Day 5 #Juneathon - Good for the soul

Today hasn't gone to plan at all and I am therefore typing this with a sheepishly shamed look on my face.....I have failed to do any physical activity on day 5 of Juneathon.

With today being 'National Running Day' I feel doubly-shamed in the fact that I didn't get out there at all. I am sorry. Sorry for letting my fellow Juneathon participants down; and also letting myself down *sobs*. I am however not feeling too sorry that, as I wasn't out pounding the streets, it did allow me to catch up fully with my lovely friend Jolene without a rushed post-run shower-styled hairdo or a still slightly beetroot-esque visog greeting her as she opened the door. Sure, a run would've allowed me to feel a little less guilty about the number of biscuits I have managed to shovel down during said catch up but to be fair, my training schedule has today as a rest day so being the athlete that I am (no sniggering at the back, you!) I shall wholeheartedly abide by my training schedule. And chat & eat biscuits. They may not be good for the waistline or overall diet but they are good for the soul. And ideal for Day 5 of Juneathon.

Day 6 will be far more active and will involve no custard creams.

Day 4 #Juneathon - Making hay

Day 4! :o)

Well, after a bit of coaxing I decided that today would be the day for my first ever pre-work run!  I've not partaken in this previously for the main reason that I am not the best in the mornings. I am a creature of habit and have my morning routine down to a fine art. I'm also concerned about the after effects - will I make it through the day without a Nanny Nap? Will I nod off mid way through a conference call? Will QWERTY be imprinted on my forehead at somepoint during the day? Irrational and a tad exaggerated but you get the gist!  However, the weekend's 'not so much a fun run in the sun' and subsequent Twitter chat, persuaded me to give it a go ( big thanks to @GR33NIE). I had my reservations, but thought that June would be the ideal time to give it a go, as it's in the spirit of Juneathon! As always, it's never straight forward with me......

Alarm set; alarm goes off. I get up. So far so good. The problem comes with fuelling. Do I or don't I eat before running? I had allowed myself 30mins between getting up and heading out the door. So I decided I should eat something - half a banana and half a cup of coffee. I also took a drink with me - High5 Zero. It was hot out there afterall, even at 7am! (What do you recommend for early morning runs fuelling wise? Feel free to share please!)

I purchased my first pair of running shorts at the weekend. Not those ridiculously skimpy ones that barely have side panels, that leave very little to the imagination (middle aged men, take note, 'less is more' applies here - less leg on show! Buy some longer shorts. Thank you!)  but those fairly modest length ones with an inner compression short. I thought it about time as the weather is getting hotter and I could do with ditching the running tights. Today would be the inaugural outing for the shorts. Kit on and ready to go, iPod armband on. Finally, out the door I head to glorious blue skies. 

200 metres into the run and I am heading back home. Me and shorts are destined not to get on. I spent at least 150 metres of the run pulling and yanking them down my thighs. Not pleasant for me and spectators alike. Ebay here they come! And then my iPod armband falls off. The essential velcro square that holds it in place decided it had had enough, gave up the ghost & plummeted to the pavement. Great. Am I sure I should be doing this morning run? There are some clear signs that I should've stayed in bed! But after scouring around at home for my trusty running tights and a safety pin for the armband (why is trying to find one slightly larger than normal safety pin like taking part in an episode of The Crystal Maze?!), I am once again heading back out the door. This time, I make it all the way without having to turn back early. Result.

My running splits still leave a lot to be desired - a little bit of overthinking things, yet again - but a 4 mile run in 37mins is something that I couldn't have done this time last year, at any time of the day, so I'll take that and keep on plodding onwards. I surprisingly enjoyed the morning run, although a lot more cars to take into account on my route than my usual evening run. Even more surprisingly though is that not once did I feel remotely tired during the day. Something I was sure was going to happen and therefore would put the kibosh on any future morning runs. Wack-Wack-Oops - planned excuse scuppered. I'm not saying that I'll now move all of my runs to pre-work but there is a case of 'making hay whilst the sunshines' so I'll definitely try and do at least one a week if I can. And I promise no shorts. It's safer for all involved. 

Day 3 #Juneathon - Only just

I promise not to celebrate every day when I blog but, yay for day 3!

A run was originally planned but due to not fuelling enough throughout the day (darn work!), and as I was planning on 6 miles, I decided against it and instead whacked on my trusty Davina DVD. This time for Mark's Boot Camp; a mix of intervals & weights. It did seem a bit criminal not to get outside in the early evening sun though, so I flung open the balcony doors and was glad to feel a cool breeze; it would have to do.  

I thoroughly enjoyed the workout and can feel a difference every time I do it, especially with my abs and arms. Yesterday's run was still lingering in my legs so the squats  & other leg exercises were a bit of a struggle but I made it through. Only just mind. With a mild/intense burning in the quads. And triceps. And butt. But I kinda liked it, that satisfying 'I've moved today' feeling. Glib but true. 

Here's to day 4!

Day 2 #Juneathon - Lessons

Day 2 of Juneathon and here I am, still sticking at it. Go me! 

I completed a 9 mile training run this morning and it was hard. Hot, sweaty, ploddy, stop-starty, slow, and not very enjoyable but I made it out and back in one piece. As well as pulling apart my, quite frankly, shoddy mile times (almost 45secs more per mile than I've been doing of late) I also realised I can learn a few things from today's run: 

• I shouldn't over think the run. Putting too much thought into something when you normally don't, can have an adverse effect. I normally just put my running kit & shoes on, plug in the pod and run. As this was my first fairly long run in a while, and I'm trying to better my PB for my half in August, I downloaded a running track session which is designed to help with pace and run time with mixes by bpm. The tracks were good and the instructions given helpful but I just found that all I could think about was making sure my feet hit the beat and that completely threw everything else out. My breathing went to pieces, the bpm was slower than I normally run (my fault for choosing the wrong one!) making me feel a little awkward and unnatural when running and it just didn't feel right. So after 3 miles, I switched to my normal running playlist and got back on with things. Don't get me wrong. I suddenly didn't increase my pace or float through the run, it was still bloomin' hard going but it made a difference. My focus changed to trying to enjoy the beautiful scenery and the run itself. And it kinda worked. I'll still use the download but more to listen to the fab mixes rather than instructions. I need to just trust my own running style and routine. 
• The sun is not my (running) friend. There I said it. I'm not a fan of the sun. Don't get me wrong, I love to lounge in it, read a book in it, drink copious amounts of chilled alcohol in it but run in it? It's not for me. I don't appear to cope well with the sun or heat when running, it completely zaps so much energy out of me (I know it does to most people) and I find it really tough going. I also know that the best way to make it my friend is to spend more time running in it and I am still contemplating taking this friendship to the next level. Maybe we'll become acquaintances rather than best friends. Time, and the weather forecast, will tell. 
• It's OK to stop. As I have been running fairly consistently for about 9 months (and very, very sporadically for several years previously), I still feel conscious about stopping to walk when I'm out running. It's ridiculous really as who is going to judge me? And if they do judge me, why do I care? I know it's not ideal to stop and believe me, it takes quite a lot of battling with myself to actually pull up, but if I have to I will. I gather my thoughts, talk out loud to myself with words of encouragement (we all do it, don't we. Don't we?? Oh lord, is it just me?!) and get back to it. At least I am out and being active. So there. 
• Be careful post run. I always cool down & stretch after each run, whilst supping my post-run drink of choice - a nice cold glass of milk. I have to admit, sometimes on a gentle run, I don't think it would hurt to miss a little stretch but inevitably, it does. A good cool down & stretch has become second nature after running for me. My note of caution is to do with what comes next; do not sit down on your very comfy, sleep inducing sofa for 'only 5 mins'. These 5 mins will turn into almost an hour. Your eyelids will become heavy. Your breathing relaxed. The post-run endorphins will be suppressed. You are now in serious danger. Of nodding off. Thankfully, I realised the imminent threat today at circa 29 minutes but you may not be so lucky. Don't say I didn't warn you and please, be careful. 

There are a few more lessons that I learned today but I don't want to put you off re-visiting my blog entries during the rest of Juneathon so I'll park them for another day (carrot dangling, keep them wanting more, etc!) But please be re-assured, not every blog entry will be as long as this. (Cue, sighs of relieve from readers!).

Juneathon Day 2 completed. Until tomorrow. Out. 

#Juneathon Day 1

Today is the start of something new for me. I am taking part in my first ever Juneathon, yay! I've followed the activities of the growing numbers of participant that sign up to these things during the past few years, most recently Janathon earlier this year, and thought why not challenge myself and see if I can do it. So here I am. In June. Taking part in Juneathon. 

I'm using it as a test to myself more than anything; to prove that I can actually stick to something, two things actually, for a whole month - exercise and blog every day! Keeping active every day, in some form or another for a whole month can't be that hard, can it?! It may sound easy but I have a feeling it won't be. I'm training for a few forthcoming half marathons - Dublin on 5th Aug & Oxford in Oct - so it will be interesting to see what else I can fit in between my training runs without injuring myself - a challenge in itself! And I love to talk. (Boy, do I love to talk) but making sure I blog everyday, with something at least half interesting that people will want to read will be well, a challenge. Good luck everybody!

So, with a long run planned for tomorrow, I thought it best to conserve my energy and not run today but I had to do something; after all, I couldn't fail on the first day. Cue my trusty workout DVD - Ultimate Target with Davina McCall (and Jackie & Mark!). I normally follow the Bootcamp workout once-ish a week (when I remember or have the energy) but gave the Ultimate Fat Burner a go for the first time in about a year. Followed by Summer Shoulders. Followed by Target Abs. Followed by a Stretch & Cooldown. So much for not overdoing it ahead of Sunday's run, whoops! Hot was not the word and a few hundred calories bit the dust. At least I didn't have to worry about being too cautious with my portion size for dinner; you know, I'm fuelling ahead of tomorrow and all that - every cloud! 

And there it is, my first day for Juneathon, completed, blogged & logged. 

+ive changes

Well, it's been a loooong time since I have blogged about anything, let alone running but I am back! Despite the best efforts of my legs to put me off running (injured back in March, just before Reading half marathon so I had to pull out), I have gone on to have a fantastic year and am happier than I have ever been! I have lost over 2.5 stone in weight (by eating clean & lean-ish! Well, most of the time!) and fallen in love with running, just for fun and also training to take part in a half marathon and 10 miler. I ran the British Heart Foundation half marathon at (a hilly!) Blenheim Palace on 7th October in a PB of 2:23:18 - which is almost 15 mins faster than my last half marathon over 5 years ago with little/no running in between. Super chuffed. And then three weeks later, I ran the Great South Run in a rainy, cold & windy Southampton in my target time of 1:40. Super chuffed yet again. 

It's been a welcome return to form for me as I have always loved running, but I don't think I have ever been in the right place mentally or physically to get the most of out it; it's been more of a token gesture to which I have never really truly applied myself but things have changed. I have found myself not having to force myself out of the door.....well, OK there has been the odd day when I can't muster the energy or enthusiasm and I need a lot of coaxing, but generally, I like the fact that I like running. It's a good head clearer when I can switch off from daily life and have some time to think, or not. I like the fact that it keeps me fit and healthy and I like the fact that I have a little endorphin rush after every run - something I never got in my 'half-hearted' days despite waiting for it to happen after reading it everywhere! I like the fact that after switching up some of my runs to hill reps or speed work that I ache a tad the next morning, a satisfying nod in my direction that it's doing me some good. And most of all, I love the fact that I have shaved over a minute off my mile time in the space of 3 months - and I have one of my closest friends to thank for that as she pushed me to run faster; it worked and has continued to work. Three months ago I was running an average of 10 mins 40 sec per mile, my average pace is now 9 mins 37 secs - thank you Sammy! - and this week I ran my fastest ever mile in 8  mins 21 secs! Super chuffed yet again. 

I've recognised that I need to have goals to aim for to keep me focused, on track and motivated so I have signed up for a 10k in Feb and Reading Half marathon in March. They are a way off at the moment but I still have parkrun every weekend (when I can make it) and I am 95% certain that I'll be entering Hellrunner Down South later in the year. I've also just signed up to 'Janathon' which is a bit commitment and one I tend to keep to. (Click on the link for further details)

All of these little achievements no, actually fairly big achievements, have made such a huge difference to me and many aspects of my life (sorry if that sounds a bit deep but you know what I mean!) and I am so glad - and proud - that I have made such positive changes to my life. And I fully intend to keep them up and continue to challenge myself. Life is too short not to. 

'til next time, 

Wonky Wanderer 

Every cloud

As followers of my blog will know, I’ve been struggling with a leg problem when running of late. Despite my determination to carry on regardless and ‘work though it’, things were just not getting any better. A cracking 7 miler, with just a little niggle, reinvigorated my enthusiasm and hope for continuing with training and thought I was back on track (I don’t want to spoil the ending, but I think you can guess where this is heading!)  but alas it was not to be. Several abandoned training runs only made things worse and a week of complete rest (and flat shoes.....oh dear, so not me!) didn’t help. Even a walk resulted in a bag of frozen peas being slapped my entire leg when I got home! So, it is with regret that I have decided not to take part in the Reading Half Marathon.  The decision made even more galling with the arrival of my run number and timing chip which will swiftly be returned to the lovely organisers. I’m starting to think that after completing two Great North Runs, an aborted attempt at the London Marathon, countless 5k & 10ks that I am not really made for running. So, I am taking a break from jogging/running for the time being but will be back; it’s something I enjoy which makes the enforced rest a bit of a bugger but there are other things I can do to help keep fit. And I’ll be visiting a sports therapist before donning the running shoes once again.

One of the positives is that I was only doing this for ‘fun’ and my withdrawal is not letting anyone else down, other than myself. No charities are losing out on much needed fund raising which is a huge relief. There is one other positive too though; now that I am not running, it means that I can join t’other two members of The Tandem Trio cheer on Cancer Research UK’s runners who are indeed fit & well enough to run the Reading Half Marathon! It has often been said that ‘enthusiasm, energy, gusto, passion and eagerness’ are not traits in which the Trio are lacking in so I hope the runners are prepared for a little bit of whooping and cheering along the course......because that’s what they are going to get!!

So, if you’re taking part in the Reading Half, whether for Cancer Research UK or not, let me know; we’ll look out for you and help you on your way!

And just because I am not running for the next few weeks, doesn’t mean no blog; oh no, I’ve still got tonnes of ramblings, stuff & gubbins to share with you all, and a little more time to do so.....you lucky people! Every cloud and all that ;o)