Adventures in Feeling Alive

     I really love big waves, they are so much fun, don't get me wrong I do love a perfectly calm glass like sea to swim in but there is something about big waves, I love to watch the waves roll in, each one as strong as the last, surging up the beach with such energy and then falling away again ready for the next one. I find it so wonderful to see how much power there is out there in the big open ocean.       When the big waves arrive I find myself itching to get into the water. There have been a few times I have driven down to the beach and watched the huge waves and thought to myself "nope, too big and too dangerous". I generally like to think of myself as a very safe swimmer and in those instances when its too rough I drive home slightly grumpy but also happy that I've not risked my own safety. There was one occasion I miss judged the big waves and I got caught in one that slammed me to the beach. I still have a scar on my knee to prove it (albeit ...

    Chris and Rob at Havant Parkrun      I am fairly new to the world of Parkrun, if you're not sure what it is then let me explain, Parkrun is a free weekly Saturday morning 5km run, Parkrun's happen all over the country, there are 5 Parkrun's in my area. Parkrunner's are issued their own personal barcode which is scanned in at the end of each run enabling you to keep track of your progress, its a brilliant idea.       I say I am fairly new to Parkrun, that is a lie, I've actually had a Parkrun barcode for about 5 years but I have never had the confidence to actually join in with one, that was until this July when I took part in my first Parkrun. Last Saturday (the 4th) I took part in my 10th Parkrun, the location I generally choose is in Southsea mainly because I know some of the other runners and it is next to the sea if I feel like I need a dip, The Southsea run is very popular often getting between 300 and 400 runners.    ...

     I think things are getting easier, today it was time for another run with my 2 mates Chris and Matt, the last few days I have been watching the weather forecast, we have recently been hit by Storm Arwen and usually when we get a storm it lasts for a few days, Storm Arwen however turned up here on Friday evening and was gone by Saturday night, that is the kind of storm I can deal with.       The temperature however is another story, after last weeks run in 6 ° C the temps took a sudden drop through the week and whilst I was waiting to be picked up this morning I recorded a temp of 1 °, wow it was going to be one chilly run but I was still determined to do it shirt free.       Last week Matt joined me in being shirt free about half way through the run, I didn't know if he would this week because the temps were much lower, I had psyched myself up through the week and was actually really looking forward to the run, its always a goo...

     Hello all, I discovered a cool German expression today - Innerer Schweinehund, I will however get to that in a bit as I want to tell you about my swim with Ann this morning.       The drive down to our beach of choice (Hayling beach) takes me about 15 minutes, We choose to go there because its sort of a local beach for both of us and it is a very easy drive. Usually the drive down to the beach involves me setting off and then as soon as possible I put the heating on so I can get my van nice and toastie and warm. On arrival I tend to sit and chat to Ann to catch up on the current goings on so it is lovely to have a nice warm vehicle.       Today was no different, we sat there chatting about various things, as it is Friday I have a weekend of work ahead (I work weekends) and Ann had a full day planned, most of the time I like to think we both have an inner wolf which is keen to bound down the beach to meet the breaking waves...

     Being Brave is such a hard thing to do, its not that often we have to really be properly brave, I mean yes you may have the odd time where you ride a roller coaster or maybe you have to go to the dentist for a filling, but these are not every day events and yet I think that doing scary things and pushing yourself is such an essential part of life.       I have had to be brave a few times recently for various reasons, firstly I was nervous about asking my 2 running mates whether they would mind me running shirtless through winter, of course they didn't mind and why would they? I knew they would be totally fine about it but having the confidence to ask them was quite a challenge itself, I then had to be brave when I actually had to go through with taking a shirtless run with them, I mean I have run a lot without a shirt on in the past however usually on my own and often I head out under cover of darkness when it is quiet.   ...

     I have known Ann for years, she was once a customer and is now a very good friend of mine, a year ago we found out that we both liked cold water swimming and she soon became my regular swimming partner.  We swim around 3 times a week together and today we were joined by another regular swimming friend called Rachael.      This morning I really noticed the nip in the air as I left home, the wind was coming from the north and the skies were clear and so it was about 5 ° outside, I always make the silly decision to drive down to the beach with the the van heating on full blast. Me (left), Rachael (middle) and Ann (right)      After a chat we ventured into the sea, as always we all just wear our swimming costumes, I have always been against wearing a wetsuit, for me this is all about getting cold and being at one with nature. It doesn't take too long to get in, after several years of regular swimming you would think that I would ge...

Sunday turned out to been a pretty good day. A few days ago I had decided to ask both my 2 running mates if they minded me running shirt free this winter so that I could get my cold fix, to cut a long story short I received the reply "Shut up you tart! we don't care what you wear, or don't wear! we love you just the way you are, why should we care what you wear? do what you want Rob".     I now had a bit of a personal dilemma to deal with. Firstly I had to go through with it, I had told my 2 mates I wanted to do it therefore I have to do it. And secondly I needed to build up the courage to actually do it.  If you have read my intro posts you will understand that I'm not the most confident person especially when it comes to taking my shirt off. I always worry what people might think of me which I know is silly, I know I need to get over that and deal with it, who cares what people think. I formed a plan in my head, I had made the decision to run shirt free on Sun...

     Back in January I was introduced to a book, it was by a chap called Ben Aldridge and is called 'How to be comfortable with being uncomfortable'. In short the book is all about leaving your comfort zone, to help you cultivate a stronger, healthier and more resilient mindset and to help you feel calmer, happier and feel more at peace with the unknown future. This book is incredible and has changed my way of thinking about a lot of things, it has made me realise that I need to get over my various hang ups about being shirt free, adopt a stoic attitude and has helped me to get my head around the idea of getting out there to push myself more (It has also helped me to learn the Rubik's cube and pronounce the worlds longest railway station name too but that's another story).      Often on a Sunday morning I meet some really good mates for a run, usually around 5km, I have hardly ever run shirtless on these runs, I cant actually remember any recent runs shirtl...

Before I go any further I would like to get something straight, I have never taken my shirt off in public to show off my body, I do try to stay a little in shape but seriously that is NOT what this is all about. As I have grown older I have noticed the pounds start to pile on and I am now on a constant battle to prevent gaining weight, to combat this problem I try to jog to keep fit, It was in the run up to my 40th birthday I decided to sign up to a Tough Mudder, a 10 mile cross country running event with lots of crazy obstacles along the way.  Spartan race 2021 The Tough Mudder provided me with the motivation to stay fit and gave me something to work towards.  It was in the build up to the Tough Mudder that I had noticed photos of some guys running the event shirt free, It didn't take much for me to decide that I HAD to do the Tough Mudder without a shirt on. Since that first Tough Mudder I have taken part in a further 6 Tough Mudders, a London River Rat Race, an X Runne...

As a kid I used to hate taking my t-shirt off, actually I tell a lie, I used to hate taking my jumper off, I wore long sleeved tops all the time and I always remember my mum trying to peel my layers off me on the hot days, I was such a weird kid. I am not sure what that habit was all about, I think it was the fact that I hated the idea of people seeing me uncovered, what would people think of me if they saw my skin? it was often a fairly big deal to take my jumper off revealing a short sleeved t-shirt, bare arms wow the shock and horror of it all, as I say I was a weird kid.  There were a fair few instances as a kid, on hot days when I was feeling super brave I would actually take my t-shirt off (or maybe it was my mum who forced me to take my t-shirt off?), when that happened I actually found myself enjoying the air on my skin, I loved the freedom of not wearing a shirt and generally felt good about it all. Rob in school jumper mode As I moved through my teens I braved taking my t...

     Hello everyone, so, where to begin? do I start at the beginning? this is so hard for me to explain, let me start a just few years ago.      It was just after Christmas and I found myself being invited to join someone for a swim in the sea on New Years Day, for some reason I jumped at the chance, That morning I packed my trunks and towel and headed on down to the beach to find my friends all wrapped up in their wetsuits, and there I was with just my swimming trunks.    I still did the swim, feeling the freezing cold water move up my body, like a 1000 needles piercing into my skin, it was torture but I soon got my shoulders under and a few minutes later I was walking back up the beach with a massive smile on my face, boy did I feel great.      The New Years dip in the cold sea marked a point in my life when I realised something, the cold makes me feel amazing, how can I explain it, when people ask me I always say it makes me feel...