fairweatherrunner

running blog

Monthly Archives: December 2011


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1000km in 2011

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The view on my boxing day run which kept making me slow down to appreciate or take a photo!

We spent Christmas with my husband’s family in Leicestershire. This was the second time I’ve been for a run there and I’m discovering it’s great place to run (and walk their dog) with beautiful scenery. Just a short run on boxing day to blow away the cobwebs and give me an appetite for the roast beef and more wine! That left me with just 13km to run to reach 1000km in 2011 which I ran in one go yesterday. 1000 miles completed! I’m now free to have 3 days off if I wish and enjoy some nice long walks with friends coming to spend New Year with us on the Isle of Wight. Like last year, they will be with me for my first Janathon run on New Years Day!

My 2011 running Stats…

133 runs totalling 621 miles, or 1000 km, in 100 hours plus 80 British Military Fitness classes (80 hours).

Not counting BMF classes, running 621 miles means I have burnt about 62,000 calories which is equivalent to about 17 pounds of body fat!  Seeing as I weigh about the same now as I did this time last year, all I can say is it’s just as well I ran those miles!

 


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Happy Christmas

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Hope Santa brings the trail shoes or compression tights or Garmin or … that you have wished for and wishing you lots of luck for (smashing) realising your (running) hopes and dreams in 2012.

I didn’t have a target running mileage in 2011 (other than running more). I log my runs in miles but last week, by chance, I looked at my total for the year in kilometres and noticed that I was at 944. No choice really other than to round it up to 1000km! So last week I ran a couple of easy 10K’s and this week after school holiday distractions and getting ready for christmas I finally got out for a good 10 mile (16k) run today meaning I’ve only got 20k to run over the next 10 days to round 2011 off at 1000 km.

I might challenge myself to make it 1000 miles in 2012 however please note I’m saying that very quietly incase circumstances intervene or I change my mind!


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Time for Janathon!

It’s OK singing the blog title to the Teletubbies theme tune is not compulsory (and my apologies if you’ve now got that tune stuck in your head).

Janathon 2012 is open for entry and I have duly signed up again. So only 18 days for me to limber up my lower limbs and typing fingers ready to jog, log and blog everyday in January. Hello to ‘Athoner friends returning to Janathon or from Juneathon and welcome new-commers to the journey! I’m looking forward to reading your blogs

Janathon is great. It was responsible last year for shifting my running to the next level and I met a great bunch of running and blogging buddies. I went from BMFer (British Military Fitness) who ran occasionally and entered the odd race, to runner planning a race each month in 2012 and running/BMF at least 4/5 days a week. That alone is enough to bring me back again in 2012 even without the added benefit of joining a great supportive community. I hope Janathon helps me start 2012 with a good mileage base to help me chase some PBs during the year.

Now that Janathon is on the way I have to warn my regular reader(s) of what is on the horizon. Janathon requires me to blog every day… Now I know from experience in June and last January that this can get a little tedious if I simply write ‘ I ran 2/3 miles around the block and it was cold /wet / rainy / dark and I felt #*%$ ‘ I will be using my Lego mini figure army (any excuse to have a Lego advent calendar) to add some illustrations. (All suggestions welcome! In June I was challenged to write a post by travelling hopefully that included Dragons, Pirates and a Badger!)

It is also necessary for me as a responsible blogger to give a serious health warning for my January blogs. Those of you of a delicate disposition might like to take note that whilst running everyday I will be listening to a lot of music and hours out with my iPod will mean that I will return home to blog still riding high on a wave of ’80s music euphoria and write about it. I apologise in advance for my ‘eclectic’ taste in music but consecutive days running, blogging and run-kit laundry-ing do strange things to the mind. I will not however apologise for regularly referring to running to the Bee Gees and for the odd quote of lyrics that might creep in. I became completely hooked during Juneathon and it has not since worn off.

You have been warned!

Now I realy must get on… I’ve got 56km to run to reach 1000km in 2011!


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Waiting Rooms

This morning I spent far too long sitting in a hospital waiting room while youngest son was having his teeth cast, measured photographed and X-rayed by a trainee orthodontist. As usual the danger with me being at a loose end, is I start thinking. My thoughts concentrated on the fact that I was wasting much of the day when I could be getting on with work, my to-do list, christmas shopping or going for a run. And I’d missed my BMF class!

However, one thing I decided I could have used that time productively for, is to do my daily exercises which I have undertaken to complete everyday in December. It’s a challenge/committment from the twitter community and shared with some of my running buddies. It’s early days to know whether I’m getting any benefit from (minimum) 1 minute holding the plank, 10 press-ups, 50 squats and 50 lunges each day. However the discipline of doing something every day (and the added reminders and support from twitter) is also encouraging me to add the exercises my physio gave me after my recent injury.

So, was I brave enough in a busy waiting room to quietly assume the plank position, complete 10 press-ups, 50 squats and lunges? I’m afraid not… even after twitter encouragement of ‘risky’ planking and talk about being the first person to be run over (by a toddler in a plastic car) or used as a coffee table while completing their #plankaday!

Joking aside, why not? why is it that seeing someone exercise in certain situations is considered odd? Looking around the waiting room I couldn’t see a single adult (including me) who wouldn’t benefit from a little more activity. Maybe it’s time group exercises in waiting rooms caught on…


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Long Run

Having used up all valid excuses yesterday, It was long run day today. One of my running rules (along with not having more than two rest days in a row) is when not in training for a particular race, I have to continue to do at least one long run (I’ll think I’ll make it 10 miles minimum) every two weeks. My two weeks were up today! Having missed a beautiful day for running yesterday, I was pleased that this morning was still dry and not too cold and I wouldn’t be punished by a cold and rainy run.

I set off for my usual London route, running to Hyde Park, running the perimeter of the park plus once around the serpentine before heading home. Not too much tourist pavement rage today although I did have to give a little sign language feedback to a silly woman trying to run me over by driving the wrong way down a one way street when the pedestrian crossing was green! Honestly, I looked out the right way for idiots jumping the lights but coming at me from the wrong way was slightly unexpected!

A good run. Since my last race I’ve relaxed for December and am running for enjoyment. I still take my Garmin (well it doesnt count if you can’t log it) but I’m looking at it a lot less and not worrying about pace. Being relaxed and just running to my music is obviously working because todays 10 miles felt relaxed but was only 4 minutes slower than my Great South Run!

I’ve recently been sent a Jabra headset. Great stereo sound for music and good for iPhone with its microphone and controls on the cable. I decided to test it out running, once I managed to find it attached to the teenagers iPod under his pillow! I wasn’t sure about it being a serious running headset, having long since abandoned apple earphones (which fall out) for a sports neck-band. These are in-ear but came with 3 sets of ear buds so I worked out which were best for me. The sound is good, the first thing I had to do was turn down the set volume on my iPod! I was impressed that once screwed in hard to my ears they pretty much stayed put and they were a bit more discrete than my bright orange neck band and wont fight with sunglasses or wooly hats (neither required today). They do cut out more external sound than my sports ones, but once aware of this I removed one ear when running where I had to be more cautious of my surroundings. And when I got fed up with music I just had to stuff them in my pocket. The best bit was having controls on the cable to click to skip a bad track (feet dragging) or repeat a good track (I’m flying) or take a phone call. I even by mistake discovered that sliding the control gave me voice feed back of the song name and artist, not that I need it because I’m still stuck in my 80′s running loop from Juneathon.


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Rest and Recovery

I’d like to report that I got up and went to parkrun this morning as planned.  But I can’t.  I rolled over, pressed snooze and completed my 10 hours sleep. And the excuses?

  • I did do a killer BMF class yesterday where we ran a loop of Hyde Park at pace only stopping every 100 yards or so to bang out 20 press ups or burpees or squats.
  • I did run 6 miles on Thursday.
  • I havent got a race coming up.
  • I am having an easier month in December.
  • I will do a long run tomorrow instead which will be better for maintaining and improving my Half Marathon fitness because I need to work on endurance not pace.
  •  Rest and recovery are very important parts of training
  • My bed was very comfortable and my duvet was very warm
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