The Art of Running and Training - Blog

You don’t need a big change to make run fun. This week I look at how to put in some hard training and have fun. Or should it be have some fun a get some hard training in by accident. But first an apology for being a little bit late posting...

Normally I run straight from the house, but the other day I took the dogs with me so I drove to the start of the off-road area. Just before I left the car I heard the Calvin Harris song The Girls. I do not like his grammar, but I certainly agree with...

I'm extremely lucky and live in a beautiful part of the country; north Cornwall. About a mile from my house is a lovely valley to run through and there are a variety of routes I can take, so I can have a different run there every day of the week....

I've had a two week break due to a chest infection, which has been really frustrating because January was the start of my training plan for the Ultra Trail South West in June. I'm now two weeks behind schedule, but I'm relaxed about it. Being...

Unfortunately I haven't run since my last blog post. My chest infection is taking its time to clear up; a short, slow test jog a few days ago resulted in a huge coughing fit, so I am going to leave it another week before I head out again. I'm...

I know that most people will think there is nothing in common between accountants and Olympians, but if you read on I will show that there is more than one connection. Since my last blog post I have not run, I have a chest infection and quite sensibly...

I am very fortunate to have two informal coaches, my wife Vanessa and Paul Bateson. Vanessa provides day-to-day practical assistance, whereas Paul influenced my training strategy. I mentioned Vanessa in last week's post; she is still using the mantra...

I discovered this week that my wife reads my blog; she has certainly read 'Pants and door handles'. I was lying in bed making excuses for not getting up for an early morning run when she gave me a withering look and said "You know how to...

The title does not have the eloquence of Bedknobs and Broomsticks or The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (actually that's quite appropriate), but it does accurately describe two important issues that I want to talk about and they are related. I will...

I have been sticking to my training regime of running short, fast efforts and not putting in any longer runs. This isn't working. I am not enjoying it and I am putting on weight. There are two reasons why I am putting on weight; I am not running long...

My training at the moment is completely different from what I'm used to. Tuesday, for example, I did a warm-up followed by drills (heel flicks, high knees etc.) then some hill sprints before heading back home. It was all done in 45 minutes, half the...

This week's blog is dedicated to the humble sock - an unsung hero. I think of socks as being similar to car tyres, very important, but seldom talked about. People talk about how big an engine their car has and about abs braking systems and traction...

This week saw the start of my training for the Ultra Trail South West . The recovery phase after the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon is over, so now it is time to get to work. I have thought about my training plan for a long-time, anguished about...

When I first started to write a blog I was worried that I would not be able to think of things to write. However, this has not been a problem because something always comes to fruition the day before I am due to write. The seed for this week's...

I'm a little early with my blog post because tomorrow I am off to help with checkpoints during the three day Druids Challenge . Ever since I took part in the UK Backward Running Championships earlier in the year I have included backward running...

Earlier in the week I ran with the dogs; three Springer spaniels. It is always a great way to get some speed work in and this week was no exception. As soon as I let them out of the car the dogs disappeared in all directions, leaving me to have a gentle...

Monday 24 th October 2011 was day one of my training schedule for the 100 mile Endurancelife Ultra Trail South West . It was also the day I landed at Heathrow at 7.00 in the morning after a sales conference in the USA. I had a 4 hour drive back to Cornwall...

I am currently in that lovely time between achieving one goal and not yet starting work on the next. It is a great time to reflect back on what you have recently achieved and cement it into the memory. This is a process I learnt from my father-in-law...