My New "Raison d’Être"

It's that time of year again- September: and 17 (-ish) years of educational conditioning prompt me to feel like it's the beginning of the year, rather than the end creeping closely to Christmas. Feeling fresh, and not only from the crispness of autumn air lurking in the morning, I have decided to get serious about the newest challenge I've signed up for- running a marathon. And not any marathon (as you probably suspect as I tend to turn my cheek ordinary), the London Marathon! 

Of course a challenge like this would always be on the horizon. The only question was: when? With a couple of colleagues in a similar frame of mind, one put his initiative out there to rally up a team of us to band together and make this marathon challenge more than just the running. We've pulled together a team of 14 runners (from novices to veteran marathoners) with the challenge of running 10,000 miles and raising over £20,000 for Oxfam leading up to the London Marathon on April 26th, 2015. 

I probably (definitely) needed some sort of commitment like this to get me to the next stage of running. I've lamented before about my wandering mojo, and since April this year, I've been getting suckier and suckier at running! At first I thought I was just tired, so I scaled my mileage down; however, my minutes-per-mile time was still creeping up. Feeling lethargic during most of my Sunday runs during the early summer, I thought- maybe it's the wine? But it has antioxidant properties- so how can that be?! I scaled it back (the Saturday night wine this time), with no improvement to my running, nor waistline! Could it be the fact that I'm now on the wrong side of thirty and the side effects are settling in; are some of my mitochondria are going on a permanent vacation?

Whatever it might be, this poor performance is not acceptable (don't people get faster at their marathon times as they get older?), and feeling raring to go for the start of the new year (September), I decided to get prepared and make a plan. I should know better... I always feel better with a plan!

Preparation steps: 

1) Buy some new shoes. I did actually need new shoes, anyways. I was tired of my toenails falling off! Don't worry, I will not spare the details over the upcoming months.

2) Buy some new clothes- always makes me feel more prepared; and I'm sure it's a fact that the more neon or patterned or reflective you are, the faster you run. Right?!

3) Find out how much training time I actually have... made much easier with a handy countdown app.

4) Tell people! I learned this in school, in Uni, and in life- if you tell people (a lot of people) you are going to do something big, there is more pressure for your to actually go through with it. It's proven to be one of the best exercise strategies for those embarking on a big goal.

5) Train! The last big prep step. 

To date my running has been consistent, but unmonitored. I've just kind of done it. I've had big gains with relatively little input (making me think I am kind of okay at it). I was improving with each race, motivating me to keep doing it. I've hit a plateau now= mojo decline= frustration= FIX IT! So that's what I'm doing now. I am going to take this seriously, and hopefully I will do it well.

So what's the plan? Broadly, I have two marathon training routines to plod against, no wait, no more plodding- work towards before April 26th... with time off over Christmas (naturally). You'll be frightened to know that there are officially 17 weeks (or less, depending on when you are reading this) before Christmas. Session 1 will focus on getting used to the distance for 16 weeks. Session 2 (starting in January) will focus on speed for 17 weeks.

I've got a lot to learn to do this, mostly because just doing it won't be good enough (for me). The most challenging will be running five out of seven days a week. I currently only run twice - maybe three times a week, so finding time (away from the kitchen most likely) will be step 1. And actually because of the fundraising challenge (I think more scary than the running), I will need to be baking constantly- and charging! I suppose the carrot will be the carrot cake that I can eat because of the extra calories I will be burning off! 

The second hardest challenge will be to push myself when nobody is looking; hopefully with the help of my GPS tracker + web upload. And lastly, to learn to go out when it's dark and raining: the reality of living in England and training for this over the winter means that if I wait until the rain stops, I might never get out for a run... and as mentioned, the early nights are a good excuse to buy some neon reflective clothes!

Now that I've shared my plan, the inevitable call for support is extended outwards to you- 

• Please keep following my blog: of course I will be sharing my pain (and successes) virtually with you, I might even treat you to some pictures of bruised toe-nails!
• Send me abuse to get out and run, or run faster! And feel free to join in.
• Please donate- our team will raise £20,000 for a global charity called Oxfam: (read more about it). You can donate on my personal fundraising page: https://www.justgiving.com/xtynsrunning/ 

Thank you in advance and get inspired to get active for yourself or a good cause :)

And A Few More English Things To Do

With the advent of some fair weather the past month-and-a-bit, I have managed to spend a great many weekends ticking off some more of the "102 English Things To Do". 

Most recently, we went to a Chilli Festival. Yes, exactly as it sounds- a food festival to celebrate the tiny-but-terrifying fruit. Set in the grounds of a large stately home called Eastnor Castle and with ambiance of steel drums and a mariachi band, I managed to spend far too much money on novelty "bespoke" local food-stuffs spiced with an array of chilli varietals: chilli-cheese buns, chilli vodka, chilli chocolate, deep fried stuffed chilli peppers... the list goes on. And when immersed in a food festival, it's the prime time to partake in the following English Things To Do:

#15: Form a Queue: where a particularly English Queue starts with one person, even "at a shop counter which is temporarily un-staffed" and "an English person will be seen waiting patiently, facing forward, holding their purchase and vigilant to any signs that the assistant is going to return". Or perhaps one of the worst sorts of social awkwardness where there is "queue ambiguity" and even the thought of going ahead of another might threaten one's Englishness.

And recently as an impatient foreigner, I can assure you I received a "force-10 disapproval of all observers" whilst waiting to place an order for some over-priced olives (stuffed with chillis). I did do the "no, after you glance dance" for about a millisecond before my inner monologue said "Eff-it! You're at the Mediterranean stall, no queues necessary". I can confirm that one tut, and two sets of dagger-eyes immediately came my way. I promptly sass-eyed the group straight back to imply that if they were truly English, they should know that most queues form from left to right. Pfft!

Also at a food festival, it is a good place to do #18: Get Your Round In: Regardless of how drunk participants are getting, it is nearly as socially awkward as not forming a queue to not partake in round buying with English folk resulting in "distinctly beta- or gamma-male" social status if you fail to do so. The key is to plan out where you wish to be in the round- there truly is strategy from a social sense, and my interpretation goes as follows:

Position 1: 

You are the Alpha-male. You have the money and you want to brag that the night will fall out as you've now dictated. Down side: if you hang around for long enough, it might come back to your round= more money lost. Note: Round order stays the same, it would be as sacrilege as queue jumping to change your order of round buying, for essentially, round buying is an unofficial type of queue.

Position 2:

You're a Wannabe- (and in my opinion the worst place to be in socially, unless you're in a round of three, or one male and the rest female) never quite as swift and confident as the Alpha. You safely remember what people are drinking because it's early and you've probably smugly played this up to show how good you are. The problem is that nobody is drunk enough, yet so they see your smugness and secretly think you are a loser for this.

It is only acceptable to be in Position 2 if the group is comprised of one male (then the man is naturally in Position 1) and the rest females. In this case where Position 2 is a female round buying after the only male, this female ascertains Alpha-status of the entire group. She is respectful of the man (allowing him to think he is THE man by getting the first round in), yet demonstrates her monetary power and prowess by jumping in at the right time. Note: it demonstrates utmost lack of self-esteem for the only man in an all female group to buy the round in any position after 2.

However and in any case, if you are unlucky enough for the round to come back to you in the night (groups of more than 4), you might make up for your smugness by purchasing a round of shots for the group. This will either kill your social status within the group completely, or else you've jusssht-mmaaaade life long friendsh. 

Position 3:

Miss/ter Astute: in my opinion the best place to be in (thus my normal round buying strategy). You might still just remember everyone else's order, or rather, you are now giving those in the group a chance to change their order (a dignified way of taking a break with a non-alcoholic bevvy). And because you're recall ability is still in tact, and you've not jumped at the chance to show off, you're still socially accepted! 

It is unlikely that any group members would have left by now (because if someone leaves early, and you haven't bought them a drink, then you will be secretly resented). You can now secretly buy yourself a sobering-up drink disguised as a new type of cocktail. And finally, it is unlikely the round will come back to you; unless you are only 3 in the round, in which you have the dignified act of wrapping up the night. Those shots you might buy in position 6 now become a celebratory sign-off.

Positions 4, 5, 6...

If you're a first in 4, 5, or 6 then chances are high that people are already well imbibed, so they love you for buying them another. As hinted at earlier, if you are a second round 4, 5, or 6 then you've already ascertained your social status in the drinks chain.One one last note, it is socially acceptable to decline from joining in the round buying when there are more than 6 participants.

As this food festival was at Eastnor Castle, in Herefordshire, it was only natural that all rounds checked #100: Drink Traditional Cider- and by cider I mean the sort for grown-ups... "often associated with the 'West Country' (Cornwall, Somerset, Devon) but also found in more northerly parts such as Worcestershire and Herefordshire. 

The Herefordshire origin variety is what I drink most, and I like the description offered in the book:

Real farm-brewed cider bears little resemblance to the bottled variety sold in shops. It is flat, with not fizz, and has a complex flavour which differs from county to county and farm to farm. Aficianados can detect ... many other notes, such as straw, cow-dung, chicken-dung, cheese, horse-dung, other dung, mud and bees.

I can admit that I have tasted a good body of cheese, straw, and bees with top notes of unspecified dung and that no two Traditional Ciders taste the same. The cider at this particular event was from our good ol' favourite Broome Farm (in Herefordshire).

Also in Herefordshire, but part of a previous weekend, Craig and I partook in #86: Visit an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). This point explains one of my most loved reasons for living in the UK (or England): "Only around 20% of the land of England is inhabited by people. The remaining 80% is empty". And it really does feel like that, which is a phenomenon considering there are +66 million people living on this tiny set of islands. 

A declared Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is just that and there are officially 33 AONBs in England. What makes me laugh is how "most English people never see an AONB and know about them only by hearsay, because, despite the more difficult financial climate, they still prefer to take a holiday abroad.". 

I can truly say I've experienced this before, and especially when English people ask me why the heck I am here and not in Canada. When I poetically ramble on about the rolling green hillside, trimmed with fluffy green hedgerow, and dotted with families of sheep and lambs, I've witnessed a reminiscent smile creep across more than one native English-person's face.

What might you find in an AONB? Well, something that allows you to complete #78: Eat Nettles- Nettles are a staple plant much abundant in the English countryside. And for those of you who aren't familiar, nettles are horrible! Especially when you've inadvertently brushed your leg against one whilst rambling in an AONB. Nettles "produce their 'sting' with thousands of tiny hypodermic needles that discharge boric acid". So why would you eat these?

Folklore goes back to a story with the theme of "who has the longest?!" between two farmers. The losing farmer was to eat their raw nettle in defeat; and from this spun off an annual competition of nettle eating. The rules of the competition state you are to eat the nettles raw- "nevertheless, mouth-to-nettle contact can lead to facial paralysis" which might actually be another meaning of the "British Stiff Upper Lip" (#12). 

I can confess that my rationality would never lead me to partake in such pure activities, even if dressed in the cloak of a competition; I did however eat nettles this past month in the form of another great English food- the pakora :) How so?

I went on a foraging coarse- what can I pick to eat out of my back garden? What is tasty? What won't kill me? Nettles, Wild Garlic, Hedge Garlic, Woodaven, Cherry Blossom, Wild Rose, Lime (Tilia cordata), and Hawthorn are all new plants to jazz up the plates at a dinner party. What have I tried again since the course? I managed to find a field of Wild Garlic 200m behind my house where I whipped up some pesto the other week. Also in this nature space behind my house and in addition to the fields of Blackberry hedges, there are Elderberry Trees and Hedgerow Garlic. And I am really hoping to find some clove-flavoured Woodaven roots and horseradish to dig up. Stay tuned.

Wild Garlic Pesto

Elderflower (left)            Hedgerow Garlic (right)

Woodaven shortbread prep

Lastly to tick off the list (or not) is #77: Extreme Ironing. Well, I can admit that this wasn't quite what I expected, and it has now made my bucket list. I thought that as a result of my recent weekends gallivanting, I had taken part in Extreme Ironing in that I had about a month's worth of ironing to get through in one go- I can confirm that I had to fill the iron three times! to get through it all. 

Alas no, Extreme Ironing is not spending your weekend pressing your pillowcases to achieve that hotel starchy crispness, but in fact the act is as literal as it states. 

Extreme Ironing may be defined as a quest for thrills while simultaneously achieving a perfect crease. Participants go skydiving, potholing, bungee-jumping, or skiing, only with an ironing board and iron.

From what I can tell, the main rule is that the paired activity must be thrilling by itself. I better start thinking about how I can actually work this into my life! Perhaps I am not yet eccentrically English enough to find an obvious enough answer, or perhaps it's my logical brain that is impeding me from becoming truly eccentrically English. I might just hold onto the latter a little while longer and demonstrate my will for citizenship in the form of a queue at the immigration office instead.