Janathon day 27.
Tag Archives: excuses
Slippery Slope
It’s a slippery slope with Janathon or Juneathon. If you keep up running every day that’s fine, you can’t ruin the run streak. But once you’ve broken that, for whatever reason, it’s far too easy to do so again. Last week I missed a run, and ran only a token 300m on another day because of the snow, which made today’s wiping out all the more easy!
I was home by the afternoon so had a short opportunity to run in the daylight but I was hungry and cold so postponed it until after I picked up the boys. They were late requesting me pick them up and when running round my 2 mile loop (in the car) to get them after 6pm I noticed the sleet, the slippery wet pavements and the sudden acute pain in my calf muscles.
Janathon day 23. Home circuit. I found my hand weights and did lots of arm and shoulder exercises , some proper press ups (my son’s didn’t let me skive) plus 50 squats and 20 lunges.
Next up is a much-needed session on the foam roller and my calf muscles are about to get a going over with this one…
The Long(er) run
- I got up planning to run my postponed long run
- Yesterdays melting snow had frozen into ice
- The weather forecast said it would be 2 degrees around noon
- I hatched a plan
- I got ready to run
- I tried to settle to get some work done
- I listened to the radio
- At noon I was hungry, so had a snack
- While I waited for that to settle I felt cold
- I tried a few chores
- I didn’t feel like running
- I watched neighbours (while sending some emails)
- I put my garmin on the windowsill to get a signal
- I felt like staying home
- I changed my running top
- I charged my iPod
- I found some gloves
- I realised I was running out of time
- Oh well, maybe not 10 miles, maybe time to dash off 6 miles
- Outside
- Pavements clear, good start
- Holland Park icy compacted snow but fun
- Kensington Gardens and on into Hyde Park, paths mostly clear
- Beetlebum by Blur helped me pick up the pace
- 4 miles in, feeling too good to head home
- Loop of Serpentine, paths icy but trail shoes great on the grass
- Tip toeing on some slushy bits to the beat of Michael Jackson
- 8 miles done.
- Felt great.
Janathon day 22. 8.28 miles. Total Janathon mileage 90.5 miles.
Excuses
The run streak didn’t last long, in fact I haven’t run for 2 weeks.
My excuses are that I got a dreadful sore throat which turned into a horrible snotty cold and lasted 10 days and I really didn’t have any extra energy other than to cope with organising Christmas (and getting my teenage son to revise for his mocks, but that’s another story). Then it was Christmas and not only was I busy cooking, eating and drinking but it was also foul wet weather. We were on the Isle of Wight and everywhere off-road was totally water-logged and boggy. It also felt like it was permanently either dark or misty or both so running on wet twisty country roads was not something I fancied either.
So I haven’t got my legs in gear and warmed up ready for a Janathon runstreak but at least I have my all my excuses practiced and at the ready!
December might have been an almost non-running month for me but I have had a good 2012
- 2 10 K races,
- 4 Half Marathons,
- 1 24 mile race
- My first marathon
- 4 parkruns
- 3 laps of the 10K Thunderrun trail course including one in the dark.
I have also met my goal of running 1000 miles in 2012.
And next year? I’m still thinking about that… but I think a minimum of 1200 miles should be my mileage target.
My running New Year Resolution is to JUST RUN! Every time I think… I want to/I should really/I need to/it would be a good idea to - go for a run… I have to treat the idea as a committment to myself and not let life take over or the excuses creep in such as this evening when I got distracted by my son making mince pies, cooking a turkey curry and then a glass of wine.
It all starts on Tuesday… See you for Janathon.
Excuses
The dog ate my homework!
I have lots of equally good excuses why I didn’t get up early this morning and go to a cold frosty parkrun nor go out and do my long run. Instead I slept until 10am and didn’t get dressed until after noon. It wasn’t really because I was feeling lazy and a little fuzzy from an excess of vino last night. No I (also) have sensible excuses such as my quads were sore from enjoying a good sprint yesterday and I’m getting a few aches in my left hip flexor which was the source of my injury problems last summer which made me have a lazy day.
However it’s Janathon so I still had to run (even if I’d now better ease off the speed work and take care on pushing my mileage) so by 4pm I was feeling guilty, warmer and less achy so I hung my garmin on the kitchen window to get a signal, grabbed my flourescent yellow long sleeve top, hat and gloves and went out for an easy plod.
As usual once out and moving I enjoyed it. I went out to run 3 miles but extended my loop as I went. It was just still daylight and the lights were coming on everywhere as the sun had set and London seemed to be waking up and coming out for the evening. A crisp cold evening after a sunny day. It must have been cold because my hat stayed on and my gloves lasted 25 minutes! I ran a few new roads and my Bee Gees soundtrack was perfect to go with the shop and street lights at dusk and the busy streets as I strutted my stuff to Nights on Broadway and Night Fever down Gloucester Road!
4.62 miles in 45.42 mins
2 weeks of Janathon completed 56 miles.
Excuses excuses…
Marchathon progress… days 7 to 10.
Monday 7th. BMF Class.
Tuesday 8th. Excuses: Window cleaner, work, chores, waiting for parcel delivery, supermarket dash, making pancakes, eating pancakes, wine… no run.
Wednesday 9th. BMF again. A few of us were almost nervous, as if we were going to a race, thinking that today a fitness assessment would be sprung on us! Not that anything significant would happen if we performed better or worse, it’s just the awful possibility and personal shame of being less fast/fit than last time after all that mud sweat and tears giggles! I even put on my lightest (go faster) trainers rather than the mud encrusted trail shoes I normally wear and had a few glugs of energy drink! Fortunately I did not have to maintain my 1500m time against the wind and we had a normal class. Phew. However my hamstrings got a good pasting and the crab crawling uphill left me aching in some interesting new places today!
Thursday 10th. This morning, after a visit to the dentist, I was starting up my usual excuses (aching hamstrings, work, chores, coffee, sleep…) I couldn’t settle to work so got my running kit on and after a little motivation from twitter got myself out the door. I’m glad I did as it turned out to be the best part of the day weather wise. The sun was shining and the wind had eased a bit. I had a good run, faster than it felt and I found from my garmin results that I didn’t slow up in the second half as I thought even though my leg muscles were heavy and a bit sore after too many leg exercises on Monday and Wednesday.
6.14 miles 55.56 mins.
Marchathon totals todate. 4 runs, 21.27 miles. 4 BMF classes. 8/10 days.
