My Running Year

I was never much of a runner. When I was puffing around the football field, I would run 3 miles or so in an attempt to get fit. After my neck injury, I started off the year barely able to run a 5k. I definitely would have never tried a race or a park run. This year has changed everything 

Go Hard or Go Home

(Image © TattyDon)

Having started running to combat the worst period of depression I’ve had (See...Why I Run) I got addicted! I ran my first half (since I was 17 years old) in March  and my fifth in December picking up a PB of 1.35.54 on the way. I achieved 18th position in a 10k (Cattle Creep) and completed the Silverstone Duathlon series. At the start of the year I set myself a target of running 100km a month which seemed unachievable at that point. I changed that to 100 miles per month by the end of January and have only missed out on completing that in the last month. Injury having forced me to retire December’s effort at 73 miles. Added to that, I am fitter than I've been since I was a kid. I have lost 2.5 stone in the last eighteen months and finally look in the mirror and don't feel negative. 

I really appreciate the support everyone has given me. My regular 'race support crew’ and Redway Runners. You guys have been great in terms of motivation, support and advice. I have made loads of friends through the club and some really close ones.  The ten mile run on a Friday means that I can roll up at any Half now and just do it. No training needed. That's a quite incredible step forward for me. Finally, finding a twitter group in #ukrunchat has linked me to some incredible people. Supportive and inspirational runners, most of whom I will probably never meet.  Thanks guys!

Looking forward to next year, the injury that has resulted in me missing out on my main target this year has made me reassess target setting a bit. Hopefully it's a small one but makes me realise that four week based targets require a great deal of luck. 

To have got so near this year and yet miss out takes away from what I have achieved personally. If I had sat down on January 1st and looked at the stats above, I wouldn’t have believed them. I thrive on targets though and so I’ll set them down although this year I will be flexible about reassessing them if I need to. My main one for next year, of completing my first marathon (targeting sub 3:45) is probably the best example of that. I’m already aware that Im missing the training for that so need to reassess when I’m fit. Beyond that, my broad targets are to spend the first four months focussing on the Marathon, the next four focussing on Duathlons and possibly a Triathlon (quite a stretch as I can’t really swim at the moment…) The last four months is about running for fun! 

Without running I'm not sure where I would have ended up this year. With running, I have become stronger, more confident and believe in myself more than I have done for years. 

JL

Performance Against Targets 2014

 
1 Log 5 million (fitbit) steps by the end of the year: 

• With one day to go, 5.8m steps. 

2 Run 2014 km in 2014:

• 2197 km completed  (1365 miles)

3 Run 100m every month:

• Missed it in the last month (103,103,108,118,115,124,140,122,111,136,102,73). Average Mileage per month though was 114

4 Do Three Half Marathons: 

• Five Half Marathons completed (1:41.57, 1:41.34, 1:35.54, 1:37.42, 1:42)

5 Do a sub 2 hour Half Marathon: 

• All five sub 1:43. PB of 1:35.54 

6 Complete a Duathlon: 

• Silverstone Series completed (3 races) 

Specific targets for 2015 

1 Log 6 million (fitbit) steps by the end of the year

2 Run 2015 km in 2015

3 Run a sub 1:30 Half

4 Run my first Marathon

5 Run a sub 3:45 Marathon

6 Place Top Ten in a 10k

7 Complete 3 Duathlons and 1 Triathlon

Silverstone Duathlon - The End of a Personal Battle

Determined to Win

(Image © TattyDon)

I am, and have always been, highly competitive both at work and at sports. Now that I run, that competitive nature has been channeled less into beating other people or teams but primarily into self improvement and constantly pushing myself. Every run, every cycle is now a foundation block to targeted races, the bricks which build up to that personal best. Every now and then though, I am still absolutely focused on beating others. The Silverstone Duathlon last Wednesday was one of those occasions.

Last Wednesday's Duathlon was the second in the series. It’s a short evening session of just 3.4m, 9m,1.7m) I had loved the first  one. It was the most competitive event I had ever taken part in. The majority of entrants, which included some sporting GBR tri-suits, were clearly experienced triathletes and this was an easy training session for them. It was actually the first event since I’ve started properly running where there was no bling for entering - only for winning. I set off fast that day running legs at 6:48 pace and 7 minutes pace respectively which was a minute inside my 5k PB. The field completely carried me along and it was certainly the most intense exercise I have done since I started in January. I knew the bike would be my weaker element and it proved to be exactly that.    Cramp, limited training, (and a lack of talent) meant  I dropped 27 places in the cycle and a further 5 during the transitions. I finished in a time of 1.08.23 which I was pretty pleased with and a position of 76/100 (Male).

I was targeting 1:06:00 this time. My intention being to make up the two minutes, twenty-three seconds on the bike section and the transitions. In the intervening month I had done several interval sessions (one on the bike, three on the runs) plus a couple of longer two hour plus rides on the bike. I hadn’t practiced transitions but know I had scope to improve there. Fair to say, I nailed it. Set off faster and took 43 seconds out of my run time. New 5km PB and then took nearly ten per cent out of my bike time. My transitions improved a lot too adding nearly another minute to the new total. I ended on 1.04.31.

To add to that, the personal issue. I didn’t realise until just before the start but someone turned up to race who I needed to beat. Someone who when I was at my absolute lowest mental point last year, manipulated me and tried to consistantly put me down professionally in order to meet his own personal objective. It would be fair to say that I had a personal score to settle. That for the first time since I had started running, I needed to compete against an individual rather than against myself. He may have not even noticed I was there. It didn’t matter. This was for me.

For the first time in sport, I realised how tough it is to be ahead. In football, tennis, hockey - everything I had done, you know where you are, are completely aware of what you have to do. I knew I’d put in a good run but also knew that he was both a strong runner and even stronger cyclist. Whilst being aware at first transition that i was well ahead, I had no idea where he was. All I could do was focus on my bike session and hope I was holding him off. He caught me at the end of the final lap. Thirty seconds on the bike to go. A very satisfied glance across from him as he swept by let me know he absolutely knew I was there. I stayed

Put The Pedal Down and Go
(Image © TattyDon)

with him into transition. His transition was faster than mine and again, as he set off, that same confident, self-satisfied look - He had done me. I deliberately took a moment, reached for my water in transition, took a measured sip and set off. I knew that if I passed him I had to pass him properly. If he stayed with me, he would have the advantage and come past me as I tired. I watched him ahead of me, watched his form and realised he was hurting so I put the hammer down. Drew level. Glanced across to register the look of discomfort on his face. Mentally photographed that and pushed on. Easy form, no fatigue. Just how I had trained.  I didn’t look back for two minutes but when I did he had gone. I had done it. I finished nearly two minutes clear.

As I normally do at any event, I walked back up the course a bit to applaud, support and offer encouragement to those who were coming in to the finish. Running is like that, life is like that. Support others, especially those who share your skills or interests. He didn’t. He finished. He walked, eventually, back up to cheer on just the two people he had arrived with. No more.

I knew then that that I had won. That the personal battle was over. It didn’t matter if he was in a future duathlon and what his time was in that. I was no longer interested. My time going forward is what matters - my time against my targets. I was a runner. I was genuine. I represented everything that he had shown to me he wasn’t. I’d finally got that shallow attracts shallow. I had shown commitment, encouragement and support. I was finally free.

I arrived home elated but that was surprisingly replaced by a real feeling of negativity. I had absolutely put to bed an internal battle I had been fighting for a long time. The feeling of freedom from that though was to some extents an anti climax. I know in the next few weeks that will be massive. But right then, it was tough.

At the end of the first duathlon, I was elated at having completed it but I knew that I could have done more on my cycle ride. I knew that the cramp had slowed me considerably. On this one my feeling when I woke up on Thursday morning was where was I going to go next? I felt I had hit a plateau on the run. (I hadn’t  - I had taken nearly a minute out of an overall 5 miles). I thought that I had been pretty flat out on the bike in the highest gear and yet I had been caught by the single person I needed to beat. Again, I had taken almost two minutes out of my 9 mile time.

It’s taken a couple of days to realise that actually I put in a great performance (for me), but that vitally it wasn’t a one off. I had actually taken some significant times out of each of the three sections: Run, Bike and Transition. There is more in the tank though. To start with, I need more of the same. More miles on the road and on the bike. More of the interval training. The structured approach is absolutely paying dividends. Time to invest in hardware too. A higher gear cog and aerobars. I’m still a long way down the field and that shows there is loads of room for improvement.

So, after a reflective rest day I am once again at peace. Free completely from past demons and with better understanding,  and focussed on knowing how to improve for next time. How to take another 2.30 minutes off the total and being absolutely confident that it is that target I am looking at (1:02) and nothing, or no one else that matters.



Overall stats

Proud To Be British?

The Legend of Being English

(Image © UGardener)

I watched a party political broadcast tonight for the English Democrat party. I sat open mouthed, not sure whether I was watching a real broadcast or whether it was a parody. The message repeated often by four or five white middle class, middle aged men (one woman) was to 'Vote English'. It got me thinking about what I was proud of. Am I proud 'to be English, not British' as the broadcast tried to persuade me to be?

Being English is pretty much the only life event that I had no choice in. A fluke of attraction between two people who happened to both be English, who happened to have both found jobs and a house in an English town at the time I was born. That's what made me English. And yet, for many, that one life event - the one in which you have absolutely no say - becomes central to their beliefs.

Am I proud to be English? Well, I am proud of the country I live in (which happens to be England) and I m happy to be an albeit small part of the mosaic which makes it what it is. I am proud to live in a country with freedom of speech, a country with probably the best welfare state system in the world, where medical care is free on the point of access. I am proud to live in a country which immigrants risk their lives to reach in order to better themselves. The list goes on: a country in which the justice system is one of the fairest in the world, with one of the least corrupt and most approachable police forces in the world. A country where education is open to all regardless of birth, sex or ability.

So yes. I am proud to live here. Proud to be part of this country. But I don't think it's perfect. I firmly believe the welfare state could be improved , could be streamlined to focus on those who need it rather than those who assume it. I believe that the NHS could be more efficient at the management level, could be better focussed on those who need free healthcare. I believe our tax system could be fairer, less aggressive and could reward entrepreneurism, risk taking and success much better. I admire countries like the United States for promoting the need to improve ones chances, Sweden for their more relaxed approach to education in the early years, India for aggressively creating a service economy that has moved from the budget solution to the slick high quality choice in only ten years. I even admire Belgium for their incredible success in bringing on youngsters through the football ranks into their national team. And on the flip side, each of those has elements I don't like. (Although struggling to think of anything wrong with Belgium!!). I'm proud to be therefore part of a progressive country. One that for all it's flaws, I believe is focussed in the right direction. An inclusive, fair, just and giving society. That's what I'm proud of. Not necessarily being English.

The inference from the broadcast was that as a supposedly stereotypical English person (white, 40 plus male) I should identify with other 'Englishmen'. Let's test that one for a moment. I identify most with people who are trying to better themselves. In my professional, social and some would say most importantly, my sporting life, I surround myself with people who are trying to further themselves. This is where the Englishness of the argument falls apart. I don't care what the nationality of that person is. I don't care what sex they are, what sexuality they are, where they are born or where they have decided to live. What I care about is whether they are happy and whether they are driven to succeed. So at this point, being English has nothing to do with the people I identify with. In fact in many ways, being 'culturally different' from me is actually a positive thing. Surround yourself with yes men and you will never be wrong but never be challenged.

This brings me on to one of the key principles of their somewhat limited sales pitch. "English jobs for English people". I struggle with this on two levels. First, I am firmly of the belief that age, sex, sexuality, colour etc is of no relevance when I am recruiting for roles. What I am after is talent. I do not care in the slightest about the religion, political beliefs or nationality of that person. I want 'can do'. I want experience and passion for delivery. I work with Germans, Indians, Americans and a Spaniard on my current job. It makes no difference. In fact that's wrong. It creates a cultural melting pot that enables different approaches to problem solving, to team building and to work attitude. It's great. Surround myself with white, middle class, middles aged, English males? No thanks.

Secondly, I struggle with the term English jobs. I presently work in England for one of the most recognisable British (sic) brands. It's owned by an Indian company. Is this an English job? I'm guessing they would say it was because it is predominantly based in the UK. Most of my work though is for global firms, generally run from England. When I am abroad working for them is that an English job? Are the people who work abroad in Europe, USA, Canada for that UK based firm taking jobs that should be English or is that different. If they weren't working in those 'English  jobs' would we have market penetration in those geographies? It's a joke. Any job should be given to the  person who will deliver it at the best quality or cost depending  on the driver regardless of location or nationality.

And then I ask myself what I don't identify with. And I come up with racists, I come up with people who think they are owed a life on benefits, people who think that they should get a job because of their nationality over their ability. And I start to wonder. I think of the person I saw yesterday at a football match. St George's cross tattoo on his arm and yelling w****r at an opposition player whilst his young kids sat either side of him. I think of the pubs that I would never walk in because they are populated by 'English' men. Unreceptive, hostile and questioning of outsiders. And my mind is made up.

I would happily move to another country. I'd go the US, to Canada, Australia to further myself. I'd go European as well if I wasn't such a sad Englishman who like so many has no grasp of foreign languages. And abroad I would feel proud. Proud of my nationality and of my new found host. Proud to be part of an evolving global tapestry of multiple cultural, cross boundary cohesion. Quite honestly, the opposite is true. I welcome with open arms anyone from another country that feels they can improve themselves in the UK. Rather have someone like that than someone who thinks the world owes them a living. Regardless of where they are born.

I am proud to be English. I'm proud to be British too, to be European. In fact quite honestly I am proud to be part of a world wide population at such an exciting time in history. I am proud to be living here though. But above all I am proud that a group which in my opinion has such narrow minded, backward views get their five minutes of fame on national TV. I'm proud to live in a society where there is that level of free speech is allowed and where they can have the ability to persuade me to use my vote. To vote for someone other than them.

We All Hate Derby... Or Maybe Not

Passion is not Hatred

(Image ©Waywardeffort)

I thought Derby played well tonight. Looked solid defensively and play a lovely style of football, showing flair whilst controlling the game convincingly. Am right behind them in the play off final and hope that they can once more reach the premiership.

According to many, I'm not actually a real football fan because I watch the MK Dons (read about that here). That aside though, I'm a Forest fan. Forest hate Derby, Derby hate Forest. So why the paragraph above?

I really don't understand the hatred of football teams. Sure I get the human nature to belong to a pack, to follow their football team above all others. But to hate other teams and automatically hope they lose because they...exist? No I don't get that bit. If Forest are playing Derby I want Derby to lose. I vehemently want them to lose. I know that at work on Monday I will feel the consequences of that 5 nil drubbing. I know that when we win 5 nil I will be just as bad. I want Derby to lose If during the season we are contesting the same elusive promotion or relegation spot. But that goes for any team in the division. If Forest aren't directly involved I don't care. In fact, given that I have several friends who are passionate Derby fans, in a neutral game like tonight, I will back Derby.

I have a real issue at the moment with following football. (Blog post to follow). This unconditional hatred is just one example. I woke up this morning to various premiership fans being asked what their club's best moment of their season was. Fulham, Liverpool and Man City fans all answered. The Man Utd fan said his best moment was Gerrard slipping and subsequently seeing him in tears. So nothing to do with his team then. Just hatred of another. Hatred purely because this season they have been outclassed. To any proper football fan, what Liverpool have achieved this year is pretty impressive. To that person, the fact that one of the most talented English players we have seen in the last decade made a mistake outshines anything else he has seen this season from his and (I assume) any other team.

Sport is greatly enhanced by rivalries. It adds the extra edge to competition. Local rivalries and derbies add banter in the classroom, the office and social media. But that's what it is. Banter. Not hatred. This banter means that when my team isn't involved, far from wanting the other team to lose, I want them to win. I feel far more connections with the rival, far more empathy with their fans than teams that are just regular participants in the league.

So I'll be backing Derby County in the play off final. Wearing my Forest top, but backing Derby. 

Marathon Posts - Training tips, Inspirational Accounts and Recovery Techniques

I am running the Brighton Marathon in April 2015 and wanted a place to store some of the inspirational posts from other runners of training tips and woes, marathon experiences or recovery suggestions. I'm hoping that over the year that this page turns into an motivating collection of articles for any marathon runner.

(Image © WallyG 2014) 

Training Tips

• Runners World article on Hydration. Putting right some of those hydration myths such as when and how much should you be drinking. 

Marathon Stories

• Michael Owen's experience of running the London Marathon. A refreshingly honest summary of the race itself, with his mistakes, his pain and the importance of the support of family friends and others, combined with an insight into the life of a footballer. Turns out they are human too...
• Spa Striders debut marathon runner Rob Thompson on his route to a sub 3 marathon and his experience on the day. Five words particularly stay with me: "Push yourself. Every. Bloody. Time". 

Recovery Techniques

• Reverse Tapering plans. Discussion and plans for how best to recover in the four weeks after a half or full marathon

Weird Things That Runners Do

This one isn't mine but thought it was worth a post! 

Blood, Sweat and Tears

(Image © TattyDon 2014)

How many (and which) of these are you guilty of?

1. Hold your Garmin up to the sky because you swear you get better reception.

2. Have full conversations with yourself while running, often times out loud.

3. You look at your clock at home and get all giddy when you realize it's your PR time.

4. You see the word "marathon" in the TV guide and get excited before you realize it has nothing at all to do with running.

5. Swore you would never wear a bumbag but a fuel belt? No problem!

6. Run tons of miles per week but yet you still search for the closest parking spot at the grocery store.

7. Carry extra running gear in your car just in case you see a great looking place to run on accident.

8. Wear your running clothes to bed so you spend less time changing and have more time to run in the morning.

9. On long runs you get so deep in thought that you suddenly realize that you don't remember what happened the last couple miles.

10. Talking in acronyms: My last MP earned me PR and 1st in my AG. I didn't BQ but at least I wasn't a DNF.

11. You blow your nose in your shirt because you suck at blowing snot rockets while running. You just end up looking like a dog slobbering out the car window.

12. Get extremely excited when you see a porta potty or bathroom out of no where on your run.

13. Show off your bruised and black toe nails to non runners while trying to convince them it was so much fun and completely worth it!

14. Constantly checking behind you to see if anyone is catching up that could be the boogey man.

15. Change into your running clothes in your car not caring if anyone sees.

16. Fart while running on accident but still look around to see if anyone heard it. And if so, you speed up to lose them!

17. Assume that the old lady that passed you like you were standing still is only going to be running a couple miles.

18. Question what you got yourself into at the beginning of the race only to immediately wonder what races you can enter next.

19. Realize that the majority of the songs on your phone are ones that you run to.
20. Panicking the day before a race making sure that you have 
 lined up that you will need.

21. Look at runners with envy while driving.

22. When the local news starts talking about race weekend you start panicking because you didn't sign up, then you realize they are talking about NASCAR and not running.

23. While driving down the road you see the amount of miles until your destination on the road sign and you immediately think "I can run that!"

24. Avoid going past a running store because you know you can't come out of it empty handed.

25. Getting people to reschedule their weddings because it interferes with your race schedule.

26. Seeing people with 13.1 and 26.2 stickers on their car and speeding up to get a good look at them. Even if you have to do 80+. It's still a competition!

27. Running around in circles so you hit an even amount of mileage on your Garmin.

28. Knowing that it is impossible to run past windows without looking at the reflection so you can check out your running form.

29. Solve the worlds problems while running and wonder why there is no law that world leaders have to do this.

30. Plan vacations based on where you can run and what races you can enter.

The Loneliness of The Programme Manager

I have a great deal in common with David Moyes. There are some areas where we differ of course. I don't have to manage Shrek, I don't have access to free track suits or dodgy coats and I don't get my name splashed across every newspaper every time it doesn't go well for me at work.

Make The Inherited Team Work For You

(Image © VegasEddie)

Moyes, for those who live on Mars (or perhaps the US) is a football manager, the manager of possibly the biggest club in the world, Manchester United. Sounds great. Except he's a football manager in his first season at the club. I am a programme manager. Specifically a programme manager who specialises in recovery. I land in troubled programmes and turn them around - or even sometimes terminate them.

The similarity lies in the loneliness, the isolation especially in the initial stages of the role. There are ways to alleviate this though as I will walk through later no in this post.

Moyes was presumably recruited by the chairman. A friendly, smiling face full of promises and smiles. Initial talk of ambition and plans, of positives and partnership. Bring in the programme sponsor. The guy wedded to the ambition and delivery of the programme but not necessarily wedded to the deliverer. He knows what he wants, will go to any length to get it but when it comes to it he isn't that worried who delivers it. In both roles this guy treats you as expendable, merely a means to an end. Ultimately this person is not your friend...

Indirectly Moyes has another client that he must impress. The supporters. A recent survey puts the number of worldwide supporters that Moyes has to impress at 659 million. To be fair, I've never worked on a programme with 600 million users so I'm a bit behind there. But the similarities are there. The relationship with the supporters or the business into which you are delivering is always on a knife edge. They are reliant on you doing a good job and will back you vehemently when they see evidence of a good job being done. However, as soon as anything goes wrong they will be quick to criticise, to escalate and demand changes. A group of dissenters can gather momentum very quickly and whilst they do not generally have direct hire and fire power they certainly can influence.

Moyes inherited a team of players. In some ways he is better off than me in that Moyes inherited a team of world class players. Read into that what you will! The problem for Moyes is that they are not his choice of world class players, they do not necessarily play to his system and unfortunately the competition also has world class players. The last point means that in comparison they are average. I inherit teams. Generally pretty average team. One or two potential stars perhaps but in the main teams that don't play to my system. Teams that don't suit my style of management. Both Moyes and I are recruited primarily as people managers. Our abilities to produce results from a team are the primary reasons we get the job. Sure, we are experts in our trades, we know the fundamentals but then so do many other people. It's the ability to get the people around you to deliver that marks us out from the crowd. 

More importantly then, what do both Moyes and I need to do to deliver in such an environment?

The first piece of the jigsaw is perhaps a surprising one as it's initially at least a non 'work' one. In order to succeed in this environment you need a friend. I've outlined above how whilst at any given time each of the groups might be supporting you, none are your friends. On arrival, you can trust no one and must not get too close to anyone. Three months down the line, you don't know which employees you might be having conversations with about poor performance, you don't know when you might have to deliver a hard to live with ultimatum to the chairman or your client and you don't know when you might have that tough meeting with the business to let them know you won't be delivering that much desired functionality or with the supporters to let them know your targets are not in line with their wishes. So until you have your right hand man in place, you need a clear idea of who externally you have to bounce ideas off, to motivate and inspire you and generally to get support from. To start a role without this is tough indeed.

Next comes team motivation. Moyes has an added constraint here. The transfer window. That means that player recruitment wise he is not only constrained by budget and the availability of his preferred team but is also constrained by the time windows in which he can recruit. The problem is similar though on both sides. You have to work with what you have and you need time to understand whether the players you inherit are capable of working in the way that you want them to. First impressions may be wrong. The way a team performed for a previous manager may be very different from the way that they perform for you. Getting the team onside early on and fighting for your cause is about setting out clearly your core beliefs, being very clear about what you want to achieve and how you aim to set about doing it. It's about being tough when necessary but listening too. The bully boy tactics might create short term wins but never create a long term delivery structure. Mostly though it's about taking the time to find out about the individuals. What inspires them, what are their concerns, dislikes and ambitions. Having these conversations not only establishes relationships but also starts to set out your long term goals. No point creating a style of play around the midfielder that is desperate to play for Real Madrid next year or the project manager who is looking to take a back seat. The key here though is to focus on motivation in the short term. These people may or not be in your long term plan. They are definitely part of your short term plan though and you will need each to perform as well as they can.

As soon as possible, it is vital to address the loneliness problem. To deliver in the long term, you need a trusted core team around you. People who absolutely buy into your vision and who have the ability to motivate and bring others along. Football managers and programme managers from consultancies often have the ability to create an instant Team structure. Increasingly when a manager joins a new club he will take his back room staff with him. He will walk into the new role an instant team around him. Consultancies will sell in the leadership layer as a way to kicking off a project quickly and early. I'm not a great fan of this approach though. If football or programmes were a repeatable process then this would be fine. However there are so many variables involved -the players, the budget, the ambition of the chairman - that each scenario Is different. To arrive with a management team means that you have one approach. To put your own repeatable model into play. To force the variables around you to act in the way that fits your model. It's tough to get results this way but also it means you never get better. It's a plateau model. You build your way of doing it and at best you repeat it. At worst you can't force the resources into your shape and you end up failing. What you don't do is create a better model each time. 

The approach of arriving with an external sounding board, the inspirational friend, whilst tougher in the short term means that you have time to assess the situation before selecting the right team from your trusted contacts. It takes longer but you build a team that is accurately selected to address the challenges facing you and therefore a stronger long term team. One shouldn't underestimate how quickly this needs to be done though.   There is only a short period until the 'trusted friend' is too far removed and until the real storming within the team commences. By that point you need at least one person in that you trust and that shares your vision. Finally, your team around you should be people who are loyal to you. They should not be people who always agree with you. I have seen programmes fail due to leadership teams of yes men. If everyone is always going to agree, you may as well have one person.

The holy grail of all of this is time. Time to judge what you have in terms of resources available, time to build that loyal management team and time to start delivering and create an atmosphere of success. You can buy time though through an early deliverable. The absolute first thing to look for on any new project is how to deliver something high profile fast. Divert resource to that deliverable and stay with it until it's complete. Once you have an early win in the bag, time to build will be made available. 

Anyone for half time oranges?

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21478857

Running For A Purpose

In June last year I walked into a consultants room. My life focus was about to change. Three weeks before, I had woken with excruciating pain in my shoulder. By the next day I had zero use of my left arm. A seriously painful MRI scan later and several wrong diagnoses and I was en route to a meeting with a neuro surgeon. He ordered another MRI from a different angle and I walked into his room. First thing he said as he looked me in the eye was, "It's quite possible you might not walk again".  I'd somehow managed not just to slip a disc but in his words:  to "explode it". 

Aim For A Target

(Image © Nicholas Raymond)

I didn't tell anyone that line for a long time. I made light to other people about the way he had said he would fly out on holiday a day late so as to do the operation. "Do anything for money". He told me to take it extremely careful. No public transport. Nothing where I might accidentally move some part of my neck. My mum wasn't fooled though. (Not sure I can remember the last time I fooled my mum!). She got it it day one and left me in doubt that I was going to have the operation. And yes, I still thought there was a decision to make. On the day of the operation, the surgeon was more upbeat. His focus at that point was on my arm telling me I would probably get no movement back but after two years It was possible I might achieve some. 

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Came round. Wiggled my toes. Grinned. Went back to sleep. And decided to fight. 

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Seems really silly now. Like it was never a reality. I remember a few key things in the weeks that followed. I remember the physio looking at the MRIs and my zero neck and arm movement and commenting that I'd done it "properly" and then bringing a colleague in to show him the extent of the damage.

Several people, including some very close to me, told me I needed a different, more sedate approach to life. It isn't clear how I "exploded" the disk. I surely didn't want to run that risk again. And no, I don't. Bit I want to live too. And this has made me think about what I can do rather than what I can't. I wasn't interested in taking it easy though. I'd been told I wouldn't move my arm and so to start with I was focused on changing that. 

I realised how easy I had had it in life. Sport Billy, a friend used to call me. I could do any sport. But I never really pushed it. Never excelled in anything. Just did it to a decent level.  Waking up, I had decided not to do that. I would find something I wanted to do and then try properly.  Didn't matter how good I was, I just wanted to compete. With myself.

I had a few short term goals I needed to prove to myself. First, playing football again (that's how I think I originally did it) and second, getting that arm moving. No way was I going to wait two years,  I played football way too soon, but came back to play harder, better than I ever did in my youth. A proper desire replacing the take it easy approach. I tried various sports, to the varying horror, and to be fair, increasing interest, of the physio who quietly quite liked my 'do or die approach' as he named it. I'd managed to start to get movement in my arm, but try as I might I couldn't get rid of a certain degree of pain and stiffness in my neck .  My back was just a mass of tight muscles where I had been compensating for an injury about to happen for maybe as much as eighteen months, 

And then, although I had been subconsciously staving it off for months, depression hit. I was nothing for two months, at rock bottom. No steps, no focus, only weekly football giving me any escape. And in January, mainly to combat my depression, I started to run. I was on holiday in Devon. In a seriously hilly bit of Devon. I went out every morning in that first week of January, walking a bit, and running a bit. By the end of the week I was running the whole loop. Just four miles, but four miles of tough hills in tough winds. When I got home, I could run. I could run for miles. Eight, nine miles. For the first time in my life. 

And so now I run. I try and run every day. I probably shouldn't, but I can move my arm completely now and I feel fitter than ever.  And I have never felt fitter. And I love it. I love that feeling of dropping into that zone where you feel you can go forever. I've done 100 miles in January, 100 miles in February and want to do that every month this year. I've signed up for my first half marathon in 25 years. Am so focused in completing it. 

There are loads of people way worse off than me but it's all personal right? Running a half might not be a great deal to many people but to me, the MK Half on Sunday is about achieving something that at one point I thought was beyond me. 

Because once. Just once. Someone told me they weren't sure I would walk again. That kind of upset me . I'm not sure I like people telling me what I can't do. 

The Case Of The Missing iPad

Chief Inspector Jane O'Donnell felt highly satisfied as she took her chair for breakfast at the Golden Armadillo Hotel. The Case of the Missing Geese had been nicely wrapped up the previous evening once it was established that the farmer had forgotten which pond he had left his flock in after a late night at the Stripy Wombat Pub. As often seemed to be the case with the Chief Inspector’s investigations there had been no arrests. Still, the geese were safe, and it meant no paperwork. Another tick in the box.

The Only Sensible Conversation Around
(Image © Jelene)

"A job well done" she announced to a rather green, sickly looking Detective Constable Oakes who had spent most of the night allegedly questioning suspects in the Stripy Wombat.

DC Oakes nodded and turned his attention to the fry up that had been set in front of him but kept his mouth shut. She was mad as a box of frogs he thought, a sandwich short of a picnic. Yet another "perplexing mystery" that was really a wild goose chase. He would be glad to get home to Mrs Oakes and more particularly the chickens he kept. Sometimes he thought they were the only sane things in the whole world.

The quiet atmosphere was interrupted by a heated discussion in the kitchen. An argument about the best way to play angry birds - was it better on the chefs new iPad or his iPhone? Goodness me, thought Oakes, the world had gone mad! He turned his attention back to his breakfast and thought of chickens and clucked quietly to himself.

The Chief Inspector finished her breakfast and made arrangements to meet her colleague in the reception area of the hotel in an hour. It was as she walked up the stairs that she was nearly knocked over by the owner of the hotel. A stooping old man of about 80, he came careering around the corner with his walking stick held in front of him like a lance. His normally calm features distorted by rage, his face bright red, looking ready to explode.

 "Officer, Officer!!! Thank goodness you are still here” he exclaimed, grabbing the Chief Inspector with surprising strength around the arm. "There's been the most awful theft. Someone has been into my private quarters and stolen my iPad. It was an original one and on my birthday too". He leant on his walking stick, emotion pouring out of him as he told his story. The iPad had been taken between 11pm and 2am in the morning. The owner had woken up full of good birthday cheer only to be confronted by the devastating theft.

Now, Chief Inspector O’Donnell didn't know a lot about iPads but she did know about originals. Things like Van Gogh paintings and Dickens first edition books. There had been a very interesting course on those at detective school. She knew they were important and very valuable. And here she was. The first detective on the scene of an original iPad theft. How lucky that she was there!

Like the true professional that she was, she sprang into action. Shouting back to the open door of the dining room, she started issuing orders.

"Oakes. Get more coffee and croissants. Make sure there is marmalade too! Oh, and we will need an incident room. Clear the dining room this instant and set one up."

She could have sworn that she heard a large "cluck" come from the dining room area before Oakes replied with a weary "yes ma'am".

An hour later, O’Donnell, now in her full uniform, returned to the dining room. A phone had been set up together with a large TV screen tuned to the national news channels. She glanced at it to see what the public reaction to the theft of an original iPad was and was relieved to see it had not yet made the global media. The current news item was about Apple stores who had run a promotion last night where you could turn up at any local store at midnight and receive a free new iPad in exchange for your old one. O'Donnell wasn't interested in new iPads though - originals were her focus.

O' Donnell was an old pro. The conversation in the kitchen had come back to her and she was confident she could have this case wrapped up by lunchtime. "I want to see the chef" she barked at Oakes, who was sitting at his table nursing his head and leafing through a magazine that looked suspiciously like "Chicken Lovers Weekly".

The chef, when he arrived, looked tired and nervous, his eyes darting from side to side. "Where were you between 11 and 2 last night?" she asked with the slight American twang that she adopted when conducting an interrogation. She felt it made her more professional in front of the punters.

"Erm, erm, erm," stammered the clearly guilty chef, “I went to the cinema to see a film."

"Which film?" intervened Detective Constable Oakes, surprising O’Donnell with his incisive questioning. She had been just about to strike the chef off the suspect list as he clearly had an alibi.

The chef paused, his eyes searching the room for inspiration. "Chicken Run" he blurted out, resting his gaze on Oakes' magazine.

Once again O'Donnell moved to cross the chef off the suspects list. But Oakes was on a roll. He knew that he was not a particularly smart man. He had Mrs Oakes to remind him of that and she was keen to do so regularly. But what Oakes did know about was chickens. And he knew that Chicken Run was not showing at the cinema last night. He whispered as much so his boss, who looked at him astonished as she circled the chefs name on the list.

Dismissing the chef, the two of them conferred in low voices. They hadn't ever made an arrest before and clearly this was going to require some major planning.

"More coffee" shouted O'Donnell

"And biscuits!" Added  Oakes, his confidence growing by the minute as his prowess as a true detective became more and more evident.

Just then the front door banged open. The owner’s daughter flew in.

"Sorry I'm so late" she cried, flinging herself into the arms of her elderly father, knocking his walking stick to the floor. "The queue at the Apple store was awful. I've got your birthday present though" and she brandished a brand new iPad with ' new for old' stamped across the box.

"So you took the iPad?" The owner said, already several light years ahead of our trusty detectives. "How did you fit it in with the soup kitchen that you run after work?"

"Oh! The chef helped out there. I swore him to secrecy though so that your new iPad would be a surprise!" she smiled. “I even said he should take some of the leftovers from the hotel. I hope you don't mind?

O'Donnell and Oakes looked at each other. "Another successful outcome", triumphed O'Donnell.

"Cluck" said Oakes.

© John Laverick 2014

The Stress of Chilling Out

I run to de-stress. In fact running has provided me with an outlet where I wasn't able to find one. But I'll tell you what. It's bloody stressful running.

Chilling Over The Constant Improvement Cycle
(Image © Living Fitness UK)

I need targets, need stats (I sync across four apps to get me the widest range of stats) and need goals to motivate me and that's where the stress starts. I started off with a target of running a half marathon within a year of my neck surgery. Ended up signing up for one at the start of March. My aim then, and I have a Facebook post to prove it, was just to get round. I didn't want any target to aim for, just wanted to prove that I could do the distance.  I'd set myself a target of 3 halfs during the year, first was to get round, second was to do sub 2 hours and third was to really improve. 

Then I went out for a random run in the style of Forrest Gump. And ran 13.4 miles. In less then two hours. Which caused me a problem. Now when I run the MK Half in March, I'm going to have to do sub 2 hours. I did another in February to check I could still do it and it went pretty well so now I need not only to beat two hours but to beat the training personal bests that I have set down.  That means monitoring my pace and splits to make sure I'm not leaving myself with too much to do. 

The problem that I have now is the stepchange between training to 'try and get around' and the 'try and get round in under a time limit' is quite different. My training so far has been pretty random - I've never been great with training plans, preferring to go out and see how I feel. So now my running mind is hit by loads of questions. How do I get faster? Should I be fuelling more accurately before a race? Should I be adding cycling to my training? Adding the duathlon to my years programme that I missed due to my neck last year? How do I line any of that up with my three halfs goal? How can I make sure I don't stop enjoying running!?

The faster bit needs to wait until after the half next week (as long as I beat my training times).  But at that point I want to be focussing on the next half or on the duathlon targets. Need to find a way of combining speed work (and that sounds dangerously close to having a training plan) with a half marathon training plan with a duathlon training plan. That all sounds pretty complex and time consuming. 

Then comes the fuelling. And the as yet unanswered question of whether I change that before the half next week. So, my current nutritional strategy ahead of a weekend (longer) run tends to be have far too much beer and wine the night before and head out on an empty stomach and not to refuel during the run. I can run for nearly two hours like that. But I'm guessing that's not great for me. So what do I do ahead of next week? Do I try and experiment with some sweets or water or something half way round? Or do I leave it as it is? Is my zero intake approach a problem?

So, I run to de-stress but then I stress about running. But at least I enjoy it!