Hodzilla

Catching up

2023-10-23T00:00:00Z

It's been a busy few months here at Hodzilla Mansions. Busy, but in a good kind of way: work has been really highly enjoyable, we had some lovely holidays over the summer and some fun activities are in the diary for the coming months. So all good.

OnePlus, part two

2023-08-07T00:00:00Z

You might recall my recent post about OnePlus's extremely poor recent update. Here's part two, and it isn't good news.

Cornwall

2023-08-06T00:00:00Z

It is a curious paradox that many of the most lovely places are also the least accessible. Norfolk is a beautiful county, for instance, and the lack of motorways there is in my view not a coincidence. As it turns out, the same can be said to some degree for Cornwall.

Affirmations

2023-07-30T00:00:00Z

If the last few days have proved anything, it is that it is very easy to miss the mark on intentions. I've been broadly working with three main goals, and I can see now that I'm spreading the net too wide: I need to start with one.

Recovery

2023-07-26T00:00:00Z

A mad couple of weeks here, going from general business through to full-on illness. For two days I wasn't even able to keep my thirty-sit-up streak going, oh dear, poor me...

Noise-cancelling headphones

2023-07-13T00:00:00Z

I've mentioned in that past that I find noise-cancelling headphones pretty essential for work. For quite a few years I relied on a pair of Bose QuietComfort QC25 over-ear headones, which are definitely good. More recently, after some old in-ear Bluetooth headphones died of old age, I bought some new headphones, and these are the subject of this blog post.

Marketing that respects privacy

2023-07-11T00:00:00Z

The title of this post should be taken more as a question than as a statement. It represents a dilemma whose horns I'm currently perched over. On the one hand, I deeply object to the way that big companies like Facebook and Google are hoovering up all our personal data in order to feed an advertising engine. I also deeply object to the way that these same companies actively seek to distract me with advertising. On the other hand, I need to get a marketing message for a local service in front of potentially interested people, and the same list of companies look like the most effective option.

Injury

2023-07-10T00:00:00Z

Did I mention I whacked my thumb the other week? What a nightmare!

Busy-ness, food and sleep

2023-07-09T00:00:00Z

A short post today, after a very busy weekend. Here are the highlights.

Winning social networks

2023-07-08T00:00:00Z

I remember a conversation I had many years ago with my brother, discussing jobs and places to live. He was of the opinion that it was best to live in a big city like London, as there are hundreds of different jobs and directions to choose from. My view was that having a massive range available is great, but I can only actually do one job, and that there are other factors that weigh more with me for choosing where to live. We don't all have the same objectives; and the same is true with social networks.

Baavet

2023-07-07T00:00:00Z

Of my three affirmations I'm working on, it's clear that there's one that rules the others, which is the one about ... sleep. If I can get sleep right, the others tend to fall into place. Conversely, if sleep falls apart then the others are pretty well doomed too.

Stability

2023-07-06T00:00:00Z

Today I've been thinking about stability. I made a change to some software back in January, and last month a problem came up for users that can be traced back to my earlier alteration. Mistakes happen, but I am thinking about how to improve the odds of stability.

Road trip

2023-07-05T00:00:00Z

A short post today, as today has rather run out of control, and now it is late.

Winging it

2023-07-04T00:00:00Z

Today has been all over the place. Some definite pros, but quite a few cons too.

OnePlus, what are you thinking?

2023-07-03T00:00:00Z

With a busy timetable at work, I was concentrating at my desk when a notification popped up on my phone saying there was a system update available. It seemed like a good time to update it, as I wasn't using the device and it had plenty of charge, so I kicked it off. Big mistake!

Changes

2023-07-02T00:00:00Z

During the process of moving this blog across to its new home, I ended up reading through quite a few posts I wrote years and even decades ago. Reading themes in my life back then really brought home to me how incredibly difficult it is to achieve actual, genuine, lasting change.

At last

2023-07-01T00:00:00Z

Well, that took a bit longer than I was expecting. But finally I've completed the first part of my website migration from Jekyll (the Ruby-based static site generator) to Eleventy (the JavaScript-based static site generator). The final piece was getting the initial build working on Netlify. It's late, but I've just got something going at last. Search isn't in place yet, but otherwise things are, at least, not noticeably worse than they were in Jekyll.

Backlog

2023-05-28T00:00:00Z

We caught up with some friends this morning, ambling around the lovely Rickmansworth Aquadrome in the sun. There was also coffee. Later, we popped over to see my in-laws, and managed to catch up a bit on the family support line backlog.

Restorative yoga

2023-05-27T00:00:00Z

Today didn't get off to the best of starts. Due to a confusion with laundry, I discovered that my wallet and car keys were swooshing round the washing machine. Sorting this out delayed my trip to the gym, some present-buying and then our leaving to head into London for ... a restorative yoga session.

The fediverse - awful name, great concept

2023-05-26T00:00:00Z

Alertness levels today: |-------O--|

Swimming

2023-05-25T00:00:00Z

It's going to take some time to get back into the headspace of writing daily, I can sense. This is mainly because my head is jumping around between different subjects, and needs a bit of reining in. In no particular order, here are some of the things in my head:

I'm back

2023-05-24T00:00:00Z

Yesterday I performed the flute solo I've been working on these last few months, with my local orchestra the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra.

York, among other things

2023-02-15T00:00:00Z

I've been in York for the last few days, visiting my daughter at university. We decided to get the train up rather than driving this time, which has made the whole experience easier (I started writing this post on the train heading back down).

Qigong sound immersion

2023-02-11T00:00:00Z

For various unfortunate reasons, I ended up working quite late last night. The not-too-long version is that we had a Tesco food delivery booked for 10-11pm, and I was doing some work while waiting for the delivery. At around midnight I thought I should check what was going on, and then found an email from a few hours earlier saying they were very sorry but the delivery was cancelled. Grrr. At that point, the work was on a bit of a roll so I pushed on, in true no-sense-of-self-preservation style!

Websites

2023-02-09T00:00:00Z

The approach I've set up for this website has been working really very well indeed. Now obviously I'm a developer-type, slightly techy kind of person so I would say this. But, adding a new blog post as I'm doing now is pretty straightforward. I open a text editor, add some dull boilerplate at the top with titles etc, then just keep typing.

Eventful

2023-02-07T00:00:00Z

The last couple of days have blasted by with lots going on. There's not much to report, although I did find this rather interesting article in the Guardian about some Empire-related history of the type I was mentioning the other day.

Spa

2023-02-04T00:00:00Z

Today is a story in two parts. It kicked off with some outdoor circuits followed by a quick gym stint to get some rowing in (1km in 3:55) and weighted heel drops for Achilles reasons.

Imperialism

2023-02-03T00:00:00Z

I find myself increasingly uncomfortable with aspects of the "British Empire".

Busy week

2023-02-01T00:00:00Z

This has been a very busy week. Work has been really enjoyable; it's been around eight months since I started this job, and finally I'm starting to feel a bit like I'm "cooking on gas" a bit. Enough of the pieces of the puzzle are fitting together that I am able to make a bit more timely progress.

Last day of janathon

2023-01-31T00:00:00Z

Woo hoo, it's my last day of Janathon today. I did an hour of yoga this evening. Yesterday's blog post was out the window on the basis that I was working until cough AM and just couldn't face it. So you are all probably desperate to know what my activity was then - circuits and yoga, in a nutshell.

Miles (janathon day 29)

2023-01-29T00:00:00Z

A day in two parts. The easy bit was at the start, with a bit of rowing and weights (pulled something doing squats, really annoying) then a quick stint in the spa.

London (janathon day 28)

2023-01-28T00:00:00Z

A short entry today: a busy day, and it's late.

Energy and sleep (Janathon day 27)

2023-01-27T00:00:00Z

At circuits this morning I really got a sense that my Janathon efforts have started to pay off. I feel like I can maintain a level of intensity that I wouldn't have managed a month ago, and my legs are feeling particularly strong. This is despite not yet being back on the running - and even there I believe my Achilles is heading firmly in the right direction.

Orchestra and travel (janathon day 26)

2023-01-26T00:00:00Z

Another busy day, good fun! Lots happening at work, definitely keeping me interested. Then this evening orchestra resumed after the Christmas break. This was the first rehearsal for the concert I'm playing a solo in, but thankfully we didn't play that piece.

Tired (janathon day 25)

2023-01-25T00:00:00Z

One of my least favourite sleep-related events is the kind when for some reason I end up going to bed really late, but console myself with the idea that I'll have a bit of a lie-in to compensate, only to find that the universe has other plans. This happened last weekend when my late-night sleep deprivation was exacerbated by a very early phone call the following morning. Last night was similar, as I was woken a few times during the night.

Today (janathon day 24)

2023-01-24T00:00:00Z

It's been a busy work / other things today. Today's blog post is really an article I put up on my site about SEO, but I might as well just explain that it was my first day in London of the year, which I really enjoyed. I enjoy commuting (Endor is good!), I like my work colleagues and yoga was lovely this evening. Result!

SEO

2023-01-24T00:00:00Z

Here's a bullet-point action list I wrote a while ago about specifically how to improve your Google rankings. Note: it takes a certain amount of time and work, there is no quick fix. Here goes:

Monday (janathon day 23)

2023-01-23T00:00:00Z

It's been a busy day today, which I like. Also a pretty cold one, which honestly I'm not quite so keen on. It started with my early-morning training bootcamp thing, which was really mighty cold (something like -6C apparently). There was a certain amount of lying down to do core exercises, too, which thankfully got replaced second time round - the trainer took mercy on us.

Tick list (janathon day 22)

2023-01-22T00:00:00Z

Sleep hasn't featured as much in today's outline as I had hoped.

Paperwork (janathon day 21)

2023-01-21T00:00:00Z

What do we hate? HMRC. Why do we hate them? Because they make us go through a hellish process every year, which is bad news for someone with a tendency to leave things to the last minute.

Iterating (janathon day 20)

2023-01-20T00:00:00Z

I decided to have a go at forming a daily blogging habit about two and a half months ago. Since then, the habit does seem to have formed fairly strongly; apart from when I've been ill, I have written a blog post every day since then. It's been fun, too.

Training app (janathon day 19)

2023-01-19T00:00:00Z

If you've ever wanted to use an app to track your training, and you have an Android phone, I have a recommendation for you. The app is called FitNotes, and it is excellent. It does a single thing - tracking training - and does it very well. It's also free (but you can become a supporter, which I ended up doing as it is so good), and doesn't contain adverts. Finally it's clear and easy to use.

Time management (janathon day 18)

2023-01-18T00:00:00Z

Every day at the moment seems to be overly busy, without enough time to do the things I feel like I need to. I have a horribly long (and growing) list of things at home and work that need to be done by January 31. Clearly something is going wrong here.

Busy (janathon day 17)

2023-01-17T00:00:00Z

Today has been pretty busy. The work that I couldn't face doing last night ended up taking quite a long time today. After getting back, I managed a quick yoga class, then some boring admin stuff around a daughter's university accommodation. And now it is time for bed, so there's not going to be much more here today!

Work (janathon day 16)

2023-01-16T00:00:00Z

I'm sitting here with a pile of work I need to complete. But I'm thinking about having done exactly that at the same stage last week, and know what the consequences were. So instead I'm going to take the alternative approach and just go straight to bed. Fingers crossed I'll be fresh as a daisy in the morning!

Wordleversary (janathon day 15)

2023-01-15T00:00:00Z

{:class="img-responsive small alignright"} I noticed recently that I was approaching what I call my Wordleversary - and I have been celebrating it today. This is to say, I have completed 365 Wordles. I can't remember the exact day I started, but it would have been just over a year ago as I have missed just a few days over that time.

Two-factor authentication (Janathon day 14)

2023-01-14T00:00:00Z

Today has not gone to plan. Early signs were a bit worrying - today's Wordle was a nightmare (more of that tomorrow). And then, while stuck on the last chance to guess the words with only a few letters known, an email arrived which made it clear that someone had just succeeded in hacking in to Ellie's Instagram account.

Work (janathon day 13)

2023-01-13T00:00:00Z

There's not a lot for me to say today - after early circuits this morning, the day has been basically dedicated to work.

Recovery (janathon day 11)

2023-01-12T00:00:00Z

Wednesday had been going pretty well, on the whole. I'd slept in a bit, and had a reasonable day at work. I did a short gym session in the evening (2km rowing and some weights), some minor errands ... and then things went somewhat off-piste.

Exhausted (janathon day 10)

2023-01-10T00:00:00Z

If you need confirmation that things don't go the best when you've had insufficient sleep, just look at today. On the plus side, I did manage to finish the work last night, and that was somewhat important. And I also got quite a lot done at work today.

Late (janathon day 9)

2023-01-09T00:00:00Z

Working rather late tonight, so just a quick entry. The day has been pretty action-packed, all told. I kicked off with kettlebell circuits, worked all day, did an hour's yoga and then did a few more hours of work.

Recovery (janathon day 8)

2023-01-08T00:00:00Z

According to my watch, I had more than nine hours of sleep last night. I'm not sure whether it's just me, but often when I get some decent rest after a few days of insufficient, I find myself feeling kind of subdued. Today falls into that category.

Odd day (janathon day 7)

2023-01-07T00:00:00Z

Today is a good example of why it's important to get to bed on time.

Busy (janathon day 6)

2023-01-06T00:00:00Z

The view at my boot camp this morning was pretty special. It was a 6:30 start, so still very dark. However, there was a pretty clear sky, with a full moon hovering over the trees. Kind of like the header photo ... but not. A busy hour.

Habits (janathon day 5)

2023-01-05T00:00:00Z

As I continue along the process of getting the shape of my life in order, I find myself thinking about habits and how they work. So it was rather timely that Tim Ferriss released his most recent podcast with guest James Clear - the author of the top-selling book Atomic Habits. The episode is long, but interesting.

Early start (janathon day 4)

2023-01-04T00:00:00Z

The header image is not a photo of my gym. One obvious difference is that it looks empty, whereas mine was comparatively heaving when I got there this morning. I had actually intended to go to my early bootcamp this morning, but after a disturbed night's sleep I thought better of that idea; instead I went for plan B.

Work (janathon day 3)

2023-01-03T00:00:00Z

Back to work! It was a fairly eventful day there, in that a number of things went wrong due to problems coming up around holidays and missing data. I learned a few things on the way, though, and am now fairly clear on what needs to be done tomorrow.

Final day (janathon day 2)

2023-01-02T00:00:00Z

Today has been my last day of holiday before returning to work. This is neither good nor bad, really - I've enjoyed the holiday, and I'm looking forward to work too, so no complaints from this end.

New year's day (janathon day 1)

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Happy New Year, everyone. Here is 2023.

Goodbye 2022

2022-12-31T00:00:00Z

Goodbye 2022. It's been something of a mixed year. There were some good high points - changing jobs being one of them, and having all the kids being healthy and happy another. But my memory of it will be rather tainted by the awful ending with Tom passing away.

Migrating WordPress content to Jekyll: some notes

2022-12-30T00:00:00Z

I've just been migrating an old WordPress blog into this Jekyll one. Here are some notes from the process...

Crossing a hurdle

2022-12-30T00:00:00Z

Tom's funeral is today. It's something that we've all been dreading yet needing to happen. We have no idea how many people will be coming to Amersham Cemetery, but I'm guessing it will be a very large number: Tom was a lovely lad, full of life and loved by everyone who met him.

Getting back

2022-12-28T00:00:00Z

I'm trying to get my daily pattern back on track, with a certain amount of success. This has been day two of not eating badly, and I usually find that's around the point where it starts to get a bit easier. I do hope so. While I didn't get quite as much sleep as I would have liked, it wasn't catastrophic either, and I can tell tonight will be better (as it is still the right side of 10pm rather than the wrong side of 11).

Search (continued)

2022-12-27T00:00:00Z

Less words, more code today. I've been playing with getting search working on this site, and have made a bit more progress. There is now a behind-the-scenes function that can perform a search on the site and return a list of matching pages, complete with a snippet of what has been found.

London

2022-12-26T00:00:00Z

Boxing Day morning was a leisurely affair, after a busy Christmas. The weather was beautiful so after some breakfast we popped down to Amersham Old Town for a short run. Beautiful, but did I mention it was cold?

Christmas

2022-12-25T00:00:00Z

Notice the date? Yes, that'll be Christmas.

Busy

2022-12-24T00:00:00Z

Today has mostly been a day of preparation for Christmas. I've managed to cross off some of the more persistent entries of my Amazing Marvin task management app ... a fact only slightly offset by the observation that I've added even more items to the end.

Search

2022-12-23T00:00:00Z

Today's blog time has mainly been spent working on some of the technology stack for this blog: I'd like to get search going. As of now, the first bit of this is done. Unfortunately that's the invisible bit: watch this space for updates over the next few days. I'm planning to use the lunr library for this, as it looks like just what I need.

Re-think

2022-12-22T00:00:00Z

I've had a pretty good stint thus far on blogging daily. Writing a blog entry is on its way to becoming a daily habit, so now I think some thought is required to figure out what it actually is I'm trying to achieve.

Jobs

2022-12-21T00:00:00Z

Now that we are all at home, today has mainly been a day of jobs. Nothing earth-shattering, mostly things like getting some of our decorative LED lights working, fixing a daughter's window, posting letters and so on. The most involved one was assembling a bed - which was, in fairness, quite involved.

Last work day

2022-12-20T00:00:00Z

Today was my last day at work this year (apart from a bit of twiddling with admin etc). Not my finest day - I am continuing to feel a bit poorly, and this didn't help. Nevertheless I did manage to round a few things off. So obviously it's a great time to head home, have a nice early night and prepare for the holidays.

Dear diary

2022-12-19T00:00:00Z

Today has been more of a "doing" than a "thinking" day. Probably too much so. For that reason, this is going to read a bit more like a journal than anything.

In between

2022-12-18T00:00:00Z

Today has been a rather in-between kind of day. After feeling a bit better last night, I woke up feeling not so great this morning, so lost a chunk of day that way. It's also been really miserable, cold and wet, which has put a literal damper on things.

Waddesdon

2022-12-17T00:00:00Z

You might have noticed the lack of a blog post yesterday. In fact I was rather under the weather: here's what happened.

Playing and listening to music

2022-12-15T00:00:00Z

This evening was the final orchestra rehearsal of the year. We spent the first hour playing through some repertoire - basically sight-reading our way through some nice music for fun. Today's choice was Mozart's symphony No 41 in C Major. Then the second half was more of a "social", with some mulled wine and mince pies etc.

Brief

2022-12-14T00:00:00Z

A brief post today, as I've been working rather long hours. I have things on my list that need to be no longer on it - and as of now, I think I've knocked them off. Phew!

Achilles

2022-12-13T00:00:00Z

For a while now I've had some issues with my Achilles tendon. It started a few years ago, at a time when I was upping my running in preparation for a half-marathon. Since then, it's been somewhat "on and off".

Perspective

2022-12-12T00:00:00Z

It is said that:

Cold (continued)

2022-12-11T00:00:00Z

Another really chilly day here, and the forecast is for snow in the morning. I'm currently deciding whether to go to boot camp at 6:30 tomorrow morning, but I'm thinking it could well be cancelled and I could probably do with the sleep.

Cold (and Parkrun)

2022-12-10T00:00:00Z

Today has been mostly about being really cold. This really kicked off at parkrun, at which point it was a sunny and frosty -4C.

Hive

2022-12-09T00:00:00Z

Our household energy status is in something of a limbo right now. We changed supplier a couple of days ago, but our smart meter doesn't seem to have caught up yet. Or at least that's my assumption, as I can't think of any other reason why our gas would be showing up as being free.

Tired

2022-12-08T00:00:00Z

A short post today. I'm very tired, I think I've accumulated a few nights of insufficient sleep and now it's really hitting me. We're all still shattered by the news of our friend passing away, and that's pretty exhausting too. So - time to sleep.

Outing

2022-12-07T00:00:00Z

Today was the office Christmas social, which was fun! It was a whole-day event; in the morning we went to volunteer at Core Arts. They have a new plot of land they are turning in to a garden to support mental health. We basically dug, moved earth, put up fences, assembled furniture and generally helped them get the project going. It was cold, but honestly great fun!

London

2022-12-06T00:00:00Z

I worked in the office in London today. Honestly I quite enjoy the travel there and back on the train. I went in with Ellie for a change, which was entertaining (and we managed Wordle in two attempts). The office was fairly quiet, but the people who did come in were talking about our work Christmas social tomorrow - we are spending the day volunteering for a local charity who create communal gardens.

Warmth

2022-12-05T00:00:00Z

Our house was built around 1930, at a time when investing in cavity walls sounded like crazy talk. With some foresight the builders might have realised that the real madness heading our way could take the form of fuel bills for heating said house. But no, this was a problem left to later owners, such as us. So when we saw an offer for a new boiler that we would be crazy to turn down, we placed an order with British Gas to sort our heating.

Generations

2022-12-04T00:00:00Z

It has really struck me today, looking at my children and the stages they have reached in their lives, that some sort of generational milestone has been passed. Specifically, I can see that my children are now hitting the exact point that I was at when I launched into what I would now refer to as my adult life.

Terrible news

2022-12-03T00:00:00Z

I will remember this day for the rest of my life. In the morning we received terrible news of the death of our son's best friend.

Success

2022-12-02T00:00:00Z

Today's work disruption went to plan nicely. I managed a very early start, and had got the bulk of what I needed to get done out of the way in time for my boot camp at 6:30am. Then after I got back I continued the process.

Change of plans

2022-12-01T00:00:00Z

Only a short post today, due to a change of plans. At work I received one of those "good news / bad news" messages. The bad news was that: a problem came up at work today that means something needs to be done tomorrow; the person who would have done it is on holiday; and my name is next on the rota. The good news, though, is that doing this thing fulfils my rota responsibility and next week it will be someone else rather than me in the hot seat. Nice!

Trial by ordeal

2022-11-30T00:00:00Z

In hindsight, my work today feels a bit like I faced an ordeal and came out the other side.

Yoga

2022-11-29T00:00:00Z

These days I have a bit of a mix of physical activities, each which I enjoy in different ways. Today I'm going to tell you a bit about my experience of yoga.

Kindness

2022-11-28T00:00:00Z

I had planned to write about something else today, but just heard some awful news from somebody I know about the death of a close friend.

Family day

2022-11-27T00:00:00Z

Today has been a rare relaxing family day. All my children are home, and my brother and his family came round to visit in the afternoon. During the day my wife and I managed to get out for a short, easy run, which felt good and we didn't get soaked. We also fitted in a quick visit to the local spa for some time in the sauna and steam room.

Concert

2022-11-26T00:00:00Z

Today has been rather dominated by the concert I played in this evening. I'm a member of a local orchestra (the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra), and we were performing this evening at St Mary's Church in Chesham.

A time for everything

2022-11-25T00:00:00Z

I've been looking back at what I've written since starting this blog, and thinking about when in the day I have written it. I can see I have a persistent problem with trying to do things right at the end of the time available. Honestly, this has been a problem for me for as long as I can remember.

Rollercoaster

2022-11-24T00:00:00Z

Today has been a bit of a rollercoaster - but in a good way, generally. Let's start with work.

Short family story

2022-11-23T00:00:00Z

Mrs H was talking to her parents earlier, and was told a family story that she hadn't heard before. She replied that they really ought to write these stories down, as otherwise they'll fall out of family folklore. This reminded me of something (I thought was) funny that happened when I was young. Pull up a chair - here's the three-minutes-remaining summary.

Humidity and shopping

2022-11-22T00:00:00Z

I have just ordered a dehumidifier. Our house was built around 1930, at a point where cavity walls weren't considered worth the effort. As a result, and now that the weather is so cold, the building is cold and damp. The direction of motion has been pretty clear too - showers, cooking, laundry, breathing ... it all adds to the moisture levels in the house.

Short post, long day

2022-11-21T00:00:00Z

Today's been a long day, starting early and finishing late. So I'm definitely opting for a diary-style post.

Ambitions

2022-11-20T00:00:00Z

This is your friendly reminder that you don't need to aim for the stars for every single thing you do. If you set up a book shop, you don't need a plan for world domination of the book trade; it's okay just to sell books, and make some friends along the way. Enjoy playing music, starting a band? Go for it - being an active member of the music scene will be interesting and rewarding, and it isn't necessary to have plans to top the billboard round the world. These things might happen, but it isn't necessary, and you haven't "failed" if they don't.

Parkrun (and systems)

2022-11-19T00:00:00Z

Since about late 2019 when I started participating, Saturdays have been parkrun days. Obviously it hasn't always worked out that way (I'm looking at you, pandemic and injury). But it's a great thing do to, and here's why.

Progress

2022-11-18T00:00:00Z

As it turned out, yesterday was pretty well the peak experience as far as climbing the learning curve is concerned. I feel like I have been wrestling with a problem for absolutely ages, and then after a re-think on my approach - and learning some techniques I needed - the whole thing then kind of splurged out.

Learning

2022-11-17T00:00:00Z

Top of my mind at the moment is the subject of learning. I changed jobs a few months ago. My new employer, and the team and management I work with, I hold in very high regard; it has been a very positive move. However, the change has been a major shift for me. First, the company size has gone from a small handful of people to around ten thousand - quite a culture shock. There's also a shift in domain knowledge required, meaning that I feel like I'm right at the bottom of a massive learning curve.

Tools

2022-11-16T00:00:00Z

Today hasn't been a great day, which on reflection is probably because the last two days didn't feature enough sleep. So I'm going to keep this post short, get home soon, do my flute early and then tuck myself up in preparation for for a good night.

Flute

2022-11-15T00:00:00Z

Today I'm going off on a different tack. Last night, looking at diaries etc, I realised that my upcoming flute solo with my local orchestra is an awful lot sooner than I had been thinking. This subject is now occupying quite some mind space!

More about this blog

2022-11-14T00:00:00Z

Today, I'm going to go into some more detail on how this blog works. Given time constraints, this is going to be more of a how-to than a detailed explanation of what's going on!

Blogs

2022-11-13T00:00:00Z

My original plan for today was to describe in some detail how I set this blog up - it was pretty easy, and free. However time is short, so I think this is going to be more of a "part 1", describing the context and giving a few initial pointers, before following up tomorrow/soon with the full, gory detail.

Making changes

2022-11-12T00:00:00Z

Yesterday's blog post set me thinking about how I want things to be, as compared to how they are. There are some areas I want to work to improve, particularly:

Sleep

2022-11-11T00:00:00Z

I'm beginning to realise that, down the line, I'm going to look back at what I've been writing in this blog and see clear themes emerging.

Diary format

2022-11-10T00:00:00Z

I haven't really decided where this blog stands on the well-thought-out-article vs daily-journal-diary spectrum. Having covered a particular topic each day until now, I think today I'll see how it feels taking the other side of the balance.

Distractions

2022-11-09T00:00:00Z

Ok, so here's how my day typically goes.

Slow and steady

2022-11-08T00:00:00Z

My approach in setting up this blog was to try to follow the adage: slow and steady wins the race. My natural tendency is to launch into things with gusto, and then lose enthusiasm and focus. I've come to learn that mindset is really important, and that keeping on doing something is far more important than getting caught up on how things feel on a particular day. My approach here is to make the task easy enough to be able to stick with it, slow and steady.

Downtime

2022-11-07T00:00:00Z

On the way in to work this morning, I was listening to an episode of the Huberman Podcast, which is often thought-provoking. The subject of ultradian cycles came up - I hadn't heard of them before, but apparently our bodies have 90-minute cycles that happen during the night / day. If you pay attention to how you are feeling, they can be used to help achieve focus, by planning periods of concentration to align with them.

Hello World

2022-11-06T00:00:00Z

Hello, world! This blog has been set up as an experiment. I find it very easy to put things off, especially if they feel large and intimidating. However, I have been keen to get a daily blogging practice going for a long time. The answer I've come up with is this blog: one post per day, written in no more than five minutes.

Janathon '20 day 26: walking, and learning a lesson

2020-01-26T21:39:45Z

Well, it was Regent's Park again today, then a walk down to town to pick up the car we left there last night. Total: just over 16,000 steps, which I'm guessing is about 7 miles perhaps? (Oh, and a nice dog we saw while there). I had hoped to get a run in, but then I'd also hoped to finish some tax returns and both of those went a bit askew..!

Janathon '20 day 25: rather eventful walking

2020-01-25T23:26:05Z

Mrs H was in London today for a training course, so I went into Town with her and we had a good walk through Regent's Park. Cutting to the chase, I have just hit 20,800 steps so with the round trip and some walking later I've done alright overall. Quite eventful it was, though - in no particular order:

Janathon '20 day 24: excuses, mainly

2020-01-25T11:21:01Z

Mrs H had a pretty full-on day yesterday, starting very early and requiring some careful planning. So circuits was out of the question, realistically. Then, after the day was over, I couldn't really avoid my full Uber-Dad duties, ferrying children to/from Guides, jobs etc. Then I got sucked into helping my 16yo set up a revision timetable - where I found Get Revising, which seemed to do the trick pretty well, I may say, in case you need such things!

Janathon '20 day 23: lunch run, thank you Janathon!

2020-01-23T22:05:05Z

I managed to fit in a sneaky 10K run this lunchtime, round Rickmansworth. Pretty muddy, hillier than I remembered, and worst of all - too much of a queue in the coffee shop when I got back. Boo!

Janathon '20 day 22: misquoting Violent Femmes

2020-01-22T22:26:12Z

You might argue - third verse day, same as the first... Today was awfully similar to day 1 this week, with circuits in the morning and yoga in the evening. Why change something that isn't broken, I say. There - that definitely proves my love!

Janathon '20 day 21: running and yoga

2020-01-21T22:53:08Z

As it turns out, the last couple of days of circuits have left my legs feeling pretty broken! That'll be all the squats, burpies, lunges and so on. However, having the idea in mind of doing a half marathon in a few months, I found myself thinking I ought to get some miles in the legs.

Janathon '20 day 20: top-and-tail sandwich

2020-01-20T20:31:47Z

A couple of traditional hearties today. First off, an early start for circuits at 6:30am. It was freezing - pleasantly so, in fact, it being pretty dry so rather enjoyable to be out in, with the crunching under foot as we went about our exercises! I was concerned I was under-dressed, with just a long-sleeve tee-shirt and running jacket. However, the circuit was a good one and ten minutes or so later I'd lost the jacket and was perfectly comfortable in just the tee. The basic framework was: running - parellettes - squats - core. All good stuff, much of which I did yesterday in circuits so I was left pretty sore!

Janathon '20 day 19: more circuits

2020-01-19T16:38:39Z

We tried a local circuits class that was running this morning, at Fit Club Amersham. It was a TRX class, which was to say that about half the stations involved TRX. I'd forgotten how much I like a bit of that; it was hard work and enjoyable, and well-taught by the trainer, Marco.

Janathon '20 day 18: Parkrun and a walk round Henley-on-Thames (plus an excuse)

2020-01-19T16:24:58Z

A late entry for Saturday (we went out on Saturday night and I was too tired to get this post done). The day split up neatly, starting with Parkrun over in Rickmansworth.

Janathon '20 day 17: all over by about 7:15am

2020-01-17T22:04:43Z

Friday: circuits, the same as on Monday. Challenge week with the folks at FFS. I pushed as hard as I could under the circumstances, and managed to get a little bit further than Monday (just over 7 times round the circuit this time). Turns out the whole period was captured pretty nicely through my heart rate monitor; it felt pretty well how it looks.

Janathon '20 day 16: this was harder than your usual effort

2020-01-16T22:38:42Z

Yesterday's proposed early-morning run went ahead; my friend and I met up at 6:30am and headed off for a run. Long story short, we started a bit quicker than expected, such that timings meant we could just about hit 10K. So we did.

Janathon '20 day 15: yoga recovery day

2020-01-15T21:45:51Z

I had intended to do circuits this morning. Events overtook me, though; my son needed a late lift back after a try-out for bar work at a local-ish pub, and that combined with some inevitable faffing around meant I was rather pushing it to manage a 6am start.

Janathon'20 day 14: running and yoga

2020-01-14T23:04:48Z

It was dry this morning, thankfully, so my friend and I headed out for a sneaky run. We ended up doing a slightly higher pace than expected, which felt like progress! We went just over 4 miles in the end.

Janathon '20 day 13: circuits and lifting stuff

2020-01-13T19:52:11Z

Monday equals circuits, at 6:30am. Today was what's known as "Challenge Week". The good news: it is only half an hour. The bad news: the format is AMRAP (as many reps a possible) over that half-hour. Each round of the circuits was:

Janathon '20 day 12: not lifting

2020-01-12T22:23:28Z

I had hoped to fit in a bit of weights today, inspired by this picture of a massive crane lifting part of a new bridge at our local station in to place. However, it was not to be.

Janathon '20 day 11: Parkrun

2020-01-12T09:12:57Z

Rickmansworth Parkrun was the host for Saturday's Janathon activity. In fact, not just for me but also for the other 691 people who had the same idea. Wow! I took a selfie to try to give some idea of how big the crowd was, but it doesn't really quite capture the scale.

Janathon '20 day 10: circuits (and a car)

2020-01-10T22:23:25Z

Today's physical activity - an hour of circuits - was all tied up by 7:30am. It was warm enough (certainly by the end!) and a good crowd was involved, so all told it was a fun session. It would have been even better if I'd actually managed to get in to bed at 10:30pm as intended, rather than more like gone 11:30pm (busy day). But again I did manage to only wake once before getting up at 6, so it could have been a lot worse.

Janathon '20 day 9: excuses and a joker

2020-01-09T22:51:51Z

Today has been really busy, but not with exercise or other activity, much! (I'm guessing driving doesn't count...) I had hoped to at least get a quick weight training session in, but a last-minute school parents evening put paid to that too. Oh well.

Janathon '20 day 8: circuit/yoga sandwich

2020-01-08T21:59:47Z

Boo, work meetings all day today. Between about 10 and 5 I basically sat at a table talking. Thank goodness, therefore, that I was able to use this rather dry meat as the filling for a tasty circuit/yoga sandwich! Mmm-mmm.

Janathon '20 day 7: two runs and yoga - a bit too much!

2020-01-07T22:04:22Z

With the benefit of hindsight, I've probably over-done it a bit today!

Janathon '20 day 6: circuits

2020-01-06T21:59:41Z

That was it, really: an hour's circuits class this morning at 6:30am. Numbers are moving up a bit now that the year is getting going, which makes it a bit more fun. Today was a good mix of running, strength and core. Overall I seem to have managed 12,000 steps so that's all good.

Janathon '20 day 5: walk and run, with a bit of flute thrown in for "X effect"!

2020-01-05T21:57:29Z

Today we went up to near Cambridge to visit my parents-in-law. My MIL has been rather unwell, but thankfully is making an astonishing recovery after a rather up-and-down period over Christmas. When we said we were heading up, the instruction was received to bring my flute, and who am I to argue! As if any excuse is required... So activity one: some tootling on my flootle.

Janathon '20 day 4: Ricky parkrun, and trip to Cliveden

2020-01-04T22:52:27Z

Parkrun has become something of a regular outing. What they say on their blog is quite right: it's a really inclusive kind of event, with all sorts of people doing it in their own way. (No Frosty the snowmen today, though - that I noticed, at least.) As I presume is usually the case at the start of the year, the numbers were still very high - 686, in fact, which was even more than New Years Day. As a result it was a bit of a bun-fight for the first mile or so. After that, though, it thinned out a bit.

Janathon '20 day 3: morning circuits

2020-01-03T19:34:44Z

I'm just putting this out there now since, based on the way I'm feeling, there's not much else I'll be doing!

Janathon '20 day 2: trying to keep up

2020-01-02T21:07:06Z

Today's main activity was a run. My friend had been feeling a bit guilty about not doing Parkrun yesterday, so suggested a quick outing this morning. This seemed like an excellent idea when he suggested it, and so we agreed to meet up at 8:30 for a run round Amersham.

Janathon '20 day 1: sneaky parkrun

2020-01-01T20:47:08Z

Happy new year, everyone. So - Janathon 2020.

Janathon '19 day 13: morning run

2019-01-13T22:03:22Z

Excellent news! I ran just over 2 miles with Mrs H, and my foot didn't hurt. That's brilliant, as it means I can resume my running schedule, which is broadly working towards a (not-yet-selected) half-marathon. Note to self: don't build too quickly.

Janathon '19 day 12: weights

2019-01-12T23:27:13Z

I'm feeling a lot better today, so thought I'd try out some weights. I went for a bit of a classic kind of programme: squats, bench press, bent-over row, tricep dips. I also finished off with some kettle bells (double-handed swings, and clean and presses). Doing this kind of workout always makes me feel better, so I'm really glad I managed to get it going. Progress!

Janathon '19 day 11: excuses!

2019-01-12T23:23:35Z

Unfortunately I was still feeling a bit rubbish on Friday, and I decided to let discretion be the better part of valour and not do the swimming I had been planning. Having something bad happen in the water doesn't sound too sensible. So apart from walking a few miles there really isn't anything good to say about this one. Boo.

Janathon '19 day 10: token effort

2019-01-11T14:53:27Z

So long, Thursday. My day was rather hindered by an annoying headache. I put it down to either dehydration or lack of sleep (both entirely possible given the last week). An early night was in order, and some pain killers. All I can really claim on the Janathon front, therefore, was walking about 5.5 miles (just over 12,000 steps) and bashing out a token 20 press-ups. That's my first wildcard used up!

Janathon '19 day 9: more yoga

2019-01-09T23:44:59Z

With my foot not really playing ball yet, I was left with two main physical activities to perform today:

Janathon '19 day 8: yoga!

2019-01-08T22:23:30Z

Today has mostly been a day of wincing when confronted by stairs. Yesterday's weights has definitely taken its toll!

Janathon '19 day 7: weights (and a Souvenir Programme)

2019-01-07T21:58:39Z

I've had a fairly long-standing arrangement with a friend to do weight training on a Monday evening. Today we got back "on plan" after a few weeks of disruption (not least because of my recent months of training for a run). It was hard after too long a break, but fun!

Janathon '19 day 6: putting up furniture

2019-01-06T22:53:43Z

Everyone in my family, it seems, is demanding a new bed. Today was the day that two such demands were met. An Ikea trip yesterday meant we returned home with a "day bed" in the back of the car, but a bunk bed in the room it was meant for. So today I have:

Janathon '19 day 5: looking up

2019-01-05T23:53:45Z

Today started pretty badly; nothing was really wrong, but I was feeling pretty low. First world problems really, though, as I am still healthy and have somewhere warm to live etc.

Janathon '19 day 4: rest, mostly

2019-01-04T22:49:32Z

Ok I did walk about 3 miles including commuting etc, but really it has been something of an enforced rest day. I seem to have hurt my foot running (this started mid December but has been getting worse), and I've also pulled something in my neck or shoulder. This put running, weights and swimming out of reach: annoying.

Janathon '19 day 3: cross country

2019-01-03T23:14:53Z

A lunchtime run was my poison of choice today. Working in Rickmansworth which is blessed with a splendid aquadrome and canal, this seemed like the ideal option. I couldn't decide on a route so basically "winged it", just setting off to see where I ended up. It was cold but pretty, and my eventual route took me down the canal and across hills. I went about 5.3 miles in the end, and had a very pleasant time.

Janathon '19 day 2: more running (and yoga)

2019-01-02T23:35:42Z

I was back at work today, but the kids were still on their last stand before school. So an early run seemed like the thing! Today was a slightly hillier version of yesterday's run, about 2.3 miles with a small hill. Again, it was lovely to be out in the countryside, and I found my work day went better as a result.

Janathon '19 day 1: easy run

2019-01-01T23:07:56Z

I wasn't sure whether I was going to be back here this year, but looks like I am! The last couple of months have been pretty active as I was training for a 10 mile run on Sunday. That went well-ish, and now I'm keen to keep up the momentum. I was going to go the Facebook post route, but these days I'm actually a bit anti-FB so felt going old-skool wasn't such a daft idea...

Juneathon '18 day 30 - finished!

2018-06-30T22:20:21Z

Am I talking about Juneathon or my training this morning? Both, it turns out! But before I go into that, first here's a quick overview.

Juneathon '18 day 29 - weights

2018-06-30T06:20:43Z

Commuting takes up such a lot of time! Going in today was brilliant: a five minute head-start got us there a good 25 minutes earlier than normal. Coming back, though, was disastrous: a few accidents on the M4 meant massive detours and an overall time of not far short of two hours. So again, at least 2.5 hours spend driving. Yuk!

Juneathon '18 day 28 - barely

2018-06-29T05:47:58Z

Clinging in there for the last few days. There was too much going on with commute and family to manage much: all I can claim is to have managed about 7,000 steps and an emergency 35 press-ups to get me through. Hopefully Friday will be better!

Juneathon ’18 day 27 – ... and repeat

2018-06-27T22:04:44Z

Much like yesterday, however a combination of luck and setting off 10 minutes earlier made the commute a bit shorter. Today I've only spent about 2.5 hours driving rather than 3.5 yesterday.

Juneathon '18 day 26 - Groundhog day

2018-06-27T22:01:27Z

Nasty commute to Theale, day's work, nasty commute back. Then an hour of yoga - an excellent antidote to vehicular stress! This is roughly how my days are going to look until the end of next week. I'm lucky to not have a bad commute normally, so this is a useful reminder to me of how generally lucky I am!

Juneathon '18 day 25 - driving, plus...

2018-06-25T21:43:21Z

Driving is something I've done a lot of today. My son started two weeks of work experience today, based in Theale. Guess who has to get him there and back from Amersham? That's right. Then, while he was there, I was working in Bracknell. Add in some awful M4 traffic and you get the idea. I'm thinking perhaps 3.5 hours?

Juneathon '18 day 24 - ordeal

2018-06-24T21:42:36Z

Training this evening was rather knocked out by finally getting round to booking our summer holidays. I'm now feeling a great deal poorer than I was earlier, but rather less anxious on the subject!

Juneathon '18 day 23 - weights and a run

2018-06-23T21:11:43Z

We made a pilgrimage up to see my parents-in-law today, who live fairly near Cambridge. Knowing there would be scant chance for a decent Juneathon performance while I was up there, I went for an early stint to get it out the way. First off came a 45-minute weights session. Short and sharp was how I was thinking: squats (maxing at 5 sets of 77.5Kg x 5), overhead press (ending with 5 sets of 40Kg x 5) and deadlift (67.5Kg x 6). I haven't been doing deadlifts for a while so I'm breaking myself back in gently. The finisher was 3 sets of chin-ups, to try to develop the back muscles from yesterday's swim.

Juneathon '18 day 22 - windows 95!

2018-06-22T22:13:10Z

Today has been splendid. I've walked a fair old way (just over 14,000 steps right now), partly because I managed to work somewhere a decent walking distance from home, and had a quick lunch outing. Heading down, the sun was out, the sky was blue with just a spotting of clouds, and it looked extremely reminiscent of the old Windows 95 home screen!

Juneathon '18 day 21 - international yoga day

2018-06-22T08:14:28Z

Who knew it was the solstice today? Not me! However, I did manage to get to a yoga class - my third this week, for the win! It was a touch cooler than it has been earlier in the week, making it rather more pleasant. I can definitely feel my body getting more flexible as I keep on doing it. It's only been in the last few weeks that I've been able to consistently get my fingers to touch behind my back on both sides, with one arm going up my back and the other with a high elbow coming down from above. Actually shutting up my inner voice for an hour is the best bit, though.

Juneathon '18 day 20 - run and yoga

2018-06-20T21:11:01Z

I was out all day in work meetings. That's not especially conducive to training, it turns out. However, when I got home Ellie suggested a run, and who am I to disagree! So out we headed, this time for a route of about 2.2 miles, at an average 9:45/mile pace. Very hot it was, but good!

Juneathon '18 day 19 - weights and yoga

2018-06-19T21:35:05Z

Not quite what I expected, this one. I had been thinking a run would be a good thing to get me going after staying up a bit late helping one of the kids with some homework. However, my work threw that slightly, and so it was that at the end of the work day nothing much had happened. So I headed down to our little room at the end of the garden and did some weights. Just the basics - bench press (peaking at 52.5Kg), tricep dips with the TRX, bicep curls (about 18Kg?) and (first time for ages) a Romanian deadlift (hitting 62.5Kg). Oh, and 75 kettlebell swings (20Kg).

Juneathon '18 day 18 - less is more

2018-06-18T20:33:48Z

I'm noticing a pattern emerging. Ellie is keen to up her running levels, and likes a little 2-mile-ish loop we've got going down in the Old Town. So, if she's up for a run, that's been proving a pretty solid Juneathon entry. Did the trick today, that's for sure.

Juneathon '18 day 17 - more than seventeen seconds

2018-06-17T20:38:21Z

When I was younger I really liked The Cure, and seeing the excellent album "Seventeen Seconds" mentioned cheered me up. Keep an eye out for the odd song reference...

Juneathon '18 day 16 - mixed bag

2018-06-16T22:21:09Z

Well, the exercise bit went alright, which is something. A quick weights session in the morning, ran down to the Old Town for some coffee and then took our 10yo out for a little bike ride. Nothing earth-shattering, but just about hit the spot. The picture is of the weights breakdown.

Juneathon '18 day 15 - double run

2018-06-15T19:22:11Z

So yesterday I had to resort to token press-ups, while today I manage two separate runs! I wasn't sure how the day was going to pan out, and so grabbed the opportunity to head out for a quick run in the morning. It was quite hilly in the end, going for a circuit including Amersham on the Hill and Old Amersham, coming back up the footpath towards Hervines Park. Then, later on, Ellie was also up for a run in the evening so we managed to fit in another 1.7 miles or so round the Old Town. That's a total of 4.3 miles: result!

Juneathon '18 day 14 - slightly token effort

2018-06-15T07:54:05Z

Thursdays can be tricky! My day was knocked out by a work trip into London (at the Hurlingham Club no less, don't you know!), and then the evening was swamped by brownie trips and then orchestra. After at least two "minimalist" nights of sleep, I just needed to get to bed! And so it was that I cracked out my token 25 press-ups. Friday will be better, I promise!

Juneathon '18 day 13 - early outing

2018-06-13T22:45:09Z

I don't remember quite how the idea of a morning run came up, but I'm glad it did. After the kids were on their way to school, Ellie and I headed out for a quick run outing in the Old Town. It was pretty warm, and the second half was distinctly faster than the first; Ellie turned round to head back shortly before we reached the point I was aiming at, so I thought I'd just do the extra bit and then catch her up. Turns out that's easier said than done! So my first mile was at 9:34 pace, and the second was 7:35 (with a last 0.1 at 7:19). Hot work!

Juneathon '18 day 12 - yoga

2018-06-12T22:40:38Z

I'd been hoping to do a bit more, but unfortunately work had other ideas. So my day 12 featured an hour of yoga, an early start and a late night.Boo!

Juneathon '18 day 11 - mixing it up

2018-06-12T00:14:33Z

Quite often on Mondays, my friend Holger and I do some weights. Today we did train, but mixed things up a bit for a change. We started off with some interval training, doing kettlebell swings (28kg ... ouch) and slamballs (10kg) - 1 minute on each, 15 seconds break, alternating so we each did 4 of both exercises. The slamball was rather fun, so after some other intervals we tried playing "slamball catch", this time with a 5kg ball. It was surprisingly cardio, and especially as we got further apart I wasn't sure whether it was harder to throw or catch...

Juneathon '18 day 10 - Amersham run

2018-06-10T21:45:44Z

We were invited to a rather splendid barbecue today. I ate more than was probably good for me, and it was all delicious. The hosts and guests were all good company too, making it a very enjoyable day overall.

Juneathon '18 day 9 - woeful wifi

2018-06-09T22:01:59Z

Last night it was pointed out by my kids that our wifi had gone wonky. Obviously this is a catastrophe, and so it was that I ended up dealing with family IT support woes until about 1:30AM trying to make it work. I then resumed it this morning (after an early start / Tesco visit), and went straight on to have a pretty busy day including buying a suit for my 16yo. (Having a school prom coming up after GCSEs turns out to be quite a motivator.)

Juneathon '18 day 8 - up past Shardeloes

2018-06-08T23:57:57Z

Selfie

Juneathon '18 day 7 - easy run

2018-06-07T22:53:42Z

Thursdays are always busy - I play the flute, and orchestra rehearsals are on Thursday evenings. Our youngest also has Brownies, and Ellie is teaching yoga. That's enough to keep anyone busy. It's also been extra-full-on due to having to try to sort out some woes with the PPLPRS organisation (but that's another story).

PPLPRS, a rant: fine concept, useless execution.

2018-06-07T09:38:22Z

Broken record photo by Flickr user williamkunz

Juneathon '18 day 6 - yoga

2018-06-06T21:51:07Z

... again, yoga. It's been one of those days which has only really included preparation, work and home. This evening, thankfully, I was booked on to another yoga class with Ellie. Another hour of yoga ensued, which I enjoyed greatly. It's been pretty strong this week, with quite a few balances and so on. Fun!

Juneathon '18 day 5 - yoga and a walk (oh, and Tesco)

2018-06-05T21:54:06Z

What with it being dry and everything, a bit of a walk around Rickmansworth seemed just the ticket for this lunchtime. So out I headed, for a brisk circuit touching the river and town. A great way to clear my head of work! Adding in the walk to and from work, I'm standing at about 12,000 steps right now.

Juneathon '18 day 4 - weights

2018-06-04T22:03:04Z

I felt pretty good after yesterday's triathlon, all things considered. However, I realised my legs are still sore, so thought I'd better give them a break! The obvious answer: some upper body weights.

Juneathon '18 day 3 - Blenheim Triathlon

2018-06-03T20:32:23Z

My friend Sarah and I did a sprint triathlon at Blenheim today, with some family and friends there to support us. Sitting here now in the cool writing this post, the main word in my mind is "hot". It was absolutely scorching!

Juneathon '18 day 2 - tapering

2018-06-03T06:04:24Z

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. Sunday is my triathlon at Blenheim, and I thought it would be daft to try to do too much. So instead I've been rushing around getting ready, managing about 10K steps. I did, however, have a quick outing on the bike: my 10yo was DESPERATE to have a ride, and it would have been churlish to have let her down! So that's about 3 miles on the bike too.

Juneathon '18 day 1 - walk and swim

2018-06-01T22:45:44Z

Gosh, is it June already? Wow, in that case - let's DO THIS!

Finally! Oracle SQL Developer working on HiDPI linux

2017-12-05T16:41:37Z

Not my usual subject on this blog, but I'm just SO EXCITED! For the last year or more I've been relying on a nasty hack to make SQL Developer bearable on a linux HiDPI display. With a few simple updates, I can now get something genuinely usable!!

Shameless plug #2 - rebranding of Ellie Denman Yoga

2017-03-23T23:18:53Z

In my capacity as part-time CIO of the HSL (Hodson Support Line), I occasionally involve myself in the running of websites around the family. One such website is that of Mrs H previously aka Yoga By Ellie, now known as Ellie Denman Yoga! We've bought her a new domain name (https://elliedenman.yoga), and have moved the site over. The content is much the same, talking about her yoga classes in Amersham, for adults and teenagers. Another perk of my position is of course that I get to go to a couple of classes a week, which I have to say I absolutely love - hence this shameless plug!

Janathon '17 day 10 - yoga

2017-01-11T18:59:07Z

My plans to do some weights failed due to lack of time. However an hour of yoga went down very well: back bends. Oh yeah.

Janathon '17 day 9 - shoe leather, mainly

2017-01-10T00:01:30Z

Busy day, short post. Ok, no weights or anything, but I did at least manage to get over 11,000 steps in through the day. I have higher hopes for tomorrow...

Janathon '17 day 8 - heavy bits of metal

2017-01-09T23:59:19Z

Back in Amersham after a weekend away, time was limited. So I went for the classic choice: about an hour of lifting heavy bits of metal. We're talking squats, bench presses and bent-over rows - I'm roughly following the so-called StrongLifts 5x5, mainly as I've had decent success with it in the past.

Janathon '17 day 7 - consistency is key

2017-01-07T22:22:21Z

Family commitments have rather taken their toll on today. I've spent more than 3 hours driving, and eaten quite a lot of cake and lasagne, if that counts. In Janathon terms, all I can really claim is just over 9,000 steps plus a token 25 press-ups. That's consistently something, right?

Janathon '17 day 6 - lifting bits of metal

2017-01-07T21:00:58Z

Time being at a premium, day 6 was sneakily squeezed in around other activities. The three main features were:

Janathon '17 day 5 - they don't call it a festival of activity and excuses for nothing!

2017-01-06T10:13:38Z

With a busy work day on the cards and an outing in the evening (a very enjoyable birthday gathering, but I digress), I knew that there wouldn't be much specific exercise going on. Therefore I had to depend on fitting in some general activity between other things, namely walking and running. The main run was a quick sprint to the station to get a train home - as they say, necessity is the mother of invention... So the day's total was just the right side of 11,000 steps at the final count. That'll have to do; they don't call it a festival of activity and excuses for nothing!

Janathon '17 day 4 - one extreme to another

2017-01-04T22:53:12Z

Most days, just the walks between home, station and office mean that I can manage 10,000 steps per day without especially trying. Today, though: no. Due to a child-related incident (of the kind where, unlike their older siblings, you take them to school and notice a distinct absence of other children), I found myself working at home. I didn't actually leave our plot of land until about 5pm and even now haven't even hit 6,000 steps. So, productive for work but not very active.

Janathon '17 day 3 - yoga

2017-01-04T08:49:46Z

To complement the previous day's weights, day 3 featured an hour of yoga with Mrs H - a definite perk of being married to a yoga teacher! It was a fairly strong, mixed class, introducing some new back bends I haven't tried before. It certainly felt good being back on the mat: as it turns out, yoga is one of the few things that can turn off the constant chatter going on in my head. I'd recommend it as much for the mental benefits as the physical, but do also note with interest that I've never before been able to properly touch my toes...

Janathon '17 day 2 - fast and heavy

2017-01-02T22:19:20Z

The title refers to today's two main activities. In the morning, Mrs H suggested we try out the Bodycoach Facebook Live HIIT session. 20 minutes, hard work! Recommended, we'll be doing it again in 2 days...

Janathon '17 day 1 - just about...

2017-01-01T22:45:09Z

Can't believe it is 2017 already! Wow. And so another year of Janathon. Cool!

Janathon '16 day 31: game over!

2016-02-01T09:42:42Z

Last day, woo hoo! Janathon has actually been very helpful for me this year. I've really enjoyed following a number of my fellow Janathoners' blogs through the month, and have also done better on the exercise front than I would otherwise have done, of that I'm sure. In addition, though, it has kicked off the thought process of goal-setting, and I realise that this year I want to:

Janathon '16 day 30: road trip

2016-01-31T20:03:26Z

My Dad has a big birthday around now, so Saturday was a bit of a crazy whistle-stop ride down to near Bath and back in a day for his birthday party. The party itself was at the rather nice venue of Tracy Park, between Bath and Bristol. Loads of family were there - in fact it was actually the first time that our three kids had been together in the same room as their two young cousins!

Janathon '16 day 29: double challenge

2016-01-29T22:43:37Z

What a day. After making it to evening, I just about managed to head out for a wet, windy 1.5 mile run round Amersham. I wasn't feeling great, so for once took the sensible option and headed back early.

Janathon '16 day 28: PT

2016-01-29T19:02:48Z

This is going to be quick! After a rather work-heavy day, I rounded things off with our pairs PT session, moved from Friday. As my shoulder has been a bit achy, this one was LEG DAY. Ouch! We mainly did deadlifts, squats and Bulgarian squats. Darrell took some pics which I have included here. Time is short so that's all for now, folks!

Janathon '16 day 27: pairs PT and yoga (and ow)

2016-01-27T23:15:24Z

Today started with a pretty strong weights session in my pairs PT that is usually on a Friday. The only problem was that while chest-pressing some 17Kg dumbbells, my left arm/shoulder failed in a way that was a) a bit painful and b) ended up with the weight whacking my hip. Annoying - owwww!

Janathon '16 day 26: delicious yoga

2016-01-26T23:04:55Z

I've been out with work meetings today, but luckily had a yoga class booked this evening with YogaByEllie. Result: it was delicious, and I'm now feelin' gooooood! My step count is a bit dismal (5-6 thousand ish), but I'm not letting that affect my mood, that's for sure.

Janathon '16 day 25: hobbling around!

2016-01-25T22:22:44Z

It all hurts rather today! For a start, I bought new shoes over the weekend, and as it turns out they need a bit of wearing in. Worse, though, I'm aching quite a lot from yesterday - the run was quite literally a step too far.

Janathon '16 day 24: rather over-the-top

2016-01-25T09:55:15Z

My cycling club, the ARCC, has outings on Sunday mornings. I don't manage many of them due to family commitments - rides knock out half the day, typically, and that's quite a big "ask" for Mrs H. However I do go out periodically, and with dry weather forecast, this was my day.

Janathon '16 day 23: exercise by proxy

2016-01-23T23:31:17Z

Today has been full-on! Mrs H was out doing circuits this morning, and our oldest was on the footie, and then our littlest had a school cross country event at Hervines Park in Amersham! As it turned out, hers was actually the earliest, so she and I traipsed over to the park ready for some action. It was cold and very muddy, but we were dressed for it so that was fine. We also bumped into some Wild Training folks down there, which was a nice surprise.

Janathon '16 day 22: lunchtime work-out

2016-01-22T23:29:57Z

Friday, but not like normal Fridays... I would usually have a "pairs PT" session in the morning, but our trainer was tied up with some kind of franchise meeting so we had to reschedule. Instead, I took my gym stuff into work with fingers crossed.

Janathon '16 day 21: Metafit, and ...

2016-01-22T13:24:21Z

A lunch outing saw me slink off again to Bodycoach for a quick Metafit session. It was pretty tough today! Each set was as follows:

Janathon '16 day 20: an answer to the cold

2016-01-21T17:37:47Z

My plans for a lunchtime workout might have failed due to a work deadline, but I still managed my evening yoga session thankfully. It may have been very cold outside, but the yoga was distinctly warming, with some pretty serious squats, planks and balances to challenge my body and distract my mind. Brilliant!

Janathon '16 day 19: mixing it

2016-01-20T09:37:38Z

Annoyingly, I seem to have developed some heel pain on my left foot. I'm not sure if it is just a bruise or something more serious, but it does rather limit my running options. However two of my other regular activities seem unaffected, and I managed both of them today. Yay!

Janathon '16 day 17/18: oh, the glamour

2016-01-18T22:55:50Z

Sunday was a catastrophic fail. We were out a fair chunk of the day, and I wanted to get an early night to get my mood and eating back on top. So "rest day" it was - but the night certainly wasn't! Our burglar alarm took the opportunity to develop a fault and go off 5 times between 4 and 6 - not quite what I had been hoping for! (Or our neighbours, I'm guessing...)

Janathon '16 day 15/16: lifting

2016-01-17T19:11:46Z

But not the kind of lifting I ought to have been doing, mostly. Friday started alright with pairs PT activity - boxing training followed by quite a lot of assorted weights, which I enjoyed. Overall I did just over 12,000 steps too. It all went a bit downhill from there, though...

Janathon '16 day 14: usurped

2016-01-15T09:42:33Z

Another day of things being kicked into touch by other things... A lunchtime Metafit was out of the question as work is rather mental at the moment. Then my plans for an evening run were also knocked out getting my 12yo packed for Guide camp on Friday. All I can really claim, therefore, is to have managed a generally fairly active day (for someone who has a desk-bound job, at least) with about 9,700 steps. Oh, and a token 30 press-ups to round it off...

Janathon '16 day 13: lots of fun!

2016-01-14T08:15:15Z

Work is very busy at the moment, so by lunchtime I was in urgent need of a little break. Down to Bodycoach gym in Rickmansworth I headed, slightly undecided as to what I was going to do. In the end I spent a bit of time on the upper body, did a warm-up on the treadmill and headed out for a quick run round the aquadrome. With time short, I thought, I would aim at short and sharp rather than long and ponderous. I ran 2.2 miles in the end, averaging a 9:14 pace, but with the last 0.2 miles more like 8.

Janathon '16 day 12: closer to plans

2016-01-13T09:25:56Z

While it could have so easily gone the same way as Monday, this day went much better! Metafit worked out well, and I even managed to top it off with some upper-body exercises afterwards. Then, in the evening I had a really enjoyable hour of yoga with YogaByEllie - just what was required after all the squats of earlier!

Janathon '16 day 11: bother!

2016-01-12T08:33:23Z

So I hauled my gym kit in to work in preparation for Metafit at lunch - as well as a big bag of books for the charity shop. But life had other plans, it turns out; some work stuff came up, and next thing I knew, I had completely missed the class.

Janathon '16 day 10: constraints

2016-01-11T09:30:40Z

Well, after going to Bath on Saturday morning, we returned on Saturday afternoon. Then the 14yo returned from a weekend of scout water activities, and after the usual round of de-mudding and general tidy-up it was time for the weekend end-game! So not a huge amount of Janathon activities took place. The best I can claim is that I ran into town at one point, but in fairness we did walk quite a lot in Bath too, I suppose. I didn't quite hit my 13,000 step daily goal but wasn't all that far off.

Janathon '16 day 9: run (and Strava fail)

2016-01-09T22:30:06Z

With a family gathering today, there wasn't all that much chance to get out and exercise. Thankfully, I did manage to get out for a late morning run - about 3.6 miles ish around Amersham. Unfortunately, Strava had a bit of a strop in the middle, so I can't be sure about the pace and distance unless I actually measure it out somehow...

Janathon '16 day 8: pairs PT

2016-01-09T00:02:04Z

Today has been extremely busy. Which is a good thing; I tend to work at my best when there's lots going on and the pressure is mounting. While it didn't leave time for any training at lunchtime, luckily it is Friday - pairs PT day! So in fact my main activities were out of the way by 8:30 this morning. And I even managed to get some photos for once!

Janathon '16 day 7: "rest day"

2016-01-08T00:13:28Z

Thursday was not going to be a rest day; I took my kit to work ready for Metafit at lunch, and was planning to go for it. However, two problems came up:

Janathon '16 day 6: triple play

2016-01-06T22:46:34Z

That was fun! But time is short, so here's the potted summary:

Janathon '16 day 5: metafit and yoga

2016-01-05T23:15:00Z

Another day, another Metafit class in Rickmansworth at lunch. For some reason, this one was heaving; before today, the largest class I have attended stood at about 5 people ish, but today there were a full 10 of us. The weather was good, the exercise gruelling but only about 30 minutes, so all told it was a winner!

Janathon '16 day 4: metafit

2016-01-04T23:30:45Z

Running was out today. But, metafit was back on the normal timetable at the Bodycoach gym in Rickmansworth, and a plan was forming.

Janathon '16 day 3: round the block

2016-01-03T23:32:34Z

All limbs felt recovered today, and Mrs H was up for it too, so today we headed out for a little 3.6 mile loop around Amersham. It felt quite hard but I was happy with the pace, overall (10:06/mi ish, apparently). And we timed it well to (mostly) miss the rain. Conveniently, our return home took us not far from the local Harris + Hoole, which we felt obliged to check out briefly.

Janathon '16 day 2: a new concept (2)

2016-01-02T22:51:42Z

I avoided running today because my knee is feeling just a bit sore. So instead, my friend kindly let me have a go on his Concept 2 rowing machine. I realised, as I was rowing, that I hadn't actually picked the most knee-friendly option, but all worked out in the end! I managed to bash out a 3km row in 11:58, which I was happy with under the circumstances. Then, what with my friend's weights all around me, it seemed only sensible to round the job off with some bicep curls and tricep dips. Post-Christmas back-on-it has to start somewhere!

Janathon '16 day 1: a run and an experiment

2016-01-01T23:35:30Z

A successful start to Janathon! My wife and I took an opportunity around lunch time to head out for a quick run around Amersham, clocking up around 3.5 miles. It was cold but at least the rain held off; can't complain about that!

Preparing for the new year: Janathon '16

2015-12-31T17:49:25Z

Well, 2016, you sure crept up on me stealthily! I'm not going to complain, though: 2015 was a pretty tough year, all told, and I won't be weeping tears of sorrow on its passing. So - what better way to turn things round and prepare for the new year than to sign up for Janathon? A month of fitness, blogging and sharing, cheered on by a supportive crowd of other Janathoners.

Juneathon day 18/19: excuses!

2015-06-20T08:53:42Z

Not much to say. The last few days have been a general wash-out, given the health events that have overtaken the family. I've managed a token plank (day 18) and some press-ups (day 19) to just about meet the spirit of Juneathon. It has been completely right to prioritise health above exercise, though, so I have no regrets.

Juneathon day 17: illness

2015-06-18T21:56:15Z

When health problems come up, other things tend to take a bit of a back seat. That's where we are at the moment. I'm just about ticking the boxes with a token plank of just over a minute, but circumstances haven't allowed me to get out for a run or indeed any other kind of exercise (apart from a bit of walking). Hopefully things will settle back down soon, but until then, my options are a bit limited. Definitely the right thing to do, though.

Juneathon day 16: the futility of planning

2015-06-17T19:16:11Z

With the best will in the world, things don't always go to plan. We have had some illness in the family that has distinctly thrown a spanner in the works. Grand plans for Tuesday ended up being watered down to a rather token 30 press-ups.

Juneathon day 15: back to normality

2015-06-15T22:05:20Z

Well, this morning Mrs H and I managed to pop out for a quick early run once the kids were dropped at school. We did about 30 mins ish of gentle jogging/walking, probably a couple of miles ish. My legs were a bit sore after yesterday, so this felt like a nice kind of level to maintain sanity. Then we might have ended up in The Grocer at 91, as I would advise any one local to also do...

Juneathon day 14: Windsor triathlon

2015-06-15T14:04:53Z

The big day arrived! After a hideously early start (setting off at 5:15), and heavy triathlon traffic at the other end, we were there and ready to go. Time was a bit short, so it wasn't all that long before Karen was jumping in the Thames to get the ball rolling. Once she had set off, Holger and I wondered around a bit to get the lay of the land, then I went to meet Karen after her 1.5km swim.

Juneathon day 13: "tapering"

2015-06-13T21:27:38Z

With the Windsor Triathlon tomorrow, I didn't want to do much today, to give my body some rest. So apart from marching around a lot, it's been pretty quiet. We went to register in Windsor and check out the lie of the land, which was useful. Now, though: time for bed, as we are leaving at 5:15... I've walked over 6 miles, so will have to leave it at that on the Juneathon front!

Juneathon day 12: attacking the hill fort

2015-06-12T22:16:07Z

Friday is pairs PT day, which conveniently ticked off my Juneathon requirements by 8:05 this morning, featuring some pretty comprehensive arm work, mainly. After that, I hared it back to our place and got changed, then we took the kids to school and went over to ...

Juneathon day 11: just squashed in

2015-06-12T05:21:05Z

There wasn't a minute spare yesterday, and the usual evening exercise slot was knocked out by our youngest daughter being inducted into Brownies. This entailed a ceremony in a private woods near Chesham, and the eating of burgers. So there hasn't been much in the way of specific exercise.

Juneathon day 10: run and yoga, not necessarily in that order

2015-06-10T23:24:59Z

This coming Sunday, some friends and I are participating in the Windsor Triathlon, in particular the Olympic distance relay. I'm down for the 10K run at the end, but my training hasn't been going especially well: it is in only 4 days, and I haven't actually run 10K in really quite some months! So today I wanted to do a run that would at least put my mind at rest that I could have a good shot at it, without being too troubled with injuries etc.

Juneathon day 9: last-minute

2015-06-10T08:27:02Z

My grand plan for the day featured a run in the evening. Reality set in, though, when at 11PM I realised I still needed to do a sprint round Tesco. Revising my thinking, I ended up with:

Juneathon day 8: keeping it simple

2015-06-08T21:43:03Z

Still tired from yesterday, and busy at work: what to do? Well, today, I kept it simple: a quick run around Ricky. Apparently it was 3.3 miles, and I wasn't going fast since I'm trying to prepare for 10K on Sunday and will need to be gentle!

Juneathon day 7: bike!

2015-06-07T22:36:14Z

A couple of weeks ago, I attempted an introductory ride with the Amersham Road Cycling Club. Unfortunately, my plans were thwarted very early, when about 10 minutes in to the ride my chain snapped spectacularly, knocking out my rear gears. Today I managed my first proper ride, though, and it was really good fun!

Juneathon day 6: various ways to rush...

2015-06-06T23:36:09Z

A fairly varied day, really. This morning, I took the girls to see Mrs H doing the "Color Obstacle Rush" at Dorney Lake. Timing meant that we were in a bit of a rush ourselves (getting packed is always a challenge) so had to leg it to see them set off! The day was then rather disjointed until I slipped out for a rather rushed, short run this evening - about 2 miles ish including a walking warm-up, so nothing record-breaking, but I didn't want to over-do it given my plans for tomorrow...

Juneathon day 5: "rest day"... (I wish)

2015-06-06T00:10:48Z

We have three kids between 7 and 13, and they each do different activities on a Friday. It can get rather complicated! Despite not formally "doing some exercise" today, I've still managed to walk just under 13,000 steps / 6 miles (mostly dashing to swimming, or round the shops, or whatever). Then we had friends round for dinner, which was very pleasant.

Juneathon day 4: a bit extreme!

2015-06-04T22:23:24Z

I usually have a pairs PT session on a Friday morning, however this week we had to bump it to Thursday - today. With the weather being so utterly beautiful, we decided to cycle the 6-ish miles to Deep Mill where we train, which was a delight.

Juneathon day 3: yoga!

2015-06-03T22:07:58Z

With another full day on site with a client, Juneathon options have been limited. A horrendously late night last night hasn't helped matters either! However, current logistics often allow me to head over to a blissful yoga session with Yoga By Ellie, aka Mrs H, and this evening was one of those!

Juneathon day 2: lucky I got it in early...

2015-06-03T00:00:19Z

I was hoping to manage a run today, but decided to do an early weights session anyway, with my friend Holger. Starting around 6:30AM (fools), we worked mainly on chest and back, with sets of bench presses, flys and so on, for about 45 minutes.

Juneathon day 1: let's do this thing!

2015-06-01T22:11:40Z

It's late, and I've an early start tomorrow, so let's keep this quick! I managed a quick lunchtime run at work in Rickmansworth - not sure the distance of 3 miles on Strava is right, but hey! Then, this evening, I had an hour of Wild Training in Hervines Park, Amersham. Apparently, according to my FitBit, I've done nearly 9 miles, but more than half of that will have been walking. So - day 1, tick!

A short and shameless plug for Mrs H's new YogaByEllie website!

2015-03-11T16:02:49Z

The Ellie behind Yoga By Ellie!

Janathon day 31: all over, in more ways than one...

2015-01-31T21:32:02Z

I am a broken man. The combination of minimal sleep over the last few days, plus yesterday's upper-body workout, has left me absolutely shattered! You know that thing when you become run-down, and start getting colds, headaches, delirium etc? That.

Janathon day 30: a pair of pairs...

2015-01-31T21:23:59Z

Friday is pairs PT day. Last Friday wasn't, though, due to illness, so in fact this week there has been a pair of pairs PT sessions. The first one, on Monday, concentrated on legs, so today was mainly working on the upper body. It was very hard!

Janathon day 29: getting there

2015-01-29T22:48:34Z

I had to work at home today as we had so many shipments coming. Our oldest has a trip to Germany with his school tomorrow, with a "stupid o'clock" start time, so we needed to make sure everything could be signed for. With limited time, all I was able to fit in was an unexpected walk to run some errands in the afternoon. Given I've been home, 4.5 miles seems a pretty good effort!

Janathon day 28: saved by Wild Training

2015-01-29T22:35:01Z

My plans are rather falling apart here as we near the end of Janathon, so thank goodness that Wild Training was scheduled in! A freezing cold one, it was, but enjoyable (even if I couldn't feel my toes by the end).

Janathon day 27: clinging on!

2015-01-28T17:03:39Z

So many things to do by the end of the month! My main planned Janathon activity was to have been a yoga class, but circumstances didn't turn out as expected, sadly, so I had to resort to a set of press-ups and some extra walking (just over 4.5 miles in the end).

Janathon day 26: legs!

2015-01-26T10:24:16Z

Result! My regular Friday morning pairs PT session was cancelled last week as the trainer was ill: we managed to reorganise it for this morning! This is therefore a "two sessions" week, so this morning we concentrated entirely on legs.

Janathon day 25: payback

2015-01-25T22:36:49Z

That'll be payback for being out most of the day yesterday... There has been a lot of catching up today, very little of which counts as exercise. All I can really claim, and this will have to do, is about half an hour of yoga with Mrs H as she tried out her new class plan on me. Now I just crave the peace of sleep, so that's where I'm going. So, until tomorrow...

Janathon day 24: concert

2015-01-24T23:16:45Z

Today has basically been a music day. OK, this morning was spent briefly helping out Mrs H plan a yoga event by checking out some possible local venues, but once lunch was done, it has been rehearsals and concerts all the way.

Janathon day 23: shattered

2015-01-23T22:25:53Z

The week has caught up with me: I'm completely exhausted.

Janathon day 22: short and sharp

2015-01-23T16:41:50Z

... and that's the write-up, not just the exercise! With a parent's evening and orchestra rehearsal after work, options were severely limited. Again I had to resort to some substantial walking (15,177 steps / 7.05 miles - which did include the odd run to the station etc). I also managed to bash out a final 30 press-ups to round things off... I would have liked to do more, but hey, that's life right?

Janathon day 21: chilling in the park

2015-01-22T11:08:45Z

Very busy, so keeping this brief! After much juggling (hockey lifts, Mrs H on circuits etc), I managed to just have time to run to Wild Training at a nippy Hervines Park, do the set there (resistance bands in all sorts of awful ways) then run back. Final score: 13,814 steps/6.5 miles over the day according to my FitBit; and a full set of achy muscles!

Janathon day 20: yoga!

2015-01-20T23:05:18Z

There were plans; I was going to be back on Wild Training, followed by a yoga class. But plans change, and this time it was the Wild that took the bosh. However, all wasn't lost, as the yoga still went very nicely, thank you! Probably a rest wasn't a bad plan, either, as I'm still a bit achy from yesterday... And I can't complain despite the cold, since the class was in our room with underfloor heating. This is very much preferable to the ideas I've been reading on other Janathon blogs involving outdoor yoga..!

Janathon day 19: stepping it back up a bit

2015-01-20T10:09:43Z

Active day

Janathon day 18: it took a computer to recognise my dilemma!

2015-01-18T22:48:29Z

Or, more accurately, it took Google Play Music All Access, which I find myself listening to more and more these days. It has been day 2 of our penultimate "yoga weekend", with Mrs H out since late morning on her course, and a rather full day for me and the kids in her absence. This meant that basically every minute had been accounted for, pretty well from waking up to this minute! We had made it through hockey tournaments in Stowe, and orchestra practice in Amersham; practice and homework were (mostly) done, dinner cooked, eaten and washed up; and food order placed. But there were a few emergency items still to collect, hence the emergency shopping trip, and me starting this blog post as I walk back from Tesco!

Janathon day 17: "recovery day"

2015-01-17T23:07:35Z

This post might alternatively have been titled "emergency press-ups". Mrs H left at 7:50 ish this morning, back at 8PM; she had one of her last yoga teacher training days at Yoga Junction in Crouch End. So it was me "home alone" with the three kids, without much chance to get out for some training.

Janathon day 16: looking in the mirror...

2015-01-17T10:54:08Z

It's 7:30 on Friday morning, it's ... pairs PT time! Woo, yeah. Today, upper-body strength was the name of the game, with all manner of bench presses, dips, curls and what have you! There was some excellent shoulder work too, with weighted flies in different directions. An hour of that was a most invigorating start to the day.

Janathon day 15: emergency press-ups and a plank

2015-01-15T22:48:18Z

Given last night's horribly short sleep, today has actually been alright, albeit a bit busy. I basically haven't stopped between 6:50 when I got up and now, so wasn't able to fit much in. On the plus side, orchestra was fun this evening. We have a concert next weekend with the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra in Amersham if you're interested!

Janathon day 14: busy day, and a run

2015-01-15T10:54:37Z

Too much to do, not enough time! I did manage a run, though - a sneaky 4.4 miles round Amersham in the evening. It was cold and wet, and felt rather hard without being fast, but I'm glad to have actually made it out!

Janathon day 13: Amersham yogathlon!

2015-01-13T23:07:33Z

Glorious morning walking to work, beautiful day ... then lunchtime brought thick, dark clouds and nasty cold rain. With work pressing in on me too, I had to give my idea of a lunchtime run a miss. Shame!

Janathon day 12: evening outdoor exercise class

2015-01-12T23:50:59Z

Another full-on day, but luckily I managed to keep my Janathon streak going with a place at tonight's Wild Training in Amersham. This week is the first in the so-called "complex phase", which makes extensive use of elasticated bands to focus on particular muscles. The main moves were:

Janathon day 11: recovery

2015-01-11T23:23:54Z

Busy day! I've done loads, but now it is 23:20 and a run is out of the question. I've gone for the "token" option: 20 press-ups and a 1:16 plank. (I'm guessing a tax return doesn't count?).

Janathon day 10: that sandwich, finally

2015-01-10T23:28:25Z

It wasn't what I'd planned, but nonetheless today has been a good day.

Janathon day 9: morning training session

2015-01-10T00:57:38Z

This evening, our three children each had different events going on. As one of them involved packing and leaving on a winter camp, there was never going to be a lot of time for exercise between taxi and other parental duties!

Janathon day 8: nice and simple - yoga!

2015-01-08T23:46:12Z

Thursday evening is orchestra evening (the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra in Amersham), and I had an errand to run in Watford this lunchtime, so I wasn't sure where Janathon was going to fit today. Then Mrs H suggested I might like to try the yoga workout she had just prepared: she didn't have to offer twice! What a great start to the day, and I like the way that yoga helps to clear your mind; I have a few things going on that are taking a lot of mental effort, and yoga is one of the main sources of relief. Nice one, YogaByEllie!

Janathon day 7: back home...

2015-01-07T23:43:05Z

... but shattered! A long day working and travelling left little chance this evening to manage Janathon. I had hoped a yoga session might be on the books, but tomorrow now looks more likely for that.

Janathon day 6: just under the wire!

2015-01-07T02:09:53Z

Crazy busy here, working in Gloucester until Wednesday evening. A gym at the hotel, luckily! Just about managed:

Janathon day 5: finally - some running!

2015-01-05T23:40:12Z

The river in Rickmansworth

Janathon day 4: walk through the fog

2015-01-05T00:03:12Z

Sunday, the day before a week of work and school: family time. A friend had suggested a group walk in the morning, and we thought it might be fun to walk from the field below Shardeloes House up to the Red Lion in Little Missenden, and back. There were 9 of us in total, and we had a very good stroll through the fields in that direction.

Janathon day 3: an entirely new concept (2)...

2015-01-03T22:35:59Z

If you've got kids, and it's the weekend, then your day's going to be pretty busy, right? Do I get a "yes brother"? Today was one of those days.

Janathon day 2: open exercise sandwich!

2015-01-02T23:54:15Z

I had planned for today to be an "exercise sandwich".

Janathon day 1: starting 2015 with a bracing group bike ride

2015-01-01T15:42:55Z

Hello, fellow Janathoners, and welcome to 2015. May it be a great year for all of you!

Bright front bike light for less than £3? Delighted!

2014-09-05T09:40:50Z

I love a good torch! Always have, and probably always will. So when I first came across a particular type of small, bright, zoomable and extremely cheap LED torch on Amazon, I was very interested. They use a particular LED called a Cree Q5, which appears to be widely known, and are available from a number of different vendors, the cheapest of which ship the item directly from China.

Juneathon day 28: cross-country adventure around Coleshill

2014-06-29T19:27:02Z

I had two main ideas in mind when planning today's Juneathon activity. First, I've been absolutely dying to have a proper test run for the new Vibram Spyridons I bought about a week ago from Ten Point in Chesham Bois. (I really love my old Vibrams, but they are more aimed at road running with barely any tread and very thin soles through which you can feel every stone.) Secondly, I've been reading Alastair Humphrey's book "Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes"...

Juneathon day 18-27: life's rich tapestry

2014-06-28T22:07:39Z

Jog, log and blog. Well, I've mostly managed two of these, at least... I'm rather behind on the blogging, though, as basically I've been really busy with loads of other things, especially at work. All part of the rich tapestry of life though, so I'm not complaining!

Juneathon day 17: long walk

2014-06-18T21:46:00Z

Rest days are on my mind. I noticed chat about this in some of the other Juneathon blogs I follow, and feel similarly, that it is important to incorporate some level of rest into the week. So I had a very pleasant stroll round the canals of Rickmansworth over lunch, getting quite a few miles under my belt in the process.

Juneathon day 16: sun run

2014-06-18T09:25:33Z

Work has been a bit manic, so I'm doing a short and sharp catch-up of the last two days. My Juneathon activities for Monday were:

Juneathon day 15: recovery on the mat

2014-06-16T08:20:42Z

A pretty quiet day today. We had a family trip to near Cambridge, so there was limited scope for activity. The main feature was therefore about 30 minutes of yoga, trying out part of a class prepared by Mrs H with her YogaByEllie hat on for someone this week.

Juneathon day 14: Wolf Run! Did I mention it was muddy?

2014-06-15T20:47:45Z

What a lovely day! Our local exercise group had fielded a team of 7 to have a go at Wolf Run. In case you haven't come across this before, it is a 10k challenge which entails crossing various kinds of obstacles and traversing lots of muddy terrain. There are an increasing number of these events, such as Tough Mudder, the Chiltern Warrior and so on, if you are so inclined!

Juneathon day 13: pairs PT

2014-06-15T07:21:34Z

Another busy day at work, so thank goodness for my regular Friday morning pairs PT session with Holger. Knowing that I had Wolf Run tomorrow, I asked that we didn't do anything that would scupper me too badly. Somehow, therefore, we ended up doing Tabata battle ropes, Bulgarian bags, burpee variations and other hideous exercises. Then we moved on to some weight work. I'm not sure Darrell knows how to not push it..! Really enjoyed it, though.

Juneathon day 12: slipping in some yoga

2014-06-13T21:45:49Z

A long one! I spent most of the day on a train going to or returning from Huddersfield, making some proper exercise difficult. However, I did manage to get some decent walking in, going by foot from Euston to Marylebone when getting home. The lovely weather helped!

Juneathon day 11: piano run

2014-06-11T21:16:36Z

Wednesday is piano day for my two older kids. For various reasons, today was a long session: 45 minutes each, giving me 90 MINUTES FOR A RUN! Sweet.

Juneathon day 10: running, yoga ... and shoes

2014-06-11T07:20:15Z

With some good weather forecast and uncertainty about what would be going on later, taking my running kit into work felt like a no-brainer. And so it was that I headed out for a 3.7 mile run around the aquadrome at Rickmansworth in the sun. There isn't a huge amount to say about it, apart from the fact that the canal and surrounding area was humming with activity and it was a lot of fun!

Juneathon day 9: change of scene

2014-06-09T23:01:41Z

Well, that was fun! I just had a trip into Town to meet up with an old friend from university. We had been trying to organise such a gathering for absolutely ages, but I'm always hard to pin down because of everything going on with the kids, orchestra etc, and he works in TV so finds himself disappearing for months at a time for filming. However, today we were both around!

Juneathon day 8: night outing

2014-06-08T21:55:41Z

That was much more fun! Mrs H is now back, sighs of relief all round and Juneathon activities can resume. We had a pretty active day even before she returned, though, what with straightening out the house, doing some shopping etc.

Juneathon day 7: parenthood!

2014-06-08T08:23:23Z

With the best will in the world, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to be able to manage for Saturday. Picture the scene: me, home alone with three kids; various kid events in the diary requiring taxi-ing, and no adults anywhere near. I had a vague hope that a teenager might be able to babysit for a short while, but this didn't turn out to be possible. However, events overtook me as it quickly became clear that things were not going to go to plan...

Juneathon day 6: something about Fridays

2014-06-06T22:57:04Z

Friday, aka manic day, how glad am I that you are nearly complete. Fridays in this household are usually filled up at both ends with good things: in the morning, I usually have my pairs PT session, while our youngest has "parents come in for some reading" sessions; Mrs H teaches yoga after drop-off too; then the evenings tend to involve swimming, Guides and Scouts. Today has confirmed how difficult it is to juggle everything with only one adult around! Without the help of kind friends, covering all the activities would have been impossible.

Juneathon day 5: you win some, you lose some

2014-06-05T23:21:10Z

If you'd asked me an hour ago how today went, I'd be sounding pretty up-beat. Yes, the working day was mostly topped and tailed by school drop-off/pick-up, followed by some extensive juggling to make it to an early evening meeting at school to do with going up to senior school. But, after that, I had the chance to head out for a run round Amersham, and I took full advantage of it!

Juneathon day 4: the best-laid schemes...

2014-06-04T22:01:54Z

Mice weren't to blame, but things didn't quite go as expected today.

Juneathon day 3: when opportunity knocks

2014-06-03T23:07:02Z

(Edit: argh! It was just pointed out that I had called this post a Janathon one! Fixed...)

Juneathon day 2: DOMS, meet DOMS

2014-06-02T23:03:00Z

There is no way that I'm going to be able to run every day during Juneathon, even though I would have loved to. If nothing else, the next few days will be tricky, as unfortunately Mrs H is away for the rest of the week, and child-related activity and work aren't going to give me much leeway during this time. However, I usually find that constraints can be a trigger for creativity, so will be using this approach to keep active.

Last-minute decision! And so goes day 1 of Juneathon...

2014-06-01T23:03:14Z

How time flies! June caught me unawares, and so it was this morning that I saw I had a decision to take: Juneathon or not? But you know the answer already!

Janathon day 31: all over; thanks, Cathy!

2014-01-31T15:25:34Z

Today's effort comprises:

Janathon day 30: ankle exercises - please get better for running, ankle

2014-01-31T15:15:04Z

Right, that didn't quite go to plan. I had been down for Wild Training, but circumstances changed so Mrs H went instead. Without being able to run, I mainly walked quite a lot to keep my FitBit happy (11,487 steps / 5.28 miles), and did the exercises I've been prescribed to get my ankle back on the road to running recovery. The main element is knee bends on a wobbly board thing; I wobbled the appropriate number of times, and did the other leg for good measure (and so I don't end up being horribly lop-sided!).

Janathon day 29: lovely way to start the day

2014-01-29T23:59:32Z

I confess that, not being able to run, Janathon has turned out rather different from what I had hoped. My ideal outcome was to have run every day and boosted my stamina and range well beyond current levels; that's not how it's worked out at all. I've therefore had to console myself, largely, with lots of circuits and other similar non-runny things.

Janathon days 25-28: mixed bag, and trip to the physio

2014-01-29T00:15:22Z

After the success of Friday's pairs PT session, the weekend was a bit of a come-down. Saturday saw me taking the highly unusual step of having to go to bed for a few hours in the afternoon, and Sunday was equally quiet. I think I must have been going down with something last week, which has been pretty mild but with some kind of after-effect. This flat feeling is most unlike me!

Janathon day 23: Tabata (again, again)

2014-01-25T09:05:20Z

Today resembled yesterday in lots of ways, except that instead of kids having piano, I had orchestra. So - for the third time in three days - I found myself in Hervines Park doing Tabata squats and lunges, with work on the Bulgarian Bags as well. By this point, as you can imagine, my back-side was on fire! Warming up, and getting my back-side down for the squats, was really quite a challenge.

Janathon day 24: PT pairs

2014-01-25T09:02:08Z

Friday is PT day. My PT partner has just seen a physio who said he can't run or do lunges or squats for 6 weeks, so we were on a strict upper-body regime today. After yesterday's final nail in the squatting coffin, I wasn't going to argue!

Janathon day 22: Tabata (again)

2014-01-25T08:16:55Z

I'm glad that not every week is as busy as this one. I've managed the activities, just about, but getting them up on the blog has been a bit harder!

Janathon day 21: Wild Training, plus a bit

2014-01-21T23:24:22Z

Today has been characteristically busy. Despite this, though, this evening I was booked onto our Wild Training class at 7:30. We're still doing lots of Tabata training, and since I'm not running, I found myself doing walking lunges with a 12Kg Bulgarian Bag thrown over my shoulders in the Tabata style. My glutes are now rather on fire! Come to think of it, the session was actually pretty tough, ending with "punch planks" - holding a plank with one arm, and punching said Bulgarian Bag with the other elbow - again in a Tabata style.

Janathon day 20: things that aren't running

2014-01-21T09:18:56Z

Since I still can't run, and life is very busy, I am looking at things that are easy to slot in but help stay fit. My FitBit is helping here, reminding me to walk rather than drive, for instance. Press-ups are also coming along nicely too.

Janathon day 19: hockey dad!

2014-01-20T09:03:56Z

Today was the second of Mrs H's "yoga days", so any kind of fitness outing was out of the question. However, my 10yo had a hockey tournament in Tring, so we headed out that way for the game. It was a lovely day, but very cold indeed! My 5yo and I trudged round the hockey park for an hour or two, occasionally sitting in the car to thaw out joints. I've made a mental note to wear a lot more clothes and bring a flask of hot drink of some kind.

Janathon day 18: musical ordeal!

2014-01-19T22:40:10Z

Two events coincided today: Mrs H was in London all day for her yoga teacher training; and I had rehearsals all afternoon for my Misbourne Symphony Orchestra concert, and then the concert itself in the evening. With three kids to deal with, it was always going to be a busy sort of day!

Janathon day 17: pairs PT session

2014-01-17T22:42:47Z

I always look forward to Fridays, and my regular PT session with my friend Holger. Today was no exception - although, if I had known in advance how hard a session it was going to be, I might have felt differently! It was quite a simple session, but hideously cardiovascular... The main features were a Bosu ball (I had no idea how many pain-inflicting exercises could be dreamt up for this), boxing with elastic ropes attached to our arms, and some push-up and pull-up TRX action. By the end of the hour, I was just about dead on my feet - so, all told, a good one!

Janathon day 16: press-ups, mainly

2014-01-17T22:35:50Z

When did life get so busy? What with not being able to run, and work and other activities pressing in on all sides, it is proving tricky to come up with interesting Janathon activities. Today was another press-up day, trying to build up my capacity. I managed 50 of them, which I'm pretty happy with.

Janathon day 15: Tabata

2014-01-16T15:28:06Z

So running is still off the cards. The substitute for that activity at tonight's training was therefore squats and lunges, again. That gave me about 120 squats, and 90 lunges each on my left and right legs. Having done this twice during the week, my legs are really quite achy; I am consoling myself with the thought that all this glute work is going to have to be good for my running, when eventually I am able to get back to it.

Janathon day 14: yoga!

2014-01-15T09:47:41Z

Today was looking a bit tricky on the Janathon front. Mrs H took my Wild Training spot as I've been feeling just a little bit under the weather, and my feet have been a bit sore all day after attempting to break in my new Doctor Marten's shoes! So I was very happy to hear that Mrs H needed someone to try her new yoga class on!

Janathon day 13: hello glutes, goodbye toes

2014-01-14T15:33:41Z

How can it be that things are getting so busy this early in the year! Work is really hotting up at the moment, meaning some late nights are coming up. Janathon today has been alright, though.

Janathon day 12: getting better at press-ups!

2014-01-12T23:50:08Z

Another day off the running; thought I would up the number of press-ups instead. Today I managed 40 of them, in 2 sets of 20. Pretty happy with that!!

Janathon day 11: continuing to tread water

2014-01-12T14:55:47Z

I really hate being injured! My ankle is making a - literally - painfully slow recovery. In the meantime, I'm having to think of alternatives. Today was 20 press-ups, but if anyone has any suggestions for 12th onwards, I'd love to hear them!

Janathon day 10: still not running...

2014-01-11T09:27:00Z

Today has been pretty frantic, in a good way, and right now I am buying drinks at a Wild Training social event, so all I've managed is 20 TRX press-ups.

Janathon day 9: what a plank... Plus - green smoothies

2014-01-09T23:15:14Z

Something I've done over the last few days has made my left leg hurt, so running is off the cards for a few days to give it a chance to recover. What with today being so busy, and my orchestra rehearsal this evening (I play flute, and we have a next weekend), I haven't had time for much exercise today. So I managed a token plank of 1 minute 17 seconds, just to keep my record up...

Janathon day 8: marathon (not literally, though)

2014-01-09T00:20:40Z

Good day on FitBit!

(Edit - was originally called day 9, but that's silly!) Given last night's 3 1/2 hours of sleep, today has been astonishing! After a productive day at work, I managed to fit in 50 minutes of a Wild Training session (running just over 1.7 miles in the process), then took the kids to piano and did a quick 35 minute run (about another 3 miles). All told, even the FitBit agrees that it was a good day!

Janathon day 7: short and sharp...

2014-01-08T02:41:17Z

That applies both to today's exercise and this blog post. I've only just finished a totally different project I've got on the go, and it is gone 2:30AM, so I will do no more now than report that I managed Wild Training in Hervines Park this evening. the key features of note are:

Janathon day 6: open the floodgates!

2014-01-06T23:45:15Z

So today was my first day back in the office this year (if not actually my first day of work), so I thought I would do a lunchtime run. I had a rough idea of a route, heading round the lakes at the aquadrome, and cheerfully set off in that direction. It was a lovely run, staying mostly dry and not too cold and, including a warm-up/cool-down, totalled about 3.5 miles.

Janathon day 5: just sneaked under the wire...

2014-01-05T23:57:18Z

Oh that was fun! It's been a really busy day, but I just managed to sneak in a quick run before bed. Same route as Friday, recorded on my watch as 2.94 miles in 33:31. Can't tell yet how that compared, but will check when home. My DOMS from friday is now even worse, so I was worried that the run would be a non-starter, but with my usual warm-up walk it all turned out fine. So that's a great success chalked up to the motivational power of Janathon!

Janathon day 4: Wild Training, a brief run - and FitBit!

2014-01-04T22:55:57Z

Today was my first session this year of Wild Training, a local outdoor fitness group I've been attending for a couple of years now. There's a lovely mix of people at the group, and sessions manage a fine balance between good, strong exercise and fun.

Janathon day 3: exercise sandwich...

2014-01-04T00:21:21Z

This is going to be a brief write-up, what with it being late. Today has been an exercise sandwich, squashed as it was between two thick-sliced chunks of exercise and with some good slabs of meat in between!

Janathon day 2: beautiful weather!

2014-01-02T23:23:34Z

It is hard to imagine how different today's run turned out! First to fill in the back story now that the technology is playing ball...

Janathon day 1: hello 2014!

2014-01-01T20:34:18Z

Happy new year, everyone! So here we are again: a month of training every day for Janathon.

Juneathon day 30: Heron Lake

2013-06-30T23:06:35Z

So, for me, Juneathon was brought to a close with a very pleasant lap of Heron Lake. With an early start, it was all over by 8:15AM. I think it was about 1K or so, which we did in about 30 minutes plus/minus a few. The rest of the day has been, variously, manic in a good or bad way, so I'm glad it is bed time now. Good night all, and - see you in January!

Everything you wanted to know about open water swimming (but were afraid to ask)

2013-06-30T06:09:22Z

If you are participating in a triathlon soon, or indeed you just enjoy swimming but are a bit fed up of the pools near you, there is a lot to be said for heading down to a lake for some outdoor swimming. As well as taking a bit of practice to feel comfortable, it can also be just a little bit intimidating if you don't "know the ropes", so this post is intended to help clear things up. Do bear in mind, though, that I'm no expert; my enthusiasm comfortably exceeds my abilities!

Juneathon day 29: last of the hopeless days!

2013-06-29T22:50:20Z

Words like "write-off" spring to mind when I think about today; with Mrs H out from 6:40AM until 10:30PM, and a not-yet-housetrained Sam the Cockapoo around, there hasn't been a good deal of chance to get out for some decent Juneathon-ing! So, again, all I've managed is a token 1:40 plank to keep my record clean.

Juneathon day 28: overtaken

2013-06-29T07:38:39Z

Not much to say - ended up working until 1:30am, so managed a 1:35 plank before diving into bed, to be woken up 30 minutes later by our 5yo!

Juneathon day 27: the best made plans...

2013-06-27T22:49:35Z

Some days just don't go as you plan. Today, for instance, I was hoping to go for a run or at least a swim; in the end all I managed was a plank and some foam rolling. Oh well, such is life!

Juneathon day 26: uppers (circuits) and downers (yoga)

2013-06-26T23:43:04Z

The mood this afternoon has been managed most effectively through exercise! My 6pm circuits with Wild Training was a great lift - metaphorically and practically. We are still on TABATA, mixing ropes, kettle bells and running (plus mountain climbers ... ouch). It is very challenging, but is definitely helping my fitness.

Juneathon day 25: lunchtime run round Rickmansworth Aquadrome

2013-06-25T22:49:22Z

This lunchtime, I had an overwhelming urge to go for a run. Rather cunningly, I had some running kit I'd left in the office for just this sort of situation, so I changed and headed off for a run down the canal and round Rickmansworth Aquadrome. I always enjoy this route; there are usually plenty of child- and dog-walkers to be seen, also enjoying the space. (The vast numbers of midges weren't quite so welcome, though, sticking as they did to my sweaty head...) I didn't break any records; given how sore my legs were after yesterday's onslaught, this wasn't a surprise. It was hotter than expected, but that's not something I'm going to complain about!

Juneathon day 24: full-on evening of circuits, running and yoga

2013-06-24T22:55:54Z

I hadn't expected today to work out quite like this! The original plan had been just the usual Monday "piano run" while the kids had piano lessons. However, Mrs H had two excellent surprises in store. Firstly, it turned out that she wasn't going to be able to do her circuit class booking for Wild Training, so I did that as well, to be helpful..! Then, she was hoping for a willing subject for her yoga homework, and who was I to turn down such an offer?!

Juneathon day 23: sneaky last-minute run

2013-06-23T23:08:25Z

That was close! Just managed to get a 4-mile run in, finishing just before midnight (I'm typing this post as I do a cool-down walk back home).

Juneathon day 22: Denham Lake swim

2013-06-22T22:52:37Z

Our new cockapoo puppy is keeping us rather busy at the moment - as do most 7-week-old dogs, I imagine - so I will keep this brief!

Juneathon day 21: pairs PT - man cave session, hardest yet

2013-06-21T23:06:42Z

I don't know when we first started referring to our pairs PT sessions as going into the "man cave", but the name has certainly stuck. I received a suitable placard for Fathers Day; at this morning's weekly PT session, we hung it on the door of the gym room, just in case anyone wasn't clear what was going on. (I would attach a photo if my hands weren't a bit full with puppy activity!)

Juneathon day 20: more circuits, and our new puppy Sam!

2013-06-20T22:43:05Z

Circuits was much the same as yesterday, but with a hideous variation at the squat/lunge phase, where I was given two kettle bells. Suffice to say in still hurting!

Juneathon day 19: circuits, and cockapoo preparation!

2013-06-19T22:48:06Z

After a busy day at work, what's better than to settle down to ... an hour of high-intensity intervals with Wild Training?! It was hot out there in Hervines Park, and I was slightly at sixes and sevens when I arrived, as my 9yo daughter had her brownie meeting in the same park, throwing our usual pattern for the day. So after dropping her off, I legged it over to our special place by the playground.

Juneathon day 18: yoga and swimming (preparation for Stowe Sprint Triathlon)

2013-06-18T23:07:10Z

Today was the second time I had the chance to play guinea pig for Mrs H's yoga class homework. We had a very pleasant half-hour going through various poses and flows, and I ended up feeling distinctly relaxed. I'm really looking forward to when she becomes a fully qualified yoga teacher!

Juneathon day 17: Chalfonts run

2013-06-17T22:31:41Z

Monday: piano day. The older kids head to their piano lesson in Chalfont St Peter; I then use the next hour for a run. Today's was lovely: nice and warm, not raining, beautiful countryside.

Juneathon day 16: moving swiftly on

2013-06-16T23:44:25Z

Well, that's one day I would happily blot from the diary of life. Proof, as if it were needed, that you really can try to fit too many things in. I am my own worst enemy...

Juneathon day 15: Wild training circuits, plus a little run

2013-06-15T22:09:45Z

So it's Mrs H's yoga training day; she slogged into Town for her full-on day of yoga learning in Crouch End, and the kids and I had some time at home. We have some fantastic local teenagers for babysitting, so today one of them held the fort while I managed a thoroughly enjoyable Wild Training session, then a quick run on the way back.

Juneathon day 14: pairs PT featuring running, weights

2013-06-14T20:49:26Z

This morning's early PT session, following last night's late run, looks with the benefit of hindsight a bit over-enthusiastic! It was fun though; I always enjoy these sessions. Again, Holger and I trained at Deep Mill Equestrian Centre near Great Missenden, presided over by Darrell from Wild Training.

Juneathon day 13: Dublin, sneak run - and keto-adaptation?

2013-06-13T22:58:42Z

My strength is returning, definitely, despite a near absence of carbs. Today has been a long day, starting at 6 to get to the airport, and walking back from my run at 23:51. But I feel like I am beginning to recover some of the speed I had before starting my experiment.

Juneathon day 12: circuits; low-carb improvement

2013-06-12T20:38:53Z

Wednesday evening: circuits! It was a bit soggy, but we had a thoroughly enjoyable hour of high-intensity interval training this evening with Wild Training in Amersham's lovely Hervines Park. The class started off alternating rounds of kettle bells and "rip training". Each round was classic TABATA, entailing 8 x 20-second repetitions of the exercise, with a 10-second gap between, and a minute or two between rounds. We did each station 3 times in total. Then we finished off with a TABATA round of burpees, just in case we still had a heartbeat. So - 7 rounds DONE!

Juneathon day 11: tri-envy

2013-06-11T21:39:25Z

It was spectating at Blenheim that did it. Watching people jumping into the lake, swimming, cycling, running ... winning. I had wanted to do Blenheim myself, but all the tickets had gone when I applied. Then, with all the music that was going on earlier in the year, I didn't get anything else in the diary. But it all came back on Sunday.

Juneathon day 10: calves survived longest run in a while (just!)

2013-06-10T22:12:31Z

I have two conflicting views about today. On the one hand, I'm delighted that I managed my longest run since my calves started giving me agro (4.37 miles in 44:31) and they stood up fine. This was done during my "piano slot" (when the kids have lessons and I have an hour), and was lovely! And I had even managed a "fast walk finishing with a run when I realised how close I'd cut it for the train" alternative way of getting to Marylebone on the way back from dropping off my flute for a service in the morning - 1 mile in 12:53.

Juneathon day 9: spectating at the Blenheim Triathlon (and a quick run)

2013-06-09T22:47:24Z

After yesterday's late night, another long day. I was up at 6:30 to make breakfast, then after some quick packing we set of to pick up friends then drive on to Blenheim. Our friend Karen and Holger were both competing, starting pretty early. It felt a lot colder than when I did it last year, although I gather the water was a similar temperature.

Juneathon day 8: an oasis in the desert (and a fun party)

2013-06-08T23:54:40Z

Okay, it's late and we have an early start in the morning, so let's hit hard and fast! Saturday, with an action-packed oasis of activity in the desert of calf woes: I salute you!

Juneathon day 7: weights, low carbs and foam rolling! Running again soon?

2013-06-07T22:30:45Z

I also look forward to Fridays. My friend Holger (aka @TheHolgernator) and I head over to Deep Mill Farm, a nearby and most excellent equestrian centre, for an hour's training session, under the supervision of Darrell from Wild Training Amersham. We do something different each time: given my continuing calf woes, today we majored on strength training.

Playlists and shuffling with Google Play Music

2013-06-07T14:50:20Z

I am continuing to love Google Play Music, and find myself using it alongside Spotify on my phone in equal measures. I have now uploaded all my purchased music to the Google servers, so can listen to everything at very high quality wherever I am. How technology has come along in the last decade!

Juneathon day 6: calf-friendly activity and low carb eating. Help!

2013-06-06T21:25:37Z

Written around lunchtime:

Juneathon day 5: love your calves!

2013-06-05T21:39:01Z

I am getting intimately familiar now with our foam roller. I bought ours from Helen at Ten Point in Amersham (a present for Mrs H, but that's another story!), and am very pleased with it. Helen directed me towards a Barefoot Audio YouTube video showing how to use the roller, which is excellent and thoroughly recommended as a way of doing it without inflicting extreme pain (and shows our roller too, as a perk). [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3vEK5fahQ4]

Juneathon day 4: the calf strikes back (plus a cute cat picture)

2013-06-04T21:45:41Z

Juneathon: "an annual festival of activity and excuses". I've managed a bit of each today!

Juneathon day 3: evening run in Chalfont St Peter

2013-06-03T22:54:29Z

I look forward to Monday evenings. The two older kids have piano lessons; dropping them off gives me an hour that can't realistically be used for anything useful but ... running. Ok, I could perhaps bring a bike, but even the pool round the corner is shut, so a jaunt round Chalfont St Peter, in a way that is entirely family-friendly, has a lot to recommend it!

Juneathon day 2: trying out the calf on a busy weekend

2013-06-02T22:25:00Z

Is it just me that finds it hard to fit runs in to busy family weekends? Today we have been up at my parents-in-law's place, having fun at the playground and later at nearby Wimpole Hall, only getting back to ours near 9pm. I did take running stuff, but it just wasn't going to happen there...

Juneathon day 1: first open water swim, and some circuits

2013-06-01T22:34:28Z

Today's Juneathon activity started pretty early; soon after 6:30am, me and my friend Karen were in a car heading over to near Egham for some open water swimming in Heron Lake. It was a lovely sunny morning, if a bit nippy. When we got there, it was heaving! The lake was big enough that once in, though, that you wouldn't have realised.

Blog catch-up: flute concerto, 10k, lots of work

2013-06-01T08:50:35Z

A relieved-looking Tim after his flute concerto

Juneathon!

2013-06-01T08:24:18Z

I don't know about you lot, but for me, things always seem to go best when there is a challenge to work towards. My original plan was to do the Blenheim Triathlon this month, but for various reasons that wasn't possible. Then I saw Cathy's "call to action" tweet about Juneathon, and remembered what fun Janathon had been earlier in the year and how it had kick-started my running for the year. In the end, it wasn't too much effort beyond the usual week's exercise regime, either.

Goodbye Louie, lovely family cat

2013-03-25T22:28:38Z

So quick, such a waste. We set off in the car to go to the kids' piano lesson; Louie was hiding in the dark behind one of the car wheels...

Google Play Music: goodbye shuffle, hello Instant Mix!

2013-02-19T22:10:14Z

Music and mixes

Janathon day 31: a disparate community, a lunchtime run and a personal record

2013-01-31T23:12:47Z

Wow, the final day 31 already - that went past like a rocket! A good, pointy, fast one, too. I came across it first through a community on Twitter; in participating, I've felt part of a group of similarly-minded people, manifested in a rather enjoyable on-line but disparate community. I still haven't actually met any other Janathoner in the flesh, for instance, but don't feel this has detracted at all. (And Saturday is rather busy, sadly!)

Janathon day 30: the best made plans...

2013-01-31T00:35:20Z

... crash and burn when life has other ideas. I was supposed to be doing another hot yoga session this morning. However, a rather late "tax return" session meant I would only manage 4 hours of sleep: forget it! With the rest of the day then full of work (productive, but fraught) and an evening with friends round for a nibble (excellent company), suddenly Janathon isn't looking good!

Janathon day 29: plenty of variation!

2013-01-30T00:05:22Z

Janathon was the easy bit today. A short run to/from outdoor circuits (1.49 miles in 12:36), and then our new phase of activity which is pretty cardio with sprinting, lunges against resistance, slow twitch/fast twitch and so on. Okay, it was a bit wet (read: rather miserable) and not wearing my waterproof trainers was a bad call, as I discovered when we ran through deep puddles in the car park we are using at the moment. But these are the things that make us strong! (Aren't they?)

Janathon day 28: how does everyone fit it all in?

2013-01-28T20:25:12Z

Given that it isn't possible to increase the number of hours in a day, I need to find new ways of fitting in the things that are important to me, and jettisoning the ones I can live without. Today I have been trying the first approach!

Janathon day 27: back on the job

2013-01-27T23:24:35Z

With the concert, and snow, out of the way, it was back to something more normal today. After mile of hill running as a warm-up, Holger and I had an hour of pairs training, doing various combinations of weights and so on. Felt good to be doing some proper graft after all the not-really-quite-the-same work that is flute/music. (Which I've also been doing tonight).

Janathon day 26: marathon..!

2013-01-27T07:49:05Z

Not that kind, though! Today has been dominated by a rehearsal and concert with my local orchestra, the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra in Amersham. With the recent snow, we had dropped a rehearsal so today has been quite tense and long, as we catch up.

Janathon day 25: today's recipe

2013-01-26T01:38:23Z

Ingredients: lots of work, a planned run for lunchtime, a concert tomorrow, a more scary concert in April, a TRX suspension system and a gin and tonic.

Janathon day 24: what I need

2013-01-24T23:29:45Z

I am one tired Janathoner today, intent on getting to bed on time after yesterday's late night: I need sleep! So, onto the facts. Tonight I did an hour of circuits: 45% triplanar barbell work, 45% kettlebells and 10% abs with planks, weighted V-sits etc. Hard work, and temperature control a problem, balancing snow against excessive heat generation. Good, though, and a quick but enjoyable outing for dinner with Holger after, down to The Swan in Amersham Old Town. Tasty.

Janathon day 23: this blows!

2013-01-24T00:54:39Z

So, after a busy and snow-laden day, it had got to 11PM with no sign of exercise. I had been really hoping for a run, but the freezing ground with new snow fall was making me a bit nervous of taking a fall in my tiredness. There was a bigger hurdle, though - I also needed to fit in some pretty serious practice for my flute concerto with the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra in April. (My spractice - Spring practise, a bit like January marathon - has been going "alright", but not much more). In the end, realism won over: finishing flute at 00:15 didn't leave a great deal of time!

Janathon day 22: short and sharp

2013-01-23T00:12:13Z

I can't spin much of a yarn around today's Janathon effort, so won't try! I managed an hour's circuits in the snow in Hervines Park, and stuck with the 20Kg kettle bell ... just. It has been a day of trials and tribulations - the cat wee-ed on the duvet, so it had to go to the drycleaners, and the office heating was rather pathetic - so now sleep is all I can think about ... zzzz .... See you tomorrow, same time, same place!

Janathon day 21: is circuits having an effect on running?

2013-01-22T00:47:49Z

The unexpected thing about our outdoor exercise class in the snow is that, when you're there, being too cold is the last thing on your mind. You tend to go in suitable footwear and perhaps an extra layer or two, with gloves and hat, but by the time you are ten minutes in to the session, you're losing clothing pretty quickly! Today was no exception, with a pretty intensive set of barbell and kettle bell exercises to keep us going, offset by the distraction of a beautiful but rapidly cooling evening with clear sky and large moon. Even lying on mats doing nasty v-sit exercises surrounded by snow felt oddly natural.

Janathon day 20: fighting fishy demons

2013-01-20T21:33:09Z

Today was a characteristically busy Sunday. With the kids around, snow by now very slippy, homework to be done and the like, a run was always going to be a long shot. A stint in the pool, though - that's another story.

Janathon day 19: no business like snow business!

2013-01-20T00:27:57Z

Wild Training in the snow

Janathon day 18: pairs training and errand runs

2013-01-19T00:25:16Z

Darrell, snow-swept

Janathon day 17: lunchtime run to Chorleywood, train back

2013-01-17T17:58:03Z

It is about 7.5 miles from my office in Rickmansworth to where I live in Amersham. One day I plan to run home: this is quite a lot longer than my current regular range, but not beyond the bounds of possibility. I thought, for my Janathon run today, that I would go just a part of the way, to Chorleywood rather than Amersham, and then get a train back, to work towards this goal.

Janathon day 16: exhaustion, not enough hours

2013-01-16T22:59:09Z

Today I have been exhausted. Tired, after a late bedtime and waking children; physically rather achy after a few hard days; and emotionally drained with everything that is going on. While I like being busy, probably more than is sensible, right now I'm feeling the pressure of all the things going on and coming up. Janathon and general running to improve my form and feel in shape for a triathlon, practice most nights for a flute concerto in April, work, kid taxi service, our 4yo on full tantrum alert, the general juggling of family life - right now it all feels much too much. Important things - and people - are falling by the wayside, not getting the attention they deserve. And today has been proof that emotional state and diet are very closely related - and not in a good way...

Janathon day 15: "core" blimey!

2013-01-16T01:30:00Z

Today's Janathon effort had some definite extra "get up and go" about it.

Janathon day 14: circuits in the snow; playlists and Spotify

2013-01-14T22:12:08Z

Today's Janathon contribution took the form of a circuits class this evening at Hervines Park in Amersham. It was cold and extremely vigorous, involving kettle bells and barbells, with various combinations of lunges, swings and the like. As usual, there was a good selection of cheery people there to make the whole experience more enjoyable, and the music, provided by yours truly, kept things moving nicely too!

Janathon day 13: the Pednor strikes back!

2013-01-14T20:49:03Z

Janathon day 12: question - music or not?

2013-01-12T15:12:37Z

Weekends tend to involve a lot of kid stuff, and this weekend we've also got friends coming over for a visit. So I thought I'd get my Janathon commitment out of the way early, with a short-ish and quick run before breakfast, using one of my local routes around Amersham. I didn't want to overdo it, since I'm planning a repeat performance of the Pednor Loop tomorrow, hopefully with one or two friends this time, which I am really looking forward to. I was happy with the result: 2 miles in 15:48 (but chilly hands, as it was sleeting and I didn't have gloves).

Janathon day 11: PT session then short, hilly run

2013-01-12T11:16:06Z

A slightly late blogging of yesterday's effort... It was all over by 8:30am, and most invigorating. On Fridays I have been having morning pairs PT sessions with my friend Holger; this one was a bit different. We started with a brisk warm-up walk, then moved into 45 minutes of various activities - rowing, weights, flys, chin-ups etc. All hard work, but also highly entertaining as we in turns encourage and mock each other!

Janathon day 10: easy run in Rickmansworth aquadrome

2013-01-10T14:59:10Z

Thursday evening is orchestra practice for me - I play flute in a local orchestra, the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra. (We have a concert soon, that you might like to come along to!) So doing exercise this evening just isn't going to happen. Instead, I thought I would slip in a quick run at lunchtime.

Janathon day 9: taking things a bit easier

2013-01-09T23:59:53Z

On balance, it seemed like the best idea today was to take things a bit easier - I noticed on my training log on FetchEveryone that I had reached nearly 19 miles so far this month, which is way more than normal for me. Advice from all directions was to avoid pushing it and running the risk of injury, so instead I stuck to my circuits class with Wild Training. As usual, this was very hard work but very good fun; it's a really nice bunch of people who come, and we always have a laugh as we approach death...

Janathon day 8: lunchtime run and circuits

2013-01-08T23:28:35Z

I confess to getting slightly nervous about all this extra running mileage! Don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying it. I've run further in the last week than any previous week of my life, though, and with the general advice "out there" that you shouldn't boost your mileage by more than something like 10% per week, I fear I'm running an increased risk of injury.

Janathon day 7: recovery

2013-01-07T17:19:51Z

After 3 (for me) longish runs over 3 days, I thought that perhaps a day of recovery might be sensible. (I have a little plan in mind for tomorrow, too, that would benefit from fresh legs!)

Janathon day 6: Pednor Loop, lovely blast!

2013-01-06T16:05:46Z

Drizzle and mist. Lovely to run in!

Janathon day 5: busy day, so changed plans

2013-01-05T16:20:07Z

Never underestimate the importance of sleep! One late night/early morning, and next thing you know you're up a half-hour late and all your plans fall apart. We have a busy family day in London, and a few things to do before we go, so there was barely an hour to fit Janathon in. This ruled out my Pednor Loop run, unfortunately.

Janathon day 4: pairs PT session

2013-01-04T23:49:28Z

As it turns out, all today's exercise for Janathon was complete by 8:30 this morning. I had been hoping to do a run this evening, but yesterday's circuits and subsequent very late night, followed by this morning's early PT session, did me in completely! (But at least I managed to get my "spractice" in too, and not too late for once.)

Janathon day 3: hot yoga and circuits

2013-01-04T00:42:52Z

Today I made it, for the first time, to a "hot yoga" class at Absolute Hot Yoga in Gerrards Cross. Mrs H is an ardent fan of yoga in general, and I have watched her get fitter, stronger and happier as she has continued with her practice. Today, with the kids at my parents' for a short break, we realised we could both go to a yoga class together - almost unheard of!

Janathon day 2: quick jaunt up the Grand Union Canal near Rickmansworth

2013-01-02T22:53:42Z

Not my picture, and the weather wasn't this nice! This is not far from where I was running, though

I've signed up for Janathon 2013

2013-01-02T09:16:53Z

I'm going to have a good shot at #janathon - running (or some kind of exercise), and blogging about it, every day in January.

Janathon day 1: New year resolutions and Janathon; and Spractice!

2013-01-01T23:56:44Z

I have a few New Year's resolutions in mind, and they're about to collide. This is going to be quick!

The Paleo Diet, plus our lifesaving "quick win" recipes

2012-12-30T23:42:43Z

For slightly over a month now, we have been following the so-called "Paleo Diet". On the whole it has been very successful, so I thought I'd jot down some notes on the subject. Therefore, here's a quick introduction to what it is, together with a few recipes and ideas we've had that have made our lives easier.

Pics from Blenheim Triathlon 2012: a timely reminder for entering 2013

2012-12-30T22:57:35Z

How funny! While looking through some pictures on my computer, I came across a slug of well over 200 pictures taken with my SLR by my son, then 10, when I did the Blenheim Triathlon in support of MS Trust back in June 2012. Hidden in this huge pile of random shots were some pretty decent pictures; I'll make a photographer of the boy yet!

The Phoenix Artist Club: great venue, Christmassy fun!

2012-12-25T22:44:24Z

The story so far: Colin, pianist with "Two Flutes and a Flirt", managed to get the group a slot at the Phoenix Artist Club's "Christmas Spectacular". A few rehearsals, and a few more bottles of wine, and we were ready to give it our best shot. With the gig booked for 23rd December, if you were to argue that Two Flutes and a Flirt left their first gig of 2012 rather late in the year, I could only agree!

Come and see us: Two Flutes and a Flirt, Christmas Spectacular!

2012-12-12T23:42:35Z

I am very excited! Next Sunday, 23rd December, from 5 to around 7:30PM, I am playing in a little show at the historic Phoenix Artist Club, with a couple of friends (Nicky Bolster and Colin Savage) in our group, dubbed "Two Flutes and a Flirt". We have been playing together for quite a few years now, and I always look forward to getting together with these people as they are such multi-talented and entertaining company.

Kitten-Gate: a walk on the wild side!

2012-11-04T14:41:03Z

On Thursday morning we had a family outing to the vet's to give our new kitten - provisionally named Florence - the once-over. We registered her details with the receptionist, and took her in to be seen. Our vet picked her up and started the usual prodding and poking, then she looked up and said she thought the name might not be quite so appropriate as she was in fact a he!

Welcome to our new and rather furry family member

2012-10-31T00:41:58Z

We have a new cat! She is a rather pretty, extremely furry Ragdoll kitten. For those in the know, I understand she could be described as a mitted, bluepoint bi-colour Ragdoll. (I hope that this will make more sense to me soon). She also, as is just about apparent from the picture, has rather striking blue eyes!

Lost in music

2012-10-05T23:45:46Z

There are things we all have to drag ourselves through at times: paperwork, ironing, work at times... This short post is a reminder that this doesn't always have to be the case!

(At least) three things I hate about iOS6

2012-10-05T17:44:25Z

With all the uproar about Apple's new mapping approach, attention has been diverted from other aspects of the latest iteration of iOS - version 6. In this short post I hope to make a start at redressing this balance! So, without further ado...

Blenheim Triathlon, 2012

2012-08-10T18:00:29Z

Talking with a colleague earlier about triathlons, I was reminded how much I had enjoyed my first-ever personal triathon experience, completing the Blenheim Sprint Triathlon earlier this year. Here is a brief account of what happened, and a fun site I found on the way!

Olympic tickets: families of 5 need not apply!

2012-08-07T00:23:25Z

We had a lovely family outing on Saturday, to see the Women's Olympic Triathlon at Hyde Park. It seemed like a natural choice, after all the work that went into training for the Blenheim Triathlon, earlier in the year. Then, having got a taste for it and fired up by the genuinely awesome (an over-used word, but appropriate here) Opening Ceremony and excellent performance of the UK athletes, we thought it might be fun to go to see some other Olympic events.

Not-so-smartphones

2012-08-03T20:33:31Z

Smartphones have taken over our lives. I would struggle without mine: it plays a part in just about everything I do, helping me with organisation, communication, music, exercise, navigation and even metronome duties! (Worries over smartphone addiction may be the subject of a future blog post, who knows?) As a self-proclaimed geek as well, I always agonise over what phone to get when the last one loses the fight.

Spotify and Squeezebox

2012-08-01T21:13:51Z

There I was, mulling over how best to "break the ice" with my new blog: what could I write about that combined most, or perhaps all, of the loves in my life - home/family, music, exercise, ... *cough* gadgets? Then - a flash of inspiration: Spotify and Squeezebox! I listen to a lot of music - on the train, out and about, in the mornings and evenings, when running. These days, nearly all of it comes from Spotify - through my phone when I am away, or one of our Squeezeboxes at home. Let me tell you a bit about these two, excellent and thoroughly recommended, creations.