Run, Fat Boy, Run

I've realised that, although I set the blog up to witter on mostly about running and whatnot, I've not even mentioned it yet, so here goes.


I get asked, fairly regularly, why I run. There isn't a simple answer to that one, and plenty of times I ask myself the same question. I'm not among the quickest, I'm certainly not the most elegant and, a lot of the time, I run with gritted teeth. The truth is that there must be something of the masochist within me. The times when I enjoy running the most are when the weather's rubbish, when the distance seems too much, when the aches and pains start to show. That's when I feel like a proper runner. Those are the times when I can clear my mind, focus on the task and battle against all the obstacles.


I've been running off and on for years but with a degree of seriousness since 2008. Over the last few years I've clocked up a fair amount of runs (2008: 105 miles in 30 runs; 2009: 627 miles in 121 runs; 2010: 483 miles in 82 runs and, so far 139 miles in 29 runs in 2011).


I've completed countless 5K races, four 10K races, one 10 mile race, six half marathons and one full marathon and not been anywhere near the front in any of them :-) My personal bests, such as they are, are:

• 5K - 23:36 (September 10)
• 10K - 53:44 (December 09)
• 13.1M - 02:01:54 (March 10)
• 26.2M - 05:09:46 (April 10)

I have three goals for 2011:

1. To complete an officially organised and timed race at each distance up to the full marathon (so 5K, 10K, 10 mile, half marathon, kilomathon and full marathon)
2. To run sub 2-hour half marathons before the end of the year. It might not sound like much, but getting to 02:01:54 last March nearly killed me...
3. To change my running style to be able to run a 10K race either barefoot or in minimalist shoes

The barefoot/minimalist running conversation is a post for another day, this post is already waaaaaaaaaay too long.

London

Mmmmmm

Delicious chocolate cake made for me yesterday by Cathie and the boys. It was as tasty as it looks.

It's Finally Happened

The law of diminishing returns has reached the point where, for the first time, a new Radiohead album has no songs I can get excited about.


From the peak of OK Computer it's been getting harder and harder to embrace one of their albums in its entirety but The King Of Limbs is the first time when I've struggled to even find a song I like.


That list of diminishing returns in full:

• OK Computer - 12 songs - Awesome from start to finish
• Kid A - 6 out of 10 songs stayed in my iTunes library
• Amnesiac - 7 out of 11 songs stayed 
• Hail to the Thief - 5 out of 14 songs stayed (but wow, what songs)
• In Rainbows - 3 out of 10 songs survived the cull
• The King Of Limbs - 1 out of 8 (and that's stretching it)

Lotus Flower is the obvious 'catchy song' on TKoL but I'm not gagging to hear it again. I'm really hoping that the album's a grower, I didn't like Amnesiac when I first heard it and it's now one of my favourites but nothing from TKoL has left even the slightest hook in my memory after the first couple of listens.

Shouting Into The Dark

An ego is a terrible thing.


Nobody in their right mind should want to read this. And yet here I am, one minute before I turn 36, turning back into an erratic diarist. Wonder if I'll keep it going for longer than I did as a kid.


Anyways, so this blog (for as long as I do keep updating it) is going to be full of boring stuff about running, pictures I've taken and probably my rattling on about the latest music I've discovered (usually 6 months after the rest of the world). So, um, enjoy...