
May Contain Fish

A Pescetarian Runners Journal

By

Nigel Butfield

aka

'The Fishy Runner'

&

Sarah Jane Butfield

# Copyright

Copyright (C)2016 Nigel Butfield and Sarah Jane Butfield

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without the express written permission of the author and publisher.

Author Nigel Butfield and Sarah Jane Butfield

Publisher: Rukia Publishing www.rukiapublishing.com

Email: rukiapublishing@mail.com

Cover design: Nigel Butfield

Editor: Martin Papworth

Proof-reader: S. L Parker

First ebook edition February 2016

The people and events in this book are portrayed as perceived and experienced by Nigel Butfield. The moral right of the author has been asserted.

# Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Introduction: Run, Walk or Crawl I am 'The Fishy Runner'

Chapter One | My first Parkrun

Chapter Two | 18km with a weighted bag of 7kg

Chapter Three | Hill training

Chapter Four | Tresaith to Mwnt - West Wales Coastal Path

Chapter Five | Committed to training

Chapter Six | Pen-Y-Fan

Chapter Seven | The Cheltenham Challenge

Chapter Eight | Dealing With Disappointment

Chapter Nine | South Wales Trail Half Marathon

Chapter Ten | Tough Mudder Mud Run challenge

Chapter Eleven | The Gower 50

Chapter Twelve | Ultra-White Collar Boxing

A note from Nigel

The fishy runner's favourite foods.

Connect with the author Nigel Butfield

# Dedication

I dedicate this book to my parents John and Sheila. Both different individuals, both giving support, encouragement and love to me as a son in their own ways. I'm thankful for them giving me the work/life ethic of 'If you want something, go out there and work for it'.

Nigel & his father John

Nigel & his late mother Sheila

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction: Run, Walk or Crawl I am 'The Fishy Runner'

Chapter One

My first Parkrun

Chapter Two

18km with a weighted bag of 7kg

Chapter Three

Hill training

Chapter Four

Tresaith to Mwnt - West Wales Coastal Path

Chapter Five

Committed to training

Chapter Six

Pen-Y-Fan

Chapter Seven

The Cheltenham Challenge

Chapter Eight

Dealing With Disappointment

Chapter Nine

South Wales Trail Half Marathon

Chapter Ten

Tough Mudder Mud Run challenge

Chapter Eleven

The Gower 50

Chapter Twelve

Ultra-White Collar Boxing

A note from Nigel

The fishy runner's favourite foods.

Connect with the author Nigel Butfield

# Introduction: Run, Walk or Crawl I am 'The Fishy Runner'

Introducing The Fishy Runner by Sarah Jane Butfield

Nigel Butfield, aka The Fishy Runner, is my husband, a father of three and step-father to my four children. Our lives together over the last 20 years or so have seen us travel, live and work, whilst juggling our large blended family commitments, in Cornwall, Australia, France and now South Wales. He is an inspiration in so many ways to myself and our children as well as his newly acquired running buddies. With his former work colleague Chris Eddolls. Nigel has also recently established the Port Talbot Trail Warriors running club which is free for anyone to join. Two mates who have discovered a love for the outdoors, in particular the running trails of South Wales. Whether you want to get fit, or love running off-road, this is the club for you. They meet up on random days or evenings, and just go for a jog/run. Typical running places are Margam Park, Afan Forest, Aberavon Beach or The Gower Peninsula. Distances can vary depending on the group members' abilities on the day. They never leave anyone behind. Chris and Nigel can also normally be found at Swansea Bay Parkrun every Saturday.

Nigel's parents were in the armed services and he often refers to himself as an 'army brat' when talking about his childhood. As a family they were always on the move in different countries and throughout the UK. However, they eventually settled in the garrison town of Colchester, Essex, UK, where Nigel completed his schooling. As a child he was never particularly keen on sports so his foray into running as an adult has been a bit of a surprise to some of his friends and family.

Nigel first took up running whilst living in Australia between 2008 and 2012. The Australian lifestyle, added to the accommodating climate, meant it was easy to slip on his running shoes, step outside and just run. Nigel continues to race in different settings and over a variety of distances always wanting to achieve that bigger, better goal.

Now it's Nigel's turn to take over and introduce himself and his debut running book. I hope you enjoy his story.

Sarah Jane

www.sarahjanebutfield.com

Nigel takes a little run up Cribarth, known locally as the Sleeping Giant owing to its appearance and sunset profile when viewed from the valley below. This mini-mountain was quarried in the past and evidence of former tram roads still exists.

Hello everyone, so this is the part of the book where I tell you a little about myself and my first book. I am not a writer as such and I have never been comfortable talking about myself, but here goes.

When I started this episode in my running story I was earning my living as a security officer. I have worked in the security industry for many years and in other law enforcement roles including working as a prison officer in Alice Springs, Australia. For this I have had to remain fit and strong as a requirement of the roles. I am not a complete novice at running, I have competed in 10k races and a couple of half marathons in Australia, however, I didn't train for them seriously instead I used them more as an exercise session. Some say I'm a very competitive person. I look at it from a different angle, I love a challenge. At school I never took part in team games and I wasn't particularity sporty. I preferred to be on my own or hanging out with a friend or two. I did enjoy cross country running during our PE lessons as it got me out of the classroom and outside where I longed to be, the place I would stare at from inside, longing to be set free.

So why did I write this book? To be honest I hope to inspire people to give running a shot. In today's society obesity, and the prevention of its associated conditions, is a big problem. We cannot fail to notice the effects that this has on healthcare provision and on society as a whole, with increasing levels of people with diet related health issues such as diabetes and heart disease. The sad truth is that some people do not exercise at all despite obesity being a global issue. I initially wanted to share how anyone can take part in running and share my experience of Parkruns. However, as the journal that I kept to write this book filled it also recorded the fact that I wanted to challenge myself and add an interesting twist to my training by deciding to remove meat from my diet. I wanted to test the concept of whether a pescetarian diet, meaning a diet which does not include meat and where the majority of the protein is obtained from fish, is compatible with an amateur athlete training for distance running and extreme physical events. If you bought this book to read a story about running and amateur ways to train, then perfect, I hope you enjoy it. If you bought it for the food and fishy content, then I think you will enjoy my story and relate to the compilation of the food elements in the bonus section at the end of the book.

In 2015 I undertook a series of marathons, ultra-marathons and other tough challenges to help me test my new dietary regime as I juggled my training for these events with my full time job and family life commitments. I am a hard working family man with a wife, two dogs, a cat and 7 children. If I can train for these events, then maybe I can inspire you to take on a new challenge and start running. I've been a vegetarian before, lost weight and improved my fitness levels, so I am confident about the dietary changes I am undertaking. I really wanted to lose 5kg for my upcoming races so I needed to make sure that I was getting the protein and other nutrients needed in my diet without meat. Throughout the book I'll be referring to some recipes and meal plans that I have tried and tested and some of the recipes can be found at the end of the book.

This book is a light-hearted look into my life over a period of months during my training. Don't take my advice or guidance as professional help. Especially the bit about carb loading on real ale!

If I can motivate one person to take the first steps to improving their health by taking up walking or running, eating more fish or maybe doing their first 5k Parkrun, then I will be happy and will have achieved the purpose of this book.

Let's see how I far I get running on fish!

See you at the finish line.

Nigel

# Chapter One

# My first Parkrun

Parc Bryn Bach - Saturday 9th May 2015

<https://www.parkrun.com/>

I was about to embark on my first road race for a long time since moving from France to Wales and finding work, etc., and consequently I was a little apprehensive. I had seen a new free health initiative called 'Parkruns' advertised on social media and promoted as a great way for people to get fit and thought this would be an ideal starting point.

Parkruns started in 2004 when a group of 13 runners got together to run for free in Teddington, UK. Today Parkruns are organised by an expanding band of volunteers every Saturday at 9 am throughout the UK. Anyone, young or old and at any level of fitness can simply register and turn up for a 9am start. The distance is 5km and every run is officially timed with formal collation of running statistics in age and gender categories, all made available to registered runners totally free.

I arrived at Parc Bryn Bach mega early, as is usual for me. The run started at 9.a.m. so of course I was there an hour early! Luckily there were some toilets available, as I suffer from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and my symptoms are triggered by anxiety, meaning I need to go to the toilet urgently whenever I become anxious, like that day. It doesn't take much to make me feel anxious, which surprises many people because apparently I come across as a confident person. However, inside I fear meeting new people, and although I enjoy and get a thrill from visiting and finding new places I still become anxious when I arrive.

Parc Bryn Bach on a sunny day courtesy of Trip Adviser

It was a rainy day, approximately 8 degrees Celsius and there was a slight breeze. As I waited, alone, slowly people started to turn up and I relaxed a little knowing that at least I was in the right place. I decided to approach a man in a high visibility bib, thinking he must be an organiser, which fortunately he was, to find out what the process was for a first time attendee. He explained the course; "It's twice around the lake and the start is on the other side of the lake." I was at the finish line. Oops!

Possibly noticing the anxious look on my face on hearing that I was at the finish line he quickly added, "Don't panic the starting marshal is not there yet." I looked at him and saw he was holding a stop watch. A wide grin filled his face, he was the start marshal.

Promptly at 9 a.m. we were off. Well I assumed it was 9 a.m. as I didn't have a watch on. It looked as if there were about 40 people running. It was easy to spot the runners that take it seriously, or those that belong to running clubs, they always seem to wear the best kit and have Mo Farah's stature plus the fact that they are always at the front of the starting line.

I found myself in the middle of the field of runners, but slightly towards the end of the pack which meant that once we were off and running I soon had to overtake some runners to enable me to settle into my own comfortable running pace. I soon found someone to act as my pace runner, A 'pace runner' or 'pace maker' is the term for someone that you identify ahead of you to try and keep up with to help you push yourself and hopefully run a bit faster. Unfortunately, I soon passed my pace runner which felt good, but meant I needed a new one. I soon caught up with another front runner, however she was very small, and watching her little legs going so fast in front of me started to put me off after a while so I had to speed up and pass her too. I'm easily distracted. I recall this fact from my childhood when it was a regular comment from my teachers at parents' evening and in my school reports.

With approximately half a kilometre remaining for me to reach the finish line I increased my speed again, but now I was running into a head wind. What had started as a slight breeze on the other side of the lake was now much stronger and definitely qualified as wind and I was running head first into it. My throat began to burn and my calf muscles tightened, but I made it. I was pleasantly surprised that I also managed to complete this 5km run in a respectable time of 21.05 minutes. As usual the buzz I felt afterwards was euphoric, it was just what I needed to reassure me that I could still run well despite months of no running or training and that I enjoyed, and more importantly needed, the buzz that I achieved from running.

This is a beautiful place to run so I may visit this Parkrun again one day. I must also bring Sarah here to visit as I feel guilty visiting new places in Wales without her.

My fishy, protein filled lunch today was peppered mackerel served on boiled rice with mixed vegetables. 

# Chapter Two

# 18km with a weighted bag of 7kg

Training run -10th May 2015

The success of the Parkrun yesterday was exactly the motivation I needed to push ahead with booking a range of running and fitness events for 2015. Top of my list was to have another go at the Para's 10 TAB.

The Para's 10 TAB is a tough 10 mile cross country endurance race completed whilst wearing a 35lb (16kg) rucksack, under military conditions. Members of the Parachute Regiment have to complete this in under 1 hour and 50 minutes so the aim for civilians is to equal or beat that.

Attending the pre-race briefing

Crossing the finish line in Colchester 2013.

Being congratulated by two of my kids, Phillip and Clair

To learn more about the Para's 10 fund raising organisation you can visit their website <http://www.paras10.com/colchester.php>

I last competed in this race in 2013 with a time of 1 hour and 57 minutes, which is close, but not close enough for me, so it had to be done again. My aim was to beat my previous time in the Paras 10 TAB in July so I only had a few months to train. As it is a cross-country race my training would now be off-road aiming for 10 miles (16km) with my 35lb (16kg) rucksack. Therefore, today was day one of my weighted bag training and I would start with 15.5lb (7kg.) The weather was perfect for a training run, 13 degrees Celsius, cloudy with no wind.

As I mentioned in chapter one I suffer from IBS and over the years, apart from bouts which have been anxiety induced, I have by a process of elimination identified certain foods that trigger a relapse.

Breakfast today consisted of granola with milk - a big mistake! Eating without thinking.

I set off today with the intention of simply completing some mileage with no time pressures. I needed to get my body accustomed to the extra mileage. I had an idea of where I intended going, courtesy of Google maps. I live in a little village that is literally at the bottom of the Black Mountains in Wales. My chosen route would take me along the single carriage way towards Brecon for a few miles then up to a cycle route. It's a tarmac path and it winds its way through the countryside, consequently I have trees and fields on either side. My intention was to run this route before making my way out into the suburbs and back along a footpath near the main Brecon road which leads home. It is basically a circular route because I loathe doubling back on myself, so my training runs are almost always A to B. As I neared the end of the idyllic country route my stomach was cramping. The milk I had eaten at breakfast was churning around in my stomach like a washing machine. With lessons learnt over years suffering from IBS, I never go anywhere without emergency toilet roll and as I continued running I was thinking that I may need to use it. The pain wasn't easing so I had to make a decision. Do I continue into the suburbs, where it's mostly houses and no emergency toilet bushes? Or do I run back using the route I had just run in case I needed to jump a fence to go and empty my bowels?

My dislike for going back the way I have just come is equal to my dislike of two lap races. I like to see new scenery, sights and sounds, however after two more minutes of my granola and milk jumbling up and down in my stomach the decision was made for me, I needed to go to the toilet now! It was time to go cross country, unload the result of the churning and find a quick route home.

With my toilet emergency over I was soon running again and on my way home. I was feeling better as I approached a junction that if I took a left turn would take me home. I was visualising the Google map and remembered a local landmark nearby so, given my improved bowel conditions, I decided to make a right turn instead towards a waterfall I know of. The off road track was difficult to traverse with hills, steps and slippery surfaces. After a mile or so I came to Hendrydd Falls which is the highest waterfall in South Wales. It is also famous now as a film location, since in 2012 the area behind the waterfall was depicted as the entrance to the 'bat cave' in the Batman movie 'A Dark Knight Rises'.

It is a popular attraction for Batman fans who are able to experience walking behind the 27-metre-high curtain of water that supposedly concealed the entrance to the superhero's cave.

Hendrydd Falls

The falls are at the bottom of a very steep hill, and this was definitely a walking hill for the return journey because my legs were really beginning to hurt, especially my knees. At this stage in my training I didn't yet own a Garmin GPS watch, but I would estimate that I had run about 13kms. Eventually I made it to the top and stopped for a drink of water in the carpark. From here it was tarmac all the way home. On the way home I became consumed with tiredness and I was very hungry. It sounds very cliche but my legs felt like jelly, something I hadn't experienced before. Note to self: on my next big run I'll bring more food. I arrived home exhausted and not particularly happy, because of the pain I was in and my personal disappointment with my running achievements that day.

Or was I just hungry and grumpy?

My post workout protein meal consisted of tuna filled jacket potatoes.

# Chapter Three

# Hill training

Training run 13th May 2015

As you can see by the dates in these chapters some of my training days are close together, which may not be ideal or realistic for other people. However, the reality is that I have to train when the opportunity arises because time is a precious commodity, often in short supply with shift work and family commitments. Luckily I live on the edge of the Black Mountains in South Wales. The Black Mountains are a group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in South-East Wales, extending across the England/Wales border into Herefordshire. For those of you that do not know the area, it is mountainous moorland and woodland inhabited predominately by sheep and horses. The terrain is variable ranging from grass and boggy areas to rocky inclines and descents.

Today's run saw me sporting my new compression top that I purchased from Sports Direct for £9.00. It's "cheap as chips," as David Dickinson would have said when he was the host of BBC One's Bargain Hunt television show, but it does the job. The weather in Wales is unpredictable at times so I needed to keep my arms a little warmer; however typically on my compression top test day it was 18 degrees! Apparently, according to the label, it is also good for blood flow and I can assure you, after a few miles, my blood was definitely flowing.

I loaded my backpack with water, an apple and some boiled sweets. Oh and a 2.5kg weight, just to add a bit of fun! I had a vague idea of where I was going thanks to Google maps. I had also downloaded an app onto my mobile phone that records my speed and mileage using GPS so I set that to go as I left the house.

A few miles later, as predicted in the hot sun, my brand-new black compression top was getting warm. Luckily, I had also read on the tags that the top has excellent wicking capabilities (something to do with repelling sweat). Awesome! I must look up exactly what that means because I am sweating buckets right now, and it's not repelling anywhere.

The run saw me ascend a hill, I like to call it a mountain, but I think to qualify it needs to be over 1000m. My Everest is called Cribath and its summit is 428m. When I say run I mean jog a little, walk, then jog again when it gets flat. I didn't really know where I was going on my way down from the hill. I just followed paths made by sheep and other livestock. I wasn't concerned about time or pace, I just need to do the mileage and get my legs strong.

Keeping the mountain to my left I follow the sheep tracks around the base of it. Stopping to look at my phone to see the distance, I find I have got to 6 kilometres so far. I also take timeout to have some water and a sweet and admire the Welsh countryside. I come to a footpath sign which is quite a relief, at least I know I am going somewhere and not just sauntering across the moors of Wales. Eventually the footpath signs disappear and I find myself pondering over which direction to go in. Inside I actually quite enjoy the moment not knowing where I am or where I'm going, it's an adventure, a challenge. In reality I'm above a valley. I can clearly see landmarks that I recognise and the main road going past my house. I'm not lost at all. The valley that I live in is down and to my left, but I want to complete more mileage, so I continue over the farmer's gate and across yet more fields of sheep. Ahead of me I can make out a farm through some trees. Knowing that I am probably not on a designated footpath, I decide I don't want to face an angry farmer. We know farmers have guns. I veer off left and towards some woodland. My house is on a main road and I can hear traffic so it's kind of comforting knowing that you are that close, however I still need to be able to get there. I clamber over and under barbed wire fencing, being careful not to rip my new top! I get a little buzz knowing that I probably shouldn't be here and also the fact that I am probably one of the few people who have ever been here.

I stop to look at a huge oak tree. I love these trees, they are so grand, like old castles or stately homes. It's been there for hundreds of years, and will be for more. Tough and resilient against all odds. I run though some bluebells that give off a lovely scent. I leap into clumps of grass that act as stepping stones across a piece of boggy field and I eventually descend an embankment slipping twice on my ass. By the way, I am wearing trainers, not trail shoes, as I can't afford them yet. The trainers were bright yellow before I left the house. Now as I look down all I see is black. The result of slipping off the grassy stepping stones. Over another barbed wire fence and onto a lane which I realise is just up the road from my house. Weird feeling moment. I feel like I've escaped from Colditz or been on the run or something, it's great, anyway I'm in the safety zone now. I decide to run some more and do a loop on tarmac past the garage where my car is being fixed (checked -yes it was on the ramps) and then ran home. The app had stopped on my phone and as I can't afford GPS watch right now I had no idea of my mileage but if I had to guess I would put it at 12km - Note to self: invest in trial shoes and GPS.

# Chapter Four

# Tresaith to Mwnt - West Wales Coastal Path

Training run 17th May 2015

It's the day before Sarah's birthday and an ideal time to combine some quality time alone together to celebrate by the coast which we both love and trying out our new purchase, a two berth caravan. The plan is for a weekend away enjoying good food, maybe some fine wine (or ales for me) and some walks on the beach. However, I find it hard to walk around at a leisurely pace so I gave Sarah advance warning to bring something to keep her occupied so that I could go for a guilt free run along the coastal path during the weekend. Sarah has no problem finding something to do as long as she has her notebook and pen! With Sarah happily writing copious chapters of her latest work in progress, 'Ooh Matron', I took advantage of one of the picturesque coastal paths in West Wales.

The planning for today's run consisted quite literally of looking at the tourist information leaflet we had picked up in the caravan park reception when we booked in yesterday. The map and information inside said, Tresaith Caravan Park, where we are staying, to Mwnt 9km's. Brilliant, I thought, stick on another couple of kilometres and there we will have a 20k run by the time I have run there and back. The previous evening I had consumed a selection of bottled real ales as a pre-run drink! I thought I should load up on the liquid carbohydrates, and after all we were celebrating!

Seriously though, I have heard and read about people drinking ales for carbs and it seemed to make sense. My evening meal was grilled fresh salmon fillet and a selection of seasonal vegetables. At least I was half way to taking my nutritional needs for this run seriously with a healthy meal.

It's my run day and the weather is fine, overcast and a nice 12 degrees Celsius. Perfect running weather. Already knowing what coastal path terrain is like having walked along most of Cornwall's tracks, I put on my normal running trainers as I still had yet to purchase any trail trainers.

I had forgotten my running rucksack which has the bladder water pack inside. On this occasion I improvised using my monocular case, a 500ml bottle fitted in there just right. It had a strap which went over my shoulder and across my chest which was better than nothing and it gave me both hands free, so I thought, 'Why not carry another bottle of water?' So with another 500ml bottle in one hand and in the other hand my mobile phone, off I went.

I set off from the caravan park along the coastal path towards Aberporth. Along the way I was keeping an eye out for bottle nose dolphins which are reportedly regular visitors in this bay. Looking for anything else is really hard to do when running along a clifftop edge, sort of need to keep focused on where your feet land, one slip and I would be swimming with the bottle nosed dolphins.

The coastal path goes into the village of Aberporth and out the other end. The surface was tarmac which is fine for a while but I really needed to be training on off road terrain. Once out of the village I skirted around an area which had big fences and signs saying 'Government Property Ministry of Defence Land'. I'm a really nosey person and as I ran past a gatehouse I looked to my right as long as possible but felt unnerved by a security guard, ironic since my business is security, standing at the gate looking straight at me. I averted my stare and jogged on. I researched it later, it appears to be a Ministry of Defence research and evaluation centre for weapons.

My view from the coastal path

Back on the coastal path and towards Mwnt. I had no idea what was there and I didn't care, I just needed to do the mileage. That was my focus and goal. The coastal path meanders up and down. There are styles, kissing gates and sometimes stairs to negotiate. The ground is slippery with shale and slate covering in places and sometimes bloody dangerous. When I looked to my right I saw the cliff edge just metres from me. 'If I was to trip,' I thought to myself, then just as quickly, not wanting to ponder that thought any longer, I started running again, carefully.

Eventually I made it to Mwnt. It has a car park, a beach and a cafe and toilet. At the time I wasn't entirely sure it was Mwnt I didn't actually see a sign that said that, I assumed! I stood for a while contemplating the weather as the sky darkened, wondering if I should go a bit further or head back. I knew if I went back and looked on Google maps and found out I could have run further along the coastal path I would be gutted, so off I went a little further, probably about 2ks. I looked ahead and there was nothing but coastal path. I decided to head back at this stage. I was down to my last bottle of water. Pain was starting to creep in at my knees and hips. I had no idea what the pain was at this stage in my running life. I found out later. There is not much to say about the run/walk back because it's not fun when you are in pain. Going up steep inclines was ok, but going downhill really hurt my knees and hips. I just put on my game face, put my head down and got on with it.

I made it back in about 3 hours in agony. I popped some painkillers and had some food and then more food. Was I euphoric after the run? I was pleased to have done the mileage, that did give me a buzz, but I was exhausted and wanted to lay down and curl up in a ball. Which I did. Note to self: remember rucksack.

Today's fish meal was grilled salmon fillets with a rocket and cherry tomato salad

# Chapter Five

# Committed to training

Parkrun 23rd May 2015

So here I am sitting in my car at 8 30 a.m. nearly falling asleep as I have just finished a 12 hour night shift 1900-0700, but the training and running must go on. I believe it is a good test of my mental abilities to push myself physically and mentally during periods of extreme tiredness. What was I thinking? Bed, actually, that's what I was thinking.

I was also eager to test out my new Garmin watch. Actually that was the only reason why I was due to run around a park in the morning rather than go home to my bed. It's a new toy and I was excited. The previous Parkrun saw me run 5k in 23:08. Even though I was tired I felt quite confident at beating my PB (personal best). I had already changed into my running gear at work. So just a quick visit to the men's room, yes you guessed it, feeling anxious again.

This time I started a little closer to the front of the race pack, even though once we were off the forerunner flew off at a pace that I was never going to follow closely, so I rejected him as my pacemaker! I felt comfortable during the run, I had a good pace, no muscle niggles, but I did seem to struggle to get enough air in my lungs. There are times when I do wheeze. I have done a little research and it could be something as simple as sports induced asthma, which can be addressed with an inhaler. Something to look into at some stage. So I pushed myself 1.2k before the end a little bit more than on the last run and came over the finish line at 21:00. I was very pleased with that knocking 2 minutes of my previous time. Next Parkrun I would like to be sub 20 minutes, we shall see!

Oh and very pleased with my new Garmin toy, a worthwhile investment.

Combining 12 hour shifts as security guard with my home life and my training means my days have to start earlier than normal. This means a 4 a.m. training session including fartlek. I know it sounds like 'farts' he, he, he... and makes everyone snigger whenever I mention it, so I try not to.

What is fartlek training?

Fartlek is a word that originates from Sweden and means "speed play." Yes I like to play outside and call it training! It is a form of interval training that can be used to help improve your speed, endurance and stamina. The fartlek exercises involve running in short bursts and varying your pace and stride. The practice of changing between fast sprints and slow jogs, at irregular times, is how it differs from traditional interval training that involves specific timed or measured exercises. This makes fartlek training unstructured and less regimented and more suited to runners like myself who like to mix things up a bit. You can build in running and rest intervals based on how your body feels.

With fartlek training, you can experiment with pace and endurance. Many runners, especially beginners, enjoy fartlek training because it involves speed work and because it is more flexible and more easily tailored to your personal goals and time allocated to your exercise regimes than traditional interval training you feel more in control. Another benefit of fartlek training is that it doesn't have to be done on a track. You can do stop start exercises on all types of terrains--roads, trails, or even hills.

Here is an example of a fartlek workout:

Introduce some short bursts of slightly higher pace running into your normal training runs. Then try to maintain the faster pace for a specific short distance or time interval, for example run faster for 200m or 30 seconds then resume your normal pace. The intervals or distances you integrate can vary throughout the workout, I like to use landmarks such as streetlights or telephone poles as markers to start and finish the fartlek segment.

After completing a fast segment, slow right down to below your normal running pace, until your breathing has returned to normal. You can then return to your normal running pace. I like to try and incorporate more fartlek intervals later in the run if I am running over 5kms.

It might look something like this:

Complete a 10 minute warm-up

Run 1 minute at fast pace followed by 2 minutes easing off slow pace, 2 minutes fast, 1 minute slow.

Repeat this fartlek set 3-4 times during your training run.

Always complete a 10 minute cool down routine.

As I initially had to fit my training in around working 12 hour security day shifts, working from 7am to 7pm, I had to get up at 4am to train and by integrating fartlek sessions into my workout this enabled me to achieve more benefits in term of mixing up my speeds and cardio bursts during my training session.

My Instagram followers loved this image of me on cool down after another 4am fartlek training session

Follow me, The Fishy Runner, on Instagram here for more images of where I run and the food I eat!

# Chapter Six

# Pen-Y-Fan

Off road training 13th June 2015

Conquering Pen-Y-Fan

It's the first day of summer here in Wales, I think not! It was raining hard when I pulled up in the car park at the base of the mountain. Surely this is a mountain?

Pen-Y-Fan stands 886m high. This area of the Brecon Beacons is synonymous with the SAS as it is their training ground. A quick look on the OS (Ordnance Survey) map and I had found a route up to the peak and a different route back to the car park using a slightly different course than I'm used to. The route ends at the Storey Arms Activity Centre. Then a short jog back on flat surface to the car. I had no idea of the mileage I would cover, but I had done the ascent walking before four times so I knew it was hard and would be a good workout. I had bought a pair of skins which are compression tight leggings. They are supposed to increase blood flow and support your muscles during running which will aid recovery and help prevent injury. I tried them on at home when they were delivered and they felt great, an odd tight feeling for a man but secure. They are very revealing so I chose to wear running shorts over the top. I have never been one for show. I do have dignity.

Before I set off I visited the toilet. On my way in a council cleaning operative was on his way out. He stopped and said, "Too wet for going up there today," gesturing toward the mountain. I replied sounding as tough as I could, "It's ok my skin is waterproof." As I sat and did my business I did wonder if he knew something I didn't about the mountain in the wet! Fair play though, the rain was going horizontally. I felt good today after my breakfast of porridge. I had brought two Trek bars, those ones full of protein and with chocolate on top. Can't be bad for you, these are sold in the healthy aisle in the supermarket.

This the new bladder for my camel pack.

I was carrying 2 litres of water in the rucksack bladder (camel pack) and I had an extra litre in two bottles. I was wearing my compression top and as I donned my backpack I tightened the straps as much as possible on the slippery material as I didn't want to get bounce back from the bag whilst running. I felt very secure, like I was wearing armour.

Off I went, starting with a jog on the ascent for few hundred metres which slowly turned into a fast walk. Again I was struggling with my breathing but it was quite a steep incline. I was soon making progress. Looking back down towards the carpark, my car had turned into a small dot. The higher I went the worse the weather became. It was still raining hard, now the wind was picking up. I felt warm due to the effort of the fast walking pace. I passed the odd person coming down the mountain, walkers with dogs mainly. They all have their waterproof trousers and jackets on. I just looked with envy as I said a courteous "Morning," while concentrating on my breathing.

I looked up ahead and saw the summit of Pen-Y-Fan shrouded in cloud or mist or fog, who knows, but I couldn't see it clearly. I powered on nonstop to the tops and attempted to take out my phone to take the obligatory picture of the plaque stating Pen-Y-Fan 886 m. My fingers struggled to operate it, being so cold. I took a snap then slowly put the phone away not wanting to drop it using my now numb thumb and fingers. I set off back down the summit at speed to get my core temperature up and flicked my hands to try and get the blood flowing into my now white fingers. Suddenly the rain turned to hail. Combined with the wind it was like someone was throwing small stones at my body. I pulled my beanie further down on my face and pulled up the neck buff I am was wearing so it was just my eyes visible. Even so the hail lashed at my eyes. I tried to protect them with my already freezing hands. I looked around for cover but there was nothing just moorland. I had no choice but to carry on jogging and hope it would stop or ease off a bit.

On my descent I took a turn to the right along another path. The track was really slippery now after the huge downpour and I had only normal trainers on which do not have the increased tread of trail trainers for exactly this kind of problematic terrain. It is funny how at the start of my run I was dodging puddles but now I just didn't care as I ploughed straight along the sodden track, I was wet through to the bone anyway. The route saw me go up and down hills and even across a stream. As I neared the bottom the weather started to calm down. I saw people on their way up. One particular group were obviously Asian visitors or students, taking pictures of everything with their top of the range mobile phones. Maybe they were not used to the very changeable weather in Wales and more importantly hill walking. Their dress code befitted going shopping in Swansea or Cardiff as they sported their new looking shiny trainers, smart jeans, hoodies and not a single piece of waterproof clothing in sight. Should I say something? Nah, let them figure it out for themselves it's their adventure. Plus I've passed them now. And I do hate doubling back on myself.

A few yards away from the car I realised I still felt fresh but damn cold. Could I do it again I wondered? I'd only done 7km. Felt like more with the hills. The idea was that I was training and building up my stamina to compete in a marathon and eventual ultra-marathon. Yes, I could do this. Willpower and determination flowed through me and once again I ascended the mountain track. On the way up I ate a Trek bar even though I didn't feel hungry but I thought my energy could do with a boost. I passed people I had previously seen on the first lap, again they smiled and said "Morning!" With that look of, 'Why?'

I took a left before the summit this time, which started me on the way back down. It began to hail again, but I was so wet it didn't matter; I covered my face again and kept going. The neck buff was now drenched and I found breathing even more difficult as the damp material was going in and out of my mouth with each breath. Further down the track the hailstones gave way to a glimpse of the sun, albeit a few seconds, and it gave a brief moment of joy at the sight of it. Despite not being able to feel my fingers and being soaked through, I was actually enjoying the pressure that had been forced on me, by me! I still felt strong towards the end of the track at the bottom of the mountain for the second time and so I started sprinting towards the car. I got in the car and quickly put the heaters on. I had the temperature on maximum for the 30 minute journey home but I was still shaking. Once home and in dry clothes with a blanket over me it was 2 hours before I stopped shaking. It was a good feeling to have pushed myself even though it was not sensible.

N.B.

In hindsight, although I like a challenge this was a potentially dangerous and somewhat reckless lesson in how not to go mountain running. I was lucky to have made it back with only relatively minor early signs of hypothermia. Therefore, I need to say here, do not copy or replicate my naive mountain training session. Find a buddy to run with and always be prepared for the conditions you maybe encounter. The mountain rescue teams are busy enough without amateur runners getting into difficulty and having to be rescued.

Note to self: invest in running gloves and jacket for mountain running.

# Chapter Seven

# The Cheltenham Challenge

21st June 2015

Completing My First Marathon - 26 miles/42 km's!

My race number arrived in the post on 14th June 2015, suddenly it was all very real. I was going to attempt to run a marathon!

Sarah and I travelled to Cheltenham and stayed in a Premier Inn Hotel in Cheltenham the night before. The two hour drive first thing in the morning on race day would have made it a very long and exhausting day and to drive another two hours to get home after completing a marathon may have been too much even for me.

On the day itself I got up really early to make sure I had plenty of time for food, water and the now standard IBS anxious toilet visits. I had worked hard on my diet in the run up to race day to make sure my stomach was going to be in peak condition for the race, I even refrained from alcohol! Boy was that hard. Sarah and I went for an evening meal on pre -race night to a TFI Friday restaurant which was across the road from the hotel. Sarah had a glass of wine while I had water. Looking at the menu there wasn't much in this American style diner for pescetarians, so I opted for the vegetarian option which was quesadilla. I am slightly embarrassed to admit, as a bit of a foodie, that I had no idea what it was and I had to ask the waitress to describe it and its contents. How uneducated am I? It ended up being a sort of wrap, with veggies inside and it was very spicy, oops! Not ideal given my constitution but once it was ordered and in front of me I was committed.

It was race day and as usual due to my virgoan traits we arrived at the race site early. I had already registered on line and had my race number, so all that was required for me to do was pin it onto my t-shirt and of course find the toilets.

The weather was kind to us, it was dry. There had been a rain shower during the night and the temperature was about 8 degrees Celsius. Pretty perfect for long distance running. We waited in the car, 'people watching', one of our favourite pastimes. It's often funny witnessing runners doing their pre-run routines. One runner was chatting away with a fellow athlete and as if it was quite usual he got what must have been Vaseline out of his bag and started applying it to his nipples! He then proceeded to put his hands down the front of his shorts and started applying it to his groin area. We then had to look away as his hand headed towards his arse crack! As he continued his anti-chaffing regime, I begin to wonder if I needed some of that stuff too, did he know something I didn't? I had never had an issue in those areas, but then maybe it's a marathon thing. Extra miles, extra rubbing. We would see.

I joined the other runners who began congregating near to the start line for the safety briefing from the race director. As you can imagine with hundreds of runners going off road across the countryside there is an increased risk of people straying off the course and getting lost, despite the large crew of race marshals that would be scattered along the route at water stations, etc. The briefing was exactly that brief and to the point which was good as I was eager to set off now. Unfortunately, he handed over the microphone to a rather bubbly and over enthusiastic female Breeze FM radio presenter. She proceeded to tell everyone to gather forward and start warming up with her Zumba moves which she demonstrated from the top of the temporary platform erected from scaffolding near the start/finish line. I was not interested in Zumba and nor were many of the runners and so we chose to carry out our own warm up moves. There were some people that participated, maybe they liked being part of 'the gang' and always followed like sheep, I have always been different in that respect.

The starting gun, which sounded more like a fog horn, went off and we were on our way. I had completed a half marathon before in Australia, The Cadbury's Half Marathon in Hobart, Tasmania in 2012, so I knew my body could go that far, but a full marathon was a new challenge for both my mind and my body but to be honest the challenge excited me.

The Cheltenham Challenge Marathon is two laps of the half marathon circuit. As I said earlier, I have never been a fan of laps. I like to go from A to B, as I hate seeing the same place and things twice, so this was a big worry for me as I knew mentally this would impact my performance.

My pace was nice and steady. Unlike some of the more experienced marathon runners in the field I just wanted to complete the marathon, so I wasn't interested in beating any particular race time and I had no previous personal time to beat anyway. The run saw us leave the Cheltenham racecourse and run the course through some nearby small villages and into fields and countryside, otherwise known as the Cotswolds. The sun was out and I settled into a comfortable pace. I was feeling pretty good. The route was well marshalled with plenty of signs to direct the runners. There were adequate water stations which also had supplies of jelly baby sweets for a glucose hit if needed. I took the opportunity to grab a couple of sweets at every station as I could already feel the need for the sugar boost. Or was it just because it was there, and free? I was wearing my hydration pack with 2 litres of water and I had 5 protein bars. It's surprising how difficult it is to swallow food when you are running, just chewing was hard enough but when you are trying to catch your breath as well and your mouth is dry it is not a pleasant experience.

Throughout the race I kept an eye on my GPS watch and when I was within a mile of reaching the racecourse for the first time I sent a text to Sarah and told her to be ready with the camera. I got to the race start/finish line in about 2 and half hours. That was 1 lap done and a half marathon complete. I waved to Sarah and continued through the filter lane to do another lap, that sounds so easy but it wasn't. I felt good overall but my legs were tired. Luckily I had no other complications at all which pleased me and gave me a psychological boost to believe that I could complete this distance. The runners had thinned out quite a lot now and there were times when I was running through villages on my own thinking 'I must be really slow' or 'They've all gone home.' Luckily the trusty marshals were still at their stations giving encouragement, hydration and nutritional boosts. At some stage along the Cotswold path it cuts right through a golf course and on my second lap I could see a bunch of golfers to my right over the path. 'How bloody dangerous,' I thought as I started imagining them slicing the ball and it hitting the side of my head and knocking me out. Needless to say I sped up along that section.

My pace on the second lap was definitely slower, or so it felt, as I was now down to a fast walking pace up some of the hills compared to a jogging pace on my first lap. I kept myself well-hydrated and stopped twice for a pee, which was good sign. I stopped in the same places each time, I am a stickler for routine you see. After about ten jelly babies, four protein bars and a banana, my stomach began to feel a bit odd. I thought it was due to too much sugar which I am not used to, so I decided against anymore jelly babies for the remainder of the run. I chatted along the way to two men who had not yet gone through the race course for the first lap, meaning they had been lost or off course. It turned out afterward that they had missed some of the arrows and would need to do some extra miles to make up the marathon mileage at the end. Unlucky.

There was quite a long descent through some woods to the finish line which was slippery and rocky in places. This really hurt my knees as the fatigue of completing almost 26 miles over rugged terrain kicked in. We discovered that the issue I suffer from is Iliotibial Band (ITB) syndrome. Having done some research, it's apparent that I need to strengthen my glutes (my bum muscles.) A mile away from the finish line I texted Sarah again, I felt really excited at the prospect of completing something as iconic as a marathon. I ran over the finish line, giving myself a little cheer. After following the ribbon marked path to collect my medal and various other post-race goodies I went and sat down. Sarah walked over and commented on how I actually looked ok considering I had just been running for a little over 5 hours! "You don't look too fatigued," she said. I felt it though, but I think the adrenaline buzz of finishing was surging through me and supporting my look of completing a marathon with ease.

Hoorah, I can do this, I have run a marathon. I can do it again, or should I train for an ultra-marathon which can be 42 or more kilometres? The research began as soon as we got home to find another challenge. A challenge to get that euphoric feeling again.

Proudly wearing my medal for completing my first marathon.

Two weeks after running my first marathon I found myself thinking, and sometimes saying out loud, 'I completed a marathon'. It still hasn't really sunk in.

# Chapter Eight

# Dealing With Disappointment

My second outing to the Paras 10 in Colchester is cancelled!

On the 2nd July 2015 I received an email from the Paras 10 organisers. It basically said the start time for the Paras 10 run had been brought forward to 0900 hrs from 1100 hrs. This was due to the extreme heat and humidity forecast on the day. This wasn't a problem for me as Sarah and I had booked a pitch on a campsite in Colchester for the night before, so the 2 hours earlier start would make no difference to our travel plans. As you know I competed in the Paras 10 in 2013 and I remembered that being a struggle when it was 32 degrees Celsius so I was happy at the decision they had made, which meant the race would be over before the midday heat intensified.

That same evening, the Paras 10 Facebook group posted an urgent message which read "Bad news Paras 10 cancelled" I was really pissed off now. They went on to explain that the Met Office had issued a yellow weather alert for high temperatures and extreme humidity. I really didn't care what the Met office said. I have lived in the desert of Outback Australia, I know my body and my limitations. I was furious. I had been training hard, focusing on the lessons learned from my previous Paras 10 run and incorporating newly acquired training skills to help me achieve my goal of a sub 1 hour 50 minute race time.

In Chapter 2 I shared with you my first experience of this gruelling off road 10 mile run or 'TAB' as the army call it. (Tactical Advance to Battle) with a rucksack weighing 16kg. In relation to completing this in high temperatures I probably should also share with you that it's compulsory to wear army style boots and trousers. The race starts in a field, meanders through the army barracks in before taking you out into woods that the army use for training. The course then takes you back through the barracks to the finish line on Abbey Fields. There are a few gradients and a couple of streams thrown in. Oh, and the army are hiding in the woods firing blanks from their guns, just to add that bit of excitement. So it's pretty tough and after remembering all of this and once I had calmed down and reflected on the decision made by the officials I was in agreement, it made sense.

The fact is that some competitors would have been competing for the first time and may not have been as well prepared as past competitors and the army wouldn't have wanted someone dying from heat exhaustion. The Ministry of Defence had taken a bit of a battering previously due to some SAS Territorial Army recruits dying while on a run due to heat in the Brecon Beacons in Wales.

While I had been calming down and rethinking my initial disappointment and anger at the decision there had been uproar on the Paras 10 Facebook group. There were people commenting that had been training for months on end. There was even a bloke who specifically went to Greece to train for a week in high temperatures knowing what the weather was like previously in Colchester in July. Many of the entrants had booked hotels and were due to drive down from as far away as Scotland. I could understand their frustration and disappointment completely.

The following day I had an email from the organisers advising of an alternative date for the Paras 10 in November. Now that's one extreme of temperature to the other. Training for a winter extreme race; now there was a new challenge for me.

The best way I know to deal with disappointment is to find and focus on a new challenge and that's exactly what I did. I needed something that was more than just a running race. I needed something with a little extra danger and excitement.

After a great deal of research, and being careful to ensure I had time to train for a new challenge, the answer came in form of 'Tough Mudder', an obstacle course described as "Probably the toughest event on the planet!" Now whether it is or isn't didn't matter to me, the fact was it was under 3 months away.

"Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile mud and obstacle course designed to drag you out of your comfort zone by testing your physical strength, stamina, and mental grit. With no podiums, winners, or clocks to race against, it's not about how fast you can cross the finish line. Rather, it's a challenge that emphasizes teamwork, camaraderie, and accomplishing something almost as tough as you are."

If you want to see pictures of the course and of past competitors in action then visit the website here:

Tough Mudder - Mud Run

Now as this is all about teamwork my next challenge was to find someone crazy enough to do it with me! Read on in chapter ten to find out who I enlisted and how we got on.

# Chapter Nine

# South Wales Trail Half Marathon

31st August 2015

The morning started with the anxiety of what lay ahead and frequent visits to the toilet. It may seem a bit odd to some, but I'm pretty used to it now, my brain rules my bowels.

I was up in plenty of time to have my pre-run porridge and banana combination. This would be sufficient for a half marathon, plus there would be check points which should be stocked with snacks. This particular race was taking place only 30 mins drive away from home, even so as usual I arrived very early, being one of the first runners to arrive on site. The run was in and around a forest just north of Pontypridd, a great setting for an off road event.

I went to the registration tent half an hour early, I don't know why, but I got turned away. I do like to be ready and prepared. I chose to hang around the start, sort of get my bearings, and be first in the queue to register. It wasn't long before other early risers began to arrive and who also got turned away from the registration area. There was a large gathering of people now. Not being one for small talk about the weather and sports clothing, I started to flap my arms to keep warm, and with a "brrrhh" noise indicating that I was cold I slowly withdrew from the crowd and sat in my car for 20 minutes or so. Eventually I saw someone with a race number...hoorah, registration was open.

I gave my name to the lady at the registration desk and in return received my race number. I signed something, probably a waiver of some kind, I didn't read it, who does? She then proceeded to write my race number on my hand with a thick tipped marker pen.

I had brought plenty of emergency toilet roll, but no safety pins. School boy error I know. I asked in my kindest voice, "Could I have some safety pins please?" The previous kind faced lady didn't look pleased now and said sternly "I can give you one pin." I chuckled unintentionally and said "That will be fine, thank you."

A bone of contention with many paid race events these days is the entrance fee, and what you receive in return for it. I think in relation to this particular event, spare safety pins could have been made available. It was a £25 entrance fee. No participant medal to be awarded, and only a Fruit of the Loom t-shirt, probably worth a fiver, issued at the end to finishers. Where does the rest of the money go?

One pin it is. I'll make do. As it was, the strapping on my back pack kept it secure across my chest, sort of?

I thought this would be a convenient time to visit the public conveniences before I set off for a couple of hours. Would you believe it, they'd skimped on the Portaloos as well as safety pins. Just two toilets. There were 150 entrants the last time I looked at the list of runners. The queue was starting to build already as more people arrived.

The time came for runners to gather for the briefing before the start. People were doing their own personal stretching and warm up routines. It always amuses me at this point because it feels like everyone is looking at each other, sizing them up, even staring at each other's clothing or running shoes. There is always the odd runner that goes off on a pre-run warm up, to me sometimes that appears too excessive. Leave the actual running for the race I say.

Off we went. The elites were at the front and soon disappeared with absolutely no chance of keeping up with them. Once around a muddy field, then to an incline around a motor cross track followed by a run into some woodland. I settled into a pace quite quickly after finding myself a pace maker right from the start. I stuck with him for a good 5 kilometres, until he darted off next to a tree to urinate. Peeing on a run is a complex thing, you know you need to go, but you really don't want to stop and waste valuable seconds. Then when you are standing there begging it to come out, but it won't because you know there's groups of runners going past. So I tend to have to really go off track and be hidden in the woods, so it ends up being minutes off my time not seconds. I found myself another person to follow after I lost 'wee-wee' man.

When I first start a race, I have dry, clean clothes on and I find myself jumping over or dodging puddles. But as soon as either one or both feet are starting to get a little damp, I end up not caring so much and I just wade on through any amount of water. The inevitable will happen, but I do try and prolong the comforts of dry, fabric softener smelling clothes as long as possible.

About half way round the course I was starting to feel fatigued. The previous day had seen me training on my bike with the lads from work. It was the maiden voyage of my new racing bike that I bought from Halfords. I was eager to test its speed capabilities, and of course eager to show off my fitness to the lads, so of course I really went for it. Thus my legs were suffering a little with this run, a lot sooner than expected.

I've found in my time of entering races that there are certain categories of runners. Let me talk about 'Super fit guy' as there are a few of them here today. Let's make a profile so you can visualise him. So this guy is in his thirties, he has a fairly decent well paid job, we deduce this because he has to have to pay for the best brand named running apparel, upper management I'd say. He has a fit wife that sometimes joins him on runs, but is often busy with her Zumba class that she runs or organises. Super fit guy has two young children, and on his days off when he is not doing extreme sporty stuff, he takes the kids cycling. Super fit guy has a mountain bike that pulls one of those fancy children trailers and the other child has its little bike with stabilisers. All the bikes go on the brand new top of the range estate car with roof bars to put all the bikes on. I know what you are thinking - too much people watching has been going on here!

I'm running down a steep hill, taking it easy not to slip on wet rocks, which my trail trainers really don't like. I hear footsteps coming up behind me, in running you can't look behind you for fear of falling over, so I wait for the faster man to go past. Oh here he is, 'Super fit guy.' How can I tell? He has calf muscles the size of my head and the obligatory Ironman emblem tattooed on his leg. This particular running god even had a canine friend eager to get past me too.

There was a scattering of check points throughout the run, as you approach them a marshal with his clipboard asks for your race number. Invariably you are too exhausted for any words to expel from your mouth, so you just point at your number pinned to your body. Some people like to look cool with it pinned to their thigh.

Check points didn't disappoint on this occasion. There was a buffet of water, crisps, nuts and those sugary jellybeans. I normally don't like to have finger food that other people have touched and I know they have definitely not washed their hands. On these occasions, I sort of figure I've paid for the food in the entrance fee, so I'll get as much as possible.

After giving my race number to the headmaster, I proceeded to fill a pocket full of the sugar filled colourful midgets. I carried on running to try and make up the time I had spent on a toilet trip. There's definitely an art to eating while you are running. Basically try not to choke or bite your tongue. Chew slowly, breaking the sweets down into little bits to be able to swallow them and remembering to breathe. It comes with practice.

Another one of my many pet hates is having sticky fingers. Inevitably, however, after shovelling a large number of sugar filled bombs into my salivating mouth, I ended up with sticky fingers...arrrgghhh. It was like I'd just dipped my fingers in glue. I couldn't think about anything else. I was trying my best to run a trail half marathon at a reasonable time, there's no way I wanted to stop now and get water from my pack and use emergency toilet roll to wipe them. So as I'm trotting along I'm thinking of ingenious ways to get water without stopping. I could suck some water from my hydration bladder, filling my mouth full, then spitting it on my hands. Nope, that was a waste of water. So it came to me, I have short cut hair which at this time was drenched in sweat. I rubbed my hands all over my head and wiped them on my shorts. Glad "fit guy" wasn't watching me. I felt more relaxed now and could settle down to running. I had a sticky scalp, but my hands felt great.

This was the toughest half marathon I have done to date. There were many inclines, some of which were steep walking pace inclines. I wasn't prepared for that sort of elevation, I suppose I should have read the race details more thoroughly as it's normally on there.

The finish line was in sight, when I say finish line, it wasn't like the London Marathon finish. This was two flags and some cones near the registration pop up tent. Normally I would speed up a little to the end and go for a sprint over the line as it always gives me a buzz, but I had no more gas in the tank. As usual at finish lines, whatever size they are, you always get family and friends clapping and cheering anyone who comes over the line. That's always a welcome sight and to hear them say well done is great, especially as I go on some runs alone with no spectators.

I made it to the end, gave my race number so that my time was recorded and accepted my cheap fruit of the loom t-shirt before returning to the car.

Strangely there was no wow factor for me on finishing this race, not sure I would run here again. 

# Chapter Ten

# Tough Mudder Mud Run challenge

27thSeptember 2015

Before the action started, of course I needed a picture of that banner!

And so did Clair!

Ha, ha I have found a willing participant.

I organised to do the Tough Mudder with my daughter Clair. She has many similar traits to me. Mentally and physically wanting to push herself come to mind as the main ones. There are so many obstacle course challenges available at the moment but Tough Mudder was our choice over all others as it's known to be the toughest.

I live in South Wales and Clair lives in Essex and this Tough Mudder event takes place in Hampshire, so for those of you who maybe unfamiliar with the geography of the UK, it's in the middle of both of us. We travelled equal distances across the country to Hampshire and stayed at a campsite in the beautiful New Forest. It's a place we both know very well as we've stayed there many times on camping holidays.

We met up on the camp site and, after setting up the tent, we went into Brockenhurst village to buy our pre-run food at the local supermarket. The Tough Mudder Race wasn't due to start until 10.20 a.m the next day, so I figured a glass or two of wine might be appropriate that evening as it was a rare occasion to catch up with my busy daughter who was at university in her final year studying to become a registered children's nurse. I am so proud of her.

Tough Mudder is a very challenging off road obstacle course. It is designed by Special Forces troops and there are events like this that take place all over the world. This particular course that we planned to take on was over a distance of 12 miles with 29 obstacles along the route. The obstacles vary in toughness, from monkey bars over water, electrified wires to run through, a minus 1 degree Celsius plunge pool full of ice and many wooden structures to climb over. To get over most of the structures, you need assistance, a lot of standing on shoulders is required. The emphasis with Tough Mudder is teamwork..... And mud.

Our evening meal consisted of my fish of choice pre-race, salmon on a bed of rice with mixed vegetables. The perfect combination of protein and carbs. Clair and I settled into our sleeping compartments, I relaxed with some reading while Clair completed mentally taxing exercises in her puzzle book. By 9 p.m. we called it a night ready for our big day. We were both excited.

It was a typical UK camping night, cold and uncomfortable. However, we awoke to a beautiful sunny morning. The forecast was for it to be a warm 19 degrees Celsius and dry. These would be perfect weather conditions for the challenge that lay ahead. For breakfast we dined on porridge and boiled eggs, not in the same bowl though.

It took us a 30 minute drive to get to the huge outdoor event area. We could tell this was going to be a popular event as there were even AA (Automobile Association) yellow signs up as we approached from a few miles away, and a huge queue of cars was forming on the carriageway leading into a massive field already filled with cars. The event is held over the weekend and there are camping facilities at the event area too. Because of the large number of entrants, the starting times are staggered. We parked and made our 1 mile walk to the registration area. We signed our waiver, I didn't read it, probably said if I die it's not the fault of Tough Mudder. We were handed our race numbers and safety pins and made our way to the obligatory marker pen station. We wrote our race numbers on our foreheads and some other war paint like lines on our cheeks. Once we had handed our bags over at the bag holding place, we made our way to the start area. We were ready.

Our wave of people were forced to do some warm up exercises by some random bloke with a microphone. God I loathe this bit. Once at the start line, another excitable person with a microphone stressed the importance of safety, looking out for each other and about teamwork. Can we just go now please, I thought? Otherwise I'm going to need the toilet!

After a countdown we were off, we followed some random guy who was holding aloft a flare which was emitting orange smoke. Orange is the unique colour for Tough Mudders emblem and now famous headband.

Clair and I had huge grins on our faces as we got into a nice jogging rhythm. We were out to complete this challenge rather than race or come in at any time. Which is actually a nice feeling. Clair was wearing a sleeveless top.  I was wearing my compression top with arms, it was black, and as the sun got hotter so did I. But having something on your arms became useful later.

I can't describe all 29 obstacles, but there are a few that really stand out and have a lasting impact on my mind and my body.

Arctic Enema

This consists of an ice plunge pool with real ice cubes and a temperature of -1℃. It was not nice at all. You run to each obstacle and as you get there you have seconds to listen to the instructions given by a friendly marshal, this was one obstacle where you didn't want to think about it for too long. We were told to slide down into the freezing pool, when we bob back up we will be in shock, so we need to quickly catch our breath then go under water again deeper this time and navigate ourselves under some tyres. Well, the marshal was right with the 'in shock' part. We went down the slide as a pair and both came up as a pair, the look on Clair's face I still remember to this day. Neither of us could catch our breath properly so we were dragged by a safety guy towards the side and dunked under a shallower section. We got out, I instinctively said to Clair, 'Let's go we have to keep moving.' Clair has this ability to laugh in quite weird situations and this was one of them, we were running to the next obstacle and she couldn't stop chuckling to herself. I think she wanted to do that one again.

King of the swingers

I enjoyed this one. Once we climbed up the scaffold ladder onto a platform, we could see what we had to do. A big leap was needed to grab a metal handled swing which swung you towards a cow bell. The idea was to whack it with your hand and sound the bell. This was about 20 feet above a big pool of brown, most probably cold water. Once you hit, or tried to hit the bell, you had to drop into the stagnant water below, you couldn't swing back. I went first, I just kept looking and focussing on the handle. I'm not a fan of heights so this was a big challenge for me, the worst that would happen is you would slip off the handle, or worse still, totally miss it. DING, I got it. Swam as quickly as I could to get out of the way of the next person which was Clair. She being lighter missed the bell, but while swimming to the edge she had that cheeky smile on her face again.

Funky Monkey

Upper body strength has always been one of my better areas, so this I was looking forward to. Not a lot to explain about this one. A really long line of monkey bars over the usual dark, stagnant water. It was pretty hard, you really had to have some good hand strength and the ability to get a rhythm of swinging your body from left to right. Clair slipped off and plummeted into the chocolate coloured water. I made it to the end...hoorah.

Everest

The aptly named penultimate obstacle. As this is one of the hardest to do there was quite a queue forming. Not good when you are soaked through with dirty water and standing still. I started to get cold and my fingers started to take on a whitish complexion. With no time to worry about that basically to complete this obstacle you had to run up a curved wall. You needed to get some speed up, otherwise you would just slide down again, then have to go back and do the run up again. Hence the queues. There was a thick rope hanging down and the idea is to grab hold of that and pull yourself up with the aid of others at the top. My turn finally came, I thought this would be easy for me, being good at running. I didn't slide down thankfully, but it was a struggle. This was mainly because my strength had been zapped by the other 27 obstacles. I pulled on the rope and managed to swing my leg up. Other contestants were frantically grabbing hold of my arms, legs, anything they could reach! Once over it is then my turn to help others up including Clair. She had an awesome run up and managed to get quite far up the rope. I hurled her over and told her to go down and wait for me. I carried on helping a few more people up.

Electroshock Therapy

This is it. The last one. We were both excited about this. Tough Mudder claims that there is 10,000 volts running through the strands of electrified wires hanging down. I admit that I doubted this initially and presumed it was a hyped up statement, but I believe them now. I had a tactic in mind, and that was just to run as fast as possible through them. Surely it's just like touching a 12v electrified fence, I THOUGHT. That thought was very naive and totally wrong. The very first one zapped me, I have never felt anything like that before in my life. At that point I tried to slalom through the wires, I ended up getting zapped about 5 times. I got to the end and turned around to see Clair dodging through them, with the occasional zap and with the biggest grin on her face. She loved it!

We did it, we had both completed the Tough Mudder course. I don't think Clair's smile could have been any bigger and the adrenaline buzz, excuse the pun, that we both experienced lasted for several hours after the race. We collected our complimentary Tough Mudder orange sweatband, t-shirt, hand towel and free bottle of cider. My cider hardly touched the sides as I quickly consumed it. On the walk back to the car park we met up with one of Clair's friends who had also been brave enough to take on the challenging course. He showed us a huge bruise on his neck that he sustained from the electric wires. I had scrapes and chunks of skin missing on my hands. Clair had a few red marks, otherwise we were pretty much unscathed.

I had come prepared knowing that we would be caked in mud, so I laid black bin liners onto my car seats before we got in. However, I hadn't prepared for stopping off at a supermarket near the campsite for our evening meal provisions. I knew that if we didn't stop on the way back to the campsite, once I was showered, sitting down and recovering I would not want to walk or move to go out again. You can imagine, in our muddy running kits and carrying our shopping basket, we received a few funny looks from staff and customers. By now the mud had dried on our faces and our clothing. I did feel slightly bad with mud falling off my running shoes and being spread around the shop floor but we were committed now and inside the supermarket so we had to finish the shopping and get out as quickly as possible.

After a much needed shower at the campsite and with a belly full of food, we retired to our beds. We slept well that night, physically exhausted and highly content knowing we had just completed a Tough Mudder extreme challenge.

My daughter Clair still beautiful covered in mud!

# Chapter Eleven

# The Gower 50

10th October 2015

It's called the Gower 50 because it's 50 miles. My first ultramarathon and just months after completing my first marathon. I was particularly excited and apprehensive about this because apart from it being an awesome challenge to see if my mind and body would take me this far I was still aching after completing the Tough Mudder challenge on 27th September, plus I hadn't been putting in the mileage training in the last couple of weeks.

I prepared my running kit the night before, it contained my usual running stuff. However, for an off road ultramarathon there are also some compulsory items to be included in the kit. A torch, compass, whistle, water, food, waterproof trousers, waterproof jacket, emergency blanket, first aid kit, hat and gloves. It may seem like overkill for some, but this is standard stuff for an ultramarathon especially one that will go on into the night.

I had the usual carb loading meal the night before, vegetarian meatballs and pasta, washed down with some red wine - perfect.

Up at 0400hrs to visit the toilet. The anxiety had kicked in or was it the red wine? Registration was open at 0600hrs, briefing at 0710hrs and a start at 0730hrs. The run was taking place an hour's drive away so I had plenty of time for my ablutions and food, not together though, not this morning anyway! All went to plan and I arrived in Gower early as usual at 0555hrs. It was still pitch black when I drove into a field which I thought was the parking area, the registration was in a nearby activity centre.

With my larger than normal kit stuffed into my small backpack I went to the kit inspection desk. I was slightly nervous in case it was inspected and something was missing because there would be no time or opportunity to replace anything that was missing or incorrect. The bespectacled lady looked like she belonged in the reception of a doctor's surgery, so I wasn't too hopeful. Surprisingly I passed with flying colours, and was able to move on to the registration desk to receive my map, race number, check point card and a clear zip lock bag to put it in. It was 0610hrs and I was ready to go, wait a minute, maybe one last visit to the toilet. Luckily, I never leave home without some emergency toilet roll stuffed into various pockets, which was handy on this occasion because this toilet was clean out of paper.

I had nothing to do now, and knew no one, so I stood around staring at a map on the wall pretending to read it, while doing my usual people watching. As I looked around the hall, these people all looked like hardened, seasoned runners. Don't know what it is about extreme runners, but they have a sort of look which makes them all the same. This wasn't your normal Parkrun or 10k race line up, there was no wobbly fat in sight, just lean, mean running machines. A sense of self-doubt crept in.

I made my way to the canteen area and bought a filter coffee. It came in a chipped mug, one of those generic white mugs you get in a greasy spoon cafe. It was nice coffee though, and even though I didn't need it I did need something to do. I also bought 3 flapjacks which I stuffed into the last remaining space in my backpack. As I was on my own, and I am not into small talk, I took my mug of caffeine delight outside to the car and munched on some banana bread I had brought for when I finished. I glugged down the coffee and went back to the hall, it was definitely a strong coffee, as I needed to go number two's again. Yes, that'll be three times already this morning.

0710hrs race briefing was short and sweet, just went over safety issues and phone numbers should we need help. We all walked together outside towards the start line. I was standing in the door way when we left, so I ended up at the front at the start line. Anyone who runs knows that the elite runners go to the front, so I started to get eyed up and down by the runners around me, it was quite amusing really, if only they knew what little preparation I'd put into this.

We all set off and I soon found a comfortable running pace, however within minutes the others were whizzing past me, obviously their comfortable pace is quicker than mine.

The route was mainly on the Wales Coastal Path, so all off road with sand dunes, beaches, steps, grassland and shallow river crossings. The coastal path affords some stunning views, but it's always difficult to have a look while trying to run. Sometimes you just want to stop and have a look around, but that sort of defeats the purpose in me being here. The terrain was a mixture of rocks, sand or big roots, with plenty of opportunities to be tripped up if you are not concentrating. As we were all given a map, we should know where we were going, but sometimes you end up being guided by the runner in front especially when you follow someone for a while and you assume they know where they are going. There were moments when a group would come to a standstill not knowing which path to choose, it's not always 100% clear on a map. Some guys were being guided by a GPX file they had downloaded onto their fancy watches. I prefer the old fashioned way of map reading.

At times I was totally alone, I couldn't see anyone ahead or behind me. A couple of times I relied on members of the public to guide me onto the coastal path, when again it wasn't clear on the map. Thank god for dog walkers.

Along the whole route there were 7 manned check points. These were well stocked with flat cola, water, crisps, nuts, cakes and other sugary sweets. After spending 10 minutes watching people munch and devour their way through the food, I realised ultra-running is also an eating contest with some running in between!

Throughout the course there were 5 compulsory clip points. Attached to an orange flag was a plastic tool which you used to clip you check point card, basically to prove you were there. If one was missed it was a 20 minute time penalty.

Due to work commitments and time constraints I hadn't done any training specific to long distance running for over three weeks. Before I did the Tough Mudder I was suffering from a bad cold and I was just getting over that when I was plunged into icy, stagnant water in the name of fun! This didn't help me right now as I was still pretty exhausted from work and doing Tough Mudder.

Unusually for me I began to suffer around the 10k mark. The course was tough, there were many miles to run, and other terrain challenges ahead. There are frequent sets of steps and expanses of sand dunes that seem to go on forever. Pain was beginning to generate around my left hip joint. I took some ibuprofen and waited for the pain to magically disappear, I wanted to be cured of all pain. It didn't happen! I continued up and down the coastal path sometimes jogging, sometimes walking fast. I was starting to get passed by runners who could see I was in some discomfort by my stride or limping. They would kindly ask "Are you ok?" It's not like you can have a good conversation when you are in a competitive race, so I didn't hold them up and just said "Yes, I fine thanks". I chugged down another two ibuprofen after eating a flapjack, thinking maybe a higher dose would do the trick.

A few more kilometres away from checkpoint 3 and 36 kilometres into the run, I decided the pain was getting too much now, and enough was enough. The anti-inflammatory medication was not working and because of the pain on my left hip, I began compensating by heavily weight bearing on my right leg which in turn was making my right leg hurt too. A fellow runner suggested I shouldn't quit and maybe rest for a good 15 minutes at the check point and it will probably be ok...really?

I got to the feeding frenzy and had some salty nuts and more water. I sat down on some stairs, and it felt really good to just sit and not be in an upright position with my weight bearing down on my hips and legs. All the pigs at the trough seemed to be upbeat and enjoying themselves, they had the running buzz that I so wanted right now, I was jealous. Maybe I could carry on, maybe it was just a mind thing that I could run through.

I continued on my way, the next checkpoint was 10 kilometres away at 'The Mumbles'. I finally got mobile reception on my phone so I called home. I told Sarah of my pains. She is an ex-nurse, so she always says it like it is. "Rest and paracetamol is needed," she said. Ok, cool, rest was not an option, so its paracetamol I'm after. I looked on the map, and realised the nearest shops will be near the next check point 10 km's away.

At one point I went adrift off the coastal path and had to wade through a river to regain my route. Luckily it was only ankle deep. Although my trail trainers had gotten a bit damp due to the beach running, they were now waterlogged and had sand in them which was exfoliating my feet, not in a nice way. I got to civilization at a lovely small place called Caswell Bay. It had a toilet, an ice cream shop and a small cafe. There were a few people cheering the runners on as we passed through intermittently. As I hobbled closer a lady noticed my pain and asked if I was ok. I explained not really, my hip was in pain, she thoughtfully offered me some paracetamol, which I thankfully accepted from her. I've been saved I thought, I took the pills and carried on waiting for the magical cure. The cure didn't come.

Just before checkpoint 4 my cheap Garmin GPS watch battery died. The stats at that point were 6 hours, 29 miles or 46 Kilometres roughly and 3878 calories burnt. My watch had the right idea...turn off. Was this a sign from above?

I made it to checkpoint 4 which was 46.5 kilometres. I had some water, flat cola and crisps. I don't like crisps as such, but felt rather rebellious being in so much pain. The drugs weren't working so I had to try anything. I sat down thinking, maybe I do need rest and time for the drugs to work. I gave it 10 minutes, stood up and walked around and it still hurt. I was very tempted to say to one of the marshals, "Hey guys, I wanna retire". But there were loads of jelly baby munching, steel faced, happy runners standing around. I couldn't do it in front of them, in case they sneered and poked sticks at me or something.

I said "Thank you" to the marshals for their tooth decaying snacks and headed off along Mumbles promenade. Great, it was Saturday. Mumbles is a seaside resort and full of tourists and locals. Picture me, sweating, smelly, sandy and hobbling like a zombie out of a movie. My race number was half hanging off due to catching it on a branch. As I did this it ripped my running top too so I did look dishevelled. The staring public probably thought I'd seriously gone off course from a run somewhere as the runners had really thinned out now.

Finally the time had come for me to stop. The pain was too much and I was only half way. I got the map out which had a list of emergency numbers. There were 5 numbers to call, all mobiles. I started at the top, each number dialled was going straight into voicemail, nothing uncommon in rural Wales. The last number I called was answered by Pete. As luck would have it, he was just leaving the checkpoint I had been at last, he was on a mission to buy some more cola for the sugar fans. Ah ha, maybe that's why they were so happy, they were on a sugar high. I had to describe exactly where I was for Pete to find me which he did in a few minutes. Once in his warm Volkswagen Transporter I explained my situation. Pete was very understanding and tried to reassure me and make me feel better about myself. He explained that the previous year he saw two experienced triathletes that had completed Ironman events, who had to quit through exhaustion. Ok, that did make me feel better for a few minutes.

My rescuer took me back to checkpoint 4 where I was offered a camp chair. I sat behind the food station feeling sorry for myself. The runners kept coming in feeding on the smorgasbord of sugar and fatty foods, I tried not to eye contact them, in case they asked what I was doing there. I instantly felt better when two other guys quit at this checkpoint. One had the same hip issue, and the other had trouble with his knees. Good old ITB syndrome. My rescuer told me and the other quitters to go and sit in a nearby cafe until he could take us back to the finish line so we could access our vehicles. We had to wait until the last person went through the checkpoint. While we were enjoying a decent coffee another young guy quit, he also had knee trouble. It was two hours after I retired that they started dismantling the food tent and we made our way back to race HQ. I said goodbye to my new friends and headed back to the car. I looked across at the finish line and people were arriving in dribs and drabs. 'That could have been me,' I thought. It was starting to get dark as I made my way through the villages on the Gower, I kept seeing the odd random runner with a head torch and map, some running, some walking. I admired them, but I was still jealous.

I hate quitting things, especially a physical challenge. But could I have gone on any further? The clear answer was no. The next morning I could hardly walk. I had made the right decision on the day. Big tip for next time: I must train specifically for endurance running, and take paracetamol with me.

# Chapter Twelve

# Ultra-White Collar Boxing

After my Gower 50 disappointment I was in a fitness quandary. Could I continue to train and run over long distances with my ITB issues? I need a focus to make me train hard and I had no idea what else I could do. Then I saw a status that an old friend of mine had put on Facebook. It mentioned sponsorship for his upcoming charity boxing match. I pondered over this for a few days thinking 'Maybe I could have a go,' and use this as another training element to my running regime. I had had one amateur fight before, when Sarah and I lived in Australia.

I lost that fight mainly due to lack of training, it was silly and quite dangerous to have gone ahead with it, but "He who dares, wins," or so the SAS say!

Ultra White Collar Boxing (UWCB) offers 8 weeks free training from ex professional fighters at a gym locally. The training sessions are twice a week. Along with all the other entrants, you are taught how to box and to how to get fit at the same time. You can also go to the gym outside of the training times, but that costs £1 per session. On fight night the event is held in a prestigious setting, the venue closest to me being the Swansea Liberty Stadium. The stadium is the home of Swansea City Football Club and the Ospreys rugby team. The UWCB event is a black tie evening of entertainment at a cost of £20 per ticket, there are also ringside tables with 3 course meal for £50 a head.

All the entrants are expected to do, to access this free 8 weeks of boxing training and to take part in the charity event, is to raise a minimum of £50 towards Cancer Research UK. This is a worthy cause and the more money raised the better. Entrants achieve this by setting up a Just Giving page. The organisers also like you to try and sell 20 tickets as a minimum.

I spoke to Sarah about it, and she said "Why are being indecisive about this, sign up." So with that endorsement I went ahead and signed up.

I told Chris, a work colleague of mine, and he was very interested in this too. Chris has no boxing experience as such, but has been doing martial arts for years, so he wasn't fazed at the thought of getting punched. After a few days he signed up too. The charity is very close to our hearts, as we had both lost a member of our family to cancer.

The Welcome evening was held in the gym where we were to train. It wasn't really an evening as such, more a brief chat from one of the organisers thanking us for signing up. He handed out the Cancer Research UK literature giving us hints and tips on how to raise money. There were probably about 20 wannabe boxers there that night. We were given the first training date, then off we went.

Training started in earnest. The very next day after the welcome chat, Chris and I met for an unofficial training session at a huge local gym where they had a boxing ring and punch bags. Chris was keen to lose some weight and generally get fit through this whole experience. I just wanted to get fitter and hopefully last longer in the ring than before. After a little warm up on the treadmills, we donned our gloves and entered the ring. Chris had a boxing app on his phone, complete with a bell to signify the start and finish of the 2 minute rounds. DING DING.

We began to light spar, which meant just moving around the ring, dodging each other's shots with punches that are not full force. It became apparent after the first 30 seconds how tiring boxing is. The 2 minutes was finally up. We took out our gum shields, leant on the ropes gasping for air. Quick glug of water then DING DING.

Although we were not going full force with head shots, which allowed each other a bit of time to react and move our heads, when it came to body shots we both hit as hard as we could, well I did. I happened to catch Chris in the lower back, which turned out to be his kidneys. He was in pain instantly. We stopped for a moment for Chris to get his breath, then continued sparring. I swear it wasn't on purpose but I just found myself in that position again, I had hit him in the lower back. Once again Chris was doubled up in pain. That was the finishing shot and the sparring complete for today.

Chris and I moved onto the punch bags. I've owned a punch bag before, and just hit it, probably not with any finesse or skill at all. Unfortunately, these punch bags were in the main gym where all the weightlifting machines were being over-worked by steroid taking lumps of muscle. I did feel slightly awkward. Hopefully within the boxing training they would teach us how to fight a swinging bag, because at the moment I felt like one of those old boxers you see in pictures, wearing silly shorts, sporting a big moustache and holding his fists up one in front of the other.

A few days later Chris had to go to the doctors because of the pain and the fact he was peeing blood. Thankfully the blood was just down to the bruising flushing through from his kidneys. I did some research on the internet which was quite scary, that's not a place I would try to hit again, it can result in death. It is a combat sport after all.

The first official training was in a dedicated boxing gym situated within a community centre on a council estate. Whenever I walked into the small gym a stench hit the back of the throat instantly. Stale sweat, blood and tears were the components of the foul smelling odour, which had no means of escape as the one tiny window propped open by a stick was not going to make any difference.

During this first session in the sweat pit, I looked around and the walls were totally covered in posters of old fight nights, pictures of boxers, and paper cuttings of winners with battered faces holding their trophies aloft. One wall was just a mirrored wall, I presumed so you could see how disfigured you looked after a fight. The boxing ring itself was fairly small, not a lot of room to escape the barrage of punches. On one corner I noticed a whitish towel hanging limply, it appeared to be blood stained, and probably contained years and years of snot. Suspended from the ceiling were many punch bags of varying shapes and sizes, they all looked at bit tired and bruised. I somehow felt slightly sorry for them, thinking I hope I don't look that way at the end of this.

Contenders were starting to arrive for the session before the 7 o'clock start. There were probably about 20 of us in total. It was only Chris that I knew there, otherwise it was like school kids on the first day at a new school. Everyone looked at a little anxious and we were not given any guidance, and so we just stood around smiling politely to one another.

The people who appeared to be coaches didn't give any formal introductions, we just worked it out after a few sessions. There was a young, former professional boxer there, and an amateur boxer who had had a fight in the last charity event. Finally an old guy, who looked like Mickey the boxing coach in the 'Rocky' movies, appeared. I pondered if maybe he had also been a pro boxer at some point in his life. There was no time for pondering or questions, the Mickey look alike shouted out to us to start warming up and stretching.

The physical side of the boxing training was pretty easy for me and I enjoyed that. I was probably one of the most aerobically fit contenders, alongside another guy who was a runner and a part time personal trainer. I thought to myself 'I've got a head start on most which is a bonus.' Over the next few months I kept up my own running as much as possible. I bought a turbo trainer and a road bike and I set the turbo trainer up in the dining area, so that most mornings before work I could get up early and cycle for half an hour. Cycling was less stressful on my ITB and protected my hips but enabled me to train.

I had been promoted at work into a supervisory position, which was great, but with it came more hours at work. With that I started missing a number of boxing training sessions. When I did go, I felt I was playing catch up all the time. It was like being a kid that had skipped PE at school and was not really part of the team anymore. The rest of the group had received more technical training in the sessions I had missed and it showed. I had my eye on someone I would have liked to fight in the group, but now even he was looking spot on with his boxing skills.

One particular training session I got to do some light sparring with two of the coaches. It was awful, I didn't really know what to do, danced around out of breath, trying to dodge some really hard hits. I got caught on the chin, and it wasn't pleasant. The problem was I didn't know how to defend myself against the shots and be able to throw them effectively at the same time. After about a minute, which seemed like 10 minutes, my Mickey Rourke lookalike called time and we stopped. I was leaving the ring when he said, "You've really missed some sessions, you need to catch up". I felt a little humiliated as there were other members of the team watching me. A feeling I once had as a kid at school when I was behind on my maths and being told to have extra tuition during break times. I knew there was no way of catching up now with just two weeks to go before the fight. I had my work schedule to meet and I was aware of the sessions I would miss. Decisions had to be made.

Having already had one amateur fight when I was in Australia, and having lost terribly, I knew the feeling of pure humiliation that was to come if I entered the ring again unprepared. To put up a good fight against a similar opponent and putting on a good show for the audience involves a certain degree of skill. A skill I didn't have yet. So reluctantly I decided to pull out. I wasn't really bothered what people thought, but I hate to quit. It takes a brave man to step into a boxing ring and I was gutted not to continue training with Chris as we had started this challenge together.

I had raised some money for Cancer Research UK so I was happy with that. I went to the charity night to watch my colleague Chris and the others fight their bouts. The atmosphere at these events is really good, each contender comes out to the music of their choice, walks or dances up to the ring just like a pro boxer would. Looking around the venue there was probably about 500 people, all cheering and clapping. Chris lost his fight on points, but he put up a valiant effort. He said to me afterwards, "Never again mate".

I had clearly made the right decision.

# A note from Nigel

All in all 2015 was a year of fitness trials, triumphs and tribulations. I have no regrets. I am an amateur in everything I attempt and I don't pretend to be otherwise. I may try some extreme things with my diet and exercise but I keep it real. I like a beer and I like red wine and unless I was considering becoming a pro in any sport these beverages will remain on my consumption list.

So how did I cope with training on a fish based diet?

Well I have deliberately tried to avoid filling the chapters with food and recipes, because I know a large majority of the readers are more focused on the running, training activities and reading about my personal experiences. That said, if you want to know more about the nutritional side of my fishy experiment during these training periods then there is a foodie section coming up next.

# The fishy runner's favourite foods.

During this fishy experiment I was conscious of ensuring that I included enough protein, calcium and carbohydrates in my diet, not only to provide energy to train hard, but also to provide the essential nutrients for muscle growth and repair. I am not a dietician and I have no training in this subject. Therefore I was totally reliant on my research, discussions with my wife, a nurse of 28 years, and consultations with my doctor. Even though I don't think of myself as aging, at the tender age of 43, I realised that it was a good idea to get myself checked out before embarking on such an extreme course of events and training activities. Luckily all the checks were clear and I was good to go!

To embark on a pescetarian diet was relatively easy for me as I love fish, although as a meat eater I did previously enjoy a rump steak, cooked rare, and the occasional bacon sandwich. The removal of meat from my diet did not impact on the way I ate or cooked in relation to my main meals, but initially I did wonder if, while I was going to push my body to extremes with training and challenges, I could actually consume enough protein from fish. I need not have let that thought occupy even a moment in my brain because it was so much easier than I thought.

My favourite fish is salmon, however it can be expensive. Salmon is an awesome source of protein at 34g per medium fillet/steak. I had read that eating salmon more than twice a week could result in me consuming high levels of mercury. Checking further, I found this to be unsubstantiated in research conducted in US and UK. Other fish that I enjoy are mackerel, tuna and hake. With a wide range of fish to choose from I planned out my meals to provide not only variety, but also ways of ensuring I could consume adequate levels of carbohydrates in pre-race or event night meals.

As I suffer from IBS, another consideration for me was trying to avoid foods which aggravate my condition. I studied the FODMAP eating plans recommended by my local doctor. FODMAP is an acronym for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, monosaccharides and Polyols. In layman's terms this refers to the different types of carbohydrates found in food. For example:

Lactose in dairy products

Galactans in soybeans and lentils

Polyols in artificial sweeteners

Fructose in some fruits.

The aim is to have a low FODMAP diet to alleviate excessive production of gas in the gut, which in turn helps to reduce bloating, pain and often the resultant alternating diarrhoea and constipation.

I have broken this food section down into meals and snacks, (they don't all contain fish!) The aim is to give you an insight into the foods that I consumed during my fishy experiment.

Breakfast

The most important meal of the day for everyone and especially so if you are going out on a training run. Careful consideration is required to ensure that you have the energy you need. In my case, protein comes from soy milk and eggs. These are two of my favourite breakfast options and I find that they, in particular, keep me running for longer.

I love avocado for the healthy fats that it provides and, apart from having it in this poached egg and avocado combo, also enjoy eating it on toast with Marmite or yeast extract for increased intake of essential B vitamins. As well as helping to maintain healthy skin and brain function, the B group vitamins help our bodies convert food into fuel, just what I needed.

Avocado toast with poached egg

The avocado mix is made as follows:

½ avocado

Seasoning

Fresh or dried herbs

Method

While the eggs are poaching, simply mash the avocado pulp with the herbs and season to taste, before placing it in the fridge to chill. If you have a strong constitution in the mornings try adding a pinch of chilli powder, which gives it an awesome kick (but that's not good for me before I hit the road running!)

Place your toast on a plate, spoon on the avocado mix and spread thickly and place your poached egg on top. A garnish is optional, but I love to add some fresh chives to dress it as we have an abundance in our garden. Fresh basil or coriander works really well too.

With eggs providing 7g or protein in each egg and vitamins A/D/E in the egg yolk this is a staple food in my pescetarian diet.

Porridge oats with soy milk and fresh strawberries

A simple quick breakfast with slow release carbohydrates to keep you feeling full for longer. I use fresh fruit to sweeten my porridge to avoid sugar or artificial sweetener. However if I need sweeteners without fruit I use a natural sweetener like honey or Stevia.

Stevia is made from the natural extract of the Stevia Rebaudiana plant and is reported to be 10-15 times sweeter than sugar with no calories and no aftertaste.

Snacks

Banana bread

My favourite recipe for this delicious snack, which is ideal for me as it's not too sweet, is a variation on a Jamie Oliver recipe and which is made for my by step-daughter Samantha. I would have slices of this loaf with me on long distance training runs for a carbohydrate boost.

Ingredients

• olive oil

• 250 g self-raising flour

• 3 over ripe bananas

• 2 tablespoons apple juice

• 125 g unsalted butter

• 2 large eggs

• 2 tablespoons soft honey

Method

Preheat your oven to 180ºC

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 1-litre loaf tin by brushing it with olive oil

Dust the loaf tin with flour, tapping it to remove any excess flour

Peel and add the bananas to a mixing bowl

Using a fork, mash the bananas until smooth

Add the apple juice and stir to combine

In a separate bowl, beat the butter with a wooden spoon until creamy

Crack in the eggs one at a time, beating each one in well before adding the next

Fold in the flour, honey and banana mixture, taking care not to over mix

Spoon into the loaf tin, then bake in the hot oven for around 40 minutes, or until golden and cooked through

To see if it's done, stick a sharp knife into the middle of the loaf, if it comes out clean it's cooked; if there is mixture on the knife return it to the oven for 5 minutes and check again

When cooked, let the loaf cool slightly, then carefully turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely

Transfer to a plate and cut into slices.

This is an ideal recipe to use up over-ripe bananas which no one likes the look of to eat.

For a non-sweet snack a favourite is natural cottage cheese with salmon flakes or a smoked mackerel fillet and water biscuits. A smoked mackerel fillet has approximately 25g protein in 100g, an awesome super fishy food.

Lunch

This is sometimes my post run food when I have been mountain running in the mornings and so I need refuelling a quickly as possible. I have found a couple of ways to achieve this quickly.

I recently discovered frozen rice at the supermarket. It comes in portion size packs and takes only 3 minutes to cook in the microwave. However, sometimes I prepare a homemade mix the night before.

When the rice is cooked I add a tin of line caught tuna, after draining the spring water from the can, and mix it all together, seasoning with some black pepper and 5 olives.

A small tin of tuna can provide 40g of protein which is ideal as post run/post exercise food - and very fishy!

An alternative for lunch is to prepare a simple potato salad the night before with cold boiled potatoes, cut into chunks and mixed in a light mayonnaise sauce to coat. Season and sprinkle with fresh herbs, I love basil with this combination. With this I have a tin of sardines in tomato sauce as this provides me with approximately 22g protein in one small can.

Dinner

Seafood pie

I found this simple recipe on the packet of seafood mix from my local supermarket and it is so easy. I had to try it to prove to myself that it worked as I am often cynical about massive claims that appear too good to be true.

Here it is:

1 packet of mixed seafood - mine contained salmon chunks, cod, smoked salmon and king prawns.

Place the sea food mix in an oven proof dish and pour over 200mls of milk (I used soy milk)

Season and sprinkle with fresh or dried herbs

A squeeze of lemon juice over the top then cover with aluminium foil and cook at 180ºC

for 20 minutes.

While it cooks prepares some mashed potato.

When you take the seafood mix from the oven, uncover it and add the mash to the top and return to the oven to brown and crisp up the mash. I like to drizzle a little olive oil on the mash topping before returning it to the oven. (My daughter sprinkles Parmesan cheese on hers when she makes this, so feel free to experiment.)

15-20 minutes later you have a wonderful meal for 4 people with a delicious white fishy sauce with no flour needed. A result for me, because my sauces always come out lumpy.

Grilled Salmon fillets with cherry tomatoes

This is another quick and easy, yet tasty, fish meal.

Place the cherry tomatoes and salmon fillet (skin side down) on the grill tray and grill for 5 minutes.

Turn the salmon skin side up and brush with olive oil. Rub a little sea salt into the skin and sprinkle with dried mixed herbs.

Turn the cherry tomatoes, or remove them if they are small and have grilled already, then place the salmon in grill for a further 8 minutes

This combination is great served with tiny new potatoes or a large green salad.

I hope you enjoyed discovering this small selection of my favourite foods consumed during this personal challenge. If you try any of the recipes or combinations I hope you enjoy them.

Thank you for reading,

Nigel

# Connect with the author Nigel Butfield

Nigel & Sarah Jane Butfield

Link to Nigel's running blog & website - <https://thefishyrunner.wordpress.com/>

Facebook page <https://www.facebook.com/maycontainfish/>

Twitter <https://twitter.com/fishy_runner>

Photo book by Nigel Butfield

Taking up photography, as a cathartic exercise, after losing almost everything to the Brisbane floods in 2011 gave Nigel a different perspective on life and his Australian surroundings. There is an old saying that a person's eyes are the "window to their soul." We have found that our photographs are the window to our memories. This is the first book in a series from places we have lived, visited and enjoyed which we hope will appeal not only to followers of our adventures but also to people who are interested in photography or travel.

Find out more about Nigel's exploits in Australia and France in his wife's travel memoirs

Available at all good book stores individually or as a boxset. Visit Sarah Jane's author website for the links you need to get your copy. www.sarahjanebutfield.com
