then this was not the ideal recovery for a man attempting The Everyman Olympics.

*Posh cheese on toast is essentially made with any other variety of cheese apart from cheddar.

Slamming Kicks

I'm a great believer in having the right tools for the job, for Running I always wear NewBalance; personally I don't think there's a better brand out there, their tech is top of the range and they manufacture in both the UK and the US which no other Global Sports Brand does. But yesterday I had to find a pair of Handball trainers, and that's another matter entirely...

As ever when shopping for kit I'd done my research, very few specialised Handball brands sell into the UK market, it's just not popular as a sport over here (given that Handball shares traits with Football - other Brits who are useless with their feet really should give this a go!), so I was having a mare finding them and me being me I needed them for tomorrow (Saturday).

Coach Kuller Rabaca had advised me that Basketball trainers would be fine, and though I did manage to find a brand German called Kempa (named after Bernhard Kempa, a Handball Hero back in the 50's) but they only look to have one English stockist and I couldn't be sure that I'd get my kicks through the post in time.

So I switched the focus of my research to Basketball and of course only one brand kept coming up on the world's favourite search engine, Global Sports Goliaths: Nike.

I saw that my working day would take me right by their newest UK store, at Westfield Stratford City; conveniently located right by the main London 2012 Olympic site.

I located the right area within the store within a minute and had been intent on buying a pair of Lebron James 8PS which had just launched. Michelle in the store was quick to kit me out with a UK11 but after a few cheeky shuttle runs in a quiet corner, I could feel my toes jarring into the front so switched up to 12's.

The ankle padding compared with a Running shoe is vastly different and cushions movement at a higher level in the leg than needed for just forward motion, I could tell these kicks would be excellent for Basketball but maybe too bulky for Handball and another pair had caught my eye which Michelle informed me were better for speed but less of an all-round option...the Zoom BB 1.5.

Michelle with the Zoom's which I opted for and a card from The Everyman Olympian

Michelle also told me a website I could use to help find a Basketball team, that she'd live in the States for 5 years and played BBall out there, her son's a special player and making his way up the rankings AND even gave me some tips! Nice one Michelle ; )

For the uninitiated you can check out a Handball goal here:

Saturday 22nd October I'll be at The Brentwood Centre, joining my team Brentwood Handball Club for our first match of the season against Warrick - starts at 3:15pm, feel free to come and watch.

Walk Jog Run Podcast - Interview 17th October 2011

Yestereve before I went off for my first training session for The Handball Challenge I had a call from the states, Caitlin from WalkJogRun.net was on the line and interviewed me about all aspects of The Everyman Olympics.

You can check out my interview for this site here.

WalkJogRun.net is a great site that I came across through a friend when I was looking to see where I could run when I was away from home, it's great for mapping walks, jogs and runs; does what it says on the tin.

My First 10k & How I Got There

Hello, all sitting comfortably? Then let's begin...

You may recall that back in Spring last year, when I was simply looking to complete 12 sports for 1 month each in a bid to lose my belly (tschh), I took up The Running Challenge to cover 26.2 miles (the Marathon distance) in less than 21 days...well at the time I didn't run at all and trust me, I'm still not that great at it!

Sums The Running Challenge up beautifully

Now that I'm on a mission to complete EVERY Olympic sport before London 2012, I'm having to take things a little more seriously, so I've looked into the core abilities and skills that I need and sadly I've found no way of getting away from the fact that Running is key to loads of events.

The magic distance would seem to be 10k (or 6.2 miles in old money), as this is the length of the running leg in the Olympic Triathlon and if I could manage these regularly I'd also have the stamina for The Football, Hockey, Handball and Basketball Challenges.

Having been focused on The BMX, Shooting & Fencing Challenges, I was a little rusty when I again took up Running back at the end of May...on the 26th I managed a slow 3 miles to get me re-started.

http://www.walkjogrun.co.uk/routes/current_route.cfm?rid=40181407-073A-E81B-E0DF57FCCF2CD099

Training was erratic due to a heavy workload and other sports taking up my time, but by June 17th I was running much quicker and decided that day to call this my last 3, from now on I would step up my pursuit of a 10k.

Monday 20th of June I was at my brother's in Hampshire and he challenged me to a game of 'Cat & Mouse': we'd both start and finish at the same point and be heading off on the same route, only I would run to a point 2.1 miles away while Mike would go on to the 3.2 mark, and then he'd 'chase me' back.

When you run around country lanes you often get an echo of your own steps which can make you think that another runner is close up behind you...I pegged it back thinking I was almost being caught the whole way!

I made it back to the start with plenty of lead on my brother, I really recommend you try this method against a better opponent than yourself if want to increase your pace - Mike runs at just over the 7 minute per mile rate for marathons, so I really had to up my game to beat him.

8 days later I ran under 9 minutes per mile in a home town 4 miler, completing the route below in 35 minutes 19 seconds.

http://www.walkjogrun.co.uk/routes/current_route.cfm?rid=A3B42A48-EA64-1F0B-53EB36523E9644E5

I went back to my preferred route-planning site of choice - http://www.walkjogrun.co.uk/ - and planned a 4.5 mile, slightly hilly route, you can check out all of my routes on this site here.

On the 17th July I bagged myself these four and a half miles, though the hilly finish did take a lot out of me and so I took a little while before my next attempt at this route.

Seven days later it was sunny and hotter than I'd expected when I headed out to confirm the distance, but I had to pull up after just 2.5 miles with limbs aching badly enough to force me to quit. Speaking with a colleague who has far more experience at this running lark, I was surprised to hear him diagnose dehydration as the root cause of my problem.

I took a week's break as a dead leg healed and went out on a tentative 4 mile run with my missus uncle whilst we visited the Lake District the following weekend. Feeling confident I was OK, I retraced this route two days later - all went smoothly, though as I was warming down I felt a tug in my back and this didn't bode well...

Another week out due to this stiff back issue, I came back to a 4.5 mile run on August 8th and felt so bullied by the return that I planned out my first 5 mile route since The Running Challenge last year...and 3 days later I bagged it in 49mins!

This 5 gave me a sweet victory; my brother had challenged me to run the distance in less than 55 minutes and I'd nailed it with plenty of time left on the clock.

I confirmed I could do 5 miles and it wasn't a one-off, a few days later in a slightly windy jog along the coast which again took 49 minutes. Sadly though the pleasure of this was short lived, due to some bad luck and a bad decision on my part: the next evening I'd arranged to hook up with an old mate to do some strength work but he'd instead opted to take me out on a run - after 2 quick miles I pulled up with the same problem I've faced in the past; just above my ankles on both legs I was suffering from pins and needles and I had to pack ice on myself to calm the pain down.

I'm a stubborn chap at times and need to learn when to listen to my body, which I did for a change this time and held off of going out for a few extra days on top of my standard 2 day rest...but when I did lace up my trainers again it was to go for glory!

A family gathering at my brother's gave me the opportunity to have a running partner again, and seeing as my whippet-like sibling was currently in training for a marathon and a 10k race, I felt that now was the time to step to the plate; today I would attempt my first 10k.

http://www.walkjogrun.co.uk/routes/current_route.cfm?rid=EB883779-E8D7-ED1B-2069B9F52A5BF34B

This undulating route would include running on country roads, a stony and uneven canal path and a muddy field - so not the ideal route to worry about my time then.

My bro would run off occasionally, then double back and jog beside me for a while, which helped me to maintain momentum but virtually all the while I was suffering ankle pain; it seemed every time I switched gradients my ankles would scream their annoyance.

When I made it to the final downhill slope I was ready to beg for an ice bucket, but I still had the ever-familiar sprint to the finish line. My tiny counterpart clicked the stopwatch and breathlessly declared 'Well done, one hour five minutes and thirty six seconds.

The Fat Lad takes up a Brotherly Challenge

Afternoon folks!

Yesterday I mentioned in Blood, Sweat & Beers that my brother - who I might add is in the latter stages of his fourth decade and runs marathons for fun - challenged me to run 5 miles in 55 minutes or less.

Mike threw the gauntlet down just after I'd told him of my achieving the 5 mile distance on Thursday's run, for the first time since he shepherded me to 5.1 miles on the last leg of The Running Challenge last Spring.

As you'd have guessed, I took up the challenge like a fat lad accepts the offer of cake!

Blood, Sweat & Beers

Hello there! Yes it's long over due that I popped my head in to say hello and give you an update on my endeavours to tackle a challenge in EVERY Olympic sport before London 2012, brace yourselves - I warn you this isn't pretty...

Having tried to knock my own head off during Race Three in The BMX Challenge, and then attempted to avoid being fatally wounded while playing with swords for The Fencing Challenge, I took a mini break up in the Lake District with my missus and some wonderful friends from Doncaster (you may know Chris & Trish from The Tennis Challenge and The Badminton Challenge...oh and The Table Tennis Challenge!).

June and July are months where my ability to make time for sporting tasks is challenged to the maximum, due to long long days at work and the desire to maintain my relationship with the best lass a fat lad could ever hope to snare.

During this time I've been away to Berlin for a trade show for work and tagged on a weekend out there with some pals - this involved a lot of testing of the local restaurants and draining of the hotel bar, though I did push myself into the gym for a punishing run the morning after one particularly taxing night on my liver.

Managed just 3 miles and felt like death

Don't let this convince you I'm not trying or going back to my old ways mind, I have been busy working my way up to running the furthest distances of my rather mediocre sporting life. In an attempt to build stamina for challenges like Football and Triathlon that I have ahead, I've set myself the mission of running three 10k's a week - a feat I feel will enable me to chat freely with 'proper' runners whenever I bump into them.

The London Marathon...The Race for Awesomeness

After my first 8hr+ sleep in weeks I'm sat here with my running gear on, watching in awe as Londoners and folk from the World over cheer the runners on for the 2011 London Marathon.

36,500 Runners...26.2 miles...Hundreds of Thousands of Spectators...and 1 Man running the whole way Backwards!!

Hello Culture!

In the distant memory of the time before I started the adventure of The Everyman Olympics I recall a period where I would go walking in an effort to start the momentum I knew was needed in order for me to begin shedding the pounds, nothing unusual in this you might say but I do recall being mythed at the amount of times complete strangers said 'hello' to me just because they were out walking too - this is the story of how I came to recognise outdoor exercising's Hello Culture!

I first encountered the existence of this polite exercising etiquette whilst walking along the coastline of South East England - random folk out with their dogs or out walking for fitness would voice this greeting to me as I passed in the opposite direction.

To start with I was so flummoxed that before I'd managed to utter a mirrored response they'd already passed by and now I looked like a mumbling fool who uttered polite abuse at strangers backs.

Call me cynical (though please refrain from doing so while I'm out walking - that'd just freak me out) but as a shy and retiring Brit who used to work in retail I think people who say hello to folk they don't know are after something for their own gain.

4th Grade Jack explains it better than me - but then I'm a cynic and believe this clip to be the marketing tool of a corporate machine rather than a smoothly edited home video posted on YouTube by a well meaning seven year old:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcz9V-4QI2M

Before I could control myself I'd joined the 'hello movement' and was busy saying hello! to virtually everyone I could when I was out on one of these fast walks - I'd greet all and sundry, be they fellow fleet-footed fitness fanatics, people on their way to work or the paper shop, or even happy drunks on their way to bed after a cracking night out.

I was like a polite man possessed! And to this end I didn't really pick up on why some folk would respond and others would simply blank this twatful greeter.

It was only when I started The Running Challenge that I noticed the differences between the respondies and the non-responsive and only when I used my wheels for The Cycling Challenge that I realised the hierachy to the Hello Culture!

Here's how the Hello Culture! works:

1. People just out walking as a means of getting from A to B DO NOT say hello! to Walkers
2. Dog Walkers often DO say hello! to Walkers, though it's not a given
3. Walkers DO say hello! to other Walkers, unless they're rude or new or too shattered to say hello
4. Joggers DO NOT say hello! to Walkers unless they look like they're actually Joggers who are just taking a break
5. Joggers DO say helllo! to other Joggers (see No.3 for reason's that some don't)
6. Cyclists DO say hello! to other Cyclists but only respond if they are in the same category of Cyclists (rules of Cyclists to follow)
7. Cyclists DO NOT say hello! to Joggers or Walkers
8. Cyclists DO NOT say hello! to other bike users who are simply cycling as a means of getting from A to B
9. Cyclists seeking fitness but not part of a club DO say hello! to other Cyclists of the same nature
10. Cyclists seeking fitness but not part of a club DO sometimes say hello! to Club Cyclists but DO NOT often get a response
11. Club Cyclists DO say hello! to other Club Cyclists, it would be impolite not to wouldn't it?

I've not worked out the Hello Culture! rules yet for Horse Riders, Sailors *insert 'hello sailor' gag here*, or Mountain Bikers...but I'm working on it.

Next time you see me out exercising DO say hello! but only if we are both Walking, or Jogging, or Cycling and we're of the same standard - otherwise I'll blank you, you mumbling fool.

We have a Winner!!

As you'll recall the first post on The Everyman Olympics outlined why I'm doing these challenges, whilst my second post -  The Very Exciting Subplot - focused on my competition with Carl and the race to lose a stone - this is an update on that sub-challenge, and yes ladies and gents, we have a winner!

The Running Challenge: Jog On

Having spent a pretty penny on court bills and clocked up the miles chasing games I went back to my catalogue of sports - http://www.olympic.org/ - and searched for a new active adventure that would increase my fitness whilst going easy on my wallet.

I found one option but realised that perhaps the effort levels would be too easy, even for me. No, a walking task was out of the question, but...walk a little quicker...quicker still...

I'd arranged to start this challenge with the company of a pal - feeling that agony was a dish best served to share - but was shocked when I pulled my door open to find that there, stood before me, was a man suitably dressed for the beach. Here in England, it was April.