FHM Top 100 Sexiest Women

Ok, just a bit of light-hearted entertainment while I chill out on the evening before my next race..

I always think the FHM Top 100 Sexiest is a lot of fun. I don't subscribe to FHM any more (too many copies lying round the house as it is) but I always buy it when the results are published and like to compare the tastes of the nation with my own. It invariably produces some amusing surprises!

The best example I can think of: Billie Piper came eleventh this year!! 20 places ahead of Jennifer Ellison and one place behind Jessica Simpson (who almost qualifies as a Swindon lass herself, the amount of time she spends round mine). I mean, all credit to her for making a comeback as an actress, and she plays the part of Rose in the excellent new series of Doctor Who with aplomb, but take it from me boys: I've seen her up close a few times and she's not really all that.

So, without further ado below are two top tens: the one in the magazine, and my top 10 of the top one hundred. So no place for Alicia Silverstone, alas - but with "Stormbreaker" set for release this summer, that could change next year..

FHM Top Ten.

1. Keira Knightley - the quintessential English rose, but a little too thin for my liking.
2. Keeley - who?
3. Scarlett Johansson. Who says the yanks don't have taste? She came top of the pile on that side of the pond.
4. Angelina Jolie. Quite popular with the ladies too, apparently.
5. Kelly Brook. No argument, but I like the girl next door look.
6. Cheryl Tweedy. Too much of a chav for me.
7. Beyonce Knowles. Like her better without the big hair.
8. Evangeline Lilly. I have honestly never heard of her before. Seriously. Is she in "Lost"?
9. Jessica Alba. Now we're talking..
10. Jessica Simpson. Nick Lachey's loss, some lucky man's gain.

JW Top Ten.

1. Scarlett Johansson (3). Great pout, great figure, great skin and she can act too.
2. Jessica Alba (9). An angel. Can't wait for Sin City 2.
3. Jennifer Ellison (31). Met her in London 18 months ago. Lovely, lovely girl. Hope she goes far.
4. Jessica Simpson (10). It seems one of your initials has to be J to be in my gang..
5. Kimberley Walsh (66). Or maybe a soft Yorkshire accent and a few curves will suffice. Can't believe she fared worse than the rest of the Fab Five, bar the ginger one.
6. Tara Reid (41). I never tire of all those late-night repeats of "Wild on Tara" on the E channel. I wonder why that is??
7. Myleene Klass (78). She'd be no good for me though - I read in an interview she's teetotal!
8. Kara Tointon (27). Making 'Enders watchable again.
9. Charlotte Church (40). Do yourself a favour Charl, ditch the fags and Gav and we'll see what a crazy chick you are next time I'm out in Cardiff..
10. Katie Holmes (79). The ultimate girl next door, she can climb through my bedroom window any time she wants. And she likes older men too! Enough to make anyone a Dawson's Geek..

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, April 2006

The Flora London Marathon

I would love so much to tell you I competed in the world's greatest marathon this morning. Alas, no. Not yet. I'm not ready for a full marathon yet - pretty close, mind you.

What I can tell you, with a great deal of excitement, is that I travelled up to the London marathon expo with Anthony and Gary on Friday. It was a fabulous day out and gave me a real taste for the event.

We drove up in Gary's car (very plush) and I told them with some confidence that the best place to park would be in a cul-de-sac in Osterley and catch the tube from there. Unfortunately the powers that be in the area have wizened up to the likes of me and have introduced parking meters since my last visit. Oops. No worries however - plenty of spaces in the tube station car park.

We got to the expo just after lunchtime and Anthony picked up his race number for the big day. His excitement was palpable and if all goes to plan, all three of us will be picking up our race numbers next year - just think how cool that will be.

We had a quick look round before partaking of the pasta lunch - very tasty it was too. It provided me with a timely reminder of just how good pasta can be if you take time to prepare a good sauce to go with it, and how I must find some good recipes - pasta is going to play a big part in my diet over the next few months. On the stage behind us, James Cracknell was giving an interview about his ambitions for the big day. How exciting to be rubbing shoulders (well, almost) with an Olympic gold medallist.

We then proceeded to spend time (and a lot of money!) visiting the various stands at the exhibition. There were some bargains to be had - I got a great deal on some singlets, a new pair of trainers for my shorter runs and a 6 month subscription to Running Fitness magazine for £13.50 which came with a free running coat worth £40! Fantastic - knowing me I'll be cancelling the direct debit in time to get maximum value for money as well! These companies must hate people like me!!

I didn't do as well as Anthony however - by the end of the day he was carrying so many bags he looked like Alicia Silverstone in Clueless, just without the mini-skirt, legs and all-round cuteness - sorry mate.

Highlight of the day was arguably meeting the great Steve Cram and having my photo taken with him. I got a lovely compliment from him to boot - "you look like you're running (on Sunday)" were his words to me. Unfortunately I had to disappoint him but I did update him on my progress to date and my plan to run a full marathon in September.

I also visited the justgiving.com stand and got some good advice. Realistically I am not going to get a place for 2007 through the ballot system, so my best bet is to get one of the charity places. I have an idea how I can increase my sponsorship - all I'll say at this juncture is it's a good job I stopped for a chat.

It was great to spend some time with Anthony and Gary and as the day drew to a close I treated them to a coffee in the cafe overlooking the docklands. I hope we spend more time together in future as the friendships develop.

Eventually I had to part company with them - Anthony had to get home to Jo and baby Ben, and Gary had had an early start, but I had decided to avail myself of the opportunity to go to the theatre while in the capital. I plumped for a repeat viewing of the excellent "Blackbird" in the end - the subject matter is pretty unpleasant and frankly implausible (a man in his late fifties is confronted by a 27 year old girl he had sex with as a minor 15 years ago) but the acting was out of this world and the dialogue razor-sharp. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the theatre:

www.seeblackbird.com

Needless to add I had a couple of well earned pints in The Lord Moon of the Mall before heading home. Please don't mock me - it's hard work being on your feet all day and I needed some liquid refreshment.

I felt inspired on Saturday and headed off for a 15 mile run. The only problem was, I was still tired from the day before and it was a real plod to say the least. I half-planned to drive up to London today to watch the race but unfortunately I was so wiped out after my run I fell asleep in front of the TV and couldn't sleep properly after that, so I didn't get up until after 10 today. So it was too late to go up, but I did watch a fair bit of the coverage on TV - I never thought I'd be this excited about the marathon.

Never mind - I still got a good taste for the event and am now determined to make sure I am on the start line in 2007. What a turn-up for the book that will be.

Finally I'd like to say a massive WELL DONE and GOOD ON YOU to every single person who completed the marathon today, not least Anthony Davis (for very obvious reasons!) as well as David Morgan and Susanne Dansey, whose blogs I have followed with interest. I look forward to joining you in 2007.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, 23rd April 2006

Marathon training weekend

My training for the New Forest marathon in September 2006 has now officially begun.

It wasn't until the Thursday after the Reading half marathon that I was able to run again (a nice, steady 6-7 mile run) and this was followed by a good, tough speed session with Anthony on Friday. Some people question my having PT sessions, but they are always tough (which proves I am getting my money's worth), and I look forward to them. Anthony told me recently he enjoys training me so it's a symbiotic friendship I guess.

We spoke about the training I need to do over the summer, and I decided it was time to get on with it straight away. Shame about the diet but hey, it was the bank holiday weekend. Back on the wagon Tuesday, honest.

Saturday was an interesting experience, to say the least. 3 hours of exercise: Spinning, followed by body pump, followed by the same run I did Thursday. Lunatic, I hear you say. I agree, but there was a method in the madness. Normally I would stop after the two classes but as I knew my stomach was empty I thought it would be good to force my body to dig into its fat reserves.

It hurt. I wanted to cry. I wanted my mum. (Nothing new there actually..sigh). But seriously, my body knew what I was trying to do and didn't like it. Nonetheless, I stuck with it and got round quicker than I did a few days ago. As someone kindly pointed out, I've certainly got the dedication. Damn right - I deserve to get into a 32" waist after all this. And to run a 10k in 40 minutes. And to get off with Kimberley from Girls Aloud. Ok, I'll stop there..

The intention Sunday was to do 2 10-mile runs. Yes, 2 runs in one day. Alas, it was not to be - I had a lovely long lie-in in the morning (when you can sleep for 10 hours it proves you have been working too hard and need a break) and managed to get booked in for a sports massage in the early afternoon. Hence I only had time for a 7-mile run, but it was a good run, I concentrated on picking up the pace, keeping myself nice and tall, and it felt good.

It is so, so nice to be running outside with nothing more than a vest on (at least where my upper body is concerned) and sunglasses. The cricket season has begun and summer is here at last. Well, almost..

After the massage I treated myself to the flicks and saw "Scary Movie 4". It won't win any Oscars, and I thought the spoof of "Million Dollar Baby" was a bit out of order, but I enjoyed it. Sometimes it's good to leave your brain at the door and enjoy something just plain dumb and funny.

Anyway, back to the serious business. Today I did 2 10-mile runs, or at least 2 runs of 90 minutes duration. Haven't got round to calibrating my distance monitor you see. The first was not too bad, again I enjoyed being out in the sun and it was nice to see an old mate hooting at me from his car as I was crossing the road.

I couldn't tell you I enjoyed heading back to the gym for the second run. I just wanted to stay at home and do something different. Chill out with a good book, perhaps? Anthony warned me that marathon training will be boring at times, but I've no doubt it will be worth it. I was never a gifted athlete, so if I can prove to myself I can run 26.2 miles, then anything else I set my mind to should be a piece of cake.

It was painful as well. I was sore, and my legs felt heavy. After an hour I was shattered, and did have to walk in a couple of places (obviously out of the view of any admiring females). I used a different route and when I got back to the gym I had been on my feet for 1 hour 20 minutes. My body told me to hit the showers. My heart told me to run 1o minutes on the treadmill. My brain had the final say and so I did the latter. It was 30 minutes until closing time and I kind of got off on the fact that I was the last man standing in there.

And so home to a salad and a glass of mineral water. Yeah right - haven't you heard, Nelson got his eye back? On long run days, you have whatever you want. I wolfed down a chicken tikka massala - I was so ravenous I didn't even notice it said "extra hot" on the label. It could have been a phall and it wouldn't have been on my taste buds long enough to make a difference.

So marathon training has its upside. Still, I have it all to do before September.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, April 2006

Day out in London and the Sugababes

I was looking forward to the Reading half marathon for a reason other than the event itself: I had two days off work afterwards and was going to spend Monday in London.

I also had a ticket to see the Sugababes at the Hammersmith Apollo in the evening. I saw them at the same venue two years ago and really enjoyed the concert. When I found out they were playing there again the day after the Reading half marathon I thought that would be a perfect way to celebrate the race. As it turned out, I think I had good reason to celebrate.

I don't often go to concerts - I only really started a few years ago when I was working shifts and looking for things I could do on my own mid-week. I've been to some good ones - Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Christina Aguilera have been a couple of my other favourites.

The day didn't get off to a great start. My train was delayed by 20 minutes (always the way when you've rushed to the station). And I was feeling somewhat worse for wear after an excessive amount of beer and wine the day before.

Still, it could have been worse - I did at least have good weather for it. When I got to London I headed for Leicester Square and got myself a beer. I found I was really enjoying sitting in the sunshine, reading my book and watching the world go by, and so carried on doing just that.

I'd like to tell you I did something exciting or cultural but I'd be lying. I hadn't had a boozy day out for some time so just relaxed and enjoyed myself. I had a late lunch and an early dinner, and spent much of the time in between browsing in Waterstone's on Trafalgar Square - one of my favourite activities when in the capital.

I made my way to Hammersmith in plenty of time for the concert. The support act was fairly nondescript - I realised how spoilt I'd been when the Black Eyed Peas supported Christina Aguilera.

The concert seemed a little disappointing. It seemed to go very quickly, but in retrospect I guess that's probably a good thing because it proves I was enjoying it. In fairness they did a good mix of old and current stuff. I think I was expecting them to concentrate on tracks from the latest album, which IMHO is their strongest to date.

I don't know, the event didn't seem to have the same pizzazz as their last concert. Maybe I was expecting too much - sometimes anticipation can spoil an event like that. Or maybe beers in the sunshine had numbed my senses.

But even so I had a good, relaxing and well-earned day out in the sun. It looks like spring is here at last.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, April 2006

Reading half marathon - my best race yet

On Sunday I competed in what was the biggest and best race of my running career to date.

I had heard a lot about Reading half marathon and had entered some time ago (last year I think). It is apparently the second biggest half marathon in the country after the Great North Run, with some 13,000 entries.

I wrapped up my training on Wednesday with a short run with Anthony. Then I enjoyed 3 days of complete rest. No running, no spinning, no body pump, not even a few sit-ups. Nothing more strenuous than a walk into town. Unusually for me, I found I quite enjoyed it. Normally I miss the gym but not this time.

It seemed to have the desired effect. By Saturday I was itching to go. Being the consummate professional he is, Anthony gave me a call to have a chat, answer any questions I might have, and make sure I had no worries or concerns.

As usual I went to the cinema in the afternoon. I find it just takes my mind off the race and relaxes me. I decided to see "She's The Man", an American teen comedy based on Twelth Night. It was great - not quite in the same league as "10 Things I Hate About You" - probably the best in the genre - but it was still fresh and funny and Amanda Bynes stole the show. Don't laugh, but I also love "What A Girl Wants" in which she stars alongside Colin Firth. She's a real cutie and if she treads the boards in London, as Julia Stiles did with aplomb two years ago, there's a good chance I'll be seeing her play a few times as well.

I didn't have the best night's sleep Saturday - drunks walking past my house kept waking me up. But I woke up feeling refreshed and headed to the gym where I met up with Grace, Dave, Gary and Anthony and his family. I gave Grace a lift - she was planning on taking the train but I offered to take her. I think it's important to cultivate friendships and as we are of similar ability we should run together more as well.

We drove down in convoy and parked up in the pre-booked car parks. I was immediately impressed by how well organised it all was - well sign posted and so forth - and how many people there were.

We had time to kill before the race - no bad thing - but it went quickly and before we knew it we made our way to the start. Anthony was lining up with the other elites and gave me a few last minute words of advice. His parting shot to me was "Sub two hours mate, don't let me down". No pressure, you understand.

He had made it abundantly clear that he wanted a sub 2-hour half marathon out of me, and yes I did feel under pressure. But I thought about this and eventually decided it was a good thing. It's no longer good enough to just get round, people expect good things from me. And there is healthy competition - there are people who want to beat me, and people I want to impress.

What can I say about the race? Not a great deal, actually - it just felt nice and controlled. I felt I was going at a good pace and for the most part, felt good. I had stomach pains for the first few miles - I wondered if this was because I hadn't eaten for nearly four hours. Oops.

The pains eventually subsided and I kept myself going by taking plenty of fluid on board, perhaps a little too much. The race was fantastically well organised and supported, and there were regular drink stations. The scenery was nothing to write home about however. But I had made the decision not to wear my MP3 player so I could soak up the sounds and atmosphere, and it proved a prescient move.

One thing I love about these events is that invariably you see or experience something that really makes your day. At about 11 miles I passed a young lad who was wearing a t-shirt he had had made for the event which had the words "It's all for you" inscribed on the back, and a picture of a lady, presumably a deceased relative, maybe his mother. Having been there myself, I know where he's coming from. I thought that was a lovely idea, and will probably do something similar for my first marathon in September. I tapped him on the back and said "nice one mate" as I passed him. He was wearing an MP3 and I don't know if he knew what I meant. I hope he realised later.

After 12 miles I was seriously hurting. I really, really wanted to stop. I had no idea of my time but knew then I had given it everything. Needless to say I kept going and as we went round in a loop I saw Grace ahead of me. She looked shattered and had started walking so I shouted at her to keep going. I like to think that's the sportsman in me, wanting other people to do well if they have given it their all.

Eventually we reached the finish line in the Majeski stadium. I'll never know where I got the energy from, but I managed to sprint to the line. By my watch I had made it in 1 hour and 59 minutes so I had achieved my goal. (I later found out my chip time was 1:58:54). I was exhausted but ecstatic.

As I queued for my medal and goodie bag I met Dave and Gary. I was especially pleased for Gary as it was his first half marathon, and he managed it in just over 2 hours. Fantastic work when you take into account that he was carrying an injury (his knee has been giving him gyp recently and was heavily strapped). I told him he should be very proud of himself. He's quite a bit faster than me over a 10k, but I think he was very nervous about whether or not he could complete this distance (it is, to be fair, quite a step up). Hopefully this will have given him a lot of confidence.

And so we headed back to Swindon. I dropped Grace off at the gym, picked up some lunch from Sainsburys and hurried home to watch the cricket highlights. Needless to say I was disappointed as I watched another capitulation by the England one-day team. It amazes me how such a fine Test team can be such a shambles in the other format of the game. It just seems, with the exception of Kevin Pietersen, that their hearts really aren't in it. They look like they've had enough of being on tour and just want to come home. And quite frankly, who can blame them?

Not all bad news as it turned out - I found out later the match had been abandoned and I was watching highlights of a previous game.

You really, really don't want to know how much alcohol I consumed Sunday afternoon. I think most people would be horrified. What I will share with you is that I thought it was time to settle back with a bucket of cold beer and my favourite movie of all time: “The Shawshank Redemption”. I hadn't watched it for some time and had almost forgotten just how good it is.

I'll write a separate article on the film another time, but there's a great quote in it: "I guess it comes down to a simple choice. Get busy living, or get busy dying".

I like to think I know which option I had taken on Sunday, 9th April 2006.

Copyright Jonathan Weedon, April 2006

Cancer Research 10k

This Sunday I ran in the Cancer Research 10k at Longleat - the second 10k I have done there this year.

I booked the event some time ago as I thought it would be a good warm-up for the Reading half marathon. As it grew nearer, I wondered if I had made the right decision - there was a 10-mile race at Chedworth in the Cotswolds on the same day, which might have been more suitable. Oh well, I decided, it's booked and paid for so I might as well stick with the 10k.

I had a look through my race information a few days before the event. Along with my race number there was something to put on the back of your t-shirt, which displayed who you are running in memory or celebration of. At this point I remembered that one of the ladies who worked in the canteen at my company, Viv Billingham, had died of cancer earlier this year.

You would never have known that Viv had cancer. She was always so cheerful as she went about her work, and looked well for the most part. She had been battling with cancer for some time and had undergone chemotherapy; the only time I noticed a change in her appearance. What a brave lady.

I decided therefore that I would run the race in Viv's memory. On the Friday before the race I went to the canteen and told a couple of the ladies there, who thought it was a lovely idea. They said that they would get someone to send out an email to the site advising them of the event.

Whilst there was a sponsorship form enclosed in the race pack I wasn't planning on raising sponsor money. It's usually a pain getting it in after the event, and there are plenty of opportunities for people to donate money to good causes.

When I got back to my desk, however, I found out that one of our secretaries, Lizzie Turner, had sent out an email to everyone in the company in the whole of the UK telling them I was running a half marathon in memory of Viv, and to contact me if they wished to sponsor me! Several people had called already, and so it didn't look like I had much choice about raising sponsorship!

I spent the Saturday before the event much the same way I spend any day before a race - just relaxing - with one exception: I went to the gym and did Body Pump in the morning. I felt that a 10k is an easy distance for me now and it wouldn't hurt to train the day before. Besides, I get bored not being able to go the gym for a couple of days, and I need to maintain contact with my friends from the classes now that I don't go to them so often. And Body Pump is a pretty good class if you want to maintain muscle mass.

I also went to the cinema in the afternoon to see Basic Instinct 2. Save your money. 'Nuff said.

I had a good-ish nights sleep and a pleasant drive to Longleat on the Sunday. I was a bit disappointed with the weather - it was cold and raining as we lined up on the start line. Lots of people were running in memory of friends and relatives, which was pretty heart wrenching. It was obvious that most of them were not serious runners - 10k is quite a distance if you're not a serious runner so good on them.

I felt pretty good in the race. The course was challenging but my legs held up to it well, I didn't have any of the soreness or heaviness I'd experienced in my last two events, the Bath half or the 10k at Bowood.

I was a bit disappointed when I realised we had to run through a muddy field. I don't much like cross-country (which is why I didn't enjoy Bowood and consequently didn't write about it here) and thought to myself "Here we go again". As it turned out, there weren't too many muddy fields; it was mostly road, and a challenging course. I was puffing and panting a fair bit, so a more than adequate warm-up for Reading.

As I got to the last kilometre, which was the path to Longleat House, I worked out I could probably finish in less than 55 minutes. I gave it everything I had on that last kilometre, and as I crossed the line the clock read 54 minutes 55 seconds. A very satisfactory time on a tough course.

Anthony has said this week that he wouldn't be surprised if I was winning some of these races next year if I can lose all my excess weight. We'll have to see about that, but it's a very exciting prospect. One thing Anthony doesn't do is bullshit you, so there you go.

I was exhausted but happy after the race. I had had a good run, done something for a good cause in memory of a very special lady, raised money for charity, and hopefully raised my profile within my company. That warranted a few beers in the afternoon I decided.

As I drove back I passed the crematorium where my mother has a plaque and a bench in her memory, at the place where her ashes were interned. I thought about popping in but decided not to - I am usually pretty emotional after an event and feared I might get upset. This was a day for being happy and feeling good about what I had achieved, not for getting upset or crying. I know what she'd have wanted me to do. I did call in at my Dad's cottage, which they bought 30 years ago, but he wasn't in.

I called in at the gym on the way back - I was considering doing another 11k on the treadmill as people were under the impression I was running a half marathon. In the end I just did 6k - that made a total of 10 miles on the day, and besides, I wanted to get back for Eastenders. I had a good chat with one of the girls in sales there, Sarah, a very mature young lady for 18. Can't say what it was about, but it was nice for someone to talk to me about their problems for a change.

My good deeds done, I returned home and did indeed partake of a colossal amount of alcohol in the afternoon. I enjoyed watching a DVD - "The Island", an under-rated action movie starring the ubiquitous Scarlett Johansson. It had been a great day and I deserved a small celebration.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, April 2006