Can the Land of the Blue Dragon Be as Wonderful as I Can Remember?

Good Morning Vietnam!

Now say that out loud like Robin Williams did in the film! After what has been 18 years since my last visit to this country. I was looking forward to this stop. It had been touch and go with regards to whether we'd make it here in time due to the issues that were keeping us in Japan (see last blog) but eventually we sailed from Yokosuka leaving finally the Land of the Rising Sun and on our way to the Land of the Blue Dragon. Vietnam isn't called the the Land of the Blue Dragon because of it's shape but because it was one of 4 countries that were known as Asia's Dragons. 

My first ever run in Vietnam!

Before we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City formally known as Saigon we had some national tasking to do by order of the Government. This would mean we'd have our lovely little friend back shadowing us as we sailed around. It also meant spending some more time in Defence Watches during that period. The silver lining to this meant I was able to get into the gym when it was really quiet! I had the gym often to myself and I was able to put in some good sessions. I was pretty pleased how my runs went. Yes it meant the dreadmill once more, however I found an app that made it more interesting/enjoyable. Is that even possible?

It's called RunSocial, and it allows me to run in various countries and various events such as the London Marathon. You can run either a section of the race or the entire section. As you run you are either over taken buy other users who are running faster at that point or you may even over take others. During the London Marathon you hear all the cheers and atmosphere as you pass the crowds. 

New motivation on the treadmill!

It has given me a little bit of an incentive to use on the treadmill, I will admit I have slightly enjoyed using the app. Although all the runs have been going well, I may have over pushed it slightly and caused a slightly niggle in my right calf on the inside of the leg. A couple of rests days should now hopefully see it alright, before I go for a run in Vietnam. 

If I'm not on the upperdeck at sea, I'm on the treadmill FML

So we came alongside the port in Ho Chi Minh City, the same one I visited 18 years ago. Much has changed though. At night now it's a beautiful looking sky line, compared to 18 years ago when it wasn't so. It appears to have changed for the better in my opinion. 

As I was planning on heading out early with others from the mess, I went for a run as soon as I could. Now after reading up on running around in Vietnam, most comments mention it's too difficult, so use a gym. Well I thought I'd find out for my self. I looked on google roughly where we were so I had an idea of my out and back route. 

This trip has aged me going by this pic from the gym

Off I went, off the ship, out through the port gate with many locals laughing saying "exercise, exercise" mainly because I was saying this as I didn't need their moped taxi rides (that is a must do experience lol). I turned right and remembered from the map the road followed the river. So I did exactly that followed the river. 

I saw many locals fishing as I passed by, all looking at me as if I was some weirdo. To be fair I probably did look very weird to them. The heavens opened and soon it was raining, lightly at first. I continued on my route, not having to many issues. The road crossings were a bit hairy but to be honest, as long as you have your wits about you,  it's not that hard. 

I eventually got to my turn around point and headed back. The loudest thunder crack I have ever heard (louder than Concorde breaking the sound barrier) followed a bright flash of light and it then rained heavier. 

I ran along despite the rain, as it cooled down the temperature. I took in as much of the atmosphere as possible. I still had my niggle in the calf, so I took the run easy. Not wanting to aggravate it too much, which seem to do the trick. I strapped it up with rock tape once I got back. 

The streets of Ho Chi Minh

I finished back at the port, and I really enjoyed my run. It really wasn't as bad as they made out on the internet to be honest. Like I said as long as you have your wits about you and happy to take your time when it comes to the crossing, then all is good. Yes they are lunatics, red lights mean nothing to them but it's doable. 

So I went out that night had a few too many drinks and had a good time. Visited an old haunt called "Apocalypse Now" which was like I remembered. Suffered the morning after as expected. The following day I went out to the market it area where there was the biggest market of "genuine" goods I've ever seen. You name it they have it, and the quality is getting far better than it used to be. 

On the third day I went off on a trip I did 18 years ago. I visited the Chu Chi Tunnels. it's tunnel system used by the Viet Cong during the war with the Americans. Our tour guide's Grandfather served with the South Vietnam army as a Lieutenant. He was a really good tour guide with a great sense of humour. It was a just as I remembered i.e bloody brill. Highly recommended for sure. It was so interesting and you understand why they were so good at Gorilla warfare compared to the Yanks. 

These trails would be awesome to run on!

As I was walking around with the group, it go me thinking how great it would be to have a little trail race around the area of that Jungle. I reckon they would make a great 5k or 10K route there if not more. 

I also got to fire an M1 Garand rifle, the last time I did this trip I fired an AK47 and M16. This time I wanted something different and it was ace. What a rifle! I can see why it was a legend of a WW2 weapon that continued long after. 

So that brings me to the end of this blog once more. I hope you enjoyed a brief insight to Vietnam. For a communist country apart from all the flags and military dotted about, you wouldn't have known, considering how much this place has changed. it has a lot of western brands and products now, so it's communism has moved on a lot compared to the communism of say North Korea. The people seem happy, it's very tourist attractive now and it appears to be receiving a lot of investment. 

The 18 years difference! (Yep I had hair once)

Thank you all for reading and the continued support. I will be releasing a video of my run around Vietnam in the near future so please pop over to my youtube channel and subscribe. Thank you to Tailwind Nutrition for their continue support. Until Next time!




#GoTailwind #Tailwindtrailblazer

Didn't know Tony Stark lived in Vietnam???

Sasebo, so beautiful they made us stay longer

So my stay in Sasebo (see last blog) lasted longer than expected, we were due to sail on the Monday, but we wouldn't sail for another 9 days, so we pretty much had 2 weeks alongside. Not that I'm complaining of course, unless it scuppered stuff I was planning later on down the line.

This gave me more time to get out and about both running and being a general tourist. Sasebo is a wonderful place, and I can tell you I'd be happy to be drafted here if there were ever an opportunity of a draft for me. Alas I can't ever see that happening. The Americans have it so good here I can tell you and they are definitely looked after better than we are.

One of the many Torii's about the city.

I did a couple of runs just out side the base through the streets, making note of where things were to go see later. The streets and traffic aren't that busy here, although the traffic lights take forever to change. The area here is pretty safe and I would say you'd have no worries bimbling about at night on your Jack Jones.

I enjoyed the local food, nightlife as well as just being able to chill out on the base if I wanted. It was a shame to leave, however we still have a job to do elsewhere. It would be nice to visit this part of Japan again one day although I'm not sure if that will happen. Who knows!

Delicious Pork Ramen

I decided on one of the days after work to get myself off the streets and back up another mountain. I had a little google and tried to find the nearest accessible one. Luckily there was one in running distance away from the base.

I got myself to the base and started the long climb up, over 1800 ft of climb from bottom to top. The weather was a little over cast, but wasn't looking at raining. The views on the way up (and down) were amazing, but alas when I got to the top the clouds were low, so the spectacular view I was hoping for were dashed.

View on the way up to Mt Eboshi

There was some interesting things at the top, I'm not entirely sure what they were all about though. The route to the top was interesting once I got as far as I could by road, it changed to trail. It was a long steep climb over wet rocks and wet ground. I was glad I went with my trail shoe option I had with me, they can cope with some tarmac but they came into their own on the wet rocks and trail.

I eventually made it to the top and as I said the views were a little disappointing thanks to the cloud however I was glad I made it up there. After taking the usual pictures I made my descent back down. It was a little easier to run down the trail but too far more concentration over the rocks.

At the top of Mt Eboshi

I plodded my way back down the road until I finished at the bottom. Pretty pleased with myself, the temperature although warm and humid wasn't ridiculous like some previous runs. It was still hard work. I finished off the Mandarin Tailwind I had in my bottle and got myself back to the ship. Using the walk back from the gates to the ship as a warm down. I grabbed a Grape flavoured Fanta from one of the many vending machines to refresh my thirst as I bimbled back.

Fuelled by Mandarin Tailwind 

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Japan, it's a wonderful country and highly recommend it to any one.

I've also got round to finishing off my first running video of the trip. I'm not claiming to be as good as my friend Guillaume aka Runexplorer (his films are amazing!), I know I've still a lot to learn when it comes to shooting and editing, but it was fun creating. Here is the link to it, if you fancy watching Far Eastern Adventure Part 1. Also finished my second video which features both mountain runs which you find here Far Eastern Adventure Part 2.

Thirsty work this running malarky.

Alas my stay has finally come to an end, and we're off back to sea once more. My adventure continues somewhere else, the question is where? Who knows cos I at this point do not know LOL.

Thanks to the continued support from Tailwind Nutrition UK it's an honour to be one of their Trailblazers.

Until next time
Owain
#GoTailwind #TailwindTrailblazer

Hope24 2017 - Tale of two halves

The weather forecast weeks prior for the start of Hope24 wasn't positive. It was constantly changing but bad weather was going to play it's part. Unlike the previous years where the weather has been pretty good, this year was deemed to be not as lucky according to the weather gods. So I was planning ahead in regards to kit selection and game plan. Last thing I wanted was my own planning to let me down.

Setting up my base for the event

I wasn't setting myself a target to hit, as I had no need I already have a place in AoA18 and I wanted to use this as a training session for the big adventure in August.

I would be happy enough if I hit at least 60 miles in the 24 hour period, but I wouldn't get upset if I didn't. I also planned on not clock watching . My watch would be on my pack and not my wrist so I wouldn't be checking pace or time.

All registered and ready to go

The morning of the event arrived, and the sun was out and getting unexpectedly warm. I already knew the course lay out as I was out helping set up on the Friday morning, and knew how stunning the course was.

My son was running the 2.4km kids race before the main event so I was running with him. Last year he was ill so this year I had no doubt he's smash it. He was quite excited about it all. Smashed it, he did! I was so proud of him.

Me and my boy before his race.

It wasn't long after we were called for a safety brief prior to the start of the main event. We gathered around to listen to Pete Drummond well given brief and then positioned ourselves on the start line. For the first time ever both myself and my wife stood on the same start line for the same event. My in laws were looking after our son so we both could run our race. With the sun shining and the temperature very warm we were off. The course was changed so it wasn't the same as previous years. The course was probably the best one for scenery so far. It really made the run far more enjoyable!

Stunning Bluebell trails

Seeing so many familiar faces along the course was fantastic, having brief chats as we passed along the way. The beauty of these types of events is that you are never along for too long on the course. I think the longest period was probably about 6pm ish when it was a couple of miles into a lap before some one passed me. I think it appeared to be the break period for most.

Random stuffed toys nailed to the trees that have been there a fair while

As the event went on the weather changed and the rain started. It was off and on a lot. It was heavy too when it was on. I go to take my jacket off and it was start again. Soon as time went on it was relentless. I started to see some runners still in road shoes slipping and sliding all over the place along the trails. It was funny at first but soon got worrying.

I was doing well enough for myself. Happy to take it easy as it darkened and the rain got worse. I was still moving forward and the Saucony Peregrines were handling the terrain well enough.

As it got darker it was head torches on for the runners, the rain didn't give up either. I was waiting for a good spell in the weather window to change my wet clothes. Alas that wasn't to come yet.

Snacking on the go just as the rain started again into the night -Pic agimages

The next two laps I helped guide some runners. During one lap I came across a friend Fiona, who I had met through Escape from Meriden, on the course. Her head torch had failed, and despite trail shoes she wasn't confident in the conditions. So I pointed out the rocks, the tree roots and other hazards as we made our way round.

We made it to the end of the lap around 10.50pm and we were greeted by Pete and marshals saying they had postponed the event at 10.15pm until further notice. It was for the safety of the masses they said, and it was the right decision. After waiting for about an hour my wife told me to get some kip as I was starting to get cold. During this kip we heard it was re starting at 5am. A forced kip was not going to be turned down.

I woke to Pete saying it was due to start and I was close to not wanting to get out of bed. I did and I managed to get back out just after the restart. Soon enough I was back around the course. Getting the legs going again was something but it was good practice for the big adventure as I will have to do it over and over again.

I put in some more laps as it warmed up and eventually it was time for the last lap. I was joined by my wife for the first time. She has slipped during her first lap and hurt her ankle and only managed another one since til our last lap. She was determined to get round. It was probably the best finish to a race I have had.

Me and the wife

As went round I caught up with Sarah Booker, a fellow blogger and runner. She's brilliant! She was supporting her husband on his solo quest. We had a chat and hug and they went on.

Then Luke from my club who for the first time had run 50 miles joined us for the remainder. He too had hurt his ankle so was happy to take it easy. I am so pleased for Luke. He is brill and he did great.

As me and the wife entered the final arena bit we enjoyed the atmosphere as we made it round til we decided to have a sprint finish together. I am so proud of my wife, and having run with her and my son in the same event was definitely a highlight of my running journey. They were brilliant!

My boy, wife and myself with our well earnt bling!

That brings me to end really. Although not on pace compared to last year, I am still pleased with how things went. Yes it could've gone better but I am not worried. Despite missing out on 7 hours I still felt good to go again and again. So I knew I had more laps in me and having hit 1 short of my minimum for 24 hours I am not going to complain.

The event is pretty special, the atmosphere, organisation is brilliant. The community feel is outstanding and the fact I get to run it with so many friends is great. If you've not run this event before I suggest you put in your future calendar.

This race was for a friend who sadly passed away through mental illness.

Thanks to Tailwind Nutrition UK for their continued support.

Until next time!!
Owain


"We'll never truly find our limits until we try something we can't do"

Why do I run?

Why I run?

A question often asked, but for someone like me the answer isn't always as simple as "'cos I can". Originally I started running because I was looking at an early deaths door. I stopped all forms of exercise, I was drinking lots of alcohol and eating way too much. For example, I'd have a cooked tea at home and then I'd be out having a couple McDonald's burgers on top. It was no surprise when I hit close to 20 stone in weight really.

My two brothers asked me if I wanted to run an obstacle course for charity with them. Being in denial of my own health I thought "yeah it will be a laugh, I could do that". Initially they said we were entering the 3 mile version only to find out actually we were entering the 7 mile version of the Commando Challenge.

20 stone road to an early grave

I did very little training and after the first mile it showed. To cut a long story short I finished it but I was close to having to organise my own funeral. It was then I vowed to run it again and with a bit of training, lose a little weight, and run pretty much all of it (apart when having to queue for obstacles). I did just that! I had lost a little bit of weight and smashed it out of the park, and this time it wasn't me who struggled. It was then I also got a place in the London Marathon and my life changed for the good. I trained properly by following a programme, lost a lot of weight and smashed the London Marathon.

London 2010

So originally it was for weight loss, but then I found how much it was doing for my mental health. I've used my running to raise a lot of money and awareness of various causes so it gives me that warm fussy feeling that I'm helping people by doing something I can actually do. It also keeps my head fresh, when I've had bad days at work or home it allows me to clear my head, get things back in order and cope with the stresses of life.

Which brings me on to why I run nowadays? The last couple of years I've come to realise how precious life is with losing a few friends early in their lives. One being one of my best mates. 1 died in Afghanistan during the conflict, 1 died at work suddenly due to an unknown time bomb in her brain, and my best friend through cancer. All had very young families and taken too soon. However I need to thank them, because they taught me some valuable life lessons. I don't stress or worry about smaller things if I can help it. Putting that into my running, I don't care about PB's anymore - if they happen they happen. I am not worried about missing a run, or having to rest. I make sure I work my running around my family and not the other way round. They support my running so much it's only fair I give back as much if not more to them.

Helping others through running

I see so many people stressing about this and that when it comes to running. It's hard not just to tell them "Be thankful for what you have" because to some even the little issues appear massive to them and you don't know the full story behind them. I hope though by doing this blog they may also think about what really is important to them.

It's always the way with the written word on the internet that somethings don't come across how you want them to sound, I hope this doesn't either. Running is therapy to me, I use the trails to help me deal with life. Getting outside in the fresh air surrounded by beautiful scenery helps me and I know it does for many others, be it coping with just general life or mental health like PTSD.

Top family

I guess now is a good time as any other to thank my wife and my son for all their support with my running. I know without it, I'd either not be running or I wouldn't be running in the same way I am today.


Thanks for reading.

A Well Travelled Runner!

I thought I'd write down a few bits about my experiences in my short but eventful running career so far, to give the wider audience. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading this!

As I work away a lot, I am very lucky to run in some amazing places and some not so amazing places. I do as soon as I can go out and get a run in, prior to doing anything else. It helps really with finding out where various things like the bars, restaurants etc are and getting lost just adds to the fun. I've run in very cold places to very hot places, each place has good running memories even the place it's self isn't in my opinion very good.

I'll start with one of favourite places to run, in 2012 I was working away in the Baltic, I got run in various places like Denmark, Germany, Norway and Poland. It was that cold in some places, the sea had frozen and we had to break the ice as we came into harbour. Eventually our trip took us out of the Baltic and up north to the Arctic Circle. We were conducting exercises for a couple of with with other countries. Prior to the start we anchored off Harstad, Norway. This gave a chance to those who wished to go a shore for a couple of hours if allowed by their department. There isn't a lot to do in Harstad to be honest, as I was one of the lucky few, I wasn't going to waste the opportunity. Myself and one of oppo's decided we would go for a couple of hours running, whilst the rest went to try and find a bar that was open. We landed a shore and the place was stunning, the little town was covered in thick snow. Off we went and we decided to go run up a mountain. Obviously we weren't going to the summit but we were going to make the most it.

Harstad, Norway

Fjord, Norway

Considering how cold it was temperature wise, you wouldn't have thought so. I had my leggings on, base layer, my VLM running jacket, hat and gloves. I went with my most grippiest (is that even a word?) shoes I had at the time on board which were at the time my Adidas Kanadia's. It was great running in the snow, chatting away as we ran upwards taking in the scenery. Eventually we had to turn round and make our way back down stopping by a souvenir shop prior to jumping back on the boat back to the ship. It still remains one of favourite places I have ever run to date and one I would love to repeat.

So that was one of favourite runs now for one of my ermm embarrassing moments whilst running. On one of my visits to the Arabian Gulf regions, we stopped in Bahrain for the a few days.Due to the time finishing work, I hadn't gone for a run yet and also being where we were where there were areas of black flags flying it wasn't safe really to run by myself. I had spoken to another oppo about going for a run early doors to try and beat the heat as much as possible. So that was the plan, were going for a 3-4 mile run because in that heat even at 6am it was going to be a killer and I knew I wouldn't probably be able to muster any more.

That night I went out with the lads for a few drinks, luckily Bahrain they allow alcohol in establishments unlike other Middle Eastern countries. One drink led to another and soon enough I was rolling back to my bed around 2am. We had a curfew because of where we were and what had been going on in the region recently so couldn't be out later than that anyways. I climbed just about into my rack and got my head down. about 5.45 I woke to my alarm, dragged myself out and chucked some running kit on. I met my oppo and off we went into the 34-38 degrees heat at 6am. I was seriously hanging badly from drinking the night before, but I wasn't going to let it stop me. The heat kept our pace down to around 9.30 min/miles, I was glad I had some water with me for sure.

Bahrain mid run photo with Ed

We ran along through the area, and soon enough came to turn around time. However not long after turning round I started to get that terrible feeling, the one where you know it's not going to be a good ending. I starting to clench my arse cheeks as I ran, but soon enough with still a mile and half to go I couldn't hold it any longer and soon it fell out. Yep my arse gave way and I filled my compression shorts I was wearing under my running shorts. Luckily they were compression shorts as it kept it in. But because I was aware that I just shat myself I ran slightly behind my oppo as we ran back hoping he couldn't smell anything. As we approached where our ship was, I said I was going to warm down with a walk and let him go ahead. We were berthed in a dockyard where we had to go through a US base, so I had to pass through strict US security with a pair of shorts full of shit. It wasn't a quick process either, well not as quick as I'd like.

He ran off as I walked through the base to where our ship was. However he was waiting for me prior to going back on the ship! Again I walked slightly behind up the gangway, saying good bye to my oppo I quickly scooted to my cabin where the other guys were still asleep, grabbed my towel and wash gear as well as laundry washing liquid and scootled off to the showers to clean up.

Not one of my finest moments but still a run to remember and there isn't such a thing as a bad run! Thank god for compression shorts that's all I can say.

Being an F1 fan, having the opportunity to run around an F1 track is not one I would turn down, I've run two now. One being Silverstone during the half marathon that's held there and the other was in Abu Dhabi. Every Tuesday they open the track up to runners and cyclists for free. So it's like parkrun but on Tuesday in the evenings and around a F1 track. It was absolutely amazing, I ran two laps, so 11K in total. It was very warm and sticky at night. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it, the atmosphere and experience was brilliant.If you're ever out there get on that track and go for a run, or cycle the bike are free to hire. The restaurant is fab and they have changing rooms and showers.

Abu Dhabi, UAE F1 GP Track

Other countries I have run in, in addition to one already mentioned are UAE, Jordan, Oman, France , Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, Holland, Qatar, Malta, Libya, Pakistan, India, Greece among others. Libya and Pakistan were conducted on a treadmill on board though because at the time it was too unsafe to be allowed ashore due to security issues going on. Yes there were rounds being fired not far from us. I've also ran around the ship on the upper deck in the middle of various oceans and seas, as well as on the treadmill during some rough weather which always makes some interesting training sessions especially when it's set to 0% incline and you're running up and down hills as the ship rolls.

I've sailed all the way around world (literally) prior to my running career and there are some countries I have visited I'd like to run in, especially ones out in the Far East.

Muscat, Oman another favourite places to run

Aqaba, Jordan

In Spain with Emma after running from Gibraltar

Normandy, France

Valletta, Malta

Goa, India

Training in the Mountains of Kos, Greece

Halfway point in the Paris Marathon

Middle of the Indian Ocean

Early morning run in Corfu, Greece

Lisbon, Portugal

So there, you go just a little bit into my travels, I may do some more stories another time. As for now I'm currently in training for this season and the next big adventure next year. My next event is Hope24 in May.

Until next time!