A Long Time Without

It's been a while. Again. Unfortunately it's the time of term where there are a lot of assignments, essays and spoken tests due. This workload is also added to by a new business venture my wife and I have entered, plus our desire to move to a new house. Everything has added up and unfortunately I have not been able to run as much as I would have liked. (read that as none) However, after this week I should be able to get back in to it. My running shoes have been lonely this last week, and I'm afraid they will be lonely for a week or so longer.

Things I notice: It's hard to find somewhere not cold in Wellington this time of the year.

Saturday

I don't have much to say today, except to say there was another run. 4kms. With my goal for the week of 15kms it means that I have to do a substantial(for me) run tomorrow. My brother, who intends to run through the desert with me, is in also in town and we are going to do some 'hill training' tomorrow in the Wellington Botanical gardens. It should be fun/painful.

Things I notice: The wind knows when you're running and I Tawhirimatea was/is quite upset with me. I started my run today by running into the wind. Uphill. I then ran along the flat. Into the wind. I then ran downhill back to where I started from. Into the wind. Tawhirimatea, if you are reading this, please accept my apologies. I will rejoin you on the morrow.

Hello Again

Hello, again. Yes, I still look the same. No, you don't. Your hair, it's different. Longer, more unkempt. Yes, that's it, you almost look homeless... No, wait, that's the economy... Today I went for another run, yesterday I also went for a run. Tomorrow I shall also run. Already this week I have failed to meet my goal, if my running was a government job I would probably get a raise. So, I've had to make a slight change to my goal of the week. 4 days, 16km. I think that's a healthy goal.

Things I notice: I should never try and pursue a career in stand up comedy.

Weekly Round Up

I should really put a number on these weekly round ups as I have no idea which week I'm up to. In the week just gone I ran:

Mon:    3 ks
Tues:    0 ks
Wed:    0 ks
Thurs:   4 ks
Fri:       0 ks
Sat:      4 ks
Sun:     0 ks

Another week to be not particularly proud of - 11 ks. As I only went for a run three days out of seven in the past week I failed in my goal. My goal for the week was to run 5kms further than last week, I ran 1.22 ks further. Not even close. However, if I had of dragged myself off for a run on just one of the days I didn't I most likely would have made my goal. Thus, I think the goal for this week should be 5 days running.

5 days. Cold is only fleeting, and, to quote General Lewis B. 'Chesty' Puller of the USMC, 'Pain is weakness leaving the body!'

Things I notice: If I don't go for a run, my body punishes me. I find that I have serious difficulty sleeping. Right now I've been up for a good 30 hours. Bit tired, but it got to five this morning and it became either sleep or go to class, not a hard choice. Hopefully one I won't have to make in the future.

So it's an early night for me tonight before I rise at sparrows fart and tear around my 4km run circuit in the icy chill of a windy Wellington winter.

Chilly Bin's Inside Out

Yes, yes it is now. There is no way, other than that, to describe today. The temperature in Wellington is apparently 14° I can, however, tell you that you would be hard pressed to get a drink of water from an ice cube in our house. After I got past the snow warning in the living room I carefully negotiated the black ice in the kitchen and I was off. Running. In the cold. It's true, exercise does warm you up and I found that I was a little happier when I got home from my run.

It's still cold here in Kelburn though.

Things I notice: A dog would be useful. There was a man on my run today and he was attached to reasonably large dog. I say reasonably as it was bigger than a poodle even though there was no way it was a Tibetan Mastiff(notice the capitals, those dogs really do inspire respect. Or is it fear? I'm not sure). The thing that I noticed was that there was no way that this guy was going to be able to run slowly. Whether he was just going for a short run or a marathon, if he took his dog he would have to race around the course.

So if anyone out there has a dog that needs exercising(yes, it could be a Tibetan Mastiff) I am offering to take your dog for a run. Here's my(very attractive) Facebook, send me a message, and I will run your dog.

Disclaimer:- You must be either in the Wellington(New Zealand) region or if you are somewhere else, say Moscow, be prepared to ship your dog to me in order for me to be able to conduct fitness exercises with said beastie.

A Habit

No running today so we'll just move straight onto:

Things I notice: My time management skills are not as well developed as my procrastination skills. I've been wanting to create a habit, I've been chasing after this habit for a long time. It's not a big change and there's no reason why it should be such a big challenge. I also very much believe that it would improve not only my fitness work, running distances, times etc, but would also improve my entire life, my 'mental health', my physical health and perhaps my time management skills as well.

That elusive habit could really be broken down into two sections, but to attack both parts at the same time would probably be the most effective way to go about it. If one thing happened then the other would fit in very nicely with it. The habit that, so far, has proven to be the most difficult for me to establish, even just to get a toe-hold has been near impossible, is to run in the (relatively) early morning.

I generally don't have classes before 10 in the a.m so it shouldn't really be that hard to get up at (gasp) eight and go for a run, back in time for a steaming hot coffee and breakfast before going merrily to classes. You couldn't even consider eight a.m an early morning, so why is it that I cannot drag my sorry backside from beneath the covers?

I've thought about this, and thought about this. I have come to the conclusion that there are two main reasons for this: 1- I don't pay enough attention to my body's 'language' e.g., my eyes drooping, my muscles screaming 'rest', that strange taste that pops up whenever one is 'super-tired'. 2 - My procrastination skills have been cultivated as a positive for far too long e.g., Just one more article, Just one more level, or even 'I'll make a cup of tea after this sentence, then I'll go to bed'.

I could have used the excuse that 'it's just so toasty under these covers' but that just wouldn't fly what so ever. Once you start running you get sweaty, so you must be warm. Another thing to note, which I believe I've noticed before, is that there is always an excuse not to.

In conclusion, Ladies, Gentlemen, and Other's do not develope your procrastination skills. You will eventually figure out that they serve no real purpose in your life, in fact, if you are a christian you could very well say they were sent by the Devil in order to consign you to the very bowels of hell by actions you just 'never got round to'.

The Morning.

I did something this morning that I've been meaning to do for a while. It is, however, something I really did not enjoy and that is not good news. With the way that my busy-ness scale is going to go in the next month(from kinda busy to really escessively busy) I have decided that in order to be able to keep myself running I should be going in the mornings. Well, I really don't like that idea.

I woke up to my alarm at 8am, not that early, just an hour before I usually get up. It took me half an hour to get out of bed and even then it felt as if my legs were made of wood. I then farted around for 10 - 15 minutes before slipping into something more comfortable and going for a run. In the rain. And the wind. And did I mention the cold? So, small note to self - GET UP!! With your alarm, and then you'll get it over and done with earlier.

Things I notice: There are lines in the mist. That gentle rain that floats serenely to the ground has actually got very clearly delineated lines or layers. What does it mean? The world is an onion? Many layers? Or perhaps that there's a bit of rain with your wind today...

No Run

Another day, another excuse. I seem to be having a bad run of no run's. Today my excuse is my test tomorrow. I am learning the Chinese language - 汉语. It is a very challenging language for me to learn, it has the normal difficulties of new words and a different grammar structure. But it also has a multitude of strange and exotic sounds that I have to wrap my mouth, and my ears, around. There is also the writing system, lots of lines and squares - 我是新西兰人.

My eyes don't know what to look for. So tonight instead of challenging my body I have been challenging my mind, and I swear I'm even more tired than if I had of been for an extra long run. I shall keep muddling along with this and in the morning, yes the morning, I shall challenge my body anew.

Things I notice: My brain hurts.

A little longer today. Look out for the novel coming tomorrow...

The Fading Light

Today I went for a run in the fading light. I'm not speaking metaphorically here, the light was actually fading. A dull grey as I left, it had turned to black when I got back. I didn't run for that long either, but it was still a run. I got back and dinner was ready to be eaten as well, a most pleasant surprise. Short and sweet today, but expect more tomorrow...

Things I notice: Looking out over Wellington the street lights had just been turned on and with the faded grey I happened to notice just how beautiful Wellington is. When you get the right weather.

Weekly Round Up

This week was shockingly short on mileage. Mostly this was due to the adverse weather, the first week of our true winter here. Here we go:

Monday       3.78 km
Tuesday       0 km
Wednesday  Nil
Thursday      None
Friday          4 km
Saturday      2 km
Sunday        0 km
         Total        9.78 km

Okay, now for the list of excuses - Tuesday, cold and wet. Wednesday, business planning. Thursday, Study. Sunday, Temple. Yes, temple. Not my temple.

My wife had 'made a friend' while she was waiting for a bus early in the week and this friend invited us to have lunch with her and some others on Sunday. We thought long and hard about buying a bottle of wine to take with us - we decided not to, although we could have done with a bottle after the main event. On Sunday morning we were duly up, showered and ready to go at about half nine in the morning, our first hint that this wasn't exactly our thing: A half nine a.m. starting time. We were then told that a friend of her's was coming to pick us up from Uni, which is right next door. This friend turned out to be a somewhat tattooed Maori gentleman, and he was indeed a gentleman, nice manners and a navy blue blazer with shiny golden buttons. On a side note his four wheel drive vehicle was festooned with tino-rangatiratanga flags. He then drove us to Newlands, a suburb in Wellington, where we were welcomed into a 'holy house' for a ground blessing ceremony.

It turns out that we had been invited to a Taoist Temple's blessing of a new temple ground ceremony. Neither my wife or myself are particularly religious and she watched the ceremony with a rather noticeable grimace on her face. We then told the religious folk that we had a friends birthday lunch to go to and refused the offer of vegetarian sushi before walking back into Wellington. Pretty thankful that it was a nice day on Sunday. The walk back in town was the most fun I had had all week. I also think it's not too bad that I missed Sunday's run as we walked for around two hours to get back to town.

Things I notice: Today it comes from my wife and myself - Seeing a Taoist religious ceremony taking place in what is essentially someones back yard felt rather 'cultish'. Now, this may or may not be fair to Taoism but it certainly did have that feeling for both my wife and I.

Oh, and last of all... The goal for last week is apparently well above my abilities, so this week my goal is to run 5km's further than last week.

A Lovely Day

It's horrible, atrocious and most definitely disgusting. It happens to me every single time. I guess it's kind of the reason for doing it, but at the same time it's kind of the reason for hating it. It starts off low, a sort of gently persistent thunk-a-thunk-a-thunk, and builds itself up. At the end, or more specifically just before the end, it has become a cacophony. A mad mixture of pounding and raggedy breathing, the raspiness of a dry throat with a lick of spittle running across a parched lip. The uncomfortable burning in the top of each thigh that burns brighter with every step, the horizon created by the top of the hill. Just further than you know you can run to.

It is most definitely a horrid and sadistic thing.

Then there's the flip side, when that unreachable horizon is met or that burst of speed just before the final point; there's that slight, but noticeable, feeling of elation. Though this is quickly followed by the realisation that that dry, raspy breathing is coming from deep inside. The tiredness now holding tight to burning thighs. The complete and near overwhelming desire to just stop. Just stop. Never again.

And then the next day, it is again.

Things I notice: I hate running. 9 times out of 10 this is the track that my mind finds at the end of a run, this is one of the major reasons I have for actually going out there (reasonably) regularly. To counteract the entire premise that 'if it's not fun, it's not worth doing'. While I still believe that this applies in a lot of cases, it is by no means the guiding yardstick to life.

Weak Withering mid-Winter Sun

It was in the middle of the afternoon when I managed to best my procrastination skills and set off into the withering yellow sunlight. The weakness of the midwinter sun did nothing to warm me up and it was only through sheer effort of will that I managed to pretend I was comfortable at the beginning of my run, this did change slightly as I got further into the run. I became warmer yet less comfortable. I also managed to time it so that I ran past a school as the students were let out for the day. Not a highschool, but a school you send  your sproggets to when they become too annoying. There was a slight challenge in dodging little children while keeping my pace up. It could, perhaps, be turned into a rather irritatingly addictive flash game.

I ran a short route that I have used regularly, I am not allowed anymore to just run to the shops and back so I used a short route that I have done a number of times before, it took me past the shops, past a school and across a big concrete bridge before turning around and going back over a big concrete bridge, past a school and past some shops, all the way home. The reason I'm not allowed to run just to the shops and back is that I won't improve my fitness levels by running the same routes again and again so this pushes me to run further. Anyway, I'm tired now and I believe that I managed to run this route faster than I have in the past. So I guess it was worth getting tired for.

Things I notice: Children are incredibly annoying when underfoot. Most especially those that are bundled up against the cold, although it doesn't matter so much if you knock those ones over. On a side note, I was extremely jealous of their bundles - warm down jackets and little mittens.

Pathetic

It's been three days since I put my running shoes on. This is the second most pathetic week since I began although I must admit it is incredibly difficult to want to run when it is 10° and raining. However, today is a lot more beautiful. We are currently at 13° here in Wellington, so I think it shouldn't be that hard. I shall be able to tell you more upon my return... Tally Ho!

Things I notice: To come...

Lack of time

There's unfortunately not enough minutes in a day. Today, I regret to say, I won't be able to find the time to fit in a run. I must, I must cook dinner for friends. Now don't be thinking of this as piking out, think of it more as a business meeting. With food and friends. If only we had the business up and running then it could pay. There is also a considerable amount of university work for me to be getting through. I shall ensure that this does not stop me from pounding the pavement into submission tomorrow. I may even attempt the 10kms again tomorrow...

Things I notice: Sometimes it's much too easy to find a reason not to.

A run in the (mid-winter) sun

Today I awoke, too late to go for a run as usual, and went to class. This is the most consistent routine for a Monday morning. There was something that was unusual about this Monday morning though, the weather. Yesterday I noticed it was raining, today I noticed it wasn't. After two coffee's I went for my run, very quickly I came to the conclusion that I didn't have enough water in my body. Now that I'm at home I have a large glass of water in front of me and with every mouthful the headache is slowly receding. Today is a very mild 16° and I have managed to acquire a slightly annoying headache on my 3.78 km run in the sun; I can only imagine the difficulties I would face if I were to run a marathon in 40°+ so let's get this right in the chills of a Wellington winter. Then we can try it in the early summer warmth of Marlborough; and get it right.

I'm adding something new to every post, beginning with this one, as I have noticed something different every time I run. And so at the bottom of each post I shall add a 'things I notice section'. I may even begin to take a camera with me on the odd occasion, but perhaps that would detract from 'the running experience'? We shall see...

Things I notice: A broken plate. Smashed to smithereens it sits quietly and dejectedly on the 5th corner, I don't know if it's waiting to be collected or has run away from home. Or perhaps this corner is the plates equivalent of a tropical beach. Maybe I should ask it?

The Run of Today +

Another day, another run. Only a short trip today. But still a run. On a side note I've changed the website I use to 'count the miles' as I don't really want to be counting miles, I'd rather use Kilometres like a normal person.

And on to the run from today...

I looked up at the clouds as I left, and a slight frown passed across my face as I noticed the rich grey colours that seemed to be all the sky was made from today. I thought that I might be getting a bit wet, and then recognised that the only reason for me to get a bit wet was the excessively well developed procrastination skills that I have. I'm not sure who I can thank for those, but I won't be buying you a beer anytime soon. After these enlightened thoughts had wafted through my mind I decided that I had better just get going. So I went.

If you will notice on the little thing that measures altitude it starts by going up. And then up, the first half of this run is spent going up. It was on the last little bit of up that I ran into a problem. I was being assailed at both ends. The assault at the front was caused mainly by the wind, but it was helped by the slight drizzle that had begun to float slowly down. Until it was caught by the wind, and then it turned into nasty needles that sought to drive me back. Only there was another battle going on behind. This might get uncomfortable, if you have a weak stomach you might want to look away now. The battle behind was caused by last nights dinner. There was a strong desire to get home as fast as I could to solve these matters. You can look back now if you'd like.

These two battles enticed me into taking a shorter run today, although I think  I can safely say I won both battles.

Weekly Round Up


Day 1: 500 m
Day 2: 2 km
Day 3: Nil
Day 4: Nada
Day 5: 4 km
Day 6: 7.8 km
Day 7: 2 km

This gives us a grand total of - 16.3 km

As for the goal of 25 kms. I didn't make it. A fair estimate for the reasons behind this would be the overuse of the 'procrastination tool' and the two days in the middle where I didn't run at all. Not to mention the crazy cockamamie mistake of Monday. Best start this week on a different note.For the goal over the coming week I shall keep it at 25 km, and with a little extra work it is still an achievable aim.

10 km run?

Well, another run done today. That brings the days total to... One. Awesome. I set off with the intention of running 10 kms, I had even mapped out a possible route, with the help of Google:maps, but this didn't pan out. Instead I ran 7.8 kms. It took me around an hour. A bit slower than I'll need to be in the future, but I got it done and that was the whole point of the day. Somebody asked yahoo answers for me and the people of the internet said that 50 mins was a good time for a 10 km run/race. I was 2 km short, and 10 mins slower. I'm not too disappointed with that, but I will be looking to more than halve the amount of time it takes me to run 10 km.

Here's the route I ran today. There was a considerably large hill right about where I decided to turn around which was absolutely no fun whatsoever. The view once I got to the top didn't make up for it at all either. All round a disappointing hill in a disappointing place. I'll have to remember to steer clear of that one in the future.

On another note, the weather here in Wellington is not doing anything at all to assist my motivation. With cold days and wind that brings in rain it's not much fun at all. However, once I get past the sore legs, the tired legs, the horrible cold at the beginning, the feeling of over heating at the end and those damn hills, it's really not fun at all. But it still must be done.

Wonderful Weather

I'm sitting in front of my laptop with sweat pooling on the keys as I type. Today I ran a new route, a route that I had not run before. I left to take my usual 'round the block' route and passed a road that I've often wondered what was at the end of. Today, I stepped forward for the challenge and I ran towards something I didn't know. I didn't know how much of an uphill there would be.

After two not completely expected days away from running I found it hard to motivate myself. There just wasn't any oomph to be found, this wasn't helped much by Wellingtons wonderful winter weather. Somewhat blustery with small spells of horizontal rain and a nice dark grey sky were some things that kept me from wanting to slip into my running shoes. I made it though, after much pushing and fighting within my head. Now I have to do it all again tomorrow. If your wondering what sort of weather I'll be dealing with on my next few runs.

I believe my run today had the hilliest profile of any run to date, granted it was just down then up it still felt as if it was rather a steep run up. That may or may not have had something to do with my lack of running in the last couple of days. Distance run today - 3.89461248 because I haven't figured out how to tune the map my run people into real measurements. They are American which means that, like Liberia and Myanmar...Burma..., they use the 'imperial' measurements system. Confusing for those that can count, it still means that I almost ran four kilometres(yes, kilometres is spelt that way) today. Still a long way to go to reach my desired mileage(kilometreage?) for the week, but every little bit helps.

No run

There was no run today. I did climb 250 stairs though. As some friends were going to Cape Palliser, the southern most point of the North Island, we thought we would tag along. Had a neat day off, but back into it tomorrow.

After the day before ANZAC Day, but the same day

Well, I went for a run... I ran into a slight hitch on the way out the door, it was requested ever so nicely that I should do the dishes before I left. And so I did. Then I ran at a slow jog to the shops at the top of the hill before becoming one with Tawhirimatea, once again, all the way home.

The day before ANZAC Day

Today marks a slight deviation from the tradition that I have sought to establish in the first month or so of running and writing. That deviation is to turn everything backward. I have done yoga in the last half hour and am now preparing to depart for my run. Just a short circuit today as my body is still complaining about the lack of nothing time it has had in the last month or two. I shall return in a short period of time all sweaty and give my wife a hug, which I'm sure she loves. It's a Tuesday and tomorrow being ANZAC Day here in New Zealand I'm sure that I will have the opportunity to run on the next day as well. So without further ado, I shall bid you adieu and a-running I shall go.

Today

I had a bit of a busy day today, back at uni after a couple of weeks off, and so I didn't think I would get time to go for a run today. This is mostly because I didn't get up when my alarm went off. Something in the fogginess of dream time said it was ok to let it just go and go. Disappointing I know, however I did end up going for a walk through the botanical gardens. If you haven't been to Wellington then you won't know how awesome this is and so I shall attempt to describe it; Wellington is on a hill, actually it's on a lot of hills, but one of these hills leading down to the harbour(yes, Google, that is how you spell 'harbour') is a rather large wooded area. In this rather large wooded area are a rather large amount of trees and such as well as a few more little hillocks that I shall call hills. So the basic gist of it is that I walked around these hillocks and through these trees for a couple of hours this afternoon. I thought that compensated for not going for a run.

Once we had finished in the botanicals I went to uni and did some study, read some passages and wrote some of another essay due this week. When I had finished that I got a call from my wife saying that the money had come through and could I please pick up some rather odious demon sticks. It was at around half past 8. If you are from New Zealand you would know that the dairy's all close around 8pm since we are now on winter time. If you not from New Zealand you would know a dairy as a convenience store. Oh, and in New Zealand suburban dairy's close around 8pm in the winter time. There is, half way down the hill(I am in Wellington, so everything is either uphill or downhill from where you are) to town, a dairy. I didn't realise that  these things close at 8, I either thought or hoped that it would be open until half past 8 or preferably 9pm. So I started running. It wasn't. So I kept on running. I ran all the way down the not insubstantial hill into town, went to a 24 hour dairy and turned around.

I started running back. I got maybe a third of the way up the hill and started walking again. Tricking myself into believing I was walking because of the monumental danger that running up the stairs in pitch black darkness(I exaggerate, it was merely midnight black) might have attached to it. Once at the top of these stairs I decided I should walk a little further and also that I was going to push the button on the traffic lights to wait for that little man to go from angry red into happy green. I can't pretend this was for safety, as there were no cars, it was really to let myself return to myself as the lack of oxygen seemed to have had an adverse effect on my self awareness. Then I had a light jog to the base of another hill that I walked briskly(read ambled) up.

In the end, I did get a run. Not quite the run I was intending to do before breakfast, but a run none the less. Oh, and don't ask me how long it was for I have no idea. I'm going to say 500 m because I believe it counts though it isn't really a run.

End of week round up

The sixth in a row today. As yesterday the run I took was excessively long I decided to shorten it a little bit today. I ran around half of what I ran yesterday. I'm still pleased with myself that I actually managed to get off for a run today, my legs were pretty heavy when I started and I thought that I would end up just doing my shorter run. However, once I started going I could feel the muscles starting to loosen up just a little and halfway through they were feeling only tired.

Now that you know my legs aren't as Godlike as they appear to be, lets get onto the important stuff: How far did I run in the last week. With only one day off I'm expecting to at least get close to my goal of 15 kms.

Day 1: 0 kms
Day 2: 1.8 kms
Day 3: 1.8 kms y
Day 4: 2.0 kms y
Day 5: 1.8 kms y
Day 6: 6.8 kms
Day 7: 3.3 kms y
          TOTAL:  17.5 kms

Result: Pride. At least on my part. I have almost run a half marathon in the past week, not only that, I've also managed to keep my goal of daily runs going and I've added yoga as well(On the day's with a 'y' in the above list). I've still not managed to get myself to a point where I can consider myself to be actually 'fit' but I have managed to get that point a little bit closer. With the continued effort on my part I believe I can 'knock the bastard off'. I realise(yes, Google, that is how you spell 'realise') that it's still a long way away but I'm actually seeing that I am capable of managing such a feat as the 'Marathon de Sade.'

Goal for the next week: 25kms, including a run of 10kms or so. It should be attainable, especially as I'm intending to run every day.

A little complaint.

You will notice the last post was posted at 2013. On Friday the 20th of April. It wasn't.(Small note, I changed my timezone to what it should automatically have been set at and it 'post dated' my previous posts) It was posted at 1500 on Saturday the 21st of April. You will also notice the URL in the address bar. unabletorun.blogspot.co.nz. That's right .CO.NZ, meaning that I am located on the New Zealand portion of blogspot. The American owners, Google, seem to think they are the only time zone. Perhaps they don't want to face the fact that they are, and always will be, behind. Apparently I have to change my timezone. I would have thought a blog at blogger.co.nz would automatically be in the New Zealand timezone, not the American timezone. Another thing I don't like is the American English spell checker that Google insists on using. I realise that it is an American company, but again, I'm using blogspot.CO.NZ, not blogspot.COM. Also my language setting is set to English(UK) which should mean that colour is spelled colour, not color.

I like to think of myself as not completely retarded, I believe I have the ability to spell. I think I also have a reasonable command of the English language it would be nice if this technology would stop telling me how I should think and just let me think. For example; I'm not a big fan of the British Empire, they did some nasty things. I do however think the British Empire is a lot closer to heaven than the much more insidious American Empire. At the very least you knew where you stood with the British Empire. Mind you that might just be because I'm a young white male. See, I can think for myself. I pity the children of the future, they're going to not know at all how accurate the statement 'ignorance is bliss' is.

The Fifth

It's 1425 on Saturday the 21st of April. I have just returned from a run, my long run of the week. I have small rivers of sweat cascading down my body. This is understandable, at least it is to myself, as I have just completed my longest run. In living memory. This afternoon I ran 6.9 kms. In less than an hour. I think. I didn't actually check the time before I left, but I think I stepped out the around half one. I have been running for not even 2 months and got to the point where I can run nearly 7 kms not uncomfortably in less than an hour. Now I realise that before the end of the year that time, less than an hour, is going to look ridiculously slow. But at this point in time I'm really stoked with myself for two reasons really. It took me less than 1 hour. I ran all the way. I stopped where I turned around for a brief rest, but I still ran all the way there and all the way back.

I have another day to come tomorrow, on which I think I'll try and get in another 5km or so of running. My goal for this week was 15kms and at the moment I'm sitting on around 15kms and not feeling too bad. Not only have I been running this week I've also been doing yoga. I've used this as I don't know how to stretch properly, I don't have any money to go to a gym and learn, nor do I want to really. This seems to be doing the trick, basically that's what yoga, as a fitness exercise, is all about. Stretching and controlling your breathing. Anyway, off to day 6...

Morning

It's a Friday morning. I'm not a morning person. Today I managed to drag myself out of the dream world at a respectable half 8 in the morning, I then proceeded to fanny about; reading emails, checking the news, looking at procrastination sites, and taking care of necessary business for the next hour and a half. However I must say that it has been 4 days with a small but not inconsequential run each day. I think that's not too bad going as I've also added another thing to my morning routine. For my wife's birthday last year I gave her a pair of Yoga mats. I told her it was so we could do yoga together, however I had really bought the wrong one first off and couldn't get my money back. My prediction however has come true, and I am now trying really hard to fit that into my mornings.

Yoga, ah, the bending of legs, arms, backs and all those other places that shouldn't be bent. I've noticed on the last couple of mornings that my legs, arms, backs and all those other places that shouldn't be bent don't want to do anything. I think this is mainly because of the innate system of laziness I have been able to install so thoroughly while I was getting to this age. My whole body is pretty saying to me 'you don't have to do anything' but as it doesn't actually hurt, it just isn't easy and natural to be lifting a leg to take a step, I've come to the conclusion that I just need to tell my body to stop whining and harden the f啊ck up.

The Wind

I live in Wellington, New Zealand. If you know New Zealand then you'll know one thing about Wellington. The capital city is famous for one thing above all others. It's not the prowess of our rugby team. It's not our amazing seafood, though you can find a good feed of fish. It's not even the political skill of our politicians, our political might is something to be reckoned with: If you drink Tui. It's our wind. Seeing as how we are located in the 'roaring forties' we have an abundance of strong winds. Today was a rather special run, I ran and ran. Only 'round the block', so my long run will have to wait for another day, but today was still special as today was the day that the wind and I became one. That's right, I am now 风伯(fengbo) - the human form of the Chinese God of the Wind. Known to the Maori as Tawhirimatea and also to the Norse as Njörðr. I am one of the all powerful forces in this world and I shall sweep all before me. But wait... I may have got a little carried away... Today I ran fast. Tomorrow I shall run faster....

four days without...

Friday - No run.
Saturday - No run.
Sunday - No run.
Monday - No run.

Pathetic. That's what I told myself as I lay in bed with the warm foggy surrounds of sleep slowly being pushed further and further into my mind. It didn't help much. I still wanted to lie back and let it all just wash over me, let it lull me even further back into my sleeping bliss. That couldn't work though, as every time the folds of sleep managed to grasp a toe hold in my mind there would be sharp kick and a noise from my wife. I took that to mean that I had finished for the night and stumbled out of bed. After I had made a coffee for my wife and I, and drinking both of them, I slipped into my running shoes and made my way out the door. Left, right, left, right. I was back into it. The challenge now, I've decided, is to see how many days in a row I can manage to fit a run in. So today has been day one. Just the short 'round the block' route with a slight change. I ran up a different street so that I would have a steeper profile to my run. It doesn't make much of a difference, but it does make a small difference. The intention tomorrow is to do a longer run. The same route as the 4.5 km run last week but with an extra bit tagged on from the turn around point to make it longer than 5 kms.

Expect to hear more tomorrow about that one.

Yesterday.

Yesterday all my troubles went away. Not really, but I did go for a run. This post is just a day late as a friend was in town from Australia and so after my run we had to go on downtown and show him how to get up the hill. This marks 5 days with a run everyday. Most of them being a shorter 'round the block' run but with a 'long run' thrown in. The length of the shorter circuit is around 1.8 kms and this week I ran this route 4 times. I also ran a slightly longer route that took me almost up to a group of shops we'll call the 'Northland Shops', mainly because they're the northland shops, which evens out at 4.5 kms. Nearly 5 k's. I'm not sure how long these runs are taking me as I have yet to get hold of a watch of some sorts. I timed myself yesterday on a short run and that came out at 16 mins. So at this point it takes me a quarter of an hour to run nearly 2 kms. A despicably long amount of time really, but still something I'm proud of as I manage to run the whole distance. Which, of course, is the whole point of the exercise.

When I count it up the distance that I have actually run in the past 5 days is 7.2 kms 'round the block' and a 4.5 kms long run. A nice round total of 11.7ish kms. The challenge is now on for the my next week of running to get up to and perhaps pass the 15km mark. Something I feel is getting closer and closer. I still fully intend to run a 10 km run in the next 3 weeks and yes, I'm very aware that this weeks total will have to fall somewhere on the 'very short run' end of the scale. But that's the whole point of doing the Marathon des Sables in 2 years time, rather than next year.

Short and Sweet

It's a short and sweet post today as I'm severely limited for time. I went for a run, only the short 'round the block' circuit, and I found that I am now able to make myself run a little faster. The only time I stop when taking a short trip is to pick something up from the shop. That's usually only a brief 'can I have one of those, please' sort of stop. So, in conclusion, the good news is that my runability is on the up. Let's keep it that way, shall we?

The Return Of The Demon

I decided this morning that it was time to admit defeat. For now at least, I have to face the fact that I have failed. I'm talking, of course, not about my running endeavours which are only beginning but rather about a disgusting and expensive personal habit that I acquired some years ago. I have tried many times in the past to shake this habit and this time I really thought I had managed this. I believe that I will have no choice but to make it work.

I am talking about that beast that torments around a third of the adult male population and is one of the most insidious industries in the history of industries. The tobacco companies. Controlled by only 5 major producers this industry has you in their pocket, provided of course that you bought into their product. If you have ever had the misfortune to be addicted to something you know how much of a winner the first person to sell tobacco was onto. You want another, and only another will do. It reaches a point where you don't only want another, you need another. That's the point I am at at the moment.

I don't want another cigarette, I just have this great big empty spot which I can only fill with a cigarette. At this point in time. I'm hoping that I can use my running to improve my mind. Part of the reason for running every day is to convince myself that I can do things that I really don't enjoy. That they can become a fun and productive part of my life. I believe that coupled with my desire to not pay as much taxes, in 2005 of the $1.6 billion spent on tobacco 70% was sent straight to the taxman. Now I don't begrudge a little tax, I do think that a 70% tax rate is a little high. My best bet, I have concluded is to stop buying them. And so I shall, henceforth, feed the soulless corporations in this world just a little less and also stop contributing so much to MP's overseas travel funds. As a small side note on this I expect to be able to run 10 kms within the next 3 weeks provided, of course, that I manage to keep my hand out of the tobacco box.

The Longest Yet

I'm writing this because I am quite proud. Yes, proud. Today I went for a run with half an idea to run a bit further than I have before. Usually when I run this is the route I take. I know, it's short; But I'm only beginning. This is the route that I take if I'm going for a longer run. Ridiculous right? Ah well, at least it is longer. This is why I am proud today. A little bit longer than the usual 'around the block' run. The first time I did this 'round the block run' I found myself puffing and blowing all the way round. Not only that, I stopped semi-regularly to keep my huff'n'puff from knocking me out. And by semi-regularly I mean every 3 - 5 minutes. On my run today I stopped once, at the shops, twice, after the tunnel, and thrice crossing the road at the top of the hill to home. I think somewhere in the last month my fitness level has improved. Although still having a substantial way to go before I am able to run for 7 days through the Sahara. Thankfully there are a few shorter challenges and around 2 years to go before I will be doing this.

The First Surprise

It happened today. It's never happened before. So I was most surprised. It has been a week since I've written anything which, coincidentally, also means that it has been a week since I've laced up my running shoes. This added immensely to the surprise that I got when I got home. It was a good surprise, I didn't get home to find my wife in bed with another man. No, it wasn't a woman either. It was, perhaps, better. Before I fully explain this surprise I need to explain my house or rather the way you get to my house. You go up. Now, it's not as bad as some houses in wellington in that it doesn't have four hundred steps leading up to it. It does however have four wheelchair inaccessible ramps zig-zagging up to the front door. Which is actually not my door. Usually when I get home for a run I'm really tired and my legs don't have any desire whatsoever to be going up hills so I force myself to run up to the door at least 3 times. Now, when I run I don't run far, only about 2k's each time. This often seems to be more than enough to tire me out. I think my level of fitness has something to do with that. Today seemed to be very special; on my run I ran further than I usually manage, stopping to walk a short while only once, and when I got home I did my usual up down up down up. Even though I was huffing and puffing like I was looking for bacon for dinner I still thought to myself that I could have run further and actually kind of wanted to. So I did. Up down up down up again.

This came to me as an extra large, extra special surprise. I actually wanted to run for longer, to run further. I would have thought a week without running would have had a more negative affect on my fitness level or what I'm going to call from now on my 'runability'. It sounds better when you say it aloud. It seems that my fitness level is actually improving, even though my consistency has been lacklustre at best. This was an incredible surprised to me, to find that I actually had a desire to run a little bit further. That same desire didn't happen while I was running though. So I've come to the conclusion that my attitude to running is still the same.

I F啊CKING HATE IT!!

But perhaps that's changing...

A run.

Today I ran, and ran, and ran. Then I turned around and ran, and ran, and ran. All the way home.

The Squash Racquet

The interweb is awesome, it's full of stuff that's really useful if you want to run a race that is longer than a marathon. There's this thing called 'runners world', another called 'ultramarathon running.com' along with a whole bunch of others. But you'll have to ask google for those as I really want to talk about my latest investment. It's nearly a metre long and about 20 centimetres wide. It has a really neat handle; And I've called her Beryl. A lovely name for a lovely girl. Now, even though she may be pre-loved and a little worn around the grips, I think we'll get along just fine. I found her on the interweb, the idea to search her out also came from that magical thing. I had been looking to find some information on how to train for running a very long way and most of the information I could find said that running as training was fine and dandy, in fact it was actively encouraged, but it was important to do things that weren't just running. Now the game that comes to my mind when you talk about keeping or gaining fitness is squash. It might be surprising to find that a game played in a relatively small room would be so good for your, and hopefully my, fitness levels.

The secret, I believe, lies in the ball. A small piece of rubber, hollow of course, that is about 25 grams in weight. These rubber missiles are fired, with the aid of the racquet, towards a wall at the other end of the room by the serving player, the receiving player must then hit it back at the aforementioned wall. There is a line on the wall that the balls must hit above. The pace of the ball when it bounces back requires the players to move fast to return the ball to the wall. I have never played squash, and so am looking forward to playing. I do however have one small problem that I need to solve before I can begin. I have nobody to play with. In the words of the incomparable Kim Jong-il 'I'm so ronery'. So, if you would like a game of squash seek me out. Or, alternatively, just leave me a message here. Perhaps you might be able to teach me how to play. Unfortunately Beryl is an only child at this stage, so you would need your own equipment.

Monday

Monday. Another day, another dollar for all you working types; for me though, it was just the same as a Sunday only with a one hour class. Today we learnt that there would be a test on Thursday, what a delightful lesson. So once that was done I went and picked up my squash racquet and then when I got home I had brunch and laced up those running shoes. They seemed rather happy today, may have had something to do with the whole 'not even 24 hours since they were last laced' thing. So, I was there on the road, just jogging my nice happy jog - read this as my normal unfit running sounds 'puff, puff, wheeze, pant, puff, wheeze' - when I felt this little twinge in my left leg, low in my left leg. Below the knee, below the calf but above the achilles. Nothing too unusual about that, was my first thought, just the usual discomfort of running. The twinge got stronger. In short, my run/walk of today turned into a walk/run. Once I hobbled my way home(I say hobbled but there wasn't really any pain, just a tweaking of the muscle with every step) I found I had to ask Dr Google. I have always found this Dr to be the most knowledgeable and, most importantly, the cheapest.  Now, Dr Google had this to say 'you have a serious issue with your soleus'. Actually, I think he meant 'it's no problem just take it easy' and so that's what I have determined to do. Stretch the soleus muscle before, during and after my daily run. Another thing that is happening today is that my brother is arriving from Australia, the land of Islamophobes and anti-Semites, for a short stay. During this short stay I believe it will be necessary for us to go on a run together. It didn't happen when my other brother was up from The Mainland, so I should put more of an effort into it this time. I don't believe I have mentioned this before, but the intention is for the three of us to run this short desert race. I shall explain in a further post.

The slight lifting of the clouds of apathy

It happened this morning, I raised my head up off the pillow and looked puzzled at this strange shimmering light that was playing over my bed. It was, of course, the sun. If you are here in Wellington you will recall that for nearly the last week grey clouds have stretched to cover the entire expanse of our sky. Not only this, they brought with them all manner of foul beasts. A light spattering of rain was one, followed by that slightly heavier dribble overnight(you might not have noticed this, as you should have been sleeping[or intoxicated]). Throughout all these tears of god came that for which Windy Wellington was named. Yes, The Wind. Not just any wind, The Wind of Wellington; It doesn't just blow, it blows from many different directions and all at one time. Now that you see what I have been enduring for nearly the last week I think you can understand why this apathy was such a hard thing to shrug. This morning though, a Sunday, I succeeded. I woke early, well, before lunch time; and leapt out of bed with the covers falling to the floor behind me. When I say this I mean I kind of rolled and hit the floor, barely getting my feet beneath me, and ambled to the kitchen to find coffee. Of course this was after I noticed the beauty of the sun then, while waiting for coffee, I think I decided to go for a run. I say 'I think' because I can't be sure as I was in that 'somewhere' state that exists between coffee and life. Anyway, that's how I managed to banish the apathy. For today at least.

Once I'd managed to deal with that whole apathy episode, you'd think going for a run was going to be just as easy as strapping on those running shoes, you know, those ones with the continuous scowl? Yeah, them. It should really be that easy. If it was a cartoon it perhaps would. Just strap those puppies on, at this point they would give a happy little bark the camera comes in for a close up(of a drawing?) and then I would start running. Perhaps to face my nemesis, some evil guy in dark purple armour with red glowing eyes, at about the half way mark. But I'm not in a cartoon. If I was then training would not be necessary, I would be able to just turn up at the starting line and, because I am the good guy, I would be able to not just run the Marathon de Sade(I'm trying to humanize the event, but that's another post) but I would also be able to win. Never mind I would be racing against locals that have lived in the desert for their entire lives, perhaps fighting and struggling to survive, where I've only been fighting and struggling with my waist line. Anyway, I ramble. The point is that as soon as I threw off the cloud of apathy I had to contend with the mist of procrastination. This meant that I spent my entire day studying instead of going for a run. Until 20 minutes or so ago when I asked my wife if I was able to just not go for a run and got a firm NO in reply. Instantly the mist of procrastination was cleared and I could see exactly where those scowling running shoes were sitting. Now I've just put them back in their homes and I swear I could see something else in their eyes this time. It looked a little like the gentle spark of innocent hope.

Apathy.

It's happened. I've found it again. My apathy, I thought I had lost it. You might not believe this, as I haven't said anything about it but prior to this week I was still going for run's. Not daily, but there were still runs. Every two days or so I would strap on my shoes pull on my shirts and slip into a dirty old tee, not necessarily in that order, head out the door and up the road. But it's been a week now. My shoes are sitting by the door and scowling at me whenever they hear my feet walk past. I don't like it. I could use all the normal excuses, well most of them anyway. Seeing as how I'm a student I can't really use the whole work got in the way line. I , however, say that I was completely focused on my future life and income. But that would be a lie, and after the words had passed my lips my shoes would be still sitting at that door, scowling at me. It wouldn't be a complete lie, however, as I have been learning that the Aztec religion was somewhat interesting. Yes, I realise that doesn't help me towards my goals so much. I could also blame my excessive apathy on the wonderful Wellington weather, but that also would be a lie. I have a shirt that is made out of this stuff called  polypropylene. Most commonly found in living hinges it also makes a nifty 'keep warm' shirt. It works well in the wet of wellington I'm told. I also have a jersey lying around at home somewhere that I could, conceivably, use to keep warm on my return. These great excuses that I have really amount to just that. A simple excuse that can be debunked easily. As such I believe all I really need to do is just step into those lonely running shoes, pull on that sweat stained shirt, slip my very attractive legs into some tight, short running shorts(which I don't have by the way) and step across my threshold. Lifting one leg, then lifting the other. A simple way to travel really. I shall begin again. Tomorrow.

My Birthday Gift

I am a very special individual. It's not only my mother that tells me this, and the fact that I am special is not related at all to my cognitive function. It is, however related to my age. You see I am only eight. Yes, I age four times slower than anyone else. No, it's not a blessing. I have been on the receiving end of countless jokes and teases but perhaps the most hurtful thing of all is the guffaw. Yes, the guffaw. Conversations about my birthday generally go this way: 'your how old?' '8' 'I don't believe you!' 'no, really, look' 'guffaw, so you only get how many birthdays?' That's the guffaw. I don't like it. Ah, the trials of being a leapling. Yes, automatic spell checky guy, that is a word. Not too sure about 'checky' though. This is only the third post and I'm already achieving an exceptional amount of waffle. Anyway, Birthday gift. Mine. From my brother, who has also decided to run through the Moroccan desert, I received a Camelbak. Actually it wasn't a Camelbak, as that would imply that it was made by the Camelbak company, instead it was a camel back. Made by Osprey it contains a two litre bladder and two pockets. Most excellent for training purposes, although I have yet to use it. I will let you know how it goes when I get to that point. ie when I can run between 10 power poles.

The First Run

  It must be stated that I am incredibly unfit. Until recently I smoked a packet of cigarettes a day. I drank far too much alcohol. And I did no exercise. The perfect candidate for running the Marathon de Sade? I think so. At least I think I can turn myself into the one that makes it over the finish line. That's what I thought as I sat on the edge of my bed and laced up my new running shoes. I had worn these shoes before, but I had no special attachment to them. They were only cheap running shoes after all. It was a windy day, in Wellington. I had decided and so I went. Out the gate and I turned right, uphill. Now you would be forgiven for thinking that I wanted a challenge to begin with and I intended to begin how I would carry on. But you would probably be wrong. In fact you would be wrong, I started on the uphill because I knew it meant I would finish on the downhill. Forward planning, something that I would need for sure to be able to get through the 240 odd kilometre's of Marathon de Sade.

  Anyway, once you're through this waffle, you'll be pleased to know that I eventually managed to run. I managed to run the whole way. Between the first two power poles. In the end I managed to run and walk my way around the whole block, plus a little bit. I started by running four power poles or so and then walking for one, then running another four, and then walking another one. I can tell you the distance that I managed to run that day, however I will not. Ok, but not until the last sentence. Before I manage to wow you with the amazing distance I managed to lug my tubby stomach I want to go into a little detail about what exactly went through my mind as I heaved my massive legs forward one after the other. It started like this 'wow, that's a pretty huh, huh, hard to, huh, huh, breathe, huh, huh, now'. And I was lucky if I could finish the sentence. This is how it went, only the sentences got shorter while I was running between the four power poles and a little longer when I was walking to the next power pole. I did however manage to complete my intended run/walk. It was 2.3 kilometre's long. And that wasn't the last sentence and neither is this. I intend to do the same run again, and again. In time I will be able to do this run without the walking.

It Begins...

My name is Bradley Howes and I live in Wellington, New Zealand, described by Lonely Planet guide books  - 'Wellington is Cool-with-a-capital-C, crammed with more bars, cafes and restaurants per capita than New York, and a slew of gourmet producers including some 10 independent coffee roasteries'. This is where I live. On a hill smack in the middle of the coolest little capital in the world, and I will be here for the next four years, at least, as I struggle to gain high marks in a double degree. The first degree being a Bachelor of Arts(Chinese) and the second being a Bachelor of Teaching. I will be juggling full time study, training runs and my life with my new wife for the foreseeable future.


I have never run. In fact at this very moment, 15:52 on Saturday the 3rd of March, 2012, I hate running. There is nothing I can think of that is more boring, nothing that is harder to maintain an interest in and a long list of things I would rather be doing. This is one of the main reasons behind why I have begun training for the Marathon des Sandes. And perhaps the reason why I will succeed.

Coming in the next week:- My personal statistics - Everything from my weight to my shoe size (including photo's. Yes, that's right, 'plural'); My first training run; My birthday gift; Conversations with my brother's and perhaps more if I get around to it, it is the first week of university after all. I will also, eventually, get to grips with how to use the exceedingly simple blogger website.