Sun is out, temperature around 13 degrees, clear blue sky and a lovely run (though feeling a little tired after the flight). This should be an easy run, so an indication of lost fitness, too much pre-Christmas eating and the absence of intermittent fasting. Strava Athlete Intelligence Challenging Valderrama route
Super relaxed easy run with an average heart rate of 121BPM. A little chilly today. Debated two layers and gloves, decided no to both, regretted decision. Here’s what Strava Athlete Intelligence thought: Solid run at a faster pace than your recent average, with consistent effort across the splits. Your
Back in London and running around Battersea Park. Great tempo run with a faster pace than my recent average, though I went a bit too hard on the tempo segments. Heart rate and relative effort were both high, showing a strong workout (or more accurately, that I’m not as
Was supposed to be an easy run, but the combination of wanting to keep warm and feeling a little more energy meant I enjoyed pushing just a little today (though still keeping heart rate at a comfortable 152bpm average). Feeling just a little bit fitter. More of the same focus
Another lovely run. Nice and controlled. I kept my average heart rate below 150 and I really enjoyed pushing up the steep hill at the end of Paseo del Parque. The view of Rio Guadiaro from the bridge was beautiful today. Loved it!
Beautiful start to the day. Easy run around the Valderrama 5k route, with an extra hill at the beginning to make sure I hit the target distance. A little of Thursday’s tempo run and the increase in time on the yoga mat in the legs this morning, but all
10 min W/U | 30 min tempo | 10 min C/D | Trot home. Target time for tempo section 8’04” | Actual 8’06” (avoided looking at my watch and listened to my body). The last five minutes of the tempo section is a climb. Really enjoyed today. Felt much stronger
Today was terrible. I felt exhausted and my watch confirmed with a “high recovery needs” message (which I ignored). Poor sleep, too much stress and uncertainty in my life and not enough running and yoga during October and November have all taken their toll on fitness levels. You live, you
Started to train for another marathon, hopefully NYC. But I want to give myself a very long programme, so it will be 2026 (when I’ll be 60) rather than next year. I’ve put together a plan with four days per week in the first twelve months - two
Been a bit hit and miss with the blogging recently, but I‘m still here. Back in London this week, so today’s run was the morning commute. Felt a little more energy after missing Sunday’s run and also getting two good nights of sleep. Really enjoyed the cooler
It’s kind of a love-hate relationship I have with this route. Straight out of bed it can be a shock to the quads and a little punishing, but it’s always worth it for the view from the highest point. Today’s sunrise was lovely. On balance, much more
91% humidity today, and though the sun is having a day off, that made this one feel a little sticky. Nice to be back running after a lazy week. lots of tourists here now so that route was much busier than usual. Out of season I often see one or
Easing back into it after a wonderfully chilled week, enjoying hotel amenities extending only to the restaurant and pool area, carefully avoiding the gym. Planning a little open water swimming today, some skipping (a couple of minutes) and restorative yoga. The run didn’t feel as tough as I expected
Show notes Kieron shares his entrepreneurial journey, starting with his web design agency and company formation business. He then ventured into telecommunications, offering telephony services to new businesses. Kieron explains how he exploited number ranges and provided free conference call services. Eventually, he transitioned into the payment system industry with
And today’s was more or less the opposite of yesterday’s. Interestingly, I felt mentally ready for a fast one this morning. Lying in bed, I thought my energy level was high and I reckoned a quick 7 rather than an easy 11 would be fun. Turned out to
It’s runs like this that make all the tough ones worthwhile. One of those where the data doesn’t matter - it just all feels great. Set off at a really comfortable pace knowing the climbs that this route has in store. Having slept very badly last night (mind
Podcasts
Show notes Have you considered your business exit strategy? Many entrepreneurs pour their passion into launching and growing their startups without planning for the eventual exit. As serial entrepreneur Kieron James shares, incorporating exit planning from day one sets up your business for success when the right time comes to
Running
Bad night’s sleep so my plan to run 8 mile hills was abandoned in favour of a less time-consuming 5k, so I could be back for an 8am breakfast. I did feel tired this morning, but at least got it done - even if “it” was a different it.
Running
A late night airport pickup meant running on less than five hours sleep - and I like my sleep! But it wasn’t as bad as I feared it might be. A warm one though with little breeze. The photo is of one of my favourite trees on this route
Running
Tired legs today - feeling yesterday’s hills. A bit low on energy all round. Took two minutes to enjoy the view and eat a Nakd bar from the helipad in the marina. It‘s a lovely spot which I often have all to myself. Spotted three paddle boarders heading
Hot, hilly, humid. But wonderful! Beautiful start to the day and feeling on top of the world - literally, with today’s elevation gain. This is another of my favourite, albeit challenging, routes. Some of the climbs, particularly when it starts to get warm, are a little intimidating. I did
Running
I wanted to pick up the pace a little in the middle of this run, but I still find that I don’t differentiate enough between the easy and harder sections, running with a similar effort throughout (maybe marginally quicker and slower). I think once a week, I’ll try
Running
Felt ready to try a gentle half after fasting. The first time I tried a longer distance without fuelling for 16 hours, I couldn’t do it. I just felt like I reached an empty tank at about seven miles. Today was fine though. Took it easy, enjoyed the sunshine
Running
Plenty of elevation but the clouds kept it cooler this morning. We are forecast a sunny afternoon and low 30s this week so I’ll be running early and aiming to do yoga before lunch while the mat is still in the shade. Ate gluten yesterday and felt like I
Running
I’m not sure if it’s because I’m now a month into the intermittent fasting, but the two most recent morning runs have felt OK. Sixteen hours without fuel still feels like a long time since fuelling but today my heart rate was lower and although this route
Running
Trying not to run before fuelling, but couldn’t avoid it today. I was keen to head out before the sun got up and needed to be home in time for breakfast, so a short, hilly run fit the bill. Energy levels were not bad, but it felt a little
Running
Very enjoyable run after a chilled weekend. Spent most of it basking in the Spanish sun. A spot of yoga before breakfast and a nice seven miler to round out June. Target for July - five to six half primary yoga practices each week and four runs (Tue, Thu, Sat,
Running
Been running but not blogging. Settling into the new intermittent fasting regime and it feels like my metabolism has now figured out when I’m eating. Sleeping better, not feeling tired and getting used to running at the other end of the day!
Running
Warm. Still 31 degrees according to Carrot weather, though Strava has it at 28. Felt warm and I am definitely still not acclimatised or completely used to the new fasting regime. Feeling lighter and stronger but just hit a “run out of fuel” wall. This evening it was at seven
Running
That’s confirmed. I’d rather have the heat and the hills than run after sixteen hours fasting. Loving the intermittent fasting (two weeks in) and I’m sleeping so much better, but running first thing in the morning when you haven’t eaten since 2pm the previous day is
Running
Completely depleted after the evening commute run and no fuel since 1:30pm yesterday. The intermittent fasting is definitely helping me to sleep better but two runs in no food is a bit stupid. I had planned to get up at six, have breakfast and run at 8:30. it
Running
Run home from the office. Very busy by Farringdon and along The Strand. Dodging commuters for much of the run. Felt stronger than the stats indicate. Not sure if that’s good or bad!