As you’ll discover if you read on, I’m not a fan of new year’s resolutions, because most people start off with the best of intensions, but then fail miserably. The [...]]]> Well folks it’s been a while since I last updated my blog so I thought I’d get in one last entry before the end of the year.

As you’ll discover if you read on, I’m not a fan of new year’s resolutions, because most people start off with the best of intensions, but then fail miserably. The best kind of resolution is one you make at any time of the year and it’s more of a change in direction or a goal.

Last year I set myself a couple of goals and I’m pleased to say I achieved both. One was to loose all that excess weight I’d been carrying around for years and get within the ‘normal’ bmi weight range. I did that throughout 2010 and have managed to keep the weight off even through the normally indulgent festive period. My other blog shows my weekly progress as I lost the weight.

The other goal was to complete a half marathon which I did on September 19th of this year. I am pretty pleased that both my 2010 goals were achieved. I’m always a little bit skeptical about new year’s resolutions on the whole because the vast majority of people fail miserably after a few days or weeks. Don’t believe me? check out this page which gives a fairly good assessment of typical new year’s resolutions. It looks more scientific than my views anyway.

This isn’t me being nasty, it’s a reality. I think people get carried away with the occasion and then when back into a normal routine they just slip back into their old routine. I’m guilty of this myself and have done it so many times in the past.

Ideally the best time to change your life is anytime OTHER than new year’s day. You can’t blame people for being keen to start the new year on a new footing and there is a lot of encouragement for people to do it. The shops and marketing departments have a lot to answer for.

For example, on boxing day I was browsing around Tesco‘s. What were they promoting? You guessed it, the slimfast was being piled onto the shelves as quick as the chocolates could be reduced and sold off. The government have also jumped on the new years bandwagon by offering people free nicotine patches to help people quit. The local gyms will be bursting at the seems this January with all the keen and eager people who’ve just handed over their bank details for a year’s commitment only to find themselves not getting their money’s worth by the time Easter comes.

Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying goals and resolutions are a bad thing, but I think it’s far better to wait until all the hype has died down, Christmas is well behind us THEN sit back and decide what you want to change, if anything. For example, I didn’t start my weight loss regime until nearly the end of January in 2010, I also made the conscious decision to post daily progress onto the net for the world to see. My motivation came from the shame and embarrassment I would feel if I had to take down my website or didn’t show I was succeeding. I know for a fact there were a number of people who probably rolled their eyes at my efforts and thought ‘we’ve seen this all before’, and they were right, they had seen it before, but because I set myself a proper plan I managed to do it.

So, what for 2011? Well I’ve got my big project for 2011 already planned. I’m running the Paris Marathon. After I crossed the finishing line at the 2010 Great North Run my mind was made up that I was going to attempt the full marathon. It’s going to be a tough one, but the training is going to get underway early in the new year and I’ll be tweeting my progress regularly via my @robinrunner account.

I’ve got another goal for 2011 and that is to improve my basic maths skills. When in Las Vegas earlier this year I realised how dreadful my basic mental arithmetic was at the blackjack table. Being able to count quickly isn’t one of my better skills. Only this morning I managed to rob myself at the staff canteen because I didn’t properly count how much change I needed. So, if you bump into me I need you to ask me quick fire maths questions.

Anyway, I’ll sign off by wishing everyone the very best for 2011 and I hope it turns out to be a very prosperous and healthy one for you all.

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When getting up at 6am I noticed a heavy frost covering the car. We were soon on the way and he drive was fairly uneventful, but it does make you realise what [...]]]> Well today was the Kielder marathon. My friend Julie made it her first marathon attempt and what a performance. More about that in a minute.

When getting up at 6am I noticed a heavy frost covering the car. We were soon on the way and he drive was fairly uneventful, but it does make you realise what a nice part of the country we live in. We arrived at the athletes car park and jumped on the shuttle bus to the start line. There was less there than I expected. I don’t really know what I expected, but the only thing on the site was a little restaurant and shop.

The race got underway at about 10:20, just a little bit later than expected and with 1700 runners it wasn’t a bad turn out for the inaugural race. It struck me early on that all the competitors were athletes. There didn’t seem to be any comedy runners or people dressed in daft outfits. There was one exception, a guy dressed as a chimney sweep. I don’t know what that outfit was in aid of, but he raised a smile amongst the crowds.

So while Julie was off running 26.2 Miles around Kielder water me and Chris needed to find something to do. We jumped on a bus and headed to Kielder village. For some reason I expected it to be a bit bigger, but there was literally nothing there. A quick pop into the local shop for some cash and snacks and we headed back to the start line where we indulged in some lunch.

The one thing I didn’t expect was the pure silence and tranquillity of the whole area. Partially down to the fact there is absolutely zero mobile phone coverage on any network – something I found slightly worrying considering I’d taken my laptop and mobile so I could still be on call for work. So, a quick visit to a BT Payphone to make a quick swap of the on call duties and I was shocked to see the minimum price to make a telephone call is 60p. A far cry from the days when it used to be 10p. I can’t really complain or blame BT, the payphone I found looked like it hadn’t had any visitors for months considering there was a huge spider’s web with dead flies trapped covering the handset.

Back to the purpose of the day and the running. Julie was aiming for a time of around 5 Hours 15 minutes, but had struggled at the 15 mile point last week during her training. Without any mobile phone coverage we had no idea if she’d managed the course or when she was likely to finish so me and Chris headed out to the finish line to see if she’s be coming in from around 4 Hours 30 onwards. Sure enough, she came trotting over the finish line at 5 Hours 5 minutes, a brilliant time for a 1st marathon on a course which even the most experienced runners described as very difficult.

I did actually get offered a place in the marathon myself, but chose to opt out and save my 1st one for Paris in 2011. I didn’t feel it was sensible to do it without a decent amount of training. Based on how difficult the course sounded I don’t regret the decision not to do it.

So in summary, a really good day was had and I think Julie is chuffed with her performance, and rightly so. It’s given me a new enthusiasm for my effort in April 2011. If you want to sponsor me, check out my Just Giving Page.

An early morning bowl [...]]]> Yesterday I completed my 1st Great North Run. It was the 30th year of the event and was extremely enjoyable. Having done quite a bit of running I was fairly well trained for the event but it was still the longest I’ve ever ran in one go. (Training was up to 10 miles).

An early morning bowl of muesli set me up for the day and I was on the way by 6:45am. The A1 was surprisingly busy and we arrived in South Shields at the finishing line to catch a bus to the start line. It was at this point that the 13 mile distance struck me. The bus journey took us pretty much along the route of the run and at that point the nerves set in. Was it really that far? I’d ran 10 miles several times before and it didn’t seem too bad but this was looking like a bigger task than I was prepared for.

On arrival in Newcastle the rain was coming down, luckily I had been tipped off that if you take any clothing which can be thrown away it will be picked up and used by homeless charities. I took and old fleece which was way too big but it kept me warm until the start.

A quick interview on Radio Tyneside and we took our place in the scrum of people at the start line. There wasn’t an inch to move in the pens but there was excellent entertainment from Metro Radio‘s Alan Robson who was keeping the crowd entertained throughout the long walk to the start line.

Finally the race was underway. We got off to a fairly slow start but the atmosphere was electric. The Red Arrows flew over the crowds just as we started to move and looked spectacular. It wasn’t long before we were crossing the tyne bridge and well on our way.

I never noticed the mile markers for miles 1 and 2 and commented to Chris that surely we’d ran a mile by now. He pointed out the 3 mile marker and I couldn’t believe we’d done that distance already. We were literally carried along by the crowd.

As we were running I was taking the odd photo for my Runkeeper Page and doing a couple of audio reports for Auckland Hospital Radio and Radio Tyneside who were broadcasting live coverage of the event. It was around 5 miles that I came across a guy carrying a fridge.

It’s one thing to run 13.1 miles, but it’s quite another to do it with a fridge strapped to your back. I interviewed him, wished him well and moved on. I wonder how he got on.

The rest of the run went well, a fairly consistent pace with plenty of water and drinks along the way. It was only after about 7 miles did the local residents start bringing out supplies. There were biscuits, lollies, ice pops and fruit. I have to say that the strawberries I had along the way were superb and it took the hunger away for a while. The jelly babies were nice too!

Live bands were playing all the way along the course, although the runners only had a few seconds to appreciate the performances before swiftly moving on.

As we approached the sea front at South Shields the weather turned and the rain came down. It was very welcome and cooling. The last mile is deceptive and it felt like ages before the finishing line finally was in sight.

I crossed the finishing line at 2 hours 32 minutes and have to admit I had a lump in my throat with the emotion of the whole thing. Composure quickly re-established and it was off to collect the goodie bag. At this point the heavens literally opened and it lashed down with rain. I found shelter in the Butterwick Hospice charity tent where a Mars bar was quickly consumed.

The journey home was a very long one as we had to sit in an enormous queue of traffic to get out of the town. A long hot bath after the event was well earned. The only injury I suffered was a blister on my little toe.

I’ve got another challenge in the planning and I’ll be blogging about that later.

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On Tuesday morning we headed off to Chester Zoo, a fairly easy drive down there and we didn’t have to wait long to get in. We printed a voucher which got the kids [...]]]> This week I took the family away for a few days break. The two theme parks of choice were Chester Zoo and Legoland Windsor.

On Tuesday morning we headed off to Chester Zoo, a fairly easy drive down there and we didn’t have to wait long to get in. We printed a voucher which got the kids in for free so we only paid for 2 adult tickets. The zoo was very well equipped and there was something for all ages. My kids particularly like the big animals such as the elephants, the rhino and the giraffes. For smaller children the smaller attractions such as frogs and lizards didn’t really appeal.

There was a great activity play area for kids to run round and burn off some energy after lunch. The weather held out and we had a very enjoyable day. Because we were heading to Windsor the next morning I decided it would be an idea to stay in a Holiday Inn Express at Stafford which meant only a couple of hours down to Legoland the next morning. The Holiday Inn was a fairly basic, but pleasant hotel. There was a really nice pub opposite which not only did nice meals, but had an impressive soft play area for the kids.

Wednesday morning arrived and after a very nice breakfast we set off. Fairly busy traffic, but not too bad. We arrived at Legoland around 10:30am. The 1st drama of the day happened before we even left the car park. Nikki realised she’s left the mobile phone in the car and decided to walk back for it so we could keep in touch (the plan was for me to take Charlotte on the bigger rides and Nikki take Thomas on the smaller rides). She had been gone ages so I rang her mobile to find out where she was. To my surprise it wasn’t Nikki who answered the phone, but some good samaritan who had found the mobile lying in the car park and was trying to find the owner. After a roundtrip run of about a mile I got the mobile and we got our entry to the park.

The view was amazing, with an excellent view of Windsor castle from the entrance. We soon realised that the queue times for any of the decent rides was in excess of 45 mins with the longest being 90 mins. Not disheartened we joined the queue for our 1st ride. It was a water ride with the promise of getting wet. We waited 45 mins for the pleasure and rode for about 5 mins. A promised we got very wet. Well, when I say we, I mean I. Charlotte got a poncho which cost £2 and although it was almost identical to a bin liner, it served us well for the 2 days we were there.

The thing I noticed almost straight away was while we were queuing up for the rides, some people were turning up and getting straight onto the ride with no wait. Rather disgruntled I just ignored this and continued the day. All in all we didn’t get many rides, although the queues significantly reduced around 4pm when people started sloping off home.

When we arrived at the car park earlier in the day we were greeted with the news that there was a £2 charge to park. Pretty disgraceful really considering the car park is dedicated to the theme park and you had no choice but to park within the grounds. I didn’t buy a ticket as I couldn’t see anyone displaying a sticker in the window and thought maybe it wouldn’t be needed. It quickly dawned on me that the purchase of the car park ticket was required to actually exit. Having not bought a ticket and already got into the exit queue we thought we’d try our luck and escape without paying. Surely enough there was a security guard on the gate assisting people getting out. I sent Nikki over to the man who acted dumb and they took pity on us and let us out for free. Result!

Having booked a package for 2 days in Legoland I was delighted that our hotel was the Hilton in Basingstoke. When we arrived I duly presented my Hilton Honors card and we got an upgraded room. Whilst using the free in room wifi I did a bit of research into the Q-Bot system used at Legoland. This was what everyone had been using to go straight to the front of the queue. If you’re prepared to pay extra, you get the option of using a special device to effectively queue for you. The idea is that you set the device to choose a ride, choose a time and pre book that ride. When the buzzer goes off you can walk right to the front of the queue and get on your ride.

After a typically hearty breakfast in the hotel we got to Legoland early and paid the extra £45 for our Q-Bots. Within the 1st hour of being there we’d been on more rides than the entire previous day and I was pretty happy with results for the rest of the day. Using it to our advantage we really did get to go on every ride, some dozens of times.

There were a couple of things about Legoland which I wasn’t impressed with, although it didn’t spoil our enjoyment of the visit by any means. The amount of chargeable activities was silly. Having paid a lot of money to get in, I was disappointed to discover there were loads of things which were extra. Prices starting at around £3 extra going up to £5 if you wanted a go on the trampolines. The annoying £2 car parking charge was unnecessary and everyone was moaning that it was just a money spinner. The other thing which wasn’t too brilliant was the food – very over priced fast food. On our second day we chose to take a picnic which was far better.

All in all, a very enjoyable few days, although it isn’t an exaggeration to say that we probably could have gone abroad for a week for the amount of money we spent. Still I’d do the whole thing again.

Am I the only person who thinks it isn’t up to the state to provide nutrition to kids? This is the responsibility [...]]]> Today in the news they have been reporting that government plans to stop free milk for school kids had been axed by David Cameron. The news reports are saying it is a cut too far.

Am I the only person who thinks it isn’t up to the state to provide nutrition to kids? This is the responsibility of the parents, NOT THE STATE. I can’t understand why Cameron has backed down on this subject. It was right to cut it, it’s far too expensive and is unnecessary.

In my view this decision has weakened Cameron. Back in 1971 Margaret Thatcher had a huge back lash over the milk cuts and I think Cameron has hoped to avoid it. The problem was, as a minister was live on the Andrew Marr show discussing the cut of the milk, Downing Street were issuing a statement announcing Cameron’s direct intervention and cancelling the cut. In my view it comes across as making up policy on the hoof and doesn’t impress.

So far I think the coalition government haven’t made a bad start at fixing the huge mess left behind by Gordon Brown’s lot, but this latest milk decision was a mistake in my view.

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After I wrote the blog post I did notice there was a load of users on the forums with the same problem so I [...]]]> It seems Skype have found an error with their system and I got an apology email today for them cutting me off. My account has been restored and a very nice apology received.

After I wrote the blog post I did notice there was a load of users on the forums with the same problem so I figured it might be a wider spread problem. At least I wasn’t hacked anyway!