Time Stand Still - Rush

'I let my past go too fast, No time to pause, If I could slow it all down' - Lee, Lifeson & Peart.

The past two days have simply whizzed by (story of my life) and I've been smashing in the miles, talking myself hoarse with clients and speaking at the Charity Launch of MdS Celebrity Runners Mark Lewis-Jones and Richard Harrington at the Norwegian Church down in Cardiff's Bay.

Most humbling of all was a lady with Lymphoma who spoke about her onset of cancer...she was just AMAZING to listen too. Put my whole world into perspective I can tell you and it makes your own fears and worries seem very insignificant indeed when you hear someone like her tell you her story.

That's the thing you see, we are always hopping onto the next thing, the next project, the next job, the next life rollercoaster and sometimes we don't appreciate the one we are on...I'm determined now to enjoy my Barry 40, The MdS and my 23 x 40 milers in April/May as I'm SO lucky to be able to do this...

Hopefully we will be lucky with the weather too on our MdS Training Camp this weekend with 24 of this years racers coming to Wales to experience sand dunes and mountains...

More on Sunday...happy running and make your time stand still folks!

Body Rock - Moby

Mark Lewis-Jones - AKA Shagga

Come on, Get down - Moby
Wow wee there's a busy few days ahead for @colemancoaching with being a guest at the launch of actors Richard Harrington and Mark Lewis-Jones (two of Wales finest actors from Hinterland and Game of Thrones no less whom I've been coaching for MdS) charity campaign at The Norwegian Church in Cardiff's Bay tomorrow. They are filming it too for S4C - that's Welsh Speaking TV to you and me...

Then it's a weekend of coaching 24 MdS Runners in the sand dunes at Merthyr Mawr and on the mountains in Brecon, followed closely by the start of my '@Average2Awesome' campaign with staff from CarPhone Warehouse on Monday.

I'm really excited at all of the above but the thought of taking complete beginner runners thru 16 weeks of training to undertake one of the UK's Flagship running events really fires my imagination as it takes me back to when I started my own journey to fitness - and we all know where that's got me!

More tomorrow - some 30 hour days might come in handy!

Coaching - The UK's Leaders in Inspirational Coaching.

Location:Pembroke Road,Cardiff,United Kingdom

And dream of Sheep - Kate's Bush

'Let me be weak and dream of sheep' - Bush

Well the weekend's early start caught up with me during my 3pm sugar-low and I felt pretty whacked if I'm being honest. Jenny was being kind when she said I looked 'tired' as on seeing an old man looking back at me in the mirror, I decided to make today a national day of rest for me.

It's always disappointing to me when I'm not active but I do possess a good on-board self control mechanism that has preserved and served me well now for the past 20 years.

Knowing when to stop is a great asset and that knowledge could have saved many of my acquaintances over the years from an early exit from the sport we love to love so much and make our worlds revolve around.

My legs and body feel 100% - However my eyelids certainly took some lifting this afternoon and tomorrow's another day with fresh horizons. An hour long bath helped loads...more tomorrow eh?

Coleman Coaching - The UK's Leaders in Inspirational Coaching.

Location:Pembroke Road,Cardiff,United Kingdom

Adjustment Bureau Soundtrack - Thomas Newman

'Most people live life on the path we set for them, too afraid to explore any other. But once in a while people like you come along who knock down all the obstacles we put in your way. People who realize freewill is a gift that you'll never know how to use until you fight for it.'

The last words of the Adjustment Bureau, now elevated to my favourite film EVER -Spoke a million words to me and egged me on this weekend to stand out from the crowd and try and get the most out of the next few months as they are some big personal mountains to climb.

It felt like I climbed a mountain today at the aptly named Heartbreaker Marathon down near Salisbury on a mind numbing roller-coaster of a course which was either up or down with a +/- wind of 25 mph which either stopped you in your tracks or blew you along at a fantastic pace. If only we had run with the wind at our tails...

I didn't mind though as I ran every step and bashed out a 4.07 which I was really chuffed about. Hopefully it bodes well for the Barry 40 and I now have two weeks taper to the big day...even I'm nervous about this one!

Anyway, my legs feel fine and I'm recovering really well already so a few miles tomorrow might well be the case...

More then...

Barrel of a Gun - Depeche Mode

100% - can't ask for more...

'A vicious appetite, visits me each night. And won't be satisfied, won't be denied' - Gore

The need for speed hit me this morning and I did a very rare, for me, Cardiff parkrun. Now I'm not a very big fan of the 5km, as you know but the words of my good friend Mick Mcgeoch ring loudly in my ears that 5km is an ENDURANCE race and should be ran that way...inspiring words!

It's some time since I did a parkrun (During my #Stoptober last September/October, told you I don't do many) but I wasn't far off my PB and the first two miles today were VERY QUICK for me clocking a hearty 6.40 min/miles pace at one stage. I did pay for that flush of youth in the last mile where my legs turned to jelly and it felt like I was running in custard but I managed a decent run and looking at my heart-rate displays a 100% spent at a High-Intensity level so in real terms I gave it all I'd got.

Well, you can't ask more than that in my book and with more speed work and more hills, I'm sure I can knock a minute off my 22.59 time of today. Let's hope my legs haven't taken too much of a hit prior to tomorrow's Heartbreaker Marathon in the New Forest eh?

More tomorrow and Da iawn Gymru - it was an awesome match last night...

Short and Sweet - David Gilmour

'You ask what is the quality of life? Seeking to justify the part you play. And hide, fearing it incomplete to try, to make it any more or less than short and sweet' - Gilmour

'Quality'...that's the word that stuck out for me on hearing Sir David of Gilmour bang out this baby on my headphones yesterday and I'm really trying to live up to my own standards right now. It's very a very difficult thing to do too as we live in a murky world of mediocrity where we can spend a lot of our world procrastinating instead of acting... Just as I'm doing here perhaps?

I do try and I'm succeeding I believe in getting the QUALITY into my world and I believe I can JUSTIFY the part I'm playing both in my life and in others, Sir David...How short and sweet is that?

Do you live in a QUALITY world or one of MEDIOCRITY? I'd love to hear from you.

More tomorrow...

Comprachicos - Pendulum

'Manipulation doesn't shape me, and I am just feeling the part took out. And even though this curse restrains me, I got so many things to tell about' - Thompson

Thank heavens for Pendulum as they really help me thru the hours and hours of treadmill running that I've set myself preparing for The Barry 40 and the impending Marathon des Sables and my 23 x 40 milers projected for April/May...

It's taken time but I could have smashed out a 3.30 marathon today as I felt very fit and at 79kgs, very light for me. I actually ran three times as I did a morning am run, another short run pm and then my usual hour in the sweatshop of the Cardiff Bay Gym. I really don't need to go for any heat acclimatisation I can tell you...

Anyway, there's another marathon to get in at the weekend and I'll keep plonking in 6-10 miles a day as a matter of course until the end of the month at least.

More tomorrow...

Open Up - Leftfield

A Mars a Day...

'All in all, a three-ring circus of unity with parody

Tragedy or comedy, probably publicity' - Board & Dulfer

I was described as being 'Leftfield' the other day, which I took as a compliment as I've never fitted in with the crowd and know I never will. It's funny how I spend a lot of my time coaching others to join me in the 'Left of Field' position as more and more folk are attracted by the 'out of the norm' life existence they see us living.

I'm sure I was just as 'Leftfield' back in my school days and I know that I was different to my peers and I enjoyed 'sticking out' from the crowd. I believe it changed my early professional career and took me in a path that I eventually came to dislike prior to finding my direction in Coaching.

Today for instance has been a solid day of coaching both in the gym as well as wall-to-wall Skype calls to a complete spectrum of clients searching how to find their own 'Leftfield' two of whom were a Mars One Astronaut and another a potential GB Ultra-Athlete...There's never a dull day at Rory Coleman-World...though there never has been.

More from the extremes tomorrow...

Here comes the Sun - The Beatles

Two consecutive days couldn't have been much more different as today in Wales it felt like we'd weathered the storm and it feels like Spring is now firmly on the horizon - the Daffodils were out and the sky was blue...all of it too!

It made for a nice trip out to Southerndown and a chance to actually soak in some valuable natural Vitamin D and get a recovery run in too.

My seven miles back from Culverhouse Cross felt very easy indeed and my legs really didn't feel yesterday's marathon at all so I'm very pleased with my training and recovery. 

Let's see what they are like tomorrow eh?

Anyway, it's Sunday so it's Funday and a chance to slip into neutral and take it easy for the rest of the day and coast into the new dawn of another week of training.

More tomorrow luvvies :-)

- Coleman Coaching - The UK's Leaders in Inspirational Coaching.

Location:Pembroke Road,Cardiff,United Kingdom

One Slip - The Pink Floyd

'One slip and down the hole we fall it seems to take no time at all.  A momentary lapse of reason, that binds a life to a life' - Sir David of Glimour

I loved running The Broadmeadow 'Valentine's Marathon', in my old stomping ground around Stratford-upon-Avon yesterday. We actually ran on my old school cross-country course over Cross O'the Hill if you know it, some 41 years on from when I first ran it on a wet friday afternoon in 1973 and seven (yes Seven!!!) times up and down The Greenway as well as a lap of the very picturesque Welford-on-Avon, where I remember watching my elder brother play football back in 1969 at the little village school. 

My day was full of memories and my shoes were full of water AND mud as the path was in a terrible state in places and underwater in some which didn't help proceedings at all. I was pleased with my 4hrs 20 mins for the 26.5 miles and my heart-rate for the day shows in 'Race Pace' full the majority of the time and above for the parts where we ran uphill straight into a gale!

Don't get me wrong about either the memories OR the race as I have happy reflections of my years spent growing up in Stratford-upon-Avon and I saw places that I have very vivid memories of that give one that happy lift of adrenalin thinking back to a time that was much simpler and more carefree. Then again, I felt liberated and carefree yesterday on my run so I must thank my old friend Chris Seeney for letting me do his race at very short notice.

I'm looking at a few warm down miles later on in the fresh Cardiff Sunshine...now there's a rarity and I hope will make me happy memories of the future.

More tomorrow...

It's Late - Queen

'There's no one but myself to blame' - May

It's never TOO late to make a change and today has been all about change and how I'm going to help two significant organisations help their staff go from 'Zero to Heroes' over the next few months. In my own case, it's a continual process and I'm running off piles of excess pounds in the gym and avoiding as much of my banned substances as I possibly can.

The treadmill hour today acted as a prelude to the three marathons I have planned over the next four days and I must thank my old mate Chris Seeney for giving me #832 to wear as it's my 832nd marathon...nice!

Time now to get some baked potato down ready for my weekend of running and I'm looking forward to running with MdS Wannabe, Sarah Morris tomorrow.

More then...

Hungry like the Wolf - Duran Duran

Maltloaf would be better perhaps?

One problem of running boat-loads of miles is that you need lots of Kcals intake to go with it and to be honest, I'm really hungry and having a voracious appetite anyway isn't helping at all in the wee hours as I'm waking up at 4am feeling VERY HUNGRY indeed.

Even a couple of CLIF bars at midnight didn't fill the gap and I was busily making stodgy Porridge at 4am to try and stop the tummy rumbles disturb my midnight slumber.

It's weird as I'm drinking lots and hydrating like a good 'un with a good level of sodium intake too, allowing for the extra gym sweatage being undertaken. Like anyone training this week, the thought of running OUTSIDE is plainly daft as the trees are being bent double in Caerdydd's Pontcanna Fields and it's so windy that you are running as fast as Usain Bolt one way or insanely trying to stay on your feet the other...so yep, you guessed it...more of the treadmill sweatshop for me tonight - 16km might be pushing it!!!

Hopefully, the weather will improve for the weekend and I can enjoy the fresh-air and freedom running outdoors offers...We are living in bonkers times folks.

More tomorrow...and I reckon a midnight malt-loaf is on the cards. What satisfies your appetite mid night ? (no dirty answers perlease).

Hot in Herre - Nelly

Treadmill vs Outside on a Hilly Cardiff Run

'It's gettin' hot in here' - Brown, Haynes, Brown

Two days, two runs of 10 miles and just look at the difference in the 'Heart-Rate' and the 'Rate of Exertion'. The distance covered in both sessions was 10 miles in 90 minutes give or take a few seconds.

Run One (pictured top) - Treadmill set at 10.7kph in a very hot gym 0% incline and was unbearable towards the end of the run and I felt very dehydrated at the end even though I took on 500 ml of NUUN salt hydration tablets and 279kcals of a gel for morale boosting hit of simple carbo-hydrates...

Run Two (pictured bottom) - Out and back run on the pavements in Cardiff to Dinas Powys and back including 3 x hills one of which is 10% Gradient Leckwith Hill. No water, no gel.

The second run was by FAR easier and shows the effect that heat has on your performance and output as the inability to cool down is the biggest factor to how well I run at Marathon des Sables. My best recent performance in 2009, (143rd in the Wet Year) when it was above 30 degrees on one of the days only and I didn't struggle like I did last year (403rd) with the 54 degree heat and 28% humidity.

My learns? Well it's not to get too peeed off with only running 21.1 km in 2 hours in a very hot gym and to go and do many more hours of them as they can only help in the grand scheme of things.

I'm off for another 90 minutes now as it's as much as my brain can cope with today and it will mean that I've averaged 10+ miles a day this month and why I'm back under the 80kgs mark again...the 'Rory diet' of no-bread works for me too.

More later...

Wish you were here - The Almighty and Legendary PINK FLOYD

Coleman - Classic Heart-Rate Trace

'We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground' - Waters & Gilmour

I went swimming to cool off after a TWO HOUR stint on the treadmill today and believe me when I tell you there was a definite sizzling sound as my forehead immersed in the cold depths of the Cardiff Bay Pool. The gym is always roastingly hot and after an hour or so I was up in the heart-rate danger zone after a very nice cold and easy start to the run.

It was all planned you see, I had half a litre of NUUN impregnated water, 280ml of gel, two sources of music with interchangeable headphones and yards of industrial wipes to clean up the endless showers of sweat.

Now, I'm no stranger to the old treadmill having set 9 Guinness World Records for various distances and times spent running on them BUT a two hour stint on a cold afternoon in Cardiff offers not a lot of encouragement I can safely say and all I could do on this occasion was to try and split it into 15 minute chunks with a finishing prize each quarter of a bit of GEL and six sips of NUUN.

I've attached a picture of my heart-rate during the two hours which was run at an exact 10.6kph throughout. It's amazing how great you can feel at the start and just how f***** you can make yourself in just 120 minutes. To say I was pleased to finish would be an underestimation but I am glad that I didn't give up or slow down in the last 30 minutes even though it would have been so easy to do so...there was pride at stake today. Well that's what I kept telling myself anyway.

So if you are looking for another good test of your fitness why not have a go at the 'Treadmill Half of Delight' and see how you get on. I'm off for a lie down as I don't feel quite with it right now...

More later...

School - Supertramp

Broad Street School - It hasn't changed a bit since 1973!

'They tell you not to hang around and learn what life's about' - Hodgson & Davies...

I think the Super Storm 'Ruth' has other ideas about me getting to Stratford-upon-Avon for my primary school reunion tonight as it's already blowing a gale down in Cardiff. It's a shame as I was really looking forward to catching up on the lost decades with some classmates I haven't seen since I was eleven years old.

With my sensible head on t's probably a lot wiser not to drive the 200 miles return trip and try and make another future reunion and I'm sure we won't have changed too much more in just 12 months time and there's a limit too how much greyer can I get!

What I will try and do instead is to get a few more miles in the tank in the dryness and comfort of the gym as it's not so inclement there unless you get too near me whilst I'm running on the treadmill when you would stand a good chance of getting very sweat splattered indeed. How lovely!!!

H

Anyway... Hopefully tomorrow will be a better weather day and I can get a long run in to plan my Stagathon in May...

More tomorrow...

What's another year - Johnny Logan

Good grief, Johnny Logan...1980... That seems a lifetime ago and back then I was 18 today and enjoying my first legal pub pint as I remember. Oh how times have changed!

Some 34 (bloody hell 34!!!) years later I'm still going out but not for Beer but for a good steak supper following a great day off which included a tempo treadmill run that really got my legs turning over.

I wonder what the Rory of 1980 would think of Rory 2014? He'd probably would have said that 52's ancient but I can presently say I feel very fit and run ache and injury free which can't be bad and I'm hoping I can do this a lot longer as it's a real part of my everyday life now and hopefully it's a beacon for others to consider.

Anyway, Steak beckons and lets hope 52 is as good as 51 :-)

More tomorrow...

- Coleman Coaching - The UK's Leaders in Inspirational Coaching.

Location:Pembroke Road,Cardiff,United Kingdom

Turn of the Century - Yes

'Like leaves we touch, we see, we will know the story. 
As autumn calls we'll both remember, all those many years ago' - White, Anderson & Howe

I had to laugh today as I received a mailer from SAGA, the Over 50's insurance company - you know the one you get a Parker Pen just for asking for a quote? Well I'm not sure I'd fit the normal criteria they expect from a man of my years, so I think I'll miss out on claiming the pen this time and stick to getting myself in shape for the month ahead.

With that in mind it was back on the treadmill for a good 45 minute tempo run to get the legs back turning over from the weekends 2 x 33 milers and a chance to start thinking about running 161 laps of Jenner Stadium in Barry next month.

I'm starting to get in shape and I'm feeling lean and fit right now so let's hope it stays that way, good job too as I have a school reunion on Saturday Night and I want to look as good as poss :-)

More tomorrow...

Used to be - Rory Gallagher

I love people who really have a go at the training I introduce them to at Coleman Coaching. My client Alan Treharne has done just that and in just 26 days and so far he's lost a massive 6.3kgs, which is simply awesome.

He's also far more active and even his pet dog is looking leaner and fitter.

He says he's going to keep the same strict diet and fitness routine until next month when we meet again by when he will need a new wardrobe of clothes.

He's definitely committed to the programme as he lives a good couple of hours away by train and says that he doesn't want to let ME down.

The thing is that if Alan can do this, anyone can and if you want to train like him and get REAL results, then please contact me.

Coleman Coaching - The UK's Leaders in Inspirational Coaching.

Location:Pembroke Road,Cardiff,United Kingdom

Heartbeat City - The Cars

'And happy days count on thumbs' - Ocasek

Well that was a weekend-and-a-half of running and I'm really pleased how my 2 x 33 milers went at the wonderful Pilgrim Challenge. I ran both days to 75% heart-rate and decided that around the 130bpm mark for Day One would be an excellent way of being able run the whole distance and got me there in a good time of 6.19.04 as you will see in my Garmin Trace here. It was amazing how many folk I overtook and how easy it was to RUN the hills keeping my heart-fatigue down to a minimum.

Day Two was a repeat along the same course but in reverse with an added flooded river to cross and I had a similar 75% heart-rate strategy on this one too. The only governing on that was I had to allow for my leg-fatigue and picked 125bpm as being a good level to try and maintain for as long as possible. It seemed to work just fine and it only added 30 minutes to the previous days efforts and it was slightly longer and my trace for Day Two is here.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts...as it was interesting how much the tempo and race paces changed between the days.

If you were at Pilgrim too, you'll know how hard it was out there and for those I met who are gearing up for Morocco, I hope you take heed from this weekend and if you found it hard, well the Pilgrim is a breeze against the MdS long day so please buck up your ideas as there's still time to make a huge difference to your chances of finishing the race in April. I met people who are going this year who won't last more than a couple of days if they don't take it more seriously, right now - and that's a fact. If you don't know what you are doing or what to do - just ASK me for some help!

It's back out on the road tomorrow for me and my legs are achy free today, so my recovery is also getting better.

More tomorrow...

Push it - Salt 'n Peppa

What a quad busting, ball breaking, side sliding, mudder f***** that was. The Pilgrim Challenge certainly lived up to its name and I just ground out mile after mile of mud and hills in a nice 10 minute tempo pace.

The key to the day was heart rate management and running sub 130 really helped keep me on task.

I'm glad that ones over and hope that I can repeat the feat tomorrow :-)

Coleman Coaching - The UK's Leading Marathon Coaches...

Location:M23,Redhill,United Kingdom