Day: 54
Time: 40 Minutes
Distance: 5.1 KM
Calories: 561

After babysitting Mel all night and waiting on her hand and foot, I fell asleep in an instant… tired but looking forward to today. I planned to run, work and surf… Heaven!

I awoke to a lady who couldn’t walk! After getting her ready, my dog fed and several other things I drove off to the gym with a sizeable headache.

As I begun to run, I didn’t feel well. With no breakfast and a headache, I was not going fast.

About 5km in, I got a call. My lady love had spoken to her father, who happened to be a doctor. She was told that her foot needed to be X-Rayed and that the nearby emergency deparment would rapidly fill during the day. So, I had to cut my run very short and run off to take Mel to the hospital. It started what was one of the most annoying, angering and all out frustrating days I have had in a long time. Everything went wrong and right now as I write this on the couch, all I want to do is go to bed.

But tomorrow is new day! New Years Eve to be exact.

So heading into 2012- I will be nearly 100km down on where I need to be. But it shall be a big year! I will finish my PhD and run around 2500km. So much more may happen….

So I wish you all a great NYE and I hope you all have an amazing, fun and great 2012!!

DAY 53- NO RUN
There I was, walking home from a tutoring job and saying to myself… DAMN I DON’T WANT TO RUN! As I jumped in the car I resigned myself to the fact that I had to run and there was no ifs, whats or buts about it. I got home, marched up stairs to get ready… I felt strong and actually thought a run might be worthwhile. I was looking forward to it…

Then my phone rang…

It was my girlfriend who had been walking our dog… there is a problem. She is upset and in pain. Ends up a massive dog smashed into her and caused her to fall awkwardly on her ankle. It’s likely that she’s torn something… although she may need an xray!

So I had to drive down and pick her up! Then I needed to ice her leg and wrap it, buy her dinner and a million other things!

So ultimately, after going through the stages of wanting and not wanting to run… it was decided for me. I still feel guilty but with a girlfriend who can’t walk, I need to stay here and take care of her. It sucks as I need to run especially as I will need to take Saturday and Sunday off… but in the end, Mel is more important than 10km!

Day: 52
Time: 70 Minutes
Distance: 10.1 KM
Calories: 1203

You know what is annoying? F*cking Rudeness! I have dealt with this several times in the last few weeks at the gym. Yesterday as I walked along the main corridor of the gym, a trainer and her trainee, just turned right in front of me, causing me to stop completely or else smash into them. Now I am fine with this if someone gives you a nod or a thankyou- but no, the training woman just kept walking as if she owned the place. Most of the staff at the gym are lovely and helpful… but two trainers, and not meant to be sexist, but the two female trainers, appear to be so up themselves that one would imagine you are walking in the precence of greatness. My advice- the gym is a stressful place- people are tired, hot and sweaty… SO BE NICE, SMILE, SAY YOUR PLEASE AND THANKYOUS AND WHILE YOU ARE THERE- TAKE THAT MASSIVE POLE OUT OF YOUR ASS!

The second rude thing I saw, may be a case of misinterpretation. I was on the machines the other week and a guy walked up. He was big. Probably 6ft5 and atleast 150kg(300 pounds) or more. On he hopped between two people on the machines and started walking along. Now the woman next to him, started looking at him then looking around with this look of shock on her face. Now I am not sure if she knows him or not, but if not, it looked like she was looking around aghast that someone so big could walk next to her!

As I said, I may have misinterpreted it all, but if not- LADY- GET OVER YOURSELF! This guy is at the gym and is trying to get fit and I applaud him for that. He may be a big guy, he may even smell or sweat profusely, that may be a little gross, but you know what- GOOD ON YOU MATE! KEEP GOING! Don’t let anyone look at you and make you feel bad for trying to get into shape.

So folks- in this season of Christmas and good cheer- just remember to rock the manners. It costs nothing and it can turn someones day from bad to good…

Day: 51
Time: 77 Minutes
Distance: 10 KM
Calories: 1120

Firstly, MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you all had an amazing holidays full of good food, good drink and good friends! GOOD!

Now, after three Christmas meals and numerous leftovers, the last thing on my mind is bloody running. Ohhh how I didn’t want to run today. It’s funny how after a few days off you either never want to run again or you want to run like crazy. It’s black or white- no grey! This morning, as I realised I needed to go for a run, I said to myself “WHY AM I DOING THIS?!?! I HAVE ANOTHER 10 MONTHS TO GO- ARGH!”

But it’s the same for anything. A few days off PhD or digging and suddenly doing it again seems like the worst thing in the world. The thing I find helps is looking at results. Yes- I am currently a fair number of kilometres behind. But physically and mentally things are getting better. My resting heart rate is around 65, which is pretty darn good. It means I am basically getting fitter. I am now able to walk fairly long distances(ie: 1-2km) without a second thought. My body is transforming from a fat man into a fat, running man. Although my weight isn’t plummeting like I thought it would, I realise this is partially due to me putting on muscle and also because I am eating like a pig. I am starting a new diet in the New Year and the weight should drop pretty quickly then I think.

It all comes down to mentality! It would have been so easy to have another day off today.. then tomorrow.... then the next. Its very easy to quit... its harder to keep going! 

DAY 48-???

So last night ended up being a series of interesting events. Firstly, Mel(my girlfriend) and my folks met for the first time ever. I also broke my ass...

I am Americanising the spelling of Ass(European/Australian Arse) because to tell you the truth I prefer Ass over Arse!

Anyhoo- I noticed some tenderness in my left rump last night and when I awoke this morning, it hurt. I was walking with a noticeable limp due to the pain. Slowly through the day it has calmed down, but it is still there and every once and a while I appear to pull it again.

The question is, of all things, will my ass stop me from running today. I am a big believer that if you have a sore muscle, you shouldn't run with it because you can mess it up even more. Luckily, it's only noon so I have a few hours to think about my ass and work out if I should be resting it. Tomorrow is Christmas and then Boxing Day( Public Holiday) so there is two definite days without running. Do I take today off, make it 3 days and have a long extended break and let my ass and multitude of blisters heal up?!?! We shall see...

So all I am saying is I want you all to think and pray for my ass! Keep it in your mind and send good thoughts to it. It is a good bum... it deserves better!

Day: 47
Time: 78 Minutes
Distance: 10.1 KM
Calories: 1146

One of the most important aspects of Archaeology is Stratigraphy. The basic principle of stratigraphy is that layers of archaeology or dirt slowly accumulate on top of each other. What this means is that the top layer is the newest whilst the bottom layer is the oldest. Unfortunately, it's never that simple as you find things such as cuts, pits and bioturbation(Basically, plants or animals messing it all up). 

You are probably asking you what the heck this has to do with running. Well, it appears to have a lot to do with my foot! You see, I noticed yesterday that my foot was hurting and I had one hell of a blister forming. I strapped it up today and went for a run only to find out that it got worse. It was only when I just got home that I realised my foot is representative of my running.

This is my foot as of 5 minutes ago! I put my thumb in there for scale... 

Yep- thats one hell of a blister! But a closer look reveals I actually have 4 blisters all on top of eachother. YEP- I HAVE BLISTER STRATIGRAPHY.... Check it out

So here it is. You can see I have blister stratigraphy. 1 is the newest layer of blister whilst 4 is the oldest. You can see they are all lying on top of each other. Number 1 is brand new today where as 4 happened in the first or second week. 
So in the end- running and archaeology go together like peas and carrots. The only problem is- my foot is hurting and I really, really need to get some proper running socks!!! 

DAY 46- Day Off


As I sit here writing this, a young girl in the apartment next to me is playing Christmas carols on her recorder. It is both the sweetest thing (due to the multiple wrong notes) and the most annoying (Christmas Carols + Recorder= EAR DEATH!)

That’s right it is the silly season. Santa is filling his sack so he can sneak into kids bedrooms at night and give them ‘Presents’… wait just thinking of this- if some random man on the street said “Hey, I have a present for your kid, let me go up and put in into his bedroom”, you’d call the cops whilst systematically castrating the dude with your car key!!! Yet a jolly, fatman dressed in red apparently is ok!?!? He even asks kids to sit on his lap and tell them how good or naughty they are… Heck he comes into your house and gets DRUNK!!!!

When you think about Santa- the whole mythology behind him and the things we put our kids though is pretty terrible from an adults point of view!!! I’ve never thought about it till now but Santa imagery is just a bit f*cked up once you get older…

Random story- Santa visited me until I was 13. Obviously by then I knew that Santa wasn’t real. But at our household, when you turned 13 it signified your last Santa visit. I remember waking up to find the few presents he had left me and a note saying something like “Your old now, I need to take presents to younger kids etc”. Stupidly, ‘Santa’ had thought the font he used represented melting snow when it was in fact- letters that look like they were written in blood! The font is even called Blood Script or something. Also- what is Santas favourite colour? RED! SO THIS NOTE WAS WRITTEN IN RED BLOOD! SCARY AS HELL!!! I didn’t want Santa to visit ever again after that….

Back to running- It is going to be tough to run the next week or so. Not only will my belly be stuffed with thousands of pounds of Christmas Turkey, Ham and all the fixins, the gym is also closed on Sunday and Monday.

As it’s a special time of year, I haven’t decided yet if I will take both days off or if on Monday I will take the plunge and try running around the street or at a local park. Also, I will be unable to run on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day because of shut gyms and so forth. So the next week or so will be interesting.

So what do we think? Run fewer days but maybe try run some big sessions ie (15km) or run more often but do it in the park etc where there are bees and wasps and ugly children throwing footballs and the like?

But as we lead up to Christmas, remember it is a time to give to those who need it. I have been very lucky this year. I have a great girlfriend, a super awesome Pug, and I have had a good year all round. So I went a little nuts with the charity over Christmas. I bought several presents for underprivileged families and my Christmas tree is decorated with decorations from Oxfam. My girlfriend has also gone and spent a bunch on charity. I write this not to try make myself sound awesome, but instead to urge you to try help out people over Christmas. It’s a very special time of year and a present here or a little money there can make a big difference in people’s lives. But if you’re not sure who to donate to, why not chuck some money at my charity pages for this run? Every cent goes to charity as you donate directly to each cause.
So anyways folks, I know it’s a few days early and I am planning to run the next few days but I really hope you all have an amazing leadup to Christmas and remember- if you see a big, jolly, fat man in your living room.

CALL THE COPS!!

Day: 45
Time: 75 Minutes
Distance: 11.2 KM
Calories: 1344

So yesterday I hit the 300km mark of my 3000km journey. 10% or 1/10th of the way there. So I just have to repeat the last 300km another 9 times, albeit quicker so I finish in time.

So what have I learnt in the last 300km? Well a lot of things I guess. I generally think of my running as the movie The Mighty Ducks(Or Champions [the name of it in some countries]).

The story is simple-

1)      Icehockey team sucks balls.
2)      Along comes coach who thinks they are terrible.
3)      They play evil hockey side and get pounded to dust.
4)      They have several heart2hearts and then the coach begins to believe in them. The children believe in themselves after learning several lessons.
5)      They start winning because they believe in themselves
6)      Then they take on the evil side, and win. I am that hockey side….

I was sceptical that I was going to be able to pull this off. Lets be honest for a second. Long distance runners generally have the bodies of emaciated bulimia victims. They are tiny without a trace of fat on them. Then I waddle up to the machine, a 6ft1, large guy and I expect to run distances which the everyday man couldn’t do? I remember my mate Jack said to me “You have to run like 9km a day, how can you do it?” to which I responded “Well, I can walk at 6km an hour for 1.5 hours!”. I went to the gym as the crappy side, unable to do much and basically getting hurt every time. Then, with words of encouragement from you folks, I have started to believe in myself. You are my coach Bombay and I am Joshua Jackson…

So where am I now on the Mighty Ducks scale? Well, after last week where I realised I could run 9km an hour and was smashing off kilometres left, right and centre, that was my step 4. I think I am now around step 5. I am doing it… I am hitting my goals and I am fighting through the pain. Todays run shows that… I ran for around 70 minutes averaging around 9km/h! BAM!

So when will I hit step 6 and kick the ass of those damn Icelandians? EEEP That’s Might Ducks 2- doesn’t matter though, same plot. Well I think for me that will be the end of the run, and probably a marathon. I am still praying I can run enough at the beginning of next year that on September 16th, I can run the Sydney Marathon and finish this 3000km. I am hoping to form a phalanx of runners in my Flying V as I cross the finish line! Time will tell though…. Until then

QUACK

QUACK

QUACK

Day: 44
Time: 70 Minutes
Distance: 9.8 KM
Calories: 1154
Has he lost his mind? 
Can he see or is he blind? 
Can he walk at all 
Or if he moves will he fall? 

If yesterday I was stone man…. Today I was IRON MAN! Except withouth the sweet lasers and millions of dollars. No- I mean Iron Man as in I could hardly walk because my muscles were as tight as…. Something that’s tight or something… I don’t know… like small underpants or whatever! I AM IN PAIN OK- JOKING AROUND IS PRETTY HARD…

My muscles right now are crazy sore. I guess the walk/run yesterday may have slightly added to the mysery… and by slightly, I mean a crapload! Last night as I lay in bed, I could hardly sit up straight. My muscles were stupidly sore and lets just say today hasn’t been a huge amount less painful. So in order to try work out the kinks I went to the gym with a plan… start slow and build up. The idea was simple, split my run into 3x 20 minute blocks, each with their own average speeds, leading up from a slow jog to a fast run. Here is how I envisaged it…

0-20 Minutes: Average speed- 7.0 km/h. (ie- Walk 10 minutes at 6km/h, Run 10 minutes at 8km/h)
20-40 Minutes: Average speed- 8.0 km/h
40-60 Minutes: Average speed- 8.5~9 km/h

So I should be running around 7.75-8km in 60 minutes. It no where near the 9km/h I have been pulling out the last few runs but it would warm me up and hopefully mean I don’t do any further damage to my already sore body. Let’s just say things didn’t go quite to plan….

BECAUSE I SMASHED IT!! Based on the above stats I should have run around 7.5-8km in the 60 minutes. I ran 8.3km. Then I ran 1.49km in another 10 minutes(avg speed 8.94km/h)! YAHOO! 

So the muscles are sore and but I fought through the pain! Like Iron Man does... I guess!

WAIT- AM I A SUPER HERO?!?!

OH I JUST HIT 300KM- YAHOO!!! 1/10th of the way there!!!

Day: 43
Time: 75 Minutes
Distance: 8.4 KM
Calories: 793
Oh my god my muscles hurt…. Yesterday I played touch football for the first time in months and whereas the fitness part of it didn’t bother me anymore(I used to run for 20 seconds then pseudo-collapse for 5 minutes), the physicality of it all was tough. Yes it’s basically just running but you run in so many different ways from side stepping to running backwards. You are also going from slow jog to sprints whilst twisting your upper body so you can pass and catch the ball…

I noticed at the end of the game my lower back hurt. Today I am in much worse condition. I am sore along my back, upper thighs, arms... heck EVERYWHERE. Obviously these are muscle groups I am not using as much just running normally.

So with this- I went off to the gym to do my thang…. Stretching was always going to be the key here… I need to make sure that everything was lovingly stretched, tugged, pulled and warmed up before I started the run. I stretched for a few minutes and jumped on the machine praying all was well...

It wasn't

I was like stone... It was literally so sore and so stiff that I could hardly run. I averaged 6.7km/h which is stupidly slow. It mainly walking... Normally when I run, I run for 10-15 minutes and have a 3 minute walk. So normally I walk 3-4 times so thats say 12 minutes at around 6.2km/h. So on a day when I run like 10+km that breaks down to around 8.8km out of 10km are walking!

So break it down- on my 3000km run I would run around 2650km of it.

The only reason I mention this is because when  I first started this project- my mate asked if I would reveal that I walk now and then. He did so because he said then technically I have not run 3000km but have run/walked.

He felt it was an issue that should be addressed- I did not(Although I mention it pretty frequently). It's funny- if you ran a marathon which is 42km and you walked the same amount as I currently am you'd run about 37km of it. Would you tell someone who completed a marathon but only ran 37km that they hadn't run a marathon?!!?
Funnily enough- many of the marathon blogs say walking is really worthwhile doing when you run a marathon unless you are of the elite running group.

So yes- today was walking but my body said I needed to walk and ultimately, it's boss! It wasn't a long distance but it is still enough to keep the kilometres ticking away! It may not be running but on every long run- you need to walk a bit!