It seems recently UKA have changed their rules on competitors wearing headphones during races. From what I understand, if the race is (even partially) on single carriageway roads which are not closed off to traffic, then the use of headphones is not permitted under UKA rulings.
I am a data geek. I always run with my Garmin. I love to review my runs and look at the routes, splits, elevation gain and compare my progress from previous runs. I know there are two schools of thought on this and some people are firm believers of running for the joy or running and not focusing on the data behind it, but that’s just not me.
It is almost marathon taper time. With this in mind, I have decided to give myself some other little challenges to focus on over the next couple of weeks to avoid the maranoia setting in like it did last time. For those who aren’t familiar with it, maranoia refers to all the self-doubt that creeps in during the taper in the last few weeks before a marathon when you scale back your mileage in preparation for the big day.
So, I have decided to set myself 3 health challenges to keep me occupied and my mind on other things and I thought I would outline them quickly here.
I have recently embraced the world of run commuting, or at least half of it, as I have mastered the back but not quite the there.
For anyone who is familiar with the book Born to Run, and let’s face it, most runners are, you must check out the documentary Run Free, all about the Ultra Marathon Caballo Blanco and the story of the man behind it.
We’re about the same standard of runner. We have similar goals in terms of distances and race times. And now we are holding each other to account. And it’s working.
Sara and I both went to our very first club run with our running club, Mornington Chasers, on the same night. It was a spooky Halloween run through Hampstead Heath with head torches. Being the newbies, we stuck together and chatted the whole way. Turns out, we have a lot in common. We live close by to each other, she’s veggie and I’m vegan, we’re each the youngest of our siblings, we did our first marathons about the same time…it goes on. It was the start of a beautiful friendship.
For issue 49 of The Jellied Eel magazine, I was asked to write my side of the argument as to whether we should avoid using the word ‘vegan’ and instead use terms such as ‘plant-based.’ As I recently weighed in on someone else’s for/against argument, I thought I would share mine, too. It’s only fair!
Whilst flicking through one of my favourite (and free!) running magazines, runABC South, I came across a for/against article by writers Joanna Barlow and Dan Afshar about running a race with a pacer which discussed the question ‘is it cheating?’
So I thought I would weigh in.
Since I last wrote a post in January, a lot has happened.
In that time I have taken 12 minutes off my half marathon time and 13 minutes off my 10 mile time, ran at least one race each month, celebrated my 2nd running birthday and completed my first ultramarathon.
How The Vegan Boxer trained for his first fight.
Click the link above to read all about how The Vegan Boxer trained for his very first fight including training details, the importance of sparring in preparation for the big event and what fight night was like.
If you enjoy what you read, make sure to follow him on Twitter too – @theveganboxer1
Funny, exciting and sometimes action-packed vegan-friendly children's comics, stories, picture books and nursery rhymes, FREE TO READ HERE and available in paperback from our bookshop.
But growing up is optional 