And so it begins Part 2

Soooooooooo,

As the title so cordially suggests, here we are party to the second installment of my journey into, and back to,  MAF.. In between this and the last, (first), post I have written another.. But not attached to this one as it was a fraction unrelated, (about MCT oil you see https://1976nutrition.blogspot.com), and I didn't want to interrupt the current flow. I'm still getting used to this whole blogging thang and was hoping I could release multi subject content from one page, but think I need to create a different blog for each one. Sooooooooo, (again), that's what I'll do..

Thus far I've got this one about getting back to MAF, (and beyond).. And the Nutrition one I've attempted to link above, (did it work?), about, strangely enough,  nutrition, (the next entry on that bad boy will document my journey through the uncharted waters of probiotics/gut health/bone broth/kombucha, (though that will be a work in progress as I've just started down that road).. Shit.. Brackets within brackets, and a shit load of full stops... All over the shop, (....)... Think I need to do a post about grammar, language and it's effect, or is it 'affect', (that's a whole 'nother post), on the reader. I should be more mindful of this as I'd hate to put you off before you've even begun, (or is that began).. SHIT!! I'm sliding down a wormhole here!

Soooooooooo, (for the third and last time this post.. Shit's getting a little tired now), allow me to get back on point and continue the journey.... I left you hanging in part 1 after showing you my longest ever run at that point, (7 miles), whilst dangling the carrot of a  freaky series of damn freaky events that lead to the next running evolution.

.. To drag you back form the cliff edge my next run took place just 4 days after the aforementioned 7 miler.

19:25 - I set off from the gym and took the usual route along the Estuary, though this time I thought I‘d run a little further, past the next lock gate on the way out, (4.5 miles.. Hoping to rack up a whole 8 by the time I got back).  The weather was nice and I was feeling pretty peppy.. All gravy you might think. And it was until:

20:20 - After I'd turned around and got back to the lock gate.. 

Bastard Lock No:1 (Or No:2)

Which was now open…. And a MASSIVE fucking container ship was limping it’s way through. So I wait patiently for a while, but am, starting to cool down so do some very slow shuttles up and down until the best passed through and the gates finally closed half a freaking hour later!

20:55 - I finally run over the closed lock gates and head on back towards the gym:

21:05 - Trotting on at a nice pace, grateful to be moving again I look ahead and spy a ship in the distance pointing suspiciously towards lock number 2, (or lock number 1), depending on perspective. Either way my suspicions were confirmed as I closed in and, you’ve guessed it, the damn thing was opening before my very eyes

Bastard Lock No: 2 (Or No:1)

blocking my route… AGAIN!! So at:

21:10 - I reach said open lock and assess my options:


1)  Wait for the beast, (that seemed fucking miles away and was trawling towards       the lock at a snails pace), to pass.

2)  Do a 180 and take the long way round.

Now, I use the word ‘options’ more than loosely as, really, there was no option.. The gym, (where I ran from), closed @ 22:00 and my clothes, car keys and freaking HOUSE KEYS were in the locker.. T Minus 45 minutes to cover 4.8 miles and get back before lock up!

21:15 - Cue the ‘Mission Impossible’ music… 4 plus miles to go, (though I didn’t know that at the time… And panic had set in. Hmmmmmm, I wish I’d  had a HR monitor strapped on, it would have been interesting to see how the body reacted), and I’m already past mile 7, (matching my longest ever run). So off I head, the long way round, trotting along the industrial A63 getting buzzed by trucks and running on the grass verge when the footpath came to an abrupt stop.

Round we go

21:35 - I’m at the 10 mile mark.. Ten FREAKING miles.. I’ve actually run my way into double figures!! If only elation wasn’t smashed out of touch by aching legs, and a ticking clock. T minus 25 minutes to closing time.

21:50 - Breathing like an asthmatic, legs burning…  But It’s all good because I’ve turned the corner and am on the home stretch.. So close to the gym the sweet taste of victory starts flooding into my mouth, (or was it sweat)

21:53 – (And 35 seconds)…… And I stagger, happy but mildly delirious, through the automatic gym doors.. Fuck the cool down.. I’m back with a whopping 6.5 minutes to spare and just want to get my shit and head home.

In

Your

Fucking

Face

Lock gates

!You’re not the boss of me!

(well, you sort of are I suppose as you clearly dictated when I crossed, or not as the case would have it)

22:05 - Drag my ass back to the car,

(complete with car and house keys)... Bloody happy, but sore… 





Soooooooooo, (ok it’s been a while, and after the epic journey a final 'Soooooooooo' is allowed.. Right?!?), the epiphany spawned from the above was:

‘If you can run 11, (and a bit), miles.. You can run a half marathon’

Taaaaaaaa Daaaaaaaaa

In that moment a plan was hatched…. And, (in another moment not too far away from the last), my entry to the Bridlington Half Marathon was secured.. 12 weeks to get up to speed and knock out a decent time.. But I’ll update you with that....

............When I get to that..

Hmmmmmmmmmm, that’s about the size of my second post, (on this subject). I might be getting the hang of this blogging shit.. Slowly.. 

Until the next time, when I shall wow you with my running progression in an amusing yet informative way, (well, you can be the judge of that)..

Look after yourselves.. All None of ya!

And so it begins... Part 1!

Soooooooooooooooooo,

Here I sit, (at my desk at work in North Lincs), dipping a big toe into the, thus far, limpid sea that is blogging.. More questions than answers, but we'll just have to learn as we go along!

… A bit of background you ask.. Well, I respond, a bit of background you'll have.. Just a little though as I could spend forever bringing shit up to speed and would, no doubt, get swept into a thousand tangents along the way. So, I shall attempt to stay post specific, (back to MAF), and offer the below:

I've always been an active type, basketball and the gym specifically though I was also getting into cycling having bought myself a new bike. It used to be all about bulking up, (I was 17+ stone at my peak... And 6 ft 3 to offer a little perspective), until I changed jobs.. At the new place I met a man, lets call him David, (because that's his name), who was into running. He'd mentioned he could run 5k in less than 23 minutes and I thought:

"I'm a fit guy, how hard can that shit be"

I went to the gym that night, got on the treadmill and, as it turned out, that shit was pretty damn hard.. I'd never ran that far in a 'oner' before and managed the distance in 26 minutes...….….But it completely fucking destroyed me! Sweat drops pooling into tributaries of my forheeeed then running directly into my eyeballs, legs like jelly and, I'd wager, the heart rate of a shark attack victim. But in that moment a runner was born. Dramatic, perhaps, but the seed had been sewn and I was determined to get my time down to the 22/23's /mi. So I persisted with the treadmill, knocking out a 5k each week at the end of a gym session. All the while David's constant, and consistent attempts to lure me outside would result in:

"It's too windy" 

"Far too cold man" 

"I don't do the outside" 

"What's the point when there's a treadmill at the gym" 

"Not my bag mate"

"Just No"

Epiphany No:1, I suppose, came as I was sweating my tits off in the gym, (on the treadmill), looking at a stunningly beautiful day through the window thinking "what the fuck am I doing?!" 
So I pulled the chord, fired up Strava on the phone, (my favoured choice of tracker when cycling), and stepped out into the light:

First Outdoor 5k!

My first thought being how much harder it was to run outdoors, my second being.. That was fucking lovely! Out in the sunshine, running along the waterfront, other runners smiling as I passed..

This became quite the habit, gym for a work out then finish with an outside run.. 

**Actually, looking at the training log that's complete bullshit! The above was done on the 18th April.. My next outdoor run, (below - Excuse the title), wasn't until 21st July..**

Second Outdoor Run, with Hills and Everything..

But this one, (I promise), did spark regularity. I was now outdoor running at least once a week, on top of the treadmill running. And I was getting more adventurous, upping the mileage and, on 23rd August, (2014), racked up a whole 7 miles, (09:28 /mi and a whopping 1 hour 10 minutes and three seconds of constant movement.. Check my bad ass out:

7 Mile Bad Boy

So, it was starting to come together nicely, but it was a freaky series of damn freaky events that lead to the next running evolution.

Hmmmmmmm, how long should a blog entry be? If I'm writing to be read should I keep it in bite sized pieces? I suppose there's no hard and fast rule but I will split it into bits. Makes it much more exciting no?! Then I can leave you all, (all none of you at the moment.. And that's another thing, how the hell does one get people to notice a blog/know it's even there?!?), hanging on.. Gagging for the next instalment!

Well, that was pretty painless.. Stuffs went from mind to screen ok, (and resembles some sort of an orderly fashion). A fine use of work time indeed!

…………… See you in Part 2