Around Easter time I visited the doctor for some routine blood tests to assess my general health. It also involved me getting weighed for the first time in about a decade. I was genuinely surprised to find from this that I had not only high cholesterol and blood pressure but had gained quite a bit of weight (from what I could remember) in the intervening period since the last weigh in.

It was certainly a wake up call. I’d played football for virtually my whole adult life until fairly recently, try to walk ten thousand steps a day and very rarely miss a Saturday morning park run. Where I’d slipped up though was with what I had been eating and drinking to refuel after these activities. Lots of fast food, pastries and chocolate along with more than enough alcohol.

For those of you old enough to remember Liverpool FC were the dominant force in football during most of the 1970s and 80s. Naturally enough everyone was intrigued to discover what the secret behind this success was. Along with the more obvious attributes of being very good football players there was also a large emphasis on team spirit and team bonding. The team bonding part appearing to consist of copious drinking sessions and meals at restaurants around town. Next day they would train as normal and invariably win their next game.

When the 1990s arrived this dominance quickly began to wain. Liverpool FC were still operating to their traditional principles that had served them so well. However there were rumours emitting from their great rivals Manchester United that their new manager Alex Ferguson didn’t approve of his players drinking or partying. Worryingly they were starting to get good. By 1993 they had won their first league title in over 20 years.

Worse was to follow. Arsenal appointed Arsene Wenger at that time little known in England. Not only didn’t he approve of drinking and partying he was making them eat differently as well. Steamed fish and copious amounts of vegetables replacing steaks and chips. Arsenal also started to become good. As well as winning league titles they famously went on to go through a whole season unbeaten. In fairness to Liverpool they cottoned on eventually although have never been able to approach their previous levels of preeminence.

All of this is fine for elite level athletes but what happens if you apply this now well established thinking to the most average of park run runners such as myself. From what I observe each Saturday there must be many thousands of similar people. The good news is that from my initial three month trial of doing the basics of less alcohol, less fast food and sweet treats while making sure you get at least your five a day of fruit and vegetables, even us mere mortals can see a noticeable difference. In park run percentage terms it equates to around a five percentage improvement on age grading and depending on the course approximately a two minute improvement in how long you are out there.

The main difference I noticed after only a few weeks was that I could breathe much better. It was a great feeling when I realised this. The run was becoming less of a chore and something to enjoy. I assume the main reason for this was lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure making life easier for the heart. If you invest in a basic blood pressure monitor (at about £20) you will also see that your resting heart rate is noticeably lower. Secondly the healthier lifestyle also goes hand in hand with a decent amount of weight loss. So you are no longer carrying the equivalent of many bags of extra sugar around the course with you.

As far as alcohol is concerned less of it obviously brings the benefits above but beware the big Friday night out before a park run. Most recently I was out with my long time best mate and drinking partner Brucie. A evening of strong lager and Baby Guinness ensued finished by an all you can eat buffet mail. It goes without saying you will feel terrible at the start line next day and from my unscientific research it will probably cost you at least thirty seconds of your hard won recent improvements. All the more reason to stick with them of course. I will report back in three months time to see if the gains continue.