Spike, his part in my downfall

Hi folks,

I have one hell of a cheeky grin on my face at the moment. Am I still pleased that Wales are Grand Slam winners again....yes but that's not it. Am I pleased that Jack my son is playing rugby really well and relishes tackling other kids, especially ones bigger than him?.......yes but that's not it either. Is it because I HAVE JUST HAD A RUN!!!!!! YEH BABY YEH!!!!

To run after four weeks off felt really good........ok, lets revisit that last sentence. To run after four weeks off was really hard. It hurt, it was not pretty, quick or long. I did however have the aforementioned cheesy grin for the whole two mile along the very scenic river path in Chippenham (Moved into digs today, which I stay in while at work)

My biggest worry was chaffing, I still have an open wound in the crotch and I did not want to do anything that would set my recovery back, especially as I know its very important that I get back on the bike as soon as possible. Pleased to report though that I did not do any damage at all. I will be still taking it easy though and easing myself back into things slowly.

During this last week I have once again discovered the delights of squashed, fermented, apple juice. I know this is not good, especially as my diet has not been the best. Some of this I put down to comfort eating, I just hope next time that I jump on the scales they don't scream at me that only one person should be stood on the scale at any one time.

I have discovered that there are only so many times that a person can ask themselves why do people go on the Jeremy Kyle show to be talked to like idiots, be belittled and highlight just what 'Numpties' there are out there. It does show where such a large amount of our taxes are going!!!

In order to avoid this car crash TV I have started reading all my old Triathlon mags, once most of these had been well thumbed I read 'Spike, an intimate memoir' by Norma Farnes. A book about the legendary Spike Milligan from the heart of the woman that started as a 'Temp' and eventually became his manager and most probably his best and most trusted friend.

If you have read any of Spike's books you will know just how funny they are. In reality though Spike, like so many other talented funny guys, was a troubled and tormented soul. Suffering greatly from bouts of depression he would often lock himself away for days and even spent time in institutions. A roller coaster ride of emotions its a fantastic read and very, very funny in parts.

Volunteered to marshall at the Mumbles Duathlon this weekend, good luck to all readers taking part, especially Amy and Andrew as its their first time doing such a thing.

Temptation, Dog do do roulette and my poor old Tally Whacker

Hi folks!

Pleased to report that I am feeling much more upbeat about my recovery, the majority of the swelling has gone but the haematoma remains on my right leg, it is however decreasing in size so good news. Not wanting to leave anything to chance I am ensuring, for the first time in my life, that I complete taking the course of antibiotics even though I am sure its not required any more.

Its not anywhere near as painful as it was just a couple of days ago and the temptation now is to try and be more active. As you can see from the photo of my left leg there is still quite a bit of bruising even after two weeks, I also still have a hole which is packed to ensure that it heals from the inside out rather than close up and an abscess form. Cant even to begin to imagine how painful cycling would be with one in the crotch, ouch!

As I should be doing so much walking I thought it would be good to have a little company, queue Madi, my brother in laws Malamute dog. Now even though I have been brought up with dogs and have picked up loads of excriment in one shape or form over the years its still not a pleasant thing to do. I have a feeling however that Madi is not as daft as she looks, for the three mile that I walked her every time she stopped she would look at me as if to say 'Get them bags ready big boy!' and each time it was a false alarm. That is until I got less than 100yds from home when Madi left me a present. Not sure what she is getting fed but I think there needs to be much less of it, black bags would have been more suitable to the task than the little things I was inappropriately given! On a serious note it is quite sad and evident how many irresponsible dog owners there are.

Before I start to talk about my poor old Tally Whacker I must tell you all that due to the operation the area around him has had a hiding. Its been slashed, its been bashed, its bruised, its very tender and everything other than my old boy is swollen! It would appear that my John Thomas has reacted in the complete opposite of his surroundings and I can't say I blame him to be honest..........I just was not expecting the wife to point it out! Its ok though, he's just keeping his head down (no pun intended!) just in case he's next!!!

Many will now be wondering why I would want to share such information with you and the answer is quite simple, Your MONEY! If I have made you laugh or smile even once during this read why not show your appreciation by sponsoring me £1 (more if you feel generous) in my bid to become an Ironman. All money raised will go the the RNLI and the link to my fundraising page can be found to the right of this blog.

Many thanks in advance.

Rob.

Cake, flatulence and old man injuries!

Its been a good couple of days for training, a trip to the gym yesterday saw an hour on the spinning machine followed by a half hour run. A total of five Celtictri'ers in there at one stage meant there was no loafing, guaranteed that if I had one of them would have caught me and at the end of the day I would have only been cheating myself.

I have however a little confession and an apology to make. Before I do however a question; have you noticed that when there is a 'bad smell' in the Gym everyone looks at the fattest person within sniffing range? It is now that I should hold my hand up and say that it was I that was responsible for the foul smell. I was having such a good run that I did not want to stop, get off and go to the toilet and thought that no one would notice a sneaky 'love puff'. So, if you are over weight and were in the gym yesterday with loads of people looking at you in disgust, I am sorry :-/

Today's run with Paul my brother-in-law was a bag of mixed emotions. I have a circulatory problem in my legs and am due to go under the surgeons knife on the 28th February to rectify. The Nike running tights I have are a bit too tight around the ankles if the zip is pulled tight. This strangulation caused my left 'Cankle' to swell and the first corner I went around I experienced a sharp pain in that area and had to pull up. Leaving my running partner continue with his run I turned for home but after 100m of walking the pain subsided and I was able to run again. Like a game of Fox and Hounds I ran like the clappers (for me anyway!) for a mile and a half in a bid to catch up with Paul. I had him in my sights after Ten minutes but my lungs could not continue, the good ideas club held a quick meeting inside my head and decided I should take a short cut in a bid to meet him.

In hindsight the boggy field was not such a great idea and the 200 meter sprint through the Gipsy camp even less of one. I don't suppose its often that a middle aged, slightly overweight.........ok, ok, heavily overweight man in Lycra runs though Gipsy camp and the look of one female inhabitant suggested I could expect to have cats and curses hurled at me at any minute. It did however get my heart rate up and keep my pace at a high threshold. Just over 4 miles with a average pace of 9m 30s per mile, no pain in my knee and no back pain = Happy bunny.

Never been a big fan of cake, always preferred to eat takeaway as a treat after a good workout but I realise that this is wrong. Mothers home made fruit cake topped with almonds was just the boy after today's run, washed down with a strong coffee, problem is trying to stop my youngest son from eating it all.

Not lost any weight this week, can't say that I am depressed though as it is the first time in 7 weeks that I have not (Taking protein in the form of KFC and eating half my body weight in Chinese does not help). My logic is that if you lose weight every week then the body will suffer, after all, we all need something bad in our lives to keep us going, life would be pretty boring otherwise eh!