Pendulum - Tarantula

Silence is golden, it's a pleasure to behold and recently something i have become quite accustomed to, no chatterbox and no John - shhhh 😄

I don't look for trouble, trouble looks for me

I guess life would be boring without it but when you are in the middle of it, well it doesn't feel that way. Life brings all sorts of challenges, some unpleasant, others no so.

We all have the "chatterbox" feeding us negative thoughts or perhaps its just our conscience keeping us in line, i don't know. But recently the conversations have become more real, a real voice, no person attached just a whisper in the ear when i'm alone. I know who it is, but i can't make out the words yet so i don't know what he wants, it would be nice if it stopped.

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap

Great track, shame to soil it like this but needs must..... it has become apparent that the fix is in.

Great lyrics on this track, perfect.

Training with Toddies again

So now my training is back on schedule i have started training with Todmorden Harriers again, they have a "bat" run on Wednesday evenings starting from a different pub each month. Non members are welcome and there is no charge for the privilege.

The "bat" runs are named so because they are night runs with a head torch, they usually involve running over the moors around Calderdale for about an hour before retiring to the pub for food and beer. Wednesday this week was an hour and a half with very boggy trails and some great ascents, its been such a long time since i trained with Toddies and i don't know why, they are a great bunch of people, very friendly and welcoming. I will definitely be renewing my membership this year.

I used my La Sportiva trainers which have absolutely no cushioning in the soles and had also forgotten my orthotics, so it was a rough ride but the grip on the soles is bloody awesome so they were probably ideal.

Eska (my Welsh Collie dog) came with me as the club welcomes dog as well as humans, although they do prefer dogs to be joined by their human. She was absolutely caked in mud at the end but i'm sure she felt it was worth it.

My fitness is improving in leaps and bounds now i have given it some focus and it is possible to imagine getting fit enough to take on a couple of big challenges this year. I have the Howarth Hobble in a couple of weeks, if that goes well enter the Fellsman.

Who knows, i may even get fit enough to do some serious challenges.

Good question

Good training weekend

So i have a race in a couple of weeks, can't remember which one it is but my occasional running partner Chris and i are doing it as a team, its 32 miles off road so i have stepped up the training a little.

Saturday i ran 24 miles, mostly trails with about 2,000 feet of ascent, so more miles than ascent but i ran well for the most part with an average speed of 11.51 minutes per mile. I had plenty of aches and pains after but that's down to a lack of strength work and stretching.

Sunday i ran 8 miles, only 700 feet of ascent but about half of the distance was off road on very boggy ground in fading light. Average speed was 9.28 minutes per mile and i felt pretty strong once warmed up. i feel that this pace marks a turning point in my fitness as i have not managed anything close for a couple of years.

Now i have to lose some weight, 14 stone is way too heavy for a fell runner, i would like to get down to 12 stone but i just can see that happening. Unfortunately Sertraline does tend to promote weight gain so its a real up hill battle.

What i need is a plan, instead of reaching for the chocolate to eat i must instead eat something healthy, but what though? 

Building (Converting) a Camper van part 4 - The electrics

I started the electrics pretty early in the build as I had to decide where the lights were going before I started the insulation. So I ran wiring from approximately where I guessed the fuse box should be, to approximately where I guessed the lights and other electrics would be, leaving plenty of extra at either end to allow for changes. Admittedly not an ideal way to start but, as it happens, I got it something like.

There is quite a lot involved in wiring both 12volt and mains systems into a camper and the costs can easily spiral out of control if you don’t keep a close eye on it. When I worked out a plan and priced all of the required parts I discovered it is much more economical to buy a kit.

eBay is the answer of course, I found a company that makes bespoke wiring kits based on your chosen vehicle and desired specifications. You buy the kit, they phone you and ask loads of questions, build the kit (Very quickly) and before the week was out I had my parts. Great service and I am very happy with the quality of all the parts.

However, I had no idea where the components were going to live and did not really have a plan, this is the first time I have converted a van into a Camper van. So this was the first job, decide where the parts were going.

As usual I did some research on Youtube, spent many evening sat in the van thinking and re-thinking, planning and re-planning. Eventually I settled on a plan which placed the control panel in the side of the kitchen unit, in easy reach for daily use and close to the battery and fuse box which were to be placed in the storage box next to the kitchen (Under the bed extensions).

I had placed wiring for 8 ceiling lights, reading lights and USB socket for either side at the back, this allows phone and tablet charging whilst in bed. The storage compartment above the cockpit wanted a light and also above the sink unit.

Control Panel

The control panel was first and this brought up a weakness in the kit, the USB socket was a cigar lighter socket with an adaptor installed and this proved to be unreliable, while replacing this I broke the voltage display and decided the panel did not have enough switches for all the lights and components I had in mind, so I ordered a 30cm x 15cm piece of black Perspex, cut it to the required size and made another panel. Then I broke that while installing the new voltage display and made another.

I mounted the control panel in the side of the kitchen unit, without the work surface and sink unit installed I had easy access for cutting the hole and plenty of space to mount the components. I had installed wood between the cupboards tops and the work surface, leaving about 8” of free space to ensure the gas fittings under the hob had lots of space and protection against damage.

The switches in the control panel are illuminated when switched hence there are 3 wires per switch, a live in, live out and the earth/neutral. I added 3 extra switches so I can have the power points switched off which will stop the standby lights from draining the leisure battery when the camper is not in use.

Leisure battery

The leisure battery is located in one of the boxes that run on either side of the van (These are the extensions that make the bed full width) it is charged via a split charge relay. The battery compartment also houses the fuse box and power inverter.

The vehicle battery is located under the floor in the cab space which made the battery wiring a challenge. The split charge relay is wired to an ignition live directly behind the ignition switch. I would advise soldering any such joints.

Lights

I have 8 LED ceiling lights which are switched in fours, split front and rear, 2 reading lights mounted on the boxes which cover the rear door check straps, 5 blue LED lights in the bottom of the kitchen unit front panel, 1 LED strip light above the sink unit and 1 LED strip light in the bulkhead compartment, these lights are switched individually, although the strip light switches are mounted near the side door so they can be switched from the door way. All other switches are in the control panel.

Fridge/Cool box

We decided against a fridge for financial reasons and instead use a 12v cool box which is located in the centre cupboard in the kitchen unit and has its own 12v power socket. This socket is not switched separately and is the only change I would make so far.

Water pump

We have only cold water and the tap has a switch which powers the water pump, everything relating to this is in a cupboard under the sink. The switch was simple to wire and the power to the tap can be switched off from the control panel.

Mains electric

The mains consumer unit is mounted in a cupboard above the sink with a double socket next to the control panel, a single socket in the battery box for the power inverter and a single socket at the rear of the camper to give access to the mains electric  from the rear doors. All are wired directly to the fuse box with the power hook up mounted in the side of the camper behind the kitchen unit. The mains power is yet to be tested.

So that’s the electrics, the most difficult part of this was perhaps my limited and much outdated understanding of automotive electrics. There were many issues along the way as i only guessed when having the loom made, i have also added much more that I originally intended, however it all works, all joints are soldered and insulated with heat shrink. Everything is fused and I am 100% happy that it is all safe.

There were no special tools required which was a bonus as i usually have to spend money buying tools with each new part of the project. I already own a soldering iron, various hole cutters, glue guns and heat guns etc. I did have to buy some electrical connectors, a couple of rolls of 12v cable and various 12v sockets and switches. I'm not sure of the total cost but i have saved every receipt so may work it out in the future.

So whats next?

The next job is installing a table in the centre of the camper and another on the back of the passenger seats.

Buying on eBay

A completely bias opinion base solely on my buying experience

There is some proper shite for sale on eBay and it’s imperative to buy carefully, unfortunately eBay works in such a way that sellers are forced to compete with each other based solely on price, when you continuously drive down price you have to improve your own purchase costs and quality tends to suffer. So the downward spiral endures and the race to the bottom is on. Anyone can win, you just have to work hard enough to corrupt the brands that used to be a sign of quality.

This means that quality products can often be hard to find, fortunately there are still businesses around who are able to supply great quality at reasonable prices. Finding these businesses has used up many of my evenings and i have not always been lucky in my choices, i have, on occasion bought some top shite and promptly returned it for a refund. Ebay, for all of its bad points, does have very good support for buyers and will refund items directly and then reimburse them selves from the sellers account.

I spend a lot of time reading feedback and won't buy from any seller with less than 99.7% positive feedback, no one is perfect but some are less perfect than others (much less).

Here are but a few who I have had the pleasure to deal with so far on this build. The crap companies won’t be named and shamed - yet.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/jacksonsleisuresuppliesltd/

Bought some LED lights from Jackson leisure and one of the lights became faulty after installation, they sent a replacement overnight, no fuss, no hassle. Bloody great service.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/wudwurx.joinery

Wudwork Joinery, I bought plastic trim for the furniture board I used on the kitchen, great quality products and excellent service, really good advice and guidance over the phone.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/upholstery-diy123

Upholstry diy 123, I bought 4 way stretch carpet and found it a fantastic product that is easy to use and a great way to carpet line you van. Although it does require vast amounts of contact adhesive. (Which is solvent free to no getting high as you work)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/southdevoncampervans

South Devon campervans sold me the Smev sink and hob unit with all the required fittings, top quality kit and very easy to fit. A “router” (wood working tool not network device) is apparently essential to cut out the work surface as some area’s need to be lower than others but I managed without and still achieved a better result that I could have hoped for.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/busboyk

Rayne Automotive supplied the wiring kit, very good quality and number one for service.

And that’s it, I have spent (the wife’s money) roughly £4000 pounds on parts for this conversion, including £500 on a Rock and Roll bed (nothing to see here) and bought the vast majority from eBay businesses.

 The van is now a camper van and ready to roll, although there are still many jobs left to complete and perhaps some features i would like to add, the camper van is complete enough to be usable and has running water, gas hob and a 6 foot square bed. 

I have plenty of spares and leftovers from my many eBay purchases which I hope to use as I gradually finish off all the jobs and when I come to purchase any remaining parts, I will probably buy on eBay, however I have learnt so much and have confidence in my ability to spot the wankers out there... Practice makes perfect apparently.

Chasing sheep

Eska, our dog, likes to chase sheep, its an issue we are working on and have seen great progress.

Update - 08/02/2016

So, i have decided to update the sheep saga as its pretty significant for a fell runners dog, chasing sheep is likely to get her shot by angry farmers and that's not what we want.

When we first got Eska from Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary http://www.bleakholt.org/

last year she was almost uncontrollable around sheep, certainly she had to be kept on a lead, but over the months we have slowly brought the negative behaviour under better control. She still chases sheep occasionally and only when she thinks i am not watching, but as soon as i recall her, she stops and returns to my side.

Often she looks at the sheep then at me and decides if she thinks she can get away with it, so its still a work in progress but i am confident that she will eventually get there. Many sheep will be pregnant now so Eska stays on her lead when we are likely to come across them and i often plan my running to avoid routes where we usually find them.

She is a Welsh Collie so i guess its in her breeding, her instincts even, but we'll keep working.

Self-righteous indignation

"Confident of one's own righteousness, especially when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behaviour of others".

I love this one. its so perfect for people who can only see their own point of view and no matter how much you try to enlighten them they just can't see past getting their own way. To such individuals, looking like they are right is more important than being right.

Indeed, this sort of person wastes so much time thinking the know all there is to know in the world that they never actually learn anything new or even anything about them selves.

Unfortunately so many people try to be who they think they should be or even who they think others would like or want them to be that they never actually discover who they are.

Often, i find myself in a conversation where i am thinking more about my response than listening to what being said, i have to stop myself, listen and think about what i am hearing, only then can i find a considered response. There is often pleasure in learning the point of view of others.

In my experience learning about your self, who you really are behind the veneer, this is what life is about. When you finally get on the journey of discovery you can really start to be your self.

I shall go online and see if Tickmaster sell tickets for this trip.

Neurosis

Not my words, i pinched them from someone else.

Neurotic disorders, defined as neuroses are mental disorders of varying base (e.g. emotional or mental).

Neurosis

People suffering from neurosis often behave strangely in contact with other people. They can constantly adjust everything, to bring the surroundings into a perfect state. They can also keep focusing attention on themselves and expect others interest. People with anxiety very often fall into addictions (drugs, stimulants).

Neurosis has many different symptoms. Some of them may be associated with severe pain of various internal organs. Other somatic symptoms are sexual dysfunction, abnormal functioning of certain organs and partial paralysis. Common symptoms of nervous disorders are obsessions (mental and motor) and phobias (e.g. arachnophobia, agoraphobia, claustrophobia). In addition neurosis may cause fits of anxiety, apathy, depression and sleep disturbances.

Up and running

I punched the air when the doctor gave me the all clear, i don't have prostate cancer, they think it was all down to the bladder infection. Still have to go back in a months time for some reason or another, i'm really not sure why but i already have the all clear so no worries.

After getting through the festive season relatively unscathed i decided to start training again, i suppose i am really just dipping my toe in the water as i have not worked at any strength training or Yoga or any of the many other things you have to do when you need to get fitter than you have ever been before.

I have started doing some speed work, a lap of my local reservoir is 2.8 miles, from home, around the res and back, but i run as hard as i can and try to include some hill reps at the end. The hill reps are very hard as my cardio fitness is so poor but that's why i'm doing the speed work, must improve my cardio.

I also need to drop and stone and a half as i am the heaviest i have ever been at 14 stone!!! This will be the toughest part of getting fit as my meds do tend to encourage weight gain.

A couple of weeks ago i had a walk up Skiddaw in the Lake District, my poor quads were very painful for a good 5 days, the weekend after i did it again and suffered very little in the following days. The weekend just gone i ran 16 miles in the Peak District and although a little tired i have had no aches and pains.

So my training has started and with a little luck i may get fit enough to take on a challenge or two this year.

Watch this space.

Changing the rules

So i have changed the title of the blog, not sure if it's permanent but it seems more appropriate as i rarely write about running these days. Although i have written a couple of stories about building our Camper van which is only being built for running support and accommodation when training etc.

Today i'm writing because life has thrown some things my way which i'm fining hard to deal with, no not hard, almost impossible. Early October my partner and i went to the Costa Blanca mountains in Spain so i could have a weeks training and try to kick start my training, which i have struggled with since running the Cross Britain way in April 2015. 295 miles in one week was just too much for my body to deal with and lets be honest, i'm no spring chicken.

Back to Spain, whilst in the airport at Liverpool i bought a sandwich and it didn't taste all that fresh, by the time we arrived in Alicante it was obvious that i was coming down with something and i spent the whole week with diarrhea.

Up on our return i came down with a bladder infection, pissing blood is really quite scary and i had to go to hospital for antibiotics. So two and a half months later and i'm just coming out the other side of it only to discover that the tests i had along the way show the i have an enlarged prostate with worrying lumps.

Any men out there who have gone through these tests will know that its not pleasant and having someone mess around with your back door is no fun at all. A prostate biopsy puts you back where you started, pissing blood and scared that "the end is nigh".

 I have to be honest, the Cystoscopy i had a few weeks earlier was also pretty tough, i walked into the room where it was to take place and there were 5 women present, all involved in the procedure. Laying on a bed with your genitals exposed to the room is pretty bad but to then tolerate a camera being pushed down your penis takes it to a whole new level.

2 and a half months and some very difficult procedures leave me a month away from finding out the results of this biopsy, now i'm sat here writing this blog as a way of managing my feelings and trying to get through the day, i can't think straight and i'm struggling not to break down. I have way too much going on and am concerned that i won't cope with it all.

Its Christmas and as usual our house will be full of family for the next 2 days, normally i manage to get through this without upsetting anyone but i'm just not sure i can do it this year.

Is running away a possibility? If only i was fit enough.

Certainly the last 12 months have been very challenging and although i have had to fight for my sanity there have been some positive's.

Lets get through the next couple of days and perhaps i will write about the good things in life, it is easy to focus on the negatives.

Building a Campervan part 3

The kitchen units.

What a bloody job this stage has been, i bought a full sheet of light weight furniture board to make the units, 1 upper and one lower. This stuff is amazingly expensive, the best price i could get for one sheet was £115.00 and i had to drive 50 miles to collect it.

Anyway, once i had the board i set about designing the base unit and it soon became apparent that i would need 3 sheets, which the budget just would not allow.

After some consideration i decided to use the expensive board for the outer skin of the unit and the rest of it with 12mm exterior ply. The 12mm plywood is much more hard wearing and once painted black it will blend in just nicely.

The next problem was how to make the doors, Youtube provided the answer to this and i can highly recommend a series of video's i found which explain the important parts step by step.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X244qd2NhBg&t=518s

I bought a router for a good price, made a template and set about cutting the doors out of the main front panel. I had decided on three as i require one for the water, one for the Cooler and one for the gas bottle.

I made the template out of 6mm plywood as that is the material i have most of, this was my first mistake. My second mistake was buying a cheap router bit and my third mistake was using the template with a cheap router bit.

The plywood was just way too thin so the force required to guide the cheap router bit around the template caused the ply to bend and the router gradually veered off line, unfortunately i missed this as i was busy trying to breath through the dust that soon filled the garage.

This happend in several places and i have been forced into repairing the damage as best i can. To be honest only one of the repairs is easily visible and some work with a black marker will hide it reasonably well. In the end i used the jig saw to cut out the doors for the top unit. Much easier for an amateur and i achieved a much better result.

The doors have a plastic trim all around the edge which fits is a 2mm groove, this groove has to be cut with a router so i simply bolted the router under my work bench with the cutting tool (good quality this time) poking through a hole. It worked a treat.

Although a little difficult to fit, the plastic trim finishes off the edges perfectly and also allows for a certain level of inaccuracy in the router work. Luckily.

We bought a Smev 9222 sink unit with all the necessary fixtures and fitting, after a cup of Yorkshire tea and a good think, i set about fitting it. To my amazement i had it all done in a day. Fitting the sink unit, water system, cooler box and gas fittings.

The water containers, one for clean and one for waste, are only 10 litres as full they will weigh 10 kilo's. This is heavy enough when it is my partner Debbie who is most likely to fill or empty them. If they prove to be insufficient i will upgrade them to 20 litres or even add proper tanks under the van.

The gas compartment requires a drain through the floor in case of leaks and this was a sod as the floor is 2 inches thick, however i used some plastic pipe and angled it towards the back of the vehicle to ensure i don't get any road spray ingress. We will be using a 6.5 kg bottle as this will be sufficient for our needs but have yet to buy the bottle as it is £65.00 for the first instance with the £40.00 deposit included.

So, kitchen unit complete, now its time to finish the wiring, this is definitely my week area, i have little experience with any wiring and find the logic of it difficult to grasp, however i don't have any money left so i am going to spend some time reading about it and will have to work it out myself. It does mean removing much of the sink unit, however that will give me the opportunity to improve some of the area's that i feel i could have done better.

The "Fell bus" is getting close to use-able which is important, all of this hard work and money is for a reason. I have started training again and will need the Camper van (Fell bus) for all the weekends training next year. It has to be ready for early March 2017 when i start training properly for the coming season.

There are many challenges on the menu for next year, some of which i have been talking about for a few years but there are two which i would really like to complete. One is the Joss Naylor challenge. The other i will talk about if and when i get fit enough to consider it, i will have to be fitter than i have ever been and not just physically.

If you have been daft enough to read some of the rubbish on this blog you will have worked out that my mental fitness is the weak area, hence this will be the area i work on most.

Now, where is the book on Camper van wiring?

A room with a view

Its actually an office with a view.

The office where i work these days has a great view out across Burnley, Lancashire, England. (In case any non UK readers happen to stop by).

Worsthorne Moor and the Mary Townley loop, within spitting distance, where much of my running has been done in the past and hopefully in the future, we also have a nice grassed area outside the front of the office, all of which makes it idea for bringing Eska our dog to work each day.

As i type Eska is laid out on the office floor, exhausted from chasing her ball around in our lunch break. (Yes, a real lunch break). Eska is only 18 months old so much fitter than me, however that doesn't stop me from trying to beat her to the ball.

Our Campervan sits at home on the drive as i usually get a lift to Townley park in the mornings where Eska and i walk for a while before starting work. The route home is a little harder as this usually involves jogging up hill for 3 miles and then over the moors to home.

 I have yet to measure the whole route but in fair weather it usually takes us about 2 hours and 20 minutes, when i start training again i'm pretty sure i can get that well under 2 hours.

Currently i only run the whole route once a week and walk parts of it while waiting for my partner to pick me up along the way.

First things first, get well enough to train.

Building a campervan part 2

You wouldn't believe how much work there is in converting a van into a campervan, so far i would guess that it has taken 2 months of evenings and weekends and cost way too much.

The problem is very much one of familiarity, i have not converted a van to camper before so had very little idea about what was involved, obviously i knew it would need insulation and carpet lining, a bed and kitchen but i did not intend to do each job to such a high standard. There seems very little point in doing this unless i do it the best i can.

I bough 24 square metres of smoke coloured carpet and have since bought another 4 metres, add in the 36 cans of contact adhesive the cost is around £200.

When it came to the carpet lining i started with the ceiling and used one piece of carpet for the whole ceiling (as you would expect). The sides are covered in one piece again and i also covered the wheel arches with the same piece. This stretch carpet is the dogs bolloxs, although not a simple job it really isn't that hard and with a little thought and forward thinking the bigger sections where completed.

The hard part was all the little parts and joins, the C posts by the back door i had expected to be difficult but all went smoothly, i carpeted right up to the door seals. I also carpeted the wheel arch boxes on the inside as i figure this will reduce any rattles from stuff stored in there. 

The door panels are screwed on with the screws enclosed in plastic caps, i have done it this way so these panels can be removed to gain access if needed. It must be a nightmare for mechanics working on some of these campers.

Although i have carpeted way more than i needed, i do very much like the (nearly) finished job, the carpet starts half way across the B posts and ends at the door seals on the C posts.

Just behind the front passenger seats is the Rock and Roll bed, i travelled to Bridgend in South Wales to buy it,  although expensive the quality of the finish is very good. 

Its way too heavy for me to remove from the van on my own so i just keep shoving it out of the way and working around it. Eventually it will live near the rear doors.

The boxes around the wheel arches will be used for storage on one side and the other contains the leisure battery and any tools we may need to carry. Both boxed area's will also form extensions for the bed to make it full width.

Since taking this picture i have made carpeted panels for most the the white area's and boxed off the rear door check straps. Although the carpeting is almost complete there are still a couple of little jobs remaining, these need to have the kitchen units in place to finish and i still need to figure out how i'm going to make the door for the storage compartment above the bulkhead.

Next job, that will be making the kitchen units. That should be interesting - honest. :)

Building a campervan part 1

My long suffering partner and i have wanted a campervan for a few years but any within our budget are frankly shite. It seems to me that some people don't really understand what a campervan is supposed to be.

Our search in the usual places was fruitless and asking around trade contacts was no help, so after a few beers (sounds familiar), we decided that we would buy a suitable van and convert it ourselves.

The starting point was a suitable van and we bought a 2009 Vauxhall Movano 2.5 CDTi, it is a medium wheel base, medium height model so has enough room to build a full width bed and the roof height means the head clearance is perfect. These were the things which were of most importance to us, certainly where the rear space is concerned. As there is only Me, Debbie and Eska our dog we will only be fitting sleeping room for 2, Eska will be sharing with us.

We have set about doing it as best as we can, the first job was painting the floor, it had been used as a mobile wheel refurbishing unit and had several bolt holes through the floor which attract rust so i filled them in, removed any rust and painted the floor with Hammerite.

Next i glued batons to the floor, filled in between the batons with 1 inch insulation board and covered it all with 9mm ply. Gluing the batons in place meant no screws holes in the floor.

Next was ply lining the roof and sides of the van, this was a reel challenge and has taken many weeks of work. Of course i had to put any wiring in place first and insulate the whole thing. i have double insulated the roof and sides, first using 1 inch insulation board and then covering it all with self adhesive thermal foil bubble insulation. The ply lining was a sod as each board had to have a template made and many fittings to get it right, although the B and C posts were probably the most awkward. Now there is no bare metal in the back what so ever.

Once ply lined i was able to install the roof vent, now that is a scary job, there are no second chances here, it has to be right first time. I'm glad i had the sense to pay someone to install the side windows, i really didn't fancy that job myself.

So i have learned much recently, mostly that converting a van into campervan is a much bigger job the i had imagined, these sorts of things do tend to go that way. Also, the order of jobs has been hard to get right and i have fitted and removed the ply lining many times for various reasons

I suppose the next step will be the carpet lining, although we have most of the major components needed to finish the van, the Rock and Roll bed is still on order and we have to drive to Bridend in south Wales to collect it, a folding bed creates so much extra space and with seat belts fitted will allow us to carry upto 5 people, making it an excellent support vehicle for my running exploits.

Black dog

Burning Bridges

Some days are harder than others and looking back is never a good thing for me, if i was supposed to look back i would have eyes in the back of my head.

Many times i have been guilty of going back, however going back can be progress if it takes you where you want to be. So i have never been a fan of burning bridges, however there are times in your life when its clearly the best thing to do, it kind of stops you going back to something that, feels good because its comfortable, but soon turns out to be a mistake. 

Now the wording in the image is perhaps a little misleading, i would never want to see people hurt, either physically or physiologically, however metaphorically it works, because having those people on the bridge when it burns would exclude them from existence.

There are other ways to deal with things or people that are not good for you, a psychiatrist once told me to think about a person who may irritate or annoy me, either dress them up in a way that demeans them or put them in a situation that does the same, have a laugh to your self and whenever said person comes into your mind you will see them as ridiculous or amusing. This works but be warned, don't place anyone or anything in a nasty or evil situation as that can only harm one person, you.

My old friend John has a bad habit of seeing only the bad side of a situation and he often responds accordingly, unfortunately he may gain great satisfaction in the short term but looses out in the long term. He doesn't agree with my analyses here but from the outside looking in....... Perhaps an argument for another day. 

I often use a system of meditation that involves treating an issue or problem as a present, wrapping it up with a nice bow and giving back to the person who gave it to you. In my head it says thanks for your shit but, you can have it back.

So recently life has changed considerably, i left a situation which was doing me more harm than good and some months down the line i can look back and smile, it has not been easy, it has been life changing but it sure has been worth while.

We delude our selves when we focus on the negative.

Training Part 1

About this time last year a friend and I ran the new Cross Britain trail which starts in Barmouth Wales and ends in Boston Lincolnshire.

Even over 7 days 280 miles is a long run and the following months were filled with injury and exhaustion, I felt fit and strong but my running fitness was very poor and it soon became apparent that the rest of the year was a right off.

One of the injuries I suffered with was hip pain, every time I ran my hips hurt so bad that I couldn’t sleep at night, even walking was uncomfortable. Sitting in a soft office chair for any amount of time was impossible.

So after months of resting and rehabilitation I have started training again, although I remember how to do it, the act of training seems to be more of a challenge. I have become used to sitting on my now, very fat arse. When I bend over to touch my toes the first think to make contact is my tummy on my thighs!! Typing this makes me laugh as I’m drinking tea and dunking biscuits, lots of biscuits, listening to the rain on the conservatory roof and dreading the 8 mile cycle to work.

Work has been my saviour I suppose, the work is physically demanding and I usually work my arse off because that’s how I’m made, so although I have gained weight I have also gained core strength and become a little more agile. Although a physical job has helped with my fitness it does often mean that I’m quite tired by the weekend so pushing myself to train can be difficult.

My endurance has always been my strongest asset and having a physical job has helped to improve that, now I need to start putting it to good use and get back to training in the hills again.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Lake District and did leg one of the Bob Graham round, its only 12 miles with 5,000 ft of ascent but my quads were smashed by the time I arrived in Threlkeld. Although I did manage to keep to a 24hr pace and it reminded me why I run the fells, the Lake District is absolutely beautiful.

The route back to Keswick is a simple jog down the old railway lines, 4.5 miles of pleasant scenery and smiling walkers. Except the bridges have been either damaged or completely washed away by recent floods, which means wading through rivers and long diversions. TBH I had a good run and was satisfied with the days training.

Last weekend I went to the Peak District for a run with Chris R and a friend of his called Steve, the plan was to complete the Kinder Dozen in around 8 hours whilst attempting to enjoy ourselves. I checked on the LDWA web site which says the route is about 22 miles with 10,000 ft of ascent. So I loaded the GPX track on to my phone to make sure we didn’t go astray.

8.30 bank holiday Friday and we set off, the whole route was off the trails and into the rough, every bloody ascent and descent, except for the final descent. I’m sure the person who devised the route set out to punish people for being daft enough to go out there and do it. However despite this we had a great day out and finished in about 8 and a half hours. More of the same required.

The Peak District never ceases to amaze me, always delivering a good day out with some of the country’s most beautiful scenery, very different to the Lake District but no less dramatic.

So now I have my training underway I can start to plan for the year ahead and have entered my first long distance race for quite some time, the Lakes Mountain 42. Hopefully I am fit enough to complete the whole route and without a doubt, it will be good training.