Injuries, new excercises and more weight!

All

I will never get a job as a blogger, simply because I never turn up!

I have just come back from a week working in New York. You cannot walk further than 30 feet without passing a fast food restaurant and my itinerary was such that I had three options. 1. Go without (I did). 2. Go junk food (I did, once) 3. Go corporate and wine and dine my clients (I did - lots). Exercises? I did none. The portion control is remarkable - 20oz Steaks and chowders you can swim in. To be honest, I loved the restaurant part but now back in the UK I am on a strict diet!

Talking food, we will be eating upwards of 6000 calories per day on the way to the pole and I have started to get my body used to that intake by eating a large calorific but healthy meal every few weeks. A family sized pack of fresh pasta, 3 skinless chicken breast, a cup of homemade pesto, some pine nuts and lots of onion and garlic - takes an hour to eat! The first time I ate this I unsurprisingly felt unwell - not just full but headaches and nausea as well. After a couple of attempts and I now just feel uncomfortable! Of course, you have to eat this early in the day, not eat again and also keep on the move otherwise I would fuse with the sofa!

My damaged ankle quickly turned into an acute Achilles issue so I was banned from long runs by my good physios. Instead I have taken to swimming, rowing and weights. I have also added yomping with a full rucksack as I still cant find the time to walk! The half marathons and 10ks plus the training runs reduced my weight down towards 13st 5lb. Now a typical session will be 500m of front crawl (shoulders, core and tummy), 5k of rowing (shoulders back and everything!) then 1 hour of weights and stretching, I am getting bigger and heavier! The US has not helped and I am back up to almost 14st again.

By the way - its less than 6 MONTHS TO GO!!!

Last weekend I went to the new Forest for a practice run with some pals of mine. We are all doing the Original Mountain Marathon at the end of October. This is a 48 hour orienteering run over Dartmoor. You cover about 35 miles and have to carry everything you need - tent, clothes, sleeping bag, cooker, food, safety equipment etc. Almost a lightweight version of the gear taken to the Pole. We had set up 6 way points in the New Forest and took all the gear that we need on the OMM. Although we had agreed to mainly walk with a bit of downhill jogging, we ended up running almost all of it. We started at 9.00am and ran 10 of the 13 miles we had planned and ended up finishing in time for a pub lunch! A picture is above, that's me in the middle!

The guys I did it with have there own adventure in May next year. They are attempting to scale 5 unclimbed peaks in the Arctic so they have there own training that they are doing. When they get their website sorted I will post it here.

Sponsorship has slowed up but I have my sights on a few that are still interested. Will update soon.

Lastly, the charity I will raise money for will soon be selected and I will be arranging various events. I am also starting the press release circuit soon... Its all getting busier!

I pick up the gear soon, including the pulk harness. This will mean that I will be starting the dreaded tyre pulling around Richmond Park - just as the mornings get darker, colder and wetter!

Cold weather training - sort of

The family MacAlister have come back from a trip to Canada where we had a HUGE RV (recreational vehicle for those who don't know). Starting out in Vancouver we headed for the island for a few days, then up through British Columbia to the National parks of Wells Gray, Jasper and Banff before hot footing it back to UK from Calgary.

If there are any Canadians reading this - I take my hat off to you. Your country is amazing! There is so much diversity. Campbell River on Vancouver Island, for example; in one day it is possible to Salmon fish, watch wales, spot bears, play golf and also get in some skiing! We saw bears, Osprey, Elk, Deer (but we have them on our doorstep at home), Bald Headed Eagles, lots of ground squirrels and Marmots and possible a wolverine. The only thing I could not adjust to was the food. Everything seemed to come with fries and meat and maple syrup! I have put some timber on.....

Re the training. My injured ankle turned out to be a severe sprain so I am off running. Instead I am cycling as much as possible, running in the pool with a float belt on and walking everywhere I can. I am still keeping up the weights and now have a physio to assist me with my rehabilitation. The running in the pool (at Pools on the Park, Richmond) has been amusing. The other morning a school session was due to start when I was just finishing my very slow 20 x 15 metre runs. One child asked his teacher whether "the man in the pool is drowning" to which he received the reply "no, don't stare - everyone needs to learn to swim at some time in life - even when they are old!". Cheers!

As there have been very few events booked for the summer I am going to have to invent some. I will keep you posted on what hair brained ideas I have. One of which is to get my wife to drop me off 50 miles away up the Thames (which runs near our house), with a compass, map and some water and to expect me home at some point that day!

The photo was taken at the foot of a glacier in the Columbia Icefields. At the beginning of the holiday I had decided that shorts would be sensible attire for some conditioning, and at the foot of the pathway up to this glacier I got many strange looks from the other ramblers who were dressed head to foot in waterproofs, walking boots, ski poles and backpacks! The looks got even more stern when with my sandals on, I headed off at some pace to the summit!

Great place Canada - I recommend it.

I have some good news concerning sponsorship - but will wait until it is finalised until a name is announced. I have now raised over 70% of my target so am feeling much more relaxed!

Lymington RNLI 10K

Another post so soon can only be explained by the fact that I have saved blogs instead of posting them! My deepest apologies if there is anyone actually reading these!

My aching limbs took only a day to recover from the 40 odd mile walk in the North and the sun burn took a little longer. I was feeling pretty fresh for the next challenge; 10K race in aid of the RNLI crew of Lymington. Lymington is where some of my family are based and where I spent a considerable part of my youth. There were familiar faces on route, and also a few family members who came to see me at the finish which was a great boost.

Lymington is a small town on the South coast. It is wedged between the New Forest and the Solent and is a mecca for yachties, caravaners and other tourists, but also has a healthy population of locals. This is unlike other seaside towns where the property seems to be predominately second homes. Its a great place, with a lot going on. This was evident by the turnout for a fairly unknown 10k. There were 1,100 entrants made up of a varied mix of people, notably:

A team from "Best of British" who are aiming to reclaim the South Pole unassisted record during 2011. They were running with 5 metre promotional flags, which in the wind was no mean feat.

Part of the newly formed Lymington mariners Rugby club who had the inaugural AGM the night before in a local pub, so again no mean feat at all! Rumour has it that one of the players managed to get all the way round but then was violently sick over the finish line, in the view of a few hundred spectators! Good work!

The race started on playing fields and after 2k on country lanes, turns onto gravel tracks around the old salt marshes (a primary source of income in the past). The majority of the run is on the sea wall and is a great place to run. Salt marshes on one side (with sheep, horses etc) and on the other is a great view to the Isle of Wight with the yachts, dinghy's, power boats and ferry's on the Solent. There were plenty of Oyster Catchers, ducks and other birds and it was a lovely day! Apart from the wind! Although not very windy, it was right on the nose for 50% of the run.

The final stage of the run is possibly the cruelest as the route takes you straight past a pub called the Chequers. The Chequers is a well know hostelry in a great rural / nautical location and has been a favourite of many for years. Not only that but the land lord was standing outside almost challenging you not to come in! I placed an order for 30 minutes time and picked up my pace considerably.

I finished in 49 minutes and came in the top 20% which I was pleased with. Not as fast as I could have done, but I am doing it for fitness and not speed. Then I enjoyed a beer!

There has been no update re sponsorship for a while simply because it has not progressed. I need to get cracking or the whole adventure is at risk. If anyone knows anybody?????

I have a half marathon this weekend coming, which I am using as a long run to plan to get round and not race. I am getting a little punch drunk with all the running so am planning to get some more long walks in. Maybe some Wild Camping! More to follow.

Lastly, I am delighted that Jessica Watson is getting close to the end of her historic and record breaking voyage (see links). Sad to hear that some governing bodies are questioning the validity because of some detail or other. She has sailed around the world, single handed, at the age of 16. What more can you say!

Hadrians Wall

Let the train take the strain. So we did boarding at 6.00am in London and getting to Carlisle just after 9.00. Quick use of public transport to get us out of the city centre and we kicked off leg one at 9.30. The original wall was built by Emperor Hadrian in the second century AD. It was 84 miles (135 Km) long from Bowness - on Solway on the West Coast, to Wallsend on the East. The Romans left in AD 410 and the wall was no longer the frontier at the North of the Roman Empire. As a testament to Roman engineering however, the Roman wall and the military way to the south of it was used by the English to build a coast to coast road during the Jacobite rebellion of 1745!

So, with Jacobites building roads on the wall, and local farmers using the stones from the walls for building materials (in fact Hexham Abbey dating from AD 674 and built by Queen Etheldreda has Roman stones within the crypt), the Wall proper does not start until Banks, about an hour into the walk.

I was with a Friend of mine who is training to lose weight for a parachute jump. He also needs to lose some height as well but I could help with that. We had decided to walk the as much of the route where remains were visible over the 2.5 days that we had. That was Banks through to Chollerford which is about 40 miles.

The weather was fantastic with sun all the time. Off at a startling pace we soon came across our first fellow hikers. We then saw the next lot, and the next and realised that this was a busy part of the trail and also, there were unproportionate amount of beards sported by the men. So we started to count them. I believe we gave up at 30 men, 18 beards and about 45 women! We told them all we were walking end to end in 3 days and they were suitably impressed!

8 hours walking up and down some craggy terrain and we got to our destination for night one. Twice Brewed inn which is based near Once brewed on the Wall. Fantastic place, and let me tell you about the food. We were starving, had sore feet (we had walked 23 miles and been up since 5.00am) and needed some refuelling. My walking buddy ordered black pudding and Haggis to start with a Pork Belly main, I sensibly went for chicken kebab starter and what I read from the specials board as Lamb Shank. Done.

The Black pudding was the size of a hub cap and whilst this was being demolished, the waitress pointed out that the Lamb Shank was in fact Ham Shank! I have never heard of a Ham shank (knuckle or hock yes, not shank) but wanted anything. When it arrived it was a thing of monstrous proportions. Think a Ham all the way to the trotter, whole, on your plate. It was immense. Other diners were staring and we realised that between the two of us we had eaten almost a whole pig (blood in the pudding, the belly and the whole of one leg). We completed the task in the morning with sausages and bacon!

After all the food and exercise it was not long until we were asleep, and ready somewhat limping, the next day.

Day two was a 16 mile hike over the highest part of the wall, Steel Rigg, past Sycamore Gap (on photo and featured in Robin Hood) and we finished in Chollerford!

In Chollerford we had a well deserved beer or two at a pub with Gardens overlooking the river Tyne. We met another hiker; a Dutch guy who said "You were the one with plate of meat the size of a small child" so news does travel fast. After a night in Hexham and a great lunch with my mother who lives there (we went to the Rat which is a pub I highly recommend), we decided to walk the final few miles to Corstopitum Roman Fort at Corbridge where we stocked up on souvenirs for our children.

Highly recommend a visit to the Hadrians Wall if you can. The scenery is beautiful and although we counted beards for a few hours, it is really tranquil yet wild. The sense of history is obvious where ever you look and it makes a very memorable trip.

10k next weekend! Until then.

West to East on the Hadrians Wall.

Hi. Training is back on, but in a more gentle fashion. Tomorrow morning a friend and I will bet getting a remarkably early train to Carlisle in the North West. We are walking a large chunk of the Hadrians Wall in 3 days. Our plan is to start just East of Carlisle and walk 26 miles on Friday, 15 miles on Saturday and another 15 on Sunday which will get us to a train station / taxi / bus so we can return to Carlisle. As we do not really fancy walking through city's we are not doing the full length, and as we have time limit of work on Monday in London!

If anyone is on the wall on the weekend look out for us? We will be setting a startling pace!

Have enjoyable weekends!

One step forward....

A few people have asked me to provide an update on the blog as it has been so long. The reason for the delay has been because I have been pretty unwell for a few weeks! Not doom and gloom but because I learnt a lesson not long ago my training has almost stopped.

I ran the Hastings half marathon feeling under the weather. Being a typical bloke I thought I would "get through it" and promptly found myself on a course of anti biotics (sinusitis, chest infection plus dodgy type of flu). I duly took these for a couple of weeks and did not train, as per doctors orders. I then very foolishly took part in a 10k Race in Richmond Park! The race itself, plus the organisation was fantastic and I must thank "The Fix" (who arrange it) for getting me in last minute. My time was 50.01 which is 2 minutes slower than my last 10k and proof that I had dome some damage to my training.

Before the race, the fella on the microphone introduced a chap who was flying to the Arctic the very next day to take part in the Arctic Marathon. I spent some time chatting with him (I was very impressed with his beard!) and his main concern was getting injured before the marathon, so the 10K race was a slow run to give him time to think and mentally prepare. Taking on some of this wisdom I hung up my running shoes, have avoided the gym and have been on a road to recovery ever since. I am not sure how he got on, but when I find a link I will post it.

So I am faced with a mental dilemma. I am asked a lot about the training and feel very guilty having not done much, especially when I have you folk following a blog that does not appear! Being of a slightly foolish disposition, I just want to get out there and get on with it, but I am resisting until I am totally better. Another doctors appointment will be arranged if I am not better in a week as this will be over a month and not right.

I hope this does not seem like a whinge, it is supposed to explain my absence, and to a certain extent my mood. Mentally I am all up for it, physically I am not 100%.

Any words of wisdom?

Until the next time - be healthy!

The Hastings Half Marathon

Hello - I hope that you have all had a glimmer of spring? The weather has turned better where I am and it has dawned on me how quickly the seasons are changing and how time is flying by! It seems no time at all since I was running in fresh snow, in a fresh pair of running shoes thinking that this was the beginning of over a years worth of excercise, fund raising, planning and excitement! I hope I am getting there!

This weekend I took part in the Hastings Half marathon. Hastings is a lovely seaside town on the south coast of the UK and with a forecast of sunshine looked like a great day out. I had been warned by a few people that this may be a challenge for a first half marathon because of the hills and they were not wrong! This was to be the furthest that I have ever run by 3.5 miles, and I was also suffering with man flu, but once I have said yes to something, I never turn back!

As far as I could tell Hastings is built on a cliff that is a physical impossibility. I ran uphill for 9 miles and downhill for 4 and ended up at the same place that I started! Not fair! I was pleased with my time - I aimed for a sub 2:00hr and came in at 1:58 so job done!

I have a new running watch which my wife gave me for my birthday (thank you!) which told me that I had burnt 2,500 calories. With this good news I retired to have lunch with some friends who live in Hastings and ate pizza and drank tea for the next 2 hours! (Thanks Guys - it was great).

A day off the excercise today, and in fact off most things as my flu was infact flu - so my time was not bad at all. When better I will back in the gym, but probably not quite yet as I am aching somewhat! I have not got an event to aim for in April, so if you have any ideas please add them in a comment!

I have found an interesting event for October which is the Original Mountain Marathon. A 65K, 2 day run /walk / navigate and wild camping trek. Looks great and a big one to aim for.

Funny to think that not long ago I would be anxious about playing a game of squash as I was so unfit. Now I am planning 65K races!

I wanted to add a link to an interesting blog that I have been introduced to:

http://myminutementor.wordpress.com/

The largest part of my North Pole challenge remains raising the funds. This blog has lots of advice about keeping the dream alive, and how to make synergies between acheivement and aspirations. I have am learning from it - which is part of my journey!

"Life is to be spent, not saved. " D H Lawrence. Wise words, especially as the days get longer! Best wishes to you all.