Sorry Its been a while!

Sorry for been shit and not updating this, I had a busy few weeks with work and just haven't found the time.

Training is going really well still and I am not down to 13 Stone 12 which is brill, here is my first comparison pic for you...

I took the first picture on the left on the 7th of May before I started my training and the second I took on the 7th June last week.

Im quite pleased for my first month, running is becoming easier too I am now running between 6 and 8 miles avery time I go out and I am defiantly going to up the stakes a bit with my training and start a different program from week 18, so up until that point I am just running as far and as quick as possible to improve my fitness and get my weight down.

I am back on the booze as I previously wrote, but only on a weekend. One thing i have found is very important is balance, you have to be happy in your training, days off are as important as the training days and letting your hair down and enjoying yourself are part of that, and I f**king love beer!

I am please with the weight loss the most so far I feel 100% happier about myself, I know it sounds silly but as a fairly confident bloke it was strange for me constantly worrying about what I looked like in public, breathing in all the time and pulling my T-shirt down! It was something that consumed my life ... what a load of bollocks!

I personally hate all that shit, the fact that people feel they have to have expensive clothes and eat nothing to look good.  I would always say that I don't give a shit what people think about the way I look and dress, generally I don't give a shit what people think of me full stop.

Its shit the pressure people feel to look good and be the right shape and its something I hate to think that I am conforming too, but that isn't why I set out to do with it was a health and wellbeing thing and there are no two ways about it I do feel a lot happier.

Im rambling now and struggling to make my point, but please take from it what you will...

In sugar bags here is what I have lost.

peace

bendave xx

Slow and steady wins the race

So I haven't blogged for a week, since my last blog I have done 3 runs. The first was my usual 3miler last Thursday. I set off and felt strong for the first 2 miles, then for the last mile the ankle pain kicked in again, I did run through it ... just!

By this point it was clear that I was going to have a few days rest, conveniently the weather was superb! I did nothing at all remotely resembling exercise on Friday Saturday or Sunday. Also I had a bit of a realisation on the old beer front, surly If i had a couple of beers this wasn't going to scupper my marathon chances? I found myself sat on the stray in the blazing sun with the boys, the beer was flying round and everyone was having a whale of a time, apart from me. I wouldn't say that you or I need to have a drink to enjoy ourselves, that defiantly isn't the case, but at that point in time all I wanted was a nice cold beer and when I really thought about why I wasn't letting myself have one it all seemed a bit redicoulous. The key here is moderation my friend!

Any how I ended up having about 6 bottles then about 4 pints in town and wobbled home and fell asleep!!

So after a few beers and BBQ's (I behaved at the BBQ's and only had 1 burger or a bit of chicken) we come to Monday, my second run since we last spoke and after 3 days rest for me. I set off early Monday morning, the weather was still grand and I was feeling good after my long weekends rest. Off I set with the intention of doing my normal 3 miler. I decided to slow my pace down to about 9min/miles from 8min/miles. Slow and Steady wins the race!

Almost exactly half way round my 3 miler I am at ASDA in the centre of Harrogate and I turn back on myself and run back home on a different route. However I felt really good, no niggles of pain at all AND i was really enjoying myself, so i cracked on into town. I ended up running 6 miles in just a smidgen over an hour, not a quick pace I know but I felt great after.

That afternoon I went up to Saltburn with the parents and the Mrs. lovely afternoon and we ended doing a nice 5mile stroll down the beach, so that day I had carried my self 11 miles, good times.

I took this picture while we where there...

Naturally I had a rest day in Tuesday and that brings us to last night. I got back from work and got my running gear on, at work I had mapped a nice new 5miler that took me down to Knaresborough back up to Starbeck and back to mine. I was really looking forward to it, but a little bit nervous, I couldn't decide which way round to run it! It was a lot more hilly than any of the other runs I had done, but it seemed either way was going to be a bastard! Off i set to Knaresborough first, I wont bore you with an account of the entire run, it had it ups and downs but in the last 2miles I really started to settle into it and felt really comfortable, so when I got about quarter of a mile from my house I turned round and started running the other way!

I felt brilliant and wasn't ready to stop, I knew I had loads left in me. I ended up running into the centre of Harrogate, anyway it ended up being 10 miles when I got home, and I didn't stop once :)

Here is the route...

Things are looking up, I feel a lot better than I did last week, and I have learnt a very valuable lesson .... Drink Beer!

:(

On Monday I did as I was told and I rested! Nice steady day at work and I did sweet F. A. in the evening just sat in front of the TV.

Yesterday was a short 3 miler, I was nervous all day after Sundays episode! After work I went home made myself some tea and got my running costume on and off I set, all seemed well to begin with, a bit of a niggle in my right knee but nothing unusual, then after about 2 miles it really started to kick in, the same pain in my left foot/ankle.

I forced my self to run round and comlete the run, which I did but with a shit pace of 9.18. It felt really slow though, I didnt enjoy it :(

As soon as a stop running though the pain stops.

Here is a video of the run...



I've got a new camera as the GoPro had to go back, as you can tell it isn't quite as wide angle!! I will endeavour to point the ting at my face rather than my neck in the future!

Aslo the weigh has stopped coming off, I've only lost a couple of pounds since last Monday, I cant get my head around it because I am not doing anything different?!

This morning I went to see Nathan at B Physical who has given me a load of injury prevention exercises to do, hopefully this will help!

Anyway, thats all for now, as you can probably tell I am getting hugely frustrated with it at the moment...

disaster weekend!

This Weekend and has not been ideal!

As you know I broke myself last week so I missed my short 2 miler on Friday, On saturday I felt great, it was supposed to be a rest day but as I had missed the day before I headed out to do the same 3 miler I did earlier in the week.

I set off and felt really strong, I pushed on for the first mile that is pretty much all off road track through trees, It felt great and for the first time I felt like I could really press on and concentrate on achieving a decent time rather than just getting back to the house alive!

I was constantly focusing on my pace, if I felt my self slowing I was pushing on to keep the pace up, when I got to Skipton Road I felt like I was practically sprinting, It felt amazing! From there a flew down Bilton Lane and back to mine, hauled the brakes on and went to press stop on my phone to record all the information about my run, route pace time etc and the screen was blank, the f**ker had crashed! I was so pissed off! ...punching fences pissed off!

So you will have to just take my word for it, I ran 3.2 miles in 14min...

Saturday night Lizzie and I headed round to a friends house for dinner/piss up. We had chilli and wedges etc, I managed to stick to just a ladle of chilli so it wound up being quite a healthy tea! Had a cracking night, one of the lads brought round the most incredible 3l bottle of whiskey, but I managed to be a good boy and stayed off the  booze, we stayed round there until about 2am and I didn't have a drop of booze and had a whale of a time, this was quite a mile stone for me.

Sunday however was a disaster, after my fabulous run the previous day I decided to up the anti and go fro  5mile run despite my program telling me I was due a 'long' 3 miler. I set of and straight away felt a nasty twinge in my left foot/ I thought it was just going to be one of those things that i could just run off, so I cracked on for the first mile. When I got to town it was still hurting and over the next mile and a half I slowed to a limp and was in agony! Im not ashamed to say I called my mum and asked her to pick me up from town! I was pissed, really pissed I thought I'd done myself some proper damage.

As I said last week I am so scared of injury, I want this so bad now, I want to stick my fingers up in the faces of all the people that laughed at me and said I wouldn't be able to do this! F**K YOU! I am going to do this!

I woke up this morning and my foot felt fine, today is a rest day and I am going to do exactly that! Also this morning I  had an appointment at the gym for a sports massage, got up bright and early to get to the gym for 8:30 but then spent 20 min sat in the bloody traffic! Massage wet really well, I feel great now, Ill let you know how i feel tomorrow, I was warned that I might suffer some bruising!!

bendave x

Smashed In

No blogging yesterday, I'm feeling a bit smashed in at the minute, I pushed myself too far on Wednesday with my fatlek training, maybe the big willies in the changing room had something to do with it? I don't know, but by Friday I petty much could have done with a pair of crutches. I sacked of my 2miler last night.

One of my biggest fears with this whole thing is injury, I often think about what would happen if I lost a couple of weeks training due to injury or even worse fell while Im out running and broke something, it wouldn't take much to end this thing! I'm on the mend now and might try go out later, if not defiantly tomorrow.

Another thing that is trying its hardest to make me miserable at the minute is my f**king wisdom teeth. I am currently 25 years old, I have managed with the teeth I've got for quite sometime now, I must say I have never particularly struggled with chewing things up so why now in my mid twenties do I need some more teeth?! Clearly there is no room for them else I wouldn't be in so much pain! I feel like a pubescent boy again, with any look I will be able to grow some proper facial hair soon... another inch wouldn't harm either.

If you haven't had your wisdom teeth through yet, get ready! I currently can only open my mouth wide enough to just be able to slide a spoon in there, rubbish! This week I have mainly been eating soup and smashed up chicken breast with salsa, I've been weighing myself and I don't seem to be loosing any weight, which i find strange. maybe I need a big poo?

Unfortunately the camera has had to go back so their will be no vlogs for a while.

In a bizzle x

Teeth and Willys

Yesterday I woke up in tooth pain which is never a good thing, Ill be honest I've ben very lucky with my teeth, never had a filling or a had one out. Its my wisdom teeth giving me jip, I best wind up as wise as Socretes or this wont have been worth it.

Yesterday morning I had my gym induction all went very well, like a proper keen bean I went back last night to do my Fartlek training, here are my instructions...

• Warm up with 5 minuets of light jogging


• Run for 4 minuets, jog slowly for 1 minuite. This is one cycle.


• Repeat for the prescribed about of time.


• On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 is a very fast run, 1 is a leisurely stroll) aim for a level 7 to 8 on the runs


• Cool down for 5 minuets of light jogging.


Now here is my problem with the above "10 is a very fast run, 1 is a leisurely stroll) aim for a level 7 to 8 on the runs)" What is  fast run?! is Usain Bolts sprint a fast run, or is the run when your trying to catch the last of McDonalds breakfast a fast run?

What ever it is I clearly got it wrong, I only managed 3 cycles and nearly passed out. The thing with treadmills is you have to press a button to slow down, if you don't press the button and slow down it hurts a lot and people laugh, I know because I've done it before. With this in mind my technique to keep going was to not press the button and not slow down. It worked, I didn't slow down but i did nearly kill myself and I ran to the point that if I didn't press the stop button i would have been dead.

This is something I think I need to discuss publicly ...  changing room etiquette. It is something we have all had to deal with, what level of naked ness is appropriate in a public changing room? I like to opt for this approach - I will undress normally as if I where at home but with an important difference, I will face away from the centre of the room, this does not mean I will hide in the corner or press myself up against the wall, just face away from the majority of people, this is for my benefit and everyone else's. Once I am undressed I will either get into my gym cloths or trunks quickly and efficiently. Or if I a about to embark in a journey to the shower I will wear my towel on my way, remove it for the showering process then pop it back on again on my way back to my clothes.

This is I think is normal practice for most blokes. I'll just point out I understand it is slightly different with groups of mates including sports teams but we wont go into that.

I think I behave in this normal manner because I have a normal sized penis.

The thing is I have noticed something, the flaunters, they like to get undressed as close to strangers as possible take as long as possible to get undressed and then when they are completely naked they want to lengthen that time as much as humanly possible...  walking to the toilet then to the drinks fountain then back to their locker, cant that wait until you have got dressed?! All of these guys have one thing in common, they either have 3 foot cocks or just what I can best describe as a mole hiding in a bush.

The only other public place I can think of where it is socially acceptable to get your genitals out is a urinal. But when you visit one of those you don't leave your wanger hanging out while you go wash your hands, of if the phone rings answer it and wonder round the toilet in front of 10 other blokes with your cock hanging out, so why do it in a changing room?

There was a bloke with a 3 foot cock last night and he waived it around right in front of me the entire time i was in the changing room, i didn't enjoy it.

This morning I woke up wishing that i hadn't have pressed the stop button, my mouth has got a lot worse, i cant open my mouth, this should help with the diet some what though.

The obvious thing to do was to call the dentist and get him to sort it out, so that is what I did, I gave him a holla to book my self in and he has very kindly shuffled his diary around and managed to "squeeze" me in a week today?! Wanker!

Gym

Yesterday was my 'Rest day'. We had an Ont' Sofa session in at work, I got home about 9ish, and really wanted to go out for a run, so I did!

I ran 3.2 miles in 26min (8.1min/mile)  I ran the first mile a 7.2min/mile the third a 9min/mile and the third a 8.3min mile then really slowed down for the last 0.2 miles. That is my quickest run yet and i felt as solid as a rock, really enjoyed it!

I've got Fart Leg training tonight, I think its when you run fast then slow then fast again and slow and fast then slow and fast again, should be laugh.

Also I've joined a gym...

I went this morning for my induction with a bloke called Paul. Im going to have to be nice to Paul because I gave him a link to the blog, maybe if i slag him of Ill know If he's actually read it next time I see him? He was a Twat. He wasn't really, lovely bloke he's done a program with me. In a nutshell its high intensity interval training, we did it this morning felt really good and I'm aching now so it must have worked. Feel like a bit of a fanny doing all this lying down and thrusting bullshit and chucking around 6kg weights but I trust him, he's the professional!

I can't wait to start chucking some big weights around soon though.

I'm off back to the gym tonight for my Fart Leg training, its just 20min then I'm going to go sit in the sauna and stream room to make me feel good and because I'm posh like that.

My weekly program is filling up now, here it is in a simple form ...

Monday: Gym (HIIT) + Recovery
Tuesday: Gym (HIIT)
Wednesday: Run (short)
Thursday: Fartlek/CrossTrain (Gym)
Friday: Run (short) + Gym (HIIT)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Long Run

I also had a look at the intermediate marathon training schedule last night, its an 18 week program and it says you should be running between 20-25 miles a week comfortably to do it. That gives me 7 weeks to get to that level. The program is more intense and the idea is that opposed to my current program that is designed to just get you round the course, this intermediate one is to get you round in a half decent time.

Maybe I am being a bit over ambitious, but we'll see!