Looks like I will have to stop running marathons, with 7 left to run :-( one bad reason one, happy reason :-)

I had an operation for my slipped disc, which went well, but after starting back running it became clear that I am not going to be able to run 26.2 miles again, I am gutted. I had already booked to go to Vienna with Jo so Jo and I went just to enjoy Vienna.

On a happier note another reason why it will also be hard to finish this challenge is that Jo is pregnant with twins. Jo and I are both very happy. It turned out that a trip too Vienna would be good for both of us, before we have twins to look after.

 This is me pretending to look upset when we went to look at where the marathon would finish.

 We went to A grave yard which has more residents then Vienna.

 Jo at one of the Palaces

 Me at a statue at one of the palaces

 Jo again taken at one of the Palaces

 Jo and I stumbled into a bike event, which was really great fun.

  Me at the marathon pasta party, we had paid for the pasta and pancakes before I knew I was not running.

I feel terrible about not being able to complete this challenge, but at the moment I can not run at all, so 26.2 miles is out of the question. never say never I might come back to the challenge in the future but it will be in the long distance future. Jo and I are both looking forward to being parents but realise it will be a lot of work especially with twins. I thank everyone that has sponsored me on my 19 marathons, it has meant  a lot  to me and my family. It would have been Ian's 41st birthday on the 15th April while I am sad about not completing the challenge I set my self, I am immensely proud that I have raised money for a great charity in memory of my brother, I am sure Ian would be A great Uncle.

Injury update

As you can see from the above picture I have not recovered and am now walking with a stick. I find it strange because I do not get injuries but when I do they are serious. I volunteered in the Gambia nearly 15 years ago and everyone was getting bites from mosquitoes, I was bitten once but this got infected and ballooned up to the size of a golf ball and I still have a small mark on my leg from this bite.   

My only other injury was just before the London 2010 marathon, I was on the running form of my life, the week before the marathon I was working supervising young people building a fence at a city farm in Bristol. We had to walk through a field with 2 randy Rams in it, to get to the field where we were building the fence. The young people thought it was funny winding up the  Rams until the Rams started charging at them. I had to stand in between the Rams and young people, this meant that I was being rammed in my thighs by the Rams and it hurt, I strapped up my thighs for the Marathon, I got to 9 miles but I was in pain, so I walked and ran for 17 miles, I still managed 3 hours 23 mins.

My injury this time is very serious, I am trying to stay positive. I do find it ironic, that I have been a pain in the bum to my Mum, and Dad, Teachers, and Managers through the years and now due to my back I have a constant pain in my bum.

I am booked into see a specialist but it is likely that I will need an operation. My next marathon is in Vienna  in April, I had already entered it, it is looking unlikely that I will be able to run 26.2 miles by then but it is something to aim for.

I do realise that having a constant pain and not be able to stand straight is not terminal, and that there are people who are dealing  with much worse situations, such as my brother dealt with, he unfortunately died 8 years ago last Monday. So I am thinking positive and hopefully I will be able to run Marathons again and finish this challenge, in my Brothers memory while raising funds for a fantastic charity.  

Jersey Marathon a no go : -(

I have had to pull out of the Jersey marathon, after the pain in my leg would not go, I went to the Doctor's they think I might have slipped a disc. So I am gutted first marathon I have had to cancel. I have contacted the Jersey marathon and I can defer my entry to next year.

Stu's stag do

I went to Leeds for a great friends stag do along with a group of friends most of which I have known since early school age. It was a great weekend summed up by the below video of the stag Stu in his fancy dress at the beer festival we went to.

Summer 2014 update

 We had a swim booked at the Cotswold water park and we thought we would try out our new tent, we stayed at an amazing campsite near the Uffington white horse

 We went for a walk which was beautiful but I managed to pull a muscle or something in my left leg.

 We had our Holiday one week in Pembrokeshire we started near St Davids this picture was our second campsite, our first campsite we had been in dog poo corner. I had also managed to forget our table, my running shoes and bike shoes although I did have my bike shoe covers.

 We went for a bike ride, I did manage to buy some trainers. The weather was fine in the morning but the weather worsened and in the evening the wind was so strong we had to move the tent again. We also had a boat trip cancelled due to the weather, we tried to stay positive and moved onto further up the coast to Cardigan but the weather was terrible so we decided to stay in a B&B it looked good on the website but we payed £60 and it was terrible, but it was clean, worst of all the evening turned out quite nice so we could have camped,

 Thenext day we decided to cut our losses and headed to Brecon where we camped and went for a bike ride before heading home to sort our selves out for our cycle trip the Outer Hebrides

 Jo and I Twyford station setting on our adventure.

 Our bikes were put on a trailer at Inverness and we were driven to Ullapool.

 On the ferry from Inverness to Ullapool

 The first ride we had to do was from Stornoway upto the top of Lewis and then start to make our journey from the Northern point of the Outer Hebrides to the southern point.

 Our first campsite, the weather started well but got worse as the day went on

 The standing stones of Callanish on the Isle Lewis. This is were we talked to a couple of bus drivers about where we might be able to but some food and were told every thing would be shut as it was Sunday.

 We cycled on but needed food, we ended up knocking on A local house and asking if they could spare any food. We were very lucky and met a very nice lady who gave us a loaf of bread (frozen) Ham, cheeses, coleslaw and biscuits. We could not believe how generous she was and she would not take any money. The other issue we were having was that we were cycling into the wind constantly which was very tiring. We had to use the bus shelters to shelter from the wind and have several stops while the bread defrosted. The weather also got much worse and ended up being dangerous because of the strength of the wind. It also started to rain so we could not make our planned destination and ended up in a hotel in Tarbet which was £100 a night but was well worth it and was just what we needed.

 The morning after the storm

 We did not camp here.

 Our bikes on the ferry from  Leverburgh to Berneray

 We stayed on a campsite that was on a RSPB reserve and went for a walk in the morning.

 The hostel that we stayed.

 Barra beach airport baggage carousel

 The closest we got to swimming the water was very cold.

 The view from my sleeping bag.

 Our last camp site. It was amazing

 On our final day it was the first time we could cycle with just our t-shirts.

 This picture was taken when we were in Oban before we got our train home. We had really enjoyed our time but it was much harder than we thought, cycling into the wind constantly was really hard. The scenery was amazing even though we did have as the Scots would say 'dreek' weather. Jo and I both love the west coast of Scotland and will definitely be back.

New Kayak

After Jo and I's adventure race we both enjoyed the Kayaking so we bought an inflatable Kayak and yesterday we went to Guildford and tried it out on the River Wey. We got the information about where to get in and the route from gocanoeing.org.uk which is a website that I can highly recommend. It was a 7 mile route, with one bit through a natural river with fallen trees and debri to negotiate. We completed it in just under the advised 3 hour time. It was a great experience and Jo and I will be hoping to get out on the river a few more times over the summer and plan to take the kayak to Jersey when we go there for the marathon.    

Training progress

Jo and I had entered an Audax organised 70 mile bike ride, we had both not managed to get complete much training for it, but both cycle to work, so thought we would be ok for it. The ride was very hilly with one 17% climb, when at home watching the Tour de France the commentator was saying that the riders were climbing an 18% hill and how that was tough, and I was thinking we had just climbed a 17% hill. 

Both Jo and I really enjoyed the ride and find Audax events are always well organised, low key and extremely friendly, we did remember to take one photograph  while on the ride.

Jo and I also completed our first adventure race recently. The adventure race we took part in was a 5 hour event with Kayaking, Mountain biking, Running and a form of Orienteering. We came 26th out of 75 teams which we were chuffed with. We defiantly want to try and do some more adventure racing in the future. 

I have been struggling with swelling of the left knee when I run for a while now. I have not been able to run without pain killers, I was advised to get a foam roller to stretch out my IT band, and it has worked a treat. Jo and I went to running club for the first time for ages and I was able to complete the run without to much pain.

My work has not enabled me to go to running club, but I have managed to change my shift on a Thursday so I finish an hour earlier which means I will be able to attend running club. So with my new foam roller and being able to attend running club once a week my training for Jersey in October should be able to start to gain momentum.

Jo and I have entered two races Maidenhead Half in September which will be training for the marathon. We have also entered the Christmas Cracker in Weston Super-Mare  which is in December but sells out fast.