Back "Home"

Well.....

I'm back in the UK now. My time in Spain ended prematurely, a brief chapter in life which, after a lot of thought, I chose to end. It wasn't a decision taken lightly, but given the circumstances I knew it was the right decision. It was also a painful decision, because it creates the perception that I am a quitter. But in my mind, and to those who know me well, I hate quitting and would never give up so easily.

Let me be clear in saying that I don't regret the whole Spain experience. I learned a new language and experienced a different culture and lifestyle. I enjoyed the food there and developed many new favourites, such as paella and the various tapas dishes. I had the chance to live in Spain for three months, something I never dreamed of when I first came to the UK. I worked with a great team of people, probably one of the best I've worked with. It was pretty gut-wrenching to let them know my final decision; I felt that I let the team down and I didn't want to give the impression that I didn't enjoy working with them.

So why did I decide to throw in the towel?

One of the things I struggled with was the fact that I wanted to stay in the UK long term. When I was first asked to go to Spain I was very reluctant to leave the UK. It was only when I had a second talk with the manager that the work situation at the time was grim. This basically convinced me that I had to go. I slowly accepted it and, with the blessing of a few good people, I attempted to make Spain my new home.

Relocation is never easy. And I'm afraid that the stress of relocation got the better of me here. One thing I didn't mention earlier was the visa I needed to remain in Spain for work purposes. Obtaining a visa is a complicated process; I've been through the process before when trying to get a visa to live in the UK.

However it seems that the Spanish visa is 10 times more complicated and involved than any other process I've been through. To make things worse, I was already in Spain trying to organise my own application. The entire situation was just poorly handled and had the word "dodgy" written all over it. So it was no surprise to me that when I turned up at the Spanish consulate for my appointment, they advised me bluntly that I had insufficient documentation.

I was livid and fuming. It took me three months to arrange everything for this appointment, and to be declined on the spot was a massive blow. I was left to pick up the pieces and start all over again. The worst thing was that since I was in Spain during this trying period, I had nearly used up all my 90 days and I was not allowed to remain in the country any longer until I had a visa granted to me. It felt like I had wasted my days away in Spain injudiciously.

When I told my manager about my latest setback, he had an interesting proposition. Return to the UK. I was all ears. There was new work in the UK and they could use some extra hands and heads. It was all very tempting. But I immediately thought about the team in Spain, the relationship I had built with the team, and what I had worked hard towards. What was I going to say to them? How would they react? Who would replace me at this crucial time?

After a few days of thinking, I realised that I had to ask myself what was important to me. And I believed that I'd be better off living in the UK. Everything I had, from my bank account to my doctor, was based in the UK. It would be easier for me to access vital services in the UK because I don't have a language barrier to deal with. Learning Spanish is very important if you need to live there, but to be completely honest I never intended to learn Spanish, and to do so would require me to devote time to studying the language. I just wasn't prepared to do this. The best I could do was to listen to educational podcasts, but that can only take you so far. Plus I had already made a commitment to my running, and I wasn't prepared to cut back my running for the sake of learning a language.

Running is a part of my life. I believe that as a runner, I would be better off in the UK. I'd look after myself better as a runner, I'd have more places to run, and I can get to the events I am doing more easily from the UK than from Spain. Running is very important to me and to get the most out of it I think living in the UK would help.

So now, I'm back in the UK, and I'm trying to settle in again. Packing up and moving is very painful and it's something I hope I don't repeat again very soon. At the moment I'm staying in an apartment in Newbury, which is around 20 minutes by train to Reading, the town I used to live in before I moved. Ideally I want to live in Reading again. I only hope to find a place as good, if not better, as the one I shared with Tina, my former housemate and now good friend. I hope to see her again someday.

So now it's a new chapter all together. Around a year ago, I was struggling with whether I should move to Spain or stay in the UK. In the end I listened to my head and moved to Spain. Unfortunately it didn't last as long as I had hoped, and now I'm back where I left off previously. I'm not going to say that I should have followed my heart as that would have denied me the privilege of going to Spain and experiencing new things.

But it's interesting to see who prevailed in the end.

New Blog: Breaking Three Hours

I've just started a new blog called Breaking Three Hours. This blog will document my journey to break the 3-hour barrier in the marathon.

This blog is a blog on running, so if you're not a runner you'd probably find that this blog isn't for you. However this blog is also a year-long journey on achieving a goal, so if you like to see how things unfold over time, feel free to follow or subscribe to the blog.

I'll still maintain this blog on all other topics, running-related or not. As always I appreciate you reading these entries and the comments that you may offer.

Happy 2010

¡Feliz año!

I've just come back from a week of snowboarding in Switzerland. It has been a pretty eventful week, a bit of a mixed bag really. While travelling in Switzerland was a plus, the low-lights were the not-so-nice weather conditions for snowboarding, baggage delays and delayed flights from country to country. At the moment, my baggage is somewhere out there. The good news is that I should be getting it back at the end of the week. The bad news is that I have to travel to the UK to retrieve it.

But now it's a new year and I'm back in Spain, away from the very cold weather of the Swiss Alps and good ol' Blighty. A new year is simply a demarcation on the calendar, but I have always found it a good time to assess and reflect upon my own goals. My motivation level may not make it all the way through the year, but I know this is the time I have set to commence achieving specific goals.

I'm getting rather excited at the challenges facing me in 2010. Incidentally, 2010 in the Chinese horoscope is the year of the Tiger. The Tiger symbolises courage, boldness and self-assurance. Now I don't follow horoscope readings of any shape or form, Western or Chinese. I think it's all rather nonsense. But I think that the challenges that I've set in 2010 will require me to adopt the spirit and characteristics of the Tiger - to be courageous, bold and self-assured in whatever I embark on and encounter along the way.

The biggest goal I have set for myself is to qualify for Boston 2011. This will require me to run 3:10:00 in an upcoming marathon event. But after some reflection I thought to myself "why run 3:10:00 when I could break 3 hours instead?" That's a nice round number to aim for.

One of my running heroes, Dean Karnazes, is noted for the magnatude of the challenges he takes on. Sometimes he succeeds, other times it's not so pretty. The grander the challenge the higher the potential for catastrophe. The point I'm trying to make is to have the courage to try. Failure can lead to incredible discovery. Embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. Shake it off, pick up the pieces, and move on. As Sylvester Stallone said in his movie, Rocky Balboa, "it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

Before I ran Berlin last year, I never thought I would be capable of breaking 3 hours in a marathon. This time I'm going to give it a go. Regardless of the outcome on September 26, 2010, I can say, with the attitude of the Tiger, that I had the courage to try.

A New Look For The New Decade

Sitting in the office, listening to piano by Jim Brickman, waiting for my flight to London. Another year has passed, and very soon we will enter a new decade. The eighties, nineties, and the soon-to-be-passed "noughties" are now just memories committed to my own memory.

I've had a chance this month to reflect not only on what's happened this year, but over the past ten years. From the Dot-com bubble burst to the Global Financial Crisis. From the 9/11 attacks to the Swine Flu pandemic. From the meteoric rise of Tiger Woods to the equally meteoric fall of Tiger Woods. And, personally for me, from the tumultuous times of university to the equally tumultuous times of working and travelling.

It begs the question: what have I done this decade? There are far too many activities to enumerate so, year by year, in this decade I'll outline the most significant and the most memorable.

• 2000 - Study (enough said), turned 21.
  
• 2001 - More study (enough said). Finished my conjoint degree.
  
• 2002 - Graduated with a conjoint degree, decide to study at postgraduate level.
• 2003 - Graduated with first class honours, secured my first full time job at The University of Auckland.
• 2004 - Started work at my current company, Orion Health.
  
• 2005 - Started running as a hobby, resumed playing indoor cricket.
  
• 2006 - Made my marathon running debut, harboured initial thoughts of going overseas, joined Orion Health Toastmasters.
  
• 2007 - Became President of Orion Health Toastmasters, won the Area Speech Competition in humourous speaking, submitted an idea for the most expensive Christmas party the company ever had, met Joe Cotton and Amber Claire in person.
  
• 2008 - Achieved Presidents Distinguished Club status for Orion Health Toastmasters, changed my career path into consulting, left New Zealand to live an exciting life in the UK.
  
• 2009 - Left UK to live a new life in Spain, learned French, German and Spanish, ran a huge personal best in the Berlin Marathon, met Hayley Westenra.
  

What will "the tens" have in store for me? Well I already have 2010 set in stone with a gruelling running season and more travel, but that still leaves nine more years for the scriptwriter to develop new stories, new characters, new settings, new themes, new plot twists and new cliff-hanger endings. An exciting time ahead, I'm sure. As a twenty-something this decade, the past 10 years were memorable. As a thirty-something in the next, the next 10 years will hopefully be spectacular.

I've also changed the layout of the blog to represent change and the coming in of the new year and the new decade.

Finally Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone. Hope the year 2010 brings peace, joy, happiness and success in whatever you choose to embark on. And may the new decade be even more exciting than the one about to give way.

As always I'll be back blogging again in 2010. Better head off and catch my flight to London. I'll be in London for Christmas, and Switzerland for New Years holiday. Snowboarding in the Swiss Alps - can't think of a better way to close a good year. No, a great year!

The Top Ten of 2009 Part 2

Continuing where I left off last time, here is part 2 of my Top Ten of 2009, which also brings us to my Final Five. Without further ado, I'll continue the countdown, starting at number 5.

5: Meeting New Zealand superstar, Hayley Westenra
What a talent, and what an extremely nice person she is! I was probably the only New Zealander at her concert that cold night, and I was extremely fortunate to have met her as she was leaving the venue. A few stragglers were waiting for autographs, and like a true Kiwi, she was only too happy to oblige. When I first asked her for a photo in my real thick Kiwi accent, she immediately knew I was from her side of the world, and luckily she didn't turn her fellow Kiwi down!
Awwwwwww, don't we make a lovely couple! Only lasted 3 minutes, but easily the best 3 minutes to make it into my Final Five!

4: New Years in the French Alps
A week of snowboarding mayhem, living in a little cosy chalet, fun with friends, snowboarding down the red and black runs, new years parties and drinking mulled wine to warm our cold bodies. Great fun and great times!
I've done skiing before, but this was my first attempt at snowboarding. I have to say that snowboarding is easier, and far more enjoyable, than skiing! Despite falling on my head and butt numerous times, and experiencing sore muscles I didn't even know I had, it was great fun going down the mountains. The rest of the folks in the chalet were a cool bunch of people to be around with as well. I'm going to do it all again in a couple of weeks, this time in Switzerland, so that should be a laugh! Look out for another snowboarding report near you!

3: Moving to Spain
Moving to Spain has presented new challenges, both professionally and personally. Professionally, because I am now the technical lead for the project I am involved in. Personally, because of the new environment, culture, the Spanish way of life, and the most obvious challenge being the language barrier. Before I moved to Spain, I knew absolutely no Spanish whatsoever. But having been here for just over a month, it's amazing how much Spanish I've picked up. There's still a long way to go to be truly fluent, but I've made a solid start, even impressing the locals. Moving to Spain also allows more opportunities for travel, such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and the infamous party island of Ibiza! And I must say that Spanish food is absolutely wicked! If there were any concerns that I would miss the nice pastries and curries in the UK, then these were all dispelled when I ate this paella.
Not sure why I have my eyes closed though. I'm probably thinking about how on earth I'm going to eat the whole thing!

2: Dining at The Ritz Hotel in London (The Most Famous Hotel in the World)
Nothing can quite prepare you for the first time you step into The Ritz! The sheer grandeur, opulence and beauty of this legendary hotel is absolutely breathtaking. An experience unrivaled anywhere else, dining at The Ritz Restaurant will give true meaning to the phrase 'wined and dined'. Absolutely no photos allowed..... but I still kept taking the camera out.
The event was organised by BritBound, a social group that tends to attract a lot of Kiwis and Aussies. So the evening was pretty much a trans-tasman affair. The 3-course dinner was absolutely amazing, coupled with the most ambient setting and flawless service you can imagine. You certainly will not get this kind of experience in a Chinese restaurant!
It cost £50 for dinner, but I took my good friend along for a birthday treat, so £100 for the both of us.
Awwwwwww, don't we make a lovely couple! Okay, enough of that! Moving on to Number 1.

1: Running the real Berlin Marathon
Ich bin ein Berliner. One of the best marathons in the world, if not the best in the world. Running in a city and country once divided and now reunited, running in both East and West Berlin, running through the Brandenburg Gate 400 metres out from the finish line is such a thrill.
A poignant reminder of the loss of life, the division and reunification of a city, a nation, and the German people. And when I ran through that middle column of the Brandenburg Gate, I knew I was taking part in something very special.
At the end, I crossed the finish line in a new personal best time of 3:22:45. I didn't qualify for Boston, but then again, I'm going to have another crack at this coveted goal in 2010. Watch this space!
Epilogue

This concludes my Top Ten and my Final Five of 2009. After much deliberation and reflection over the last couple of weeks, I believe this is it. Of course, I've had a bunch of other unforgettable experiences this year, such as visiting Cornwall, celebrating Chinese New Year, the Waitangi Day pub crawl, watching the very best musicals on London's West End, seeing some huge tennis stars at Wimbledon, watching the Black Caps take on the world in the ICC World Twenty20 championship in London, etc, so it was a pretty difficult task to choose what should be included in the Top Ten and Final Five of this year, and which position it should occupy in the list. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed creating it.

P.S. 150 blog posts!

The Top Ten of 2009 Part 1

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been producing a short 15 minute video for the folks back home in New Zealand, which basically narrates what I've been up to abroad, my experiences and the 2009 year in general. A script was written, which I recorded in the most natural way possible. And I filmed both static images and movie clips to complement the narration. I was very pleased with the end result; I might have a future as a movie maker!

At the end of the video I highlighted my Final Five, where the idea was borrowed from Rove, the Australian talk show programme, which unfortunately met its end just recently. Instead of guests answering random questions in Rove's final five, my final five listed my top five experiences of 2009.

Here in this exclusive two-part entry, the lucky reader will not only read about my final five experiences that I included in the video. They'll be getting twice the number, which I've labelled my Top Ten of 2009.

So without any further ado, I'll start the countdown, starting at number 10.

10: Getting a front row standing position at the BBC Proms
In order to secure a front row standing position near the stage, I queued up 9 hours before the concert started. A great use of my time! The concert itself was stunning, it featured one of my very favourite classical works, and standing less than a metre away from the stage was unforgettable. And, being in the front row, I got plenty of screen time on live BBC TV on a Saturday night.
Would I do it again? Absolutely not! I may be a classical music fan, but I don't think I'd spend 9 hours waiting in a queue again. Maybe I'll have a different view when I've aged a little.

9: Appearing in the Reading Evening Post
In the lead-up to the Reading Half Marathon, I was featured in an article in the Reading Evening Post as the runner who travelled further than most to compete in the Reading Half Marathon. The article was inaccurate in reporting that I was a gap year student. That would make me the oldest gap year student around! Oh well, what do you expect from a tabloid?
The article raised my profile both in Reading, and back home in NZ! And this event has taught me the finer points of public relations. Would I do it again? Absolutely! I'm doing the Reading Half Marathon again in 2010, the reporter has my email address, so perhaps I might feature in another article? Hopefully they won't call me a gap year student again.

8: Visiting Paris
A romantic city, but my trip there was not for romantic reasons. Though, visiting Paris did remind me of that ABBA song, Our Last Summer. Activities included climbing the Eiffel Tower, visiting the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, walking the Champs-Élysées, cruising on the Seine, checking out Moulin Rouge, and so much more.
Drinking red wine, which I am a big fan of, in a swanky French restaurant was also a plus! Eating baguettes and pain au chocolat - yummy! Drinking coffee in a French cafe and watching the world go by - magic! Would I go back again? Oh definitely, but I'd have to bring a date next time. I do have a few names in mind!

7: Setting a personal best in the Reading Half Marathon
The event that made me believe that I could go faster. I shattered my half marathon personal best time by over 10 minutes, which went over and above my personal expectations for the race. After a pretty average 2008 in terms of my running, I think I found an extra running gear within me this year, and my running has improved in leaps and bounds since.
The RHM was the first event I did in the UK, so it was pretty special for me. Also, the RHM is the second biggest half marathon event in the UK in terms of participation, and it boasted an elite field, so this wasn't just a casual Sunday fun-run. What was great to see was the large number of participants taking part. Whether they were seasoned runners or first timers, it was great to see people having a go. Would I run the RHM again? Well I've already signed up for RHM 2010, so yes! And after that? Well, I'll see what kind of time I'll manage next year.

6: Living in Reading
As ridiculous as it sounds, living in Reading makes it into my Top Ten of 2009, as high as number 6. It's a small town with not a lot going for it. But it was also my first UK town, and that, to me, makes it very special. I was also very fortunate to live in such a nice house, which made me stay in Reading a lot longer than I planned. My housemate, Tina, is such a wonderful person. I learned so much from her, and generally enjoyed living with her. Check out this picture, I was very impressed!
Tina is German, so in the process, I managed to learn how to speak German, and appreciate the German traditions surrounding Easter (hence the Easter bunnies above) and Christmas. I'm also very privileged to have met her parents and sister who have travelled from Germany to visit her for a time. And since her parents speak very little English it was an opportunity for me to practice my new found German. It was an interesting experience, but not without a couple of embarrassments and laughs at my expense. Sometimes I can't help thinking about that end scene from the movie Love Actually to see how my attempt at foreign languages comes across to the other person! Will I live in Reading again? It's hard to say. I can only hope that our paths will cross again in the future.

That's all the time I have for today. Stay tuned for the second half of my Top Ten of 2009, which brings us to my Final Five.

Paving The Road To Boston

Every single journey begins with a single step...

Every single road begins with a single brick...

It's been two months since my marathon effort at Berlin. I met my initial goal of sub 3:30:00 with a solid run of 3:22:45. I was on track for 3:20:00, until the Berlin weather (or maybe my lack of endurance, or mental distractions, or both) decided that it wasn't time for me to break that magical barrier.

But I also harboured a secret goal - to qualify for Boston in 2010. I never told anyone about my Boston aspirations. It was an ambitious undertaking, having not run a marathon in two years, and also never going faster than 3:50:00. Qualifying for Boston required me to run Berlin within 3:10:59. It was a lofty goal at the time, but I believe that lofty goal I set for myself made me work much harder in training. I've never ran this fast, this hard, or this long in my entire training experience! Unfortunately it wasn't enough; I failed to qualify for Boston 2010.

I've had a couple of months to reflect on my running this year, and my running goals for 2010. I've made great improvements in my running this year, far exceeding my expectations. At the start of the year, I never even thought I would go as fast as 3:22:45. It was a pleasing result compared to what I managed last year. I think the good work that I've done in the year will be a solid foundation for my running in the next year. As well as being fitter, faster and stronger, I'm also more experienced, and can draw on this experience to help with my future runs.

My running goals for 2010 are twofold. Firstly, I want to qualify for Boston 2011. Having reflected for a couple of months on what I want to do in 2010, I believe the desire is still very strong. But, why Boston? Boston is one of the few marathons where runners have to qualify to gain entry. There is no first-come first-served registration system like Berlin, Chicago or other marathons. There is no public ballot like London or New York where public demand far exceeds supply of places. This marathon requires a high standard of running. It's also the oldest annual marathon event in the world, inspired by the first marathon competition in the first Olympic Games of 1896. Because of this, it's considered the most prestigious marathon in the world. Thus, for many marathoners to qualify for Boston is an achievement in itself, making it a "people's Olympic event."

My second goal is more peripheral to running, and that is to travel more widely around Europe. I believe that running through a city is a great way to travel, and an easy way to visit a city I'm interested in. Instead of saying I travelled around Rome, I could proudly say that I ran the Rome Marathon and travelled around Rome. Of course I could just travel to Rome without needing to run the marathon, and that's a fair point. There will be cities that I would like to visit without needing to run a marathon in that city.

However, as I found out in 2009, travelling can be disruptive to marathon training, especially when I have a trip scheduled in a high intensity training period. It happens, and it's unavoidable. From a training perspective, these things have to be managed. After some convincing, I believe I've found a way of doing this. And that is to run a marathon in a city that you want to travel to.

By running a marathon and treating it as a training run, I think the benefits are several. You do the most important run in your marathon training - the long slow run. And 42 km is more than enough mileage required for a typical long slow run. You also get to run around a new city and take in the sights. And you can soak up the marathon experience in a foreign country. I think doing a long run in a marathon setting in another country is more preferable to doing long runs on your own in training in our own neighbourhood. But your mileage may vary in that regard.

But surely, you could still travel and do a couple of shorter, faster runs during your holiday. Yes, that's true. However, which would you rather do? A marathon event with thousands of other runners, or just a couple of shorter faster runs by yourself. Marathon legend, Emil Zatopek, said it best: "If you want to win something, run the 100 metres. If you want to experience something, run the marathon."

So having convinced myself to run more marathons in order to travel more, which marathons am I going to run, and which cities am I going to visit? I had some criteria and they were as follows:

• The marathon must be in a major city, with an elite field and with a sizeable number of participants and finishers.
  
• One of the races must be a Boston Qualifying (BQ) race to peak for.
  
• The BQ race has to be on a fast/flat course.
• The event must have a minimum of 5-6 weeks afterwards in order to be fresh and ready for the next event.
  

I checked out all the marathons in Europe for 2010, and plotted them all on the 2010 calendar. Most of the marathons are clumped in the March-May months and the September-November months, with a small handful of events in summer and winter. Lots of big marathons tended to be on the same day! But in the end, I picked five events, which I've called my final five. They are:

• Rotterdam (11th April 2010)
• Stockholm (5th June 2010)
• Helsinki (14th August 2010)
• Berlin (26th September 2010)
• Athens (31st October 2010)

These races will pave the road to Boston, that is, these are the races that I will be running in my journey to qualify for Boston. Having only run Berlin before, I have singled out Berlin as the race to get the BQ time as it is currently the fastest course in the world. The other 4 marathons are going to be for fun/training purposes. I chose Rotterdam and Stockholm, as they've been named as one of the top 10 marathons in the world according to Runners World Magazine. I've always wanted to visit Finland and Sweden. And now I have a chance to travel around these Scandanavian countries and run a marathon in each. Finally I chose Greece as it's the home of the marathon. Athens 2010 will mark 2500 years since the Greek hero Pheidippides ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks' victory over the Persians. So I am absolutely certain that this round-number anniversary will lead to a rush of registration entries, and a quick cut-off date.

One thing I'm concerned about is that by singling out Berlin as the race to gain a BQ time, I only have one shot to qualify for Boston 2011. All five events are certified events to gain a BQ time, but as Berlin is the fastest out of all the five, and since I am currently not in the required shape to get a BQ time, I need all the time available to me to be in prime form for Berlin. I guess the one shot approach is what makes it more exciting - the thrill of success on the first go, or the sudden crash of failure at having missed out on my only shot for Boston. There is always next year though. But I hope it doesn't happen, after all I have 10 months to plan and get ready for Berlin.

I'm quite excited about how my running in 2010 will pan out. I've never taken on anything like this before when it comes to running multiple marathons. But I guess if I put my mind to it, and keep my eyes on the original goal of qualifying for Boston 2011, and believe, then who knows what I can achieve.

Hopefully a BQ time. Maybe a new personal best. And some long-lasting memories of the cities I've managed to travel to.