A couple of weeks ago whilst attending physio for Tennis Elbow (no I am not secretly about to join the ATP) I was told that to have any hope of getting rid of this persistent but very painful ailment I needed to rest it. “How so”? I asked “Well,” she said kindly, “No computer work, and no cycling for at least 4-6 weeks!!”

I spluttered and complained, argued and moaned, but the very nice lady just raised an eyebrow and reiterated her recommendations. Now given that my Nan had a lot of physio throughout her life but always ignored the advice of the trained professionals and suffered for it I was keen to do the opposite, however I have two pretty major problems;

1. I am an Epidemiologist, so spend most of my time on Excel, Access or the mysterious Stata creating all sorts of tables, numbers and figures and generally saving the world (well at least thats what I think!)

2. I am a cyclist desperate to lose weight ready for the new season (having pre-registered for the Maratona dles Dolomites I better shift this belly quick!)

Well in regards to the first there is not really that much I can actually do short of changing careers (not for the first time). Further, as an aspiring sports writer in the mould of William Fotheringham (got to set yourself big goals!) there is only so little time away from the computer I can manage. I guess I could get one of those voice word processing packages but as Mrs Rouleur has pointed out my mumbling would be prohibitive.

So what about the second? Well with Christmas coming I could simply bury my head in the Quality Street and munch my way to the New Year, only thinking about it in 2016 when lets be honest it will probably be to late, or I could do something else, a new challenge perhaps.

And so it was with shock and a large dose of trepidation that this last week I pulled on a pair of Mizunos that have been used so infrequently they are in almost perfect condition and I found myself strolling to the road for a run (or as Mrs Rouleur supportively described it ‘A Walk’, I am not that slow!)

Running, a part of my sporting career (career? really?) that I thought I had put to bed. But just like Princess Leia pleading with the Jedi in Star Wars, I hear myself cry ‘Help me Obi Run Kenobi, you’re my only hope’. Oooh I hang my head in shame with that pun but all I can say is that I am caught up in ‘The Force Awakens’ fever!!

Those who have known me for years will know I was an OK runner back in the day, 45 min 10k’s and a best half marathon time of 1 hour 50 minutes, I was none to shabby. Those of you who have known me for a shorter time will be screaming LIAR at the screen as they cannot ratify the chubby man-child they know and (hopefully) love, waddling any further than to the nearest kebab van.

So what happened in the intervening years, well simply put I met my wife, and her family aka ‘The Feeder’s; and I was only to happy to feast. My German Rouleur-in-laws, opened my eyes to the following daily routine (and this is all true);

• Large breakfasts at 8am with fresh baked rolls, bratwurst, jams and Geflügelsalat (chicken salad),
• 11.30am dinners (this may be exclusive to my wife’s Oma though),
• 3pm coffee and cake (a legal requirement to eat a minimum of two pieces),
• More fresh rolls at 5.30 (unless my Father-in-Rouluer has brought home kebabs which equals awesome!) washed down with a couple of beers
• Topped off with Eis at 9pm (so creamy!)

This 80kg runner became a 100kg Roly.

But I digress, back in the day running helped me drop weight from my student beer guzzling days and also really helped my cycling, and so I hope to be the case again.

Even more interestingly after the Physio who was working on my elbow also discovered an underlying back problem and suggested that to fix it I should do more swimming I have decided to ‘Tri-Hard’ (can’t stop the puns today!) and complete an Olympic distance Triathlon by this time next year (told you I was a dreamer).

For your fun and amusement, I will therefore be charting my running and swimming training here in this blog too, and you know what it might just get its very own category.

So I will leave you with the image of a man who struggles to even swim 25 metres unless there is a ‘SHARK’ in the water (thats a story for another day) attempting to train his way to 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run……….Oh what have I got myself in to, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!!

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What challenges have you got planned for next year? I would love to hear about them, feel free to leave a comment below.