I can't run as fast as a rowing 8 (we just ran 5 miles)

I ran 5 miles today with Adam, Anthony, Rod and Tony today. The river was busy with lots of racing going on. As we plodded along one of the eights started to catch us. They looked extremely serious. I said to Adam - 'shall we race them?'. I asked him how fast the thought they would be going. He figured 6 min/mile pace. I thought that would be ok for a bit of a sprint. Adam said we should wait until they came alongside and then go. So, we jogged on, squinting towards the river and as they drew level, off we sprinted. What fun! Well, at first. We'd be going a while when I looked down and saw on my GPS that we were doing 5:14 min/mile pace. Their pacer on the bike shouted "200 metres" to the boat and I wondered about hanging on but started flagging and then let it go and walked. I watched Adam continue with them for a bit, until the bike pacer said "400M" and we realised we wouldn't make it.

Often we can run faster than the boats but clearly not the top teams! We only have 2 legs each and they have 16 arms and legs!

After the silly sprinting I was a bit pooped but it was a nice run with the lads.

Smile Bank's overzealous marketing in violation of their ethical policy

I was extremely disappointed in Smile Bank recently when they sent out a cheap plastic toothbrush to their customers, in a waxed cardboard envelope, just to say thanks to their customers for being customers. Not only is this an inane gesture, it would rather seem to fly in the face of their ethical policy.

I don't know how many of these they sent out - maybe thousands.

Smile is an excellent internet bank. To save the planet we don't have printed statements. Why then are we subject to over-zealous marketing gestures like this?

The Co-op, who owns smile, has an impressive ethical policy, part of which looks at Ecological Impact. In fact, the Co-op refuses to invest in companies who fall outside their excellent ethical policy.

Here's what the Co-op says about Ecological Impact,

"Ecological Sustainability
There are three principle ways in which commerce and industry contributes to the progressive destruction of Nature and its ability to create resources.

1. We are extracting vast amounts of materials from the Earth's crust which, after use, end up accumulating in Nature. For example, every year, millions of tonnes of fossil fuels, such as oil, gas and coal are burned, producing large volumes of waste, such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2). The accumulation of CO2 in Nature has been identified as the primary factor behind global climate change.
2. Commerce and industry are generating volumes of waste that far exceed the capacity that Nature is able to deal with. Nature is unable to break down and render it harmless some of the waste produced. The accumulation of such 'artificial' materials in Nature is particularly problematic, as they are destined to stay with us for a long time. Pollutants, such as dioxins, are linked to everything from cancer to abnormalities of the human reproductive system.
3. We are plundering Nature and its living resources at a rate which exceeds its capacity for renewal. As a result, natural resources are disappearing. For example, all major fishing areas in the world have either reached or exceeded their natural limit for replenishment and fish stocks are, as a result, in decline."

So, why am I not smiling? Because this marketing stunt contributes to each of the 3 principles listed in their Ethical Policy:

Extracting Earth's materials

• The plastic toothbrush is presumably made from oil;
• Energy was used in the production of the toothbrush and the cardboard, and CO2 was emmitted;
• Energy was used in transporting the marketing gimmick, and C02 was emmitted.

Generating waste
• The cardboard is waxed and cannot be recycled, so we'll throw it into landfill;
• The toothbrush is low quality and so will be immediately discarded, again in landfill;

Plundering nature
• The cardboard is 75% recycled fibre, which is perhaps OK but where did the 25% come from? Was it illegally logged indonesian rain forest (there is a good chance it is from this source, like much of the paper used in the UK);

Green Day (& ran 5 miles)

This eco living isn't so bad. Today I drove Simon and Jan's car for the first time. They asked if I'd like to do a bit of car sharing with them. I drove to pick up my shredder from repair by Geoff Rank - how nice to repair things like this. My neighbours tell me they will split the cost with me since they borrow the shredder.

Yesterday I bought a vacuum cleaner for my little brother. I bought one second hand from the Vacuum Cleaner centre on Burleigh Street. I could have bought a new one from Argos for the price but why do we always need to buy new stuff with all the manufacturing and packaging and waste involved. This way I have saved an old vacuum cleaner from going to the dump and have supported a business committed to repair. They are nice blokes in there and said if there is any problem with it they'd fix it for me. Perfect.

I drove to Emmaus on the way home looking for a bigger shoe rack but drew a blank up there - though I did buy some videos for 50p but will return them soon enough!

This week I've given away a scanner and an old chest of drawers on Freecycle and sold a n oak desk on Ebay (which the guy has already sanded down and waxed!).

Not bad going really.

I ran about 5 miles with Adam and Ivan today. We shot of at quite a pace - 6.45 perhaps. I was ragged before long and stayed that way for the whole run, though we slowed down coming back. Last night's curry didn't help. I got back feeling pretty rough. Not my best ever effort.

A more successful Apple Crumble

I was getting a bit inundated with vegetables and had a new delivery on friday so it was time to cook.

I have still managed to throw NOTHING of my organic veg away without using it. Lettuce though, seems the highest risk item on that front.

Today I chopped up a lot of pretty floppy celery, added a couple of root vegetables, a reclaimed orange pepper (one of my lodgers had binned it), an apple I found during my run, garlic and onions and a handful of pulses and made some soupy stew, then put some mashed up potatoes on the top and baked a pretty nice shepherds pie. I managed to eat well and also stash a couple of other decent portions into the freezer - my home made 'ready meals'.

My last batch of apples was getting a bit wrinkly so I had a second go at apple crumble. I slammed in lots of cinnamon, a little sugar, a few cloves, and some flaked almonds I found in the cupboard (dated 2002 but they tasted, reasonable). This time, I didn't follow a recipe when it came to adding the fat to the crumble, I just added a little, bit-by-bit until it looked right, then I added a load of oatmeal, and hey presto - I finally got the apple crumble this right time! GREAT. So nice that I only managed to get one spare ready meal out of that batch (though I spotted a heavily ladened apple tree today in no-mans land so I might have to go scrumping).

Nice grub!

Running, about 9 miles, sub 8 min/mile pace

I awoke a bit hung over and was glad that Ivan's call woke me up. It can be hard to get motivated for running but once the pact has been made you have to get on with it.

Ivan's girls, Rhiannon and Erica are into their sport, playing soccer and doing triathlon, so they decided to do a couple of laps with us before we started. I was very impressed at their stretching techniques - they seem to have learned some excellent stretches and reminded me of a couple of useful ones I'd forgotten. After 3 laps (about 1.5km) the girls headed for the garage to buy some sweets, whilst Ivan and I trotted off for a larger lap around Impington, across some fields, the dredded guided bus route, past Nick and Judith on their allotment, and back to Ivan's for a cuppa tea.

The run was great and I felt much better and more awake for the rest of the day for having done it.

When we got back I think we went through a Dr Who style time warp. Rhiannon had a Sherbet Dip, Erica had Black Jacks, Ivan made tea in a proper pot and we ate Nice biscuits (I had no idea you could still get sweets like that). It was like being 5 years old at my Gran's house again!

Angel Fish Swimming Gala

The Angel Fish swimming gala was a huge success! Panda Paula did an amazing job of running everything. My (GE!) team included Dan and his son Harry, Allister and his daughter Kathryn Robert's Daughter Hannah. Events included an egg and spoon race, swimming in a t-shirt, Doggy Paddle whilst barking and swimming with blacked out googles (so we couldn't see anything) and being guided down the pool.

I was particularly impressed with the guts shown by all of the children. None of them baulked at any of the events, not even swimming completely blindfolded and well out of their depth. It's extremely impressive to see such young children so totally confident in the water. During the wheelbarrow race Dan ploughed through the water with Harry gripping onto him from behind, rarely getting his head above water to take a breath and being completely unconcerned about it. I didn't get that confident in water until I was in my 30s!

After the swim we got some lovely food from Paula's mum and then had a pub quiz, which was also very professionally done and much fun. I was well pleased to join the Norwich quiz team and have the chance to chat with the world famous Jane Asher (holder of 26 world records, out of a possible 35, in her agegroup). She's 76 but looks like she's in her 50s!

St Neots Riverside Half Marathon - 1:35:41 (7:17 min/mile pace) - new personal best by 3 minutes

Ivan paced me to a personal best half marathon time on the St Neots Riverside Half Marathon Results 2007.

I awoke, not keen to exert myself out in the cold but after cycling to Ivan's house, his enthusiasm was soon catching.

We were soon parked up by the local army cadets, had a last quick toilet break and were off to the start with a couple of minutes to spare.

The race was chip timed, meaning we had a chip on our shoes which would time when we went over the starting line. This makes for a much more leisurely start. Normally nobody wants to waste time waiting to cross the start line whilst the clock is ticking so there is often jostling. No so today but the adrenalin kicks in and everyone wants to get going, so the race was still quite thick for a mile or so.

It was a cold day with some strong wind across the fields at times - it certainly encouraged some drafting. The course was really nice with a couple of hills to play on, though the road was slippery underfoot at times.

We deliberately set out slow, a little behind the 7:28 min/mile pace I had chosen as a target. Then we picked it up a little to get some time in the bag so we could accommodate the slow miles over the hills.

The first couple of miles were quite hard as cold and creeking muscles try to get working. I reckon mine start to settle down after about 6 miles and I feel fine for a few miles after that if I'm pushing the pace (I feel fine ALL DAY after that at a relaxed pace!). I was pleased to have got rid of a stitch I'd picked up early in the race too. Ivan told me to breath out slowly with my chin on my chest and I was astounded by how quickly the stitch faded - I wonder why that works!

Our performance felt quite measured. If a reason arose to pick it up a bit, I could always do it without over-stretching it. Sometimes, for example, when it's windy it is worth catching up to a big group of runners ahead and using them as a wind break. At other times, like, during a hill climb, everyone suffers a bit so it's a good time to turn it on a bit. So, this was perhaps the most measured race I've ever done. I think it was partly cardio-vascular fitness that allowed Ivan and I to run like this. Even after 11 miles we were breathing easily and still making a good time.

As the race progressed we both started having a few muscle problems. By 12 miles the pain behind my right thigh was pretty intense and I was wondering whether I would make the last mile still running. I tried to make a big effort to run lightly, as Ivan seems to always do. I was pretty surprised that the pain faded.

After the mile 12 sign appeared I realised that I had a bit left and so closed up to some of the folks ahead. As we passed the 20km sign (12.5 miles) I started picking it up even more. Seeing the 400M sign I really pulled, with Ivan alongside me, and we made up quite a handful of places. With 200M to go I heard Keith cheering me on, and although I thought I might have gone too soon but I locked on to the guy ahead and started working up to a full sprint. I didn't think at the time but this was a bit unsporting since I got just ahead of Ivan in doing so, and he had clearly had an easy run of it pacing me around. The whole race he had seemed extremely relaxed, ad if he was walking whilst the rest of us were pushing. Well, in my mind I was outclassed and our finishing times are the same, I just couldn't help the sprinting antics! I think I might be part sheep dog.

So, my official time was 1:35:41 which was done by the chip so is probably accurate. The GPS I was wearing made it 1:35:30 with an average pace of 7.17min/mile and an average heartrate of 159BPM.

Splits- mile 1 / 7:24; 2/7:09; 3/7:28;4/7:35;5/7:22;6/7:14; 7/7:07; 8/7:15; 9/7:30; 10/7:26; 11/7:17; 12/7:20; 13/6:49.

Good fun to see Anthony, Stanni and Keith their too. Keith put in a blistering time of 1:27 something. Hard to imagine running that fast!

Sharon and Ange sent me a link to a photo of me crossing the finish line (not very flattering!).

Humpty Dumpty Lives!!!!

OK the motorbike is BACK ON THE ROAD. The timing is almost perfect. Only yesterday the grit lorries came and covered the road in salt and we had a frost over night. A new rear tyre (still shiny) and my road skills a bit rusty meant I was slip-sliding away somewhat but happy.

After my major major bike strip-down what was wrong? The HT leads in the wrong order. This seems almost impossible since they are such weird lengths that seem to only fit one plug but apparently this is the only thing I did wrong. So near and yet so far.

Map your Triathlon Workouts: Bike, Run, Swim. Calorie Counter, Distance, and More.

MapMyTri.com - Map your Triathlon Workouts: Bike, Run, Swim. Calorie Counter, Distance, and More.

My mate Pike from Tahoe sent me this link for mapping tri workouts - it seems pretty groovy.

Run 9.4 miles (7:32min/mile; 156 HR; 1331 calories)

Ivan has digitized our normal 9 mile running route (he runs 11 since he runs to my house first). We actually did 9.4 miles today since we ran back to meet the others a couple of times.

We had a whole running club out today! Ivan, Adam, Anthony, Tony and Rod. 3 of us did the 9 mile loop and one of us (me) held everyone up. Nobody minded but Adam and Ivan were flying. I reckon they would have been doing sub 7min/mile pace without me.

It felt like quite a hard run so I'm surprised the average heartrate figure is so low - it felt harder than that. I reckon the 60 mile bike ride yesterday must've taken a toll somewhat, perhaps on the glycogen stores in my muscles but it didn't show in the heartrate.

Do something eco today - reduce your junk mail

My green friend Karen told me about a website called www.catalogchoice.org. This is a US-based website allowing US citizens to opt out of catalogs they recieve through the post. This could have quite an impressive impact on the environment, not to mention on your post pile!

The website makes the following claims (without any references):

• Over eight million tons of trees are consumed each year in the production of paper catalogs.
• Nearly half of the planet’s original forest cover is gone today. Forests have effectively disappeared in 25 countries, and another 29 have lost more than 90% of their forest cover.
• Deforestation contributes between 20% and 25% of all carbon pollution, causing global climate change.

In the UK we already have some pretty impressive services to reduce our junkmail. These include:

• Telephone Preference Service (TPS)
• Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS)
• Mailing Preference Service (MPS)
• Fax Preference Service (FPS)
• Baby Mail Preference Service (BMPS)

Thanks Karen!

Cycled home from Dad and Tineke's place in Elstree - 60 miles or so

I cycled from Dad and Tineke's in Elstree back to my house today, I think it was about 60 miles. You can see the route I took on Google if you hit the 'Get Directions' button when you click on the previous link. Well, it's close to the route I took. At one point I missed a turn and ended up on the A10 going north. I didn't like it much so I took a bridleway across some fields back to the place I originally hoped to head towards. It was a bit rough but not too bad.

It was a little cold and damp today and even rained a little but it was still a real treat to head off across country roads, just one lane wide most often. I saw lots of pheasants and even turned one corner to be confronted by a huge blue peacock. I cycled on my mountain bike and although it has road tyres is not ideal for long distances. The hills were quite tough though were much much easier than I was used to in Nevada. I can't have gone more than 200ft up any particular hill whereas a Kingsbury - Luther loop would start with a 3,000ft climb!

I was staggered that I could ride on country roads from the north east of london all the way to cambridge with very little traffic on most of the roads. I wonder why more people don't cycle around on such beautiful routes. One reason is perhaps the difficulties in navigating. Many times the signage was non-existent or deliberately misleading. 'Why?' you might ask. Well, I think the signs are designed to lead traffic away from quiet roads. I cycled about 8 miles away from Boreham Wood and came upon a sign at a T-Junction pointing right to Boreham Wood. At another time I saw signs pointing both left and right to the same village! Other times there were no signs. And at others there were places I was in thst were not on my map. Needless to say I spent a lot of time stopped just looking at the map and my route rarely worked out as I planned.

I left at 11.30, took a break at 15:15 and finally got home by 18:30. It was pitch dark by 17:00 and the last bit of the journey was not much fun but people gave me loads of room on the whole. My super-dooper front light failed after about 20 minutes. I guess the lead acid battery has deteriorated through lack of use.

It was nice to cycle through Hertingford Bury and have the chance to visit my Gran and Grandad's grave.

Biofuel is bullshit (2) - Monbiot.com » An Agricultural Crime Against Humanity

Monbiot explains, convincingly, how biofuels could kill more people than the Iraq war.

This is quite appalling,

A recent study by the Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen shows that the official estimates have ignored the contribution of nitrogen fertilisers. They generate a greenhouse gas - nitrous oxide - which is 296 times as powerful as CO2. These emissions alone ensure that ethanol from maize causes between 0.9 and 1.5 times as much warming as petrol, while rapeseed oil (the source of over 80% of the world’s biodiesel) generates 1-1.7 times the impact of diesel(12). This is before you account for the changes in land use.

Have a read if you like... Monbiot.com » An Agricultural Crime Against Humanity

I'm thinking that there is some merit in biofuel which comes from a waste product, like cooking oil from fish and chip shops in the UK. However, this is pretty small potatoes in the context of the broader macro scale biofuel smokescreen.

Don’t Throw Out Your Broken iPod; Fix It via the Web - New York Times

Don’t Throw Out Your Broken iPod; Fix It via the Web - New York Times

Much more environmentally sound to fix it instead of throwing it! Nice one Dave, thanks!

Ran 9 miles (7:37 min/mile; HR 154; 1276 calories)

Adam, Antony and Tony came running today. 3 of us did the 9 mile loop, which was enjoyable despite the wind and wide open fields in places. I'm quite surprised to see that my average heartrate stayed the same as on a previou occasion though I ran 30 seconds per mile faster. Perhap I am getting a bit fitter. At this pace me and Antony had sweat dripping off our faces but Adam looked as fresh as a daisy all the way around as usual.

God granted me another organic box of vegetables and a bag of apples again this week from www.waterlandorganics.co.uk, well, when I say God it was really Doreen. I had just had a shower and noticed the card through the door so dashed out into the street in my skimpy dressing gown to try and pay her. I think I embarassed her a bit and she said I could pay next week. Oh well. Nice to have some more nice food!

Easy run today - about 5 miles; 9.06min/mile pace; HR 139

Just an easy run today with Adam, Tony and Antony. We stopped a couple of times and I forgot to stop my GPS watch but it was about 5 miles. Had an urgent need for the loo at the end. I wonder if the giardia is saying hello again!

Still having fun with my new website, well, you might call it fun!

Church 'urges' Supermarkets to be nice to farmers (why don't they just DO something about it?)

The Right Rev Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter and chair of the rural strategy group, launched the report. He said leading food retailers placed "considerable stress" on the farming community through unfair methods that consumers were largely unaware of.

A climate of fear prevented farmers from speaking out about such practices, he added, with some refusing to be interviewed for the study because they were scared of damaging their relationship with leading food retailers. "It is clear that the Supermarkets Code of Practice is not working. As bishops of a church which is a major investor in the retail food industry and which is also the landlord to many tenant farmers we have a duty to consider the relationship between these two areas of business. We have to ask whether this relationship is fair and whether it operates within what we consider to be the principles of Fair Trade."

Reported in the Guardian.

So, the church is owns a lot of the retail food industry AND the land that the tenant farmers work. They make money from both sides of the deal and yet all they can do is "ask" whether the relationship is fair? I wonder why they don't just DO something about it. Why not advise the public to buy directly from their local farmers? Oh, well, I suppose if the church has an investment in the retail food industry they wouldn't want to risk that.

Farmers are getting a raw deal and supermarket logistics are such that food miles are exacerbated. We can all do something about this, and we can get better food for ourselves, and we can stop eating so much processed junk. All we have to do is to sign up with our local organic box scheme and support our local farmers, and reduce our food miles. OK you will not be eating strawberries in December, much like our ancestors did not. In fact, it seems likely that evolution has grown our bodies to be used to food from our local regions according to the seasons. It seems likely that we will be healthier by eating local, seasonal, organic produce.

(tonight I have cooked vegetarian shepherds pie and apple crumble - all local!).

Chatting with Jane Asher (Swimming Hall of Famer)

I've been exchanging a few emails with Jane Asher over the last week or so. It seems funny to have to tell people who she is, though most swimmers know. I first heard of Jane because she would win the 5km Swimathon event in her agegroup every year. I then watched her teammates set a world record for the 320 years relay (everyone was over 80).

In chatting I discovered that Jane holds 26 out of a possible 35 World Records in her agegroup for different swimming events. She really is a superstar and what's more, she is 75 years old. Whipper snappers can expect to not see her for dust in the pool unless they are exceptional swimmers.

Jane got in touch with us recently because she would like to swim in Paula's fun gala in aid of the Angel Fish Cambodia, on November 24th. We don't think Jane yet holds the record for the egg and spoon race so it could be quite competitive on the day!

Open for business - User Experience Design

Well, I think I did something resembling work today. Just a vague resemblance because it was a lot of fun.

Here is my new business website for User Experience Design. I'd be very happy to get any comments I can about it. What's it like as a marketing proposition? How much should I charge? Does anyone need a website?

I'm not yet sure how to operate. I own User Experience Design Limited but think I may just become a sole trader, trading as, User Experience Design. It should be a lot of fun!

Oops, ran another 9 miles (8:09min/mile; HR149; 1267 Calories)

Ivan is in training for a half marathon. He is much faster than me but he just wanted to get some miles in today so I could keep with him. I did the same circuit as yesterday but in reverse but didn't feel so great. After 2 miles I felt quite weak and low energy and Ivan had a bad stitch. By 6 miles we were both feeling much better and increased the speed a bit. It's a very pretty run through the fens - I like it a lot but the 9 mile distance is taking a bit of adapting to.

Motorbike really won't go so the bike shop is coming to get it thursday :-(

Ran 9 miles: 8:07 min/mile pace / 154 avg HR

Ran up the river to Clayhithe (started with Adam and Tony as far as Bait's Bite Lock), crossed the water there, sought out a difficult to find footpath and made a 9 mile loop of it. I was a bit surprised to do it at an average pace of 8:07 and a heartrate of 154.

I've had a look at the next bridge up and it's near Wicken Fen, Adam tells me it is called Dimmock's Cote and is about 21 miles round trip. I not quite ready for that yet but maybe soon. The next one up is Ely but that is 35 miles round trip, and, Adam tells me it was Alan Turing's favourite run. Is there anything Adam doesn't know about running?

I cycled to swimming tonight and then we did a pretty tough session in the pool. I'm pooped but was glad to come home to organic box scheme soup!! It's run out now so I may need to cook something else tomorrow. Apple crumble is tempting. I wonder what else I can bake to make good use of the oven being on.

The Man in Seat Sixty-One...

The Man in Seat Sixty-One... is a website designed to help people travel by train or ship. An excellent idea!

Parsnip & Carrot Soup (with Cumin)

After a breakfast of fresh eggs and el cheapo mushrooms from Tesco I made a Parsnip and Carrot Soup for dinner, with a handful of pulses chucked in for good measure.

I like this organic food thing!

In other news. The motorbike is in one piece again. However, it wouldnt start. I may have to take it all apart again to fiddle with the spark plugs. Dammit.

organic box scheme

With Natalie and Adam buying local veg to feed me this week, and with Mum and Fred buying from a local farmer, I thought I should sort myself out. My neighbours, Simon and Jan, recommended an organic box scheme to me and at about noon I received my first batch:
- potatoes
- leeks
- parsnips
- carrots
- onions
- celery
- eating apples
- cooking apples
- eggs

My relationship with Tesco is radically different than it used to be. Most excellent.

Environmentally speaking, buying locally is one of the best things you can do. Flying is awful for the environment so buying Onions that have flown from Argentina (or wherever) is inherently not good whether they are labelled 'organic' or not.

Shortly after receiving this lot my friend Polly arrived and we went for a 9 mile run up to Waterbeach, including getting lost on that particular footpath which I always get lost on. Very pleasant though. My GPS said I burned 1200 calories.

After lunch, the kitchen was already a mess so I thought I'd have a go at making my first soup - leek and potato. This is the first time I have cooked since I was camping (I've been eating out a lot as part of the GE relocation deal). It is a REAL pleasure to have such easy access to great food that I haven't had to carry for MILES and access to a whole kitchen. I think camping has made me really appreciate some of the simple things in life.

Very proud of my Mum

My Mum has taken up a new sport - Pilates. It's not easy starting a new sport but she's done 3 classes now and seems set to continue. What's more she's also taken to more serious and regular walking. Excellent stuff mum!

(thanks too Fred for egging her on even though she had a bad back this week - Pilates and Yoga can be excellent for bad backs).

I just wish Sienna was here to give you some Yoga lessons too.