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Hi All,

So I’m back in the saddle after an enforced 12 day training break. Holiday? I hear you ask. I wished…

Firstly, following a pretty good training effort over New Year, our youngest son Max came down with something called Stevens Johnson Syndrome on or around the 2nd Jan (have you Googled it yet? – yeah it really is that bad). 5 days / 4 nights in Stoke Mandeville Hospital, 2 nights each for myself and Mrs F, watching Max pumped full of antibiotics and fluids (1 IV in each arm), given oral antibiotics, painkillers, mouth washes and gels, various eye drops and topical skin treatments. He bounced back pretty quickly (amazing little dude that he is) but the road to full recovery is still being travelled and it has been a traumatic road.

Quick aside here: “NHS at breaking point”?

“Humanitarian Crisis in the NHS”?

Pffft.

We’ve now had a couple of brushes with Stoke Mandeville over the past year or so and I can’t speak highly enough of the service they offer. Top top doctors, consultants and – the lifeblood – Nurses, all with seemingly good morale and fantastic attitudes. Plentiful pharmaceuticals. Excellent in and out patient care with some really professional and well run clinics and clinicians. Clean wards. Good food. Even reasonable wifi. I cannot, repeat cannot, see where the problem is.

Okay so my kids are kids and were maybe prioritised due to age / type of illness. Maybe the paediatric provision at Stoke is different from the rest of the country. But, as with most things, I wouldn’t quite trust statistics.

Austerity measures have of course put more strain on the NHS, I get that (the best is yet to come people, remember we’re heading back to the 1970s again…). And I’m sure if you’re elderly and have had a fall or if you’re drunk and waiting a long time for a nasty wound to be stitched or if you’re obese and waiting for a nasty swelling to be looked at you’re going to a) be deemed low priority but b) significantly affect waiting time stats and c) you’ll make for some great stories in the press.

But it’s all these people who are helping to create the perfect storm here – an ageing, more obese, more reckless society coupled with massive budget cuts is going to skew figures. I’m not saying it’s right and I’m not saying I don’t sympathise with these groups – but needs must and when the good stuff is on ration then the most deserving will get to the front of the queue.

But, speaking personally, when we’ve found ourselves in massive need, when our hearts have been in our mouths with fear at our kids being sick, when these kids have needed urgent diagnosis and treatment – we’ve not been found wanting. And for those reasons I’m going to keep praising the NHS and I’m going to do my best to stay fit and healthy so that I give myself a better chance of not getting into any of those risk groups…

Anyway, sermon over, back to the story. So once Max got released it was time for me to get sick. As often happens, the adrenaline from the crisis wore off and so I then caught a cold. No training there either for a good few days.

On the plus side, once I did get back into things from the 17th onwards, I’ve made up for lost time. Although easing back into it, I’ve managed:

• A 3mile / 5K comeback run on the 17th which despite being my first run in 12 days brought me an all time PB on the 5K. I must have been pleased to back! Just over 34 mins which is not fast, especially as I know people who are doing the same distance now in 19 mins (you know who you are!), but I’m happy.
• Two 3mile city runs in Roermond (Netherlands, where our group head office is based and practically my second home).
• A 7mile hill training run around Speen and environs; not fun or relaxing but necessary.
• A 3.5 mile time bound run today (time bound as I couldn’t shift my carcass out of bed early enough.

Yes there have been some god-awful cold mornings but the cold brings great sunrises and some lovely crystalline vegetation. And that makes it all the more worth it.

Ramping up now to the half marathon at the end of Feb via some long weekend runs – I’m nearly on 10 mile constant long runs now and ramping up so I’m well on target, and 13 miles is where I need to be for the end of Feb for the marathon training.

Onwards and upwards!

Peace and love,

Andy.

Firstly wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2017 – and I really hope you all had a good Christmas!

Against all the odds, it has been a pretty good Christmas and New Year holiday period running-wise!  20 miles in the 7 final days of 2016 which included:

• A nice 5 miler with Mrs F on boxing day.
• A couple of smaller 3Mi filler runs.
• A 9 miler yesterday.

I’m fully on track with both the half-marathon training plan and, importantly, the full marathon plan which is good. N.B. you’ll notice that I have moved into thinking in miles – an important change in thinking / estimating / planning when training for the 26.2 mile race.  It’s still taking a while to get over the fact that I am not running 5K runs or indeed 14K runs any more – but it’s important in terms of the ultimate goal and helps to keep things in perspective.

So, plans for January:

• Get the holistic balance spot-on: food, carb levels, protein intake, fluids, sleep etc all contribute hugely to the balance. Basically a bit less alcohol and dead animals accompanied by cheese and carbs won’t go amiss.
• This will lead to ongoing weight loss and an easier run (one hopes…).
• More of the same in terms of running, keeping the plan going, upping the distances over the coming weeks – if you’re interested, you can monitor my progress on Strava here: https://www.strava.com/athletes/17886589.
• Oh and of course the usual family and business madness,  plans and goals – we’ll fit those in somewhere during what will prove to be a super busy year methinks 🙂

Final thought:  I get asked a lot if I’m enjoying this journey and the answer is, largely, a big yes.  We’ve all been to Disneyland or Legoland or Thorpe Park; I don’t recall seeing people at those places with smiles of perpetual ecstasy on their faces despite having spent potentially thousands of pounds and having travelled hundreds or even thousands of miles to get there. Indeed, I recall at one point thinking, whilst walking around Disneyworld in Florida, how hot, miserable, flustered and generally downhearted people looked as they queued hours for a ride that would last minutes. However as humans we filter this all out and we remember the golden moments – and now I remember that trip as nothing but joyous.

Running is a bit like this. I drag my carcass out of bed when it’s -3 degrees, dark and frosty. I pull on my running clothes, have a protein shake and get in my car to drive somewhere that actually allows me to run more than a mile without having to climb stupid gradients. I get my iPhone cranked up, wait for the GPS to kick in on my Garmin watch, start plodding along the footpath – and it’s normally at this point I think “this is pretty much the armpit of life…”.

However, within 20 minutes, I am warmed up, I have found my pace, it’s getting light, the music (carefully selected) is flowing nicely. I’m drifting in and out of deep thought,  planning the day, enjoying the music, enjoying the cold air on my face as the dawn starts to creep over the horizon, I’m smelling the fields and the air, I’m almost at one with nature.  It’s at these times I have had moments of epiphany – where the road almost floats beneath my feet and I can forget where I am, where the miles just melt away. Within another 20 minutes, I may have finished and I’m basking in the warmth of the endorphins and the feeling of accomplishment at another few miles under my feet towards the ultimate goal; and at this point I’m happy that my watch is synching and my run is being shared on Strava for all to see.

This is why I can safely say, yes, I am enjoying the journey and can’t see a time when I won’t be doing this.

Again, peace and love to all, wishing you a great 2017, thanks for following me and don’t forget to sponsor me at some point in the next few months – this is what it’s all about of course 🙂

Hi follower(s),

I’ve been conscious that this training blogging thing could be getting a bit mononotonous for everyone, I mean there’s only so much to write about running isn’t there?  But, got to keep on raising awareness about what I’m doing here so that we raise lots of lovely Benjamins for Ambitious About Autism so here goes another chapter.

Before I start though – a little recap on what this jolly wheeze is all about. As you probably know, I’m running the London Marathon 2017 for Ambitious About Autism, a charity who work to give young people with autism an education and a chance. They run various educational establishments and are a really nice, small, friendly bunch – I was really happy to work with them as I feel like the money will all go to a really good cause. Please sponsor me by clicking here – my target is £2K so I’ve got a way to go: http://m.virginmoneygiving.com/mt/uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=AndyForkgen.

So I’ve not blogged for a couple of weeks as it really has been business as usual in the main. I’m now in my 20 week plan,  doing several runs during the week and graduating up the distances at the weekend – today was a 12K (7.45 miles). A little slow today as I have had a few days off with a cold and only managed a 5K this week plus it was a bit cold and drizzly when I set out. However a reasonable 12K still with a respectable pace so I’m happy with  myself if a little achy – all on track for the 20 week mark.

I’ve also entered for a milestone race – the Hampton Court Half Marathon which is on Feb 19th.

Something to work towards!

That’s about it from me – I’ll blog again around Christmas at which point I’ll be battling with overeating, over drinking and dodgy training weather –  but I’m sure I’ll still be enjoying every minute of it.

Peace and love.

Andy.

22 weeks to go and everything is on target. I’m covering over 20Ks every week – and I’ve now got a few good 10K runs under my belt. I’m also improving my 5K times with a good PB this weekend. So all good there. 

One thing about this running business is how quickly one becomes “a runner” and with that, the initial fears and hangups disappear and one gets into the comfort zone. A few things I’ve learned recently:

• It’s okay to have a cheeky walk now and then. But as long as no one sees me (if I’m having a walk break and I see another runner, I soon get back to a jog…). 
• It’s quite a sociable pastime – I’m always seeing fellow runners out plodding the same streets and tracks as I do and we’ll always offer a smile and a nod or a wave of the hand. 
• Everyone looks pretty good when they’re out running. Except me, probably. 
• I’m doing this for the achievement, not the time. But I’ll still religiously check my times, strive for PBs and will most definitely compare myself to others on Strava. 
• I agonise now over whether I should be tracking everything in miles or KMs. Every marathon training plan talks miles but I love the achievement of “10Ks” or even a lowly 5. 7 miles and 3 miles just doesn’t sound as good…
• Whenever I’m out on my car now and I see a runner, I have a good look at what they’re doing, what they’re wearing and I secretly want to be out running. 3/4 times a week just doesn’t seem to be enough now.  

Anyway that’s just a few things. I think it’s safe to say I have “the bug” which is a good thing. Now I just need to go out shopping and spend some more money on shiny running stuff… 

By the way, a reminder why I’m doing this and also why I’m boring you all with this blog: I’m running the 2017 London Marathon for the charity Ambitious About Autism. Lots more info in this post here but suffice to say it’s an amazing cause and I really really really hope you, dear reader, can sponsor me. Links are somewhere on this page.  

Peace and love. 

Or not as the case may be…

I travel to Bangalore pretty regularly but have never really considered it a great place for running due to the road congestion and conditions of pavements – and on double checking during this trip I was right. This visit I had training very much in my sights and had visions of coming across a nice park or a straight stretch of road to run on; no such luck. 

So it was good that I chose a hotel with a reasonable gym and two Precor running machines as these were a great fallback. 

The only issue is I forgot how boring treadmill running is so whilst this week was not the disaster it could have been, it was not as good as other weeks. I also blame slightly rubbish a/c in the gym and a severely rubbish body clock – in 10 years of visiting India something I’ve never quite gotten the hang of. 

Things to be positive about this week:

1) I’ve managed just over 10Ks this week (all treadmill). 

2) And nearly 80Ks in the past 30 days. 

3) I ate petty well – small meals are the order of the day in India, always. 

4) And a great week of business and hiring new team members. 

Back to the full training schedule with some nice outdoor runs in the blisteringly cold UK this weekend onwards. 

Peace and love everyone. 

After last Sunday’s Water of Life achievement, this week was either a case of resting on my laurels and letting things go to pot or keeping on keeping on and achieving some good runs. I decided to do a bit of both. 

A 3K and 5K recovery run to keep my hand in – both pretty good and made me realise I should be doing more. Then today (Sunday) another 10K from Naphill to Lacey Green and back again. Very slow – partly due to the foggy weather conditions but mainly due to being sluggish from eating too much junk in the week / not enough sleep / a short but stressful work week (things are pretty tough for a small international business in pre-Brexit Britain folks, I am SO glad I’m running to de-stress nowadays). But a 10K is a 10K and it felt like a good achievement. 

And generally on the achievements front, Garmin Connect tells me I’m now averaging over 19Ks a week which is good – but I’ll need to step it up in the coming weeks. 

This Tuesday I’m off to India so I’ll do a post from there on the challenges of Bangalore road running…or it might just be a post about running on a hotel Treadmill. And there’s a thing; I chose my hotel this time based on the gym facilities rather than the price / restaurant factor, how times change…

Don’t forget guys, the point of this blog is to keep you all aware of my training for the London Marathon 2017 – less than 6 months to go. I’m running for the amazing education charity “Ambitious About Autism” and I’m posting in the hope that you might be inspired to sponsor me at some point – sponsor links somewhere on this page. Check out my archive and comment if you want to ask me any questions. 

Peace and love for now – keep running! 

Good training week this week, 12 miles (20K) completed in the past 7 days. Quite chuffed with that seeing as a couple of months ago this would have been zero 🙂  I even managed a short river 3.5K run in Heilbronn (Frankfurt area) this morning pre a business meeting that I was attending, proud of that.

I feel happy enough now to post a link to my Strava page – don’t laugh, I am getting there.

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Looking forward to getting some more training in this weekend.