Category: Running

Janathon day three: asleep

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Last night I asked twitter if I should run in the dark in the morning, or run in the dark in the evening. Turns out that I needn’t have bothered asking anyone because at half five this morning, I was physically incapable of opening my eyes let alone getting out of bed, getting dressed and getting out for a run.

After work, I had a cracking headache and it was one of those “if it wasn’t for Janathon, I would be at home on the couch with a brew” moments. I split the difference between a token one mile and a respectable three miles, notching up an acceptable two at a pace that I was quite happy with (I am chosing to ignore that the first half was downhill). It wasn’t an exciting run by anyone’s standards.

When I was home, I asked twitter if it was acceptable to blog about knitting during Janathon (I have days where I am incapable of making decisions without the aid of twitter – you people have no idea how much power you wield over me, do not abuse it). The answer was a resounding YES. Part of the reason that I asked is that I’ve been mulling over the idea of having two separate blogs for running and knitting, but fear that I would end up with two blogs that I neglect equally. And while there is such a vast overlap in the venn diagram of knitters and runners, I think I can get away with the odd woolly post.

The question that I struggle with the most is “what are you knitting at the moment?”. It should be simple. I should answer “sock” (well it’s been true for the last two years). I was asked the question last week and my answer was something like “well, I’m merging two patterns, one for a little woolly Woody Allen and one for a little woolly Holly Golightly and am turning them into a little woolly roller skating hot pant wearing granny with her arm in plaster”.

Roller derby granny

Roller derby granny

I am very proud of her bun

I am very proud of her bun

I should have said sock.

The basic pattern is for a Knit New Yorker from Lauren O’Farrell’s (aka @deadlyknitshade) latest amazing book Stitch New York. It is just as wonderful as Stitch London and I was very pleased to find it under the Christmas tree!

It was a good haul under the tree

It was a good haul under the tree

Janathon day two: canal

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First off an apology – the link to the google bundle yesterday was the 2012 Janathon list – while there are quite a few repeat offenders on the list, if you signed up with that link, you might be missing out on the full Janathon experience. I’ve amended the link accordingly (thanks to the eagle-eyed Not Much of a Runner for pointing it out).

The advantage of working a late shift is that I had time for another daylight run this morning (I’m being spoilt now). The disadvantage is that I didn’t have time to blog (although I did manage to stick two loads of washing on, hurrah for the Athons…) and had to spend the day repeating the mantra “don’t forget to blog…”.

I had a parcel to collect from the post office, so porridge-filled and lycra-clad I trundled off into town and then drove down to the canal for a damp and drizzly towpath run. I’ve neglected my canal running since the “running the length of the Leeds-Liverpool canal” project ground to a halt last year (I did the better half in 2011, but the other side of the Pennines eludes me) and it’s gone on my stuff to do list for 2013.

This was an uneventful three miler along my home stretch, the drizzle was steady and I thought that the wind was gentle until I turned round and ran into it…

A strangely low water level

A strangely low water level

I saw some cows.

Especially for JogBlog

Especially for JogBlog

I finished the run by splashing fearlessly through the many puddles so that the gathering anglers would see that I was hardcore and not think that this was just on day 2 of a new resolution.

Locks

Locks

Oh, and himself did 16 miles on the bike.

Janathon day one: Fields

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After such a wild New Year’s Eve it was a wonder that I made it out at all today…

Who am I kidding? We watched Batman, I had a couple of glasses of wine and I carried on knitting the final 25% of my socks. I woke up in time for Big Ben on the radio and a small arsenal of fireworks going off outside before promptly falling asleep again.

Rivington from a distance

Rivington from a distance

Ah well. What I did manage was to use Janathon to procrastinate over actually going out to do Janathon. It was for all of your benefits (honest) as the time was wisely spent creating a Janathon Google Reader bundle so that all of the posts are in one handy location (I take no responsibility for the hours that you will inevetiably lose whilst trying to keep up with everyone else’s posts – it is like trying to stop the tide). Anyway, during the time that I spent faffing around on the internet in my pyjamas the sun came up and the sky was blue (in parts) and I realised that I better get myself out of the door before Ginge came home from work (especially after he texted to say that he’d done 15.5 miles on the exercise bike).

Fields of green

Fields of green

Trainers on, Miles fully charged, out of the door…and nearly straight back in again because blue sky or not, it was bloody freezing out there. Running into a very bitter wind, the first mile took somewhere around a week to complete but the rest wasn’t too bad and I even managed a decent pace in the last mile or so.

Waterlogged railway - engineers on Bank Holiday overtime in the very distance

Waterlogged railway – engineers on Bank Holiday overtime in the very distance

My New Years Eve review of 2012

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What’s happened this year? Well for starters, it’s passed by in a blur. I know we all say that every year, but I’ve felt it even more so this year. So much so that I seem to be able to remember events of 2011 clearer than those of 2012. Looking back on my running is making me feel a little blue because I have finished the year with fewer miles under my belt and have lost what little pace I picked up in 2011. However…

I did complete the whole of Janathon. Again it was mostly cold and dark.

Janathon sheep - predicted to occur again within the first two days of Janathon 2013

Janathon sheep – predicted to occur again within the first two days of Janathon 2013

At the end of 2011 I had knitted half a sock. By September 2012, I had knitted a whole sock and had cast on another sock. I am proud to announce that at the end of the year I now have one and half socks. One day I hope to have a complete pair.

75% of a pair of socks. Or one sock and a very short leg warmer.

I also made a last ditch attempt to learn crochet before I ran out of year. I am no further along in learning to crochet since I wrote about that. In fact I have accepted that this is probably a sign that I’m not that bothered about learning to crochet. I am a knitter. I need two sticks to be happy.

2012 also saw me running more races than ever – I did the Age UK Wrap Up and Run 10k at Southport, the Bolton 10k, the Badger 10k, the inaugural Port Sunlight 10k and the Royal Parks Half. Crikey. That’s more than double the number of races that I did in 2011, which is something to be chuffed about.

10k penguin

10k penguin

Looking back, I remember that I joined a gym and was going quite regularly until we went on holiday and I haven’t been since. I should really go again. It is warmer than the outside and I don’t have to dive behind a bush if I need a wee.

Oh, and I did my treasure hunt for Juneathon. I loved doing this and it made me very giddy.

Athon barbecue and camping - well worth the previous 30 days effort

Athon barbecue and camping – well worth the previous 30 days effort

So what will 2013 have in store? I’m not setting any grand resolutions, but I do have an ever growing list of stuff to do in 2013… The year will kick off with another Athon (of course) and after that we shall see where the wind takes me… During last year’s Janathon I entered the ballot for the Royal Parks Half and was quite unsure whether or not I wanted to be selected. Now that I’ve done it once, I’d like to do it again and would be a little bit disappointed if my name wasn’t drawn out of the hat. Inevitably this means I will not get a place.

After the Royal Parks, I rashly decided to do a spring half and had been eyeing up the Blackpool Half. However, I’m already questioning the wisdom of this and will either weasel out of the whole enterprise or choose another spring race, probably miles away from home. I suspect that there will also be a couple of 10ks – I think I’d like to run Bolton and a Badger again, and I’m getting good vibes about another in Southport (I pick races on whether they give me a warm fuzzy feeling of excitement and joy).

This year’s new craft is going to be machine embroidery – I am booked on a course and everything. I may also try to deal with some of the more excessive corners of my wool stash. Or I may just add to them. It’s one or the other.

Oh, and I think I’d like to swim a bit too. I actually swam four times this year. Not in any kind of dolphin-like way, more of a splashy-don’t-worry-I’m-not-drowning kind of way (sometimes just floating around clutching a noodle) but I quite fancy doing a bit more.

Thank you for visiting and reading my ramblings this year – it really is appreciated – and I wish you all a very happy, fulfilled New Year.

Is it that time already? Really?

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The end of December means only one thing – the looming onset of Janathon. I tried to avoid it for as long as possible, but found myself looking at train fares for the post-Janathon meet up and realised that JogBlog wouldn’t let me have pizza if I didn’t sign up for the 31 days of hellish torture fun and exciting challenge that Janathon brings.

My running has been lacking a bit recently. Every time I think I’ve re-found my mojo, the good run is followed by a forced, difficult run that leaves me wondering why I bothered in the first place. I have started to blame my rubbish running for me not going out and running. However if I was completely honest with myself, I might grudgingly admit that my running is rubbish because I am not going out and running – clearly this is not rocket science, but I am in denial.

I am hoping that the single-minded focus of Janathon will be enough to get me back on track. Either that or by day three I will fall off the wagon  and never run again.

What I do need is something to make my Janathon blogs marginally more interesting – there’s no point in doing a Rocher-o-Meter this year as I am sad to report that I must have offended the Ambassador as NOT A SINGLE FERRERO ROCHER HAS PASSED MY LIPS this Christmas. Sigh. The scope for a wintery treasure hunt is somewhat limited as most of my runs will be done in the dark – at the moment I predict that my blogging will look something like:
Day One – Ran in the daylight – saw a duck [picture of duck]
Day Two – Ran in the daylight – saw some sheep [picture of sheep]
Day Three – Ran in the dark – saw the milkman
Day Four – Ran in the dark – saw the milkman
Day Five – Ran in the daylight – saw a swan [picture of swan]

I have a day and a bit to come up with something. Anything. Anything at all…

Last year's ducks

Last year’s ducks