The Ashes -What sport can we beat Australia at?

That's it then. The noose is being tied up ready to drop around the necks of the English cricket team.

I tried to be more positive about the Ashes, I really hoped that the English team would stand up and be counted. I think they performed well in this, the third test.

I just think that luck had a major part in this (soon to be) defeat. We had none. The boys all seemed to be up for this one. Too late really, the Ashes were won in the second test.

England should have won the second test to add pressure to the Aussies. I think at one all before the third, the pressure on the old guard that is Australia would have shown.

It didn't and I am left contemplating what might have been..Along with millions of Brits, we have to go to work tired now, and also Ashes-less.

It's funny how you can cope with tiredness when there is hope.

Now there is no hope.

No hope of me staying up 'til 5am anymore, I have to earn a living and get working. No more passing out on my laptop at 2pm.

The love affair is over..until the next test..then, it will be for fun, not mine thought.

So I am left contemplating one thing, what sports are we better than Australia at? First to spring to mind is Football, the last time we played the Aussies , we lost 3-1. Then I look to rugby, yes we won 'that match' but since then...

I am leaving this open...you tell me..

Triathlon and Running - What is it all about?

I have recently started running. I am taking up the triathlon next year and as somebody that hasn't run for nearly twenty years, this is the discipline I need to work hardest on.

Running

I hate it. My first run was with my Wife. Our kids were at school, it was a Saturday morning and guests were not due until after lunch. We ran around three minutes before my acting started, you know the acting you need to do when you are trying to show no pain or failure.

Mine was both acting and failure. It hurt. It hurt my lungs, my legs and my shoulders. I could even taste blood from somewhere!

We carried on for nearly five kilometres. That is a long way for the first time. Only when we got to our destination did I realise just how much pain I was in. I did the "let's stop and stretch" trick. Just to get some breath and try to get some life into me!

The five kilometres back was part walk, part run. The part run was especially useful when other people were running towards me, like the token 70 year olds. Why are there always 70 year old running when I go out?

By the time our guests arrived, I couldn't stand up or walk very easily. That night, I felt like crying!!! The next day sitting down hurt, not my bum but my legs and the motion of doing it killed me!

It took one week to get over the excruciating pain. One week, where is the fun in that?

Still, I ran it again the week after, it still hurt. Now, I thought, I must have picked up some kind of injury years ago, it shouldn't be that bad!

I am still running now, about a month and a half after starting. I am upto running twice easily per week and about to step up to three times next week. I am running around 7k in just over 35 minutes now...getting there finally. I just cannot stand running, it feels like hard work and indeed is hard work!

Swimming

I swim a couple of times per week and can do a mile in around thirty minutes, this equates to 1.5k or in a pool, 32 Olympic lengths or 64 in a standard 25 metre pool. I am happy to swim, enjoy the benefits of living five minutes walk from an Olympic size pool and ten minutes to the sea on foot. This part is my banker, I need to speed up and go an extra five minutes quicker, but this will happen when I take some advanced lessons.

Cycling

I need to do more of this but in fairness, haven't had a spare weekend since August and this has not really helped. I can ride 20k flat out in around 35 minutes, so I need to increase this dramatically but all said and done, this doesn't hurt and I just need practice.

So in conclusion, I am sitting here in my shorts, sweating after this mornings run by the ocean. I think the fact that I can now run through the pain barrier has helped me hugely.

If anyone has any tips to offer me on how to speed up my swim, i'd appreciate it. If am off this afternoon to do a mile and see what reaction I have in my legs!!!