Category: Blog

My general wonderings…

One month to go….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

That can't be right! Can it? This time next month I will be going to bed safe in the knowledge that in the morning I will be participating in the Rat Race Dirty Weekend in Stamford. Just to confirm it is not some sort of mass sordid swingers weekend or a weekend trapping rats or even a sensible run in the country. It is in fact the “largest assault course on Earth”. 20 miles. 200 obstacles.

 

I'll be the first to admit that the training is not going amazingly well. I ran a half-marathon a few weeks ago, and done plenty of 30 min runs around the woods. I even joined a gym in an attempt to shake up the training a bit. But 200 obstacles!? So on the run home from the gym today I took the opportunity to attempt the mother of all obstacles….

As I approached the pipe that spanned the treacherous fast flowing dyke I was feeling somewhat apprehensive, I was sweating more than the 15min hill reps I'd just completed at the gym and even more than Ted Striker….

I was getting closer and closer. My heartbeat was increasing. In my head I was trying to work out what to do if I fell in. The walk home covered from head to foot in scummy, manky dyke water was not worth thinking about. I'd decided that if I did loss my balance I would dive to safety into the nettles, the idea of being covered in nettle rash must outweigh the risk of botulism. So, a plan was in place, if it came to it I would dive to safety…

I went for it…..

Suffice to say: I survived. I'm ready!

 

Only 68 days….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 4 Comments

….until the Rat Race Dirty Weekend at Burghley House in Stamford. Just to remind you, actually it may be just to remind myself: 20 miles. 200 obstacles. You did indeed read that right. 20 miles. 200 obstacles. Apparently, “It's bigger, bolder and badder than ever!” I think the time has come to put in a bit extra work.

Since Janathon I've been taking it a bit easy. Completed about a dozen runs, the longest around 10 miles. So with the spectre of the Rat Race Dirty Weekend on the horizon, plus the Newton's Fraction Half-Marathon just round the corner, tonight's run was to include obstacles. When I say obstacles, I actually mean just one obstacle. It may not look like much, but it's an obstacle all the same…

You may look at it and say: call that an obstacle? Granted, it is only 2 feet high, and when I approached it for the first time I sailed over it like a salmon swimming upstream on it's impossibly long migration to its spawning grounds. However, after 4 miles of trail running through the woods at a pretty brisk pace, when I reached it for the second time, it looked more like this….

Suffice to say I cleared it. I'm ready.

 

A Blogiversary!

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 7 Comments

I have been blogging for three years! How do I know? Well the lovely people at WordPress told me…

So I had a look at my first blog post; it's not very exciting:

“These are my attempts to begin AND continue with a blog”

What followed were three years of 'stuff': 2011 was project365; 2012 was a year of monthly projects; and although 2013 has been a bit quieter on the blogging front I've managed to keep it going.

So the past three years in numbers:

  • 668 posts
  • 736 comments
  • 20,612 views

I've enjoyed blogging over the past few years. I'm still not entirely sure why I blog; I just quite like doing it. I realise I'm not the most amazing of writers, and I know that my posts do not contain super reflective musings that change the way I live, or that my ramblings have any impact on anybody else.

I'm just amazed people have actually taken the time to read and comment on my 'general wonderings' and I'm looking forward to the next three years. Cheers!

 

I wasn’t the only one….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

….lots and lots of people today had decided to go shopping. Initially the plan was to treat myself to a couple of CDs in HMV's amazing sale, although the sale was not 'amazing', unless you wanted to buy DVDs. They had millions* of DVD box sets on offer. I didn't really think people bought DVDs anymore, what with Netflix and various other similar 'ways' to watch stuff, but apparently, judging by the trillions** of shoppers crammed into the store, they do.

So with sales on in all shops I decided to have a wander round and pick up a few 'bargains'. There wasn't many bargains. Unless, of course, you dress ridiculously or are the size of a bus, which to be fair, is the majority of people living in Peterborough***.

I did managed to treat myself to a few bits….

  • A new CD: 'Bad Blood' by Bastille. This has been on my list of albums to have a listen to for a while. In fact, after bumping into a former student who advised me to go for the 'All This Bad Blood' – a reissue of their debut album – and commenting that it is 'awesome', I took his advice.
  • A book to read: Ghost Story by Peter Straub. Again, this has been on my reading list for a while. Rumour has it that it is a 'classic' and very scary. I've had a few people recommend it, it was first published in 1979 so it has taken me a good 30 years to finally get round to it. Apparently there was also a film made of it?
  • A new running top. With Janathon fast approaching and the weather probably going to get colder in the new year****, I thought a new long-sleeve running top was overdue.

Recently I have read lots of blog posts that have been reflecting on the past year as well as putting in place targets and goals for 2014. This has got me thinking….expect another blog post soon….

In other news…..

* exaggeration

** exaggeration

*** not an exaggeration

**** I am not a weather forecaster

 

Babies, Birthdays and Felt…

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

Yesterday I braved the approaching storm and set off down south to wish my little nephew, Stanley, a happy 1st birthday….

I wasn't the only person driving down south; there were bloody millions of other people. So you probably won't be surprised to hear that the journey took a tad longer than normal. On arrival I had just missed the cutting of the cake, but stepped through the door in time to toast the birthday boy.

After devouring a couple of slices of my sister's slightly floury beautiful cake it was time for pass the parcel….

Stanley has an older sister, named Grace, who today had no trouble testing all HIS new toys. In fact over the course of the day she had become very attached to his new Tigger, to the point where it needed to be hidden to avoid any bedtime antics. Here she is engrossed with his new toolset….

By late afternoon is was time for the highlight of the day: the opening of the advent calendar. This may not sound much, until that is you see the advent calendar. My sister had created a felt masterpiece: individual numbered felt pockets; felt Christmas tree with buttons; and hidden felt 'things' (including a felt baby Jesus) to hang on said felt Christmas tree. Stanley fished out and hung up the day's felt mini-stocking wonderment, to ooos and aahs from an overly excited audience. Nice job sis!

Stonley?

With Santa's Christmas storm fast approaching I wished everybody Merry Christmas and began the surprising quick and uneventful journey back home. On entering the house I came across another baby! James, my grandson, was staying the night. Here he is looking rather spaced out and modelling a dodgy looking head of hair….

 

 

Movember has come to an end….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 4 Comments

So Movember has finally come to an end. My moustache and I have gone through some tough times over the course of the month: the itchiness, the overhanging lip hairs, the remnants of food hanging on the top lip, and not to mention looking absolutely ridiculous. But after 30 days, I've grown rather attached to it. I've even enjoyed grooming and trimming to keep it in pristine condition.

So today my moustache and I spent some quality time together. We went into Peterborough with the idea of maybe getting a few Christmas presents, this didn't happen, instead I treated myself to a couple of CDs…..

When we got back from shopping we went to the woods to have our final run together. An emotional experience: the wind rushing through the hairs and the feel of sweat building up amongst the whiskers.

At this stage I feel I should point out that that I'm not very good at the whole growing facial hair palaver. But that was not about to stop me modelling my mo in a David Brent style….

Looking forward to Decembeer already!