The Walker With Heart

Countdowns tick on and on... 12 days to my 20 miler (I'm doing 2 x 18 and 1 x 20) 13 days to the Nun Run - 5k dressed as Nun 16 days to my annual check up 20 days until the Great North Run - the world's largest Half marathon, just me and 54,000 friends out for a jog;-) 40 days until the Liverpool Marathon - running from one side of the Mersey to the other, with about 12,000 of my friends - through the tunnel, past the brewery and a finish next to a world heritage site... Just hope they don't run out of T-shirts... 62 days until I'm 40... Deary me, 40, how did that happen! Seriously, given the chances I've been given at various points in my life to reach 1 year, 16, 21, 30 reaching 40 is a little strange... and doing it while being as fit as I've ever been is making me grin like a loon! More than one of my friends has asked what insane stunt I'm going to be doing during my 40 th year, and to be honest I'm not sure... As I've d

Video tracking... <a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/46821514">Imported Garmin Route (17/08/2011)</a> and more runs in on MapMyRUN. <a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com">Find run</a>

Running is at its core very simple - you put one foot in front of the other, at a pace faster than walking... Which is why it gets so complicated in my head... Have I set off too fast, or too slow? Is that twinge a twinge I can run off or something I can ignore, if I ignore it for how long? How many miles have my shoes done, do I need a new pair? what flavour are these energy sweets meant to be? What's for tea? Why didn't that pair of cyclists go into single file, it meant I had to run through the puddle? What meetings have I got this week at work? How's my heart rate? Hail!!! Bloody hell that hurt! Am I going too fast, or too slow? That twinge has moved... where's it going next? What time do John Lewis ' stop doing Sunday lunch? Someones texted , it can wait for my next minutes walking... How many sweets have I got left? Definitely new shoes for the GNR & Marathon, that stone hurt... Bugger the sun's come out, take jacket off or leave it on? And then fo

This blog will never be read by the people who should read it... I gave a talk on CHD on Wednesday night, and the topic of bullying came up... I don't like bullies... I never have I never will... Bullies don't have discussions, or even arguments, they make statements and if you don't agree with them you are either frozen out of the group or attacked. Bullies attack people, they don't discuss ideas and come to a consensus or an agreement to disagree, they just attack. Some are trolls (in the online sense) who are trying to get a reaction, others are just dogmatic and so convinced they are right no other argument has the right to be heard. Bullies will cite the rules, but not even consider what they're claiming applies equally to them. Bullies come in all sizes and shapes, some use emotional blackmail, some try to threaten, some are just unpleasant ... The best way of handling bullies, in my experience, is first realising what they are and then employing whatever ran