Tag: Running

Day 8 – perky but old

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Another quiet and uneventful morning run (4 miles) today – the most remarkable thing about was that I woke up feeling enthusiastic about going out. Possibly it was because I had a crap day at work lined up and running was the lesser of two evils, but I have a sneaky suspicion that I was just looking forward to it. Odd I know. And this was despite the fact that when I checked the weather last night, my running time fell somewhere between ‘light rain’ and ‘heavy rain’.

In the event, it was light rain. The sort that’s quite nice when you’re on your way home when it starts, but when you set off in it you can’t tell if it’s going to start belting down and if you chance it in a t-shirt you end up cold, drenched and miserable. Not wanting to chance it, I wore my jacket (whose waterproof-ness I tested the other week while shovelling gravel, doing the garden and going to the tip. I do recognise the fact that, having owned the jacket for over a year, I probably should have already tested it a few times in more conventional running situations. Like running. In the rain) and ended up warm, clammy and with Miami Vice stylee rolled up sleeves.

Even more disturbing than the enthusiasm and the Miami Vice sleeves is the thought that popped into my mind when I saw the rain – “well it’ll do the garden some good, that’s the main thing”. I am truly one step closer to middle age.

Day 7/30 – one week done

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Another early morning one today. Made a kind of attempt at doing something structured up a hill with not entirely successful results, oddly I went a bit faster after I’d tried it (I think I was trying to make up for my embarrassment). I think I need more grading with both the hill and the reps. 3 miles altogether.

Day seven means we’re a quarter of the way there folks!

Count: 7 Activities
Distance: 22.02 mi
Time: 04:04:53 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 1,586 ft
Avg Speed: 5.4 mph
Calories: 2,742 C

This also makes a very satisfying blue stripe across the garmin connect calendar!

Day 6/30 – Tormented by canal desires

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First of all, an apology. I was absolutely knackered yesterday and actually fell asleep, laptop on knee, whilst writing up my Juneathon efforts. There was a much better entry planned in my head as I ran, one that was full of witty bon mots and insightful comment. What you ended up with was something barely literate and lightly dribbled on. After that, I crashed out for an hour before heading out for a lovely afternoon/evening with big sis and my adorable niece.

There was no way on this earth that I was going to get up for an early run. No alarm was set and yet I still woke up at bang on 5.45. Thanks Juneathon. Needless to say, I looked at the time, muttered darkly and fell back asleep. A bit unfortunate because a morning run should have been a given today as it’s my mate’s birthday and we were off sailing the dark and choppy waters of the Leeds-Liverpool canal.

I reckon that everyone should have a go on a canal barge at some point in their lives, it’s ace! It’s brilliant seeing things from a different perspective and at a different pace, even if it’s somewhere that you know quite well. The route that we chose took us down to where I tend to do my canal runs and the outward journey was pretty much a repeat of one of my most regretted and hellish runs ever. It was far nicer on a boat.

Where I start my canal runs, viewed from a barge

It’s definitely left me with a taste for a towpath run along a different section of canal. The downside of this is that I’ll have to park up at the ice cream parlour that we went to yesterday (and might well have accidentally called in at again today…) and resist the lure of a single scoop with sprinkles.

Oh yes, today’s exercise. I’m not sure what was the most amazing part of today – the fact that I stayed sober or the fact that I went for a run at the end of all this. Only 2.5 mile s (which was all that I wanted to do after my narcoleptic antics yesterday) and at a deliberately slow pace. I’ve come to the conclusion that if I want to start getting my distance up a bit, I need to keep an eye on my pace and this seemed an ideal opportunity to get used to using the nagging garmin to watch what I was doing. When I uploaded my stats, it was interesting (to me anyway) to see that my deliberately slower pace was the same as my average for yesterday when I was set off nicely then ground to a halt. I think that this should teach me something.

Day 4/30 – unusually active

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What I love about the heady combination of sunshine and Juneathon is that it makes me really active. Not just with the running (or last year’s crown green bowling/golfing/aerobics exploits), but with basic domestic tasks. Admittedly last night I ignored the ever-growing ironing pile in favour of reading other people’s blogs, but I did make my sandwiches for today. By the time I went to work this morning I’d pegged out last night’s washing, done another load and pegged it out, cleaned the bathroom, eaten breakfast outside in the sunshine and run 3 miles. For me, this is something of an achievement (normally getting dressed and going to work is achievement enough). It was also a bit of a relief to find that my legs weren’t as bad as they were yesterday, so I’m going to blame the life-prolonging yoga for me being mardy.

Day 3/30 – Idiot

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Just after posting my morning vs evening dilemma yesterday, it dawned on me that I could have the best of both worlds – a lie in AND a morning run – because I had to take my car to be looked at, which meant leaving the house 45 minutes later. So that’s what I did.

I set off at about half sevenish and was immediately freaked out by the number of people and cars that were out and about. I have truly been spoiled by 6am runs. It freaked me out so much that I abandoned my planned route and went down to the lodge to enjoy some peace and quiet. Getting down there was fine, down one brow, across the troll bridge and round the lodge. This is where it went a bit pear-shaped… I got back to where I started, across the troll bridge and started up the brow. Now, this brow is a steeper brow than yesterday’s, in fact as I was running down it I remember thinking “crikey, this is making me go a bit fast, I wouldn’t like to run up this”. A few minutes later and I decide to start running up it. A few seconds later and I decide to start walking up it.

As if this wasn’t enough, my idiot brain keeps thinking… Now it’s, “Let’s not run up the brow, let’s follow this path that I’ve never gone along before. That’s a grand idea.” Turns out the path was a very long steady slope. At this point, there was more walking, a little grumpiness and a woman with 3 dogs. So I follow another path and reach a track at the back of some houses. I stop. I have no idea where I have come out or which way to go. I fiddle with my garmin for a bit and try to see which way a chap with a van goes – he goes right and out of a big gate. I panic and run back down the very long steady slope, back to the car park and up yesterday’s brow. As I reach the top, I look to my left and see the bloody gate that the bloody man with the bloody van went out.

I am an idiot.

Idiot

My legs were proper tired this morning. I’m hoping that they’re not being disturbed by the daily running, but rather that they were a bit wobbly from the fierce yoga I’d done ten hours previously. We have been doing the Five Tibetan Rites, which are supposed to help you live longer, though I suspect that any Tibetan would struggle to recognise my uncoordinated flailing as being anything mystical or life prolonging.

Another early morning run tomorrow and I’ve just dropped husband off at the pub with the words “don’t forget I’ve got Juneathon in the morning…”