Marathon blues
Adapted from the W H Auden poem 'Funeral blues' by my friend Phil, another marathoner.
London Marathon 2014
London Marathon 2014 In many ways, London marathon didn't go quite as I expected. I wanted to run 3:30 - 3:35. I finished in 4:19. I wanted to love it and come back year after year, but I finished not wanting to run London ever again. I wanted to qualify for Boston, instead I've fallen [...]
Marathon kit
While the legs might not be ready to run 26.2 miles though London, the kit, at least, is ready to go. This will be my eighth marathon, and over the past few years I've come to know what I do and don't like to wear on race day. While I have a lot of kit [...]
Not another triathlon
As I hurtled along a bumpy road on my bike during my second ever triathlon, the Marlow Olympic tri, I told myself "you only have to do this three more times". Just two 70.3s and a Ironman and I could stop messing around and go back to just doing the running thing. Last week I [...]
Why do triathletes need so much stuff?
Why do triathletes need so much stuff? There's a short answer and a long answer to this questions. The short answer is: they don't. But I hope you'll do me a favour and keep reading. Between signing up for my first triathlon and lining up for the race, I acquired two very important items: a [...]
Guest post: The perils of chafing
“It didn't have a name on it so I opened it,” grinned the postie as he held up two pairs of running briefs. The audience of my open plan office settled in for the show. I am too wise in the subterranean world of work banter to rise to this. “No worries,” I said reaching out [...]
Shin splints and the triathlete
Being an injured triathlete isn’t as bad as being an injured runner. If you can’t do one of your triathlon disciplines, chances are you can do at least one of the other two. So while I’ve not been able to run because of my shin splints I reminded myself that I’m a triathlete now as [...]
Hurden 18 miler 16 March 2014
Guest post by Phil This is not undulating. This is a bloody hill. I am pedalling frantically to get to register in time for the Hurden 18 miler. It’s taking place in a small village called Offord Darcy, Cambridgeshire, and the website had promised me a ‘scenic, undulating route’. But, after panting up two major [...]
Taking the good with the bad
Shin splints are stupid. They waited for the worst possible moment – the peak couple of weeks before my taper – and then they pounced. Since my 20-miler more than a week ago, I haven’t run and it’s made me angry, sad and frustrated. I really do like running and I miss it. The weather [...]
Running shoes: Puma Mobium Elite V2
The relationship between a runner and their shoes is a special one. When you find a pair of running shoes that work for you hold on tight and don’t let them go. I’ve known runners stockpiling a particular make and model of running shoe because it’s been discontinued, breaking out a new pair from a [...]