Slothlete

Target - 250km Achieved - 94km (To be confirmed) Remaining - 156km (Same as above, annoyingly) A very bad thing has happened. I managed to have a great 10 mile run across the big city of Helston yet, when I got back, my phone said I'd only done 7.7 miles. I checked the cause and it looks like my Strava had been halted. I have emailed the organisers as I know for a fact that I did 10 miles and I would hate to have to run an extra 2 miles just because stupid Strava stupid stopped. The reason it stopped may have been the incident. Yes, Strava wasn't the incident. The dog was. I took my usual diversion along a flat, half mile section and, just before the turning point, I saw someone trying to catch their dog. I thought they were playing with it until I heard "come back here you little..." After turning around I asked if the owner wanted any help and then stooped down to entice the dog. It almost came over until it noticed that I was looking to catch it, after which it pla...

Target - 250km Achieved - 78km Remaining - 172km Another hot one, although yesterday's experience gave me the confidence to run as normal. I had my first add-on in mind just in case, 11.5km being the actual target. I felt good enough to keep going after 8km so I went for it and took my total to 12.5km, which means I lied to you all, to your faces. Sorry about that. There's an issue with the evidence website today and it's made me paranoid. I've got plenty of time to re-run the 12.5km if I need to but I'm far too lazy for that. I want it uploaded and gone. I've emailed the planners with a quick 'just to let you know' and included all of my details so there can be no doubt at the end of the three weeks. That said, even if they disqualified me now for having the wrong hairstyle, I'd probably still complete it just to confirm to myself that I could. I don't think it's likely, though. On to tomorrow, and I'm looking at 10 miles, or 16km. I fel...

Target - 250km Achieved - 65.5km Remaining - 184.5km It was a hot one today. Noticeably hot. Add to that my terrible maths on the move and I was struggling by the final mile. The issue came when I decided which route to take to make my route look slightly different. After I found a good section, I then went and ran yesterday's add-on and didn't realise until I got back to a total of 13.5km. This is good in a way as it means there is a genuine reason for my fatigue other than just the heat. Tomorrow threatens a 20 ° C sun with no cloud cover, so if I can manage to forget the extras from the past two days and add somewhere completely different then I'll have another enjoyable run beneath my feet...probably closer to 11.5km as intended. I found another issue with virtual runs when I got home. I'm currently putting in the miles for the URR and expecting a medal from the Leeds Duathlon. My only delivery for the day was a medal and T-shirt for - Southampton half marathon. Thi...

Target - 250km Achieved - 52km Remaining - 198km A few things have changed for a Tuesday. Firstly, memory fans will recall that I was going to try for a 10 mile, 16km run after achieving the distance on Saturday, having postponed my Friday run. I normally do this on a Monday as well, changing the day this week to distance it from my Saturday run. Are you still with me? Anyway, I decided against running 16km today and stuck to my original 10km plan, which has now increased to 11km with an extra 0.5km. That said, I got a bit confused when uploading my run yesterday as Sunday and Monday looked identical, so I added an extra few metres on today's which actually took my total to 12.5km. Numbers fans will have noticed this in my 'achieved' section at the top. So, here is the new revised plan part 3. I will do 11.5km a day with a little added on to make it look different and then on Friday I will do 16km as I normally do on a Friday due to not having to work on Saturday...although...

Target - 250km Achieved - 39.5km Remaining - 210.5km Long hours at work - hard to say, felt like 50 ***DISCLAIMER - Drinking on Saturday night was my idea. I arranged the date and location and even chose which beer to drink, after which I set the pace. I probably should have stopped after two but two beers makes another five beers seem like a really good idea *** As the challenge started on Saturday I was fortunate enough to be able to run and then put my feet up for the rest of the day, only moving when absolutely necessary like a turtle under attack from seagulls. Today I had to run before going to work, meaning my poor legs were tired and I had to stand on them for hours. Cue the sad music. I'm pleased to report that I didn't find it as bad as I'd first thought, meaning I don't have to give up my job to complete the run. I was certainly more stiff and am noticing patches of abrasion from my clothing, yet a bit of Sudocrem seems to be doing the business. I have an are...

Target - 250km Achieved - 28km Remaining - 222km Beers - 6-8, maybe 9 Time in bed - 2am One of the main reasons for doing this challenge is that there's not a lot else going on at the moment. Pubs have just opened after lockdown but they're screened up, have a two hour limit and seem to be Coronavirus hotspots. I figured that as weekends are spent at home with little alcohol consumption I may as well stick a run in there, too. One thing I hadn't counted on was that I haven't seen my longest serving friend for four months and I'd booked in with him to go to his place and have a couple of beers. We both met at a primary school in Helston and went on to secondary school together, yet neither of us ever learned what 'a couple' actually meant. This meant we drank steadily, particularly as we had a lot to talk about, and I made it to bed at 2am. I then got up at 8.30am to adjust my internal fluid settings and figured, if I didn't go straight out, I never would...

Target - 250km Achieved - 16.5km Remaining - 233.5km This morning marked the start of the virtual race. As of this morning, we have 25 days to do 250km in any way we see fit. The only rules are that we can only upload one activity a day, so no 2 x 5kms a day, and they must be uploaded promptly as the calendar locks in activities after two days. We can sprint, run, walk or crawl as long as every km is covered and, as it's a race, the person who covers the distance fastest wins a prize. For me, it's a chance to cover the distance as I am certain I will never run an ultra at an organised event. If you have half an hour, here's why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC7Lh4opLsc Turns out it's not just bears who, you know, in the woods. URR is a chance to gain an ultra marathon medal from the comfort of my own home. This morning I went for the 10 mile run that I put off from yesterday and it was a great way to start a misty, wet weekend. I barely slept last night wondering if ...

I've just taken delivery of 5kg of chicken, 4 x 8oz rump steaks and 2 x 16oz T-bone steaks. I am planning to look after myself in the coming weeks. I've never had T-bone steaks before and decided to get them to finish the first two weeks as, hopefully, the end of week three will see me very close to the medal. For anyone who's reading this and doesn't know me, I started running in 2012 with the goal of completing the London Marathon in 2013. I was fat, I needed motivation and this seemed like a good way to get moving. Couch to marathon in 11 easy months. After London I incorrectly believed that I'd be in a constant state of marathon fitness and be able to enter events whenever necessary, quickly finding my fitness dropping off as my training plummeted. It felt like a bit of a waste and so, as fast as possible, I entered a couple of half marathons in Plymouth and Exeter which kept me moving forward. After this I picked my training back up in time for the 2016 Amster...

I think it's fair to say that unless you're running a supermarket, selling masks or an Andrex puppy, 2020 has been a little - excuse my French - merde. For a while we couldn't go out, after that we couldn't go far and throughout it all there have been many arguments about what is legal, what is potentially a bad idea and who you can meet up with, at what point, and with how many others. Two things that have not suffered, at least in my experience, are running and virtual events. The former has been considered a good way to improve mental health during lockdown and has meant that we can all get out in a pair of expensive shoes and think about how little there is to do at home.  Virtual events, meanwhile, have become a necessity for some organisers who wouldn't otherwise have any income from participants. They are often considered a little flat at best, although I've always needed something to aim for and virtual events have often kept me running when nothing...