Month: January 2013

Janathon day eleven: damp

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Conversations that you really shouldn’t be having before six in the morning (from under the duvet):

“…what’s it doing out there? Is it wet? It sounds wet…”

Having been told that it was “just residual”, I got up, got dressed and left Miles in the garden to get a signal. And then I heard it. Rain. Steady and drumming on the porch roof. Realising I couldn’t leave Miles exposed in the elements and that I would have to at least go out to rescue him, I threw on my hi-vis and set off before I could change my mind.

SAM_2075

After that, things were boringly uneventful. I saw not a single soul, the rain slowed to a gentle drizzle, my legs complained a bit and that was that.

In other news – Janathon t-shirts (and other exciting merchandise – dog t-shirt anyone?) are now available from CafePress and can be seen on the Janathon facebook page modelled by the Queen of the Athons herself.

Oh, and if you haven’t got enough blog reading going on in January, have a nosy at Not a Running Girl where H, inspired by all the Janathon posts, is blogging her adventures in boot camp for the next six weeks. Do not be confused by all her talk of this thing called ‘summer’; she is not delirious from the rain, just in the Southern Hemisphere.

Janathon day ten: stretched

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Regular readers may remember that Wednesday night is yoga night. I’ve never used yoga as an Athon activity because it feels like cheating seeing as I normally do it anyway (having said that, it’s nice to have in the bag for an emergency) but recently I’ve had to have a few months off because work was getting in the way of life again.

I would love to pass myself off as a swishy-haired, glossy looking, serene yoga bunny, but too many people have met me for me to be able to get away with that. Wednesday nights currently see me in emergency yoga kit (an old pair of running tights and a Carter USM t-shirt) after I discovered (five minutes before going back to my first class, of course) that my usual leggings had thinned somewhat and my downward facing dog was showing off a clear outline of Marks and Sparks’ finest…

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There were two weeks back on the mat before Christmas and last night was the first session after a two-week festive break.  I was hoping for a chance to give my poor Janathon-worn legs a lovely relaxing stretch. Fat chance. Our teacher went back to basics with form and posture and what I actually got was a really good strong leg session; I have spent today increasingly feeling like someone has set about my thighs with a lump hammer.

When I was putting on my warm layers for our nap at the end relaxation, I realised that running every day during Janathon is taking its toll. Nothing to do with sore limbs, merely the fact that I checked my socks for L and R as I put them on…

Anyway, that was yesterday. Today’s run had the promise of company, only for vanity to snatch that promise away (Ginge forgot that he was off to have his hair cut). My routes around the village are wearing a bit thin so we came up with an idea to vary things a little. A bit like the shop and drop of the other night, this time Ginge drove off into town while I ran after him (I couldn’t keep up) – in competition with JogBlog’s punning today, he has christened this a ‘Cass and carry’.

Janathon day nine: early

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During the first week of Janathon I was full of grand plans to do a couple of early pre-dawn runs. I even went so far as to call Morning of Magicians for being a lightweight as he was ‘only‘ going out  at 7.00 (in comparison to my hardcore 6.00). Inevitably, he got up and actually went out for his run, whereas I shunted my Janathon efforts to the end of the day…

I did have an excuse though. The weekend before new year, I’d come down with a bit of a cold and spent a couple of days with a sore throat and aching limbs, which had pretty much gone by Monday morning. Unfortunately, it left the gift of an annoying tickly cough that, while being absolutely fine during the day and not affecting my Janathon efforts, came on as soon as I lay down. Now, I need my sleep – I love sleep, I can sleep anywhere – I am that woman on the train who gets on, sits down, closes her eyes and then nods and dribbles until her destination (strictly speaking, usually the station before my destination when I wake up in a panic thinking that I’ve missed my stop). When coughing fits forced me to see 1.00, 2.00 and 3.00 on the clock, I was strangely reluctant to consider getting up at 5.30 for a run.

My saviour.

My saviour.

I couldn’t admit all this at the time because my mum would have read it and shouted at me, however I’ve seen her since and she’s had chance to shout at me in person (or at least look concerned that I looked a bit pale and panda-like, which was worse than being shouted at). Anyway, I invested in some sort of cough remedy and on Monday night I had a proper night’s sleep. Despite my mind working overtime when the light went out last night (note to self, must sort car insurance) when the alarm sounded this morning (see linswoo’s Janathon day 4 for the ultimate in Janathon alarms), I lurched out of bed and was outside by 6.00.

As I set off, I thought “cold, dark and misty, that’s today’s run”, but by the turnaround point I had upgraded to “cold, dark and foggy”. It was that type of cold that nips at your calves (my fault for wearing 3/4 length tights) and that type of mist that leaves your eyeballs feeling damp (my fault for having them open). My poor legs mustn’t know if they’re coming or going because they managed a much better pace than last night despite there only being 12 hours between outings. Other than that, I barely saw a soul (just a couple of people waiting for their lifts to work), it was all pretty quiet and I have since been rewarded with porridge and a pot of tea.

Janathon day eight: efficient

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I am a natural born procrastinator. I am easily distrac….ooh, look pigeons…. Sorry, distracted. I will always find something to do that isn’t the thing that I’m supposed to be doing and running is no exception this. I’ve accepted that there has to be a minimum of 20-30 minutes between getting up and going for an early run (but that’s more, ahem, intestinal than anything) but later runs can take hours to actually happen. Janathon is an enabler in all there as there is always someone to tweet or a blog to read and I can pass off “faffing around on my phone” as camaraderie and offering peer support.

Tonight I was determined not to get caught by the faff monster. Home 10 minutes early, I followed JogBlog’s 3G Mantra(TM) and I was changed and ready to go by half five. Once again I was joined by Ginge opening up a whole world of not-safe-for-ladies-on-their-own routes, this time one that took us down deserted alleyways and lonely unlit paths. Unfortunately we only have one set of hi-vis so himself wore it and ran alongside me like a ginger guide dog. It was a 4.5ish mile loop that was rounded up to 5 with a little add on at the end. The first couple of miles felt harder (and were slower) than the last two runs I have done – my legs are definitely feeling the effects of Janathon at the moment.

When I got home I was checking twitter (obviously) and spotted that abradypus had posted “If I’d gone for a run when I first mentioned it, I’d be home showered and tucked up on the sofa again by now” which is pretty much one of my favourite running quotes that I’ve seen on twitter (I forget who I should hat tip for this photo – if it’s you, tell me for full credit!). This should be my mantra….

It's true. It really is. I still ignore it most of the time mind.

It’s true. It really is. I still ignore it most of the time mind.

 

Janathon day seven: shop

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Today’s Janathon effort was a ‘shop and drop’. These usually occur several times during an Athon and come into play when I need both exercise and groceries. Basically, we go and do the big shop at Tesco, Ginge throws me out at the side of the road and I run home. Tonight I did the shopping in my kit (hi-vis vest in handbag, I’ve got to have some standards) and was chucked out with a couple of miles to go. Miles was having one of his sulks at being asked to find satellites (either because it was cloudy or because I was standing next to a tree) but eventually we both got our act together and legged it back in time for tea.

This was not the only shopping that I have done in the past 24 hours. My beloved Asics Kayano 18s were half price at Sweatshop this weekend and the Telegraph were doing a £10 voucher as well, so it seemed rude not to invest in a pair for when my current shoes give up. Unfortunately, I was given an education in the difference between ‘a sale’ and ‘an offer’. It turns out that I couldn’t use the voucher for my trainers because they were on offer, rather than being in the sale. Still it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

Lovely clean shoes

Lovely clean shoes

The Telegraph also had a voucher for Women’s Health magazine, which went into the trolley tonight and will probably cause me to curse and mutter dark oaths under my breath from cover to cover.

So that’s week one of Janathon completed and 21 miles done!