Janathon day twenty-six: piers

26/01/201326/01/20138 Comments

My Janathon has relocated to the coast. Leaving behind the M6 snow chaos, we’re in Blackpool for our annual rugby dinner.

Tonight will be posh frock, shiny shoes and waiting for that moment where I utter the inevitable words “oh alright, just a little one…” and everything goes a bit wobbly. I’ll not bore you with the details of the night, if you want to know more, look back at the last weekends of the previous two janathons. The format of the night has been the same for over a decade and if it changes drastically tonight then I’ll bare my bum in the tower ballroom.

Despite indulging in both 90 minute happy hours and spending all my money on raffle tickets trying to win a giant stuffed Pingu, I was startlingly perky at 8 this morning. Ginge, bless him, didn’t smother me with a pillow when I announced we were off out and we braved the strange stares of other weekenders to hit the slushy, slippy pavements.

First up was North Pier.

Past the Tower and the big seedy leafy sculptures that wobble in the breeze.

And then down beneath Central Pier

And onward to South Pier…

…and the Big One.

Before having a listen to the Blackpool High Tide Organ.

And then slip sliding all the way back, too late for breakfast but with the smugness of an early 6 miles.

Janathon day twenty-five: lovely

25/01/20137 Comments

Loosely speaking there is a system to my running plans. In winter, morning runs are usually three miles (because I can’t get up any earlier to squeeze in more), evenings vary by inclination, company and weather, weekends I try to get a longer, daylight run in. This has not changed during Janathon. My plan on January the first was to gradually increase my longer run (it had been ages since I’d done more than even five miles) up to six, seven, eight and finally nine miles by the end of the month. The weather has scuppered me slightly, but this weekend eight miles was on the cards.

Last night I got the maps out to do some plotting – I’m off work today so I could try a new route and we’re away tomorrow so I wanted to fathom out a route in unfamiliar territory. What I came up with was a mash-up of two routes that I absolutely hate. A six-miler that avoids most of the scenic and rural areas of the locality, and a ten-miler that always sees me grizzling and that I have only vaguely enjoyed once.

It’s somewhat chilly today (demonstrated by the fact that my gloves stayed on for the entire distance instead of being shoved in my back pocket after a mile) and the wind was bitter. As I set off, an occasional flake of snow would flutter and dance in front of me warning of weather yet to come.

All my photos are incredibly bleak mid-wintery.

To be honest, most of the run was bleak mid-wintery.

And then I saw a flash of red in the hedgerow.

And had one of those moments where I felt glad to be outside and seeing things that I wouldn’t see from the warmth of my car.

And then the forecasted light snow started around mile six and I was glad to get home for a brew.

Janathon day twenty-four: treacle

24/01/20134 Comments

I think I got a bit cocky last night – My daily Janathon efforts have made bits of me a little perter and perkier, and the sight of the scales doesn’t displease me. High on the endorphins of a fast flowing yoga class, I was feeling fit and strong and confident.

And then I got up this morning.

This morning’s three miles were hard work, my legs were weary and every step was like running through treacle.

My legs have now stopped talking to me altogether, although I hear rumours that they’re making placards and are going to mount some kind of protest. Through our mediation service, I would like to inform them that they have a whole 24 hours off and then I’m taking them away to treat them to a bit of a swim and a sauna over the weekend.

When all else fails, just think of the reward of Janathon pizza

Janathon day twenty-three: socks

23/01/20139 Comments

Last night I declared that I always sleep badly the night before an early run. It turns out that poor sleep is an essential part of me getting up at 5.30 – I went to bed in plenty of time and slept well, so well in fact that I slept straight through my first alarm… The next alarm went off at 6, which is when Miles and I should be already out hitting the pavements. Ooops.

This meant I had to squeeze in a quick three miles after work so I would have time to stuff my face before yoga. Some people might have you believe that yoga isn’t proper exercise, but my legs would tell you differently. Throughout the class I took heed of my teacher’s words and took a curious interest in what my body was telling me. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear most of my limbs for my legs yelling “will you just sod off and leave me alone” before they stomped off, slamming their bedroom door behind them.

The class itself though paled into insignificance against my greatest achievement this year… I WAS WEARING MY HAND KNITTED SOCKS.

I have finished the eternal socks that have lived with me, travelled the world with me and sat in the pub with me for two years. And I think that they’re rather splendid.

The toe seams leave a little bit to be desired, but other than that they make me very happy.

Janathon day twenty-two: races

22/01/201311 Comments

A couple of years ago I declared “I don’t do races”. Then I did the Liverpool Women’s 10k in 2010, enjoyed it and didn’t race again for over a year. The next year I ran the Blackpool 10k in preparation for doing the Folkestone Half. Last year something went terribly wrong and I did five (the Age UK Wrap Up and Run 10k, theBolton 10k, a Badger 10k, the inaugural Port Sunlight 10k and the Royal Parks Half).

Medal Monkey – guardian of the race bling

I have no idea what has happened to me this year, but we’ve not even finished Janathon and I appear to have acquired a race calendar. I don’t know if it’s the weather (looking forward longingly to spring) or just the fact that I’ve really enjoyed Janathon this year or what*, but (so far) I am signed up for three, am pondering one and have one pencilled in.

There has been very little planning about entering these, I am ruled entirely by my heart in these matters. I can see a race that is perfect in terms of distance, route and where it fits into whatever semblance of a training programme I have, but if it doesn’t make my heart flutter and put a smile on my face, I aint doing it. There’s no set formula for what draws me into a race, it just is what it is. So my immediate future looks like…

February: Mad Dog 10k – it’s rated as one of the top 10k races in the country by Runner’s World, you get the friendliest emails in the world from the organisers, I’ve read somewhere that someone won a toaster as a spot prize and it’s Southport, therefore it is flat. I like flat.

March: Cartmel 10k – apparently a hilly but beginner-friendly trail run in beautiful scenery and according to my mate Andy who knows about such things, “It’s tough, very soggy, but terrific fun”. Oh, and it would be the perfect race for Henniemavis – its full name is the Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding 10k.

April: Blackpool Half – I seem to like a coastal race, it’s flat, it’ll be the first half that I run in the same half of the country where I live and Fortnight Flo is running it so there’s a chance to meet more lovely twitterers. Splendid.

April: Bolton 10k – Another hilly one, this time in Leverhulme Park, Bolton. I ran it in a downpour last year and it still put a smile on my face.

May: Liverpool Spring 10k – This is a new race being organised by the people behind last year’s Port Sunlight 10k, which I loved. This one is in Sefton Park and Matt the organiser has plans for bands, bunting and cake. That’s my kind of race.

Phew.

Tonight’s Janathon was a 3 mile out and back picking my way along crunchy pavements without falling over.

*Yes. I know. I like a medal – just call me Muttley…

Travelling Hopefully

cos where's the fun in arriving?

Month: January 2013