An Introduction

Hello All!

This is just a short introduction to the whole thing. The bottom line, i'm running 12 races this year, for 1 charity (British Heart Foundation), in the memory of my Dad (also called John). Over the course of the year I will be updating about my progress, my results in the races, money raised, training tips etc.

I've ran on and off for a few years, started at first as just a way to get in shape. As the years have gone on my love for it has grown, to the point now where it has become my biggest hobby outside of work. Normally, my first thoughts would be guitar, relaxing in front of the TV, computer games, writing etc. Now, without fail, I think about training, I go running, or on rest days, I plan what I am going to work to improve. Exercise does make you feel fantastic, and helps me deal with a full-time job and start-up business and the stresses that come with it.

I spent alot of the second half of 2011 thinking about taking running more seriously, considering marathons and so on, and made the decision around then to run races in 2012. Though, in November, I slipped and fell. At first I thought I was uninjured, and managed to run another 7 miles on it, though the final 4 became increasingly painful, to the point where I realised I had to stop. It turned out I had thigh strain, which set me back 4 weeks and I had to change my training to rehabilitate it. During this time, when motivation threatened to wane, I indulged myself on the idea of a race a month challenge for charities. After a few weeks, and discussions with people, I realised that to do it in memory of my Dad would be the most valuable thing for me.

I got back to proper training at the beginning of January and found my feet pretty quickly. This week is my biggest week for training, and most pivotal, as next week I begin tapering off my exercise. Tonight I am going for a 90 minute long run, with some sprints in between, my favourite part of it. I've fueled up with an egg mayo sub, and a large mixed salad, it's not my preferred fuel up by any means, but it normally does the job for me as long as I follow the run up with a good recovery meal. Which I always do!

Keep reading

John