#Thailand PT1

I normally try and do a big trip late autumn, early winter and would have the organisation and planning well underway by this time. However this is not the case this time. There are reasons not to go. I am committed to the Clipper Pacific leg in April 2018 and start the first weeks training in September - there are significant financial implications. My own little sailing boat Goldcrest has been a focus and has consumed time and money and there is still plenty to do (but as an aside tremendously satisfying)  and I am trying to train for the Paris marathon in April next year. I know a trip away will put my training back. However there are always reasons not to do things and I have decided not to fall into that trap as I have got so much from my travels. I am going to go somewhere.

Where to go? There are still plenty of places I have not been - many I would still like to go to of course. One limitation is I feel I only have 3 weeks this time and that is not enough for a number of places on my list because of distances involved. Another factor is cost and the falling £ has not helped. I might have gone to the middle east - Petra in Jordan is on my list but now is probably not the right time.

I have been thinking about Thailand. I have never been but there is hardly a place more on the tourist map - visas are easy - costs seem reasonable - and of course there is plenty of information available. When a middle aged man mentions Thailand eye brows are often raised - but that is not what it is about for me. There is a lot to do and see of course. Thailand is the exotic far east . There is plenty of trekking available in their national parks and there is Thai food!

My initial research shows there are return flights for under £400 - and hostel accommodation at £10 per night or less. I know street food is cheap as is bus transport (although I am exploring train use as well) I can backpack light and mid October early November seems a reasonable time to go from a weather point of view.

So Thailand makes sense. I am going to go. Already I have an outline plan and the first inklings of excitement.

I will document my progress as usual.

#RioOlympics2016 personal thoughts from a GB perspective and Pierre de Coubertin

The Rio Olympic Games have just ended. Like millions of others I will miss the intense daily dose of top class sporting endeavour. The Rio Olympics must surely be regarded as a tremendous sporting success - a human success - and certainly the Olympic flame burns brightly with Tokyo in 4 years time eagerly anticipated.

However despite my unequivocal statement above I feel a sense of unease. In almost every aspect of the games and particularly in respect of the massive and disproportionate medal haul by the GB team - I have a sense of conflict. I will illustrate what I mean by playing a devils advocate role too.

From Brazil (Rio's) point of view. The games have further raised the profile of the country - there have been infrastructure investment and improvements - and more Brazilians are and will be engaged in sport beyond just football and volleyball.

OR

Brazil has serious financial problems and particularly social problems with huge gaps between rich and poor. This was a showpiece event which the Brazilians' could not really afford and priorities were wrong. I spent some time in Brazil in 2015 and a week in Rio.(see my blog #RiodeJaneiro 26/5/2015). It was very clear to me that most Brazilians were resentful of the money being spent by corrupt politicians for the benefit of only the "rich elite". The promises being made were the same as the ones being made for the FIFA 2014 World Cup. The reality turned out to be national debt and no legacy. Attendances were generally poor in Rio and seem to bear out the wide malaise towards the games by the average Brazilian. On a wider Olympic point - the games have become too big - too expensive for most countries to stage without impacting negatively on the people who can least afford it.

The GB team did incredibly well. It was great to watch. There was a sense of national pride and the extra pleasure from watching your own nation succeed at the highest level and this added massively to the spectating experience. We got involved - we cheered - we clapped - we were proud. It is amazing that the GB team finished 2nd in the overall medal table - that we won medals in more sports across the board than any other country and the progressive and sustained improvement in UK sport performance is viewed by many nations as a surprise and as a target to try and replicate.

OR

The GB Team did too well - given the population size of GB - an embarrassment of riches. How was it achieved? It was achieved by professionalism and by virtually unlimited financial resources (largely provided by the National Lottery - (a tax on the poor !?)) which no other country have been able to match at this stage. It has ben achieved by a ruthless drive for medal success and only committing resources when this is a realistic achievement. Many feel the UK is ahead of the game and it shows in our results. Is this not a good thing? At one level yes of course - we are competing well and achieving success - why knock that? However why it is clearly wrong to be a drug cheat to get results is it not also questionable to compete with so many built in advantages that many other countries athletes start at a substantial disadvantage. Isn't the spirit of the Olympics lost? Shouldn't all athletes effectively be competing on a level playing field? They are not. UK competitors are massively privileged and helped. They are literally "professional" to start with. What they do is their full time job. No longer do they have to work and train. They just train with an income paid by GB. It doesn't end there. Kevlar bikes (prepared for each individual athlete) designed in a F1 wind tunnel costing thousands, the very best equipment, an entourage of dieticians, chefs, sports psychologists, world class coaches (recruited from around the world), best medical back up, state of art training camps etc etc. Not a stone unturned. This approach maybe inevitable. There was a time when only amateurs could compete in the Olympics - but the East Germans and Russians ended that - all their athletes were in the Army! But Britain has taken it to a new level - an extreme level of professionalism. It is a shame because many competitors are now disenfranchised from the Olympic dream. Increasingly - no longer is gods gifts (and determination) enough to win a gold - you will need the  might of the GB type organised and funded machine behind you. Something is lost. It is too cynical. (to be fair to GB they point out many other countries throw money at the Olympics in order to win medals but the UK has used their money better - in a more sustained and efficient way and it is now paying dividends).

Time and time again we hear GB Olympians referring to the enormous - superhuman personal sacrifices they have made to be where they are. They have to be dedicated and single minded. It is hard enough to be the best in your class, best in your year, best in school, best in your city, best in your county, best in your country. To be the best in the world is truly incredible. All true. Hats off indeed.

OR

As above - GB Olympians are funded (admittedly no athlete is getting rich on elite funding in itself and also funding has to be earned by potential and performance). Training and preparing is their job. They are privileged. How do their efforts compare with that of a Care Worker or Production Line worker? How does it compare with a police officers who risks their lives or a soldier on a tour of duty who doesn't see his family for months. How does it compare with a nurse giving of self or a junior doctor who has spent years studying only to be abused by the government and too many of the public. Elite athletes are being paid for something they love doing, to pursue a dream. They are healthy. Is making sacrifices really the reality compared to most peoples lives? and even if it is, it is likely a far greater sacrifice is paid by family who have to defer to the athlete pursuing a personal and all consuming (and possibly self obsessed) shoot for the top.

Medalist are doing it for their country. They drape themselves in the Union Jack. They are representing us. All true.

OR

The primary motivation is personal glory - and possibly the riches that will flow from their status. There is a call for Olympians and their coaches to be awarded honours. The Prime Minister has announced their will be no limits on how many can be awarded. Sponsorships will flow. Media and appearance work will be inevitable. They are the new X Factor stars. Are they not being over feted - over stated - given the massive privileges they have already received?

Our Olympians motivate us. They are role models that hopefully young people will wish to emulate. They encourage us to participate in sport - to be like them. Anyone can achieve their goals if they work hard enough. This is the Olympic legacy. It is why we can justify a £4 million investment to achieve every Olympic medal. It is worth it for the public good it engenders. It popularises engagement in sport and a healthy life style - vital in our increasingly obese world.

OR

As someone who has been involved in sport all my life as a recreation I have a problem with this thinking. It is true it will of course motivate some. My concern it will demotivate just as many. Sport in everyday life is not about being a superstar. It is about keeping fit, improving, friendly competition, your local club - part of your social life. It is worth doing at a low level - an ordinary level - sport for all. It is about sustainability and routine. You do not have to be a champion to be heroic - for it to be important and personally worthwhile.

So I will finish in the way I started this blog. I really enjoyed the Olympics. I am glad GB did well. I loved watching Sophie Hitchon, Adam Gemili and Jade Jones efforts - the fantastic Brownlee's and what it meant to Andy Murray . I was enthralled by the womens hockey team - still am - but actually they are all full time paid professionals with Rolls Royce back up that few others in the world can match. It takes the shine off. Are our Olympians really so heroic now - is Mo Farah quite as exceptional as he would have been in a bygone era when he would have been an amateur holding down a day job as athletes from most countries still are. I have a sense of unease about values and the Olympic spirit and what it means and that is a shame - but probably the inevitable way of the world. Where does it stop? Will it ultimately be all about money and resources made available by political will determined by the prized reflected glow of medal success and overt nationalism?

Pierre De Coubertin - founder of the modern Olympics -

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.

FOOTNOTE - Paralympics - everything GB has done for our Olympic competitors we are bringing to the Rio Paralympics. Why not? What is wrong with full time lottery funded professional Paralympians with cutting edge equipment, resources and back up? (Kevlar wheel chairs that cost thousands.) There is nothing wrong except the disparity in resources in Paralympics between countries is even more extreme. The gulf between GB elite funded Paralympian's and representative of other countries is much wider than the Olympics. (GB with justification can point out that we are in the vanguard of the development of Paralymics - indeed we started it at Stoke Mandeville. We can argue it is GB leading the way in the fight for parity between the Olympics and Paralympics and this is something to be proud of.) However the reality is we are sending a massive and well funded team to Rio. We are bound to achieve a sack full of medals while many other countries Paralympians participation is in doubt it seems because they might not even have the cost of the air fare and will have to make their own way through competition. This is a stark illustration of the unfair resource differences. The GB team will fly out on chartered aircraft with training camp facilities of the highest quality. This is a sad state of affairs and such resource disparity diminishes the value of our inevitable medal haul. It also is quite likely that GB dominance will discourage and dissuade other countries and their citizens from participating in future events. The Olympic ideal is being undermined and GB is inadvertently leading the way because winning is becoming everything.

#Oxford

If you visit the UK on vacation you of course go to London and probably Bath and very likely Oxford (as our most famous university city). For all my life I have lived less than 3 hours from Oxford - and I have never visited - how mad is that?

Recently I discovered that during the summer holidays many of the Oxford colleges that collectively make up the University of Oxford make student accommodation available for hire. I booked to stay at Jesus College for a very reasonable rate and travelled to Oxford by train from Southampton. It turned out to be a really lovely, gentle and worthwhile couple of days.

Oxford Central Station is indeed very central - it is only a 10 minute walk to the centre of Oxford where all the old colleges are located. I have to remember being mid August that the city is largely undergraduate free as they are on vacation -  and therefore lacking the bustle that I am sure would be normal if the masses of bikes chained up were actually in use - but I have to say Oxford created a lovely impression right from exiting the relatively small scale station. The impression never changed.

The first thing apparent is old Oxford is built mainly of Cotswold stone - that warm cosy yellowish limestone. The colleges themselves are typically contained within large outer walls facing the street and entered via massive and old timber or wrought iron gates. (individual colleges are easy to find with a tourist map - but be warned - colleges do not seem to carry much in the way of exterior signage.) I am no expert on the Oxford colleges but their names are so familiar - I guess from watching University Challenge - right back from the Bamber Gascoigne days - "Magdalen - pronounced Maudlin - Keeble, Jesus, Balliol and Trinity etc  and they are as well known and reassuring to us English as the sea areas from the Shipping Forecast (Wight, Portland, Plymouth - Dogger, Fisher, German Bight!)

Central Oxford is not a large geographical area. It is easy and best to see on foot I would say - traffic is not an issue. There are plenty of tourists snapping away - but it is all gentle and predominantly quiet. Oxford as you would expect exudes history - buildings are of outstanding quality and you feel you are visiting somewhere special as indeed you are.

There is of course masses that I could be write to describe Oxford - but I won't - just an unqualified recommendation - visit yourself - you are bound to enjoy it.

Here are one or two personal observations :-

I stayed at Jesus College - not one of the very oldest - it was founded in the 15th century I think - rather than the 12th century like some! Once you enter off the street through the massive wooden gates - you enter another world. It does actually and immediately feel learned. It is so quiet and peaceful - as you enter the lawned quadrangle - quad. The buildings are in wonderful order but obviously very old. It was a special place to be based for a couple of days. I really enjoyed breakfast. The porters and staff were no nonsense but very polite. The refectory started to fill with visiting students and members of staff. It was all very grown up.

Oxford is a great place for pubs. Each one has a story. They are superbly kept. They have retained their tradition. I liked the courtyard of The Chequers, you have to find The Turf Tavern (claims to have the highest IQ clientele in the world) and the most strange Three Goats Heads. I also searched out The Lamb and Flag - not because it was often used for the filming of Inspector Morse but because it was where my favourite author Thomas Hardy apparently wrote large parts of Jude the Obscure.

One of the lovely things about Oxford centre is it is bordered by the River Cherwell on one side, The Thames (Isis) on another and The Oxford Canal. There are some lovely walks and lovely gentle boating scenes. (however the boat hire company charges £30 for a 30 minute hire of a classic punt - not good).

My final observation is you could spend a lifetime visiting the world class museums and libraries. I visited The Ashmolean and The Pitt Rivers Museum but with time constraints did neither of them justice. That will have to be on another day. I shall definitely visit Oxford again - one day on a narrow boat may be.

A typical Oxford street scene - Braesnose?

The Radcliffe Camera

All Souls

Bridge of Sighs

History of Science Museum?

Views of Jesus College

Pitt Rivers Museum

Pitt Rivers Museum

The High Street

Carfax Tower

Christ Church College (used for filming Harry Potter)

Thames scenes

Oxford Canal

Ashmolean Museum

To share a beer with the memory of Thomas Hardy

Turl Street - Jesus College on the right

#Society - what defines us in the UK - what is the common thread?

#Marathon "monkey on my back" - PT3

See my blog 17th June - "Monkey on my back".

I am now about 6 weeks in from my enrolment in the April 2017 Paris Marathon. Here is an update of my training progress and thoughts relating.

The good news is I am working at it and my commitment is strong. I have been running 5 days a week on average but with some notable exceptions that set me back. The first was effectively a week at the Glastonbury Festival - a brilliant unmissable time - but about as far away from the concept of a training camp as you could possibly get! The other was the family camping holiday down in Cornwall. While we had plenty of fresh air and other types of exercise (and I was able to do a few short runs) it was also a "social time" and on balance I am pretty sure fitness levels in running terms at least did not go forward - ha!

However - back at home - the focus is good. Here are some thoughts.

• My stamina is pretty good but my pace is very slow.
• There are all sorts of books and training programmes out there for preparing to run a marathon but I don't want the tyranny of them - I want to work out what is best for me and do it myself.
• My only objective is to run the Paris Marathon in April 2017 without stopping or walking.
• In November 2014 after a reasonable amount of training I did the Exeter Great South West Half in 2 1/2 hours. I was very tired - or at least my legs had seized - so to do double - and achieve 5 hours is a massive and possibly unrealistic ask.
• However I have learned this and am mindful of it - by going slower but for longer you are likely to tire yourself more than if you go faster for a shorter time. (do you use less fuel if you drive a car for 100 miles at 50 miles an hour and take 2 hours or drive the same distance at 70 miles an hour and therefore take one hour 40 mins ?) For instance over the years we have done the Walk the Wight and IOW Randonee. Both are long events. When we have done them with slow family groups we are much more tired than when we have done them with a quicker group and have not been out on the course for so long.
• With this in mind I think it is important I work on increasing my basic running speed otherwise I am going to be on the course for hours and hours. 5 hours is going to be my target at this stage - not longer. I am setting this objective - not because time is important in itself but because I think it might be an optimum time for me.
• So I have two objectives. One is to build up the distance I am capable of running until I have a chance of having a go at the 26 miles - the other is to increase my basic pace.
• I think the pace increase should come first - and then add on the distance progressively and maintaining that pace - that is my strategy for the time being at least.

I have a new Garmin Forerunner 10 watch which works off GPS. A marathon is 26.2 miles. 5 hours is 300 minutes - so run 26.2 miles in 300 minutes the level pace has to be about 1 mile in 11mins.25 secs. (so actually my current pace is ok - maybe I could do a 4 hour marathon - stupid thought !)

So my objective for the next couple of weeks is to do my regular runs at 11min.25sec miles. I can do that - distance 3 miles. A slow build up - a sensibly slow build up I hope - I have the time. April 2017 is still a long way away - the focus is there and I am really enjoying the satisfaction of putting the runs under my belt and the good feeling that comes from the simplicity of running !

Footnote - had a lovely 3 mile jog this evening - ran along the seafront between Cowes and Gurnard and back. Quiet - setting sun shimmering on the dark flat Solent sea. The 3 miles by coincidence took exactly 30 minutes - so 10 minute miles. Met James with his running club at the Woodvale Gurnard  for a couple of beers. A very enjoyable way of spending an evening. Life is about balance most of the time - ha!