Spring..the bringer of new challenges, new hopes and new beginnings.

 This blog post covers a mix of subjects as I was unsure whether to write a 'fitness with Gru' blog post or a 'Running for my health' blog post as I have so much on my mind at present and as always so much to say. In that regard I apologise in advance if this drags on....



2018 my story so far...

 As some of you will know I was doing two jobs as I slowly tried to move from working in the hotel industry to the fitness industry. This entailed me giving up my full time job in a hotel and going part time so I could also get my foot in the door at a local Everlast gym in my hometown, albeit just as a cleaner and general assistant. This happened back in Oct 2016 and the main reason I did it was I discovered I was suffering with Anxiety and it had worsened over recent years, so much so that I had to remove myself where possible from the environment that had worsened it, the hotel.

My mental health improved as I identified the problem and after receiving some helpful advice off my brother I have learnt to live with it and more importantly spot the signs of an on coming attack. Stressful situations and pressures at work often triggered attacks and the minds subconscious link between my stresses and the work environment often caused me to feel unwell in the hours leading up to a shift at work, all this before I knew why I was feeling unwell.

After identifying my problem as I said I sought to find the solution, in my case it was reducing my time in the stressful environment, hence going part time and taking a second part time job at a local gym.

The new environment did wonders for my health both mentally and physically and a change of jobs is often a worthwhile life choice for many as we can often become lost and stagnate in some run of the mill jobs.

I soon settled into the routine of the two jobs but after a while discovered that the original source of my issues were still being triggered sometimes by my work at the hotel and sought to change this.  In the Spring of 2018 my opportunity arose when more hours became available at the gym and a decision needed to be made.

It didn't take me long to decide that the gym was where my future lay and my commitment to my daily work standards there would be appreciated by many.

So as of April 2018 I am now full time at Everlast gym as a cleaner/general assistant and to be honest I like the job tremendously as I am clean, conscientious and a tad OCDP (obsessive compulsive disorder personality) so keeping things clean, tidy and particularly in order is my thing. Top this with working around people who are there to improve their health and well being and you have a win-win work environment for me.

New challenges..

I have kept my training to a minimum this year to start as I tried to decide what this year would bring for me event wise, challenge wise and more importantly fund raising wise. My biggest priority this year was always going to be my memorial fundraiser for my Mum to mark a year since she passed away last June in 2017.

Originally I had planned a memorial walk along the Welsh Coastal Path from Chester to Caernarfon and onto Snowdon in June. But I also wanted to do the new GB Ultras Snowdon 50 Ultra marathon in Sept 2018 and the recce/training runs for this event fell on the same week as the 1st memorial date the 2nd June. I was stumped as to what to do, but decided that the Ultra was a fitting tribute and challenge to take on especially as it was the first of it's kind in that area of Snowdonia and it took in so many local sights I was familiar with as a child whilst there on family holidays with my Mum, Dad and Brother.

I will be doing the Snowdon Ultra to raise money for the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team who are a vital voluntary unpaid rescue service keeping us all safe when in and around the Snowdonia National Park. They are out almost daily saving people from themselves when they have often gone out totally unprepared for what lays ahead on one of the most treachourous mountains in the UK. They deserve our full support. I will also be fundraising for Lupus UK which is a condition my Mum suffered from and is not widely known about but carries some nasty consequences and is currently incurable for it's sufferers. They are both worthy causes.

The recce runs for the Ultra will allow me to still be in Snowdonia on the all important date, and I would indeed be staying there on holiday with my Dad for most of that week anyway and it would allow me to pay my respects in the best way possible with an ascent and decent of Snowdon on the 2nd of June itself as part of the training run. 

This plan of action is currently my preferred direction for this year, and I am doing everything in my power to be able to get there in one piece. Unfortunately for me my knees have other ideas at the moment.

As always my right knee in particular is trying to throw a spanner in the works which is why I often take periods of time off from running events as I cycle instead to maintain fitness and allow me to actually recover ready for my next event. This worked in 2017 and I am hoping it will work in 2018.

I have currently only done one event this year so far (other than my run every day in Jan challenge for Mind) and that was a recent run out at the Caldervale Country 10 miler which is a cracking 10 mile road run out in the countryside North of Preston.

I had a good day there and my knee was fine to be honest, but a couple of days later it was a little niggled and I realised I was in fact running and recovering and then running again quite a lot recently and not dealing with the issue. It looks like I have a 'Bursa' at the bottom end of my hamstring tendon where it joins the lower leg aside the knee joint. It inflames after a run and tightens up and restricts full movement for a day or so, something I was just dealing with as I work and not running till later in the week when it was ok again.

I am now resting this for 1-2 weeks with no running, as rest is the prescribed repair process for this type of injury apparently and I can feel it improving daily. I am also fast approaching my next tough challenge though which is the Excalibur marathon at Moel Famau in North Wales which has 5500ft of climb over the entire route. I have done this before and it is extremely tough when in top shape, never mind restricted shape with lack of decent training.

I may consider dropping down to the half to be sensible so I don't flare the injury up again before my multiple Snowdon recce runs 3 weeks later. But I would also like to take my running poles and try them out here as practice for Snowdon etc, as the Excalibur has a lot of tough climbs and they would be of great benefit here. If I do the half then I won't take the poles as it will look and feel like overkill.

I am hoping by doing less regular social running and more few and far between tougher training runs I will be able to dial in my ultra specific skill set, of which I currently don't have many lol.

New Hope  

A this year unfolds I find myself grateful that my mental health is improving, but am aware that the Anxiety will always be there, and has in some way always been there. I just never recognised the flaws in my character as such. I have always been shy, quiet and reclusive, all of which are trademark 'Social Anxiety' issues. I used to drink to fit in on nights out to lose my inhibitions which were just my Anxiety kicking in, always worried what people thought of me, what I looked like, were the people over there laughing laughing at me? etc etc. I was incredibly self conscious and my self confidence took a beating.

Since changing to a Whole Food Plant Based diet and lifestyle I don't really drink any more so no longer use alcohol as a crutch, therefore I tend to avoid social occasions as my worsened Anxiety kicks in big time. This does save me money though and I no longer poison my system or general health in the process so I guess there are benefits.

I have come to the conclusion in recent months that not going out socially allows me to save money, this then allows me more opportunity to sponsor and support other fundraisers in their conquests and challenges and I really enjoy being able to do so. I would rather be poor and support those in need, than be rich, selfish and self centered.

'We will rightly be judged for that which we don't do, as much at that we do!'

New beginnings..

As I have said above I now follow a Whole Foods Plant Based diet and lifestyle, this also means I agree with and follow a fair few of the Vegan principles when it comes to animal welfare and our abuse of and misuse of the animals around us. Our health should be one of our main priorities and getting meat and dairy out of our daily diets is the biggest and most important step we can and should make.....

The benefits to us in changing our dietary lifestyle are vast. We can halt or reverse type 2 diabetes, we can halt and reverse several otherwise chronic diseases and we can make ourselves effectively heart disease proof, and the last one is the biggest killer of all. 

Why would you knowingly increase your risk of heart disease by huge amounts by continuing to eat processed meats for example when the World Health Organisation along with the major Nutritional experts confirmed that they are Class One carcinogens in the same class as Arsenic and Asbestos and are proven to cause Cancer?

We have our heads in the sand as we prefer to stick with what we know, or what we are addicted too. Lets face it we know it harms us, but we still do it. Our selfish need for self satisfaction overrides our bodies self defense mechanism as it tries to get the bad stuff out of our system , but we overload it and it starts to break down and self destruct. Heart disease build up, bad animal proteins feed cancerous cells and they start to run riot in our bodies until we either except the consequences and just blame genetics, hereditary traits or just accept our perceived fate. 

 'We have no fate, but that we make' 

As famously said by Sarah Connor in Terminator2 'We have no fate, but that we make'. We often create our own fate with our life choices and it is becoming incredibly more well known that our dietary choices can and will help or hinder our fates. It will also help or hinder those around us including our fellow animals in this our shared World. We do not own it, we do not have the right or the authority to abuse, defile or deal death to the innocents around us just because of our taste preferences. There is no widely known need or benefit to eating meat over plants, no matter how many meat and dairy industry funded research they care to deliberately try and confuse us with.

I continue to read up and watch what I can to educate myself with regard to Nutritional studies and research in the hope I can help those around me who wish to be helped. My physical health has improved since going 'plant based' and my athletic performance results from last year compared to previous speak volumes and are testament to it's benefits and recovery properties, all this despite me training less than I have ever done in my life.

I do wish you all improved mental health, physical health and a productive 2018. I do hope you will continue to follow and support my fund raising endeavours, especially my 56 mile mile Snowdon Ultra in Sept which I may add has 19,000+ ft of climb. It's going to be hard, it's going to be painful, I will remember my Mum, I am going to undoubtedly cry but I will prevail and I will overcome....