The Long Run Back to Fitness

I'm so glad I've made it through the first week of My Long Run Back to Fitness. In many ways getting the first week under your belt is the hardest. Now it's time to continue the "hard graft" - well that's what it has felt like - and start burning those calories. On saying the week was hard graft, well I actually enjoyed it and feel a lot the better for it. The one thing I must remember, is it takes time to really feel the real benefits and before starting to loose some weight. However, as long as I continue, these this should eventually follow. Sunday 16 April 2017. As usual, a hot shower followed by a few minutes stretching. A 0.4 mile walk to entrance to glen, I jogged downhill (135 steps) to the river, This was followed by 4 laps of 0.6 miles on the upper footpaths with 4 x 165 steps jogging downhill. I walked back out of the glen and home, doing a few stretches before finishing. Again total time was just under 45 minutes. Monday 17 April 2017 was the s...

Monday, 10th April 2017, the day after the golf, I expected my legs to be very sore and unable to walk properly. This usually happens after doing exercise after a long break, and over a 5 hours slog around a hilly golf course is a lot for me. Anyway, my legs felt fine, so I decided to go for a 2 mile walk with a bag in hand carrying my camera & camcorder and taking a few photos along the way. The following day I increased the distance slightly, and on the third day I managed 3 miles with 3 x 100 steps jogging downhill. On Thursday 13th, I had to go make a visit to another local town, but I did make a point of including a 2.5 mile stiff walk, although done in two parts. I know I was making slow progress, but the main thing was I had kept making an effort to do a little every day and not build up too quickly, like I had done in the past. Another thing I have learned from the past, is before doing any exercise, spend a few minutes to warm up and loosen your muscles. The years I ...

The life of a long distance runner can be great as long as you keep training. However, stop doing that and start leading an unhealthy life for many years and it's not so good. Over the years I have tried many times to regain my enthusiasm for running and get back to a relatively fit state, yet every time I have failed. At my peak fitness I weighed 9 stone and ran on average 50 miles a week. I wasn't a great runner, but I was always somewhere near the front of the field, and on the odd occasion (when the quality of the field wasn't great) I even managed to win a few races. I was blessed to have the beautiful parks of Surrey & West London and the Thames Path on my doorstep. How could I let all that go and loose my shape. For a male who is only 5'6" tall 9 stone is not an unhealthy weight, but many years on and add another 7 stone (that's 16 in total) then you know it's about time you do something about it. My last attempt was over a year ago. I mana...