Don't worry because I haven't.....
I've realised that I've neglected this blog for a very long time. The past few months have been quite difficult as I returned back from Spain, settling in again, fitting my marathon commitments inside, and generally living a life. It hasn't been easy, which is why I've neglected writing things here. Most of my other ramblings have been on my other blog, which is purely running related.
But now I have some time, so let me fill you in on the events that have made the past few months the rollercoaster it has been.
On arrival, my good mate Shaun was already in the UK from NZ, so the resettling-in process was made very easy. He was great company, and when he had to return back to NZ I did feel a little sad, despite the several faux pas he made during his time here which I gently told him off about. No mention of his antics will be made here though. Highlights included travelling back and forth to Newbury, travelling to Oxford, serving as my running pacemaker in training, but particularly memorable was travelling to Birmingham to watch the All England Finals.
I also managed to catch up with my ex-housemate, Tina. It was a nice reunion and I guess she was shocked to hear that I was already in the UK. Not knowing how to say to her that I've come back, she got the ball rolling and sent me a message on Facebook, still thinking I was in Spain. Eventually I texted her a week after I returned. We texted back and forth, and agreed on a time and place to meet. We spent the evening catching up and telling stories. It was the kind of meaningful conversation we would share whilst we were living together, and I guess both of us are quite happy that I would be spending more time in the UK, where I feel I should belong.
The resettling-in process meant that I had to find a new place to live. This time it wasn't so easy. I guess the first experience of living in a nice house the first time around set the expectation bar so high that other places didn't really appeal. With time running out, I chose a place in a well-to-do area, but the occupant of the house wasn't really the type of person I'd want to live with. She is an example of an upper-class snob with old-fashioned views and some sort of crazy personality disorder. At the moment I'm currently in the throes of finding another place, but this is quite a big task and not the sort of thing I'd want to do on a regular basis. Time will tell whether I find that perfect place.
As for running, I'm still committed to breaking three hours this year, despite the relatively poor showing at this year's Reading Half Marathon. Even though I set a new personal best, I was outside my target time by over four minutes. I really reflected on my training, and sought the help of a running coach. So far I haven't yet started the training programme that he has recommended, but the past two months I've changed my programme significantly and I can already feel some improvements. There is improved fitness and, perhaps more importantly, improved technique and running form. Who knows how well I'll do this year. I still have over four months to my target event, so hopefully in the following weeks I can really apply myself in training without injuring myself or burning out prematurely.
Travel wise, I've travelled to Holland to run the Rotterdam marathon, and will also travel to Denmark to run the Copenhagen marathon. Both events are intended to be training runs, however I might have to rethink this idea of running a marathon as a training exercise, as running a marathon, no matter how fast or slow or serious or fun, is going to take a lot out of you. This might mean I may have to pull out of Helsinki or Athens, but I could still travel there for a weekend.
A couple of others are travelling up here for their OEs, which is good for me as it increases my circle of NZ friends while I'm up here. In particular, my brother is finally making the big move up here. I do have to spare a thought for my parents back in NZ, and hopefully they will look after themselves while their children are on the other side of the world. I wish my brother well as he looks for work in a new country.
In the meantime, I'm still busy at work on various projects. At the moment I'm still quite committed to the Spanish project I was working on before, and it looks like I may have to travel back and forth on occasion but hopefully the travelling will be kept to an absolute minimum.
That's about it really. I'm trying really hard to maintain this blog, but as you can appreciate it is quite hard work to write a quality blog, so please bear with me if I don't make much noise here.
Bye for now
I've realised that I've neglected this blog for a very long time. The past few months have been quite difficult as I returned back from Spain, settling in again, fitting my marathon commitments inside, and generally living a life. It hasn't been easy, which is why I've neglected writing things here. Most of my other ramblings have been on my other blog, which is purely running related.
But now I have some time, so let me fill you in on the events that have made the past few months the rollercoaster it has been.
On arrival, my good mate Shaun was already in the UK from NZ, so the resettling-in process was made very easy. He was great company, and when he had to return back to NZ I did feel a little sad, despite the several faux pas he made during his time here which I gently told him off about. No mention of his antics will be made here though. Highlights included travelling back and forth to Newbury, travelling to Oxford, serving as my running pacemaker in training, but particularly memorable was travelling to Birmingham to watch the All England Finals.
I also managed to catch up with my ex-housemate, Tina. It was a nice reunion and I guess she was shocked to hear that I was already in the UK. Not knowing how to say to her that I've come back, she got the ball rolling and sent me a message on Facebook, still thinking I was in Spain. Eventually I texted her a week after I returned. We texted back and forth, and agreed on a time and place to meet. We spent the evening catching up and telling stories. It was the kind of meaningful conversation we would share whilst we were living together, and I guess both of us are quite happy that I would be spending more time in the UK, where I feel I should belong.
The resettling-in process meant that I had to find a new place to live. This time it wasn't so easy. I guess the first experience of living in a nice house the first time around set the expectation bar so high that other places didn't really appeal. With time running out, I chose a place in a well-to-do area, but the occupant of the house wasn't really the type of person I'd want to live with. She is an example of an upper-class snob with old-fashioned views and some sort of crazy personality disorder. At the moment I'm currently in the throes of finding another place, but this is quite a big task and not the sort of thing I'd want to do on a regular basis. Time will tell whether I find that perfect place.
As for running, I'm still committed to breaking three hours this year, despite the relatively poor showing at this year's Reading Half Marathon. Even though I set a new personal best, I was outside my target time by over four minutes. I really reflected on my training, and sought the help of a running coach. So far I haven't yet started the training programme that he has recommended, but the past two months I've changed my programme significantly and I can already feel some improvements. There is improved fitness and, perhaps more importantly, improved technique and running form. Who knows how well I'll do this year. I still have over four months to my target event, so hopefully in the following weeks I can really apply myself in training without injuring myself or burning out prematurely.
Travel wise, I've travelled to Holland to run the Rotterdam marathon, and will also travel to Denmark to run the Copenhagen marathon. Both events are intended to be training runs, however I might have to rethink this idea of running a marathon as a training exercise, as running a marathon, no matter how fast or slow or serious or fun, is going to take a lot out of you. This might mean I may have to pull out of Helsinki or Athens, but I could still travel there for a weekend.
A couple of others are travelling up here for their OEs, which is good for me as it increases my circle of NZ friends while I'm up here. In particular, my brother is finally making the big move up here. I do have to spare a thought for my parents back in NZ, and hopefully they will look after themselves while their children are on the other side of the world. I wish my brother well as he looks for work in a new country.
In the meantime, I'm still busy at work on various projects. At the moment I'm still quite committed to the Spanish project I was working on before, and it looks like I may have to travel back and forth on occasion but hopefully the travelling will be kept to an absolute minimum.
That's about it really. I'm trying really hard to maintain this blog, but as you can appreciate it is quite hard work to write a quality blog, so please bear with me if I don't make much noise here.
Bye for now
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