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Techy not tetchy

9:44am, 29 May 2012
Sorry - I'm really enjoying my running at the moment - I should do a running blog soon. But for those of you interested in my site work, here's my thoughts. It's all about improving performance, and avoiding that dead time around 8pm-11pm in the evening.

As far as I can grep (and I've been up since 5am, so I may not be grepping straight), requests for static content (images, js, CSS) topped out at about 670/minute yesterday, but that was in the middle of the day. During site death time, it's down in the 500/min range - hence I don't think it's a massive priority right now to focus on reducing HTTP requests - but I do have a little sub-project to box up all the icons into one file, and display them with a bit of CSS clipping.

The one area that I've found that does peak during site death is training log usage, with 611 training-related POST requests between 9 and 10pm last night, compared with a median of 227 per hour during 9-5. There were 1762 runs logged for yesterday (bear in mind though, that some people will add several entries in bulk, so the real amount will be more than that), and the most popular start times for runs were 6pm (231) and 7pm (210) - so allowing for a bit of lag for showering (although frankly, I prefer you to still be dripping and out of breath when you log your runs), that fits in well with site death.

The increase in fairly heavy POST requests does (I guess) tie in with the theory of a busy Apache - if it's handling upload of GPX/FIT/TCX etc - any thoughts on how to tune that? But there's also one POST that I could potentially eliminate from the process. When you upload a single run, it takes you to a screen allowing you to edit it straight away. I test the content of that form when it does get POSTed, to see if there's any need to update anything - but I'm wondering how much of a difference it would make if I took users direct to the "view" page, meaning that there would be one less POST by default, but those who wanted to edit would need to invest in a further click. If that proved to be useful, I could also tune it, so that it would take you to the "edit" screen for most of the day, but to "view" during say 7-11pm.

A quick note on queries on the training log table. Although they're not locking the whole table since the change, I'm still getting a lot of slow ones in the slow query log. I've found some small improvements, like replacing a few NOW()'s, and maybe an index or two that I can replace with a compound one... so I don't think I'm quite done with that yet. I've also learnt about how variable-length columns cause problems. Not knowing the exact length of a row means that when MySQL pages through the data, it has to put in more effort finding each row. I can convert my columns to fixed length - would need another outage though, so that'll have to happen another night.

That's it for now, I need to get back to doing - but if you're a techy, please pitch in with your thoughts - it's all very welcome.
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • I am not a techy, I applaud the use of grep as a verb, made me smile. In the training log doodah, obviously I am not as committed as some fetchies, and so I often have two or three things to update whenever I get round to it. The result of this is that I do generally log my runs but I can often not be bothered to log other things. Is there any (easy) way I could add entries to a calendar-type-thing all on one screen (much like outlook does for appointments) or copy entries to other dates? For example shredding every day - I generally do but I generally only think about logging it now if I've gone in there to log a run.

    Anyway - good job - well done on being Fetch and all that - give yourself a pat on the back.
    mulbs
    9:57am, 29th May 2012
  • With regards to doing something different at different times of the day, I think that would end up a bit confusing.
    I generally have to edit each training entry I upload just to set things like the exact type of activity (so "Running - Tempo", "Cycling - Commuting", whatever). If we could set those when uploading from a Garmin (In place of the "Run", "Cycle", "Swim" bit) and maybe a few other fields it would eliminate much of the need to go back into the training to edit it. Then you could just go straight to the view training page and avoid another POST for the majority of people. Maybe a small number of people would then need to edit it from there, which they can still do.
    If you're uploading several entries, it'll mean you can set those categories for all of them in one go, rather than having to go back into the training log, find the next one, open it, edit the category, submit, find the next one etc.
    As for the GPX / TCX / whatever import, is that being handled as part of the normal request queue in Apache? Many sites that allow uploads of lots of data do it in the background, for example if you upload a bunch of photos in Flickr you'll get a message saying something like the upload's been queued, and be taken back to the main page. If you hit refresh a couple of times, you'll see them being added. This takes the import process out of the request queue. Not sure if you want to do that, but it's how others deal with it.
    sprouty76
    10:06am, 29th May 2012
  • Going straight to the view page after uploading a single run would be fine, I think, given that that's where you end up if you upload several at once. It might even be better, as more consistent. Varying what happens depending on the time of day would be a recipe for confusion. Random users (including myself) would never know what to expect.
    Drell
    10:07am, 29th May 2012
  • I was thinking along the same lines as sprouty. What's the bottleneck? Is it the DB slowing due to lots of training uploads, which in turn causes apache threads to get gummed up whilst they're queuing? Is it then the DB that's causing site slowness elsewhere or Apache being busy? Separating the processing from the upload would help with that (as sprouty said), but I also wondered whether you have any CPU capacity for increasing the number of process/worker threads.
    emdee
    10:12am, 29th May 2012
  • I'm wondering if the issue with GPX etc uploads isn't actually the DB access but just parsing those files - they can be pretty big and XML is not the most CPU-friendly thing to parse in the first place. You already delay the elevation lookup, perhaps you could do the same for the entire import and just insert the "headline" numbers (time, distance etc) and mark the route and graphs as pending. Then they can be processed outside of the apache server and will hopefully be available in a few moments. But when the site is busy you can throttle that process so it takes a little longer for them to appear but the site as a whole doesn't get backed up.
    sprouty76
    10:29am, 29th May 2012
  • What's the spec of the server you are running? How old is it? We often find at work that we can upgrade our hosted servers and pay less per month as the technology is always increasing in speed. You probably can't/won't say who you host with and how much you pay but it may be worth shopping around. We use www.rapidswitch.com at work and have found them to be very good and well priced.
    jonbev
    12:59pm, 29th May 2012
  • I mentioned the hosting company in my last newsletter - Positive Internet. I don't know how their prices compare to the general market, but I've been very happy with the service they've provided - they've been offering some suggestions and helping with some of the config stuff. Always a good suggestion though. We got moved onto their latest server package last year I think - can't quite remember the spec.
    fetcheveryone
    1:04pm, 29th May 2012
  • Are you certain the problems are coming from the web server (apache) and not the MySQL DB? Can you make improvements to the DB design to accomodate large volume of requests. Could you use some sort of staging layer? I'm not that up on the best design for 'transactional' systems like the fetch DB likely is, but do have a bit of warehousing experience in 'snapshot' time based dimensional type design. There is likely a bit of crossover though. If you think I might be able to help drop me a line.
    Boab
    1:22pm, 29th May 2012
  • Just had a look at their website and their "Dolphin" and "Orca" packages seem to be VERY expensive for what you get. Comparing the "Dolphin" package with RapidSwitch and assuming the 2x500gb drives are in RAID1 - PI = 175/month RS = 55/month and "Orca" is 440/month on PI and about 70/month on RS. I know your happy with PI but really THAT happy? For 175 on RS you could get a quad zeon with 8gb DDR3 with 4x300GB 15krpm SAS drives in RAID 5. Obviously I don't know what package you have or how much you are paying but It would seem like a good option. If you needed any help migrating just shout!
    jonbev
    1:29pm, 29th May 2012
  • Boab - last night pages were taking around 20 seconds to be retrieved but the page said it was rendered in approx 0.1 seconds. The DB accesses are presumably counted in the page rendering time, so a few of us were guessing that requests were hanging around the apache request queue for a while.
    sprouty76
    1:30pm, 29th May 2012
  • Boab - I don't think I've explained very well. There was a theory put forward that Apache was busy servicing requests for static content - but I don't think that's the case. The increase in heavy POST requests are a possible Thing, but my main focus is still on optimising the queries and database structure - even if it's more of a footnote in this blog. Like I said, I don't think I've blogged it all that well :-)
    fetcheveryone
    1:32pm, 29th May 2012
  • Ah, ok chaps understand now. I'm not that up on the apache config side of things. But, like sprouty has already suggested and what I meant by a 'staging layer' is a queued approach to uploading large data volumes. Let the user submit it and forget about it, "come back in a bit to see the update" might work at peak times.
    Boab
    1:41pm, 29th May 2012
  • Have you put any debug in your code so you can see where the time is being lost? Then at least you can narrow it down properly rather than speculate about each area?
    madrocker74
    1:49pm, 29th May 2012
  • MR74 - there's some clear stuff that needs to be looked at in the slow query log.
    fetcheveryone
    1:52pm, 29th May 2012
  • Agree with sprouty76 - as long as the garmin upload page has the full list of training categories then I'd hardly ever need to edit after uploading, now that kit is determined based on training type.
    mcshane
    1:55pm, 29th May 2012
  • 1) Static content - even if apache's not blocking on all those requests, sticking something like nginx in front to handle them would mean that you weren't using huge (in memory terms) apache child processes just for serving static files. I've seen that strategy make a big difference in similar situations, and it's really easy to set up, so I think it could be worth a go. 2) Parsing the uploaded data - as people have suggested, splitting that off into a background process would be a very good idea. There are various options for that (message/job queue systems exist all over the place, or you could handroll your own if you preferred by just sticking the input into a db table and having a separate process read from it and deal with each upload). 3) Yeah, innodb should be fine as long as you've considered the backup implications, etc, which you have. The other thing to note is that your innodb file will just get bigger and bigger and bigger over time, unless they've done something funky in the latest version of mysql to improve that (because it doesn't do well at recovering space when data gets deleted). So maybe make sure you watch out for that, and don't assume that you'll automatically get some disk space back if you deleted a few million rows of archive data, for example.
    anne23
    2:36pm, 29th May 2012
  • It certainly seems perkier. Go get yourself some sleep!
    Tiggia
    8:38pm, 29th May 2012
  • I have no idea what this blog means in plain English, or the comments that appear to be talking the same techy language as you. Quite refreshing really.
    Siouxsie
    10:40pm, 29th May 2012
  • like Siouxsie, all this is gobbledegook to me; I just wanted to say I appreciate all your efforts to address issues folk have been having :-)
    McNewbie
    12:26am, 30th May 2012
  • To avoid time based bottle necks, how about you get fetchies to move and live in different time zone? I've done my bit by moving to New Zealand. Seriously though, I have nothing useful to suggest, but I think you are doing a brilliant job, thank you.
    Jenelopy
    4:03am, 30th May 2012
  • Sorry if this duplicates other comments, I'll read them in a bit. Firstly - don't do different things at different times because everyone will be confused. I'll go to whichever page you think best but I doubt removing a quick post request will make that much difference. I think converting your columns to fixed length will use a shed load more space which will increase storage and cause a lot more I/O. Compound indexes are good, bear in mind that an index on columns a and b can be used for queries that specify [a], [a and b] but not [b only]. Lots of possibilities here for improvement or creating indexes pointlessly and wasting space so if you want more info let me know. Do you use bind variables? A parameterised query (select a from b where c = ?) only needs to be compiled once where a hard coded (select a from b where c = 22) needs to be compiled for every different value of c. Having hard coded queries like this can make a mockery of the prepared statement cache assuming mysql has one so all queries end up being compiled.
    Would it reduce the number of training log edits to allow the notes to be specified when the training is loaded? Have a way of entering the note from the garmin summary list next to the import yes/no drop down. That is the reason I want to edit - just to put "Stevington 10k" at the top of the run. And the training type of course (so replace the yes/no with training type?) You could use the text for the route name too ;-)
    Nightjar
    12:52pm, 30th May 2012


Time for a techy blog

10:10am, 23 May 2012
A few notes of explanation for all you 'site performance' fans.

Each piece of training you log is stored in a database table. When I started putting this blog together, there were 3,724,070 entries in that table, and now there are 178 more.

Every time you add, view, edit, or delete (or CRUD for short - Created, Retrieved, Updated, or Deleted) an entry, the server needs to sift through those entries. It's a bit like a phone book of everyone in a city - if you add a new person, you need to thumb through to the right place, shove everybody down one, and write the name in. If someone changes their surname, they move to a different part of the index.

Indexing is a technique that speeds the process up. Imagine a phone book that had not only an alphabetic list of people, but also a list broken down by street, or by age, or by WAVA :-) So there are some indexes on the training table that make for easier lookup e.g. there's one for user ID, to help the system find all *your* training entries. There's also one for date, to help the system find who's training today. One for category, to help find the runners, bikers, and swimmers. On one hand, these make it fast to look things up, but bear in mind that every time our data changes, the indexes must be rewritten too.

The main reason why the site turns into a glacier during busy times is because of something called locking. When you visit a page that makes a request to add, edit, delete or view a training entry (or a list of them, or a graph derived from a bunch of them), the whole 3.7 million rows are 'locked' for a few milliseconds, whilst that information is CRUD'ed. Normally it is just that - a few milliseconds, although that figure grows as the 3.7 million entries grow. Some requests (queries, that's what us techy people call them) are quick, like ones that retrieve a single row from the table, whilst some take far longer - like ones that grab data from a whole bunch of users, to make league tables, the Thon game, that sort of thing. A few people have suggested that the Fetchpoint game must be a cause - but it doesn't actually go near the training data - every time you log a run, your route ID is sent to Fetchpoint - and the route data is a whole other database table.

So your CRUD requests come in, and they each take their turn at locking the table. If two requests arrive at the same time, they queue up. At busy times that queue gets very long (in a typical day, nearly 3000 of our registered users will log in at some point, with peaks at lunchtime, and then around 8-10pm when there's bugger all on the telly). And so waiting times get longer, and (quite understandably) there's a lot of pressing 'Refresh', which just adds more to the queue :-)

Over the last few days and weeks I've been weeding my code, looking for badly written queries, and even for some that I can remove entirely. Over the course of the eight years that the site has been running, there are quite a lot of them. In fact, there are approximately 140 individual places within the site that make calls to the training table. It's so easy when you've got the luxury of a fast-moving website to be able to say "oh, I'll just grab that information from the training table, so I can make this cool heart rate graph...". And so they creep in, until you're surrounded.

My solution... [pause, for effect]... is to break that large table up into several smaller ones, based on your user ID. So for example, if your user ID is between 1 and 5000, you'll be in 'TrainingTable1', if you're 5001-10000, you'll be in 'TrainingTable2', etc. That first table represents the users who have been on the site the longest (i.e. the majority have about 7 years of data) - and it's got the largest amount of entries, at 840,000 - which is 22% of the size, so a lot quicker to look through. A more recent group of runners (the 45,000-50,000 group) have only accumulated 140,000 entries in the relatively short time they’ve been on Fetch. But perhaps more importantly, out of any group of 5000 registered users, about 1000 are active (that’s a typical rate across the ages) – so it’s eleven times less likely that you’ll run into a queue at any given time of the day.

It’s going to take a bit more background work, particularly to rewrite some bits of code that query across a set of users, rather than one specific one... but that’s the job over the next day or so. Then I’ll need a big deep breath, a hug from my wonderful wife, and I’ll have to lock you all out for an hour or two with an informative and initially funny testcard, whilst I put my alterations live.

Piece of cake.
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • I just want to tell you both, good luck. We're all counting on you.
    sprouty76
    10:15am, 23rd May 2012
  • *goes into meltdown reading this blog but goes into panic mode at the 2nd half of that last sentence* Lock us out for an hour or two :-o I've never gone cold turkey before
    minardi
    10:16am, 23rd May 2012
  • Thank you vicar :-)
    BigChiefRunningBore
    10:18am, 23rd May 2012
  • lost me on the techy bit - cant you just spray it with WD40? Worked on our sticky door hinge.

    Good work Lord F
    Old Croc
    10:19am, 23rd May 2012
  • The fate of the Fetchiverse is in your hands. Good luck and God Bless East Anglia.
    GregP
    10:23am, 23rd May 2012
  • That was so well explained that I understood parts of it, good work. I am not ready to deal with the possibility of a lock out though, so will ignore that part. From now.
    HermanBloom
    10:24am, 23rd May 2012
  • Yay I'm on TrainingTable1. TrainingTable1 Rocks! :-)
    Waveydavey
    10:28am, 23rd May 2012
  • I'm sure some wag will suggest you lock us out between 3 and 5am on a Sunday morning to avoid interrupting our Fetching. However, I demand that you do it in normal office hours :-) To a non-techy person, this all sounds very logical. Best of luck Mr Fetch!
    Naomi P
    10:31am, 23rd May 2012
  • Ah - now I understand (I think)
    Making_Tracks
    10:32am, 23rd May 2012
  • People on Training Tables 2 and up suck!

    Can we have a special costume for Training Table 1? Logo? Medal?
    McGoohan
    10:34am, 23rd May 2012
  • Really interesting. MySQL is pretty brilliant, but I wonder whether the CRUDs need to lock the whole table. Is that something you could change? Updates Deletes and Creates only need to lock one record. I bet a DBA could tune the database up for optimal performance without you having to restructure the whole thing.
    Caterpillar
    10:35am, 23rd May 2012
  • Cat - there's the option of switching from MyISAM (whole table locking) to InnoDB (row level locking), but I've heard mixed reviews about its reliability.
    fetcheveryone
    10:37am, 23rd May 2012
  • Very interesting. Thanks for the explanation and work to make the site even better.
    Stripes
    10:54am, 23rd May 2012
  • Just a thought: if you divide the tables up as you suggest, is there not a distinct possibility that you will end up with many of the heaviest users in the same table? Might it make sense instead to scatter the heaviest users in different tables? You may well already have though of this, of course.
    Longwayround [LWR]
    11:00am, 23rd May 2012
  • I'd split it on the last digit of the user id, rather than grouping by user id absolutely - it'll give you a nicely random distribution of heavier and lighter, older and newer users in each table but it's still very easy to calculate (compared to doing something like a hash)
    sprouty76
    11:09am, 23rd May 2012
  • I'm not sure that it would be particularly skewed. When I look at recent activity (e.g. having logged in within the last week) across the groups of 5000, there's not one particular group that stands out. The first group is slightly the highest, being composed mainly of long-term Fetchies, but I reckon it would take them another 33 years to build up their table to reach 3M entries again :-)
    fetcheveryone
    11:12am, 23rd May 2012
  • Surely you don't need to lock the whole table, Just the affected records and since they are prob unique to each user performance would increase anyway. Seeing as you lock the full table do you also do a full table scan when selecting data? that too would be a massive hit on performance. I assume also that any read is a read without lock too (you would be surprised how many people don't do this). I think some quick wins would be performance tuning, rebuild of indexes and trying to avoid full table scans. No need to split the data into multiple tables - you will have a bigger headache maintaining that new schema :)
    madrocker74
    11:15am, 23rd May 2012
  • CRUD - I like it! I'm going to shout it at the SQL people in my office when they annoy me :-)

    Have you had a Change Board meeting to approve the outage? My lot want everything to happen after 8pm or before 8am :-O
    Little Nemo
    11:18am, 23rd May 2012
  • I do believe you're using a quicksort, i.e. break the list down first, and then lock it, I would it might be an idea to see if you can see which entries are the most heavily used and try to spread those entries (if that is possible) amongst he broken down lists. It might then be a heap sort, i.e you know where your worst case scenarios are. I'm not sad really.
    Ocelot Spleens
    11:39am, 23rd May 2012
  • The best thing about writing a blog like this is that it brings in the people who know far more than I do about stuff like this :-)
    fetcheveryone
    11:44am, 23rd May 2012
  • Now before I read this, I must confess I thought t said tetchy. Ha ha ha
    katypie
    11:51am, 23rd May 2012
  • See I knew it was Qmac hitting the refresh button to get to number one. ;-) I actually understood most of that explanation. :-O
    Thank you and whilst you're at it PLEASE may we have a bike so I can do a Tri.?
    swimbikerun :-)
    Sushi.
    11:59am, 23rd May 2012
  • Right, I'm back from the tattoo parlour. Just had 'Training Table 1' tattooed down my forearm.

    Go Training Table 1!
    McGoohan
    12:11pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Actually, I think you'll be in [the_actual_table_name]_0 :-)
    fetcheveryone
    12:18pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Thankfully it's henna. Phew. I'll get it redone in a couple of days.
    McGoohan
    12:19pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Have you tried switching it off and switching it on again first?
    Kittenheels Kath
    1:09pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Have you thought about caching some of the data? Especially for the stuff that has to query across multiple users etc and perhaps doesn't need to be up-to-the-second accurate.
    sprouty76
    1:09pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Yep - I cache quite a lot of stuff, and put some leaderboard data into summary tables.
    fetcheveryone
    1:11pm, 23rd May 2012
  • YOu're getting pretty nifty at all this technotalk these days. Great stuff. Well done you.
    RuthB2
    2:04pm, 23rd May 2012
  • I can see why you havent got time to moderate all the threads and to adjudicate in he said/she said type disputes
    Son of a Pronator Man
    2:09pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Oh. I read that as a "tetchy blog". I'm rather glad you're being techy, not tetchy ;)
    Tiggia
    2:28pm, 23rd May 2012
  • I almost wish I didn't understand exactly what you've said. It sounds like some late nights are due. Anyway, I hope the detangling goes well, that you have all the backups you need before you hit 'go', and that someone will be waiting for you at the finish with blister plasters, ice-cream and a hug.
    Helegant
    3:51pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Sounds good Fetch! Not loving the do stuff quickly change though, took me four goes to realise where it had gone!
    Curly45
    4:08pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Just a suggestion, but you have taken a backup first haven't you......;-)
    Corona
    4:39pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Yep. There are nightly backups on a seven day rolling schedule.
    fetcheveryone
    4:46pm, 23rd May 2012
  • I understood quite a lot of that, I think, in short I believe I don't need to send feedback saying it took half the night to upload my garmin and then the rest of the night to delete a training run because it uploaded twice, because you already know ......... er if I have understood correctly anyway..... I think the easiest thing is for me to not run for a few days then it will be OK next time I try to add training ;-)
    BaronessBL
    7:53pm, 23rd May 2012
  • *Blinks uncomprehendingly*
    Johnny Blaze
    8:13pm, 23rd May 2012
  • I only understood the 'lock you all out' bit. Someone wake me when it is over...
    MaT.T
    8:47pm, 23rd May 2012
  • If you ever want any help optimizing, I'd love to help out. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes really helps.
    jonbev
    10:04pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Yeah I'll second madrocker, I'm surprised that you're splitting the tables up, coming from a company where we manage some seriously big clients, and we've not once had to do this once. Ok our solutions usually go like, throw more servers at it, and push every single image/css/js on a separate CDN, cache everything on the front end and on the backend, reduce any API/db calls to the absolute minimum, then test again and hammer the hell out of it in loadbalancing (if you're expecting 10,000 users, hit it with a million requests). I'm sure you've considered/most and all of it, but sounds like you're making extra work for yourself.
    Chrisull
    10:37pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Yup I thought it said tetchy too. Thanks for explaining about the crud :)
    runningmumof3boys
    11:45pm, 23rd May 2012
  • thanks :) I understood the little words. :) Have some choc xx
    oldbiddy
    7:20am, 24th May 2012
  • well done on finding a solution and good luck on implementing it. you'll deserve a *trophy* at the end of that!
    runner duck
    8:05am, 24th May 2012
  • If you did want to split the data - you could consider an OLAP / OLTP approach? Might be worth exploring that for a longer term solution.
    madrocker74
    9:04am, 24th May 2012
  • To answer chris and madrocker... thanks for the comments - I'm only an amateur when it comes to database optimisation, so it's good to know you're there :-) I have a tight budget (0), so adding servers isn't an option unfortunately. I don't think the level of requests for static stuff is causing anything like a bottleneck on the server, so CDN is a little way off. I cache where feasible, and I've taken query optimisation and minimisation about as far as is reasonable. I don't think I've got any overly ridiculous queries - certainly the big hitters don't do full table scans - I think I've got a decent set of indexes. As for table locking - as far as I know, Mysql offers two main options in InnoDB and MyISAM, and my table is the latter. InnoDB offers row-level locking, but I haven't heard great things about its reliability - if you've got any thoughts on that, please drop me a line.
    fetcheveryone
    10:25am, 24th May 2012
  • Have you ever looked at pagespeed results? It wont help the database but could reduce the load on the server in general and therefore help with overall speed. Have a look at this site gtmetrix.com we find it most helpful in optimising our companies websites.
    jonbev
    11:34am, 24th May 2012
  • As you know, MySQL isn't my forte but have just started to use it at work and I've done a bit of Googling since you gave me the lesson after parkrun! I get the impression that InnoDB is well thought of and that it is now a mature engine so perhaps the reliability issues are like mud that has stuck. Some large eCommerce web sites use MySQL with InnoDB. Frankly I'm amazed that the site works so well with table level locking - hats off to you there! You can mix tables so it may be worth trying your training table by itself as an InnoDB table - there are caveats with a few pros and cons here for example.. stackoverflow.com
    Nightjar
    12:59pm, 24th May 2012
  • Crikey, that all made sense! I must have a fever .... :(
    CottamRunner
    7:10pm, 24th May 2012
  • Well... having discussed the InnoDB reliability problems with the server people, I've covered my doubts. Basically, it's a swine to recover the up-to-date data in the case of a hardware or filesystem corruption... but as we take nightly backups (and have done for five years now), the absolute worst case scenario would be that we'd all lose one day of input. So we're switching the training table to InnoDB tonight, which moves us into a row-locking scenario, and hopefully delivering some big improvements.
    fetcheveryone
    8:42pm, 24th May 2012
  • Yay - row locking should make a massive difference - nice one!!!!!
    madrocker74
    8:48am, 25th May 2012
  • Is that in addition to the training table re-jig, or instead of?
    sprouty76
    1:05pm, 25th May 2012
  • Instead of :-) I was really honed in on the reliability problems of InnoDB - I would hate to lose data. But they're all largely negated by the backup regime. As I said a few comments up, I could cope with telling you all that we'd lost that days run - but not any more than that :-)
    fetcheveryone
    1:09pm, 25th May 2012
  • So the big test of it will be tonight 20:00- 22:00 I guess. How is it looking so far? I've not used InnoDB before and would be interested to hear your thoughts on it.
    If your worried about data loss MySLQL replication is relatively easy to set up and provides up to the second backup.
    jonbev
    1:46pm, 25th May 2012
  • So far so good, but Friday and Saturday are the quietest time for the site. There was a bit of table lock hanging round this morning, relating to one of the summary tables I'd had in place for a few months (to provide a speedy snapshot of recent training, ironically) - but I've cut all that out now, and we've had maybe 10s of lock all day, compared to about 50,000 seconds yesterday. So far = win.
    fetcheveryone
    1:56pm, 25th May 2012
  • Sound like there were speed problems again last night :-(
    I'm serious about donating some time to help out if you want.
    jonbev
    7:55am, 28th May 2012


Time to walk the dog

10:01am, 18 May 2012
I'm feeling really bad about this actually. And by this, I mean some of the recent unpleasant discussion on threads, and in pictures. If you haven't seen any of it, I'm pleased. I wish I hadn't.

I've asked people to be nice to each other, that's all, several times - and it's really upsetting me to see that there are people who can't stop needling at each other, or taking enjoyment in watching it. And that there are people who don't want to use the site because of it. Check out the beautiful blog by Fellrunning just now who draws an analogy between a friendly local pub, taken over by corporate machinery, and how it's not such a nice place to go.

I've got to have the adverts. I've got to support my family. But I don't have to provide a platform for people to harrass each other.

I try so hard not to side with anyone, and to give everybody as many chances as I can. We're all screwed up in one way or another. People say that's just what happens when a social network gets big enough. But why does it though? Isn't there enough room here for everyone? I've tried the extremely lenient approach, and I feel let down.

And yet... I've just had a lovely fmail from someone that's reduced me to tears, and reminded me of the thing that keeps me going - that there are some wonderful people who I know because of this site, and how that's enriched my life in so many ways.

It's time to walk the dog.
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • You rock Fetch. Oh Yes.
    heffaroo
    10:04am, 18th May 2012
  • I'm sorry you feel let down Fetch. But it's not your fault. I am so thankful for the wonderful community you've set up here, thanks to you I've met so many wonderful people too, but the rough comes with the smooth unfortunately and this place was not going to be immune to it forever. :(
    Mikuro
    10:11am, 18th May 2012
  • I doubt my plodding would have some so far without you and this site. As Heffaroo says "You Rock"
    snogard
    10:12am, 18th May 2012
  • Definitely not your fault, and it's a shame that you feel let down by a visible but very small minority. People will always find ways to harass each other unfortunately. The vast majority are ignoring it and getting on with the important business of running. Or cake. Or something far more interesting that certain threads.
    sallykate
    10:15am, 18th May 2012
  • Sorry for you that there is trolling, shame on some people. I still love it and the support I've had and good friends I've made. One bad apple .... anyhoo don't forget to pick up your poo. well not yours, the dogs :):):) kiss
    oldbiddy
    10:15am, 18th May 2012
  • Enjoy your walk with the dog. I've just sent you some feedback on the same lines. I'm glad I haven't seen it either because I know, fundamentally this is an amazingly, supportive and constructive site. And without it I would be very much poorer in friends.
    TheScribbler
    10:19am, 18th May 2012
  • I think its very sad too. But I guess with open forums you're always going to get a small minority of people that get off on all the attention. Its left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth to be honest and I think I wll give the threads a miss and just stick to logging my miles for a while. A real shame though and not your fault at all. :-(
    Jo-bee
    10:21am, 18th May 2012
  • It is not your fault at all. It's a great site, and most people are lovely. But the internet doesn't bring out the best in everybody, and trying to disrupt a pleasant community is some people's idea of entertainment.
    I still favour a greater degree of active moderation, otherwise trolls and people who are so stupid they shouldn't be allowed a keyboard think they're untouchable.
    Velociraptor
    10:23am, 18th May 2012
  • It's ok. Really, it is. The playground mentality surfaces and subsides. I guess the desire for that self important 'And here's MY two penn'orth!' is hard to resist for many of us. See I'm doing it here! But it's ok, you're ok, the site's ok. Fetch wins. No contest really. xxxx
    Sharkie
    10:23am, 18th May 2012
  • I blogged about it today - makes me :-( and it's not your fault there are some eeejits on here, they would be eejits wherever they went! The Fetchies I have met are brilliant. Think I'll go walk a dog too :-) xx
    Ellem
    10:30am, 18th May 2012
  • I think you've every right to feel let down. As a Fetchie I feel let down too, and troubled. Let people say what they want to each other - in any case, you can't realistically stop people doing that. But I want absolutely nothing to do with people who think it's okay to be nasty to each other! That's regardless of who they are. Keep up the great work.
    Grid
    10:31am, 18th May 2012
  • Yep. Wot they said ^^^. And I think you're dead right to flex your Fetch-meister muscle and just dispose tidily of threads if they get too repellent. But as Sharkie says it's all fundamentally OK - sadly you can't make people be nice to each other but the general mood of the site is cheerful and a bit random and still basically kind. IMHO. Hope the dog-walking helped.
    Iron_Mum
    10:36am, 18th May 2012
  • What Trin said. I'm sorry this keeps happening and wish people would grow up, basically
    jennywren
    10:42am, 18th May 2012
  • I just hope the trouble maker feels guilty. I'm sad you have had to intervene, that has made me feel a bit sick tbh
    D2
    10:48am, 18th May 2012
  • Sorry to hear that you are feeling let down by a minority of people although I guess most online communities suffer from a few trolls - the nature of the beast I feel. The site is great and I am sure I would just be plodding around making no progress if it wasn't for this site and a number of Fetchies who are helped me and given me guidance. it is not your fault that a few can't exercise a modicum of etiquette
    Spally
    10:58am, 18th May 2012
  • *have* helped me obviously
    Spally
    10:59am, 18th May 2012
  • I have felt really uncomfortable about some of the picture comments and threads. But hopefully it's just a vocal minority. No one deserves to be bullied. However, I still heart this site. Your doing a great job!
    Cat the Dog
    11:20am, 18th May 2012
  • Ellem- you can walk my dog if you like :-)
    Fetch- it isn't your fault. As the others have said, there will always people who enjoy needling each other/ attention seeking/ causing controversy. I have seen some of the stuff that's been going on, and it seems to be feeding on itself. I don't know any of the people in real life, and I think that's the nub of the problem. We have no control over how our written words are interpreted. Still, it's not nice.
    Thanks for all the work you do, but please please don't take all this personally. It's NOT YOUR FAULT heart
    MabelMoonface
    11:31am, 18th May 2012
  • 54,500 registered users. They wont all be runners, locked into the running community and spirit. Keep it going, for those that are. BTW off to a wedding today of folks who meet because of this website, BCRB
    Muds
    11:32am, 18th May 2012
  • Give them a hug from me Muds. Thank you everybody.
    fetcheveryone
    11:33am, 18th May 2012
  • Had a proper squeeee moment the other day when I saw Runs With Coyotes had blogged. Then I spent a whole Saturday morning among great Fetchie friends at Cambridge parkrun, an event which may not have started without Fetcheveryone. Soon, I’m going to give my mile time a good hammering, because via this site we’ve started a mile time trial. In a mo, I’m off to meet Ted (whom I know through this site) for a lunchtime run. Most days I log miles I may not have been inspired to run without all you lot. With your help and encouragement, I’m achieving things I never dreamed I could do. What does this mean? Yes, it means I spend too much time on the internet. It also means that this site is a very real, very human and very wonderful place. Fetch, thank you. x
    Lyra OK
    11:54am, 18th May 2012
  • If it wasn't for you, and what you've made out of this site, it's highly likely I wouldn't be running. And I've not even met you!
    You have nothing to feel bad about, quite the opposite. You should be (rightfully) proud of what you've done. Sometimes with large volumes of people, things clash, that's all. Nothing you could (or should) do.
    HermanBloom
    12:19pm, 18th May 2012
  • I still think it's the best site for miles around. It's got a little bit for everyone. I'm not sure but I've probably crossed the line on occasions but now I've taken note of what you've said and how such behaviour impacts on you. Keep on doing what you're doing. And thanks.
    XB
    12:21pm, 18th May 2012
  • If it wasn't for you, this website, and Darren, I wouldn't have met some awesome people, done hat I have done and got myself engaged to a fantastic girl. Ignore the very minor minority and feel free to start moderating if you feel you have to.
    Dave A
    12:24pm, 18th May 2012
  • There IS some horrid stuff around at the moment, and more horrid that so many other people get polarised into an opinion: troll/victim, plain speaker/bully, taking the piss/spitefulness, advice/criticism. There always will be bad people, or people who behave badly; we're human after all and by defintion imperfect.

    But regardless, this is YOUR site. If we don't live up to the standards you (and almsot all of us) want, then time to crack the whip. You've asked nicely in public and (some) people have ignored you. Have you asked nicely in private - because I'm sure the majority of the originators of the nastiness genuinely believe they're not the problem and you can't possibly be criticising *their* behaviour? After that I guess it's about limiting, suspending or cancelling user accounts - if you can't play nicely, *we* don't want you in the playground.

    Somebody introduced me to Fetch last summer. I think it's one of the nicest gifts I've ever been given. I've met so many amazing people here - both in Fetchworld and in person - and had support, kindness and encouragement in ways I couldn't even dream of. This site, the games and the Fetchies have helped me to aspire to things I couldn't possibly have imagined doing, picked me up when life hurts and celebrated the joys of life and running. Thank you. x
    Duchess
    12:43pm, 18th May 2012
  • my cat is objecting to being put on a lead ...

    thanks for the site, Fetch
    LorraineS
    12:51pm, 18th May 2012
  • I just want to add my thanks to those above. Spending time on Fetch and with Fetchies has developed my running and enriched my life to the point I'm no longer quite as misanthropic as I once was. Life is immeasurably better as a result. My wife would probably wish to add her thanks for turning her husband into something approaching a socialised human being from the angry, shambling, rambling, drunken, smoking wretch I was becoming.
    RichHL
    1:09pm, 18th May 2012
  • You know just what this site means to me, without it I wouldn't have met and made so many friends and found the most amazing man that married me. As for my running/racing, well I am sure I would not have achieved as much without the advice and encouragement from fellow fetchies. It is sad that from time to time things get a bit 'ugly' I wish that people could ignore more than they do, but we are all different. The old saying 'least said soonest mended' is a good to bear in mind. Anyway, all there is left to say is Fancy cake :-) x
    Mrs Jigs (Luverlylegs)
    1:25pm, 18th May 2012
  • I was introduced to the site by a friend last year
    Amanda68
    1:50pm, 18th May 2012
  • Fetchworld is like my second home - I spend more time on here than I should :-) I like the community feel and although I've only met one other Fetchie in real life I know that if I want to know/share something then this is the place to come and theres friends aplenty offering support.
    Yorkshire Lass
    2:25pm, 18th May 2012
  • I'm also a fetchaholic...and have been for ages. I appear to live under a rock as I've missed all the nastiness. Then again, I rarely wander into the threads, only very obscure ones that wouldn't interest the nasty folk. Take care and hopefully the nasty ones will just go away and leave fetchland alone.
    Garfield
    2:26pm, 18th May 2012
  • Sorry you feel let down. But they're only the minority. Fetch is the best thing since sliced bread. (and although due to my diet I have cut I sliced bread I will never cut out fetch ) Haha pass the bucket :) x x
    runningmumof3boys
    3:47pm, 18th May 2012
  • This site, the one you created, for runners, all over the world means that today I can travel 170 miles on my own to run an ultra and know I will be and feel supported by friends and associates from this quite wonderful community. So, setting all the nastiness of late aside, I think its time to focus on all the fab aspects of Fetcheveryone. Thank you x
    Siouxsie
    5:38pm, 18th May 2012
  • *waves* hello mr fetch. you and this place make me smile. there are FAR more lovely scrummy people than bitter and twisted nasty ones. you and a super star :-) I hope that they all read your latest (weekly ;-)) fetch letter and realise just how much work and love you put in to this place. keep your pecker up :-) xxx
    phal
    6:42pm, 18th May 2012
  • People come, people go. Those that are adult enough can see through the rubbish that is bandied around sometimes. I've seen much worse elsewhere. As long as we can talk about beer, cake and also take the piss out of each other then you ai'nt doing too bad a job. Keep at it.
    Corona
    6:45pm, 18th May 2012
  • I have never met you, but from the occasions I have corresponded with you, and from your hilarious newsletters, and your blogs, and from all of that ^^^^^^^^^^^^ I know you are one of life's most decent people . Please keep doing what you are doing, and keep being you. We know who the idiots are (*hopes one of them isn't me ;-) * )
    Clueless
    7:11pm, 18th May 2012
  • I haven't read most of the comments. I also managed to miss the horrible stuff this time. I would just like to say thank you an I hope things improve or you can at least deal with the nasty stuff in a way you feel 'ok' about. This place is where I've met and bonded with some of the most wonderful people I know in real life. It's here 'in my computer' I have the friends and support helping me through life stuff as well as running stuff and for that I will always be grateful.
    Smout
    7:14pm, 18th May 2012
  • I love it here and have seen so so much more positivity than negativity. In fact I wasn't aware of any negativity until very recently and now I just ignore/avoid any I do encounter. Is a wonderful site and Lord Fetch you are wonderful as are, as far as I can tell, 95% of members, pretty much the same as life really?
    MaT.T
    7:21pm, 18th May 2012
  • missed all of this, not your fault. People will always come and go.
    regards
    Gobi
    Gobi
    8:14pm, 18th May 2012
  • So sorry you've been left feeling like this, there are bad people every where in life..... chin up, and hope you've not worn the poor dogs paws off x x
    Chicken Licken
    8:20pm, 18th May 2012
  • Over recent months, I've gravitated more to the Fetch forums and away from other forums I use. A large part of the reason is it comes across as a much more pleasant place. I could rarely visit the other forums without some post or poster making me angry and considering them odious (it's a sinister addiction that draws me back), and looking back I probably assumed this a forum norm. Fetch has broken this idea - yes there are tiffs and moments of unpleasantness, but they seem to be fairly rare and for the most part well self policed. Whether you or anyone else know why, you have managed to create a brilliant community and brilliant website, and please don't allow small perturbations from this brilliance persuade you otherwise - to quote the colloquialism of the first reply "you rock"
    MudMeanderer
    8:39pm, 18th May 2012
  • Not sure why my comment's unfinished but - I was introduced to the site last year by a friend and I have gradually being building my confidence to be more active. I have fortunately missed all the goings on. What I can say is that the people I have interacted with and those I have met are really lovely people. It's a brilliant site and you should be proud.
    Amanda68
    8:41pm, 18th May 2012
  • As has been said before, you do indeed rock. It's such a shame about the recent goings on. You will find that there are LOTS of us who have also had our lives enriched by being part of this wonderful site.
    Pinks
    8:55pm, 18th May 2012
  • Keep the faith, Lord Fetch. It's crazy but your website has been life changing! Through 'normalisation' I actually realised I could run a marathon, through miles and get togethers I realised I could make friends who weren't to do with work. It's all good. You're dealing with people so it will be annoying/unpredictable/illogical but hey, where's the fun without that? xx
    MissChappo
    9:15pm, 18th May 2012
  • I am just starting to meet fetchies in the flesh on a regular basis, and this site has given me the confidence and will to do that ... so thank you.
    I come from a different sporting community that is rife with politics and back biting, fetch gives me theopportunity to avoid that c**p and meet the good guys ... roll on RNR again and all the great fecthies that do good things for others.
    Pidd
    9:44pm, 18th May 2012
  • i would have remained totally sane had it not been for this site....i love it here and somehow i seem to have missed all the nasty stuff..i guess my muddled head is immune BUT some people are not nice and should just go away and leave us to be happy in the fields of Fetcheveryone.....I love you truly i do...;-)
    runnerbean
    10:03pm, 18th May 2012
  • Mr Fetch, Sir, Lord, whatever, your site rocks - end of. There is nothing quite like it for any other hobby or interest. Encouragement, help, advice, its all here for the asking. What has been created here is just brilliant and I along with many others appreciate all the effort immensely - long may it continue.
    run-forest-run
    10:12pm, 18th May 2012
  • FE- this is an amazing site and has changed my life. I thought everything sporty was past me until I came across your site (recomemded by a friend - inkeeping woth your recent newsletter). Its my one schiefop for running. I haven't seem what it is you are refering to in your blog but I would say that whatever bad there is will massively outweighed by the good! You can't control everything chief!
    PS hole the dog enjoyed the walk
    Lightning McQueen
    10:35pm, 18th May 2012
  • This site to me has always felt a bit like the house of some family friends when I was a kid; there were always people in and out of there, always a welcome, kettle always hot
    Badger
    10:42pm, 18th May 2012
  • ... ok, I wrote a lot more than that - where did it go? something about how at the moment you must be feeling like that family's dad just after a huge row has erupted and someone has run out crying and slammed the door (not taking any sides there either); could you have stopped it? what happened anyway? do you have to run the place differently in future? This place is surprisingly peaceful for a forum of this size and I think perhaps it's the 'being round Fetch's place' rather than somewhere as impersonal as RW that keeps it that way. Welcoming new posters, the 100-post rule - all pretty laid-back, and unusually friendly. If you want to reassure yourself that things are actually by and large running pretty well, go and take a look at the dpreview.com forums (something of a hellhole).
    Badger
    10:51pm, 18th May 2012
  • The simple things in life are the best,hope the dog walk was as nice as I am sure it is most times. Yes thankfully I have missed much/most of the latest unpleasant behaviour and it is rather saddening some just cant see it as such. :-(
    Thak you for your site and all the efforts you put into what is mostly a rather wonderful place.
    HappyTimes
    10:56pm, 18th May 2012
  • Sadly I do not have a dog to walk. It seems the sad issue I was upset about just carried on. Maybe I did not do enough to stop it. But then again what can we do to herd all these peolple around. I managed to 'talk' to the affected person my fmail and hopefully she realised that not everyone was happy with comments made in the forums. We have to learn from this. I think you have a fabulous site here. Without it I would still be a middle aged grey haired nerd.... but a lot fatter! :-)
    Footpad
    11:03pm, 18th May 2012
  • It is your fault that I have run over 6.500 miles and have statistics to back it up. Thank you.
    Ted
    6:47am, 19th May 2012
  • Oh dear ... I'm one of the ones (I'm sure many) who hadn't noticed that not everybody is being nice to each other all of the time. I think Fetch is brilliant. Thank you for everything (heart
    SherryB
    1:24pm, 19th May 2012
  • Totally agree with a lot on here.The good far far outweighs the (occasional) bad.it is a fabulous resource
    plodding hippo
    2:54pm, 19th May 2012
  • I want to say thank you too (because I was brought up proper). You have created a wonderful thing. Most people in it are wonderful. A few people are stupid and do and enjoy and say stoopid things. This is not your fault. Take periwinkles, for example. Anyway, I say again, thank you! :-)G
    HappyG(rrr)
    8:16pm, 19th May 2012
  • It's an ace site, ta for inventing it - and please keep up the good work! :-)
    CottamRunner
    11:32pm, 19th May 2012
  • Having been on the receiving end of some trolling I agree that it is bloody upsetting. Your approach of allowing as much freedom as possible is to be applauded, but it would be good to have the ability to banish people who don't play by Fetch rules. I don't mean using naughty words, and I don't mean having a difference of opinion about stuff, and I don't even mean abuse. There are some people who are happy to call each other w**kers in jest and are not the least offended by it. Problem is, you are very busy developing the site and you don't have time to be a referee and counsellor as well. I love Fetch. Almost stopped Fetching once, but glad I stuck with it.
    Caterpillar
    10:49am, 23rd May 2012
  • I do have that ability, and not having been on the receiving end, you won't have seen much of it. I do warn/banish people, occasionally consult the Natmag-Rodale legal team, and even had a conversation with the police on one occasion. Being Sergeant Wilson works marvelously well most of the time though :-)
    fetcheveryone
    10:58am, 23rd May 2012
  • Carry on Sergeant :-)
    Helegant
    3:47pm, 23rd May 2012
  • Wow I am so curious about te coversation with the police ? Is that to do with me stalking Argie ;)
    runningmumof3boys
    11:49pm, 23rd May 2012


Stevington 12k

4:14pm, 14 May 2012
Finally managed to do a race - albeit with a cold. I'd originally intended to do parkrun on Saturday, then this - and I was stubbornly determined to get through it. In a half-hearted sort of way.

Katie was up and out of the door before I got up at seven. Got the dogs out for their walk around the river loop, and saw a load of boot camp people doing their training as the sun started warming things up. It made me really want to get running.

Got near to Stevington, and had to drive most of the course, because of the RTA that closed the road (and eventually delayed the start of the race by 15 mins). It was good in some ways to get an idea of the route, but also quite nerve-wracking, because it was quite an undulating course.

Made it to the car park, and it's instantly clear this is going to be a lovely race. All self-contained in a big field adjoining a village hall, with a speaker system and friendly marshalls, and lots of friendly faces. Big city races are one thing, but if M&S did races, it would be like this (although not as good).

Signed up, said a few hellos, and got back to my car to get safety-pinning, and sip water. The Jigses came past, and Silvershadow, and it was nice to do race chat for the first time in *AGES*. I checked folkses goal times, to see who I should be aiming to stick with, and we talked about the Yarnbombing :-) until it was time to wander across the field to the widest start line I've ever seen. I took my inhaler, and shoved it in my back pocket, which isn't usually necessary, but I knew I'd need it.

1) - 1m - 8:11(8:11/m) - 118cal

2) - 1m - 7:37(7:37/m) - 119cal

Hey, I can do this. I think these were the most downhill parts of the course, but it felt so nice to be running, and my breathing was great. I had to rein it in a bit, because I knew there was tougher stuff to come.

3) - 1m - 8:07(8:07/m) - 120cal

4) - 1m - 7:57(7:57/m) - 120cal

5) - 1m - 8:06(8:06/m) - 119cal

Picking people off still, and feeling pretty good coasting along around the 8min/mile mark. I've forgotten about plastic cups at water stations - that's always a FAIL for me. First encounter with headphone man, who's entire family drive past every quarter of a mile, then stop to cheer him on. I have some banter with them, then pwn him at about four miles.

6) - 1m - 8:31(8:31/m) - 119cal

Starting to really find the pace and undulations are tough, and my breathing is starting to get harder. I take another toot on my inhaler just at the point where we marshalled the Oakley 20, and it eases off quite a bit. Moustachioed bald man comes past and is encouraging. Headphones man comes past, and I say something like "working hard mate, well done" - but of course he can't hear a thing, so I resolve to use my weight advantage on the next downhill.

7) - 1m - 7:54(7:54/m) - 118cal

Ears pinned back, afterburners deployed, clutch fully in, I make my move a bit early, but I go past him and hurtle past moustache man, and we have another bit of chat.

8) - 0.51m - 3:54(7:38/m) - 60cal

Headphones man and moustache man take me, but it's all helped to take my mind off the last bit of pain. A quick hello to Lynford and her mum, a push up the field, and a quick dance to 'Staying Alive' in the finishing straight, and I'm done. 1:00:18, 8:01/mile.

A bit of a lie down on the grass to recover (very much needed), and a serviette full of goodies from the hall (Katie, the flapjacks were really disgusting, and not completely gorgeous). I'm onto the really-annoying-cough-endless-honey stage of my cold now, which I'm sort of pleased about, because it means I've fast-tracked it through. Skipped swimming this morning mind you :-)
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments



Properly coldy

8:32pm, 12 May 2012
So I'm struggling a bit with my cold now. I'm hoping to fast track through it though - I haven't given up hope of getting to the Stevington 12k tomorrow morning.

Today we had a good time at parkrun - Katie took maybe 30s off her time from a fortnight ago, and looked really strong. Coffee shop afterwards with the usual suspects, although none of us quite seemed to get our first choice cake. Geeked out with Nightjar, as we tried to outdo each other about who knew the least about databases :-)

Home, and a call to the boy - he had his first go with the Year 2's in rugby, and by the sounds of things, he gave a good account of himself, including a flying leap to tag someone. Can't wait to see him in action.

A dog walk around Priory - the water has receded nicely, just one big puddle to navigate.

We gardened a bit - I'm hopeless, so I set to weeding the paving slabs whilst Katie plucked newly-declared weeds from the beds. The new garden is not huge, but the beds have quite a lot of variety, and there's plenty to look at. We also put out a load of fruit cake for the birds a few days ago - and it all vanished whilst we were at parkrun. Pigeon with a carrier bag?

The dog got a big brush-out of dead hair - he's an immense shedder, so anything we can get before he spreads it all over the carpets is a bonus. I also gave him a trim for good measure - his asymetric fur is tribute to Vidal.

Managed to snooze with my head on Katie's lap for about an hour, waking up with a belt buckle imprint in the side of my face, and the offer of a beer and chilli.

We've totally lost interest in The Voice since they stopped doing the spinny chairs thing, but frankly there was nothing else on, and even all the films on the magic box looked a bit shit - so we got Leon off the shelf, and have watched the first half of that.

I'd just like to feel better now, because I was very jealous of the sunny parkrun runners, and I've been enjoying it recently. So many times, I'll have what feels like the best run ever, then wake up with a cold. It makes my plans to run a half marathon feel a bit silly, and I wish I was able to run the sort of distances that people are doing seemingly willy-nilly in blogs at the moment.

Right... time to stop wallowing. Oh, and look out for a goody-bag giveaway in the site header within the next wee while.

Fetch out!
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • Boooo! to the cold. Yay! to sunny parkrun, coiffuring the dog and family time. Hope you feel your old self soon.
    GimmeMedals
    8:59pm, 12th May 2012
  • I've started doing online film stuff via LoveFilm. There's some right old rubbarsrh on there but a few old classics too.
    McGoohan
    9:08pm, 12th May 2012


Still a bit coldy

2:56pm, 10 May 2012
I really wouldn't like a cold.

I've got the chance to run this evening, between 6 and 7, whilst The Boy is at Beavers. I'm tempted to try a few miles just to see what I can burn off. I can't be in too sweaty a heap by the end of it though, as he's doing his promise.

In other news, Arnie is doing his best impression of an unbreakable dog. Monday saw us consulting the vets to check the lead time on euthanasia appointments (same day as it turns out), but these last few days he's been trotting round like a pup.

I'd like to update the race listings next, to pick up some of the improvements that have been asked for over time (and a few that haven't):

1) grouping all runnings of a race into one big table, so you can see your position in history
2) some sort of measurement of how likely you are to PB at this particular course
3) coping with more race formats e.g. timed races, and run-bike-run, or whatever it is :-)
4) using my lovely new date widget
5) shovelling race reports into blog format - there's so much overlap it seems to make sense.
6) making it easier for people to upload race photos
7) something else that just flew out of my head

Meanwhile, if I can fight off the coldy feelings, I have a parkrun on Saturday and Stevington 12k to look forward to on Sunday. Yay!
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments



New blog design live

12:10pm, 10 May 2012
I hope it is anyhow :-)
Testing :-)
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • :-o
    McGoohan
    12:11pm, 10th May 2012
  • Do you need a 'hide all comments' to buddy up with the 'see all comments'? Mebbe?
    McGoohan
    12:12pm, 10th May 2012
  • Testing :-)
    fetcheveryone
    12:12pm, 10th May 2012
  • I cnat work out how to add someone to my favourites?
    hellen
    12:14pm, 10th May 2012
  • Looks good!
    Stripes
    12:14pm, 10th May 2012
  • The line height issue (with avatars disabled) looks much better now, cheers! Just wondering why the list for 10th May has different widths for the title and author than the list for the 9th May? It doesn't look like there's a particularly long title or name in either list to force those widths.
    sprouty76
    12:15pm, 10th May 2012
  • Ooooo it's pretty.
    Oysterboy
    12:19pm, 10th May 2012
  • hellen - that's the same place it's always been - I forgot to move it. Way over on the right, bottom of the far column.
    sprouty - just needs a bit'o fiddlin'.
    fetcheveryone
    12:20pm, 10th May 2012
  • Cool beans :)
    sprouty76
    12:21pm, 10th May 2012
  • You've probably already got a comment saying this but "See all comments" isn't working so I can't see if anyone has already told you that.
    Elsie Too
    12:28pm, 10th May 2012
  • IE7 being used here - and the "See all comments" button doesn't work. Am I the only one?
    paul the builder
    12:30pm, 10th May 2012
  • What browser are you using Elsie?
    fetcheveryone
    12:30pm, 10th May 2012
  • It works here (IE8)
    McGoohan
    12:33pm, 10th May 2012
  • But when you've submitted a comment you need to click on 'see all comments' again before you see what you typed appear in the list
    McGoohan
    12:34pm, 10th May 2012
  • (and the counter hasn't refreshed without going out and coming back in again)
    McGoohan
    12:34pm, 10th May 2012
  • It is live, gave me quite a shock :-o But it is not as bad as a feared, this is good :)
    snogard
    12:45pm, 10th May 2012
  • Can't see comments, so don't know if anyone has already said this - get error on page message when I click on "see all comments"
    kwala
    1:03pm, 10th May 2012
  • ignore me, work has very out of date browser, it works fine through firefox :)
    kwala
    1:10pm, 10th May 2012
  • Can confirm there's an issue with IE7 - I'll send you feedback with the exact bit of JS that's failing.
    sprouty76
    1:14pm, 10th May 2012
  • Can we have the comments auto displayed? Less clicks is good :)
    Curly45
    1:25pm, 10th May 2012
  • Thanks to sprouty for solving the problem whilst I was busy driving :-) Can some peeps with access to IE7 try it again?

    Curly - less clicks = good, but less database queries = fast :-) I'll see :-)
    fetcheveryone
    2:20pm, 10th May 2012
  • Works for me on IE7 now. Probably also worth recommending people upgrade to either a newer version of IE or Firefox, Chrome etc.
    sprouty76
    2:24pm, 10th May 2012
  • I like the hide the avatars feature, makes it easier to find the blogs that I like reading but haven't got round to putting in my favourites
    BaronessBL
    2:32pm, 10th May 2012
  • is it just me ... when I open a blog from 'Notifications' I get the old format, from the home page the new format, both seem to work OK ... on IE
    Pidd
    2:32pm, 10th May 2012
  • Hello Vicar!
    BigChiefRunningBore
    2:36pm, 10th May 2012
  • There's now a "Hide Comments" link at the bottom of the comments list when it loads. The whole comments thing isn't quite as smooth as I'd like it - I'll keep fiddlin'.
    fetcheveryone
    2:47pm, 10th May 2012
  • For example, it seems a bit flaky if you've got the comments visible, and add a new one...
    fetcheveryone
    2:47pm, 10th May 2012
  • Gah - it did it that time.
    fetcheveryone
    2:47pm, 10th May 2012
  • I liked the different colour background for buddies only blogs, if only for my own reassurance I've posted properly! But also so I don't mention buddy stuff in inappropriate places. Please can we have something more obvious?
    Meglet
    2:56pm, 10th May 2012
  • Looks good - thanks. Is there anyway to do basic text formatting, like bold / underlining?
    Kieren
    7:57pm, 10th May 2012
  • I like the file counter thing but a shame it doesn't work for old posts - ie If I posted on Monday and again on Tuesday. Anyone who reads Tuesday's update can read Mondays without affecting the counter.
    Kieren
    11:05pm, 10th May 2012
  • Sorry It's taken me a while to get back to you - show comments is working now and I'm on IE9.
    Elsie Too
    8:00am, 11th May 2012
  • Take care and RIP Arnie...
    Garfield
    7:42pm, 2nd Jul 2012


A bit coldy

6:41pm, 9 May 2012
This is a fairly normal feeling after any kind of speedwork or hard run I think.

We got out this afternoon and ran for a mile, 0.99 of the way into which, my lovely wife suggested that we should do some speed work. It was very gently drizzling, and seemed like fun. We decided on 2 x 1 mile, with a little *poke your lungs back down your throat* break in between.

It's amazing how long a mile can feel when you go out to push it. And as we ran along Route 51, there were lots of interesting smells, mostly interesting in a *wtf is that?* sort of way. I think the river was brewing sewer beer.

Anyway, the mile marker came just on the slope up to what we know as 360 bridge (hand built by old school Fetchie 360). I clocked 6:35, which is not far outside my fastest mile at the moment - probably a bit too fast, and Katie caught me up with a very good 7:50. I think I kept talking for as long as possible, because I didn't fancy the second mile.

On the good side, it started off with a nice catapult down the slope, but it ended all stitchy, and bang on 7 mins. So quite a slow-down, but I'm happy because my 5k all-time PB is a 6:55 average, so to have put two miles together at that pace is encouraging. Katie got faster with a 7:36(?), which is easily the fastest she's run recently, and she was very rightly chuffed :-)

Looks like I might be running at the Stevington 12K on Sunday, which means a definite PB if I finish :-)

I've got some pictures to hang up now. See you in the funny pages.
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments



Blogs Redesign

7:10pm, 8 May 2012
Ages since I've written a blog - but I've actually been redesigning the blog pages, to make them a bit more fun (and obviously to make hell the lives of people who don't like change). The new design isn't live yet - but you can see how it's looking by going here:

http://www.fetcheveryone.com/blogs.php

There are a few things still to be settled, and a few coding issues and layout tinkerings to be done - but it matches the overall idea I'm aiming for. I've had a bit of feedback to say that having lots of avatars on the 'index' page is a bit overwhelming, so there's the option to turn them off (click the pig face) - and some folks preferred a simple list view - so there's the option to view the blogs in one column rather than three.

Other changes to the blog index include:

1) the featured blogs come in to the top of the page. Let's show off our best bloggers :-)
2) much bigger clickable areas to let you click the blogs you want to read when using fat-fingered phones
3) a bit of highlighting to show off buddies only and favourited blogs

Changes to individual blogs:

1) "previous" and "next" blogger buttons for people who like to read their way through lots of blogs in one sitting
2) comments that only pop up when you click the link. This is a mixture of improving the readability of blog flow (ooh, get me), and also a performance optimisation - only show the comments when they are needed.
3) inline 'Add comment' box - no more having to go to a different page to enter your comment - you can keep the blog in view as you spit out whatever it is you've got to say.
4) 'about me' text used in an author's bio - I thought this looked nice
5) my favouritest thing, the date boxes
6) a view counter. Controversial? More views than you expected? NB the view count isn't retrospective - it started a few days back.
7) font change (Arial), and slightly increased point size

Bugs I know about:

1) nasty wrapping in the "Post Listing" box on individual blogs
2) it probably doesn't work in Pantherz
3) it's different to how it used to be :-P

Comments appreciated, ta :-)
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • For now - oooooo.

    I like the inline commenty thing an thought the best bloggers looked like a wee cartoon strip briefly :)
    Smout
    7:22pm, 8th May 2012
  • I like it mostly. Especially the in-line pop-up commenting. I also like Arial as a font, but that's because I'm institutionalised. Not sure what the point of the view counter is, other than to make you feel paranoid because you're being stalked (or maybe paranoid because you're not being stalked). I expect view counting will soon be a transparency requirement laid down by statute so probably best to be ahead of the game. ;-) Overall, very nice.
    Angus Clydesdale
    7:34pm, 8th May 2012
  • Very pleased about No3 :)
    Alice the Camel
    7:37pm, 8th May 2012
  • Big improvement
    Homer
    7:53pm, 8th May 2012
  • Can I just jump in here, cos I know you'll read it :P and it is related to your first point number 2...is anyone else having an issue with not being able to log in when using your iphone? I'm definitely using the same credentials as I log on her, on my laptop, but it just won't let me in :-( Anyway, blog redesign. Nice. Do carry on. :-)
    sLickster
    8:00pm, 8th May 2012
  • Looks very good :-)
    Sazzahazza
    8:27pm, 8th May 2012
  • Like it
    leaguefreak
    8:54pm, 8th May 2012
  • I love this new look.
    Snapstinget
    9:11pm, 8th May 2012
  • It is looking good. A useful overhaul. Great stuff.
    Mindspace
    9:27pm, 8th May 2012
  • Smart clean and easy to use :)
    Muds
    9:32pm, 8th May 2012
  • In-line commenting - brill

    Prev and Next - great idea too
    Three columns - eek looks a bit weird at first but sure I'll get used to it
    SherryB
    10:20pm, 8th May 2012
  • In the list view, would it be possible to reduce the height of each row a bit? Each one currently takes up quite a bit of space but with a normal sized line of text in it.

    Also, I'd prefer it if the widths of the columns within the lists for the different days were consistent - at the moment it's a little jarring having it change as your eye travels down the page.
    sprouty76
    9:38am, 9th May 2012
  • (Sorry, just to clarify, the row height issue is with the avatars disabled)
    sprouty76
    9:39am, 9th May 2012
  • Will there be any colour coding in the actual blog itself that shows if it's a private/buddies/public entry? At the moment there doesn't seem to be, and it's quite difficult to see which is which, other than the words "Buddies only" at the top of those entries, which is quite small. And will we be able to take off the view counter thing if we want to? Other than that, I like it :-)
    neems
    10:23am, 9th May 2012
  • Lurve the changes. :-)
    CottamRunner
    12:34pm, 9th May 2012
  • I Like the sound of you ideas and I like the look of the blogs page, but as one of those who don't like change, I wait and see. Sorry not to be more upbeat.
    snogard
    1:44pm, 9th May 2012
  • All looks good - I like to see the time of day that a blog was written - is that still there?
    VicksterH
    3:54pm, 9th May 2012
  • I think you will make it onto the top bloggers list and have you seen how many nerd views this blog has had? I like the making a comment with the blog in view change - once again you've worked out what I need before I realised I needed it :-)
    GimmeMedals
    5:17pm, 9th May 2012


About Me

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Blog Archive


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April (8)
Sifting Chunks: Gradient versus Pace
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I can eat fifty eggs
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I didn't know I owned a nutcracker
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October (11)
Fl'update
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F'Laps 2024
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The Boy is a man!
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September (7)
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Removing the training edit screen
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August (14)
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Your local parkrun
Fool on the hill
Survey Follow Up
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VC Day
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Be careful what's in your paste buffer (and July training update)
July (13)
Delight
Respecting your eyeballs since 2004
Hot Stuff, coming through
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18 years, 10 months, 13 days and counting...
Ooof #fail
Our listings need you!
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A whispered, half-remembered dream
Try the Heatmap!!!
Teaser
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June (8)
Last Big Swim
I can't be the only one...
Which is the real me?
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May (17)
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Help on a slippery slope
Fifty Years Ago - Part V
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Chuck-off: Round 2
Not my king?
Fifty Years Ago - Part II
Fifty Years Ago
And that was April
April (10)
Centurion Safari!
Sheep treats (and a routes feature)
And I’ll sail her up the west coast, through villages and towns.
15,746 places to 💩
Track Your Blood Pressure
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March (10)
And that was March
Try the new fmail system
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Some Sweatshop Competitions
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33,258
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February (13)
And that was February
This year's Virtual Challenge
What does Points make?
Automatic Everything Collector
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You've got this.
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January (14)
Monthly Infographic Bug Fixes
No, but really...
Have a play with the monthly infographic
It's not ready yet, but...
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Still following?
Fettle
Definitely Not Betting
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Advance warning for stalkers!
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Attention Fitbit Users
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2022 (144)
December (8)
Treasure Hunt Day 1 - the best gift
Important updates to the Fetch Relay
Introducing the Fetch Relay 2023
Who Am I? (Solved, thanks) And How Am I?
Confessions :-)
12 Days of Christmas Treasure Hunt
Chewie, we’re home!
A few pics from the Foffice :-)
November (24)
Yesvember - Day #30 (and Festive Fetch Calendar Eve!)
The Fetch Festive 160.934 :-) [Yesvember #Day 29]
You'd better watch out... (plus Yesvember Day #28)
Brace Yourself (and there's one spare bobble hat!) and Yesvember - Day #26
Hats in the post! Plus Yesvember Day #25
Look what arrived!
Yesvember - Day #24
Training Graph Manager - usability update (Yesvember Day #23)
Yesvember - Day #22 - Cheating?
Last chance to enter the Advance Performance comp
Yesvember - Days #11 thru #14 (plus Jumpy Boy)
Weather on the training home page watch. Have you got weather on the training home page? (Yesvember - Day #10)
Oh, and... it's Yesvember - Day #9
Another bit of the internet fenced off
Yesvember - Day #8 - taking steps
Yesvember - Day #7
Yesvember - Day #6
Yesvember - Day #5
The curse of swimming GPS
Yesvember - Day #4
The Les Mis effect
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Yesvember - Day #2
Yesvember - Day #1
October (15)
October gives way to Yesvember!
Anyone fancy a threeway?
More thoughts on races
Racing, post-pandemic
Contracts exchanged!
Competition Time!
Last call for Flobble Hats
A record year for swimming?
Woburn Lido
Order your Bobble Hat! If you like.
I appear to have entered a race! (plus new Garmin import queueing system)
Eric the Eel
Get your hobbit on
The Doctor K Cup: Saturday 8th October!
I felt the touch of the kings and the breath of the wind
September (16)
Take This Bus To Cuba
Fetch Bobble Hats
Trumpeting
Training View tweaks (switch maps, game overlays, mile markers)
Training View tweaks (and a play button bug fix)
A long ride and a cold swim.
Play Button
UTMOST Wava & Bike Division Rebuilds
New UTMOST leagues for cyclists and WAVA fans
The Doctor K Cup
Chance encounters
Do I ditch our Facebook stuff?
A keeper, from my feedback inbox...
Ultra distances - update
Adding ultra distances to Fastest Fetchies league.
Try the new Training Groups pages
August (11)
Training Groups Update - Coming Soon
Garmin Queue Issues
Donations without reference numbers :-)
New Elbow Laws
No longer the 3398th fastest Fetchie over 10k!
Pulling counties into league tables
What was I thinking?
County Champion?
Just bear in mind that you asked for this.
Wahoo and Coros users
How to make half a million quid (batteries not included)
July (6)
Club Listings
Book giveaway :-)
Updated Race Portfolio
Updated Targets Page
Exactly ***1*** Spare Ladies L Cycling Jersey
Search All Blogs :-)
June (10)
Imagine you could search all the public blogs...
Banking Scandal at Fetch Towers!
7pm on Baker Island #everyoneday
#EveryoneDay - Sunday 26th June 2022
Spare Challenge Coasters
The North West Passage
Feature Request Voting - Know Your Limits!
UTMOST Division 8: YIKES!
Shepperton Weight Gain Programme
UTMOST Division 9! Sub-50 10k :-)
May (16)
Four hours left :-)
Division 10: No hope of escape?
Book giveaway :-)
Division 11: No place left to hide
New HR Analysis
They're here! Well, not exactly *here*, but...
A quick Darth Mode update
Darth Mode! And a few biscuits for the hyperdrive.
Division 12: Two hours of pushing broom
Dark Mode: Beta
PB Potential? Fancy a quickie? ;-)
Division 12: Running Out Of Road?
Thank you everyone!
Making UTMOST moves :-)
Do you want a Fetch shirt?
I did my UTMOST :-) (plus new sharing infographic)
April (7)
Today's plan
NEW UTMOST BADGES!!!!!
A plug for some races
Raspberry Pavlov
Win a book :-)
United Colours of Cross Training
A little Streetview adventure
March (11)
The lockers are a pound.
Advice for Gym Noobs!
Feedback made easier
#EveryoneDay June 26th 2022
Fetch Virtual Challenge 2022 🎈
Thanks Chunky: parkrun routes!
Sniffer Dogs
Yikes!
Fetch Cycling Jerseys - Update
Route Plotting tweak
The Crow: A Pipedream!
February (7)
Fetch Kit Spares
Updated Race Listing Pages
Introducing Rundle!
I appear to be training for an OWS event!
Fetch Cycling Jerseys!!!
Does you wantz free shoez?
Post Office tomorrow - kit spares
January (13)
Updated Flanci Design (now with more Fetchness)
Badge Collection Graphic!
Updated elevation trace
Book Lists :-)
Updated sharing infographic - do you like it?
Spare Fetch Kit
Badge page refresh / feature requests
Flanci / Fetch Leggings
New Badge Pages
New hill badges
Join me on my fitness journey!
Are you the farmer?
Blog every day challenge - finishers
2021 (187)
December (14)
Book List
Ten years ago today...
A big slobbery elephant snog.
If you don't like hills, this must be getting tiring :-)
When does a hill end?
Hill finder - prototype v2
Hill Finder - prototype
2022 Targets
Chewie, We’re Home! Happy Fetch Independence Day!
Embed badges, plus a new badge :-)
Updated people page
Seeking map
Streak Watch
The new Fetch buffs are here…
November (23)
Almost there...
The Fetch Library
Update your thread titles
Ascent dissent
Mute a thread
Shortcuts
Training Import Queue
I fell off (but not really!)
Croeso i Fetcheveryone. Ydych chi'n siarad Almaeneg, Swedish neu Eidaleg?
New mobile nav
Last call for shirts
@
Just a trim please
Brought to you by wind power
300 miles later
Golden Ticket Shocker!
Banjobax (aka KOG)
Home and Away kit preorder - with long sleeve option
A little competition - win a copy of Daniels' Running Formula
Garmin testers - thanks
Add your grub stops!
Points Of Interest: Grub Stops
Garmin-owning testers wanted
October (19)
New home and away shirts and vests
Benchmark league - a few more updates
Benchmark league table
Hill areas
Preorder is now open!
'b'uffs then
Necktube design #1 & #2
Buffs (well, neck tubes)
Report dodgy GPS stuff
An apology for people who follow my training
New cycling and swimming badges
New Conquercise Feature: Grids
Sprouting a tiny biking antler :-)
Have a try of the cycling gradient analysis
Struggling with my big ring
Cycling: gradient vs pace
A question for cyclists
For Doctor K
Shan't.
September (14)
New comments (FID 1212)
Forum post previews
Garmin imports with a snippet more info
Gallery upload options
Golden Tickets
"No need to panic donate", says Williams
Forum Quotes
Spoiler Alert!
20th of March and all that.
Have you signed up yet?
This bit of crappy Upminister nearly cost me my f***ing life.
A guide with no pages
To steal a catchphrase from a wise lady...
Multiple choice polls
August (11)
Pre-Race Training - Updated
A connection!
New Member of the Month sponsor
Best Weeks - bug fixes
Your Best Week Ever
Rainbow Kit - preorder is open
Age Bests - filtering out the mistakes :-)
Sign up, sign up, for the Doctor K cup
A message from my lovely wife ❤️
Another batch of rainbow kit?
Spares: Event Clips, Swim Hats and a few rainbow tops
July (10)
A bunch of site goodies :-)
Hello kitty
Holy Simmering Mercury Batman!
Settings
A heart rate question
Sleepy Shuffle?
365 graph
Slipping on ma noob shoes
Meatronomes
World's Sexiest Bridges
June (11)
Benchmarks - a *tiny* little improvement
Race Leaderboards - some small improvements
Race Finder - Update
Up there ^
Routes - more updates
Last call for FE Event Clips
Server update
Minor code problem
Some little updates to your route list
Feature requests - two years on!
More than just a rainbow
May (8)
Rainbow Kit - update on delivery time...
Fetch Ron Hill Cycling Jerseys
Pre-order your rainbow kit now :-)
Jimi Hendrix vs Run DMC
The return of parkrun - a poll
Something in the woodshed...
Default to walk
A tour of the Fetch Office
April (11)
Instabanned :-)
I has Instagram
Fetch Event Clips
FERC
Castle Challenge Coaster!
My chess rating
Jab - symptom watch
This just in...
REVIEW: XMiles selection box
Let FE pay for your coaching qualifications :-)
Castle Challenge - A Quick Blog
March (18)
The Fetcheveryone Castle Challenge
Running vs Cycling Cadence
Fetch vests and shirts (and swim caps)
Elevation vs Follow Roads
£500 of England Athletics courses up for grabs!
TomTom users
Music by year: 1993
10k Analysis: Part 7 - Length of Training Runs
Music by year: 1992 (plus some 1991 additions)
Bot sniffing win :-) plus daily blogger count!
User profiles
10k Analysis: Part 6 - Training Pace Again
Time to update your injuries :-)
User profile - sticker button.. EDIT and race standard
More user profile adjustments
User Profile tweaking
Cute story of the week*
10k Analysis: Part 5 - Training Pace
February (17)
Year on Year mileage comparison
Elevation graphs
It's all kicking off in chess club!
Music By year: 1991
10k Analysis: Part 4 - Weekly Training Habits
Tagging virtual races
Chasing rainbows
Rainbow Shirts
Lance!
Blog writing improvements
10k Analysis: Part 3 - Accuracy of human predictions
Music by year: 1990
Smacking bots
29 slices - my seven days of dinner
10k Analysis: Part 2 - Age and Performance
Pass it on
10k Analysis: Part 1 - Distribution of best 10k times
January (31)
January
Mobile Usability Team Helping All Fetchies...
Salmon Ramen Recipe :-)
Salmon Ramen (for TBR)
Backup dog
The best GPS watches in the world... volume 1
Pick it...
People who liked...
Obscure bugs
Zen & The Art of Heart Rate Training
FIT file import - temporary issue
Keep the change, ya filthy animal
The honeymoon is over
Dirty data
Mobile Usability
Oops
Readership!
Stay sticky
It's Hip To Buy Squares
Related Threads - Exposé :-)
The Batshit Association
Jobs
Tag Team
Feed the monster!
An ad for Fetch Chess Club :-)
Estimating VO2Max
Three little birds
A not uncommon swelling
Church Mouse January
Honey, where's my super suit?
Not here.
2020 (128)
December (6)
Blog A Day 2021?
9 years ago today
Chewie, We're Home! Happy Fetch Independence Day :-)
Be Prepared
Becoming an effluencer
A few Fetch Mugs left
November (10)
The Festive Fetch Calendar is back!
FIT file import
Mugs!
Thank you, mysterious Fetchie!
Chess
UTMOST in the age of COVID-19
This'll cheer you up for sure...
Lost in translation?
Annual Infographic... updating now.
In theory...
October (11)
Training Plan Analysis
Mini plans with the training plan
5k with The Boy :-)
Welcome to tomorrow
Thank you
Become tradeable!
Pre-Race Training Volume
Doctor K Cup Week
Last orders
Advice for a friend
Trader Makeover
September (6)
The shop is open!
Hoodie Colour!
New Fetch Hoodies
A big up/holler!
VO2max
A benchmark derailed by GPS data *nerd*
August (8)
10k analysis
Officially a Sheepy Shuffler!
Pi Watering
Pre-order Avoid Everyone Face Masks
I got sent these...
Other sites? :-O
Benchmarks - an infinitely configurable set of ladders.
Try the monthly infographic :-)
July (10)
Update on Monthly Training Infographic
New Infographic
Monthly Summary (with a little tweak)
A quick Garmin update
Open Water / Wild Swimming Database
Avoid Everyone - spares
OWS Locations
Thread-level search
New Sharing Graphic & New Pastures
My first lamp post
June (16)
Replacing the Who's Training page
Combining some pages
In pursuit of the Gridmaster Ultra
15th Anniversary Kit - Spares
Shoelaces
A new How To video
Training Plan Updated
Black Lives Matter
Avoid Everyone Spares + Second Batch
Wikipedia page
Another YouTube video for sharesies :-)
Getting data to Fetch from **other places**
Feature Voting - some further updates
Feature Voting - speeded up
Another How To video - this time, Conquercise
Fantastisches Tweeten
May (13)
A video for sharing
Bees!
Fetch Introductory Zoom Presentations
A promise to all Fetchies
Fetch Virtual Weekend: Replacement Bus Service
How has Fetch use changed?
Fetch Weekly Virtual Races
Zoom Meeting - Thursday 9 til 10am
WAVA Standards Update
WAVA Standards + Poll
Fun with Age Grading :-)
New Badges Day
The test shirt fabric has arrived :-)
April (14)
Zoom Podcast - watch the video
What is WBC?
If you did the free Amazon trial...
Some small amends (and shirt version)
Pre-orders open
I was only joking, but...
If Fetcheveryone did lockdown merch
Site outage - Thursday 16th April 11pm
On exercising responsibly
My Sports Quiz - how would you have scored?
Your creative thinking required
WBC My Favourite Teacher (a bit later than the deadline)
Updated Training League
Server Downtime, Thursday 9th 00:01BST to 04:00BST (and thank you!)
March (13)
New Fetch Game: Hide and Seek
Free trial of Audible
Do you have a good memory?
New Opt-In for Fetch Miles
New Badges for Fetch Miles
The Fetch Five: Don't Let CV19 Win!
Amending event dates and notifying of cancellations
A green light comes on over your head, and you can get on with life
Most Popular Shoe Brands 2019
A review
Android: Session I
Compare Your Training
Book Now to avoid disappointment :-)
February (10)
Imports from Suunto, Fitbit, Polar and TomTom.
Plot A Route - mobile improvements
Happy tugging!
Something to play with
Adding A New Feature
February Treasure Hunt
Server Downtime
Miles = Smiles
Build Your Mile
Pop Will Eat Himself: Update
January (11)
Clarence the Cadence Kitten
Trim your trails :-)
Seven Day Leaderboard
Let's try that again
Some minor blog amendments
Try the new Forum Search Prototype
Pop Will Eat Himself
A card from HowFar?
Thank you HowFar? (Statement, not a question)
Take the red pill
Climb every mountain
2019 (134)
December (7)
The Christmas Poem
Where your treasure is...
Listen to the dog breathe
Chewie, We're Home
Thursday's Challenge
Which GPS?
Fetch Shop (of sorts)
November (12)
The zeroth challenge
Polar users - auto import
Calling all Polar users
Mobile Optimisation
Calling all Android users
Did your ads disappear?
Pin that sucker down :-)
Easier tagging
Category now editable from VIEW
Kit now editable from VIEW
Working towards tagging
Manual Add Training bug
October (16)
Boring Cricket Blog
Books Part 2
Books :-)
42
Training tags Part 2
Training tags
Let's Jazzercise
My precious
Cricket Week 4: Footage :-)
Forum Training Threads
Benny Neutrino Returns
Cricket Week 3: Wingardium Leviosa!
Benny Neutrino's Filter Tips
Cricket Week 2
Continuing Amazon Affiliate Saga
In case you haven't seen...
September (11)
Updated: Spare Anniversary Kit
Affiliate links
I did a cricket!
Fetch365 - enjoy responsibly
Filth
My dear old things
Buddies vs Follow
Server Invoice Day
Our new MOTM sponsor
Fetch Power!
Race Listings: Please Read
August (5)
Everyone *rainbow*
Almost there...
Quick blog
Country Badges
A new set of badges
July (6)
Pre-orders open
Anniversary Shirts v2
Fetch 15th Anniversary Shirts
Fetch Fest 2020
Shout Outs
Missing imports from Garmin yesterday
June (13)
Who Squares Wins: 64 screenshot
Who Squares Wins: 64 Player Edition
Training summary - older pages
Training sub-menu rejig
Try the infographic
Steady Edina
Annual Summary Infographic
The height of daft things
The training summary - the morning session
The training summary - a wordier blog
Try the annual summary thing
How to listen to the Fetch Podcast
12 month summary mega-graph!
May (15)
£79.99 off the bottom line
Competition
parkrun reviews - now with routes
Fix It Friday; Project Joker Week 2; and some shout outs.
Fetch Kit Cupboard Sale
The bonus ball
Project Joker - Week 1
Fix It Friday
A quick update on the server
Fetch 15th Anniversary Kit
There is a good service operating
Oof.
In case you're wondering...
Trouble auto importing from Garmin?
Fix It Friday: Stuff that came to me in dreams
April (12)
Feature Voting - now with virtual badges :-)
The moment of triumph!
New Feature Voting
Fix It Friday: What would your horse be called?
Marathon Pacing: tyre-kickers required
Fix It Friday: Back to Basics
Podcast Poll
Fix It Friday: The League Of Everyone
Dom, dom, dom, I've got DOMS, I've got DOMS!
Crouch, Touch, Pause.... longer pause... what am I doing again?
Training Log - Update
Site Update: New Font
March (15)
Fix It Friday: An Endless Mission
Naming and faming :-)
2nd in my age category!
Fix It Friday: Brought to you by Surprise Inset Day
New training log
Route Matching - Ready :-)
Fix It Friday
What's your unit of measurement?
Ciderthon competition
Fix It Friday: Stroopwafels of Doom!
Route Matching - Update
This week's cool list
Me in the river
Big Fetch Miles 2019
Fix It Friday: Fingerprints!
February (13)
A Maths Challenge
Fetch Legends: Activate!
Whose coat is this jacket?
Fix It Friday: The Fix Awakens
Joining the awesome list...
Fix It Friday
Naming and faming :-)
Fix It Friday - Monthly Summary
Training Month Summary
Podcast Q&A
If you can't read this, don't panic.
*redsaber* The force is strong with these Fetchies!
Fix It Friday *bluesaber*
January (9)
Some shout outs :-)
Fix It Friday!
Podcast Ep 3, plus some naming and faming :-)
Fix It Friday
Fetch Chaos
Oooh! Second chance Berlin trip! And new subbers, podcast episode, and Trader.
My week of running
Naming and faming - this week :-)
Naming and faming :-)
2018 (138)
December (8)
A Christmas Message (in podcast form)
Rungeon :-)
Hey, Everyone!
France Trip Vote
Happy Fetch Independence Day
Actual free trip to France (incl. flights)
Litter
Sombrero's Lovely Cards
November (14)
Hoodies + other spares
Spare Fetch Kit
Festive Fetch Calendar 2018
Avatars
Book Giveaway - Can We Run With You, Grandfather?
Fix It Friday
Bedford Harriers Half - place offered
Updated Kit Bag
Family Fortunes :-)
Any adidas experts out there?
No Fixes Today - just two challenges
Big Fetch Mile Cardiff
Fix It Friday
Festive Fetch Calendar 2018
October (14)
Hello landlubbers
Embedded polls
Member of the Month
Fix It Friday
Spare Fetch shirts and vests
Abingdon
Fix It Friday
My Fetch Mile
One thing's for sure, we're all gonna be a lot thinner.
Fix It Friday - 'Ave It!
Automatic route matching
Automatic route matching
One last reminder for those cycling jerseys
Fix It Friday - Forensics and User Experience
September (14)
Fix It Friday
Server Downtime 2.30pm 26th September
Never Again
Fix It Friday!
Handling your weirdness
Cards ordered :-)
Just wondering...
Fix It Friday :-)
Try the Fetcheveryone Tutorial
40 days and 40 nights
Fix It Friday
ARION insoles - review part 1
Fetch Shirt - Black Ones, and sizing
Shirts and Vests Pre-Order
August (14)
Fix It Friday
Blog Height squished
Site Outage Last Night
New Mobile Nav
Fix It Friday
New feature - how you doin'? :-)
Sunflower spread
Fix It Friday
A new pre-race mileage graph
Fetch Social: Draycote Water September
Fix It Friday: The Supermarket Analogy
A run with _andy :-)
Suunto 9 Review
Fix it Friday
July (5)
Fix It Friday!
Five Get Wet In Devon
Big Glasgow Weekend - Part 1: Gies A Cwtch
Tom Williams Interview - Final Part
Glasgow Big Fetch Mile Results and Pics
June (17)
Abingdon Week 17 - P&D Booster rockets
Interviewing Tom Williams: Part III
Walking League (and one just for Nellers)
Follow Roads - continued
Week 18 in the bag
Tackling turds
Abingdon Marathon Training: Week 18
Interview with Tom Williams - Part 2
Server
Five Questions (ready for serious answers)
Kick some tyres for me
Interview with Tom Williams - Part 1
Five Questions
Follow Roads saga
Google maps progress, plus Abingdon plans
Training Summary - Infographics
Who Squares Wins - ranking update
May (10)
Training log maps converted
More mapping updates
Who Squares Wins - The Wizard's Hat
De doo doo doo... another one bites the dust...
Invisible changes
Silverstone 10k
Three year throwback
Why your support makes the difference
Some high mileage Fetchies
dryrobe winner
April (14)
Interviewing Tom Williams
Swimming Caps!
#finishformatt
New batch of shirts and vests
You make big mistake my friend
Fetchpoint
Glasgow Big Fetch Mile announced
Two tickets to the Running Awards
Pics from Dudley Big Fetch Mile
Notes for London Marathon Fetchpointers
Results from today's Big Fetch Mile
Who Squares Wins - prototype board
Attention London Marathoners!
New game - coming soon
March (9)
Intervals, Solidarity, Swimming and Fmail
Ready to give the new fmail a try?
More on fmail
New fmail system
Win a dryrobe :-)
For jabberknit...
Updating the Training Home page
Pics from Bedford Big Fetch Mile
Sledgends :-)
February (13)
Buffs On Sale
Big Fetch Mile Bedford
Vlog :-)
Marathon Talk
Important GDPR stuff - PLEASE read
A page of historical importance
Vlog :-)
Road Rash, Marathon Prediction and T-Shirts
This :-)
Capturing the dog
It's BACK!
Enter Wilmslow Half Marathon
An advertisement
January (6)
Local Fetchies - Opt In
Revealed: World's Best Shoes
How I chose the Big Fetch Mile venues
Big Fetch Mile 2018 - Venues & Provisional Dates
Try adding an image to your training entry
Mileage Targets 2018 - Update
2017 (147)
December (12)
Mileage Targets 2018
Thank you
Brownie Recipe :-)
Phew
Fetch Hoodies + Buffs SALE Update
Chewie, We're Home
Fetch Hoodies SALE - what's left
Fetch Hoodies! SALE!!! (and Buffs available too)
Chewie, We're Home
Sharing pics
Fetch Jingle Mile Cambridge photos
Glorious Failure: Bedford Harriers Half Marathon
November (20)
Serpents, hamstrings and inversions
A special anniversary approaches...
Hamstring and prototype updates
Training Log Prototype - Today's Improvements
Red Venom sale
For what it's worth...
Training Log Prototype - Update #2
Training Log Prototype - Update
Big Fetch Mile - venue hunt
RT for a Garmin
Training Log Prototype - To Be Fixed
fetcheveryone.com/amazon
The Weekly vLog (by me)
Thanks :-)
New Training Log Prototype - Available Now
Thanks for following
VLog - footage from the Cardiff Big Fetch Mile
Big Fetch Mile[s] 2018
Win a place in the Surrey Half
I vont to scan your barcode.
October (12)
Big Fetch Weekend :-)
Fetch Mile Results
Festive Fetch Calendar :-O
Calling Parkers everywhere!
In which I decorate a cake.
Regent's Park Fetchie Discount
Elevation in colour
"I didn't come here to walk to Sparta!"
New elevation info
Chicken Ballot-ine, with a side order of beef
New training log headers
Ballot day tomorrow - help needed
September (19)
Weekly vLog - COCONUTS!!!
River Thames Half Marathon
The lollipop update
On failing gracefully
Doctor K Day
Fetch Kit Sale - Updates
Weekly vLog
Fetch Kit Sale
Training Log View Update
Fetcheveryone Weekly? Vlog?
Fetchie Race Discount - Regent's Park 10k
Training Log Tags - Live
Training Log Tags
Weekly vLog - Derby Mile, and a pause to salute the legendary Doctor K
24 hours later
Doctor K donation page
Doctor K
Fetch Weekly vLog
Derby Mile - tomorrow!
August (8)
Race Prices; and an alien earworm
Straight outta Cromford - the Fetch Weekly vLog!
A Fetch vLog! With prizes!
Quick search location for sharing
New WAVA graph
Weird FIT file thing
Back from me 'olidays :-)
Linking race results to training log entries
July (12)
Race Pricing - crowdsourcing
Appdate for Android and iPhone
Inhalers
Fetch Mile - Cardiff?
Bookends
Race listing omelette
Coding and town planning
Please review your races
A2B winners
Motivational Sounds - the final 10
Two more Big Fetch Miles? :-)
Bedford Fetch Mile Results
June (19)
Big Fetch Mile
Motivational Sounds
Fetch fug - updated design
Fetch fug (available at the Fetch mile)
I've done the naughtiest thing ever.
Donating Blood - my Vlog
Fapp In the App Store :-)
Can I kick it?
A***biscuits
This just in...
For Bean
Your app status is Waiting For Review
A2B
Fetch Caps
Garmin Communicator Plugin
Fetch App - strong and stable testing
HTTPS is here
Fetch App progress
https access to the site
May (14)
Fetch App
Apostrophes
[Untitled]
[Untitled]
Site down at 11pm
Round and round the garden
Try the new home page layout
Server down tonight @ 11pm
Browser testers wanted
The Big Fetch Mile!!!
Site *NOT* down tonight. [cough]
Bluffer's Competition - Winner
Bedford parkrun timelapse
Return of the cap
April (8)
Fetchpoint (London and Milton Keynes!)
Base camp, VMLM
Bronze!
Just for D2
Off to the awards
Bloodvlog
Hoodies - it's on!
Updated Training Home Page
March (6)
'Train' page
Project Joker
Hoodies and Londons
Hands up, hands UP! Draycote Water 10
Bluffer's Competition
Project Joker
February (12)
Draggable?
Running Awards shortlisted
Route Plotter now with OpenStreetMap
Plan for Bluffer's comp
Update to Route Plotter
First update to the route mapper
For Angus
Virtuous Circles
Competition coming soon
Race Guide Ads
Club La Santa vLog
Fetch Fixtures
January (5)
Word Clouds
Buckets Ready
New Home Page
Do me a favour...
Limited Companies, filing accounts, that sort of thing
2016 (128)
December (11)
Festive Fetch Calendar - Winners
Festive Fetch Calendar - Winners
Five Years Ago Today
Pantsfest! May the stains be ever in your favour!
#FEXIT
Photoshop SOS
Attention: Fitbit users
Bedford Half 2016
Luton Fetchmob: Breaking Point
Vote Fetch!
Breaking news: Paris Marathon
November (21)
How to end a LiveChat.
Define wrong
TomTom Runner 3 Review - Any Questions?
Deliveryman
Movember: Project Beard: Day 24: Beardraggled
Festive Fetch Calendar 2016
We're gonna be in the Hudson
Hey Chiefy
I've written summat
Going Postal
A special mention
Training Log Beta
Spare Hoodies
Updates to Training Beta
Movember: Project Beard - Day 8 (The Seven Day Itch)
Vote for Fetch
Training Log Detail View - Some Changes
Aberdeen University Study
Consultation V2
[Untitled]
Fetchpoint - October Winners and November Prizes
October (16)
Alien nuggets!
Keeping a tight lid on the biscuit tin
Training Log Beta
100 Running Words
Pssst....
Fetchmob, December 3rd
Where to mob?
Little things
That All-Time Mileage League
The sudoku that keeps on giving.
Sub-25 for 1km :-)
Fetchmob - December 3rd
New Training Log Preview
Fixed the overlap...
Why the new training log isn't ready yet...
vLog
September (12)
Doughnut or Donate
Training Log - Sneak Peek
Fetch Shop Sale! Old stuff clearout!
vLog!!!
The consultation system...
Garmin support for timezone info
The GMT/BST/Timezone problem
Training Log Consultation...
Training Log - Consultation
Fetch Social Runs
Subscriber shirts, vests and hoodies, and determination.
Fetch Voluntary Subscriptions
August (3)
Ze Gryndylows! My first #OWS :-)
Testing Fetchpoint exclusion zones
Fetchpoint scoring system
July (7)
Conquercise Prize Draw?
Fetch Games: Checkpoints (and what's wrong with them)
More owls...
Your Favourite Fetch Game?
Even More Utmost Than Before...
Chiswick!
15 days later...
June (10)
Five days on...
[Untitled]
A quick thank you...
What do you think?
If you'd be so kind...
Poised
Which watch?
Run Bedford 10k
Import from a TomTom
Attention TomTom users
May (10)
Race Distance poll
An ungainly fish
A five year plan
What Club La Santa can learn from parkrun
Cream Me Up, Scotty
Greetings from Club La Santa
And a quick poll...
Club Charter
A poll about intervals
More owls!
April (11)
Robin Hood and his Merry Dad :-)
Warning: Dull - some screen res stats
Responsive Design Update
For all you marathoners
A Poll
Fetchpoint
Ditching the forum categories?
Moving to Responsive Design
Sandy 10: Be Kind To Horses
Owls!
For Adam and Jamie
March (11)
Bacon Smoke!
Benchmarks Update
Bath - Race Report
PB!!!!!!!
An annoying eight-year-old.
Let's Cook and Cut and Paste :-)
Let's Cook :-)
RIP Gramma
Book Winners
Dog farming
Site header update
February (5)
Book Giveaway
Pi Club
Pi Project Update
Because I'd like to check the blogging badges are working...
Crapruary
January (11)
Snooker Freak
Badges - Another Update
Unlockable Badges - Update
Unlockable Badges
TomTom Runner 2 Review
Gallery updates
Snowball coding and Fetch Unlockables!
Achievement Medals - what do you reckon?
Run The Sum
2015 Book List (and a bit of a review / plan)
Festive Fetch Calendar - Winners
2015 (175)
December (7)
Red Red Wine
A Poll
Gis a job!
Bedford Half
REMEMBER!!!
Vote for Fetch
Now you've hopefully got the idea...
November (13)
The Festive Fetch Calendar
Don't get excited or anything...
Slightly Dismal Friday
Pre-order your Fetch Buff now :-)
A message from our sponsor
Dr Fetch will see you now
Only the grumbliest, achiest chocolate... :-)
The Stanford Experiment
Buff Design
Snugs - Review
Love, Commitment, Support
The pre-wedding blog!
Good morning Fetchers, good morning Everyone
October (9)
Monthly Totals
Did you write a blog yesterday?
The First Rule of Web Server Maintenance
The gain line
Fectch
The zipper challenge!
Sugar daddy
Now in colour!
Competition Time!!!
September (14)
Teach your kids (or yourself) to code
Sticky Training Choices
Goodies: GetMore water and the Alcatel OneTouch Watch
Shirt size guidelines
This nearly made it...
Subscriber Shirt Design
I've got wood!
Humbled
New Beginnings
Some more questions answered
Swimming
Some responses to your comments
Standing on the shoulders of Fetchies
Funtleks
August (8)
24 hours in the south
24 hours in the north
Fetchies Assemble!
Thank you
Better knowledge than riches
Fitbit Urge
The villainous Mr Fetch!
Uncomfortable rear
July (8)
Why don't you play Conquercise?
Another week of strange training
Book Giveaway - Winners
GPS Reviews
Criteria for reviewing a GPS
Auto-bike-detector :-)
Win some bookses :-)
Half Way!
June (13)
Time Lapse Clouds
TomTom Bandit - very QUICK first impressions
My wings are like a shield of steel!
Running plus Cycling update
Embarrassingly...
Stalkers Paradise!
Recommend me a bike :-)
Holy Steamrollers Batman!
Rest day (no such thing)
Sqveeeeze!
We will now imitate the flight of a goose :-)
You made me ink! Snorkel safari :-)
Good morning from CLS :-)
May (10)
Club La Santa :-)
The AWESOME Power of Fetchies!
Home Insurance Shaftage :-/
Editing Forum Posts
The Future!
Some London Marathon stats
Walking On The Moon
Hardest parkrun?
New found wisdom
Week 1
April (11)
Marathon vLog
I owe some hugs!
And that concludes the voting from the Danish judges
Adventures in geocaching
Your video clips wanted!
Jelly with no spoons
Random Ultra
Suncream in my eyes - a review of 'Running and Stuff'
Books what I've read this year
Measuring the effect of wind
Wind Roses
March (18)
Watching the tide roll away
A great week of running!
Happy Jigs Wisdom!
Mobile Fetch
I don't do this very often...
Breathless Optimism
20 miles yesterday
This Week's vLog
Decision Trees and the sub-4!
Democracy Street
Mayan Maths
Bath Half (at last)
Still a chicken
Costume Drama in Bath
TomTom importing
Updated 'Train' page
Zonked
Nearly
February (29)
Pheasant
An Unexpected Journey
Wind picking up...
An unplanned kit alarm
Race Pace Test
2nd place
Week ends
Bounceback
Barking carrots
Bedroom pizza
Top of the mountain
Blogs get the mobile treatment
Supersonic Katie, and a marathon pace question
Back home
Racing parkrun ;-)
Unblocking the sink
Start in Darkness
Some times I'd like
Mobile Site - Forum Section
All-Time Leaderboards
Batteries
Sword fighting
PB Attempts
Duct tape and WD40
Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants
Lessons
Shoe horning
Training vLog Week 13
Big February Project
January (35)
Cake, invalidated
Small sips
LiRF, award shortlist, beginners, books, boy.
Dog Available :-)
Cutback
New Recipe Section
Lazy
Another threshold run
New Beginnings
Blah
But far more importantly...
Fetch Beginners Programme
Give it a go :-)
Training vLog - Week 11
Threshold Run (a running blog)
Long day, short blog
(Lack of) Pump Action
A thread to follow
This Boy Can
Local Leaderboards for Checkpoints
Choking.
February 18th
Godzilla!
The Travelling Checkpoint Salesman
Acorn Antiques
Bearing Up
Deleted Bridges and Dodgy Lasers
I'm Batman!
Healthy and Appy
Punch O'Clock!
The plan, then.
Ten mile toes
On Parliament
[Untitled]
Bold Claims, and a Challenge for 2015
2014 (262)
December (9)
A trip to Wales (vLog)
Christmas Messages from Fetchies
Various
FERC London Marathon Places - Draw
It's gone in my sock...
Festive Fetch Five
This Week's Training
To the Post Office!
Training vLog - Week 4
November (12)
I Am Groot!
Slightly Dismal Friday
Week 3 - in which I nearly drown my wife!
I said yes :-)
Free Daps! aka Test GORE-TEX® footwear this winter!
Training vLog - Week 2
More chances for VMLM entries
Marathon Talk
My first training vLog :-)
Second place?
In :-)
Questionnaire about personality traits amongst runners
October (16)
Adidas API
Horseplay minimiser
Running with the big dog
Flat and Windy
Who'd like to test the Garmin API then?
Advantage Borg
Deal?
Jumble
Milk Tray Reps in the Rain
Geneva
Quote
Hatfield 5k, and some other running thoughts
Site layout changes
Vote for Training Plans
Maths help
3-2-1
September (8)
A quick device poll
Garmin Connect API
Cake at the lake :-)
Empowering Women
This Week's Training
Tick :-)
Article help
First outing with the Harriets
August (7)
Book club and Harriers
A treasure trove for bookish types
What I did on my Summer Holidays
Local decoration
The Fisher King
Mojitos and no mosquitos!
Cake-athlon
July (26)
James Mason
Missing Week
Camping View
Wild Camping
Quick
Transalpine Race
In brief
Urgent! Pair of runners wanted!
Fetch Kit Available to Pre-order :-)
Fetch Anniversary Kit - Preview
API and FAK!
That dog has a puffy tail
More books
Reverse Moses
Zombies vs Plants
Shovel required
Nightfever
Dayfever
Catcher in the Rye
My sister the psychologist
Drink your strong limey drink
Keep me in the loop
Bread knives, hedgehogs and the dog in the night time
Whoops
Pinteresting
Q&A?
June (34)
Checkpoints video
Walden
Happy boys and giggly imps
Spring loaded
Elbow grease
Fetch 10th Anniversary Kit
Fetch YouTube Tutorial - Race Guide
Finding the Library folder on a Mac
Stoat!
Sonic screwdriver
Live wires
Wiring help needed
Garmin Express Experiment
Scalded sloth
Garminge
Potching
New Forum Layout
Further updates to the blog layout
New blog layout
First woodpecker
Beastin' parkrun
Pantoball
All was well
USA! USA! USA!
Marking Territory
The People's Poet Is Dead :-(
Holy Water
Throwing shapes
Life moves pretty fast
Recursion is beautiful
Win an OS Explorer / Landranger map of your choice
Intervals with a Suunto Ambit 2S
Tick
Economy done two ways
May (31)
[Untitled]
Vorsprung Durch Lego Technic
How do I liberate my boy from his XBox?
Questions?
Life in the Woods
Lazy
MovesMissed
Intervals with a TomTom
Electioneering
[Untitled]
Tree fluff
More camping
Zen and Camping
Not eaten by bears
Bear food
Camping List
Camping Venn Diagrams
Floppy dog
Routes but not Rathbone
Illustrator wanted
Masking
Highlights
The Cosmic Ballet Goes On
Silverstone 10k :-)
Quick one
[Untitled]
Superhuman snooker
Dogturdflagman
Numbers!
Whittlin'
Chapter 1
April (29)
King Bin
Quiet day on Feedback Mountain
Listing
42
Go directly to parkrun. Do not pass Godzuki.
A day in Wales
[Untitled]
Spanner
The Lost Diadem of Fetchbook
Falling asleep in my dinner
Egg
Sofathon
God gave rock and roll to you.
Sugar Mule
Not bad, consid'rin.
Tinkering
Can U Dig It?
A weekend in Wales
Looking forward to Oliver!
Thank you, and more App talk
RIP Nan
Blah
Appy
Pyjamas at both ends.
Thump. Saturday has started.
Sore tum :-/
Zombies aside... first impressions of the new TomTom
TomTom Runner Cardio Press Event
Am I pregnant?
March (31)
Cornflakes Cornflakes Cornflakes Cornflakes Cornflakes Cornflakes Cornflakes
Sandy 10
#bedfordhappy
Me on YouTube
New graphs live
Follow the dot
Only the best for the Captain's table
Mrs Diahann Wagner is GOING HORNY
Sport Relief Win
Hot dogs, quick blogs
Toton Sidings
A sign!
Owen Farrell visualisation technique
Kebabs!
Booster fails to ignite
Myton Rugby Run (5 Miler)
Rugby before rugby
Sweetcorn antidote
Custard factory
Pooped
I did some intervals :-)
Speed work?
Many things
A bit cabbagey here.
Angry Wasp
Minty
Rainbow's End
Core Dump
Bath Half (in detail)
A quick overview
Down to business in Bath
February (28)
Made it to Bath
Unexpected hugs
Slider
I like to go a-wandering
Spring cleaning
Tongue-lolling
Because We're Worth It
I don't know what!
Thanks Jim
Enough now
Clearing the pipes
Crouch, Touch, Pause...
Medication, that's what you need.
Symptom Tour
Hello FBI
Dazed day
Why I'm an optimist
Mobius birds
Snotty knuckles
In this house...
Retch Everyone
Carrots
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also
Ultrahalfmarathoner
Angry Birds
Belching
Clarkson averse
Good day :-)
January (31)
*bunting* *cake*
Bigger Boys
Zombies!
Pretending to be Saga Norén
Waiting for the AA
Ship shape
Readthrough
Technology takes you further
Love Garden
Cushions
High Heel Striker
Bit of a rubbish one
Ta
Hot Re-fills
Coding Grinch
An august prediction
Some Running Goals for Q1
Wipe-clean dog
Breaking it down
Snakes and Ladders
Bigger Ponds
Drink Your Weak Lemon Drink
All in All
Panning the pancake
Does JK Rowling own a dog?
Back to the kitchen table
Steve Davis shoes
Pigs on a water slide
Sloshing
Protocol
19 books :-)
2013 (29)
December (3)
Oh...
Engine Management Light
Hannibal Vector
November (3)
Speed skating
Stew-pendous
Cool Hand Grandpa
October (3)
Bookish
Minecraft Cake
Random dump
September (2)
Blog by Email!
Catchup blah
August (3)
Big Green Caterpillar
Questions answered - final CLS blog
Last Days at Club La Santa
July (10)
A nice morning of swimming and tennis
Please Read: Questions for a sports coach
Snorkeltastic
Hitting the straps
First Impressions at Club La Santa
Mile High Blog
Clocking off
For the second week running...
Another Club La Santa catchup
The Floor In The Plan
June (3)
Club La Santa
Bulk Uploading, and win a book
FERC Charities 2011-2012
March (1)
Bath Weekend
January (1)
Meet Steve
2012 (39)
December (2)
Tired Now Boss
Bath - Week 14 + Foodbank
November (3)
White Level Reading
Bath - Week 15
Bath - Week 16
October (2)
Onwards!
C'mon Dave
July (1)
RIP Arnie
June (2)
Rub some bacon on it
18 weeks
May (9)
Techy not tetchy
Time for a techy blog
Time to walk the dog
Stevington 12k
Properly coldy
Still a bit coldy
New blog design live
A bit coldy
Blogs Redesign
April (2)
Easter
SERIOUSLY LORD FETCH, SORT IT OUT
March (8)
A long run up
Running Tick
Weekend
Sport Relief Mile
Back once again
Swimming sweetcorn and other vegetables
Joy Rides, Sticks and Medals
Training Tip
February (9)
And...
Katie, ICT, and some more MySQL
May The Ground Force Be With You
Functions
Well done Batman.
Optimisation Crossword
Snow Days
Gallery, and parkrun
Pleased
January (1)
There Are Some Really Sexy Girls On Fetch







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