When you live with mental ill-health every day, it can affect many different aspects of your life. People might think that you just feel unwell or a bit down, but it can reach much further than that and can make tasks that you would normally do without thinking an insurmountable challenge. If you have lived … Continue reading You Against You
Christmas can be a testing time of year for our mental wellbeing. It can be stressful for everyone, even those who don’t live with mental illness. There are financial worries about the cost of presents and going out, pressure to see friends and family and overindulgence with food and alcohol. Here are some easy ways … Continue reading It Won’t Be Christmas Without You
Normally on my way to work I try to listen to a podcast or an audiobook to try and start the day by learning something new. This morning I was listening to radio, which is unusual as I normally try and avoid the news as it’s never good. The main topic of discussion was the … Continue reading Be More Kind
This wasn't going to my first rodeo. I'd done a triathlon before (albeit a while ago) but as Sunday 14 July was getting closer, it was making me more and more anxious. Training had started well, and I was making good progress but then my advancing years started to catch up with me. It started … Continue reading Against All Odds
On Monday night I was faced with a dilemma. For one night only, there was a showing of a Soundgarden gig on the IMAX screen. Normally this wouldn’t lead to a dilemma, but there were a few things to consider; there wasn’t a screening near work or home and the nearest one was in Leeds … Continue reading The Day I Tried To Live
It’s fair to say that I’m two from three in the title. The last couple of weeks haven’t been a great lead up ahead of York Triathlon. Training has been hampered by a back problem which has meant training has been difficult. To say that it has been frustrating is an understatement which was epitomised … Continue reading Broken, Beaten & Scarred
It’s been another tough week, but we’ve started to move in the right direction. Like turning around an oil tanker this is taking longer than you hope and much more effort but at least there has been some progress which is better than last week. That said, it hasn’t really reflected in my training yet … Continue reading Stronger
York Triathlon is on the horizon and the days are counting down. Over the past few weeks things have not been going entirely to plan. Plan is obviously a loose term given my history of turning up at events woefully underprepared, but I did have some idea of what I wanted to work on in … Continue reading Endgame
It’s not the first time I’ve decided to take on a challenge despite being unfit and unprepared and I’m sure it won’t be the last (much to the dismay of my long-suffering wife Elaine). On 14 July I’ll be taking part in the City of York Triathlon that takes place at York Sports Village. To … Continue reading Born To Run
I recently posted a picture of myself on social media that got a surprising reaction. It wasn’t the usual post that you see of someone posing with their shirt off showing their abs (mainly because mine are hibernating for winter), a cat doing something hilarious or an amusing meme from a popular TV show. It … Continue reading From Out Of Nowhere
