failed :-(

I feel dissappointed with today but it was just hard, really hard!

I went out with the running obsessed friend again. They were faffing with their GPS tracking running garmin watch bra belt special all singing all dancing wotsit (doesn't make you go any faster though) so I had a head start. They quickly caught me up and I was doing 8:11 / mile pace... and I'd slowed down a bit by then (it had flattened out). I had a 5 mile road route planned but the ROF thought they'd get lost coming home from the fields I had to cross so I stayed there and did laps as did they. The ground was hard, it was frosty / icy in places and I'm not used to running on grass / frozen muddy field... boy it makes your thighs work hard. After a single lap of the field about 2 miles in I felt dreadful. I was keeping up with 10 minute ish pace but I had to drop it right down slow. I did 2 1/2 laps of the fields, the ROF did 4! Then it was home via the gentle hill I legged it down to start with. Nice and easy gentle run home I thought... oh no... The ROF turned into personal trainer, relax your shoulders, do this with your breathing, you can talk so increase your stride length and work harder, and then 200 yds from home... kick hard dig in give it 110% and just go for it.... ouch ouch ouch!

I know it was good for me, but I still felt annoyed that I'd only managed 4.6 miles in 49 minutes not the 5 in 50 I was so after today. Combination of cold air, different running surface, very tight left hamstring since wednesday night, a late night and just an off day. I have hockey tomorrow which is the equivalent of my rest day... Can I do a long run Monday night before band rehearsal? Can I do my 5 in 50?? The only way this is possible is walking to work and running home, I will see how I feel about it tomorrow.

Tuesday is the 1st Feb, it's my long run afternoon, but janathon is over on Tuesday.... boooooo.....

still on target... Never say Die (another ipod moment!)

kept up the pace for a little further... in the words of the through back school girl music moment on my ipod currently playing.. "it's getting better all the time!"

2.2 miles in just under 21 minutes tonight, felt same pace as yesterday, felt good, felt sweaty!!!

Keeping the blog brief as have life to get on with tonight. Hopefully keep pace up tomorrow on my 5 miler, still on target to achieve all the goals, as long as my sore left hamstring holds out and I can have one good solid run toorrow before going to the rugby with my Dad :-)

byeeee.. happy Friday people xxx

I can go faster!! yeah!

Feeling good!

Just achieved another one of my goals... More than a mile at sub 10 minute pace. After a really busy day at work and home a bit later than anticipated I headed out on a 1.9mile belter. Couldn't commit to a half hour run due to band gig tonight so I just went for a short sharp target run. Cooled down the pace just a little bit in the middle / beginning of second mile but I knew from the off Iwas going faster. out of breath, muscles hurting.. Home in 18min 20. That's 9min 38 per mile, there are a couple of inclines in that loop and a set of annoying steps over the railway bridge that inevitably slow you down but it's the same loop as NYDay and Monday night!

Goals revisited....
5 miles in 50 minutes.  yet to do... Saturday!Try do a sub 10 minute mile..... or two..... (will settle for 1.5!) check!Run a total of 60 miles by the end of January. on target 52.3 current totalRun further than I cycle by the end of January. also on target 52.3 v 47.8Bathroom scales to move!! (or they go out the window!) check... that happened Monday :-)
right, I'll stop wallowing in my own glee and get out the door to play my horn!

jolly hockey sticks!

A pleasant evening's hockey training, well an hour. I did run around in the final 15 minutes like a bit of a nutter, which totalled me up to 2.7 miles! Felt good, feel much stronger and fitter running after the ball and other people for sure. Out of interest I wore my pedo to work today. Wednesdays I work at a different hospital and I am conscious that I walk more there due to the geography of the dept and the workload... sure as hell I do.. 2.5 miles today! So much for my colleagues thinking Wednesday is my easy day! I think I max 1 or 1.5 the other 4 days... might just check that out?!

Back to cycle in and back, run ce soir and then go to band tomorrow. Have a concert tomorrow night but doesn't start til 8 so can just about fit in a good half hour if I get home on time. Not sure how I'm going to fit in all my goals that I outlined on Sunday. Easily going to hit 60 miles, the bathroom scales moved and I should be OK on running more than cycling.. it's just the 2 speed challenges now... Saturday and Friday night after work are going to have to be all out blinders! Have ahockey game on Sunday, although have said that the last 2 weekends and they both got cancelled... :-(

Right, must iron stuff for tomorrow and then bed... mmmmmm I love my bed!

not quite enough but it'll do

Planned to do 5 miles but had to cut it short as I left work later than expected and the rearranged fitting of a new kitchen door was today. I managed 4 miles in 42 minutes, same as Saturday morning. It felt much easier today though, no stitch, no struggling up the gentle slopes (I'm not calling them hills anymore, not round here anyway!). So, if it were easier today, with no walking bits why the same speed?? Me no understand... I did have to pause for three sets of traffic lights? I dunno, anyway felt good, light drizzle all the way round, could have gone on for a bit but had to come home. Didn't push myself admittedly. Maybe I need a personal trainer to push me instead of just settling for the same rhythm.. Nah..... Stride length is where it's at for me I think.

Good things about today.
No cycling miles clocked up as took car back to garage this am and walked to work from there.
Car returned and fully functional with apology but no flowers from garage (weasels!).
Good run (well, adequate)
Got a place on a brilliant course in London next month.

Bad things about today.
No flowers from weasels
Cutting run short
Pile of admin to sort tonight!
Less than a week of janathon left :-(

a very nice Monday

That was a nice day. I had a fabulous one way transmission to the garage, they were very apologetic and are sorting everything tomorrow on my terms! Before that, I did my Monday weigh in and finally the bathroom scales moved, a whole 3 lbs lost since Friday... no doubt the 10 miles this weekend really helped! Nice to see some results and tonight my skinny jeans feel loose... eek!

On the advice of the running obsessed friend I did a nice easy slow run tonight. I barely broke a sweat to be honest. Kept myself loose, didn't focus on being strong or quick, just my arms not twisting and getting round comfortably. It was the same loop as I did on new years day, and I did it quicker tonight than I did 23 days ago, and that was taking it easy.

Band tonight was hard work, but fun as always. Tomorrow's focus is a long flat (ish) run to see how the weekend's hill challenges have improved my flat work. Aiming for that magic 5 miles in 50 but will settle at somewhere near that 55 or 56 max. This may be the one target I fall short of by the end of the month. I have my route planned though, fingers crossed.

wow...hills hurt and thankyou iphone!

Great day today, both janathon wise and just in general... except that is until I discovered the repair garage had disconnected my fuel cap opening mechanism when I was 50 miles from home and my fuel light had been on for 15, maybe 20 miles!! thankfully due to the wonders of iphone, forecourt lighting and sheer determination over 45 minutes I stripped out my boot, opened it manually and am looking forward to the very angry complaint phone call in the morning!

Today's run was fabulous. But oh my, I live in a flat place! I went out with the running obsessed friend. They went off 3 minutes in on a half marathonesque nutter route once I was on the correct bit of the coastal path, and I was complete with instructions. I did fail to listen to them all perfectly however and did a fabulous 1/2 mile detour. This took me through lots of bracken and thorns, using a discarded xmas tree as a step ladder to get down a 5ft drop onto a train line verge and then climbing through a barbed wire covered set of railings to get back on track... Great fun! I walked a lot of it due to uneven ground and the close vicinity of said train line... Having watched 12 hours last night I was a little concerned for my safety!

Back on track and some great hills to conquer. I had to walk up some of them, just way too big and too long to do in one go at the moment. Once on the flat (or long slow downhill) I felt good and strong. concentrating on stride length, big toe pushing, arms going forward etc etc. Can you tell I'm becoming obsessed??

This is a diagram of my incline today... how cool is runningfreeonline and their mapping software. I had measured on a map that today's route would be about 3.5 miles, but that's straight line distance not including hills. My pedo read 6.4 when I'd finished but that did include the (now measured) half mile detour and an extra 0.7 miles once back at the start to keep me out running till half past the hour... I know, silly personal target! I knew this would be way off due to my considerably shortened stride length up those hills. The total mileage according to running free maps was 5.7 miles! Chuff me, fantastic!!! Slow yes, but hey, those hills were hard, I did bits of walking but kept going, happy today. Tomorrow was going to be a rest day but I am reliably informed by the running obsessed friend that I will be sore tomorrow after hills today (actually I'm already sore tonight!) so I should go for a slow easy shortish run tomorrow. Oh, and I managed a hillside walk this afternoon too... just under 3 miles, some rock hopping, stone scrambling, and a nice cup of tea and a toasted teacake!

janathon, you rock!