iChristian

Blindman Trail Marathon Training – Week 3 – Day 3 – 15.85 Miles…

Hi all. I can’t tell you how happy i am to have made it around 6 laps (15.85 miles) today. This is a life long personal record for non stop walking for me…Yet i’m so glad it’s over, lol! 🤣

Beta Blockers & Bendroflumethiazide…

I was a little worried about today’s attempt as not only do i have to fight ‘Beta Blocker’ medication but also ‘Bendroflumethiazide’ too. This is a diuretic which makes you want to pee to help lower blood pressure…But doesn’t help when you want to go for a long walk through the woods, lol! 🤣 Sorry to talk about this but i still can’t believe i made it for 15.85 miles for 4 hours 13 minutes non stop without needing to pee…Another victory for me and is just one more obstacle on this epic…

Blindman Trail Marathon Training – Week 3 – Day 2 – 6 Miles…

Hi all. I decided to do today’s 6 miles at a faster pace of 4 miles per hour, this is apparently ‘Speed Walking’ but only just, lol. 🤣 It certainly felt like it to me, as being blind this feels like warp speed…I’m just glad i didn’t hit anything!

Walking at this pace helps improve fitness, endurance and strengthens legs and abdominal muscles…Who doesn’t need that, lol! 🤣

When i arrived home i heard an extra bing from my apple watch to say i’d won yet another award. Although it wasn’t much of a challenge this time, as i only had to complete a 20 minute walk and had 2 weeks to do it (my walk today was a 90 minute one)…But it still feels good to get another award for all of my efforts and muscle…

Week 3 – Day 1 – Blindman Trail Marathon Training…

Hi all, After spending all morning and most of the afternoon with Sarah up in London at the diabetic eye hospital…Just checking up on the not so good laser treatment they did in December (don’t get me started), there isn’t enough hours of daylight for me to get some mileage done today…But i do have a 6 mile walk tomorrow, Thurs & Friday…And a personal best 15 miles on Wednesday if i can manage it which should help put the miles back up this week. 🤣

But as today is ‘Motivational Monday’ i’d better give a little something to help motivate you, lol…So here are a couple of badges/awards my fitness app sounded to tell me i’d achieved them over the weekend!! 🎉Do you have a fitness tracker etc to help you? I’d love to know if you do and…

Hi all. After walking to the local butchers yesterday and getting 2 9oz sirloin steaks, my lovely wife Sarah prepared them and did her secret, special and tasty steak lunch with potatoes, 7 vegetables and her super secret mushroom sauce! Sorry i can’t get her to release any information on her secret recipes, lol! 🤣

I don’t have the hyperbole to tell you how tasty this meal was…And how jam packed full of protein it was. Protein is essential for keeping our hair, nails, skin, bones, cartilage and blood in good shape. It’s an important building block for increasing muscle mass and repairing tissues, and is also needed to create hormones, enzymes and other chemicals within the human body. It also has lots of iron and other micro nutrients too…Perfect! 💪🏼

A huge thanks to my lovely wife Sarah for this amazing meal!

Hope…

Week 2 – Day 5 – Trail Marathon Training…

Hi all, after yesterday’s trail closure setback i was a little hesitant to venture out this morning…Well as i held a hot fresh coffee (made by my lovely wife Sarah), it was 1˚C and i didn’t know if the trail would be open again, these were just some of the reasons i didn’t want to go out again this morning, lol! 🤣

When i did finally drag my lazy self out onto the trail…Yes you’ve guessed it…The dreaded barrier was still there!! 😨

I turned around again thinking i could do the trail backwards until i reach the other side of this barrier, then turn around and come back to get my mileage up for the day. Well i thought it sounded like a good idea until…The sun came out really bright with a nasty glare and i simply couldn’t stay…

Week 2 – Day 4 – Trail Marathon Training…

Hi all. After yesterday’s 13.5 miles my legs were still a little sore, so i wanted to just do a normal 6 miles today but at a really slow stroll to take care of my legs microtears. I was keeping a really slow pace (it’s really hard not to speed up) and i was walking around the first quarter of my route when…

I bumped straight into the road block (well path, lol) as i don’t notice anything is different until my nose is on it…But when i do i can stop very quickly…Thankfully, lol. I stopped for a moment and thought how i could get past it without damaging anything, then when i was satisfied that i just had to turn back and go home, i did just that…And then…

How on earth did this barrier get here i thought…

Week 2 – Day 3 – Trail Marathon Training…

Hi all. Wow that was hard…But i managed 5laps non stop in 3 hours 45minutes…That’s 13.5 miles which is just over a half marathon!! Yay i’m happy…Well now it’s over anyway, lol! 🤣

I bought a SIS (science in sport) energy gel for the first time last Saturday to try on my walks, it was orange flavour and was very tasty…It tasted like a orange lucozade but with a viscosity of thick custard…MMMM perfect for me as i love custard! I also had my fave – chocolate hob nobs with me too as they are simply delicious and work really well for me. I love all of this walking as i can eat and burn off my fave biscuits, cake and gels as i’m going round the laps…Win win, lol! 🤣

When i eventually arrived home i was greeted with another…

Week 2 – Day 2 – Trail Marathon Training…

Hi all. I don’t know if it was my beta blockers crushing my adrenal glands to the point of feeling comatose…Or the -1˚C freezing tempurature that was making me feel like staying in bed…Or am i just making excuses for not wanting to do another 6 miles today!

I did eventually ‘man up’ and drag myself out there, and once i did i started to feel better…Well after a few miles anyway once i’d warmed up, lol!

I finished my 6 miles in 1hour 34mins and was totally ready for my lovely warm fresh coffee made by my lovely wife Sarah. 💪🏼 😀

As it’s WEEK 2, DAY 2 of my 12 week trail marathon training plan, i’ll be increasing tomorrows walk to 14 miles from 12 miles last wee! I hope i feel much more lively tomorrow morning…I’m really not…

Hi all. Yay it’s a blistering 1˚C this morning, that’s almost tropical temperatures, lol! 🤣 It was also cloudy which is perfect conditions for me as there is no blinding (pun intended) sun to slow me right down…And it didn’t. I did the 6 miles and was 10 minutes faster getting home to my lovely coffee freshly made by my stupendous wife Sarah!

It was eerily quiet on the trail this morning so not too many people to crash into! I hope it doesn’t mean all of the “New Year Resolutioners” havn’t quit already?! Don’t get me started on how health and fitness is for life…Not something you start and stop Yoyo etc…Sorry rant over, lol! 🤣

And Then…A Donation…!

I was about 5.5 miles into my walk when the happy muppets theme tune started playing over my audiobook. I thought “No way it…

Hi all. i really didn’t want to let go o my lovely warm coffee this morning after checking the weather app…It said it was -2˚C but feels like -5˚C! 😨 I dragged myself towards the front door wearing my puffer jacket and bobble hat…My ears were not going to freeze off today, lol! 🤣 I managed the 6 freezing miles today which made a total of 35 training miles this week which was my goal of this 3 month marathon training plan!!! 🙌

I was out for around 1h 40mins and averaged 3.5 mph. This pace is good for me and also enables me to take a few photos on route, so you can hopefully enjoy some of this beautiful scenery too! 😲 😀

Oh i forgot to say…When…

Hi all. After checking the weather app yesterday it said there was a cold snap moving in until Sunday…It wasn’t joking, lol! 🤣 My lovely wife Sarah had made me another one of her fresh coffees and a slice of wholemeal toast with Grenade chocolate spread to fuel me on my journey…Mmmmmm! 😋 I knew i had 11 miles (4 laps of my trail marathon route) to complete today and i really didn’t want to go out…But i did and i nailed it and feel much better now i’ve done it! 💪🏼 😀

I was out for a little over 3 hours and didn’t have any dramas this time, only the amazingly bright sun again which melted my brains (drained so much of my mental strength just trying to figure out where i was going). Looking forwards to…

Hi all. Wow it’s 0˚C again this morning and i really wished i’d done a summer trail marathon, lol…But where is the challenge in that! 🤣After a tasty slice of wholemeal toast with Grenade chocolate spread on top and a fantastic warm coffee…I managed to do another 6 miles again today, yay! I won’t be laughing for long though as i’ve got a 12 mile one to do tomorrow! 😨

Hope you have had a great time so far this year and you are either starting to set goals? Or you’re already smashing them?! 💪🏼 😀

“You do not rise to the occasion, you simply fall back to your level of training.”

Hi all. “Awww that’s better” i say whilst drinking a soothing hot fresh coffee made by my lovely wife Sarah. Even though it was -1˚C, white and frosty ground which was also slippy and blazingly bright sunshine burning my eyes…I still somehow managed to drag myself out of the front door and do my 6 miles today! 💪🏼 😀

I have 2 hats to choose from when i go out – A baseball cap with a nice long peak to stop the incredible sun, or a beanie hat that keeps my ears and head warm. I chose the baseball cap today as i needed to stop some of that intense glare…But my ears got frozen off! 😨 Which one would you have chosen? 🤔

Reading the messages you guys have written on my fundraising page always inspires and motivates me…And having to write one of these blog posts each time…

Hi all. I hope the photo above (taken this morning) shows just how muddy this tiny section of my trail marathon lap really was?! As i was slopping through the mud i heard that loud popping sound, whilst at the same time feeling my shoe being ripped off from some monster underneath the mud!! 😨 Thankfully i was wearing my INOV8 X-Talen 190 trail shoes (Sarah bought them 4 years ago for the Tough Mudder) which fit like a glove and didn’t get ripped off…Phew! Otherwise it would have been a very sloppy, freezing and different outcome to my walk today. Just thought i’d share this with you guys…There’s always drama when this blindman decides to go out walking, lol! 🤣

Hope you’re having a great time so far this year and you are either starting to set goals? Or you’re already smashing…

It’s now the start of the “Diet-Season” whenmillionsenthusiastically begin a diet onJanuary 2nd and. . .usually fall off that bandwagon three weeks later. Why?

Failing on a diet plan is usuallynot because we don’t know what we should do.Most realizewe: 1. eat less 2.exercise more 3.slow down and 4. drink water, etc., etc. . . .Yet we failtime andtime again, even when we believe we are doing the right thing! That’s frustrating and self-defeating.

Weight loss ismuch morethanmere willpower. There is no magic formula. Since we are each uniquely created, it’s primarily an individually mental, physiological, and spiritual challenge. It’s also a matter ofunderstanding the scientific reasons behind the”why”we can self-destruct.

My book, “Life’s Too Short to Eat Bad Cheese. . .” will make the perfect motivational New Year’s gift this year. It’s available for only $4.99 on Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SKQ3HYV

It’s not simply another diet book. With over 241…

🙌 YAY…A BROBDINGNAGIAN NEW YEAR TO YOU!! We pray you have a monumental, inconceivable and definitely memorable time smashing your health and fitness goals in 2022…Love Steve & Sarah! ❤️💪🏼🍾🥂🎉😀☀️

Hi all! Just wanted to say a quick hello and hope you’re all smashing your health and fitness goals?! 💪🏼😀

Oh and it’s nearly Christmas so i hope you won’t forget to do some carb loading…To help towards fuelling your extra long walks…Obviously!! 💪🏼 🤣 🎄

Michael J. Kruger:

The great nineteenth century Baptist preacher, C.H. Spurgeon, once confessed: “On a sudden, the thought crossed my mind—which I abhorred but could not conquer—that there was no God, no Christ, no heaven, no hell, and that all my prayers were but a farce, and that I might as well have whistled to the winds or spoken to the howling waves.”

The above quote reminds us that nearly all Christians, even those who seem strong and confident, face periods of doubt about what they believe. Indeed, sometimes those doubts can swell up into a crisis of sorts. Even Spurgeon admitted his doubts were difficult to conquer.

So, how do we handle these doubts when they come? Or, how do we help others who admit they are struggling with what they believe? Here’s a five truths that can perhaps help us be more careful and more compassionate in…

Hi all. I’ve been a little quiet around here over the last few weeks…But i’ve now found ‘Ruck Marching’. Some of you may have seen this coming as i do lots of walking through my local trail, but i seriously didn’t see it! I’ve always loved rucksacks (i have a few) and i’ve always loved the armed forces as i have family who have served and are still serving to this day.

As you know i don’t run at all as i’m always on my own, and my eyes just go crazy even at slow walking speeds never mind jogging or running. I’ve managed to do 14.6 miles in 4 hours (my longest non stop walk so far) whilst training for my ‘Blindman Trail Marathon’ in April 2022. Now i’m upping my walks with loaded marching and taking my walks to new heights…

Hi Readers. After a night of strong winds and even stronger rain, i decided to go out for 1 lap of the marathon course (over 3 miles including getting to the track from my house) as it was my day off so i only need a little bit of exercise to keep me going! 🤣

It was going so well until…PPhhhwwaacckk, then Ouch! First my shin cracked against the lower branch, just as my finger crunched against the upper branch..This made me jump quite a bit, lol. First i didn’t see it coming, second i was just starting the half mile uphill section of my trail so i had a little momentum going…And third i just thought what has just happened?? 🤔

At first i thought it was a tough mudder obstacle that’d suddenly appeared…Or it was a secret gate that had popped up from the ground, all i knew…

Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool. Proverbs 10:18 NLT

Is there any who can not see themselves in these words, at one time or another?

God’s Word cuts through our excuses for ungodly behavior and reveals the truth of what these attitudes are:

lies and foolishness.

Rather, we must be on guard against allowing such things in our lives and be quick to repent when they are discovered among us.

For our tongues are to be under submission to the Lord Jesus.

When they are not we bring ridicule to our Savior.

James 3:9-10 NKJV — With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

If we are followers of Christ Jesus…

Hi readers…As it’s “Walking Wednesday” it’s time to go for another lifetime personal best…It’s my quest to get a little stronger each week and prepare myself for the monumental challenge! 😲 

Motivational Quote…💪🏼 

“Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated”

This is written on the back of my INOV8 T-Shirt! i wear to motivate me!🤣

Yay i managed another 4 (and a bit)  laps today in the freezing cold and the blinding sun, and i’ve also smashed my lifelong personal best record from last week! I walked non stop for 11.28 miles which is better than last weeks 10.79 miles!! 💪🏼 

My lovaly wife Sarah made me one of her strong coffees before my walk, and i had a couple of slices of “Elwood Blues” toast (although i have 7 seed wholemeal and not white, lol). During my walk i didn’t stand still once and i even ate…

Hi readers! I hope you’ve smashed your health and fitness goals for last week?…And i hope you’re ready to take them to new heights this week?! 😀 

Yay it’s “Motivational Monday”, and i’ve managed to earned some more badges for smashing my health and fitness goals! 💪🏼 😀

Motivational Quote…💪🏼

“Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated” – This is written on the back of my INOV8 T-Shirt! 🤣

After a hard week of doing at least 1 lap each day, i managed to hit my health and fitness goals for last week. I try to hit a personal best once a week, and on the other days i try an do at least 1 lap to hit my 10,000 steps for a normal day. 😀 

I love weekends as i get to walk around the trail lap with my lovely wife Sarah…

Hi readers…As it’s “Walking Wednesday” it’s time to go for another lifetime personal best! 😲 

Motivational Quote…💪🏼

“You do not rise to the occasion, you simply fall back to your level of training.”

Yay i managed another 4 laps today in the blinding sun, and i’ve also smashed my previous lifelong personal best! I walked non stop for 10.79 miles!! I didn’t stand still once and i even ate and drank on the move too…To say i’m happy is an understatement!

New Exercise Record…🙌

New Move Record…🙌   

 New Walking Workout Record…🙌  

I managed this walk in just over 3 hours and i’m very happy with the 17’12”/Mile pace. As long as i stay under 18’18”/Mile i’ll finish under 8 hours which is my goal…Well just finishing the trail marathon would be amazing at this stage, lol! 🤣 

Motivational Quote…💪🏼 

Do the hard work now so that…

Hi all…It’s time to celebrate as i think i’ve finally (after about a year) solve the problem of THE left hand corner, that i’d kept missing again and again whenever the sun is out!! 💪🏼 

This nemesis kept fighting me all the way through the ‘Ultra Step Challenge’ i did during advent 2020…And it has kept fighting me during my training now for my ‘Blindman Trail Marathon’…Until now! 🙌

I’ve finally realised that once i’ve taken the apex of this left hander below…I say taken the apex but i mean, when the bush on the left smashes against my left side…It sounded much too clean before and i don’t want you thinking that this is easy! 🤣

I start counting my steps until i hit 90 then i veer off to the left. I’ve only tried this this morning and it worked (i didn’t…

Hi all! This is a super long post but it gives a great summary of my progress through September as i slowly attack the trail and increase my mileage and strength! I hope you enjoy the monthly updates?! 💪🏼 😀 🙌 

3rd September 2021…New walking workout record! 😲  

Hi all! I really didn’t expect this badge today! 🤔 

After a rest day yesterday, i started another 2 laps of my trail through the woods as part of my ‘Trail Marathon’ training, ready for my MS Society Trail Marathon on 24 April 2022.. I’m going to try 3 laps next week to try an increase my endurance! 😨 

When i returned tired and hungry, i checked out my lap times, elevation etc…And guess what??? I’d won this badge for burning 1 more calorie than Wednesdays 2 lap walking record badge. I’d say that was pretty consistent and now that’s what i call progress…

Hi all! I’m going to ask you to engage your imagination to the max, before you make the link i’m suggesting for the first corner that i’ve named today on my trail marathon track, lol! 🤣

The photo (above) in no way shows the rough incline which pops your hip out if you hit it wrong (done it a few times), but as i walk up it (not down like the race track) i always think about ’The Corkscrew’ at Laguna Seca. 😲  

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – From Wikipedia…

The famous Turn 8 and 8A combination, popularly referred to as ‘the Corkscrew’, is considered one of the motorsport world’s most challenging turns, due to the 18-metre drop in elevation as well as its blind crest and apex on the uphill approach.

Memorising race tracks…🤔  

Since playing ‘Le Man 24Hr’, ‘Pole Position’, ‘Outrun’ and many more in the arcades…