Update Feb 9th 2016

So, what started off as Dry January has morphed into a marathon - the Berlin Marathon on 25th September 2016 to be exact. Alongside this, I am giving up alcohol for the entirety of 2016. 

I will be donating some of the money I save from my previously expensive rioja habit - £20 per week - to the Everyman Appeal for research into male cancers. I am also looking for sponsorship  towards my target of £2000 for the Berlin Marathon, again for the Everyman Appeal.

1. Booze

After noticing an improvement in my all round health and mood after not drinking for the first few days of January, I decided that I would push on for the whole year. I've done Dry January for the last few years and have gone 40 days booze-free over lent before, but as of tomorrow we're in unchartered territory. 40 down, 326 to go - flipping leap year!

Favourite quote so far: "I'm very proud of your for doing it but please can I be there when you fall off the wagon". 

2. Running

Having run the Trinity Hospice 10k in 2014 with reasonable success (about 56 mins), in mid-January I decided to take up some running again with a view to doing the same race. I noticed I was progressed quite quickly, so I signed up for the Blackpool half marathon on 24th April. Filled with optimism toward the end of January, I applied for the Berlin Marathon through the ICR's Everyman campaign. 

So now i'm training for a Marathon! I have a few key dates in my training plan - 

27th Feb - Stanley Park 10k - Target time 50mins

10th April - Fleetwood 10k - Target time 48mins 

24th April - Blackpool Half Marathon - Target time 1hr 40mins

8th May- Trinity Hospice 10k - Target time 45 mins

- and my 25th September target time is 3hrs 30mins, which is quite fast, especially when one weighs 107kg. 

Training

I'm training for speed on 2 runs per week - currently 7.5km at just above race pace of 5min/km, next week it'll be 2 x 10km and increasing by 2km every 2 weeks. I'm slowly bringing my min/km time down too, aiming for 4:55min/km in comfort. 

I'm also training for distance on 1 run per week - this week it's 12km, again increasing by 2km ever 2 weeks. This should see me hit 22km a fortnight before the half marathon (13.1miles, 20km), so i'll know I can do it and will be able to concentrate on getting my time down. 

I'm focussing on the Blackpool Half for now, and will rewrite my training plan after that. The rugby season will end at about the same time and I will increase my training to 4 runs per week after that. 

I'll try and update as and when I can! 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jan 7th 2016

I am giving up alcohol for 12 whole months and donating some of the money I save - £20 a week - to the Everyman Appeal for research into male cancers.

Feel free to chip in to help fund this vital research.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.