DECEMBER 2007

'My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel ten years older already.'

  Milton Berle

December started with a bit of fun as a couple of mates and I took part in the last Helly Hansen adventure race of the year. This involved running, mountain biking and a bit of kayaking around Surrey. Despite strong winds and heavy rain it was a good laugh and we suprised ourselves by doing fairly well, placing 27th out of over 200 teams in a time of around 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Team 'Mud, Sweat & Gears' at the finish line

The rest of December was predictably stop and start, with lots of festive celebrations getting in the way of my training (funny how it's never the other way around). But there were still some decent runs thrown in and the longer distances with a heavy pack are slowly starting to get easier.

Christmas was also a good time to start getting some kit together for the event itself and Santa put a few useful items in my stocking, one of which was a Stormlite whistle - supposedly the loudest whistle in the world and championed as such by the US military amongst others. I haven't tried it at full strength yet in fear of deafening everyone in Dorking but just a short blast at less than half strength suggests it may live up to its reputation. As with all these safety items though, the hope is that I never have to use them!

December also gave me my first injury fear. After the adventure race I thougt I may have aggravated an old shin injury. Luckily it turned out that I was just being soft and no real damage was done, but it was a reminder that I need to be careful not to crock myself so close to the off. Touch wood my luck will continue and everything else will hold together for another couple of months.

But whilst I've avoided any proper injuries I have been less lucky with blisters and other foot complaints. I seem to have developed a hot spot on my left foot which blisters at the slightest suggestion of a run, and without having time to let one heal before my next run I now have blisters on my blisters. Good training for the desert though when ruined feet are almost a guarantee! And to add to that, after stubbing one of my toes recently the last half a centimeter or so has completely died and turned jet black. Not quite a case for amputation but it may be a while before I can apply for a job as a flip-flop model.