Book Archives - A Simple Life of Luxury

The Journey Behind “A Thousand Mile Run”

Alan Cole — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 09:12:07 +0000

Endurance events always come with hurdles: injuries, other commitments, the unpredictability of life. But nothing tested me more than the global pandemic and, ultimately, my unexpected heart attack. That moment changed everything. It forced me to question whether I would ever be able to finish what I had started. For someone who thrived on pushing limits, the uncertainty was crushing.

Yet, A Thousand Mile Run isn’t just about setbacks—it’s about overcoming them. It’s about resilience, persistence, and adapting to the unexpected. Completing this journey meant finding new ways forward, learning to listen to my body, and redefining success.

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Winter Projects and Post-Christmas Blues

Alan Cole — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 20:18:47 +0000

No camping for me last weekend, but I did manage to catch a nice little surf session in the sea. Post-Christmas Blues That time of year is upon us again—the days after Christmas when everything seems to slow down. The weather’s not great, and while the days are technically getting longer, you barely notice it....

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Weblog Book – New Zealand Edition

Alan Cole — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 05:44:35 +0000

Hot on the heels of Volume 1 of our 2012 Weblog Book, I’ve now completed Volume 2. This volume covers August – December 2012 and therefore includes our trip to New Zealand for the ITU Age-Group World Champs. As you can imagine this is likely to become one of our favourite editions and with plenty of...

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Weblog Book 2012

Alan Cole — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 07:26:34 +0000

I’ve been hard at work over the past few months producing the 2012 edition of our weblog book, “A Simple Life of Luxury”. I know it sounds as though it’s a little out of date already as it’s from three years ago, but that makes it all the more interesting to do as it gives...

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Our Weblog Book 2010

Alan Cole — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:21:39 +0000

Phew, that’s Volume 2 (July – December) of our 2010 weblog book ready for print as well. After hundreds of hours of work laying it all out in a desktop publishing application, importing photos proof-reading and proof-reading again, creating a DVD of video clips to accompany it and then exporting each volume as a pdf...

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Our Weblog Book 2009

Alan Cole — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 06:42:10 +0000

Phew, that was lots of work but it should be worth it. I’ve finally finished producing the hard copy version of our 2009 weblog book and have ordred the first printed copy. Shhh…don’t tell Anna though as it’s going to be an anniversary present! Once it arrives we’ll have printed versions for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and...

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Printing Our Weblog

Alan Cole — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 08:40:07 +0000

We’ve now been blogging since 2005 and my blogging intensities seem to go from strength to strength. It’s surprising how much happens in the life of a small family living a ‘Simple Life of Luxury’ in Wales and I’m forever encouraged by the number of people who read this weblog. I’m not saying the content...

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Ministry of Food – Review

Alan Cole — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:09:55 +0000

It’s not often that I do ‘book reviews’ here, but last Christmas I bought Anna what was then the latest of Jamie Oliver’s books, ‘Ministry of Food‘. Anna wasn’t sure if she wanted it as the TV series that accompanied the book was all about getting people who had never cooked before to start cooking....

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