Run Fat Boy…

So, ‘where the hell have you been?’ I hear you cry.

Well…

The pre-amble

If there’s one thing the birth of my son has made me think about, it has to be my own mortality, and the delicate nature of life for children, even in today’s first world countries. I can’t even begin to imagine the horror of life in the Middle East, although I’m sure, like me, recent photos in the press have left your heart heavy, and your eyes blurry with tears.

Here I am, the wrong side of 40, (yes I know, even I wouldn’t believe it from the photos I post, but it’s true), and I have this awesome little child that relies on me for everything, and how selfish would I be if I upped and keeled over in the next couple of years?

To be fair, I’ve battered and bruised this old shell of mine over the years, and the little fella coming along, has made me think, maybe I should start to worship this crumbling temple, and rebuild it back to its former glory.

Do I go back to the gym? Nah, bored of that, staring at a TV screen watching reruns of Jeremy Kile, while I sweat my proverbial off. I know I’ll get back into trecking up mountains! Get fit, body and mind, with lots of stunning views.

  
Great idea…Problem is…can’t find any…mo-ti-va-t……ion 😔

Then I remembered that warm fuzzy feeling I felt when I raised £155 for The Lullaby Trust earlier this year, and decided there and then that I’m going to raise money for all the children across the globe, who through no fault of there own, are truly suffering, by running. 5K, 10K, 1/2 marathon, full on marathon, maybe even a few ultras, one day.

  

Damn it! I’m gonna do it for the children of the world that need all the help they can get, and get fit at the same time. As a friend of mine keeps saying, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”, so that’s what I’m doing, in my own little way.

  

The amble

Over the last seven weeks I have spent every spare moment, (and that’s not a lot,) researching, creating, tweaking and running a training regime, to get me off the couch and out on the trail towards my first goal of 5K.

It’s been a lot of hard work, but so much fun, and very rewarding. I have tons of energy and I’ve lost the best part of one and a half stone along the way, so feeling good and looking good!

Now I need the help of my fine community of readers. Yes that’s you! As I stated earlier, I am planning to start running to raise money for children’s charities. The idea is sharing out the money into three pots.

Firstly, one pot will go to a charity local to where I run in an organised event. So if I’m running in Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow, or London, the money will go to help children from that particular area.

The second pot will go to a national children’s charity, and the third to an international charity. What I need from you good people, is suggestions of which charities you would like to see me donate to, and why. Just drop a comment on this post, or via the various social media outlets, and I will choose a few.

I am also thinking of changing the national, and international charities each year, to kind of spread the money around a little; or maybe, depending upon whichever crisis is in need at the time. Your thoughts and input mean a lot to me, so please take a moment to let me know what you think.

The stumble toward a conclusion

I know some of you lovely people are runners yourself, and as I am just starting out, I would like some feedback on how well I’m doing. My 5k PB is currently 28:24. Is this anywhere near an average time? I only ask as I’ve never ran before, EVER! I think it’s damn good, as seven weeks ago it was 40 mins.

Also, I have played about with a couple of running apps, and am interested in which ones you use/prefer.

  
On the start of my last 5k. To the top of the mountain and back!

If you plan on running a local 5, or 10k come the new year, for your favourite local children’s charity and you’d like me to come along, or if you have any ideas that you think could help, give me a shout, I’m keen to get as much money raised as possible. 

If you’re interested in finding out more about the training programme, then let me know. If it’s a resounding thumbs up, I’m happy to create a post all about it.

Time for a week off to let my body relax, and start building a 5 week, 10k programme. Current time to improve upon, 56:53.

Well, take care droogs, chat soon.
Dawn of the Dad.