When it all comes together.

Kids, it's important to look at the things that don't go well and look to improve in the future.

 

In running, you learn a lot from the runs and races that don’t go well.

 

Dehydrated? Drink more.

 

Ran out of energy? Look at your nutrition strategy.

 

Didn’t perform well? Look at your training plan.

 

But when you do those things, and it all comes together, you can accomplish great things.

 

I’ve taken a whole new approach to training for my next ultramarathon (Sept 2013). Rather than smashing out long runs over and over, I’ve focused on quality runs. I’ve spent my time in the gym building a stronger core strength and knee and leg stamina as well as flexibility. My plan is to reduce the risk of injury and improve the efficiency of my running. If I can run 100k in the time limit I’ll be thrilled.

 

In time I’ll learn if this strategy has worked and I’ll go over this approach and fine tune it, but for now I’ve had one of those training weeks when it’s all come together. And I wanted to write that down before I forgot the lessons I’ve learnt.

 

I spent one day this week in the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, where I underwent a full athletic assessment along with Jay (@borntoplodblog). His review of the experience is more thorough (and funny) than mine, but essentially I was given a lot of information about myself as an athlete to better understand and look to improve my performance.

AC/DC as a soundtrack helped on the treadmill

 

The most useful data for me was supplied on the treadmill where a computer analysed my breathing to identify my aerobic threshold. You can calculate the number yourself using various formula's (eg. Karvonen formula) but seeing as the scientists were happy to hook me up to the world’s most technical treadmill I figured I’d use their data. I was supplied with a book giving me all of the captured data from the day.

 

I was really happy with the results. When participating in endurance events, the key is to use fat as your primary fuel source. When the body uses fat to fuel itself, it is an aerobic cycle and produces no waste, so no lactic acid build up. Also the body stores loads of fat, which can supply enough energy to work for days, not just hours.

 

Everyone is different but on average the body uses fat as a primary fuel source between 50-70 % of your maximum heart rate. For me that would equal, 95-130 and thanks to the giant treadmill and supercomputer my fat MAX rate was calculated at 131 BPM. I also learnt about hydration levels and that mine was very high (bordering on too high) and about better fuelling before training.

 

I took the book home to study. I knew I was doing a long run the next day, I was hoping for 30+ miles. I was hoping to finish in 6 hours.

 

I applied all of the new information I’d got.

 

I knew I didn’t need to hydrate too much, no point in carrying extra weight if it weren’t needed so I stopped drinking an hour before I ran.

 

I used my heart rate monitor to stay in my ideal endurance zone.

 

And after 10, 9 and then 8 miles I stopped, got a new bottle of drink and stretched off before running again.

The beer was for after!!!

 

The run was fantastic, I learnt a lot from it to apply to other long runs. I tired towards the end and had to slow right down to keep my heart rate from creeping up. Whether this was exhaustion or cardiac drift (the heart beats faster as you become hydrated to ensure the fluids in the body are still getting around) I don’t know. But I cracked out 31 miles in 5h03mins and 55 seconds.

In that time I ate 1.5 sandwiches and had four bottles of Gatorade or Powerade, at 120-150 calories per bottle, where I burned off 4,326kcals on the run. I never got hungry or felt exhausted, it was just muscle tiredness.

 

My pace averaged at 9’48” min/mile and I ran over 2000 ft. of ascent.

 

 

I used a lot of information and experience to make the run happen and I learnt even more from it. What I’m trying to do now is use all of this to make a race strategy for my upcoming ultra. In four weeks I run the Stour Valley Path 100km race.

 

My first 100k.

 

I’m not relying on luck to get around. When I come up with a plan, the aim is to get it all to come together.

The British Condition

Great Britain.

Home of the Queen.

 

 

 Fish and Chips, cup o' tea and Mary Poppins.

Once great Empire and land of hope & glory!

I love being British, we have so many traditions to be proud of and which have influenced the world, but at other times it seems like we are way behind.

Turn up at a race in the UK and you'll see what I mean. With the UK running scene bigger than ever and Ultramarathons making a massive impact in recent years, more and more people are turning to running. Following on from the great summer of sport last year and the London Olympics, fitness and sports participation are higher than ever. But herein lies the problem. While some start lines look like a carnival, most UK races look like we are dressed for a funeral!

As a conservative nation with lots of tradition, 90 of the people there will be dressed the same.

The start line at my last race.

Apart from club runners in garish vests, you'll see a sea of lycra-clad people, dressed in swathes of black, with the occasional flash of colour, usually hi-vis yellow. Because it's safe when it rains, and it rains. A lot!

You'll get your occasional eccentric, guys wearing TuTu's (you know who you are) as they twirl around the course, people in race shirts etc. But tradition dictates how we dress when we train and when we race and we generally stick to it.

So a couple of years ago when I discovered Ink'n'Burn, I saw an alternative. Running gear that reflects how we feel when we run.

We talk about the freedom it brings and the happiness it gives, but this isn't often reflected on the outside.

The range of kit they offer is extensive and I'd recommend you take a look, but today I'll talk you through my favourite bit of kit.

The tech-shirt is nothing new, I'n'B didn't invent it or even change what it does.

What they did is make a high quality garment, for runners or people who train and want to distance themself from the crowd.

I could go on about the performance fabric used in their tech shirt, how it is super lightweight, breathable, moisture wicking and feels like a soft cotton tee.

But they're not the only reasons I love this shirt. Just look at it.




Ink'n'Burn Black Kevlar Skull Tech shirt

I get no rubbing when I wear it. Ink'n'Burn even got rid of the label in the neck so nothing chafes, and the designs are dyed into the fabric, not just painted on after. I've owned my oldest InB tech-shirt for 18 months and it looks as good now as it did when I got it. No fading, no design coming off in the wash.

I run and train in the gym in their kit, and I know it sounds stupid but it's the little things that make a difference. The shirt doesn't rise when I do shoulder presses. Think that's not important? Trust me, you need to be in great shape to get away with having your stomach out in the gym. This shirt saves you the embarrassment.

For me running gives a sense of rebellion. I have a job where I have to conform, I'm a father, so I have time and financial commitments, but when I run I'm free to tear up the trails, to dodge traffic, get up insanely early or enter crazy races.

The reason I love this shirt?

 

 It looks how I feel.

Ink'n'Burn is a US company which provides high quality individual sports apparel made in the US. It ships to the UK in less than a week at very reasonable rates and if you're reading this you can use the code "dantoldme" at the checkout to receive a great discount.

 

 
 


Distance yourself from the crowds.

 

A return to form.

Kids, your life moves in a series of peaks and troughs. 

The are times when you're inexplicably ahead and others when despite your best efforts you are behind. As I've said before, the trick is to maintain your efforts through these changes and seek to improve as an individual (if you learn how to do this please tell me).

Never be too proud of your achievements, as the tables can turn and you'll find yourself at the bottom of the pile. 

As you know kids, the purpose of this blog is to keep a journal of my discoveries through running and pass on the lessons learned to you, so here is what's been going on.

It's been a while since my last race, for no reason other than just how busy I have been. That sounds like a cop out but I've had no spare time after work, child care, study and training. But I've stuck to my long term goals and ultra marathon training continues( 6 weeks to go) accompanied with a nice gym regime to get me in better shape.

I've been busy at work preparing for a new role which will be so much better for me AND have no night shifts attached, so hats involved training and study. My personal training course is also going well, although a little slower than I'd hoped. I've had little or no time to blog and less time to stay in contact with people.

So the other day I figured I'd give myself a break. Take a few days off. Kick back, you know, like normal people. 

But here is the truth. Being normal sucks.

I don't want to be normal, in fact I hate normal! After a day I was bored!

So I asked myself some questions,

Why do you want to be normal?

Which "normal" people ever achieved anything great?

You may well be doing alright, but how much better would it feel to be doing great?

I realised I'd been coasting for a while, putting the hours in to some aspects of my life but not the effort. Claiming the rewards of someone giving 100% when you're only really giving 60.

Well it stopped there and then. 

In the last week I've made some big steps forward.

I studied my training plan and using my PT knowledge developed a kick arse one that leaves me feeling great and shattered all at once.

I applied some technical knowledge to my runs too, using Heart Rate Monitors to run in different training zones, preparing specifically for a 100k ultra.

I applied to be a mentor for an amazing organisation called Blurt http://blurtitout.org/ that supports people suffering with depression. I got accepted as an ambassador for a sports clothing  company too, called Ink'n'burn http://www.inknburn.com/ . I get to promote their stuff and offer discount to friends and family (let me know if you're interested). 

Looking back at this week, I'm proud of what I have done. I've made positive steps toward long term goals and stayed positive and motivated when I could have coasted.

I'm not sure if I'm ahead at the moment or behind, if I'm on a peak or in a trough, but I work hard at what I'm doing and I love what I do, so as far as I'm concerned I'm winning.

Guest post

Before you read this ask yourself one question. How many of you have a recurring injury or niggle which affects your running?

I would bet that most runners have and they accept it as being a risk of the sport. I did, but that all changed for me. Let me explain why....

After four years of running a mixed bag of events, from trail ultras to track 5k's, adventure races to London Marathon, I felt like I'd pretty much found my feet as a runner (pun intended). Like all runners I'd had niggles and pains along the way, never a serious injury, more a series of issues which at times had reduced how much, how fast or how far I could run.

I've twisted ankles, suffered from the truly hideous plantar fasciitis, tweaked hamstrings and got bugs in my eyes, but perhaps the most persistent of these was Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PPS).

I will describe PPS in the best way I can. After running for more than 8 miles, my left knee would start to feel like it was seizing up, like the joint was rusting somehow and it was painful to bend the knee. This soreness would remain well after the exercise stopped and be exacerbated by having my feet raised with my knee straight.

To be honest, bending my knee after a period of rest was agony and the discomfort would last days.

I've suffered from this before and with a little rest it has gone away, I've also gone through extended periods of running with no issues but this time was different. I have a 100km race in 10 weeks time and as well as rest I needed to come back stronger than before. My goal was to build legs that could take all the damage that running could throw at it and still keep going. If the issue flared up again I wouldn't have time to recuperate and complete the training necessary for the event.

So I turned to Tom Goom aka @tomgoom (running-physio.com). After a lengthy Twitter conversation, Tom made me realise that the trick with recovery isn't to rest and then make the same mistakes again, rather it is to identify the issue, rest the injury and recover with exercises that will strengthen and condition the affected area to prevent it happening again.

This may seem obvious when you're reading this, but so often in fitness or sport we train in the same way and expect a different result. There is a concept in exercise known as specificity, it refers to the fact that the body will adapt “specifically” to a repeatedly applied stress.

In bodybuilding, if you continually increase the weight you are moving, the body will adapt to match the increased demand, building muscle strength and size. In running, if you increase your pace, you body will adapt and allow you to run faster. Genetics being a limiting factor in this, if you train properly and with structure, you can see specific improvements in any given area.

Rather than repeat previous mistakes, I devised a plan which would allow rest, active recovery and (when appropriate) strengthen and condition the area to prevent it happening again. I won't go into the details here as the training plan was lengthy and cumbersome to read, but I identified the muscles and connective tissues that were presenting as the weakness and trained them specifically to reduce the risk of recurrence of the PPS.

I chose a programme that increased flexibility and strength in my hips, particularly the gluteus medius (which was disproportionately weak compared to the other glutes) as well as quads, hamstrings and hip flexors. The programme started with reduced range of motion in the knee to start with so as not to aggravate the issue and steadily increased in resistance and range.

Rather than doing the same thing as before and expecting a different result, I

Identified the problem,

Rested the affected part,

Reconditioned it and the surrounding and postural muscles and

Came back stronger than before.

After two weeks I was able to run pain free. After a further two weeks I started a 20 day run streak with distances varying from 2 to 16 miles, with no issues at all. I genuinely felt stronger than ever and my running form was improved.

I'm now well into my training for the ultra marathon and keen to run more. You never know when an injury will occur, but you can do a lot to reduce the risk of injuries that can plague you as a runner.

Running is a great sport, it keeps you fit, it gets you outdoors and it opens you to a whole world of new experiences and people. But if running is your goal, my recommendation is this; train the rest of your body to support it.

Running alone does not a good runner make.

Bigger and better....

It's easy to be inspired nowadays. The world is full of inspirational quotes and motivational phrases that make you think "I can do this". 

But to get any benefits from motivation you have to approach it with a positive mind.

And the last week has taught me this lesson more than ever.

I'll explain.

You see kids, every runner eventually picks up niggles and pains. It comes for all sorts of reasons, running too much, running to far or fast, new shoes, old shoes; the list is almost endless. And a week ago I found myself out on a run with a recurrence of patellofemoral pain syndrome (PPS). This feels like a tightening inside the knee, it's painful to extend the knee, when running but even more so when you stop. The reason for it is unclear, but it's thought to be an alignment issue with the knee cap. The discomfort is accompanied with a nice crunching noise when you bend/flex the knee.

Rest is required, and then there are exercises you can do to better tone the muscles involved to better align the parts involved. 

Long story short, I found myself with a prescribed 2 weeks off running and some new exercises to try out to better condition and gone my legs. As a runner, not running is tough. 

Suddenly, everywhere I looked people were running. They looked happy and pain free.

I hated all of them, obviously!

I also had to consider my involvement in a 62 mile ultramarathon I have coming up in ten weeks.  Training runs have been cancelled for a while and I started to think that maybe I'd had enough of running ultras. My mood was kept up by positive comments from friends and twitter folk.

I started my exercises and after a couple of days, my legs felt stronger. After 5 days my knee felt great, as strange as that sounds, and my legs were feeling better than ever! 

 I started to think I could come back better than before.

Stronger than before.

With the 62 miler back on track, I woke on Saturday to a message from a friend..

"Don't forget, entries open for Thames Path 100 today"

It was then that I looked back at my week. Despite setbacks in my work, I felt positive. I'd turned a negative of an injury into a way to improve my strength and running. I was feeling positive and motivated!

And like an inspirational writer wrote recently, sometimes when a challenge scares you, you have to say yes.

I could have said no. It would have been easy to be honest. Training for ultras is tough and a 100 is awesome and ridiculous all at once. 

The challenge scares me. Because it makes me want to try harder than ever. Because I want to run it, or parts of it with others that inspire me and who I hope to inspire.

And because at the end of the days it's one hundred bloody miles!

Kids I guess what I'm saying is, look for inspiration from others, but don't wait for them to push you. When you're scared, think carefully. You might just be on the edge of achieving something amazing. And like I've old you before, never be afraid to say yes.

Thank you for all of the positive messages I got after entering Thames Path 100, never underestimate how much they help people.

My Everest

I stood in the middle of the field, miles from home. 

Stopping to catch my breath and take a quick picture I faced the question that all runners do, "how did I get to be stood here?" 

Well let me take you back a few years. The Icknield Way Trail runs right behind my house and I've always trained on it, heading south on the trail to its finish about 7 miles away. But I never thought about which way it went the other way. 

What happens if I head north?

So after contacting the people that manage the trail, I bought myself a guide to its route and an idea which had seeded years ago, took shape. 

I could run this. The full trail is 110 miles long and linking Norfolk to Buckinghamshire via 4 other counties. It is well marked and sign posted, and just waiting to be run on.

So far I've covered about 16 miles of the route and I know there is a lot more to recce but this is my Everest (until I decide to climb Everest). I've been back in touch with the Icknield Way association and they like the idea of it being run and mapped. Apparently, the original trail hasn't been run in its entirety and they'd like it written up and photographed. 

So the goal is set and the passion is there. Only two questions remain....

When will I do it?

And who is coming with me?

Kids, at times in your life you'll find yourself faced with a challenge so huge it casts a shadow over other things you have done. My advice when faced with shadows is to shine bright. Identify your goals and don't let anyone tell you that you can't achieve them.

A necessary kick up the arse!

So kids, along the way to achieving anything you'll get your motivation from lots of places.

You'll have your self-motivation which is really important, this will be boosted from time to time by inspirations and outside influences. Sometimes money will drive you to accomplish, at work or at school, the promise of financial reward will doubtless spur you on to try harder. And when all else fails, someone (usually me) will be telling you that you have to get on and deal with something, be it homework and chores as a kid, or work and life goals when you're older.

But there comes a time when you have all the support you need, but no one to push you out of the door, and no one but yourself can give you that kick up the backside that you need.

I once wrote a post which said "First they'll ask you why you do it, then they'll ask you How you do it". While this still holds true, once you've reached the latter part and you're capable sometimes the motivation to improve wanes.

And so it was after running the London Marathon in 2013 (I still haven't told that story, it's a good one), I found myself with all the support and ideas in the world but no real drive to complete. In fact I had a 3 year race plan partly filled, but no races booked and no plan to reach them!

Then I read this blog.

I realised that at times we coast, and that's ok as long as you're truly happy with seeing no improvement.

I realised that it's easy to highlight the results we are seeing and be blind ourselves to those we are not. From my twitter feed and blog, you'd think I'm infallible, but like all people that is far from the truth. I focus on my gains in speed and strength and turn a blind eye to my gains in weight.

I say that I'm training to lose weight, be lean and fit, and run fast short races and ultramarathons. Now that's a lot to ask, and if I'm honest I'm not training hard enough and I'm certainly neglecting my diet. I eat healthy food 90% of the time, but I eat way too much of it.

Laura's blog made me realise that only I could make the changes I wanted to see and I motivated myself in the best way I know.

I booked a load of races to keep me focused on the right training, and I started writing up my training plan to achieve goals at each one. A trail half marathon, a local 5k and a 62mile ultramarathon in September will keep my training relevant, my mind focused and my race-bling collection increasing.

But my sticking point is my diet. I'm not sure how I'm going to tackle it yet, but I think that healthy eating is the forgotten discipline of training. Give me cardio or resistance training and I'm a beast. Give me the opportunity to over eat though and self discipline flies out of the window.

As usual I've digressed kids, I guess the point is this. You can seek your motivation and inspiration from wherever you like. You can be driven yourself or driven by others. But when it comes to making changes, only you can take the first step.

Keep an eye on the long game...

Today I ran with one intention. A good run in the trails will always clear my mind, blow away the cobwebs and destress me, but today I wanted some calm. A little peace so i could spend some time focussing on long term goals.

You see kids, it's good to keep an eye on the long game, spend too much time absorbed in the moment and you can end up miles down a path you had no intention of being on.

That analogy fits in nicely with the run I had this morning. I set off in overcast and warm conditions with the aim of running along the Icknield Way trail, a prehistoric footpath which runs right behind our house. 

In total the trail is 110 miles long and finishes near where we live, I've been running on it as long as I've been running. Anyway, I set off along the trail looking for little markers like the one above, after an hour or so I started heading back. My mind was clearing and was starting to work through some possible goals for the next 12-24 months and I was in that nice trance like state that you get on some runs.

My running meditation was broken by an angry man waving his arms at me from about 50 metres away, while I was on a footpath by a farmers field by a derelict farmhouse.

The conversation went like this.

AngryMan. You're running in my garden.

Me. Oh, it's very nice.

AngryMan. Well it's not good enough. You're the wrong side of the hedge.

Me. Ok, sorry I didn't see the sign. I've not run this way before.

AngryMan. You did, you ran up the hill twenty minutes ago.

Me. I've apologised what else do you want.

The conversation was boring and realising from his last comment that I was on for a negative split, I carried on running, but my mind was preoccupied.  I'd taken my eyes off the signs along the way and ended up down a path I shouldn't have been on.

The goal was to run and clear my mind but I'd lost focus and got it wrong.

Goals are like that, you need to know the long ones before you can think medium term. And you need to know these to set and adjust your short term goals.

An injury for a runner doesn't mean the end of long term goals, it means adjusting the short and medium term ones to arrive at the same place. Finding yourself going slower than you'd like just means adjusting the training to find the missing pace.

Now this is important kids, so read this bit slowly. Don't sweat having to change your goals, just keep an eye on the long term ones and go with the flow on the short term ones.

After reflecting on  todays run, I've set some new goals for the next 2 years, they'll affect my short term goals to help me meet them.

I'm going to delay my multi day event to 2015. I'm looking to do the Desert floor race, but I want to prioritise my time with family and have a decent summer holiday next year and finish my personal training course so it'll wait. Instead I'm going to start planning a 110 mile run along the Icknield Way trail next summer, enjoy shorter ultras for the remainder of this year and enjoy trail races locally.

You never regret a run and today's one was great, the pace was off, I was a little hungover and the farmer annoyed me for a while, but it helped me clear my mind and get that bigger view.

Be a dreamer

Kids, it's been a long time since I've sat down and written anything for this blog. I've had other things demanding my attention and for a while there figured I'd learnt all there was to learn from running and written it down for you to read.

But it turns out I was wrong.

I read back through my old posts sometimes and realised I've been holding out on you.

I've alluded to  aspirations, but never cemented them.

I've hinted at inspirations, but stopped one step short of naming them.

I've teased you with my dreams, but never quite said what they are.

But times change and people change. I have become much more receptive to the motivation of others and once you let that influence into your life it's kind of hard not to be inspired.

So whats happened, well I'll summarise.

I put in for the Paris marathon, but as time approached realised it wasn't feasible due to the costs. And on the same day that I made the heartbreaking decision not to attend I won a place on the London Marathon, but more on that later.

I decided not to run ultra marathon events any more, but after running London enjoyed it so much I have two planned this Summer, but more on that later.

But most importantly and the biggest and best change that ever happened to me?
I became comfortable with myself. Now that sounds a little twee perhaps but let me explain.

I've always had a bit of a downer on myself. I felt that my goals weren't as valuable as others, that it was somehow ridiculous for me to get what I want; as though somehow I didn't deserve them or the good things that come from achieving them.

This was embodied for me when I decided to pull out of a run at the end of last year which I was supposed to run with two other guys. It was to be a day long run of 60+ miles and when I got a few niggles and injuries in the run up to the event, I managed to convince myself that it was silly of me to have thought of running that far and I bailed, convincing myself that it was for the best as I would probably have just ruined other peoples days. The others involved remained positive and motivational but I knew that for me it was over.

I'd failed before I had begun because I had never really believed it possible.

However, bit by bit, I have come around to the idea that nothing is impossible, genuinely believing that I can accomplish my dreams. And my motivator for this was your mother. She never reads these things so I know I'm safe to say this, but she believes in me 100%. When I tel her I'm going to do something she has no doubt I'll achieve it and I started to think that if I believed myself that much, what else could I achieve?

The best thing about striving for your dreams is that they continue to grow as your belief and confidence grows. Four years ago I'd never run a race. This year I ran a marathon in under three and a half hours and next year I have something epic planned. Kids, big things are coming and you're going to be a huge part of them.

You're my inspiration to dream and achieve and I want to share this stuff with you now so that when you're old enough to understand it you realise what a huge part you played.

Stick with me guys, we are going places and this time, we are looking to win!

The end of the road.....

Kids, a strange thing happened to me this week......

After a few weeks of reduced running (I'm supposed to call it being injured, but don't like the term) I went for along run. Now there is nothing strange about that, granted, but what happened to me on the run was new.

After all of the training I have done this year, I kind of figured that nothing was beyond me. I've run marathons, ultramarathons, adventure races and well over 1000 miles in training. I've struggled and faced some demons along the way, but never wanted to stop.

So this week, on a long run, I set out to do 26.2 miles. I wasn't totally ready or prepared for it, it was going to be a night run and the decision to go came last minute, but any way you dress it up, I had it in me to do the run, so I did.

It was a ususal route on familiar roads and the first 11 miles passed without note. At the halfway point though, (13.1 miles in) I started to feel uncomfortable in my stride. My shoes felt wrong, the pace seemed to fast and yet slower than my target or usual pace. I pushed through this barrier and headed back out into the countryside. Still it was not right

17 miles in I stood at the foot of a large incline, halted in my tracks. My headtorch seemed to be dimming, the food I'd brought seemed insufficient and the water in my CamelBak just wasn't helping. I froze at the foot of the hill.

Staring up at the dark, knowing that I had  miles to run and having to face the scariest realisation you can have when you are alone in the middle of nowhere and 9 miles from home....

"I do not want to be here".......

I tried running some more. I bested the hill and looked down at the road to take me home, but although my legs were still working and I had enough water to keep going, the fire had gone. After a few words with myself and a few aborted attempts at carrying on I gave up.

I got a lift home and spent the night worrying about how I'd react. I've identified myself as a runner for so long now that when I was faced with failure, it felt like a personal affront. If I can't run then what am I?

But on waking the next morning I felt surprisingly calm. I realised that I had met the beast that is failure and survived it. Not only that, but if I wanted to running has taught me that I can go away and train in new ways; train harder, smarter, better and come back stronger.

When met with this failure (and yes, 17 miles is a massive distance to run, but it wasn't the goal, so it is still a failure) I found myself taking a pragmatic and honest look at myself and understanding why I had failed.

I've not been training as much as I used to and certainly not as smart, training has lacked structure or development and as such has been more maintenance than progressive. Secondly, I've used long distance running as a counterbalance for over indulgence in food and drink for a while, so a few weeks off paid its toll quickly and I'm not in the shape I thought I was.
 
All of this, along with poor preparation and a fundamental lack of respect for the feat that is running 26 miles summed up to a perfect storm and left me stood by the side of the road, middle of nowhere, staring at the small pool of light cast by my headtorch.

I look back at the advice that I have given to you guys in this blog and realise that I have forgotten most of it myself. I stopped having fun and enjoying running. I started using it as nothing more than a lifestyle counterbalance to control poor diet choices and high stress levels.

I wasn't planning good runs on new routes or seeking adventure by discovering new trails any more. I'd become one of those runners who takes the whole thing far too seriously and paradoxically, for granted.

I'd found myself somewhere I'd never wanted to be.....alone on the road, running because I felt I had to.

But like I said, and may have mentioned before, running gives you stamina and a strength that can improve many areas of your life.

That moment when you fail does not have to be the end. It can be the nexus of your evolution. The spark that lights the fire in your heart to strive for more and to be better, faster, stronger.

Kids I wrote this blog because I wanted to show you How I Became A Runner and how it had a positive impact on so many areas of my life. I wanted to show you that I was successful at something and I wanted to make you proud. Of all the lessons I've tried to teach you and the things I have tried to pass on, the question always hung over my head. How would I know when it was time to stop writing it and when would I know how to tell you How I Became A Runner.

The answer was simple, I was a runner the whole time, but I got a lot better at it when I realised that failure is just a natural part of development and moving forward. I think I've always assumed that something would come along one day and stop me running. That I wasn't really a runner, just somebody who ran for a bit....

Truth is I was always a runner, I just wasn't always running.

To continue running and to become better at it I have a lot of work to do. I have to make fundamental changes to my  lifestyle and start setting some real goals and challenges. I have to find the hunger for it, the fun in it and the sense of adventure I lost.

My last piece of knowledge to pass on to you?  You can learn a lot more from a failure tahn when you succeed...

Kids, I hope you've enjoyed reading these. I've loved writing them. I don't claim to be good at it but when you have something to say, you're best to say it or no one ever knows what you thought.