Charity Run Re-Think

In my efforts to get fitter and turn the beer belly into a magnificent six pack for all to admire and be jealous of, I have found that I am extremely flat footed. 

Now in an earlier post I had postulated that I would like to run from here in West Yorkshire to Aberystwyth in Wales. I picked Aberystwyth because I figured my girlfriend at Uni there would be able to look after me and my tired body, and was a novel way to be able to get to see her. I wasn't going to run back, I would have taken the train!

However, as you have probably now worked out, my flat footed-ness has made me re-think that plan. I currently only do short very fast sprints, as opposed to my older routine of 15 minutes of steady running. My flat feet are giving me pretty bad shin splints which hurt quite bad when I'm running. So running the 180 miles to the west coast of Wales is a non starter.

Despite this set back, I still wish to do something. And something on the same scale. I was told that doing it on a bike was a far easier option, and I'm now considering that. I'm going start doing some fixed bike training at the gym to try and get used to longer rides, build up my stamina. Once I've done a bit of training, I'll assess what my strengths are and see if the bike ride option is a more realistic endeavor.

I would like to hear from anyone that has done any longish bike rides before, just to gauge their experience and get some much needed tips!