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1	1		23/04/2011	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	25:35
2			30/04/2011	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	24:25
3			14/05/2011	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	25:01
4			28/05/2011	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	25:10
5			11/06/2011	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	24:36
6			06/08/2011	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	23:08
7	2		03/09/2011	Hull	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	23:20
8	3	1	17/09/2011	Nonsuch	Greater London	England	23:12
9	4		01/10/2011	Bushy Park	Greater London	England	24:05
10	5		22/10/2011	Pontefract	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	26:01
11			12/11/2011	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	25:17
12	6		19/11/2011	Gunnersbury	Greater London	England	23:21
13			26/11/2011	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	25:17
14	7	2	03/12/2011	Ally Pally	Greater London	England	25:11
15	8		10/12/2011	Concord	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	27:34
16			25/12/2011	Bushy Park	Greater London	England	26:52
17	9		26/12/2011	Basingstoke	South East England	England	23:19
18	10		31/12/2011	Richmond Park	Greater London	England	23:59
19			01/01/2012	Bushy Park	Greater London	England	23:57
20			01/01/2012	Nonsuch	Greater London	England	25:45
21	11		01/01/2012	Riddlesdown	Greater London	England	31:12
22	12		07/01/2012	Old Deer Park	Greater London	England	25:31
23	13	3	14/01/2012	York	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	23:32
24	14		21/01/2012	Greenwich	Greater London	England	27:48
25	15	4	28/01/2012	Eastbourne	South East England	England	23:46
26	16	5	04/02/2012	Bexley	Greater London	England	28:00
27	17		18/02/2012	Kingston	Greater London	England	22:15
28	18		25/02/2012	Hanley	West Midlands	England	27:31
29	19		03/03/2012	Wythenshawe	North West England	England	27:56
30	20	6	10/03/2012	Guildford	South East England	England	24:17
31	21	7	17/03/2012	Netley Abbey	South East England	England	27:13
32	22		24/03/2012	Wormwood Scrubs	Greater London	England	28:31
33	23		31/03/2012	Whitstable	South East England	England	23:48
34	24		07/04/2012	Roundshaw Downs	Greater London	England	23:04
35	25	8	14/04/2012	Dulwich	Greater London	England	25:22
36	26		21/04/2012	Killerton	South West England	England	28:46
37	27		28/04/2012	Lloyd	Greater London	England	24:52
38	28	9	05/05/2012	Northampton	East Midlands	England	22:03
39	29	10	12/05/2012	Preston	North West England	England	24:20
40	30		19/05/2012	St Albans	East of England	England	21:30
41	31	11	26/05/2012	Marple	North West England	England	23:21
42	32	12	02/06/2012	Beckton	Greater London	England	21:14
43			04/06/2012	Riddlesdown Park	Greater London	England	28:26
44	33		05/06/2012	Andover	South East England	England	22:05
45	34		05/06/2012	Newbury	South East England	England	24:11
46	35	13	09/06/2012	Crane Park	Greater London	England	27:19
47			23/06/2012	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	25:15
48	36	14	30/06/2012	Gladstone	Greater London	England	28:53
49	37		07/07/2012	Pennington Flash	North West England	England	28:53
50	38		21/07/2012	Bolton	North West England	England	33:44
51	39	15	28/07/2012	Barking	Greater London	England	25:08
52			04/08/2012	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	24:15
53	40		11/08/2012	Swindon	South West England	England	27:54
54	41		18/08/2012	Cardiff	Wales	Wales	29:29
55	42		25/08/2012	Bromley	Greater London	England	27:06
56	43	16	08/09/2012	Hilly Fields	Greater London	England	25:11
57	44		22/09/2012	Newport	Wales	Wales	28:40
58	45	17	29/09/2012	Mansfield	East Midlands	England	21:53
59	46	18	06/10/2012	Rushcliffe	East Midlands	England	21:59
60	47	19	13/10/2012	Southend	South East England	England	29:10
61	48		27/10/2012	Burgess	Greater London	England	23:16
62	49	20	03/11/2012	Little Stoke	South West England	England	24:02
63			10/11/2012	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	28:30
64	50	21	17/11/2012	Alice Holt	South East England	England	32:19
65	51	22	24/11/2012	Upton Court	South East England	England	24:11
66	52		01/12/2012	Frimley Lodge	South East England	England	28:52
67	53		08/12/2012	Brighton & Hove	South East England	England	32:51
68	54	23	15/12/2012	South Darlington	North East England	England	23:32
69			29/06/2013	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	34:08
70	55		06/07/2013	Banstead Woods	South East England	England	32:35
71	56		13/07/2013	Finsbury Park	Greater London	England	30:01
72	57	24	20/07/2013	Clair	South East England	England	28:29
73	58		27/07/2013	Wanstead Flats	Greater London	England	29:55
74	59	25	03/08/2013	Peterborough	East of England	England	28:08
75	60		10/08/2013	Winchester	South East England	England	27:22
76	61		17/08/2013	Colchester Castle	East of England	England	31:50
77	62	26	24/08/2013	Bournemouth	South West England	England	29:59
78	63		14/09/2013	Southwark	Greater London	England	23:36
79	64		21/09/2013	Southwick Country Park	South West England	England	24:27
80	65	27	28/09/2013	Great Lines	South East England	England	28:51
81	66	28	05/10/2013	Southsea	South East England	England	23:56
82	67		12/10/2013	Brockwell	Greater London	England	23:11
83	68		19/10/2013	Rotherham	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	23:21
84	69	29	26/10/2013	Ashford	South East England	England	23:22
85	70		02/11/2013	Orpington	Greater London	England	25:36
86	71		16/11/2013	Crystal Palace	Greater London	England	27:26
87	72		23/11/2013	Tilgate	South East England	England	24:19
88	73		30/11/2013	Bedford	East of England	England	27:07
89	74		07/12/2013	Weymouth	South West England	England	25:17
90	75		14/12/2013	Mile End	Greater London	England	30:45
91	76		21/12/2013	Shorne Woods	South East England	England	26:23
92	77		25/12/2013	Poole	South West England	England	28:15
93	78		28/12/2013	Margate	South East England	England	26:37
94	79		01/01/2014	Stewart	North East England	England	28:46
95	80		01/01/2014	Albert	North East England	England	24:28
96	81		04/01/2014	Wimpole Estate	East of England	England	30:08
97	82		11/01/2014	Scunthorpe	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	23:38
98	83		18/01/2014	Fulham Palace	Greater London	England	29:19
99	84		25/01/2014	Osterley	Greater London	England	29:24
100	85		01/02/2014	Pymmes	Greater London	England	29:48
101			22/03/2014	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	29:24
102	86		05/04/2014	Reigate Priory	South East England	England	28:17
103			17/05/2014	Wimbledon Common	Greater London	England	26:04
104			31/05/2014	Kingston	Greater London	England	24:37
105	87		28/06/2014	Royal Tunbridge Wells	South East England	England	28:48
106	88		09/08/2014	Peckham Rye	Greater London	England	25:21
107	89	30	16/08/2014	Woking	South East England	England	25:45
108	90		23/08/2014	Dartford	Greater London	England	28:19
109	91		30/08/2014	Harrow Lodge	Greater London	England	28:57
110	92	31	06/09/2014	Horsham	South East England	England	26:24
111	93		13/09/2014	Gunpowder	Greater London	England	23:56
112	94	32	20/09/2014	Wakefield Thornes	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	25:31
113	95	33	11/10/2014	Panshanger	South East England	England	28:13
114	96	34	18/10/2014	Harcourt Hill	South East England	England	24:56
115	97		25/10/2014	Lanhydrock	South West England	England	26:35
116	98		01/11/2014	Bath Skyline	South West England	England	25:20
117	99	35	08/11/2014	Harlow	South East England	England	27:14
118	100		22/11/2014	Tring	South East England	England	29:29
119	101		29/11/2014	Hampstead Heath	Greater London	England	25:16
120	102		06/12/2014	Brentwood	South East England	England	26:15
121	103		20/12/2014	Milton Keynes	South East England	England	26:59
122	104		25/12/2014	Northala Fields	Greater London	England	25:28
123	105		27/12/2014	Queen Elizabeth	South East England	England	27:30
124	106		01/01/2015	Woodley	South East England	England	25:31
125	107		01/01/2015	Reading	South East England	England	25:55
126	108		03/01/2015	Brockenhurst	South East England	England	35:21
127	109	36	10/01/2015	Melton Mowbray	East Midlands	England	28:07
128	110		17/01/2015	Grovelands	Greater London	England	26:55
129	111		24/01/2015	Newcastle	North East England	England	28:56
130	112	37	31/01/2015	South Oxhey	Greater London	England	26:19
131	113	38	07/02/2015	Hockley Woods	South East England	England	25:27
132	114		14/02/2015	Preston Park	South East England	England	26:51
133	115	39	21/02/2015	Didcot	South East England	England	27:11
134	116		07/03/2015	Amager Faelled	Denmark	Denmark	23:42
135	117	40	04/04/2015	Bracknell	South East England	England	38:23
136	118		18/04/2015	Bedfont Lakes	South East England	England	26:33
137	119		09/05/2015	Maidenhead	South East England	England	24:33
138	120		16/05/2015	Oak Hill	Greater London	England	25:29
139	121		23/05/2015	Gadebridge	South East England	England	27:49
140	122		30/05/2015	Southampton	South East England	England	30:48
141	123		06/06/2015	Fountains Abbey	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	30:51
142	124		13/06/2015	Havant	South East England	England	31:30
143	125	41	20/06/2015	Aldenham	Greater London	England	24:49
144	126		27/06/2015	Harrow	Greater London	England	26:03
145	127	42	04/07/2015	Tewkesbury	South West England	England	26:35
146	128	43	11/07/2015	Hove Promenade	South East England	England	24:39
147	129		18/07/2015	Wycombe Rye	South East England	England	25:46
148	130		25/07/2015	Valentines	Greater London	England	25:38
149	131		01/08/2015	Hackney Marshes	Greater London	England	22:38
150	132		08/08/2015	Cassiobury	Greater London	England	22:43
151	133		15/08/2015	Walthamstow	Greater London	England	23:22
152	134		22/08/2015	Raphael	Greater London	England	22:17
153	135	44	29/08/2015	Wyre Forest	North West England	England	25:30
154	136		05/09/2015	Cranleigh	South East England	England	24:48
155	137		12/09/2015	Fell Foot	North West England	England	27:12
156	138		19/09/2015	Keswick	North West England	England	22:55
157	139	45	26/09/2015	Glossop	North West England	England	24:05
158	140		24/10/2015	Highbury Fields	Greater London	England	28:42
159	141		31/10/2015	Canterbury	South East England	England	28:32
160	142	46	07/11/2015	Moors Valley	South West England	England	27:22
161	143		14/11/2015	Ipswich	East of England	England	30:07
162	144		21/11/2015	Maidstone	South East England	England	28:40
163	145		28/11/2015	Humber Bridge	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	26:08
164	146		05/12/2015	Rushmoor	South East England	England	26:47
165	147		12/12/2015	Lullingstone	South East England	England	27:31
166	148		19/12/2015	Tonbridge	South East England	England	29:17
167	149		25/12/2015	Aylesbury	South East England	England	27:46
168	150		26/12/2015	Luton Wardown	South East England	England	31:51
169	151		01/01/2016	Camperdown	Scotland	Scotland	29:57
170	152		01/01/2016	Perth	Scotland	Scotland	28:54
171	153		02/01/2016	St. Andrews	Scotland	Scotland	24:40
172	154		09/01/2016	Cleethorpes	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	23:13
173	155		16/01/2016	Malling	South East England	England	27:38
174	156		30/01/2016	Chelmsford Central	South East England	England	28:02
175	157		06/02/2016	Market Harborough	South East England	England	25:35
176	158		13/02/2016	Beeston	East Midlands	England	26:45
177	159	47	27/02/2016	Sittingbourne	South East England	England	25:46
178	160		05/03/2016	Bevendean Down	South East England	England	27:37
179	161		12/03/2016	Pegwell Bay	South East England	England	28:36
180	162	48	19/03/2016	Bedgebury Pinetum	South East England	England	30:48
181	163		26/03/2016	Barclay	East of England	England	28:18
182	164		02/04/2016	Bognor Regis	South East England	England	25:38
183	165		09/04/2016	Folkestone	South East England	England	28:43
184	166		16/04/2016	Tooting Common	Greater London	England	31:17
185	167		23/04/2016	Holkham	East of England	England	23:47
186	168		30/04/2016	Black Park	South East England	England	27:12
187	169		07/05/2016	Medina I.O.W.	South East England	England	22:58
188	170		14/05/2016	Yeovil Montacute	South West England	England	25:29
189	171		21/05/2016	Jersey	Channel Islands	England	23:01
190	172	49	28/05/2016	Stevenage	South East England	England	26:52
191	173		04/06/2016	St. Annes	Ireland	Ireland	30:10
192	174		11/06/2016	Eastleigh	South East England	England	26:14
193	175		18/06/2016	Stratford-upon-Avon	West Midlands	England	31:07
194	176		25/06/2016	Gateshead	North East England	England	28:06
195	177		02/07/2016	Penrith	North West England	England	22:35
196	178		09/07/2016	Ellenbrook Fields	South East England	England	23:10
197	179		23/07/2016	Abingdon	South East England	England	23:41
198	180		06/08/2016	Hastings	South East England	England	22:17
199	181		13/08/2016	Worthing	South East England	England	21:54
200	182		20/08/2016	Crissy Fields	California	USA	22:24
201	183		03/09/2016	Rutland Water	East Midlands	England	22:34
202	184		10/09/2016	Mount Edgcumbe	South West England	England	27:12
203	185		24/09/2016	South Manchester	North West England	England	25:02
204	186		01/10/2016	Gainsborough	East Midlands	England	26:13
205	187	50	08/10/2016	Canons Park	Greater London	England	22:16
206	188		15/10/2016	Oxford	South East England	England	27:28
207	189	51	22/10/2016	Hadleigh	East of England	England	28:19
208	190		29/10/2016	Thurrock	East of England	England	24:18
209	191		05/11/2016	Basildon	East of England	England	25:35
210	192		12/11/2016	Banbury	South East England	England	26:28
211	193		19/11/2016	Waterstown Park	Ireland	Ireland	24:13
212	194		03/12/2016	Richmond Olympic	Canada	Canada	22:02
213	195		10/12/2016	Salisbury	South West England	England	23:45
214	196	52	17/12/2016	Mersea Island	South East England	England	22:28
215	197		24/12/2016	Cambridge	East of England	England	22:24
216	198		25/12/2016	Buckingham	South East England	England	22:03
217	199		31/12/2016	Roosevelt Island DC	Washington D.C.	USA	22:53
218	200		01/01/2017	College Park MD	Washington D.C.	USA	21:55
219	201		07/01/2017	Homewood	South East England	England	24:43
220	202		21/01/2017	Portsmouth Lakeside	South East England	England	23:01
221	203		28/01/2017	Bury St Edmunds	East of England	England	25:45
222	204		04/02/2017	Rugby	West Midlands	England	23:40
223	205		11/02/2017	Belfast Victoria	Northern Ireland	N.I.	22:45
224	206		18/02/2017	Millom	North West England	England	30:09
225	207		25/02/2017	Beckenham Place	Greater London	England	29:13
226	208		04/03/2017	Roding Valley	East of England	England	24:36
227	209		11/03/2017	Rickmansworth	East of England	England	32:53
228	210		18/03/2017	Perry Hall	West Midlands	England	23:36
229	211		25/03/2017	Cannon Hill	West Midlands	England	28:21
230	212		01/04/2017	Fareham	South East England	England	23:53
231	213		15/04/2017	Sheffield Hallam	Yorkshire and The Humber	England	23:26
232	214		29/04/2017	Guernsey	Channel Islands	England	25:06
233	215		06/05/2017	Chichester	South East England	England	31:45
234	216		20/05/2017	Penrose	South West England	England	32:18
235	217		27/05/2017	Longrun Meadow	South West England	England	23:55
236	218		03/06/2017	Shrewsbury	West Midlands	England	33:07
237	219		17/06/2017	Fletcher's Cove	Washington D.C.	USA	25:09
238	220		24/06/2017	Elgin	Scotland	Scotland	25:46
239	221		01/07/2017	Peacehaven	South East England	England	30:12
240	222		08/07/2017	Lee-on-the-Solent	South East England	England	29:20
241	223		15/07/2017	South Norwood	Greater London	England	30:10
242	224		22/07/2017	Bushy Dublin	Ireland	Ireland	25:03
243	225		29/07/2017	Upton House	South East England	England	28:49
244	226		05/08/2017	Aviemore	Scotland	Scotland	27:42
245	227		12/08/2017	Inverness	Scotland	Scotland	27:28
246	228		19/08/2017	Hoblingwell	Greater London	England	30:23
247	229		26/08/2017	Hatfield Forest	East of England	England	27:11
248	230		02/09/2017	Bicester	South East England	England	30:17
249	231		09/09/2017	Billericay	East of England	England	28:58
250	232		30/09/2017	Henley-on-Thames	South East England	England	31:04
251	233		07/10/2017	Rushmere	South East England	England	29:18
252	234		14/10/2017	East Grinstead	South East England	England	30:28
253	235		21/10/2017	Chippenham	South West England	England	27:42
254	236		28/10/2017	Ballincollig	Ireland	Ireland	25:22
255	237		04/11/2017	Vandeleur	Ireland	Ireland	23:56
256	238		11/11/2017	Lees Road	Ireland	Ireland	27:15
257	239		18/11/2017	Leamington	West Midlands	England	28:12
258	240		09/12/2017	Blandford	South West England	England	29:01
259	241		16/12/2017	Westmill	East Of England	England	28:20
260	242		23/12/2017	Coventry	West Midlands	England	28:14
261	243		25/12/2017	Whiteley	South East England	England	24:43
262	244		30/12/2017	Wolverhampton	West Midlands	England	35:42
263	245		01/01/2018	Linford Wood	South East England	England	34:24
264	246		01/01/2018	Houghton Hall	East Of England	England	36:12
265	247		13/01/2018	Shepton Mallet	South West England	England	31:52
266	248		20/01/2018	Renton	Washington State	USA	24:09
267	249		27/01/2018	Castle Park	East of England	England	26:22
268	250		03/02/2018	Durham	North Carolina	USA	24:29
269	251		10/02/2018	Lymington Woodside	South East England	England	28:27
270	252		17/02/2018	Maldon Prom	South East England	England	24:58
271	253		24/02/2018	Daventry	East Midlands	England	27:10
272	254		10/03/2018	Brandon Country Park	East Of England	England	27:54
273	255		17/03/2018	Kesgrave	East Of England	England	27:31
274	256		24/03/2018	Letchworth	East Of England	England	28:02
275	257		31/03/2018	Clapham Common	Greater London	England	28:43

Diary of a wanna-be fat burner: Days 5-7

Day 5: Wednesday 14th November

A little harder to get going this morning as I was fast asleep when my alarm went off. Soon perked up though, with a portion of lovely Bulletproof Coffee and the surprise of being a whole kilogram lighter than yesterday. It's impossible to lose weight from fat at this rate, indeed the maximum advised rate is about 1kg (2.2lb) per week, so clearly I was releasing some retained fluid or have further depleted my glycogen store. My full glycogen stores will weigh around 1kg (varies according to weight and other factors), but there's water you lose at the same time.

If you adopt the Atkins diet which is similar in profile to what I'm doing, rapid weight loss during the adaptation phase is one known effect. This invariable leads to cries from the dieter of "Yay! It's working! I lost 10lb in 2 weeks on the Atkins diet!" - in fact as shown on their website that's one of the primary selling points.

This rate of loss is, of course, unsustainable. You only have a certain amount of glycogen and fluid to lose (though there will be some fat loss too during this period), and once that's gone the diet "fails" (rate of loss becomes comes much reduced) and the yo-yo dieter goes back to their normal dietary habits, and "piles the weight back on" (restocks glycogen, fluids, and probably some fat too). They haven't waited long enough to properly adapt.

I'm not aiming for rapid weight loss, I want some amount of controlled loss but the priority is metabolic change. I feel It's important for me to maintain a strong and regular exercise ethic during this process. I'm trying not to be in a high calorie deficit during this phase (though I am taking in fewer calories than I have been in recent weeks).

Bulletproof Coffee

I was very hungry this morning - but it's hard to tell if it's genuine. I had a yoghurt snack at 09:30, and bacon and egg with some cherry tomatoes at 10:45. Quite different to yesterday where I wasn't at all hungry until lunch time.

In the evening, we had our first attempt at having a meal out, going to one of our favourite local places, the Light House in Wimbledon. It is possible, but some self control, and careful choosing of menu items is required.

 

Pork Belly with crackling, hold the mash, add broccoli and spinach side dish

If your starter comes with toast, like my chicken liver pâté did, hide it in the bread (which you, of course, aren't eating).

Toast in the bread, obviously

....and even with all this yum, I came in at only 32.1g carbohydrate for the day. And we had wine. And I had a Gin and Tonic.


Day 6: Thursday 15th November

Weirdest. Hangover. Ever. Awoke with a banging headache and expected a day of sluggishness and a feeling of guilt for not being able to focus on my work tasks properly (standard hangover modus operandi)  - but the headache cleared in minutes after I got up and downed a bulletproof coffee. I did feel a bit tired (probably as a result of poor quality sleep), but not energy-crashingly so like I would expect to be. I ate on-plan through the day and didn't experience the usual hangover carb-cravings in the slightest (I need toast! And a bacon and egg roll! And a lardy lunch! And a Snickers!).

I was scheduled for a long and serious meeting in the afternoon. Conventionally, this is where I'd have had a big slump and really struggled to stay attentive, the 1pm to 3pm danger zone (probably as a result of a massive slump following an insulin spike resulting from a carb-laden lunch) - but this simply didn't happen. I felt alert and focussed the whole way through - I have done for the whole day, in fact. I fully approve of this experience!

In the evening I had a run scheduled - "Run until it hurts" the Doctor said (more on my knee later). First time running on this plan and only my third run in a fortnight so I was a bit creaky but felt pretty good. I wasn't going very fast, just under 25 minutes for 5km, but my energy levels seemed to be normal. I'm starting to feel a bit weird, like I'm hardly eating any carbs, but I'm not getting tired or being unable to do physical things - where is this energy coming from? Am I metabolising fat already? I did feel a little weak towards the end but that might be as a result of my knee starting to hurt. I'm looking forward to an experimental long run at some point soon.


Day 7: Friday 16th November

My weight continues to evaporate - I was 81.8kg this morning (actually 81.75kg but I always round up), much closer to the "around 80kg" that I'd be happy with. As previously explained, this isn't a weight-loss initiative, but it's a perfectly acceptable side effect! When I started day 1 last Saturday I weighed in at 84.3kg.

I've been feeling more and more alert as the week has progressed. I'm finding it hard to believe that i'm getting through almost the entire morning, including a cycle commute of a reasonable intensity (mid-to upper HR zone 1), with nothing other than a cup of coffee (all be it a 376 calorie one with 41.2g of fat in it).

I'm starting to wonder if my dropping ability to really focus and make good progress on things at work in recent months was as a result of diet? Could it be that simple? I had got well into the habit of having two breakfasts in the morning. This was as a result of a normally fairly heavy morning training load, but as the training load dropped off at the end of the season my breakfasts didn't - quite the opposite. Recently I'd been having peanut butter in porridge in the morning, and then cereal and a banana when I got in - even on the days when I got the tube in. That's clearly excessive.

A genuine typical first few hours of the day - this was October 22nd

By 10:30 I'd consumed 719 calories including 100.8g of carbohydrate.

I'm continuing to feel more alert, more mentally agile, and more focussed and constructive. How much of this is genuine versus psychosomatic? I'm thinking a large percentage is for real. I hadn't read or heard anywhere about a change of mental state and therefore wasn't looking for it.

Mrs mentioned this evening that she'd seen a few articles about the effect of a high fat/low carbohydrate diet on the brain, so I'm definitely going to take a look at that - I'll let you know what I find!

Diary of a wanna-be fat burner: Days 1-4

I'm going to try and train my body to burn fat as a sustainable fuel source rather than carbs. I'll talk about the science in a later post, but for now here is my experience over the first four days.


Day 1: Saturday 10th November

Obviously there isn't much to report in the way of changes today - you can eat whatever you want (within reason) for a day and bounce back happily. What felt a bit weird was what I was eating - high fat, as low carb as possible (maximum 50g/day), and minimal protein. Bacon, eggs, cheese, mayonnaise, bring it on - and then plenty of dark green leafed things to top up iron and vitamin C.

parkrun was very frustrating as my knee pain returned (see my previous post). I resolved to Get Something Done About It, but there was nothing I could do at the weekend. As a result I was in a fair bit of pain during the afternoon. The novelty of lots of butter and cheese was fun though :)

Dinner was fillet steak with lettuce, walnut, and sauce (can't remember what went into it)

We bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate yesterday's news of my acceptance onto the Unogwaja Challenge. We both found we got giggly-drunk really very quickly! I sobered up equally fast, Mrs stayed tipsy until she fell asleep (which explains why she had a hangover the next day and I didn't) - we agreed it was more like we'd had the whole bottle each than just half.

With this nutrition profile you can drink alcohol but it needs to have as little sugar in it as possible - the driest white wine you can find, or purest spirit (whisk(e)y, vodka, gin all fine). Remember you might be taking low-carb drinks, but there are still calories to consider - and if you need a mixer go for something sugar free like diet coke or soda/mineral water. It didn't get that out of control, we'll save that level of craziness for another time.


Day 2: Sunday 11th November

It all felt a bit restrictive today. I spent a lot of the day feeling negative, "I can't eat bread, I can't eat cereal, I can't eat bloody anything" - and you can't get much more negative than "I can't". I felt a bit frustrated as a result, but tried to think about the good things. Bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast with full fat cream in the egg was gorgeous.

Breakfast - and yes, it looks like I eat tomatoes now

Constrained to the sofa I felt very lethargic and my still painful knee was depressing me. Mrs went out for a run and I wanted nothing more than to go with her.

I cracked at about 16:30 and went for a session on the spin bike at the gym. I managed about 40 minutes before giving in. 10 minutes warm up, 10 minutes at +20 cadence, 10 at -20, then a 10 minute cool down that I got bored during so did some distinctly non-cool-down-esque 30 second sprints. Felt better for sweating a bit. Resolved to continue the experiment. Onwards and upwards!

I bought "Why We Get Fat (And What To Do About It) by Gary Taubes" on Kindle. This is the book Mrs has been reading, and, alongside my chattering about various excellent nutrition interviews on the Marathon Talk (iTunes) and Talk Ultra (iTunes) podcasts, inspired her to give this a go (she's three days ahead of me). This book is relatively light, there's a deeper one she's working through that goes a lot further into the biochemistry "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living: An Expert Guide to Making the Life-Saving Benefits of Carbohydrate Restriction Sustainable and Enjoyable, by Stephen Phinney and Jeff Volek" and one neither of us have got to yet, "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by RD, Jeff S. Volek PhD and PhD, Stephen D. Phinney MD". I'll write something on these books when I've read them.

Mrs served a perfectly roasted chicken for dinner - life is good! As a bit of an evening snack experiment we tried mashing some peanut butter in cocoa powder, and rolling it in desiccated coconut - dab it in some xylitol and: Yum! Peanut Butter Balls! Mrs vowed to experiment further.


Day 3: Monday 12th November

Feeling a bit zombiefied at work all day, oddly easier to focus than it has been in the past though. Saw Skyfall (amazing, go see it NOW!) in the evening and felt fully alert all the way through. Conventionally, I usually have a slump during movies, usually in the crap slow middle bit, but not today. Of course, I also usually have popcorn, some sweets, or something high-carb like beer before hand. We had some peanut butter and celery as a snack, that was amusing. When we got home I still wasn't hungry, so I just had a couple of strips of some new streaky bacon we got, and a boiled egg and a touch of mayonnaise.

In general, I felt slow today, and easily outmanoeuvred in conversation (not my usual position). There were no highs or lows though. I didn't do any training today, probably for the best.


Day 4: Tuesday 13th November

I slept amazingly well last night - I actually felt like I had buckets of energy when I woke up, and I haven't felt that for a while. There are various reasons for this, I'm not sure that any one is specifically to blame.  Now the mornings are dark it's always harder to get going, plus with Mrs off work at the moment she isn't in a hurry to get up either, and I've had a few more beers in the last week or two than I have recently.

Breakfast was my first day on Bulletproof Coffee. This is simply a large mug of black filter coffee with 50g of unsalted butter dissolved into it, and then blended. Yup, you heard it - butter in coffee. It felt weird knowing what I was drinking, but tasted lovely - like a buttery milkshake.

First day commuting on the bike this week and I was expecting to feel weak, but felt fine, totally normal. I powered up Charing Cross Road (medium length gentle incline) with no problems. Into work and straight into a 2 hour meeting and... I didn't get hungry at all. I had a coffee at about 9:30, but that was it. Normally I'm crying out for "second breakfast" by now. I finally had a small snack at about 11am - the first solid food of the day.

I feel sharper today, more on the ball, quicker to think. In fact, I'm feeling a bit hyper! I'm getting some good work done, including some annoying jobs I'd been putting off.

I felt a bit peckish in the afternoon so ate 40g of cheese dipped in marmite - it feels mentally very disconcerting for that to be an OK thing to snack on, it's hard to let go of the messages that have been drummed into you all your life - eat more fruit; fat is bad; cheese is fatty - avoid; you need carbs, protein and some fat in every meal.

I really wish I could run - I'd be very interested to know if all this energy I'm feeling is real and accessible. As it was I put the hammer down on the ride home. It felt like I was a little sluggish to spin up my legs but once I was there I didn't experience any shortage of power, and I felt like I could have gone on for significantly longer than the 45 minutes it took me to get home.

Dinner - salmon fillet with courgettes in a carbonara style sauce of cheese, egg, bacon, and cream

Whatsmore, Mrs had made some more amazing balls - this time with whiskey in! Double Yum!

I'll update with the rest of the week's experiences at the weekend...

Podcasts, Ultras, and The Road to Unogwaja

20 months ago, if it had existed then, I'd have been listening to the wonderful parkrun show podcast by Danny Norman and Nicola Forwood without having ever completed a parkrun. I'd still have enjoyed it, but I'd feel a little like an impostor - parkrunning vicariously through the adventures of others. I fixed that in April 2011 when I ran my first 5km parkrun at Wimbledon Common. I was hooked, and the regular reader will have noticed my subtle pro-parkrun stance. There were, however, a few more of my favourite podcasts I needed to "legitimise".

The parkrun show on facebook

This summer, I was overjoyed to complete my first (and second) full distance Ironman events, which meant I could legitimately enjoy IMTalk (iTunes) - the absolutely fantastic Ironman-centric podcast by Coach John Newsom and Bevan James Ayles.

IMTalk podcast

My Mrs met them in Kona this year and had a great time (and got mentioned quite a few times on the show as a result). I was proud to give the guys some exposure and finished both IM 70.3 Ireland in Galway and IM Wales in Tenby in my IMTalk tri-suit.

L-R: John Newsom (IMTalk), Nick Rose (@ironrosey), and Bevan James Ayles (IMTalk)

220 Triathlon magazine had approached Ironman for an Age Group athlete to run an article on in their November edition, and my name was suggested. So I managed to get IMTalk even more love and exposure by getting my article in the number one triathlon magazines in the UK.

My 15-minutes of fame in 220 Triathlon magazine (click for larger image)

As I outlined in a previous post, I was hoping to run a stand-alone marathon at the end of November - and as a result be officially able to consume the wonderful Marathon Talk podcast (iTunes) from Tom Williams and Martin Yelling. Unfortunately, and frustratingly, it doesn't look like that's going to be the case.

Marathon Talk podcast, by Martin Yelling and Tom Williams

I suffered some pain in my left knee after the Royal Parks Half Marathon recently, and it's never really settled. A couple of times I've needed to cut some runs short as it's started to hurt, and even when that hasn't been the case I've suffered quite badly in the hours following a run. Last week I decided to have a full week away from running, and then gently plodded around Wimbledon Common parkrun yesterday in the positively pedestrian time of 28 minutes and 27 seconds. A little wobble from the knee at 4km, but everything felt OK by the end.

Within an hour or two I found I couldn't get up off the sofa without yelping in pain. This lasted a few hours, and then by late afternoon all was well again. It's fine this morning, but clearly something is wrong. On Monday, I'll go to the Doctor, and get a referral to a physio to get it checked out properly.

I'm very frustrated about this right now, partly as Mrs has just gone out for a 90 minute run, and I'd like nothing more than to have gone with her, but mainly for the following three Very Big Reasons.

Reason #1 that I need to get my knee fixed...

Despite still not being able to listen to Marathon Talk yet, I am still hoping to legitimise my enjoyment of the incredible Talk Ultra podcast hosted by Ian Coreless (with early editions co-hosted by ultra-running superstar Ian Sharman). This is a fortnightly release focusing on the ultra-running scene. It's a long production, regularly well over 2 hours, and with in-depth interviews and discussions and thought-provoking interviews on training and nutrition. It's opened my eyes to a world of opportunities I didn't even realise existed. It turns out people can run a long way, a really long way.

The more you listen to these productions, the more it becomes apparent that the athletes completing these races are regular down-to-earth guys and girls like you and I. They train hard and have incredible mental strength, but what they're doing isn't outside the realms of possibility (OK, so the times they're putting in are far outside the ability of most, but the distances less so). As ultra-running legend Karl Meltzer says in the intro to his regular "Meltzer Moment" section on Talk Ultra, "100 miles is not that far".

Ultra-running legend "Speedgoat" Karl Meltzer: 100 miles is not that far (image form here)

As a result, I have entered the London Ultra 50km, to be held on 17th February 2013. Of course, I haven't just been brainwashed by podcasts, there is another reason I've entered this race. That brings me on to...

Reason #2 that I need to get my knee fixed...

I've entered possibly one of the most iconic and well-known ultra marathons in the world - the Comrades Marathon in South Africa. This race has an incredible history, having been held every year since 1921 (with exception for the war years of 1941 to 1945). The course runs from Pietermaritzburg to Durban one year (the "Down" run), and back the next (the "Up" run). 2013 is an Up run. Read How It All Began on the Comrades Marathon website. The wikipedia entry has a detailed history of the race throughout the decades.

Comrades Marathon

I automatically meet the entrance requirements by being a full distance Ironman finisher during the qualification period, but I am confident I can get a better placing by completing the London Ultra in a good (for me) time.

Ever since I heard the inspiring Comrades Special edition of Talk Ultra it's been on my wish list. I was never intending to enter it in 2013 (my original plan was to try and go fast at IM 70.3 in 2013, and think about learning to run a long way later) - but one big amazing jaw-dropping opportunity popped up in front of me. And that is reason 3...

Reason #3 that I need to get my knee fixed...

The @TalkUltra twitter account retweeted some content from @ComradesMarathon that made reference to @theunogwaja. Thinking "What's that?" I checked it out. The second I read the description, I wanted to do it. Immediately, right there and then, my plans for 2013 were rewritten.

This is from the Unogwaja Challenge website:

The Unogwaja challenge was initiated to follow the footsteps of Comrades legend Phil Masterton-Smith, who was affectionately known as “Unogwaja” which means the Hare in Zulu.

Phil Masterton-Smith was involvedin two of the closest finishes in Comrades Marathon history, when in 1930 he narrowly lost to the great Wally Hayward. The following year in 1931, he battled against Noel Burree, and crossed the finish line meters ahead to claim Comrades Victory and become the youngest ever Comrades winner at the age of 19.

In 1933 Masterton-Smith couldn’t afford the train fare from Cape Town to run the Comrades Marathon, so he cycled over 1700kms from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg in 10 days, and on the 11th day he ran the gruelling Comrades Marathon and came in 10th position. Noel Burree and Phil Masterton Smith – 1931

Tragically Phil Masterton-Smith was killed in action on 5th June 1942 by a mortar bomb, defending the Gazala line during the siege of Tobruk in World War II.

This ultimate story of passion, willpower, courage and determination was mirrored by four young men, who followed in the footsteps of Phil Masterton-Smith 78 years later. Team Unogwaja succeeded in cycling 1677km’s in 10 days from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg, and then running the Ultimate Human Race on day 11.This journey came alive & the Unogwaja team came together through Red Sock Friday (RSF), an initiative that shares its origin, like Comrades, in the aftermath of a World War, and is a global community of people who share a common passion for life and positive energy. The moment that founder of RSF, John McInroy, heard the story of Unogwaja from Dr WP van Zyl, a stranger at the time, the two knew this was a path they were going to follow.

2013 is the third year of the Unogwaja Challenge, and the first year it's being opened to the public and only 12 places are available. I went through the application process, I exchanged tweets and emails with John McInroy, and then had a Skype interview with him the day after Mrs' 40th Birthday celebrations.

The Unogwaja Challenge is open to the public for the first time in 2013

I found out on Friday that I've been accepted onto the challenge!

So that's my focus now: The London Ultra 50km in February, and the Unogwaja Challenge and Comrades Marathon in May and June. And this is why I need to get my knee fixed Pretty Damn Quickly.

Despite what it says in the header to this blog, it turns out 140.6 miles isn't really very far at all - I need to reset my belief of what's possible (and probably update my blog design as a result).

Life changes so quickly, it can be hard to keep up. Stay open to adventure, grasp the chances that cross your path, and never be afraid to dive into the unknown.

PS: I don't really believe that you aren't entitled to listen to listen to the parkrun show, Marathon Talk, Talk Ultra, or IMTalk if you haven't completed the events they discuss - in fact quite the opposite. These podcasts have educated and excited me so much, and I don't think I'd have such bold objectives if it wasn't for them showing me what's possible. Download and listen now!

My body is a machine

I don’t mean this in a “Man, did you see that guy go? He’s a MACHINE!!” kind of way, I mean it literally. My body is a machine. Bursting with complex combinations of chemical reactions, billions of them, all working more or less in tandem and building up into macro biological processes, wrapped and supported in a musculo-skeletal frame so I can make cups of tea, go to the pub, and wander around forgetting quite why I went upstairs or happen to be walking around with a dirty plate.

Like any machine, much can be learned by studying what goes in and comes out of it. Inputs include solid fuels, gases, and external stimuli on the sensory systems. Outputs includes other solids and gases (as my wife will confirm) and heat usually as a result of "work done" such as moving around or maintaining my internal status quo via homeostatic processes.

I spend a lot of time thinking about what comes out, and how to make it better. I train my machine by subjecting it to physical stresses through regular training, it responds by optimising its internal processes. The way I metabolise stored chemical energy can be altered depending on the way in which I stress myself in training. The optimisation comes unconsciously during an adaptation period following training. Following that I’ll reap the rewards by being more efficient, stronger, or faster – maybe elements of all three.

What I don’t think so much about is what I put into my machine. Actually, that’s not true, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I eat on a micro level (this sandwich, this pizza, this pint of beer, this day), but I don’t spend any time thinking about the macro scale. This is odd, seeing as I spend quite a lot of time thinking about the net effect - my weight.

Photo by Dave Medcroft, sourced from flickr

I have never looked at what I’ve eaten over the course of a week to see what it looks like. Every day starts with a blank page. This is in contrast to my output where I review my training diary regularly and adapt the next week or few weeks based on the completed sessions. My suspicion is that the one or two "bad" days per week wipe out most of the "good" days, and as such I'm not managing my inputs as well as I manage my output.

If I were a car, I’d have correctly inflated tyres, carefully setup suspension and tracking, a well-tuned engine, and my lights and windows would always be clean and clear. And then I’d fill it with cheap Californian low-octane petrol, and wonder why it doesn’t perform as well as it should.

So, after a week where I’ve eaten probably the nicest meal I’ve had in my life (at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, for my wife’s birthday - mildly hung over the next day), a client schmoozy meal at Gaucho (steak, cooked blue, with starter, dessert, bread, too much beer and wine - fairly hungover the next day), and rounded off with a take-away pizza (with too many starters) from my good friends at Dominos pizza on Saturday night (damn you and your continually tempting 30% off deals) – it’s time to get a grip.

What does “get a grip” mean? Sure I could lose a few kg (and fully intend to) but this isn’t primarily a weight management discussion. I want to become more educated about what I’m eating (my fuel) and how it impacts my performance (or my potential to perform). I want to understand what happens if I fuel myself with BP Ultimate rather than low-octane juice. What's the point in training if you don't pay attention to what you eat?

Here are some things I’m going to be paying some more attention to than I have been of late:

1. Alcohol intake (one of the first things I wrote on this blog was about alcohol, I’ve slipped dramatically backwards in this respect)
2. Calorific intake and macro-nutrient split over time periods longer than one day
3. Adjusting nutrition based on the exercise load and sessions for a given day (the frequency, intensity and duration of training and rest)
4. Fuelling during exercise – what’s the right thing to eat and why, how is it training my body?

Why do this now? Firstly, there are no big races coming so it's a good time to look holistically at training and improve my knowledge - if I cock something up there’s no race-day impact. There’s a huge amount of discussion in the press and podcasts about endurance nutrition right now, and it feels like we’re turning a corner with understanding and implementation.

Secondly, I’ve decided on my A-race for 2013, and it’s going to be very important that I give myself the best possible chance of completion. I’ve already entered it, but there’s a secondary component I’m trying to be a part of. When I find out if I’m in or not, I’ll share my plans.

Finally, there's nothing like a picture of you looking really crap to deliver some motivation. The picture at the top is me from Little Stoke parkrun two days ago - legs are OK but what is going on with that belly!

Like I said, it's not primarily a weight management exercise, but losing the few kg I've gained since finishing my Ironman adventures of 2012 would not be the worst side effect...!

A mini-challenge to round off 2012

I need a little something to finish off the year. There's a small marathon held annually in Richmond Park towards the end of November. I was asked if I wanted to run it, and I thought why the hell not. I've never run a marathon - I don't include the two Ironman shuffle-a-thons, they were all about getting to the end and not really worrying about how long it took. I haven't taken on a stand-alone marathon as a "runner". I should have a good base of fitness from this year's adventures, I'll be carrying some fatigue but I don't intend to thrash myself training, and there's still six and a half weeks until race day.

I looked up a 6-week marathon plan and adapted it to suit my needs. I've never prioritised running in my training before, so this is new. I've planned to increase duration consistently over the next few weeks, peaking with the longest run a fortnight ahead of race day. I'll aim to get my long runs done round Richmond Park to get used to the circuit again.

I'm estimating 25 minutes for parkruns. I can run them faster but I'm not sure I want to thrash myself every Saturday morning. So, the next seven weeks (I count a week as Monday to Sunday) look like this:

Week 1 (this week): 3 sessions, 2:55
Wed: 30m easy recovery run
Sat: parkrun
Sun: 2:00 Z1 Run

(Z1 = heart rate Zone 1, for me that's 151 BPM or lower, comfortable for a long run is under 145BPM)

Week 2: 4 sessions, 4:45
Wed: Run home from work (90m)
Fri: 30m easy run
Sat: parkrun
Sun: 2:20 Z1 Run

Week 3: 4 sessions, 5:35
Wed: Run home from work (90m)
Fri: 1:00 Z1 run
Sat: parkrun
Sun: 2:40 Z1 Run

Week 4: 5 sessions, 6:25
Tue: 30m easy run
Wed: Run home from work (90m)
Fri: 1:00 Z1 run
Sat: parkrun
Sun: 3:00 Z1 Run

Week 5: 5 sessions, 6:55
Tue: 1:00 easy run
Wed: Run home from work (90m)
Fri: 1:00 easy run
Sat: parkrun
Sun: 3:00 Z1 run

Week 6: 4 sessions, 4:25
Wed: Run home from work (90m)
Fri: 30m Z1 easy run
Sat: parkrun
Sun: 2:00 Z1 Run

Week 7: 5 sessions, 2:25 plus race
Tue: 30m easy run
Wed: 60m easy run
Thu: 30m easy run
Sat: parkrun (very easy, jog round, minimum of cycling)
Sun: RACE DAY!

In around this lot is some swimming, 4 mornings per week, and a little bit of cycling, but not a great deal. The focus is on good run sessions and effective recovery. According to a timing calculator I found online, given my half marathon time last weekend I should be able to hit a few seconds under 3:30 - this sounds like a seriously fast time and I'm not comfortable right now having something so aggressive as my target. I know I want to go under 4 hours, that's my minimum target, I'll wait until closer to the time to decide what my pacing is going to be. Let's see how it goes.

Race Report: Royal Parks Half Marathon

I added the Royal Parks Half Marathon on to the race calendar at the start of the year - I thought it would be fun to knock out a half after all the Ironman fun of the year. With the fitness I aimed to have acquired by this point in the year, minus a bit for fatigue form previous races, I should be able to smash out a PB.

I've run two stand-alone half marathons previously. Royal Parks in its second year, 2009, at that time the furthest I'd ever run. I clocked a hugely frustrating 2:00:05, partly as a result of losing my mind a bit, forgetting how many miles were in a half marathon, and expecting the finish to be just after the 12-mile marker. Realising I had a mile left was quite demoralising, and I found it hard to push that little bit harder to make my 2-hour target.

Then last year I ran Nike+ Run To The Beat with Mrs. We planned to jog round, and then push a bit with 5km left if we had any beans left. We posted a time of just over 2:07 on a hot sunny September day.

The only other halves I've run in race conditions are the two this year at Ironman 70.3 UK where I posted 2:06 on a really very tough course, and Ironman 70.3 Ireland where I ran a few seconds over 1:50 on a pancake flat course.

It was clear I could improve on this, and I was aiming for sub 1:45 with a dream outcome of sub 1:40. There were a couple of pace runners aiming to hit 1:40 so my plan was simple. Stick with them for as long as I possibly could. If I could hang on, great, and if I had any juice left at the end try and over take to hit that sub 1:40 dream outcome.

The beautiful course takes in a number of the Royal Parks, and some great London landmarks

I set off in front of the 1:40 pacers, and after 1km one of them came flying past me. I hadn't realised I'd started slowly, so thought I'd better jump on the 1:40 bus as it trundled past. The next km passed in 4:24 - this was a bit nuts, that's not far off my parkrun pace, and those are only 5km. There was a lot of concerned chatter in the group about how fast he was going. 4:44 per km should hit 1:40, 4:24 would get us there in a bit under 1:33, and there's no way I can manage that!

I hung on for a bit, and after 5km he had slowed a little, but was still going a bit too hard. We thought we should tell him, but no one wanted to use the effort to catch him up! He realised and slowed considerably, we put in a 4:58km back in Hyde Park just before half way. About this time the other 1:40 pacer joined us. I jumped into his group instead (as the one I was following pulled away again) - this guy was metronomic. He was checking his watch every mile and at 8 miles was 5s up on his target.

My pacing wasn't too bad in the end, even a slight lift at the end

I was finding it tougher as I moved into the last third, but was still hanging on. From 11 miles on the pacer would slowly pull away, and I'd have to put an effort in to join him again. This happened a few times and each catch-up was harder than the last.

The course ends with a long drag across the bottom of Hyde Park. This time as he pulled away up the gentle rise past the Albert Memorial I couldn't hang on. My heart rate was through the roof, it had been above functional threshold since about kilometre 10, and my legs and arms were singing from the build up of lactic acid - I certainly can't be accused of not trying.

Heart rate - the only way is up, baby!

I crossed the line in 1:40:31, taking 19 minutes and 46 seconds off my previous stand-alone half marathon PB, and 10 minutes off the fastest half I've run in competition. I can't complain about that! I know 1:40 is in within easy reach, next time I'll smash that, and maybe even think about trying for 1:35.

I'll probably run this race next year too. I enjoy the course, the support is excellent, and it makes a good performance benchmark towards the end of the season. In order to hit my Ironman 70.3 objectives I think I need to be able to hit 1:30. That's quite a target, but I reckon I can do it. Whether I can hit it next season or not though remains to be seen...