One of the areas I’ve consistently overlooked as part of my training regime is stretching and recovery. I often stretch at the start and end of training sessions and long runs, especially stretching my lower half. The reality, however, is that I’ve been putting my body under immense stress for years without giving it the proper recovery or stretching it not just deserves but craves.

Recently my girlfriend suggested we try hot yoga, and I was game for giving it a go.

For nearly two decades now, running has been part of my daily routine. When I moved to London in my early twenties, I swapped the commute in a crowded tube for running to the office and pretty much never looked back.

Over the years the distance to the office increased and with it so did the miles in the bank. I’ve now been consistently clocking between 80-100 miles a week for the majority of my adult life, racking up thousands of miles cumulatively and here’s the kicker…I don’t even like running!

I’ve already shared my Hyrox experience in another post and didn’t pull any punches with regards to my performance assessment. This time, I’m focusing on another milestone which was probably overdue when it came round given the volume of miles I have in the bank. In 2022 I finally took part in my first 26.2 marathon in Brighton.

When it comes to fitness and physical challenges, my general approach is simple: it’s me versus me. Of course, there are other participants, however as I'm not a fitness professional, I don't necessarily expect to finish top of the pile against trained athletes. What I do expect is that I’ll push myself to my personal limits and leave it all on the track or in the arena.