How I Get Motivated To Work Out

An old school friend of mine has decided to undertake a triathlon, and she’s just been given a rather grueling training schedule. I feel exhausted just looking at it. I think I need a lie down to recover! I’m not one for training programs. Without a doubt, they push you to work out and be ready for whatever competition you’re entering, and I’ve followed programs in the past with good […]

Over Three Hours and Five Mountains

You often don’t realize how far you’ve come until you pause for a moment and look back over your journey. Today I led three other members of my Facebook “Gifu Runners” group on a 19km run which included almost 10K of trail running on some very rugged terrain. Over three and half hours, we clambered over five mountains, ascending almost 800m and descending just as far. I can’t feel my […]

Why Do You Swim?

I’ve seen articles recently attempting to explain why people run, because to non-runners, running looks like hard-work and couldn’t possibly be enjoyable. What about swimming, though? Does swimming look like a fun activity? Is it something that non-swimmers would like to do? I know a lot of people who have no interest at all. Some of them can’t swim and therefore won’t attempt to. Other people are too embarrassed by […]

My Half-Marathon Masterpiece

Before yesterday’s Inuyama Yomiuri Half-Marathon, I said I’d set out at PB pace and just see how I felt. But there was much more to my strategy than that. Months earlier when choosing which races to run in the new year, I deliberately chose to run a 10K before each half-marathon. Last week’s 10K in Kani City was the perfect tune-up race for yesterday’s Half because, despite the longer distance, […]

My Race Schedule for 2013

Mid-February is a bit late to be announcing my race schedule for the year, but I think I’ve got it planned out now. I’ve said before that although my goal is to complete an Ironman triathlon, it’s more important to me to enjoy the journey. So I’ve chosen at least one major activity to complete in each month of the year, and here they are. JANUARY: Minokamo Showamura Half-Marathon In […]

Running Mad

After a full year of lifting weights and drinking gallons of milk, I eventually hurt my back. Nothing too serious, but bad enough to keep me from squatting for a while. Since then, I’ve got back into running. Last year I ran in the Kakamigahara 10km and finished in a respectable 48 minutes. Now, I’ve ramped up my training, lost 5 of my hard-earned 20kgs, and am in the mood […]