September 2013

[Sweder]

I spent the first day of the new month strapped to a 747-400 from Sydney to Hong Kong. We touched down a tad early, around 5pm. Ordinarily I'd have celebrated by jumping on the train to Wanchai, downing pints like there's no tomorrow whilst soaking up an unending supply of heavy rock covers in Amazonia.

But there is a tomorrow, and within it lies Mount Doom. So I turned left instead of right, making straight for the hotel. Shower, unpack, hit the gym. 50 minutes on a variety of machines (20 minutes on a static bike and 10 on the tready) followed by another shower and room service (no chips). You can see the shine from my halo reflected off Orion's Belt on a clear night.

This is week four of my battle against the bulge. I've shed around 4 kilos, give or take. I have no clue what my body fat percentage is (or was). What matters is, despite a brutal travel schedule and sleep patterns straight out of a Salvador Dali nightmare, I feel pretty chipper. Frustrated, temptation has played her trump card. Wrong Kong offers the chance to wreck yourself in an infinite number of ways. But my hotel has a great gym, good, healthy food and is tucked away on a peninsular 40 minutes from the ultimate heart of darkness. Take that, temptation. It's fat burnin' time ...

[Sweder]

It seems odd, waking up here with a clear head. Wild all-nighters have been replaced by a string of visits to the gym followed by lonely room service platters of salmon and steamed veg. Rock n roll, baby.

Today will see my first venture downtown this trip. I'll visit the Apple store before supper with our local agent. They usually book an über expensive roof-top steak-house, so I've boldly asked if we can skip that and hit a greasy street-food shack. I yearn for some unhealthy spicey noodles washed down with local lemon and ginger chai. Causeway Bay it is. Hurrah!

First I shall repair to the hotel and knock out a breathless 5k. HHH is not an option as, clearly, consumption of alcohol is a pre-requisite. Should I roll up and mutter darkly about being on the wagon I'm likely to be carted off to a local hospital. Hence my surrender to the dreaded tready. I'm feeling a tad jaded today so the time won't be all that special. No matter, I shall give it my best for 25 minutes or so, no doubt producing enough salty fluid to nourish a medium-sized rice paddy in the process.

On, on.

[marathondan]

If your biggest vice is a bowl of fried noodles, you're doing well. Spurning the Hash is a huge demonstration of your willpower.

Keep it up (not so) big fella!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Waking up with a clear head? What does that mean??

[Sweder]

The 5k was an ugly sweat-fest. I don't care too much for treddies, treddies can't buy me love. 26.5 minutes felt like several hours. The pool of shame spreading beneath me alluded to a good effort, but it was anything but. Ugh.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Excellent effort.

And just in case you have never stumbled across the excellent "Exercising whilst intoxicated" website.....

http://exercisingwhileintoxicated.wordpr...-13-miles/

A reminder of what you are "missing?"

Don't do it kids....

[marathondan]

Excellent effort.

And just in case you have never stumbled across the excellent "Exercising whilst intoxicated" website.....

http://exercisingwhileintoxicated.wordpr...-13-miles/

A reminder of what you are "missing?"

Don't do it kids....

Sounds horrible. And he didn't even pay to enter!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I wouldn't. I shouldn't. No, I couldn't.

[Sweder]

I've done it. Two weeks on the road, a night out in Hong Kong and no more than a single glass of Qantas bubbly has passed my lips. Stage one complete. I head home today, no clue if I've put on any weight (maybe I have, some of the local grub is swimming in MSG) but feeling good, if slightly shattered, about my efforts.

In a few hours I'll be trying to sleep in Sardine Class back to Heathrow. The flight lands at 04:50, plenty of time to get home, change my shirt and head to the Pan for Lewes v Met Police at 3. Oh, and kiss my beautiful wife. And take the dogs for a run. Hmm ...

First, an hour in the Marriott Sweatbox. Squats, lunges and rolling about on the floor with a large inflatable ball between my legs. If I wasn't checking out I'd be slung out.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

So you didn't run with the Honkers HHH??

[marathondan]

First, an hour in the Marriott Sweatbox. Squats, lunges and rolling about on the floor with a large inflatable ball between my legs. If I wasn't checking out I'd be slung out.

You should really film this and make a "how to keep fit while travelling" video.

[Sweder]

So you didn't run with the Honkers HHH??

See above re H3. Teatotallers not tollerated.
I didn't wish to offend by refusing the Down Down.
Another time, certainly.

[Sweder]

You should really film this and make a "how to keep fit while travelling" video.

I kinda cheated, staying in hotels decked out with fully-loaded gymnasia. I dodged the leg-work tonight, having felt an odd twinge in my foot yesterday which returned today, like part of it had gone to sleep. I spent 30 minutes working on arms and shoulders, threw in some elbows-to-hands planking and 15 minutes each on the ellyptical and the spin bike. It's all I can do to lift a small cup of chai, let alone a pint.

If one is not going out into the city looking for ways to finish off one's liver, one has rather a lot of time to work out. It's dull, certainly, but with Mount Doom in close attendance (I can sense it peeping across the equator) this is no time for hijinks and japerey.

[marathondan]

I had a go at hundredpushups.com recently - fared very, very badly. I have no desire to be able to do a hundred press-ups, but it is a good routine to force me to do a few minutes' upper body work every other day. Currently stuck on week 2 until I can string about 20 together without faceplanting.

An impressive session you put in there, by the way. Good job you'll have all that space to stretch out and relax on the plane . Have a good trip.

[Sweder]

Another brief catch-up. Not a lot of running to report. 8.5 miles (Lewes Marathon tweaking, mostly) on Sunday, then two hill sprint sessions, one on Monday, one today. Tuesday saw a pre-dawn departure to Hamburg, returning home just after midnight with not so much as a dash up the escalator at Hamburg Bahnhof.

Today's sprint session, 2.8 miles covered in 30-odd minutes, was a good one. 8 x 30 seconds flat out, with 30 seconds recoveries from 1-5 and 60 seconds recoveries from 6-8. I try to hit the first two on the downhill. This gets me into 'fast sprint' mode, so that when I turn uphill I'm still trying to run as fast as I can, albeit slower by comparison.

Jake took my truck in early. A colleague, due to give me a lift, got the time wrong so I was still out with the dogs when they called. Stranded, I took Jake's state-of-the-art mountain bike over the hills to Plumpton and on to Ditchling. 8 hilly miles, another tough workout (50 minutes) on top of the sprint sessions, had my poor legs groaning in protest. I failed in one important respect. Back when I was spinning regularly I invested in some proper cycling shorts, replete with generously gel-padded seat. As I wobbled and jolted across impossibly rugged trails they lay in blissful hibernation, separated from my poor, beaten arse by the haste of my departure. Lesson learned.

Weight statos may like to know that a number of post-long-haul travel checks revealed a neutral outcome: nothing added, nothing lost. A win of sorts. I'm now hoping to push on towards my target weight of 85 kilos. My average over the last three days has been 87.8. I started out, 6 weeks ago, at 94 kilos.
Reasons to be cheerful, part three.

On, on.

[Antonio247]

Congratulations,Ash! You've lost a lot of kilos in just six weeks and your target is easy to reach. Being on the wagon, doing sport and eating in a healthy way are producing very good results. If you go on like this, I'm sure you'll improve your time at Point to Pinnacle half marathon.

Best of luck!

[Sweder]

No running for two weeks, curse of the ever-working classes.
Coincidentally no days off in two weeks, either. Chomping at the bit to get back out there.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

... Chomping at the bit to get back out there.

Go chomp it, big fella!

[Sweder]

My gabber has just been flasted.
Stevio - Steve Scott, erstwhile, briefly, of this parish, just completed the Spartathlon, a mere 246 kilometres, non stop, around Greece. In summer. In 33 hours and 30 minutes.

Holy hell.

[Bierzo Baggie]

My gabber has just been flasted.
Stevio - Steve Scott, erstwhile, briefly, of this parish, just completed the Spartathlon, a mere 246 kilometres, non stop, around Greece. In summer. In 33 hours and 30 minutes.

Holy hell.

WOW get him on here ...race report ... nobel prize!!!!