Hello...

Thanks for taking the time out to have a quick mooch over this blog. I was initially a bit hesitant about writing a blog, I mean who wants to listen to my incessant rambling? True, no one does; but this blog acts as motivation for me to get in shape and give myself the best running shot I can at becoming an Officer as part of the Royal Marines Commandos. Perhaps someone else may learn something through my own experiences?

  So I'll give you a little intro into myself and what I hope to get out of this blog. I'm a 21 year old student coming to the end of my degree. I initially didn't want to go to university, but after failing early on in the application process and being told to get a little 'life experience' I was recommended to try university. In hindsight I should of just gone straight in as a Marine, but that's what makes hindsight an absolute beaut. If anything University has given me an even greater hunger to join the RM family as the prospects of a normal 9-5 office job does not appeal in the slightest; plus a greater respect for the magnitude of commitment and effort that needs to be put into the application process in order to even get to Lympstone. My view on life is that I'd rather have an absolutely kick-ass time for a short period (if it has to be that way, this is the armed forces we are talking about) as opposed to getting stuck in a job I'm neither interested in, challenged by or feel fulfilled in. My personal preference is that if there are two roads and you have to follow one, follow the harder one as in the end you feel more fulfilled as you have ultimately achieved more than if you had set out to take the easy route; you also learn more about your character. Try it, you might surprise yourself.

I've trained in gyms since I was 16 and up until my first application I was also a keen runner, opting to run everywhere due to detesting public transport and not learning to drive til I was nearly 18. When I failed I stopped running but maintained my physical fitness in the gym. I seriously wish I had continued with the Cardio. November 2010 and I started running again but because my lower leg muscles had been so inactive for such along time I soon started getting shin splints. I got them so badly on occasions I couldn't physically walk for days on end. January 2011 and I went to see a private podiatrist. The podiatrist told me that when I walked I suffered from pronation. Luckily this is a common injury for runners and nearly £600 later I had a brand spankers pair of Orthotics, running shoes and back to running training schedule, awesome! Over the next few months I trained my nuts off, but my shin splints just got worse and worse. This eventually led me back to the podiatrist who sent my Orthotics away for a new pair. Okay, lets try it again. So now its September 2011 and my shins are still no better off than nearly a year ago when I first started running again. My mum is a retired Podiatrist so took a look at my feet and couldn't see any pronation whatsoever, so took me to a friend of hers who is a physio. He took one look and agreed with my mum, I did not pronate and the only thing the orthotics did was make my pronation worse. October and I have finally got rid of the god forsaken Orthotics and have now started phsyio on my legs to get me back running and this is where the blog starts...