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Stuart Howlette's Blog

A Change of Scenery

A run with a view

One of the things I really like about running is that it doesn’t take a huge amount of equipment to do it. Running shoes, appropriate clothes, and optionally some form of fitness tracking watch, and you are good to go.

The gear required for running can easily fit into a small bag, a corner of a suitcase, or a backpack. I really enjoy cycling, but the size of a bike and helmet isn’t exactly something you can fit under your seat in a plane!

Running With Other People

Let’s all go for a run

As mentioned my previous post (My Fitness Journey), I have recently started running with other people.

For many runners, this isn’t that big of a deal. Most that I have met or talked to set a Parkrun as their goal, or a race, or some other form of event. However for me, that was never the case. Running with other people has been a massive change.

My Fitness and Health Journey

Fitness

I’m currently in the middle of a bit of a mid-life renaissance when it comes to fitness. Having spent most of my adult life (and a significant portion of my teenage years) either sedentary or with fleeting dips into something resembling exercise, I had always assumed that it just wasn’t for me.

However, it turns out that isn’t the case. This post is the story of how I got to where I am now, and why it took me so long to do so! I turned 40 at the end of 2024, and yet my fitness journey feels like it has only really just begun.

A Return...Kind Of

Introduction

For those who don’t know me (which is presumably most people who will read this), it is worth an introduction to myself.

I am a dad, I work in the technology industry (SRE/Software Engineer/Platform if you wanted to know), I play guitar, I listen to a variety of music (with a slight preference towards metal and EDM), and I am a little obsessed with Motorsport too.

For a few years I wrote blogs as YetiOps, mainly focussed on DevOps, Automation, Networking (TCP-style, rather than meeting people), but lost a little steam (partly life, partly time, partly jobs) and haven’t written anything in 3 years.