2019 Catch Up

Another long break from blogging, interspersed with random bouts of running and a fourth time at the Atlantic Coast Challenge 2018 for an 82 mile weekend of running perfection. I can't seem to keep away from this event; perhaps its something to do with lots of singletrack perfection and technical terrain with the Atlantic ocean at your side the entire way!

Life with 4 gorgeous children, a beautiful wife and a relatively recent house move doesn't leave room for much more, so running takes its place but not as much as I would like it to.

Ellie, our eldest daughter, has just 2 GCSE exams left to complete and we couldn't be more proud. Much like myself, school just hasn't been the greatest of experiences for her but she has shown herself to be a strong and clever young woman and I have no doubt she will make a success of whatever she puts her mind to.

Jack is now a teenager. At 13 he is rapidly closing in on my height and makes light of the fact that he will soon be towering over me. As long as I can continue to be some sort of role model (and competition!) to him then life will work out just fine.

Zachary is 11, today in fact! He is the one who has shown the most interest in following his old man into the running scene. At 11, he is too young yet for most of the events I enter, but I cannot wait for his company and giggles on the trails. A 5 mile coastal run has given him the appetite to take things further!

Our pocket rocket, Seren, continues to live up to her names meaning; Star. It really couldn't have been a more appropriate name and she brings light into our world everyday. Seren is now 4 and on the verge of 'big school'.

Ellen is my heart and soul as always. This year we celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Where does time go? Without her support, I couldn't complete half the challenges I set myself. So much so that all six of us will be making memories again by heading down to Cornwall in October 2020 for my fifth running of the Atlantic Coast Challenge.

Watch this space!



ACC 2018 finish - Charity Run for Children with Cancer

 

Its been around three years since the last blog posting and man, a lot has happened!

I found the Flying Monks Tri Club (Malmesbury, Wiltshire) as an outlet to channel any spare energy that might be left over after the kids have worn me out; nothing too serious but it has been a great find which has allowed me to revert back to my roots and pick up my swimming. To date, and quickly nearing the ripe old age of 40 (!) I am swimming faster than I was 'in my prime' in my late teens living back home in Cornwall.

The 'Monks' are a great bunch and it enables me to keep my base fitness to a level I am content with until the kids are old enough such that I will be able to focus more time to training.

Ellen has been my heart and soul as always, forever at my side through the ups and downs that life has thrown at us. The biggest hurdle to date has been the loss of our baby boy Joshua back in 2013, which was also compounded by the calamitous liquidation of our contractor whilst building our own house; money we will never get back!

However, this little pocket rocket arrived last June and changed our hearts and lives forever....

Seren Hope - Born 9th June 2015 x

 

Running has ticked over gently with lots of half marathons par for the course, and a sub-20 minute 5km PB well earned. The main event came at the end of 2015 with a return to Cornwall on the Atlantic Coast Challenge, and challenge it certainly ended up being! Not enough training by far (kids and life), coupled with a bad tear of the adductor muscle a week before the start made the journey slow and extremely painful; much slower than the previous years by far. In a strange way though, I really enjoyed it. I ran it solo for the first time which was great, although company at times would have been welcome, as it made it quite a lonely journey at times. Just proof that 82 miles in a weekend is not something to head into on a whim, which is effectively what I did. Recovery took a while, but I'm now at full(ish) fitness ready to go again in October this year!!

 

Next up, Royal Wooton Bassett Sprint Tri mid May.

 

Good luck for 2016!

 

Laters

 

Gaz

Our little bit of sunshine

We feel so, so blessed to have experienced such a precious, short, but sweet time with our boy.

Run with the angels our little sunshine x

Belated Happy New Year!

Looking forward to an injury free year and the running's been good so far, although the few added pounds of Christmas food is taking some shifting!

The end of 2012 didn't turn out quite as planned. I had organised for me and a couple of friends to take on the Three Peaks Challenge back on the 26th October. For those unfamiliar with the challenge it involves conquering the the three highest mountains in Scotland (Ben Nevis), England (Scafell Pike) and Wales (Snowdon) including the travel betyween, within 24 hours. Unfortunately, on the week leading up to the challenge the weather took it's toll and -18C (i.e. -0.5F) blizzard conditions were forecast for Ben Nevis. The concensus was to postpone until Easter 2013; so another date in the diary to look forward to!

A major target for me for 2013 is to get back to training for a road marathon. Away from the trails I know, but something I just need to get done. My last road marathon was way back in 2010 when my wife, Ellen, and I went for a long weekend in Paris. In short, a fantastic weekend, great course and weather but severly hampered by gastric flu, so I ended up walking the majority in a daze. I've vowed to return ever since!. This may be the year we go back, however, £ is in short supply and Paris is therefore dependent upon the sale of our house. I may end up going more locally and saving Paris for another year.

2013 is choc full of great races, with friends (and fellow bloggers) lucky enough to get into some top events. Top of the crop has to be Ultra Disco Stu who has a big summer of the Lakeland 100, UTMB and unbelievably Western States to sink his pumps into!!

My major goal this year is a charity event that has been developing away in the depths of my mind. In it's planning infancy at the moment, but the idea is to run 13 half marathons in 13 consecutive days. More details to follow over the coming months.

Finally, 2013 is already turning out to be a special year; my wife has once more bid adieu to her toes and will see them again in mid-July, meanwhile baking away with our FOURTH baby!!

Remember, Running=the real sport. The others just play with their balls.

Gaz

Long time coming back....

Long time coming....

Well, folks it's been a very long time out but things are finally looking up. As a brief re-cap, I went out on a usual Sunday morning run back November 2010, waiting most of the morning for the sun to melt the early morning ice. Unfortunately, over I went on a patch of black ice and hyper-extended my right knee. After being given the run-around by numerous physio's and doctors, I eventually got referred to a knee specialist/consultant and finally went under the knife in November 2011, a full year out of the trainers with a still to be diagnosed problem.

Torn cartilage and plica syndrome (see previous post) was the damage. 10 weeks of physio followed but I eventually got very disheartened by the apparent lack of enthusiasm given, so finished it and resolved Googling recovery programs of people who had been through similar situations.

Now, September 2012, I am pleased to announce that I am back; having only two days ago completed my first race since injury - the inaugural Malmesbury Half Marathon. It provided a great opportunity as a come-back race to run in my town. Lots of people that I know within the town, plus one or two that I had met further afield (including at the Atlantic Coast Challenge) made for a great, if very, very wet, event.

The main aim of the run was to check the strength of my knee over the distance. I had only run one 10 miler and one 13 miler in the lead-up to the race, so running fitness was a complete unknown. I had been a bit of a slave to the gym in the time spent away from running, both in terms of strength and cardio work, so I was hoping that this would at least see me through the first 10 miles. I had planned to average out 8:30 minute miles just to see how things went, however when we started off I just felt great and decided to go with it, hovering around the 8 minute mile mark. As it panned out, I finished in 01:46:41 averaging out 8:09 per mile – only around 5 minutes off my PB of 2 years ago in Chippenham!

So, it looks on the face of it like all the gym work paid off, and kept my base fitness ticking over until my return. I’ve also been very good/careful with my diet too and I am around 1 stone lighter than when I got injured (usually works the other way around!!)

Anyway, I’ve been really enjoying reading all the blogs and the adventures that people have been getting up to so it’s about time I started enjoying myself once more. First up, on the weekend of 26^th October is the Three Peaks Challenge – 24hrs to include Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon.

Watch this space!

A missed year

Roll on 2012, the quicker I can escape the disapointment of 2011 the better.

I'm now 2.5 weeks post knee op which by all accounts was successful. The arthroscopy revealed torn cartilage and 'Plica Syndrome' which after a little Googling, makes complete sense when thinking about it! I won't go into detail so here's a little light reading: -

http://www.orthogate.org/patient-education/knee/plica-syndrome.html

The Consultant has suggested a 90% success rate with this type of injury, and so far far all is feeling pretty good. I've a 6 to 8 week recovery period with lots of fizzy sessions to enjoy. Hazarding a guess, I'm hoping to back in the pumps around February time (subject to the green light from the Consultant!)

Happy Crimbo and see you on the trails in 2012!!

Oooerrr...!

Arthroscopy booked for the 30th November, let's hope they find something!