Juneathon Days 28, 29 & 30! Blogging Failure!

Today is the last day of Juneathon and I have finished it in the same style as I started - badly!  I have jogged and logged each day just been too lazy to blog! So I will endeavor to catch up now!


Juneathon Day 28

Kendal Town Centre!

Today was NOT a good day for Kendal!  Instead of jogging I should have been building an Ark as it rained, and rained, and rained some more and then just to ensure total chaos there was a storm - thunder, lightening, high winds, and even more rain - someone had taken the shower nozzle off and it was just pouring out the sky in sheets!  I was at work and the kids were getting very excited watching this crazy weather through the window! THEN it was like a Benny Hill sketch with other teachers running through our classroom collecting buckets and mops on the way! I went to investigate what was going on - wow what a sight!  Our classroom is on the first floor of the school and when I peered over the banister there was a "river" running right through the centre of the school with staff trying to sandbag one door whilst other staff were trying to make a "dam" outside the other door to divert the water flow from coming into the building!  Although it was a very serious situation it was a hilarious sight! Its not everyday you see your head teacher knee deep in water in school!  Tee hee hee!  Thankfully by the time it was home time the rain had turned to just a light drizzle but we had the added problem of negotiating a way home avoiding all the flooded closed roads! Luckily the fire service were out by now pumping as much of the water away as possible so some of the roads were passable and I managed to get home! (closing my eyes and praying my car wouldn't stall whilst going through flooded areas!).

A little bit of rain wasn't going to stop me running so as soon as I was home I got changed into my running gear and headed out the door before there was another deluge, praying it didn't start whilst I was out!  I didn't stray too far from home just in case but was lucky that it didn't do anything more than drizzle on me!  I managed 3.49 miles which can be seen here!


In the evening we went to see Kevin Bridges warm up tour in Kendal - his opening line was "I knew I was coming to the Lake District I just hadn't realised I would have to drive through a couple of lakes to get here!"  He was very, very good and worth seeing if you get the opportunity! 


Juneathon Day 29

Another day but more of the same - RAIN! I decided not to brave the elements today and went to the gym instead! There's only so many times a girl can get wet - happily! :-)  At the gym I went on the treadmill first as I had downloaded an Audiofuel Interval training MP3 and was keen to give it a go!  I was pleasantly surprised how good it was and I found it very motivational and it kept me going at a fast pace even when I really wanted to walk! My only complaint would be it should last longer - 30 minutes would be better! I followed this with some arm weight machines, then the rowing machine, finishing off with swimming and a steam!  


So today's Juneathon miles were: 


Treadmill: 2.24 miles
Rowing: 1.24 miles
Swimming: 0.23 miles


Juneathon Day 30

I DID IT!!  I completed Juneathon in style even if I do say so myself! I finished Janathon on a high by running my last run at my fastest pace ever (at the time, I have beaten it since) and so I wanted to finish Juneathon on a high by running my longest run EVER and I did it ...14.06 miles! The weather was windy but it stayed mainly dry (just one downpour at mile 8 which was quite refreshing!). I was chuffed to bits to get over the half marathon distance and feel slightly more confident about tackling some of the longer runs in the Marathon training now! Once I got home I showered, ate, relaxed and rested before taking the dog out for a walk!


Today's contribution is:


Running: 14.09 miles which can be viewed here!
Walking: 3.36 miles which can be viewed here!

As well as completing Juneathon I managed to beat the 200 miles goal I set!! WHOO! HOO!! 


Juneathon was a day less than Janathon but I still managed to beat my overall mileage total! (but not my running mileage!)


So how many miles did I do?

• Running 123.0 miles 
• Swimming 1.9 miles
• Biking  82.6 miles
• Walking  33.2 miles
• Rowing 5.6 miles
• Pilates 3 hours
• Steps 1 hour
• Weights 30 minutes

• Total  246.3 miles
• 42.5 hours exercise! (Average 1 hour 42 mins per day!)

Longest Run - 14.09 miles
Shortest Run - 0.93 miles
Fastest Average Pace - 8.39 min/mile

So tomorrow is a day of rest and then marathon training resumes on Monday! Keep in touch and see how I get on!




  

Juneathon Day 27 - Renewed feet!

Last week whilst I was putting myself into strange positions during Pilates and accidently caught sight of my feet - not a good sight I can tell you! With only 3 weeks to go before my feet will be seen by the outside world (going to Turkey on my holidays!) I decided I best make an attempt at improving them so they are not quite so ugly for my sandals and flip-flops!  It was far too big a job to expect the nice ladies in the beauty salons to tackle with a "normal" pedicure so I booked myself in to see a nice man with a scalpel!  My Chiropodists appointment was today immediately after work (Phewy smelly feet!) and feeling rather embarrassed I bared my feet!  After inspection he actually said that as far as manky feet go they weren't too bad and he had seen far worse (I bet he says that to all the girls!).  There is something strangely satisfying watching someone with a scalpel attacking your feet and not feeling a thing! He made a mini Mount Everest model with the skin he managed to scrape away and he even discovered a corn hiding in all the hard stuff which he promptly cut out leaving a nice hole in my foot too! After cutting my nails and moisturizing my feet I was set free to abuse my feet again ... and it didn't take me long!  I was supposed to be running with my running buddy Gina but she had text earlier to say she wasn't going as she had man girl flu!  When I got home it had just stopped raining so taking this window of opportunity I got my running gear on and pulled my trainers on my "new" feet!  I did half wonder whether they would rebel and cause me problems whilst running but in fact they didn't feel any different!I wanted to run slightly faster than my usual plod and was chuffed when I got home (I had avoided the rain too) and my average pace was 8.46 minute/mile which is slightly faster than my norm AND it comes after 27 days continuous exercise so that must count for something! Tonight's 6.57 mile run can be viewed here!


I have decided now that my feet aren't quite as embarrassing that I will subject the ladies in the salon to them just before my holiday for a pedicure and get my toe nails done for the beach!  My feet deserve a treat!


My Juneathon's figures are looking good too - my running has hit the century mark for the month! WHOO HOO!

• Running -103.2 miles 
• Swimming- 1.7 miles
• Biking - 82.6 miles 
• Walking-  29.9 miles
• Rowing-  4.3 miles
• Total - 221.8 miles

Juneathon Day 26 - goal accomplished!

Only 4 more days remaining of this silly challenge and tonight's activities took me over the 200 miles mark I originally set as my goal!  WHOAAAA WHOOOO!

I completed day 2 of my First Aid course today so I am now a bonafide first aider!

It was raining (again!) so I opted for a gym session instead of getting wet! I had downloaded a treadmill pyramid interval training session onto my i-pod which I wanted to try out! I actually enjoyed it and felt motivated by the little man shouting instructions down my ear telling me how fast to go and for how long! The only problem is its just one 20 minute session which I am sure I will soon get bored with once I am familiar so looks like I will need to peruse Google for more of the same! Anyhow this programme took me through a range of speeds up to 14KPH (8.69 MPH) and down to 9KPH (5.59MPH) for a variable length of time on a 2% incline! After the treadmill I did some of the arm weight machines, followed by the rowing machine and a cool down on the bike before hitting the pool and steam room to relax!

All in all a good session which I enjoyed!


Juneathon Total so far:

• Running - 96.7 mi 
• Swimming - 1.7 mi 
• Biking - 82.6 mi 
• Walking - 29.9 mi 
• Rowing -  4.3 mi 
• Total -215.2 miles

Juneathon Day 25 - Near death by shoe lace!

I have spent today on the first day of a two day first aid course (day 2 tomorrow!), I have to attend these courses every 3 years for my job and dread doing them as they are usually so serious and intense.  I was pleasantly surprised today when it was delivered in a much more light-hearted way than usual and I would even go as far as to say I actually enjoyed it! I hope tomorrow is the same ...!

After feeling physically exhausted when I woke up this morning I decided to listen to my body and not go running this evening and went for a recovery cycle instead (as prescribed on my marathon training plan!).  The sun was shining so a perfect evening for it too! 


After last weeks disastrous ride I decided to play safe today and stick to the roads I am familiar with. With a route planned in my head I set off feeling relaxed and looking forward to a steady ride! However, just as I was enjoying the feel of the sun's warmth on my skin I was rudely awakened by a sudden jerking sensation on my foot! A quick glance down made me realise my right shoe lace was trapped in my chain, which in turn made me panic (forgetting my feet were actually clipped into my pedals) I yanked the brakes on to do an emergency stop and ended up in a heap when I couldn't put my feet down!  After a  furtive look around I was delighted to note that there was no witnesses to this unprofessional maneuver!  I untangled my lace (which was now frayed in the middle from this mishap) and retied it, making sure that both the ends and the bow was safely tucked away underneath the Velcro fastening! Note to self - take the time to ensure laces are tied correctly! I nervously set off again still with my route firmly planted in my mind - to discover that the road I was planning on turning off on was closed!!  I had to quickly rethink and assess the situation to make a sound judgement (I really didn't want to risk getting lost again!) and came up with a good alternative!  

Unfortunately, a couple of miles on this alternate route the road had started to be resurfaced and they had put all the loose chippings down but hadn't finished it - making it very slippy and treacherous to the unprofessional cyclist (Aka me!).  Luckily I was only on this road for a short distance before I turned off onto a safe road again! Things were going well until I was going up a steep hill and a late change of gear resulted in my chain coming off! I cursed under my breath and moved onto the pavement leaning my bike against a garden wall (doing no harm!) to put my chain back on!  I was aware that a man in the garden was watching me and I was quite chuffed with my little self that I managed to get the chain back on fairly easily without looking like a right girl needing male assistance! As the hill was fairly steep I decided the best thing would be to cycle back down the hill and restart the climb with a good fast "run-up".  I was amazed to see the said man now out of his garden with a water spray disinfecting(?) his wall where I had been!!!  I hadn't dripped any oil (or had a pee!) so I don't know what or why he was doing it - there's some strange folk around!


The rest of the ride was uneventful and enjoyable and I did 17.06 miles which can be viewed here!


Juneathon Day 25 completed. 5 to go!

Juneathon's accumulated total:

• Run  94.7 mi - 14.7 hrs
• Swim  1.3 mi - 1.9 hrs
• Bike 79.5 mi - 6.5 hrs
• Walk  29.9 mi - 9.5 hrs
• Row  3.1 mi - 2.8 hrs
• Total  208.5 miles - 35.4 hrs

Day 24 Juneathon! Marathon watching!

This time next week it will be July and Juneathon will be over for another year! Only 6 more days to survive and then I can REST!  Up until now I have felt fine with this running everyday lark but by Jove I am absolutely exhausted today! 


This morning I got up and checked the weather forecast (sad I know!) and according to the met office we were going to experience sunshine and clouds all day but NO RAIN!  I decided to get my run out the way early on then I didn't have to think about fitting it in later in the day! I set off just in my cropped leggings and vest top and was pleasantly surprised after the awful weather of late how warm it was! Until  that is... 2 miles into my run the heavens decided to open and I got drenched!  NOT what the met office forecast! However, it was just a short sharp shower and once I was soaked to the skin it stopped just as abruptly as it started!  I was also having a problem with my music - I have 6 running albums on my I-pod which I listen to on a shuffle system, however, today for some reason these albums had disappeared off my I-pod (teenagers to blame perhaps?!) so I set the shuffle to randomly select from my entire music library.  This worked well for the first 3 or 4 miles when it selected upbeat songs some of which I hadn't listened to for a while so was a pleasant change, but then I think my I-pod got depressed and every song selected was a slow romantic love song - not ideal running music. I kept putting off changing it convincing myself that the next song would be more appropriate - unfortunately I spent more than half the run listening to music that is made to cry to not run to!  Although I was running on roads and footpaths it was more like fighting my way through the jungle - dodging, ducking and jumping to avoid overgrown hedgerows, nettles,low hanging branches and fallen trees!  I made it home in one piece after running 8.58 miles. This run can be viewed here. I have called it the Bypass circuit not because I needed a bypass afterwards but because it goes alongside the bypass, although feeling as I do now a Bypass is maybe not a bad idea!


After a shower and something to eat we set off to Lancaster to watch the finishers in the Lancaster Marathon!  In only 104 days (15 weeks) I will be running my very first Marathon in Chester and thought I would have a glimpse into the world I will soon be a part of!  Funnily enough, this is the first time I have attended a race as a spectator and I found it strangely emotional clapping, cheering and watching all the runners finishing this astonishing distance.  I was amazed to see what an eclectic mix of people enter these runs, all shapes, sizes, ages and running styles!  A fabulous opportunity to people watch!  We arrived just as the 3 hour 20 minute runners were finishing and many of them looked like they had just been for a stroll around the block!  I was amazed also by the number of runners who could still find something deep within them to finish with a sprint!  I'm not sure whether watching has helped or hindered my very nervous disposition and I do keep wondering how I managed to get myself into this lark!  Hey-ho if I train well I am sure to finish, and I'm going to try not to get too obsessed with "a time". This week following my training plan religiously I have run 26 miles - now the aim is to reduce running 26 miles in 7 days down to a more respectable 5 hours! 


After I had clapped until my hands were sore we went for a short stroll along the river Lune at Lancaster in the beautiful afternoon sun and not a dark cloud in sight! 2.89 sunny walking miles which can be viewed here!


A busy weekend and back to work tomorrow!  Definitely an early night tonight!

Juneathon's total so far:

• Running  - 94.7 miles 
• Swimming -  1.3 miles 
• Biking -  62.5 miles 
• Walking -  29.9 miles 
• Rowing- 3.1 miles
• Total - 191.5 miles

Day 23 Juneathon - Summer? Fair!

Today was my school's summer fair and unfortunately due to the horrendous weather we all had to decamp from the school playing field to inside the building - or we might have been a) blown away or b) drowned! I was on the "hook-a -duck" (must be careful to get that right!) stall, but managed to get someone to cover my post whilst I cheered the fun runners on! Luckily by the time the run was due to start the rain had ceased momentarily!  We had managed to get one of the Olympic Torch bearers to come along (with torch) to the fun run and lead the run!  It created a fabulous atmosphere and the kids can now say they have run behind the Olympic torch and I can say I held it!

I had prearranged a run with my new running buddy Gina for 4pm.  When I got home from the fair I text to see if we were still going due to the awful weather!  Her words of wisdom were " you have to go out on days like today to appreciate the sunny ones!" so off we went in horrendous rain and high winds!  In a strange way I actually enjoyed competing with the elements, and was so pleased I went.  If I had been left to my own devices I would have wussed out and stayed dry at the gym! I have decided I need to do lots more hill reps! I managed to keep up with her pace until hills - and away she shot - powering up as if they were nothing! I WILL get better and faster running with her!  


I got home very wet and bedraggled but feeling kind to my family I decided it was pointless anyone else getting wet to take the dog out for a short round the block walk so I did!  It was a welcome cool down but the problem was very quickly I became bloody freezing! 


Today's contributions to Juneathon amounts to :


5.53 very wet running miles
0.53 walking miles 




Juneathons mileage:

• Running - 86.1 miles 
• Swim - 1.3 miles
• Bike - 62.5 miles 
• Walking -27.0 miles 
• Rowing - 3.1 miles
• Total -180.0 miles

Juneathon Day 22 - A Washout!

Olympic torch at Kendal Castle

Today was the day the Olympic torch came to Kendal and in true Lake District style it absolutely chucked it down! The  school I work at was opening late to allow the kids to see the torch so I was able to go too! All the town roads were closed for 2 hours so I had to walk in driving rain and strong winds! The torch passed in a flash but at least I can say I was there! I got to school resembling a drowned rat - at least I'd had the foresight to take a set of dry clothes and shoes so I wasn't soggy all day!  The kids all arrived drenched and windswept and having wet play times all day were like wild caged animals! We made our own Olympic torches which in my opinion were exact replicas! 

Our torches

After an extremely long day it was time to brave the journey home - yet again in the rain and wind! Another drenching and another change of clothes!


After being soaked through twice in one day I decided against going for a run and went to the gym instead and then for a swim and sauna!


So today's mileage is:


Walking: 3.32 very wet miles
Running: 2.28 treadmill miles
Cycling: 6.40 miles
Swimming: 0.39 miles


Juneathon Total:

• Run - 20 - 80.6 mi - 12.6 hrs
• Swim - 4 - 1.3 mi - 1.9 hrs
• Bike - 7 - 62.5 mi - 5.1 hrs
• Walk - 13 - 26.4 mi - 8.3 hrs
• Cross - 8 - 3.1 mi - 2.8 hrs
• Total - 52 - 174.0 mi - 30.7 hrs

Juneathon Day 21 - Hill Reps!

The weather today has been diabolical with constant torrential rain and I put off running hoping it would improve.  For once it worked in my favour!  I went to Pilates at 6pm for a good stretch and when I came out at 7pm the rain had actually stopped!  


I couldn't resist sneaking in a quick session, and as I was in the car I drove  to the bottom of the hill which I have designated as my "hill rep hill".  My mantra "hills are my friends" floated through me as I put all my effort into getting to the top of the hill as fast as possible.  I rested at the top for a minute before running back down and repeating another 3 times! 

 Whilst doing this there was an elderly gentleman very slowly making his way up the hill, looking rather bewildered at this mad woman continually going backwards and forwards!  I sensibly picked the hill going up right past the hospital so if it ever gets too much I've not far to go...!  Whilst running up the hill I have the thoughts "What are you doing and why?" but once I have completed the reps I have a perverse sense of satisfaction and feel really good!  I had the added advantage today of not even having to run home - I just staggered back to the car and drove home!  However, when I walked in to the house my husband and son who were watching football looked at me and my husband said "Oh my god - you are so pale, you alright?" , son grunted "You're white as a ghost!".  I had felt fine prior to this but then started to worry! Last night I watched a T.V programme called 24 hours in A and E which showed a girl who had done a very hard spinning class and had pushed herself too far.  Her muscles in her legs had been damaged by the excessive exercise and had produced toxins which then had given her kidney failure! She had several operations on her legs and it took her months to recover - who said exercise is good for you?! I vowed after watching it not to push myself too much but then that is all forgotten once I am in the grips of exercise! Hot shower and my colour soon returned - obviously lacking in Oxygen!!


Today's mileage is low but I feel proud for actually doing the dreaded hill reps!  


2.21 miles @ an average pace of 8.41 min/mile!
PLUS
1 hours Pilates!


Be impressed at the hills here!

Juneathon Total:

• Running 78.3 mi 
• Swimming 0.9 mi
• Biking 56.1 mi 
• Walking 23.1 mi 
• Rowing 3.1 mi 

PLUS

• Steps Class 1 hour
• Pilates Class 2 hours

• Total - 161.6 miles

Day 20 Juneathon - Sports Day!

Woke up feeling not a lot happier than I was yesterday and took the dog for a very quick gander around the block before I went to work.  It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and it was our sports day at school!   It makes a change that we get sports day done on first try - usually we end up postponing it several times due to rain! If it was down to me we would have the good old fashioned competitive races such as egg and spoon, sack race, 3 legged race etc., however it's not up to me so we have a non-competitive team sports day. We don't even have Mums and Dad's races which are always a laugh and sooooo competitive!  I know from experience of my own kid's sports days!! At the school I work at all the kids are put into mixed ability (sporty wise) teams and they do an activity for five minutes before moving on to the next activity scoring points at each one. The team with the most points after all 10 activities is the winner! Its not at all competitive as none of the teams have any idea which team has the most points until the end, so they don't even "fight it out!".  Today I was the official photographer and if I had thought about it I would have worn my Garmin to see how many miles I walked - I'm sure I would have done a few miles to add to my Juneathon total as I seemed to walk around the school field umpteen times getting photographs of each team playing each game!


Another short dog walk when I got home from work, followed by a run with Gina. I have only met Gina twice before, once at Levens 10K race and once at Morecambe 10K race and after talking at these events we realised we lived about 5 minutes apart and swapped phone numbers so we could become running buddies! Tonight was our first date! Running buddies are obviously like buses, you wait for ages for one to come along and then 2 turn up at once! I NEVER run with anyone since my last running buddy moved away, and then tonight after making arrangements to run with Gina I got another offer!!  TYPICAL! I ran to meet Gina at her house (in hindsight I should have walked!).  It was still very warm and we ran chatting about ourselves and generally getting to know each other!  We ran at a  faster pace then I would have on my own but that's a good thing - it might get me to increase my pace instead of being happy  unhappy plodding.  I managed to keep up with her until the end when going up the final hill she broke free from me! (in my defense she is 6 years younger than me and has 15 years running experience compared to my pitiful one!).  I even managed to run the last leg home from her house rather than walk! I was worried that I would be deemed too slow to be her "permanent" running buddy but she seemed keen to help me improve and we have our second date on Saturday!  Bring it on! 


You can view my run here!  Note how the time splits for 1 and 6 are so much slower than the ones in between!  These are the one's I ran on my own - slowly!


My walking activities can be seen here and here.


Todays Juneathon Contributuons amount to:


Running - 6.09 miles
Walking - 1.79 miles


Juneathon total:

• Running 76.1 miles
• Swimming -  0.9 miles 
• Biking - 56.1 miles
• Walking -  23.1 miles 
• Rowing  3.1 miles 
• Total 159.4 miles 

Day 19 Janathon - lacking in confidence.

Feeling really fed up tonight!  Feeling worthless,  useless and with no confidence in anything I do and more importantly I am bloody annoyed that other human beings (being polite here, cos I doubt they are!) can made me feel this way ... AND my usual therapy (exercise) hasn't worked.

 I walked to my steps class, did an hours steps (which I didn't particularly enjoy) and then ran home to try and shake the bad feelings away!


Unfortunately, none of this made me feel any better so plan B - stuff my face with my body weight of junk!


So now I am sat here not only pissed off with the world but with myself - feeling bloated and very unhealthy! AND to make matters worse the one night everyone is out and I have control of the remote the bloody TV won't come on  - it just keeps blinking at me "no signal".  GGRRRRRRR!


I'm going to go and hide under the duvet and hope tomorrow is a better day!


Todays contribution to Juneathons total is:


Walking: 1.29 miles
Running: 1.37 miles
+ 1 hours steps class

Juneathon total to date:

Running - 69.9 mi - 10.7 hrs

Swimming -  0.9 mi - 1.3 hrs

Biking -  56.1 mi - 4.7 hrs

Walking -  21.4 mi - 7.0 hrs

Cross training - 3.1 mi - 1.8 hrs

Total -  151.4 mi - 25.5 hrs

Juneathon Day 18 - Lost.com

I'm not safe being let out alone!

It was a  beautiful day and I decided it was going to be a cycling one! I didn't have a route in mind (mistake number 1) but set off with the aim of cycling about 15 miles.

I decided I needed to get some hills in as very soon I am doing the 3 counties cycling challenge which is fairly hilly and I need practice!

All was well and good until I decided to take a left turn at around 12 miles (mistake number 2) and then things took a down turn!  Don't get me wrong it was a fabulous road for cycling on, very quiet with magnificent views - I just didn't have a clue where the hell I was!  Even Google Map on my i phone couldn't locate me! I kept on going thinking that sooner or later I would come across somewhere familiar or at least a road sign!  I did come across a farmer lurking by the side of the road  and he said something to me, however I wasn't convinced he was speaking English so I smiled sweetly and kept on pedaling!  However, not long after I came face to face with a herd of sheep being shepherded along the road by a dog!  It dawned on me at this point what the farmer had been trying to communicate to me, but not understanding farmer speak I failed miserably and had ignored him! (mistake number 3!).  I stopped and cringed by the side of the very narrow country road as all the sheep streamed past me!! Scary experience but on a positive note better than a herd of cows!  I soon joined another road which was actually between the northbound and southbound carriages of the M6 - very bizarre- I felt I was racing the cars on the motorway!  I still didn't have a clue where I was until ... I saw a sign to a hotel which I was familiar with so I turned off enthusiastically and followed the road for about 2 miles (mistake number 4) until I was greeted with a sign saying

NOT ME but same shirt!

"Private Entrance to hotel - guests only" My good humour had gone by this point and I wasn't going to be deterred so taking a deep breath I pedaled extra fast over the cattle grid (making a right clatter) whilst trying to blend in to the background of this posh hotel wearing a bright Union Jack cycling top! Unfortunately for me there was a couple of staff members lurking around the front door as I cycled past, they just looked at me in bewilderment as I kept on cycling straight out of the front gates of the hotel clattering over another cattle grid!  PHEW! I'd made it!  I felt like a trespasser but it had saved me several miles off my journey and at least now I knew where I was!  After cycling another few miles I heard some dogs barking - panicking I looked behind me expecting to see a pack of Alsatians chasing me (set on me from the hotel - well, in my imagination!) until I realised it was my phone and the ringtone assigned to my husband! I answered the call and couldn't resist the offer of a lift home!  By this point I had cycled 24.3 hilly miles and was starving as it was 8pm and I hadn't eaten since lunchtime!


So today's contribution to Juneathon = 24.3 cycling miles!


You can view my magical mystery tour cycle here!

Juneathon - Day 17 dawned bright and sunny!

I was amazed when I woke up this morning that it was actually a nice day after yesterday's wash-out! I had a coffee and weetabix whilst deciding where my legs would take me this morning! After all my deliberations I noticed some dirty black clouds were gathering overhead, so this spurred me on to get changed and hit the pavements! I was planning on a long run,  the marathon training plan was dictating a 11 miler - I thought I had best comply and set off into the cold but sunny morning!  It wasn't long before I noticed the dark clouds were descending and following me ... I had started and I was going to finish!  A few clouds weren't going to upset me! I had my earphones in and was actually listening to music when I realized a man with a dog was trying to talk to me!  I smiled sweetly, totally unaware of what he was saying and kept on running!!!  OH the benefits of earphones ... I can be rude without looking like I'm deliberately being rude! However, the inquisitive side of me was wondering what he wanted!!!  

At around the 6 mile mark a male runner sprinted past me at an unnecessarily fast pace and for a fraction of a second the competitive side of me chanted "Catch him!" (and my legs responded instinctively), however very quickly the sane side of me reminded my legs that they still had over 4 miles to go before reaching home and chasing him didn't seem like such a good idea!  Good job really because by the time I had finished this one-sided argument he was disappearing into the horizon! I made it home and although the dark clouds were still lingering they hadn't deposited anything on me - Thankfully!


I had a shower and then uploaded my run from my Garmin.  I'm not sure whether I'm just obsessed with sea life at the moment because we are doing a under the sea topic at school but as soon as I saw the route marked out on the map I immediately saw a seahorse! 


What do you think ...

Anyhow, I didn't quite do the 11 miles prescribed but near enough at 10.36 miles in 1 hour 36 minutes! It's the longest run I have done since the Liverpool Half Marathon in March so chuffed with myself!

Then just to make sure my legs remember who is in charge I went for a walk this afternoon with the dog and my hubby! The dark clouds still hadn't dumped anything on us although they were still lingering ominously! However, the walk we went on was extremely wet from all the torrential rain yesterday (akin to river walking ) and I ended up with soggy feet! 6.16 miles to add to the 10.36 miles from this morning gives me a total for today of 16.52 miles!  YEAH!

If the run this morning represented a seahorse, the walk this afternoon has to be an eel! 

OK, so maybe Juneathon is getting to me but it keeps me out of mischief!


Today's Run = 10.36 miles
Average Pace = 9.17 min/miles
Time = 1:36

View today's activities here for the run. and here for the walk!


Juneathon Totals so far ...

• Run -  68.6 miles 
• Swim  - 0.9 miles
• Bike - 31.9 miles 
• Walk - 20.0 miles
• Cross - 3.1 miles 
• Total -  124.5 miles

I still need to pull my finger out if I am going to beat my Janathon's total for running!

 Bring it on!

Juneathon Day 16 - a wet and soggy one!

It has rained all day today which does have one positive - I haven't sneezed at all today AND I am not drowning in snot! However, Torrential downpours have put me off a) doing a long run today as promised and b) braving the outside world! Instead I wussed out and went to the gym! Nothing to report because nothing happened out of the ordinary but I DID do the miles! Whilst on the treadmill I decided to play with speed and see what I could actually achieve speed-wise before I  fell off!  I started with my slow usual jog for my warm up, progressing up to 11KPH which is where I usually stay, however today I slowly increased the speed until I was running like the clappers on 13.2KPH! I maintained this speed for just over a minute before starting to decrease again to a more civilized pace! It was funny once I got back down to 11KPH which I usually think of as fast I felt like I was just having a gentle jog!  Perhaps there is some benefit in this speed lark!  I will persevere and see what I can do!



I managed 3.17 miles cycling to warm-up, then did some arm/weight machines, followed by 3.79 miles running on the treadmill, and finished off the session by doing 1.24 miles on the rowing machine! View my workout here.


TOMORROW is another day and ...


                    I promise to do my best,
to  love to run,
to serve the roads and my legs,
to help my heart
and
to keep the Janathon law!


Juneathon mileage:


Run - 15 activities - 58.3 miles- 8.9 hrs
Swim - 3 activities- 0.9 miles - 1.3 hrs
Bike - 5 activities- 31.9 miles- 2.3 hrs
Walk - 7 activities- 13.9 miles - 4.5 hrs
Rowing - 6 activities - 3.1 miles - 0.8 hrs
Total - 36 activities - 108.0 miles - 17.8 hrs

Janathon Day 15 = HALF WAY POINT!

Well I've survived Day 15 and the half way point and can't believe how much better I feel tonight after a day of rain!!  Is this the start of me praying for rain instead of the sun?


Anyway, because we have had torrential rain today I wimped out of braving nature and went to the gym instead!


At the gym I managed to cycle, run, weights and swim before relaxing in the steam room!  No ill effects tonight and not a sneeze in sight so it definitely is hayfever!


The gym was busy initially but soon quietened down once the England match drew nearer!!! Nothing to report tonight - very boring really!  I'm reading a book at the moment called "The art of running faster" so I will report on how I get on with its recommendations after I have read it and fingers crossed it works and I do actually run faster!


Today's contribution to mileage:


Cycle: 6.21 miles
Running: 0.93 miles
Swimming: 0.39 miles
PLUS Weights 


View my activities here

Juneathon miles so far:

• Run - 14 activities - 54.5 miles - 8.3 hrs
• Swim - 3 activities - 0.9 miles - 1.3 hrs
• Bike - 4 activities - 28.7 miles - 2.1 hrs
• Walk - 7 activities - 13.9 miles - 4.5 hrs
• Rowing - 4 activities- 1.9 miles - 0.5 hrs
• Total - 32 activities- 99.8 miles - 16.7 hrs

LOOK how close I am to hitting the century mark - if I had known that I would have run that bit further - pppffftttt!!!!

I am ahead of my Janathon total mileage at this point by 8 and a half miles but DOWN on my running miles by 10 Miles!!!


I need to get RUNNING ....

 tomorrow!

Janathon Day 14 - Path Closed!!

I have definitely come to the conclusion  that my cold/hay-fever is most definitely hay-fever! I had been feeling so much better today, hadn't been drowning in snot quite as much until ... I went running tonight!  BAD MOVE!

I decided in my wisdom that I needed to go to my usual Pilates class as I needed a good stretch, and to satisfy my running deal with Juneathon I would walk to the class so I would arrive cool, calm and collected and then run home when it wouldn't matter that I was hot and sweaty! So I had a nice walk to my class, endured an hour's hard work stretching and left feeling both tired and energised!  I had a route in my head to get home via an extended but scenic path along the river, however after running for 2 miles just before the river path meets the road there was a 8 foot hight fence with a footpath closed sign up!  What's all that about? How about warning me 2 miles earlier that I was wasting my time?!! I turned around and found an alternative route by which time the wind had built up nicely (the weather NOT me although I must admit after Pilates it is usually me too!) and the sky was looking ominously dark! I decided I best get a move on if I didn't want to get drenched.  The headphones saga continued this evening!  After yesterdays debacle I found another set of "running" headphones lying around the house and decided to give them a go!!  Not a good experience - they were ever so slightly too short and every now and again I would get a sharp tug on my neck as they tightened! I made it home before the rain came and ran 4.76 miles as well as my pilates class and the 1.53 mile walk to get there! Not bad!  


However, since getting home I have done nothing but sneeze and blow my nose!! I'm taking the pills but they don't seem to be working!


Day 14 completed - nearly half way there! 


Running Miles today: 4.76

Time: 44 mins 40 seconds
Average moving pace: 9.23 min/mile
Fastest Pace: 7.27 min/mile


View tonight's run here and todays walk here

• Juneathon totals so far!
  • Run - 13 - 53.5 mi - 8.1 hrs
  • Swim - 2 - 0.5 mi - 1.0 hrs
  • Bike - 3 - 22.5 mi - 1.7 hrs
  • Walk - 7 - 13.9 mi - 4.5 hrs
  • Cross - 3 - 1.9 mi - 0.3 hrs
  • Total - 28 - 92.3 mi - 15.6 hrs

Anyhow, its goodnight from Sneezy - I hope I'm feeling better again tomorrow!!

Janathon Day 13 - Speedy?

Another day full of snot and sneezing, and a long day at work too - I was holed up until after 6pm tonight! When I got home I was desperate for a bit of quick relief despite feeling under the weather and headed out the door just as it started to rain!  Typical!  Anyhow, the rain was kind to me and it just drizzled! Perhaps a good downpour would get rid of all the pollen and I would stop sneezing - unless of course it is JUST a cold!

My Marathon training had me down for interval training tonight!  Something I have never done!  On previous training plans I have followed for Half Marathons I have always just ignored the interval runs and done normal ones instead!  Anyhow, I am determined to try and follow this plan to the letter and set off on a warm up jog to the old canal path close by!  I thought this was an ideal straight, flat, fairly quiet area to try and get some fast short spurts in! 


SPEEDY - I am not!  
STAMINA - I don't have much!
EFFORT - I tried 100%!


I did 4 short, sharp blasts (between 2 lamp posts!) and tried to go the fastest my little legs would go! The legs seemed quite willing, but I have a lazy brain who kept saying "Slow down you fool, your tired!" I just need to tell my brain to butt out and I might do a bit better!  The fastest pace I managed during these intervals was 5.54 min/mile but I couldn't maintain it for any distance! I have something to work on now, and will endeavour to maintain this pace for longer distances on future interval runs!  


I decided I would run tonight with music in the hope that this would deter the idiots out there from speaking to me and if they did I could pretend not to hear them , but my headphones were really irritating and kept falling out, falling apart, bouncing around and jabbing me so I spent some time walking or stopped trying to sort them out!! VERY ANNOYING! Not sure which is worst - idiot public or annoying headphones! Note to self - buy some new headphones and SOON!

 Day 13 complete - feeling pretty chuffed with myself!


Running Miles today: 4.34

Time: 40 mins 09 seconds
Average moving pace: 8.58 min/mile
Fastest Pace: 5.54 min/mile


View tonight's run here.

Juneathon's total mileages

• Run - 12 activities - 48.8 mi - 7.3 hrs
• Swim - 2 activities - 0.5 mi - 1.0 hrs
• Bike - 3 activities  - 22.5 mi - 1.7 hrs
• Walk - 6 activities - 12.4 mi - 4.1 hrs
• Rowing - 2 activities - 1.9 mi - 0.3 hrs
• Total - 25 activities - 86.1 miles - 14.5 hrs