I've been trail running for 2 years. Before that, I hated running, especially at the gym when circuit training included running or the firefighter's beep test.

I built up to running 5km twice a week, but up to now had failed in my efforts to run 5km.

​In my last effort, I failed at 8.8km. Not from lack or lungs but from the pain in the ball of my right foot, and right hip.

I hatched a new plan, and last Sunday in the early morning, I set out with new hope and determination - and patience - and recorded my first 10km. It was 10.4km to be exact - at an average pace of 5:21/km. 

I'm pleased that I could do it. And not sure I will do it again.

​I've been running for a couple of years and haven't yet made it to 10km.

That's a target I'd like to reach this summer (It's summer now in Australia).  I can run quite strongly, despite my age, but perhaps that's the problem - I may need to slow down. 

What do you think?

​More than once, I've read articles claiming that walking burns as many calories as running. By observation, that's "obviously" untrue. If you're breathing harder when exercising, then you are burning more calories. We breath harder when we run.

But all is not lost! You CAN burn more calories walking than running. You just have to make sure that you are not comparing apples with oranges.

In the week before Xmas, I became curious about how it would feel to run every day.

The week of Xmas I ran 4km every day, and then all through January. Now, in February, I tell myself I'll stop, but I keep getting up and running.  

I'm not sure why.

​I've found that there's often confusion about what endurance and stamina mean, especially in the context of running.

If you don't know the difference, then you can't train specifically for one or the other. Yet training for one or the other can boost your everyday performance and get you to your time or distance goals faster.

If you're focused on achieving a certain distance or time, then you need to be able to incorporate stamina training. And once you know the difference, you'll never forget, like riding a bicycle.

People who workout to the beat say they do it because they enjoy it more.

I don't do it because music distracts me from being fully body-aware. If you are like me, research says that we might be missing out.

So what's the deal with music and workouts - are the majority who listen the smart ones, and crushing their results thanks to their earbuds?

If you're wanting to share some of the results of your gym time with your kids, and do it outside, I have some simple but challenging exercises for you.

My ten-year-old daughter announced that she was going to enter the school cross-country, and asked me to train her.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to do something outside with her and something physically challenging.

Here's the little program I made for our training. You'll find it fun to do outside with your kids, or just to do something different outside, which will challenge you. These exercises are simple, require no equipment, but give you a whole-body workout, and a good burst of cardio. 

Running hasn't ever been one of my favourite activities, but I have been doing 3km every morning for 3 weeks. It's the first time I've run every day. I did it more out of curiosity, and I learnt a few things.

​Before Xmas 2017 - just over 2 years ago - I did not run at all. In fact, I hated it when some of my gym classes would end with us having to line up for sprints across the room. However, I had a conversion!

As we head towards Xmas, here are this week's 4 Most Valuable pieces of content that I found to help you live longer better. These four articles stood out to me this week are:

1. Vitamin D supplements more effective than flu vaccinations
2. Building core at home - mastering the Turkish Getup
3. How to not carry your Xmas weight gain forward
4. Interval training for runners - how to improve your stamina.

This week's 4 Most Valuable pieces of content that I found to help you live longer better (and might save you a little money). These four articles stood out to me this week:

1. Calcium tablets might cause you more harm than good
2. Running doesn't wreck your knees
3. How patting your skin can be used curatively
4. How to start exercising when you are unwell or unfit.