They say that outdoor exercise, particularly running, is the best way to improve mental health. But what happens when mental state becomes a barrier to running? This is my 6-month journey from reasonably fit marathon runner to overweight non-runner. I’m now coming back, but this time it’s the mind that must lead the body…
Tag: trail running
Run to Ancient Karthea
When I first walked to the ancient city of Karthea in my 20s I felt transported in an Indiana Jones film! 20-odd years later, I run down the same trail.
Monday Photograph #52
As a child I had a fascination with wild places, and in particular forests. Probably a combination of being exposed to them as magical places where adventure took place (I am of the Smurf and Asterix generation after all!) and their relative rarity in Athens where I grew up! One of the very few memories…
Monday Photograph #8
The photo of the week that was… …this week two for the price of one! This week started with a trail run in the Peak District with Kyriakos on Bank Holiday Monday, and ended with a bike ride in the same part of the world with David yesterday! Amazingly the weather was perfect on both…
Life after London
I spent my days after London relaxing, resting, and giving my body and mind an opportunity to recover and enjoy the fact that training had ended… My afternoons and weekends were not dictated by my training programme, and I didn’t have to wake up early on Saturday to go Parkrunning or stupidly early on Sunday…
Back in the Park
Every third week, my programme prescribes a reduced training volume (say by 15% or so), to allow the body to recover and prepare for another gradual increase the following week. In such rest weeks I have decided to swap the harder Long Runs (LR with Fast Finish, or LR with speedwork) for easier, steady runs…
Muddy Saturdays
The idea behind the institution that is now Muddy Saturdays was born in a pub, like so many of the best and worst ideas. Demi and I had called in our local for a nightcap after a night out, when we bumped into a group of our neighbours and hung about a bit. The…
Sisyphus AC 