Well no blogs for a while as I have been hard training. The Hadrians Wall Ultra Marathon event is now done and dusted and Mick and myself have recovered from the effects of travelling such a long distances with very little breaks. we have entered a team for the Marine Challenge in October so that is something else to train for, but we have decided not to do the VO2 challenge in September. There is only so much punishment a middle aged body can take before it breaks. A full report on the Hadrians Wall challenge will be in the Challenges section of this site. I have now decided that I want to try a Triathlon but as I have not really swam for several years I think that I need to concentrate in that area before I enter any! Oh yes and I had better get a decent bike so the canoe and trailer will have to go. I am pretty confident in my cycling and running skills but I know how rusty I am with the swimming so David my youngest Son will be giving me some tuition in that area. I learnt an awful lot from the ultra but the main thing is that the more you spend on your footwear the better and realistically there is a limit to what you can get your body to do. The upside is that we completed it and because of the training I had done I was able to recover really quickly from the adverse effects put on your body by such an extreme event. I would definitely like to do another one in the future but I will certainly make sure that I have got a good support team behind and Sharon on standby to treat all injuries and complaints.

Well I have just had a very busy couple of weeks but I have been able to keep my weekly running totals at 24 miles, unfortunately the majority has had to be done on the running machine in the gym which is nothing like running outdoors. I ran the Cubert 5 which is a 5 mile road run twice around a circuit, i ran it with Mick and a friends wife and it was very enjoyable and a thoroughly glorious evening. Today I ran a half marathon distance into and out of Truro and then onto St Agnes, total of 1900 calories used and an elevation gain of 450mt, it means that this week alone I have used 3700 calories whilst exercising. Mick and myself are now getting all of our kit ready for the challenge in less than a fortnight, we have recieved a mandatory kit list from Rat Race and we have got most of the kit already. Final training is now underway but we have to be really carefull and not pick up any injuries as we haven't got the time to recover from them. Starting to get donations and pledges of sponsorship which is really motivational. It is really dawning on me the enormity of the challenge ahead but I know that we can both do it and we will support each other to complete it. Watch this space!!

It's my wedding anniversary today, Sharon and I have been married 28 years - she must be a thick skinned tolerant woman. Unfortunately we are both working and I don't finish until 21.30 this evening (that's if all the aircraft are on time). Completed all my running this week with a grand total of 23 miles, I dont know if I will get the time next week to do as much but I will try, fortunately I can use the gym at work when I like so I can notch up the miles on the treadmill. I have got the first meeting with the Air Ambulance and the RAF on Monday to start planning for next years Air Ambulance 10km run. We will have to use some of the RAF land as some of the taxiway at the airport is now licensed so we wont be able to use that for the run. It's another project to work on and keep me occupied and motivated to retain my fitness. I did  the last Air Ambulance10km in Fire Kit with a breathing apparatus on my back and completed the course in 65 minutes ( I did plan the course so I knew every part intimately). I think I will start a new section detailing the planning involved in organising a running event !

Total distance ran so far this week is 16 miles, did a shorter run on the running machine today due to time limitation - so only had the spare time to run 4 miles instead of the 6 that I normally do. Quite conscious now that Mick and myself cannot afford to pick up any injuries as we only have six weeks until the run at Hadrians Wall and we have so much resting on us completing the event - will just have to be very careful now. Going to have a quiet afternoon hopefully once I knock of work at 14.00. Buying some kit tomorrow with Mick so I am looking forward to that as any trip to Cotswold Outdoors can never fail to disappoint me. Hopefully we will soon have a kit list and some photos of the kit we are taking and using on the Hadrians Wall challenge - watch this space as they say.

Long duty shift today, involved in some technical training with Red Watch which was interesting, got to play with the rescue cutting gear - don't often have the opportunity as there is no requirement for me to use it (obviously the higher up the ranks you go the less chance to play at being a firefighter). Had lunch and then got right into doing my six monthly fitness test (once my meal had properly settled), there are three tests and I can choose any one of them to do:

• Chester Step Test:        You have to wear a heart rate monitor and then in time to a recording you have to step up onto a box and then down again, every minute the rate gets faster and your pulse is taken. You have to complete at least three levels with pulse and heart rates taken and then on a graph a line is plotted to give you your VO2 max.
• Bleep Test:                    This is the standard bleep test used by schools, military and police forces to test recruits for a fitness standard. Basically you run between two points in time to a pre-recorded bleep that speeds up as the levels increase. The minimum level for an operational firefighter is 6.7 (level 6 - repetitions 7). If you have problems with your kneees or ankles then this test really is not for you as you run twenty metres turn and run back twenty metres, so there is a lot of twisting and turning.
• Cooper Treadmill Test:  This test is carried out on a running machine set at an incline of 1%, the candidate runs for twelve minutes and must complete a minimum distance of 1.3 miles however they are encouraged to run as fast as possible for the duration of the test. Their distance is then taken and their VO2 max is calculated with a given formula.

I chose to do the Cooper Treadmil Test and after twelve minutes I had completed 1.75 miles which gave me a VO2 max reading of 51, I was quite pleased as that was a good result and would give me an 'excellent' reading if I was in the age range of 30-39 years old, so not bad for a 49 year old. I was moving pretty fast at the end running at a speed of ten miles an hour, I like to put some effort in and not just get the minimum standard required. So that is me signed off on my fitness for the next six months, I have got my two yearly occupational medical in July but I ain't to bothered by that.

Yesterday I did a nice 10km run along the coast path to Chapel Porth then up to St Agnes Beacon which is always a long hard slog, the route up to the Beacon took 3km and I had an elevation gain of almost 200mt. It was a beautiful day with a refreshing cooling wind blowing. it took me 1hr 10minutes which is quite slow but the elevation gain over the whole distance was 400mt so it shows that it was a very hilly route. Looking forward to next weeks training runs.

All the letters have gone out to the Lodge Secrataries of Lodges that meet in Cornwall asking for sponsorship for Mick and myself, our Charity Steward Bob Drew has very generously offered to sponsor us both £70 each so the ball is starting to roll. Bob has also sorted out some funding from the Lodge so that we can both buy some kit, top of the list is a small bivvy type tent and a sleeping mat. Should have some money left for a set of trainers and some pants and tops, really looking forward to the challenge now.

Forty ninth birthday today, do I feel it? definitely not, in fact I feel younger than ever. Sharon bought me a new cycle helmet so had to have a bit of a cycle ride - went over to Mount Hawke and had a chat with Chris Greenshields (Lodge Secretary) about some sponsorship for the Hadrians Wall event. Good ride and a really beautiful day meant that I could wear shorts and tee shirt, new helmet really comfortable. No running today as I am having a well deserved rest day but it does mean that I will have to do some catching up later in the week. I have decided to cut down on the distances I run and just try and get in four 10km runs per week with one half marathon run every month. Once I get a decent road bike I shall reduce the running to possibly two or three 10km runs but I will obviously 'up' the distance on the bike. Looking forward to the Hadrians Wall challenge and have been looking into the Atlantic Coast challenge which is tougher but closer to home. I have absolute confidence that I can complete both. There are so many interesting outdoor challenges the only barrier is funding and time - fitness no problem! Have just realised that I am fifty next year, I am so glad that I have never had to grow up, life can be very serious at times (I will let the adults worry about that bit).

Decided to run this morning, the weather is good, it's not to windy and isn't raining - just right then. I must admit that it is a bit of a struggle getting into all the kit but I do like the compression gear as it keeps all your muscles tight and stops any chafing (particularly in the 'gentlemens area'), the downside is that as already mentioned it is a struggle to get into. Once onto the coast path the wind picks up a bit but it's not to bad, surprisingly the coast path was quite empy. I saw only one other runner and two hikers, I suppose it was fairly early (9.30) but that doesn't normally stop the tourists. I ran my 10km route anti-clockwise which means I have an almost 3km slog uphill from Chapel Porth to St Agnes Beacon, going from sea level to 190m elevation. It gets the lungs working and the legs burning by the time I reach the top, once there I know that it is all downhill for 2km and then home.
I am glad I got the run in early as the weather has changed a bit with it getting quite overcast by lunchtime, could even rain this afternoon. Arranged a session of indoor climbing with my youngest son David who is on leave at the moment so that is something to look forward to at the end of the week.

Some interesting facts that I have recorded from my Garmin Forerunner since the beginning of March:

Total distance run:    280km

Total elevation:          6118m

Total calories used:   25000kcal

So this is it, the first blog. What can I tell you? Well, just contacted my mate Mick to arrange a bit of a photo shoot tomorrow, we desperately need photos of Mick and myself in our running/trekking gear to encourage potential sponsors to part with their hard earned cash. In actual fact I will place the photos on this site and let everyone see them. We are both being sponsored by our Masonic Lodge - Trevaunance 4668 - to participate in 'TheWallRun' on the 23rd + 24th June 2012. This challenge will involve Mick and myself running! the length of Hadrians Wall from Carlisle to Newcastle in two days. We are hoping that the Masonic Lodges that meet in Cornwall will donate money to us and then we shall pass that to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cornwall for their 2013 appeal.

Trevaunance Lodge members are supporting Mick and myself by purchasing some of the kit we shall need to complete this challenge, we are naturally immensely grateful for this assistance but it is still up to the pair of us to put the hard work in and get out training. As we are both shift workers we spend a good deal of our time training by ourselves but when we have the opportunity we get out together for some really hard training sessions. Here are some of the things we have been up to as team:

• Half marathon trail run from Newquay to St Agnes.
• Two full marathon trail 'yomps' Newquay to St Agnes to Newquay.
• Six 6 -8 mile trail runs.
• Individually we clock up between 10 and 24 miles each week.

Personally I have completed five half marathons and Mick has done two. A lot of our training is dependant on our shifts and recently on the weather. We know that we can complete this challenge and we have actually started looking at our next one in September (details to follow). We are looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity to run on one of the most iconic pieces of history that the Romans left in England.