The Sands Of Time

"I don't really mind not drinking anymore or spending most of my time in bed, for me as long as I have a few true Friends around me (which I luckily have down there!) time will fly by and it will be D-Day"  -Dec 2010


I remember sitting in front of my laptop on a cold December evening writing my very first entry into this blog as if it was yesterday. And I can still recall the worried and excited thoughts swimming around in my brain as it attempted to construct a blueprint of my impending training regime which would make me physically fit enough to run to Rome.

The speed (or more accurately) my perception of time is drastically increasing as I venture further into my twenties. What seemed an age to me five years ago is now merely a moment as the relentless current of time pushes me towards old age and eventually,death. Time has no friends or foes and no matter how many times people try, it will never become humanities servant. Although we may eventually dramatically slow and perhaps even prevent the aging process, our feeble minds would implode with the knowledge and pain of eternal life.

To this day I still have a vivid memory of sitting in a Secondary school History class and celebrating London winning the 2012 Olympics. That night I attempted to to imagine what the 22 year old version of me would be doing whilst the games were being played. I am only a year away from what seemed like a unfathomable amount of time to me 7 years ago.

Facing up to our own mortality is something many of us rarely do.Which is understandable. From an early age we have been conditioned to "hush hush" the topic and distract ourselves with nonsense. Death it seems, has become taboo. Our only connection with our own mortality comes when relatives pass away or new ones enter the world. With new scientific and technological discoveries being implemented at an alarming rate,our meetings with death are becoming more and more infrequent.


Many ancient cultures with their dramatically decreased life expectancies, living standards and constant conflict viewed death as a natural consequence of life. Every day men would return home with dead animals slumped over their shoulders or siblings would perish to famine at an early age. Religion relieved many fears by attempting to explain the reasoning behind the chaos of existence but the enlightenment  gave rise to a modern society so obsessed with attempting to avoid death that we paradoxically have now began to avoid living!

 

Me Messing Around at a House Party (2009)

I remember when this Photo was taken, I was in my second year of College and had a rough plan to go travelling, I wanted to join the Royal Marines as an Officer but first needed to pass the January Exams. In the two years subsequent to this being taken I have done things I could never have predicted but I still remember this whole dam night like it was yesterday!

I'm sure many of you have done the " if you only had ...... to live what would you do". I love asking people I have just met or do not no very well as this often reveals their inner child to me. The one that was lost sometime during the ages of 14 when the claws of society gripped, and then shredded every single dream they every had in front of their very eyes. I watch as peoples eyes light up as their whole lives ambition's spill from the tongue.

If nothing else, watch this video of a truly wonderfull man and his approach to life. 

Once most people finish with their intinery for their grand finale  I say to them.

"So go ahead and do them!"

It is strange that we somehow plan our wildest dreams and fantasies to the back burner as we trundle through the theatre of life. They are ignored until suddenly we are shoved a stopwatch down our throats by a doctor with 3 months until your Funeral. The reality is that for many of us our last day on earth will be spent in a Hospital bed unable to move with tubes escaping every orifice in our bodies. The last thing we would be able to do was go Sky Diving or propose to your Girlfriend. The time for action is now.


If you have simple Dreams then all they require is simple action. However if you have complex and grand dreams then they require months if not years of dedication to accomplish. Our culture is obsessed about finding short cuts to solve solutions. However in the cold hard world of reality only one thing yields results and that's hard work and achieving your dreams are about as hard of work as it gets! There will be times when you feel immense anger and loneliness, times where you will be hurt from betrayals and failures even times where you feel like giving up. But these very emotions, during the times where you feel at your lowest point combined with your ability to dust yourself off  wipe the tears away and continue towards your goal regardless provides the magic formula to achieving your life ambitions.


I have found that in the pursuit of a dream people tend to find their true purpose. The more people that laugh, ridicule and rubbish it gives it more validation to become a dream worth accomplishing!


The sands of time make no mistake in erasing our minuscule fleeting visit to Sit Com: Planet Earth. So its best to start making as many footprints as possible, so future generations of people can follow in your wake.

Peace and love boys and girls.

Running Makes The World Go Round

On a warm 22 degrees day I am mile 8 into my first of two 12 mile runs laden with weight. I am sweating and the skin on my back has worn away to such a degree that the platlets in my blood have given up forming over the area of friction.  Every time I hit the ground my backpack lifts and when I lift off it sags. The result of these conflciting motions have inspired me to run in a hunched form not which give a certain resident of Notredame a run for his money.


In these days of relentless training I could do two things. A): Give up and cry myself to sleep. Or B): Laugh at the whole situation. I always try my best to choose the second option. Because, lets face it is is funny. I mean Im running this same route with a huge backpack on, my 10th pair of Ipod headphones cast off over my shoulder because they no longer work. And I have a towel wrapped over my left shoulder to prevent the chafting of my cut back. All of this training is for the most extreme marathon ever attemped and its going to be ran my me... and one of my best friends who at the same time last year were both living homeless in Sydney selling Psychadellic Electronica CD'S recorded by us in a drunken/green haze during our College years. I take everything with a pinch of salt. Whenever I start to take myself to seriously I take a long hard look in the mirror and initiate myself into a 7 minute Mayan Ritual Mating Dance which I picked up in Lebongan Island from a shamen.

 I am not a super Athlete or even a great runner. Nor is Max but we both have one thing in common which many much fitter people lack in the case of these events. And thats motivation.The motivation to prove the legions of people and companies who wrote us off in January stating such things as (and I quote). "You cannot run 20 miles a day, it is impossible". Well guess who is now? and "You will never be able to get to Rome in under 60 days" ( we have yet to try but you can be sure we will give it our dam best shot!).  I have trained so hard for this event and so has Max and not one person can tell me what I can or cannot do. Since day one I have said and said with confidence that I am running to Rome in June. And I will complete the run in under 60 days. My word is my bond and this bond supplies me with the fuel to continue no matter how bad things get. No matter how low I feel. And no matter who tells me to give up.


For my training im wearing  Compression Vests I used these when I was fighting and they really help me keep cool. Something I will need to be on this run.
On Saturday me and Max will be running our longest Ultra to date. A 74 Mile run from Redhill to Brighton and back. The route will be using maps and we will be navigating across the hills of south east England. Of course this event will be filmed and im sure it will provide you people with 5 minutes of laughs, shocks and entertainment. Then after that we will both be taking our training down a few notches, preparing ourselves for our exams and organising the logistical aspects of the run.


Our fates cannot be predicted but they can be manipulated. The man who basks in the glow of success simply turned to face the sun. 

Have a good one people.

<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com%22%3ehypersmash%3c/a>

112 Days

Thats right 112 days ago I set off on my first run. Fast forward to today and nothing has changed apart from the miles and intensity of each session. Over the last week I have been out to see my family in Italy. Whilst there I could not resist the chance to go out and explore the Island of Sardinia!

I have been ranting on about "Operation Spartan" for some time now without really explaining what an average week will be for me in terms of my training. I dont just wake up and run.Its much more complicated then that.

A 12 mile run to most people seems very simple. You simply put your shoes on and move your feet forward until your pedometer bleeps. However most people do not train as much as I do, and most people do not run 12 miles twice a day carrying 30 pounds of weight on them!

During my training I have incorporated many forms of exercises to improve my performance during my runs. For example I dedicate two hours per week working on my upper body muscles. Why? So my body can cope with the extra 30 pounds of weight on my back. I am also an avid circuit trainer. Circuit training is a form of conditioning combining resistance training and high-intensity aerobics. These twice weekly sessions are designed to improve my aerobic and anerobic thresholds. These elements are usefull for the run to help decrease my overall 12 mile time and develop the explosivness needed to tackle periods of incline (such as a 100 mile, 3000 meter ascent over the Alps!). I also Stair climb which is a mixture of both Anerobic and Aerobic excercise which helps bridge the gap between the two.

It is a fact that there is a positive correlation between performance and diet. Therfore I have put hours of research into having a diet which keeps my body fueled throughout my training. It is not very complex, I do not believe in "Diet Fads" and strict regimes designed by people to make money. So stick to the basics truths. High Carbs, High Protein and Eat your Greens! I eat around 5 times a day and prepare fresh meals and avoid anything processed like the plague. I recover with one shake formulated by Multipower to resupply my body with the electrolytes I sweated out during training. I have to consume over 3000 calories per day to maintain my weight and prevent my body from going into a Catabolic state (it starts to eat my Muscles!).



I have also started stretching much more and force myself into a ten minute period of leg and upper body stretches. This is something I have only started doing recently and I have allready noticed an improvement on my recovery time which is the name of the game.

I need to be able to run 25 miles in any weather condition, carrying my life on my back. And then recover to to it all again the next day. For 8 weeks. I have reached the point where I am doing this. Nothing, nothing can replace hard work and dedication. There is no short cut to getting into shape and becoming fit. It has taken me 112 days of sacrifice to get into the condition I am in now and I still have another 30 days of hard training to go. Then I will complete this run in the time I said I would do it in. And then, and only then will I rest until the next challenge. There will always be more challenges. Its what makes me tick.

You can find out more infomation about our training on our website.

Train Hard.

Why Do You Do What You Do?

I am currently in Italy staying with my mum for a week. The weather has been really nice and its great to see my family again and return to some home comforts  which I miss back in Portsmouth!

As I write I am lying in my bed with a heat pack covered over my hamstring after covering 23 miles of mountanious terrain in the Italian Countryside. My blister is playing up and I have friction burn on my back due to the persistent contact with my backpack. This regime has been extremely testing on my body but I count myself lucky that no serious injuries have been inflicted on me yet. I recently wrote an article for a journalist who asked me a few questions about the run itself. So I thought I would share it on here.

Hey **** hope your all good and Uni is going ok. You are not the first person to ask me this many people will never understand why I choose to do what I do. And to be honest I really don’t care.  The truth is I really don’t enjoy what I do anymore. Before I started training for this event my view of the world was extremely broad now I have blinkers firmly focused on running.  Doing anything in excess results in the activity becoming boring or a chore. I am running in excess. It is extremely boring and I am constant pain. Yes there are times when I hit the circuits but I will soon be running again. Running long distances with a big bulky bag. Completely alone.

 No one likes to be alone but the truth is we are alone, we are alone on the start line, when we hit walls even when we get promoted from work.  Running has become a metaphor for my life. Ultimately I make the decisions to stop when I want to stop or continue when I feel like continuing and the same thing applies to everyone. We decide how hard we want to go, how far we want to push ourselves and what things we want to sacrifice to achieve our goals.. People will of course influence these decisions and “Pillars of support” such as family, friends and loved ones will aid you in times of need. But the buck stops at your feet.

Like I said before I would not say that anything about my training has been “fun or “enjoyable”. But I would do it again in a heartbeat. I believe greatly that the human character grows mostly through times of struggle. Even more so it a statement to the training regime I have inducted myself into that I am feeling like this. It means its working. Operation Spartan has one goal. To make a man fit enough to run a 1000 miles in under 60 days. As I write the time of departure draws nearer and nearer. I firmly believe that the man standing at the foot of Canterbury cathedral will be 10x the man who staggered home after 5 miles of running on a cold January morning.

I want to experience life in all its glory. And in my youth I am able to do that. I do not get the thrill I once did out of drinking, taking recreational drugs and chasing shallow woman. I am not suggesting that I am “partied out” or slept with so many woman that I find the whole experience boring. Nothing motivates me more then the sight of a beautifull woman whilst running, if Marika Fruscio was in a van driving infront of me with the promise that she would spend the first night in Rome with me then I would get to Rome in half the time I estimated! Its just the fact that so many men these days seem to only care about getting laid whilst being drunk whilst not developing other areas of thier lives.

When I started training MMA again in September I found myself getting bored of the routine of training. The rush I used to get was, again not as intense as it once was so I found myself searching for a goal. Something so unbelievably epic that it would force me into a lifestyle so extreme that it would consume me into a cocoon and spring me back out an improved person. And that was one of the motives behind this run.  Really I should be the person asking “why do you do what you do?” Habitually throwing away your youth to the bottle buying new clothes and new “trinkets” which grows nothing apart from your spiralling student debt.

L8N.

Officer Training

On Saturday I embarked on my most challenging journey yet. I had an idea how hard this run would be but I never could of conceived the things that happened to my mind during the long night that followed.


Since day one of training I have made it my mission to always be pushing my boundaries above and beyond the call of duty. This time last month I ran to Guildford, now I planned to run from Portmsouth to Chichester and back again, at night,carrying more weight and obviously having to deal with the side effects of being sleep deprived.

I set of at 2.30am, an hour later then expected. Google maps told me that from PO5 4AY (my postcode) to Chichester was 17.8 miles. Making my total mileage 35 miles. I set off at a slow pace for the first 3 miles, stepping up a gear as I left Portsmouth city and onto the bridge towards the motorway.  As it was the middle of the night I decided to head up the A road and follow signs towards Havant. This was a stupid idea, I nearly got killed by a lorry passing and at one point this "A-road" began to materialise into a fully blown motorway.

I climbed out of the A-road an onto a side road, which happened to be pitch black. I pulled out my Maglite strapped it to my shoulder and ran on. I turned up the pace again into my orange zone. Which I can hold for about 6 miles before starting to feel my lactic levels getting high. On normal circumstances I would of been quite scared of a pitch black side road but I had Llloyd Banks "I'm so fly" on my Ipod playing on my" I'm fucking gangster" playlist.

 I carried on on this side road for around 3 miles before hitting a roundabout. In front of me was a sign saying "Havant" and "Chichester" and to my right "Havant South Industrial Estate". Although straight ahead of me seemed the most logical option I chose to turn right as the road seemed much quieter. I wanted to avoid A-Roads and Motorways as much as possible.  I could get away with hugging the side, but during the run I will be dealing with other peoples lives and it is my priority to ensure everyone safety. "Think Run" . As the road continued I passed an electricity plant, I heard the humming of the current  "Q.U Hectic"  which fitted the mode perfectly. I was hitting 7 or so miles completely alone in the middle of an electricity plant.




I turned right and headed over a bridge covering the motorway I would of been running along If I hadn't of made the decision to take this route.  My "Im fucking Gangster playlist" was getting tired after an hour of being played so I switched  to one of my mixes I done a few months back in London. It was a personal mix for my own listening so I loved every tune that came on. To cut a long story short my pace was fast, passed over some more random side roads before hitting an inevitable stretch of A-Road. Ran along this stretch for around two miles before turning of for Elmsworth. As I reached Elmsworth I stopped briefly for a few minutes to take in some water and a Hydro Gel. I saw a sign that said "Chichester 9". I felt great running at my current pace, I decided to up the tempo to my red zone pace and smash out te last 9 miles in under an hour. I put my head down and braced myself to enter what I call "warp space 1"

Warp Space one is normally where my first wall hits. This wall is purely physical, I tend to get a niggling pain on one point of my body, or Ill contact an incurable wedgie. I have faced and overcome this wall many times before and was prepared for the first onslaught. It came around 5 miles in. I suddenly developed a cramp like feeling inside my groin. The only time I had this sensation before was when I landed back from Indonesia. But that was just Herpes.

Just kidding.

The best music to help overcome the first wall for me is 80s soul or r'nb. I find that gangster rap and other hard forms of music which must people use to overcome walls just get me into a mood. A bit of Mary Jane Girls, a forced smile, and some mid running dancing was the perfect antidote.

As I hit 7 miles I raised my head up and looked in shook as I saw three figures running ahead of me, with backpacks on!! I could not believe my eyes. I had my Maglite on as it was in the middle of the countryside, there were no artificial lights apart from me. I paced up, I noticed how fast these dude were. They stopped and began literally floating over some fences. Seriously these dudes were swift. As I neared the fence I shouted out "I guess im not the only one then!". I shone my Maglite and got a quick glimpse of the men. Definite military. "good luck in Libya" I said again. Surprisingly I didn't get shot or gagged for comprising their position. I carried on. Reaching Chichester at 5.20am.  I stopped for a few minutes to take in another Carbo Gel, then carried on once again.

I was deep into "Warp Space 1" now. Anymore running would result in the onset of "warp space 2". A place I have been two twice before. And a place where the physical pain is overshadowed by a new psychological foe.  For some reason this wall starts to mess with my emotions, during the 2 miles I went through a period of deep sorrow and self doubt. I carried on. Another 4 miles past. These feelings now tuned into anger. A voice inside my head was starting to tell me to "slow down...take it easy, you have done great". I ignored it. 3 miles later. The voice is louder and more prominent.  I stop to take in another Hydro Gel. The sun had nearly rose which meant that I had been running for over 5 hours.

I forge on deep into warp space two. I turn my ipod off. I had to focus on the mental war that was raging in my mind. Music only hampered me. I focused into my soul telling myself that this was the frontier. I was reaching a place of deep calm.  another 3 miles pass and now the voice is a scream. I run back onto an a-road and am smashed by the wind of passing lorries. I was really hungry. Tired and my head was a mess of emotions. I dont know whether it was the lack of sleep but as I ran through a footpath I had a massive sense of deja vu. I know I had ran the same route a few hours before but it was in the middle of the night.  I carried on. Portsmouth was only 4 miles away now. I felt fine until suddenly I hit "Warp space three". I have had never felt such a strong psychological wall. I literally smashed into the iron curtain. I broke. The screams to stop had finally got to me. I sat down.

It was a brilliant day. The sun shone and I was by a lake. I felt crestfallen, getting as far as this to suddenly break was so frustrating. I needed a source of inspiration. Then as if by divine intervention it came to me.
As I sat picking at the grass I gazed up into the distance and saw the spinnaker tower, standing into the morning sun. As if on cue a flock of birds rose from the lake and started to fly. That single moment can not really be put into words. It was a spiritual few seconds. I set off at first I stumbled, then I walked and then I ran. Be it very slowly back to Fratton. I stopped at a shell station and got talking to one of the guys that worked there. We knew each other because I got served by him when I done a 14 miler a few days beforehand. I was a mess physically and mentally and my Hachimaki was slipping over my eye. I told him of my quest and where I had come from. He called me in broken English "a caveman" which I took as compliment!  I stumbled back into my flat at 9.03 am.


This run was not physically the hardest of my training so far. That award goes to Trafalgar Halls x50. But it was the most mentally taxing, because it was at night and I was tired. The battle which raged during the last 12 miles of the run really cannot be put into words. When you are pushed in a Gym, on a football field..in fact most sports. It is for a short time, perhaps "on a mad one" you will reach Warp Space one. But this type of stuff, the Weighted Utra Marathon runs....its next level.

Its Been A While

I haven't really posted in a while. I will make up for it in the next few weeks.



The last time I posted was around a month ago now. To be honest things have just gone mental. I did not expect to be doing half the things I would be doing by April, but this is the power of positive thinking and the will to succeed!

At the end of February me and max met up for our monthly dose of pain. This does of pain was a 24 mile run to Coulsdon back to Redhill and to the top of Box Hill. Here is a clip of our training. Due to our Camera man getting injured we stopped filming at the base of Box Hill, but you get the general picture.

At the start of March I stepped up my training to two daily runs of varying distances. I also stepped up my HIIT training, adding a four mile sprint before I tackled 8 stair climbs and 200 press ups. As It stands im putting in 55-60 mile weeks and this total is only going to get higher. I have also ran out of text books to add to Bertha. I have added a fire extinguisher to my bag to bring Bertha up to 14kgs. My dietary needs are also getting silly. I worked out that in a three day period I eat 2kg of Meat three bags of salad and  400 grams of grapes. And that's just dinner!

I am still motivated to train but at times things do get hard. Sometimes I wake up in the early hours of the morning and look into the distance, hearing the howls of my fellow students coming back from another good night out. Thinking how much I would like to be joining them before realising I have to be up in a matter of hours to run 8 miles. And as more and more people show interest in the event I feel the pressure on my shoulders mounting. I will have to lead the team through some really difficult times and sometimes I forget that I am still only 20 years old.

On the 10th of March I ran up and down my halls 50 times to raise awareness of my cause and to show people that I am fit enough and have the mental strength to complete this quest. Two Spartans joined me , Dan and Will. I would like to thank them for sharing my pain, they made the day a whole lot more fun. I would also like to thank my housemates who helped me massively throughout the day and a host of other people.

As I am writing this I stand only 10 or so weeks out from the beginning of this run. As I said from day one this will not be a holiday walk through Europe but 8 weeks of pain, pain to get to Rome in under 60 days. This was my claim and I am a man of my word. The training, the mental game is all piecing together. Come June we will be ready for anything.