Running For The Quiet

So Long, thanks for all the Fish

2011-05-13T22:54:00.000+01:00

Well what did you expect me to type? I think there's a EU directive saying I HAVE TO.

Yup, I've jumped ship & moved over to Wordpress,

http://runforthequiet.wordpress.com

you can find all my moaning over there now.

It's been emotional
(well no, but that's another quote)

I am not on Twitter, therefore this is "work" - right?

2011-05-12T11:32:00.000+01:00

Ah ok, I am totaly procrastinating.
I'm supposed to be tidying up & hanging washing out & grown up things like that. Instead I'm syncing iPods & Nike+ Gizmos, and admitting April was less than Active.

Despite my best intentions I only ran 14 miles all month. That's a bit rubbish. Although the pace has improved over the months I'm now on average 2 minutes better (per mile) than at the start of the year! and I've broken the 100 miles mark, (currently at 108 miles)

I'm blaming wedding preparation for the lack of running in April & I'm also blaming the wedding for the 7.5 lbs I've put on in about 2 weeks. But with cakes like these at the wedding, could you blame me? (Of course there was lots of testing in April to make sure we had chosen the right flavours)
Well, I've killed 30 minutes typing this naff post & looking through wedding photos, and now it's time to go make Lunch! Hooray, not a jot of grown up work completed at all today.
Can I switch Twitter back on now?

Fancy Some Pink Handmade Socks!

2011-05-09T14:18:00.000+01:00

Yes, honestly, I will hand knit, one person, socks using some fabulous pink (& brown) yarn from my GIANT stash!

Why?
Well why not? Plus & want to take the chance to wave the fact I'm raising money for Refuge in front of lots of people's faces & I'm not one to run in costume or daft things like that.

Enough jabbering on... SHOW ME YARN PORN!
I have to say that my photography skills aren't doing the yarn many favours, but it is Fabulous.
It's a blend of 75% Superwash Merino & 25% Nylon, hand dyed by The Knitting Goddess. The colour is called Rasperry Ruffle & is actually two different balls of yarn. The main colour is the pink, mixed with darker black / brown streaks & there is also a smaller ball of accent colour in a lovely chocolate brown. This colour is no longer available, as I snapped it up from the shop a while ago & have been keeping the precious in my stash box for a good long while.

What could I make you with this yarn?
Well there's a good 100g of yarn, so if socks aren't your thing then I'm certain we can come up with something you'd love. Shawls, gloves, hats, pink sheep, you name it, I'll have a go. (although I'll let you know if I think it's all going to look a little wobbly & if I've never tried it before)

Won't I have to wash it weirdly, handknit things are a PITA aren't they?
Nope, the yarn is a super wash & it's brilliant for socks, I was mine on 40 degrees in the washing machine with Ecover and all mine are fine, they may eventually not look as bright as original, as I think the colours do fade, but they don't dissolve or need hand-washing. However hand washing would possible make them last a bit longer. (I don't know I haven't tried)

What do I have to do to to get my feet into some new socks?
Leave a comment on this post with your predicted time for how fast / slow I will run this years Great Manchester Run, and wish me (& yourself) luck!
I'd like to shamelessly remind people that I'm also trying to raise pennies for Refuge, so if you have a few odd pennies in your PayPal account I'd be most great full if you could head over to my Just Giving Page & add a few too. There's more of the story about why I'm running for Refuge in this post

This isn't really very running related is it?
No, but if you want I'll send you some sweaty running socks & keep the precious myself.

Ok, official type stuff.

The competition closes at 11am (GMT+1) Sunday 15th May 2011. Posts after that don't count.
The person with the closest time to my official "chip" time wins.
In the event of a tie, the earliest post wins.
I will post to all Europe, and America. If you live some place else, let me know & I'll get back to you asap.
You don't HAVE to donate anything to Refuge, but it'd be nice if you did. (thank you)
One guess per person, play nice!

GOOD LUCK!
(If you've got any more questions please ask)

Active April Begins...

2011-04-03T12:05:00.003+01:00

... after this 2nd bowl of chillie. Honest.

So the challenge that was Janathon has left me lazy, who'd have thunk it? I complete a month of daily running only to spend the next 2 months, doing almost naff all.
Seriously, in January I ran 54 miles, and went for 31 runs. If I tell you that I haven't even broke the 100 mile mark for this year*, then you can see, I most certainly have been spending too much time on the couch.

Ok, so I said my rules for Active April would be simple. I also said that I wouldn't be as hardcore as Janathon. One of them will turn out to be a fib, I'm certain.
SO here I go.
I'm aiming to beat my Janathon total, but quicker.
So 54 miles, in under 15 hours of running. And as I didn't run on Saturday, I have fewer runs to do it in anyway. This will hopefully have a two fold result. 1) I'll have to do longer runs, rather than wimping out after a few miles & 2) I'll have to walk less whilst out in order to up my average pace.

I've cleared out the Nike+ app on my phone to make it easier for my sleep deprived and child fuddled head to keep track of where I'm up to.

So far I've ran on the 1st & 3rd, so I'm thinking I'll run on the odd days at least. I'm at 3.2 miles, and at my current pace I'll get to 54 miles about 10 minutes quicker than in Jan!

I'll force myself to post each Monday, in an effort to get some kind of regularity, but I don't think I could manage every day. I'm not certain I'd have anything to add every day. Some of the Janathon posts are very brief & more rambling than ever.

Wish me luck, or call an ambulance.

Maudlin March into ACTIVE APRIL!

2011-03-29T13:32:00.001+01:00

I've been miserable for most of March, from sulking on Twitter, to just slumping about the house, moaning, in general. I've ran 5 times in the whole of March, which I'm sure you agree, is a bit pants.
The saddest thing being that if I had ran more, I'd probably been much happier, or a least not got on the nerves of those around me as much, as it's harder to Twitter or sulk at others when you're out the house, running by yourself.

Unfortunately I'm not 12 any more & no one is going to force me to do any exercise, or run the Great Manchester Run or the Run Liverpool Marathon for me. So I'm using the change of the months to force myself to change my head & get out more.

So that's where Active April comes in. I ~~loved~~ ~~liked~~ completed #Janathon this year & so I'm going to make April something, not quite as hardcore, but similar for myself.

I'm not 100% certain on how I'm going to judge myself or the requirements, I think my partner would have a nervous breakdown if I told him I'm going to run every day again, but I have 2 days to work them out ( and I'm open for suggestions)

I've declared to my family I'm running this evening, so he won't get lost in ASDA and arrive home late, so I should have time to work it all out.

Probably.

4.25mi 1hr 3 min

2011-03-03T14:45:00.000Z

This was a great run. Not because I left a grumpy baby, whiney toddler & a just as grumpy dad at home, that just made the quiet a little sweeter.
No, this was a great run because of many other reasons, I'll list them for you;

1) I ran faster for longer, I didn't maintain the pace all the way, but it was the furthest I've pushed it, EVER EVER EVER!
2) I ran further than I have since May 2010!
3) I ran up a hill & didn't slow or stop at the top!
4) I made up the route & it was the perfect length!
5) I felt great 90% of the way around!
6) I had a banana instead of Milky Way, when I got home!

Oh I could go on & on, and then on a bit more.
It was a day later than scheduled, but I'm glad I waited. I've been suffering from some nasty kind of cold, that's knocked me sideways. The fact that I can't have any drugs, because I'm breastfeeding, didn't improve my Get Well Soon mood. So there's been four days this week where I haven't been able to talk, and a few more where I feel like I've had some small creature burrowing in through my skull.

I'm concerned that I don't feel any kind of sore legs today, in fact I'm felling pretty damn good. (mostly owing to the fact I can put my pants on without undoing buttons, this means I need new pants & am not as fat as I was last time I wore them.) Perhaps this means I could have ran even more? Or am I just being all YEHAA! now I'm starting to feel like a real runner, not some flabby girl joggling about her neighbourhood?

How goes the war?

2011-03-01T11:24:00.001Z

Right, I have resolved not to eat Chocolate for the whole of March, no really I wrote it in my calendar & my Weight Watchers book too, and declared it on Twitter too. It's an official resolution.

So I wasn't really thinking too much about it, but then the Tesco order I placed, prior to opting out of Chocolate, arrived with 6 choc puddings in it. Two of them freeze, so it's obvious what to do with them. Four of them alas are fresh, and need to be eaten by the 16th. So the dilemma is, as they are Weight Watchers chocolate puddings, do they count? I think they should be allowed, like a when a smoker quits using nicotine patches.

Would it be cheating to eat these & still claim victory on the No Chocolate Resolution? I don't know, I think I'm getting far too competitive and a bit like Muttley in my desire for Medals.

Must be the music?

2011-02-24T20:46:00.000Z

Three miles planned, 2 miles ran & 1 walked.
I tried some new music. his afternoon I asked the great mind that it twitter, "What should I listen to while I run tonight?"

I've never been a fan of the Podrunner podcasts, the music just isn't my thing, but I'll admit to only have listened to the Podrunner Intervals. The standard one BPM tracks were a new one for me & I must admit that I was a little interested in the Cadence in this one. I think I need a bit of Boot Camp to get my belly in control.

I got my Podrunner through iTunes, Powertools (174bpm), and after a bit of faffing about (Nike+ doesn't let you choose podcasts as something to listen to) and off I went.
I wasn't impressed, but I did run my fastest 1km this year to it, and it certainly didn't feel too much like hard work at the time, but pretty much at the 1.75 mile mark I lost wind, and slowed to a stumbing walk, & try as I might I just couldn't get back onto the pace, and the Podrunner just wasn't doing it for me.
So I faffed around some more & dug out an old playlist, a little bit of Foo Fighters saw me run the next half mile, but by then I'd given up, and walked back.

Such a different run to Tuesdays, and all I can say, is it must be the music?
Suppose I better get myself used to running with out music, as I might have a running partner for the Marathon. I find out tomorrow, after she's been paid!
Right, I've got a date with Mr Kipling, and then I'll need a shower!

The beginning is a very delicate time...

2011-02-23T10:28:00.002Z

Yesterday I completed my 1st run on my training calendar, and then came home and ate a share bag of Revels to myself, whilst watching The Biggest Looser, & The Biggest Looser USA. Inspirational I know.

Whilst I was getting ready to run I was searching Spotify for running music, something different to the miss match I normally listen to, I found an AudioFuel mix. Given that I was too disorganized & lazy to use the freebie link kindly sent out to Janathon Participants, and I have never heard a bad AudioFuel review, this seemed stupid not to take out for a run.

The mix set up into 13 intervals all around 3 minutes, although the 1st interval is longer as a warm up, (I think.) The recovery intervals are at 155bpm, and the working intervals are at 160, 170 & 180bpm.
I found the 160bpm really hard to jog along to, it felt neither one thing nor the other. 170bpm was a good pace and, shock horror, I really enjoyed these intervals, and 180 bpm felt like it was just a little too fast, but something that I could work for.
The coaching is great! From the "Feet to the beat..." saying every now & again, to all the tips, reminders & inspirational shouts that you get, I won't spoil it for you, because you need to listen to them. They are top! Just what you want to hear as you're thinking "Will this 3 minutes end?!? are you sure it's only 180bpm?"
I will admit to walking at least for 50% of the recovery sections, but I did run 100% of the working intervals, and as I didn't quite cover the 3 miles I had planned I walked the rest (about 1/3 of a mile) home.
But I enjoyed this run a heckuva lot more than when I forced myself out on Sunday.

As for the post title, I just wanted to get a Dune quote on my blog, but I could blag it & say that it was hit & miss if I'd have managed to get out & run yesterday, the rain, and the agony I woke up in all pushed me towards the No end of the running spectrum.

There we go, next run Thursday, another 3 miles. See you there?

Targets times, training & tempo

2011-02-21T13:44:00.000Z

Right, this is the post where I throw down some numbers & spend the next few months sweating & puffing & panting & swearing, certainly swearing, to get them.

So through some sort of insanity gripped moment yesterday morning I booked my place in the RunLiverpool Marathon, not only did I book a marathon place I booked myself in the 4hr group. There was method to this madness, I used to do quite a few 25 mile walks / marches as a nipper, they took between 6 & 8 hours, and everyone knows running is twice as fast as walking. Right?)
After a long shower & a goodnights sleep I wake up & start to realise that this may perhaps be a bit ambitious...
On the other hand I have just about 6 months to train for it, and if I'm honest my current running is about 50% walking at the moment, so doubling my pace, means actually running all the time.

Cathy, JogBlog on twitter, and of course author of Jog Blog, pointed me in the direction of Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Schedules and they seem quite simple & straight forwards, as she said on twitter, they have non of the faffy 8x200m tempo rubbish, the sort of stuff I'm guaranteed not to actually do.
So the 18 week program has been logged into my Google calendar (see over there at the top right?)

But before those 18 weeks of swearing stupidity, I have the Great Manchester 10k. As I've quite normally booked myself into the 1hr slot for this, I'm not too worried. After yesterday afternoons run, I just have 12 weeks to double my speed & fitness to reach that goal.
I've found a training plan on the Nike+ site that schedules in a few 8 mile runs, and ends nicely with a 10k, so that's been plugged into the google calendar, and it fits almost perfectly into the time I have, with about a week between the 10k & the 18 Week countdown. perhaps during this week off I'll eat cake & beer? Probably not.

To be honest I've been looking at the pace calculator things you can find online & I'm a bit frightened by the pace they keep throwing out at me. But they are just numbers and I feel like I have nothing to relate them too. So I'm 50/50 on going to go out tonight & doing a mile at the marathon pace, just to put something real behind the figures I keep seeing. And possibly motivate myself to step away from OHMYGODWHATHAVEIDONE?! edge. I know there are a lot of strategies when running marathons, I keep reading things about splits & there are a few calculators that will give you a differing pace for each mile, letting you tailor it to a fast start or sprint finish, but I'm just aiming for an over all steady pace. At least I am right now, I haven't even gotten my trainers on yet!

Anyway I digress...

TARGET TIMES 2011

Target dream / real / settle for
Manchester 10k 50min / 55min / 60min
Liverpool Marathon 4 hrs / 4:30 hrs / 5 hrs

Wish me luck?!

OhshitOhShitOhShit! I've entered a MARATHON!

2011-02-20T21:14:00.000Z

I really have! It's the Mersey Marathon, although I should stop calling it that because officially it's the RunLiverpool Marathon. I entered this morning whist my dearly beloved was sleeping in some kind of hangover / exhaustion coma from the birthday party he went to last night. The reason I've entered is it'll scare me into getting fitter & sticking to my diet. I've lost 13lbs since November, but keep cracking open the cake & chocolate, and trying to drink beer in between breastfeeding. That does not add up to a healthy lifestyle..
I have to run through the Mersey Tunnel! I have to run OUT the Mersey Tunnel, that's certainly a hill! That's most certainly a reason to get fitter & lesser podge...

That's seriously the bit I'm worried about, not the 26 and a bit miles, not the time to completion... the hill out the Mersey tunnel. Just watch the video.

RunLiverpool Marathon Course from RunLiverpool on Vimeo.

On less of a I shit my pants note, I ran my best 5k this year (ok it's only the 2nd one this year too) but it was 46 min 50 sec.

I'm frustrated because there's a younger healthier & pregnant woman running better than I am. It's me 12 months ago & I just can't believe I'm this unhealthy. What did I do to myself?! Can all the chocolate and cake really have put me in this bad a shape?!

Right, I'm off to have a shower & think about setting some running goals / target times.

100km YTD

2011-02-11T22:19:00.000Z

I think that's pretty sweet, don't you?!

I did only do the 2.3km required to push me over the distance, but at least I went out & ran, and I did run, surprising even myself with the minimum amount of slacking during my run.

I've just switched on a training schedule on the Nike+ site, it ends on my wedding day! So I'm guessing it's a good job the ceremony isn't until the afternoon?! hmm yes, ask me that in 13 weeks!

GULP!

Hello? Are you still there?!

2011-02-10T18:14:00.000Z

Just checking in to let you know that Janathon didn't kill me & I am still running around in the cold and the wet!

The final total for Janathon was 87km in running. February's running total to date is 10km, but I'm still chugging along.
I think I might even started to enjoy running again, as truthfully, Janathon sapped a bit of the desire to run & made it more a requirement at times.

Still, I'm amazed at how much my fitness improves over those 31 days, and I'll admit to it being the perfect start to the year. It certainly got all the standard excuses used & busted in a few weeks.

So Thank You Cathy & all the Janathon Tweeps, and everyone who dropped by over the few weeks.

An Extra ThankYou to JumboJanathon who was my 1st Sponsor! LOVE YOU even though I've never met you IRL!

Sprint finish...

2011-01-31T21:22:00.000Z

Last day of Janathon & I ended with 200m as fast as I could.

I'm not designed for sprinting, it killed me, so it seems I ended as I started, a puffing panting wreck!

Just a short quick post tonight, I have 2 things to do, 1) write out wedding invites 2) check my Janathon homework! I'll make a post Janathon blog tomorrow.

Have a good night Janathoners, see you in June?

Are we nearly there yet?

2011-01-30T23:45:00.001Z

Phew, I'm glad we are! Todays run was COLD, again, and short, again, but done. A gentle 1km, while waiting for food to be cooked.

I must say, that while I've loved Janathon, it's also been an annoying little bugger!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The end is nigh!

2011-01-29T21:04:00.000Z

There's about 1,000,000 things going on today & tonight, that 5 minutes around the block will have to count as my Janathon.

Having done it, it was bloody cold & I've returned home wheezing like Darth Vader without his inhaler.

roll on spring / summer!

Frell me... it's cold

2011-01-28T20:14:00.000Z

It's cold, draz cold & if I had any mivonks they'd have frozen off.

that's enough Farscape, on to the running.

Only a 15 minute run, I was starving & wanted to go home & eat with everyone else.
But with the knowledge that I've ran every day so far & managed not to starve to death whilst out I laced up & made my move. Not too quickly, I was weak with hunger.

1.23km later food was in my belly.
nomnomnomnomnomnomnom.

and now I'm exhausted, I'm going to curl up on the couch & knit socks.

Mojo, Mojo wherefore art thou Mojo...

2011-01-27T23:07:00.001Z

Tonight I FORCED myself to run. I stumbled around for 30 min, and ended up walking, like a sulking school girl for the last 8 min, making it even longer until I got back into the warm.

I don't know what it is, I just can't seem to enjoy my running, or switch off my head & let my feet do their thing.

I wonder if theres anything out there about Zen running?

3.6km today. I'm off to google, then bed.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

5 mins or bust

2011-01-26T22:21:00.000Z

I've always promsed myself that if I was not "feeling it" I'd at least try for 5 min & then if after that the run still wasn't doing it for me I'd turn around & go home.

Today was the day that after 5 min I turned around & walked home.

I have NO motivation right now, and I spent the whole day eating junk food too. I'm blaming the breastfeeding & a growth spurt with lack of sleep added.

~~I ran 3/4 of a mile,~~ I mostly ran 3/4 of a mile, it was the 1st time in ages it wasn't even a little fun.

ah well, bath & bed and a new day in the morning.

Food & then running.

2011-01-25T21:33:00.001Z

In general, it would have been ok, I think, to have eaten at 6 ish & run at around 9ish.

But I have a feeling something in my food didn't like that idea, I only managed a mile, and really Only half of it was ran. These past 3 days really seem to be testing my Janathon will.

Screaming babies, powercuts, miserable weigh ins, and dodgy belly all seem to be trying to push me over at the final hurdle.

Only 6 more runs to go!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

miserable monday - where I can't even be bothered to use the shift key

2011-01-24T21:14:00.000Z

i'm sulking. i went to fat club and only lost half a pound in a week.

on a lighter note, if i run 3.16km every day till the end of the month i'll crack 100km in janathon.

today i managed 3.23km mostly ran, but with about 700m of sulking walk...

viva la janathon

Gutted!

2011-01-23T19:18:00.001Z

Blogging from a power cut!

Just ran my fastest 5k this month, sat down on couch, ten seconds later a power cut!

No hot shower for me, must wrap up & finish playing about on phone.

Goodnight Janathoners'

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 22 - the one where life interrupted

2011-01-22T19:04:00.001Z

I'm surprised it waited so long!
3.32km into todays run, I heard the terrible
"work out Paused" Brrrrrrrrrrrrring! Brrrrrrrrrrrrring! Brrrrrrrrrrrrring! That meant I had to stop running and talk to someone...
The world was exploding at home, my son had been screaming for the last 5min and the bottle his daddy had was not acceptable. The woe of a breast-feeding runner.

An extra 900 m & I met up with my starving child.

4.2km in the bag.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Oh so cold...

2011-01-21T20:43:00.001Z

Today's trip out with the 3 year old was to trade in some old computer games.
And as we got slightly more than expected we bought Kinect. I also got one of those fitness games.
"can you tell I've been playing Xbox?"
No seriously, my thighs are killing! It was like a serious fitness class! And the woman shouted at me for not doing things a) in time & b) the right way. So yes, exactly like if I'd attended the real thing!

The Janathon effort was another run around the block.

510m in just under 5 min.
It's still horribly cold & slippy outside. Never have I paid so much attention to the weather forecast as I have during Janathon! (it's due to be warmer this weekend!)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nor Rain no snow nor Glo m of Ni t

2011-01-20T20:25:00.000Z

This was the view @ 3:30pm today, and it was freezing. I knew it would be, my other half had announced that he'd be putting the heating back on constant for the next few days. (His bat sense must have been tingling, or he'd had a look at a weather forecast.) This sort of weather does not bode well for Janathon. I hate the cold as it is, I seem to have cold blood & am possibly related to a reptile... (Long live the 5th Column?) I shouldn't be running in the winter, I should wrapped up in the warm with coffee & cake, watching bad sci - fi & knitting cozy socks.

But I wrapped my daughter up & put the baby in his snow suit and headed out for a walk, as being cooped up in the house all day means she literally jumps off the walls/couch/stairs/bed/me/baby. 3.5 miles later she was miffed, but knackered. (is that mean?) We did make a brief detour into a supermarket, where I was pleased/disappointed that my daughter choose strawberries as a treat instead of chocolate. We also stopped to take a frosty picture of Ivy leaves. She wasn't impressed by this either, and demanded that we hurry up. The baby just slept for 90 minutes. And lost a glove.

So with 7pm looming and the knowledge that I hadn't actually RAN for this Janathon effort, I suited up for the cold.

560m around the block, in 5:54, slowing down as the foot path was slippy in places!

does not bode well for tomorrow...

But it's COLD outside

2011-01-19T20:39:00.001Z

So cold I could see ice crystals forming on the road ahead. An feel them forming inside my lungs!

So a quick, just under a mile, dash out & back secured my Janathon entry for day 19.

Not the 4.2km I had planned. (odd number I know, it's all to do with keeping my Janathon averages!)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blue Tuesday?

2011-01-18T21:48:00.001Z

I don't know what it was about today's run but I just felt slow & heavy.

Started off with some of my favourite tunes and struggled to jog on, after about 20min I switched to the Audio Fuel freebie (Grid mix 160-170 bpm)

It helped, a little, I still felt slower than normal, but at least I could force myself to run a little more.

Somehow I managed to cut 38 seconds of my best mile this month! Really not sure how?

Right - O tiramisu is calling

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 17?

2011-01-17T21:31:00.001Z

So all the days are starting to blur into one & other!

2 miles ran tonight & I could have done better... But Song 2 by Blur was in the playlist, and I ALWAYS run to fast to it and then end up knackered & hobble the rest of the run. Guess what happened!

On a lighter note... I lost 3 lbs this week! (see what I did there?!?)

Oh & keeping up with what seemed to be the twitter topic of the day...

What's the worlds fastest cake?

Scone
(this joke only works if you pronounce it properly !)

9 seconds - BANK!!!

2011-01-16T22:24:00.000Z

So I completed the same workout as I did last Sunday & did 5km 9 seconds quicker. I'll bank that. Quicker is quicker after all.

So I've come to see the Janathon Twitter list as a double edged sword, there was the great cheers I've had & gave out to people, then there's this....

I think I've mentioned the mersey marathon in passing before, I think I'd quite like to try it. It's my home turf, being a scoucer at heart, but I'm 50/50 on if I'd manage to get that far. I suppose there are 200+ training days untill the 26 (& a bit) miles. Something to think about over night!

I'm realy diging how it says I've burnt 5,000+ calories this month.

Feels like a Wednsday

2011-01-15T19:24:00.000Z

It's not quite at the begining of #Janathon & it's not quite the end.

Todays "Run" had more walk than run, was a bit of a let down, but then today has been a bit naff too. I'm not going to mope on the interwebs, I'm just going to swear I'll get up & run in daylight....

but as I type this I get a nosie from my iPhone, & it's a #Janathoner, cheering me on for my run...
it was @carlatutte THANKYOU!

just when you're down, #Janathon pickus you up.

I'm off to make chillie for 4 ppl.

Mid way Janalytics

2011-01-15T01:11:00.000Z

Ok, so...

Firstly let me say this was JUST FOR FUN and is no way the official #janathon ranking... I've done this all by myself, because I'm a geek who likes to play with numbers.

Secondly, it only goes from data that was available at 9:20pm on Friday 14th Jan on the Running free website... so there are a LOT of missing people / runs / swims / whatever. A total of 189 people have logged activity todate.

~~Thirdly (?) Third (?)~~ Next, It's ranked thus
1) Running (178 people logged 1 or more Runs)
2) Walking (64 people logged 1 or more walk)
3) Biking (50 people logged 1 or more bike ride)
4) Swimming (34 people logged 1 or more swim)
Because that's starts with the most popular activity & gets fewer each level.

Next, all activities were logged by DISTANCE IN KM, for 2 reasons
1)this lead to fewer 0 entries or entries with the same number (running free rounds up to nearest whole numbers)
2) there appear to be more errors in people logging TIME than distance, sorry if you were one of the people who logged their time correctly and have been knocked down the ranks because of it... THIS IS JUST FOR FUN....

Why am I stressing that this is JUST FOR FUN?
well, this am the internetz, people get all upity at mistakes ect, if you spot an error let me know, other wise

STATS & NUMBERS?! SHOW ME MOAR!

This is Janathon Dude... If we say he is the average of us all then in the last 14 days he has...

Ran 50.34 KM

Walked 4.1km

Biked 9.49km

swimmed ;) 0.41km

(and so you see why the average (mean) can sometimes be rubbish!)

So a few medians (I've only used the people who've logged each activity as the sample for each)

Runner 44km ( @Rossc0 of Jogger's Posterous is the Median Runner out of 178)

Walker 32km ( @laurajonesruns of Marathon Miss is the Median Walker out of 64)

Cyclist 27km (Dawn of dawnydawn10 out of 50)

Swimmer 17.2 km ( suesj out of 34)

What's the median mean? (bubum ta! its a maths joke)
there are exactly 50% of the people above or below each person. They are slapbang in the middle of the rankings!

Enough maths Show me the

"TOTAL UNOFFICIAL AND PROBABLY WRONG ANYWAY HALFWAY POINT (ish) JANATHON LEADERBOARD"

		Run (ranked)	KM	Walk (rank)	KM	Bike (rank)	KM	Swim (rank)	KM
Local Adventures	Gary V	1	308
jenks		2	226	12	19
...musing...	@kevinforeman	3	226	3	57
run-julia	Julia	4	172
2shoes	@Sallykphimister	5	165	35	7
2011 Miles (Jules)	@2011miles	6	163					34	0
runtezza	Terry O	7	143					20	1
Follystone		8	136
RosieBlue		9	134
Mikkel's tri blog	@mikkeljlind	10	133	43	5			10	4
Wombat's Virgin London Marathon Blog	@wombatvlm	11	112
BBBri		12	112
gintares	Gintare S	13	111	38	6
paintedrunner	@paintedrunner	14	107			16	45	7	4
2011km	@pradprathivi	15	107
Sequin		16	106
marts2smooth		17	102	49	2			12	3
The Magathon	Maggie E	18	100
buryblue		19	95
Tom Roper's Running Training	@tomroper	20	95			30	24	19	1
nikkijinx	Nikki T	21	95
jensruns2011	Jennifer S	22	94
pingpongperambulator	@stukingping	23	94
Janathon and beyond	Nick M	24	93
Moving Along - More Effort, Faster Times. Maybe.	@movingalong79	25	93	52	2	10	66	16	2
Motoperpetio	Angela K	26	91
Journey into the unknown	@rosa_rocks_uk	27	89	55	1	50	0
Windy Hannah Slow Runner	Miller H	28	89	60	0
One Foot Out The Door	Robert S	29	88
Cake of Good Hope	Katie K	30	87			6	96
Miles To Go	@sheri3004	31	87
Shazruns	Sharon W	32	87	61	0
Faster Legs	Vini	33	85
Pyro's Yard	Carrick A	34	85
sillysjogle	@sillysjogle	35	83
Hashiru Ed	Ed N	36	82
The Virtual Runner	@TheVR	37	81	19	11	43	4
Runmoor	@runonthemoors	38	81					13	3
Fair Weather Runner	@fairweatherrun	39	77
iliketocount	Shaun B	40	77			26	27
eternalzoe10		41	77
Fitographer	Richard H	42	76
Not much of a runner	Phil A	43	76
runorgocrazy	Giselle S	44	76
bigvern72	Nick V	45	75
Gemma's Janathon	Gemma B	46	75
Fit Artist	@adeleprince	47	75
fletchea		48	74
anewjanuary		49	74
theirisheye	@theirisheye	50	73
Insert Clever Running Pun Here	Kieron C	51	73
Travelling Hopefully	@knittingpenguin	52	72
Yes, I'm Still Running...	@runirishrun	53	72
Oz		54	72
irunitri	Simon B	55	71			42	4	18	1
The Reluctant Runner	@dritenhi	56	68
carahendry	Cara H	57	68			39	9
Running for Vanity	@running4vanity	58	67
hroxrun	Helen R	59	65
Just Plod It	@justplodit	60	64					14	2
2011 Miles (the Dude)	@2011miles	61	63			18	44
tonyparkrunner	Tony G	62	63			44	3
rage against age	@labc	63	61			1	170	1	11
Running out of time	@joedreadlock	64	60					15	2
Fortnight Flo	Carla G	65	60			38	10	23	1
Run Helen Run	@runhelenrun	66	59	8	28	48	1
Running Dutchie	Lucja L	67	58	24	10	49	0
warriorwoman	@warriorwoman	68	58
juleswills1	@juleswill1	69	58
A Bradypus	A Bradypus	70	57			32	14
Angels have the phone box	@haikugirloz	71	56	42	5	12	62
I'm a jogger not a blogger	@Jo365	72	55
Jogalog	Corina	73	54
Orange		74	52
Running Jen	Jen	75	52	57	1	45	3
CJ Henderson	@CJH7969	76	51			31	14
Paula's Posterous	@pbutler102	77	51	17	13
riotstar		78	49
Lazy Girl Running	@lazygirlrunning	79	49			41	5
SianA	Sian A	80	49
cummagnaspe	Sarah D	81	48
thereisasixpackunderhere	Susan J	82	47
Geekgirlruns		83	47
Running For The Quiet	@runforthequiet	84	46
Can't take me anywhere	@angebhart	85	46
Steve and Katy Run	@stephenamp	86	45	45	3
So I'm doing this because...	@helenmew	87	45
zimlars	@zimlars	88	44	21	10
Jogger's Posterous	@Rossc0	89	44	14	16	47	2	31	0
Ramblings of a multi-tasker	@karleensmith	90	44					11	3
Sooozie	Suzie	91	44
Zed does Janathon	Zoe G	92	44	53	2
Talk Silly	@misty2k	93	44
Run DMT	@denisermt	94	43
39 Mid Life Crisis	@39midlifecrisis	95	42	31	8	15	49	2	5
PippiLS		96	41	13	18			27	1
Audiofuel	@audiofuel	97	41			27	26	25	1
Marathon Dan	Dan H	98	41
Jog On	@ruthlewy	99	40
The GF Runs	@KathrynElliott	100	39	27	9	46	3
sallyshurdles	@quasi_sally	101	38	36	7	40	5	5	4
Can't Move It, Climb It!	@vikkiroberts	102	38
Writing Neuroses	@kaysexton	103	35
dadoorunrun	Lazy Betty	104	35
Accountability	@boutdrz	105	35
Jungle GG	@gemmakgraham	106	33	22	10
Unshod Northerner	@donnchadhuk	107	32	59	0			26	1
Bea's Blog	@fadryn	108	32	5	31
Kokopelli Camping	@JaqsD	109	31
Paddy's Blog	@paddyphilipryan	110	31
jjogging	Jenny S	111	31
lonegirlrunning	Judith	112	30
The Bean 29	@TheBean28	113	30	40	5	35	11
marathondog		114	29	44	4	2	151	32	0
Hands like pistons, legs like tree trunks	@tess_hs	115	28	54	1
ksweeswee	@ksweeswee	116	28	47	3
Ninja Mum	Julia G	117	28
Big Bird	Debbie C	118	27	34	7	23	30
Footpather		119	27	15	14			4	5
journalathon	@WARDLAW	120	27
roisinrun	Roisin d B	121	27
Hels Bels	@helsieboo	122	27	28	9
Miss-T		123	26	7	28
I, Phoenix, Running	@tfurcini	124	25
Releasing the inner thin and fit person	@fattypuff2	125	25			33	13	8	4
I am new to this	Alex H	126	25
My Sore Left Knee	@anotherjay	127	25	9	23	19	43
Musings & Madness from Puce Green	@pucegreen	128	25					28	1
Oscar Mike	@theredrocket	129	25
Double Oh Deely BH	@DeelyBH	130	25
casualrunner	@breackthru	131	24	23	10
ceebeebee	@pike3306	132	24	4	52	29	25
Bumble1984srunning		133	23
PupilPremium	Julian W	134	23
My Aching Feet	@sammy723	135	22	16	14
suesj		136	21	18	11			17	2
Thirsty Hippo	Sarah R	137	21	51	2
jay_snizzel		138	21
Might be a giggle	@cliad	139	20
A Half Hearted Half Marathon	Kate F	140	19
Marathon Miss	@laurajonesruns	141	18	32	8
runbabyrun		142	17			36	10
Diary of Maximus	Dave M	143	17	56	1	34	11
mrlumpybadger	Gordon B	144	17
Webb	@iamtherealwebb	145	15	50	2
Jumbo Janathon	Julie M	146	15	10	23			22	1
Bristol Hula	@bufty_grifter	147	15
12 Months 12 Races	@bowerm	148	14			8	73
forbessw		149	14	48	3	7	88	9	4
Jogging Jay	Jay G	150	14
SODIron's Blog	@DazReevell	151	14
Girl on a mission	Justine C	152	14
All Caddywumpus	Lyndsey S	153	14	63	0
JogBlog	@jogblog	154	14	30	8	9	72
Operation Roma	@dRC_M	155	14
Onepaceplodder	Viv Plods	156	13
Avid Bugler	@Tullius0618	157	12
katieruocco	Katie R	158	11	33	8
dawnydawn10	Dawn	159	11			25	27
Shunning Running	Tina C	160	11
Richard's Janathon	Richard D	161	10					24	1
Benko	Stephen B	162	10
Gary's Blog	@garyjuk	163	9	58	1	28	26	29	0
The Road Running Blog	@roadrunning	164	8	29	9	17	45	21	1
irunbecauseilovefood	Jo J	165	8	11	19
sparkysmumruns		166	8
Londonox New Year New Blog	Adam A	167	8	41	5
The Lard Lounge	@bimblebelle	168	8
FitnessCheerleader		169	7
Red Stripe Recruit	@kevindavisphoto	170	7
Babyworm	@bwefshop	171	6	25	10
Lottabottle's Back!	@lottabottle2	172	5	2	69	20	41	33	0
carloslecrabski	Kirsty J	173	5			22	35
lewisandclarkcrush		174	3	20	10	13	62
runningmomma		175	3
livvycamp	Livvy	176	2
I run for cake	Ana Y	177	2
Cog2011	Ruth B	178	0	64	0
HighwayKind		179		1	80	4	114
Grethic's Grethicia	@farctum	180				5	113	6	4
vivplods		181				11	64	30	0
andyneedsabird	Andy V	182				14	54
Words and Pictures	Natalie B	183		6	31
See Teacher Run	@pbear31	184		26	9
fletchea		185		37	6
Farctum		186		39	5
bimblebelle		187		46	3
knitrundig	Sam J	188		62	0
DeelyBH		189						3	5

I know It's a bit of a bitch to read... sorry my HTML fu has left me. & I should eb in bed not playing around with spread sheets & blogs.
Where possible I've linked to a real site rather than your Running free profile... if I couldn't figure you out from the name you created then please drop a comment & I'll change it... ummm probably. perhaps.

Enjoy! Possibly?
Check back Sunday, I will have had the weekend to play with it & sick in some better graphics... probably

Day 14... just a quickie

2011-01-14T21:14:00.000Z

Ok,, so I technically did 2 runs today, but they were pretty much one after the other, it's not strictly true.

I wanted to try & beat my 15 min mile I'd set during the 1st 13 days of #Janathon. SO the 1st run I actually managed it! 14:03 is my new #Janathon fastest mil, my personal best ever is 11:55. So Yipee! 2 more weeks to shave off another 2 min 8 seconds... err, I will keep you posted on that one.

The second "run" was mostly just to keep me travelling at least 2 miles every day. (this is my personal minimum daily distance.) It was more of a 15 minute wheeze to tell truth. I'm going to say there were a few hills. Honest.

This concludes the #Janathon post. But stay tuned, I'm just playing with Excel & Photoshop, to try & work out some half way Janalytics.

bleerghgh... uuuumm?

2011-01-13T22:29:00.001Z

So we're on day 13 of #Janathon (the hast tag seems compuslory, after writing it so many times on twitter)
I'm also on day 3 of the diet too. ummm, what else to write...

I just feel bleargh, I'm prowling around the kitchen looking for treats, and knowing that I'd do this, there are no treats in the house.
My daughter doesn't help, I took her to the supermarket & as she was superbly behaved (for a 3 year old) asked if she wanted a treat, she choose 3 bananas. I can't even rely on stealing candy from a baby. DAMMIT! (I mean yeah for my healthy eating daughter! W00T!)

I was shocked & confused when I was logging my run with the runningfree website. The internal momologue went something like this;
"Run 13, no, what's the date today? (checks wall calenday) Jan 13th? hmm, that would mean it's practically 2 weeks since the start of #Janathon, and it can't be, it started at the weekend.... What day is it today? ... ... ... HOLY SHIT! it's the 14th tomorrow?! How the hell did we get this far into 2011?!"
And then I nearly dropped BBQ chicken on my feet. (I was cooking at the time)

So I've ran another 2 miles today & I'm going to do it tomorrow too & again on saturday, and then on Sunday I'm going to be mean & do some serious hard running around, and start running a little further every day for the last 2 weeks of #Janathon.

And so to bed...

A Jump to the Left..,

2011-01-12T22:10:00.002Z

So, every day I've ever went running I've gone out the door & went RIGHT. Every time. EVERY run. All my routes are to the right end of my street.

So here's a thought... What happens if I go left?
Well today, dear Janathoner, I went & found out.

I live in Preston, I believe it was quite an industrial town and I live near a place called Tulketh Mill.
It's now inhabited by Carphone Warehouse, (If you have any beef with them let me know I'll run past & throw a few eggs for you).

But the Mill has obviously shaped the land, as mostly to my left are long terraced roads.

As such it was quite boring, apart from the odd few houses that hadn't drawn their curtains, and I could catch a sneaky peek at their choice of living room decor. (not all of it great)

And I was also jumping out the way of people walking dogs, although I swear one woman was walking a very fluffy cat.

I had to cross atleast 15 roads during my 30 min excursion & run up 2 hills.

I think I'll continue with my step to the riiiiiiight.

Oooh Sheeeeit!

2011-01-11T21:13:00.002Z

You know I actually forgot Id been running today, I know I have. I checked the Running Free website & also my sports bra is stinky.

I think all this wedding planning is getting to me.

That or #Janathon is getting to me already!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Aaargh!!

2011-01-10T21:26:00.002Z

It was a good run, going well. Until I stopped to help someone with directions. Who turned out to be a Mormon trying to offer me salvation.
I'm wearing shorts & a rain proof hoodie, which is essentially a plastic jacket. YOU are wearing a scarf, a hat, a duffle coat, carting a golf umbrella along with you.
Now is not the time mate for a philosophical debate over my soul, I'm currently trying to prevent my body from giving up before my soul is ready for the next step, but cheers mate.
(I nearly punched him, but I'd probably have done that to anyone who stopped me on my run, I was having fun.)

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Smile! All time is Relative...

2011-01-09T21:36:00.000Z

Phew! I have just punished myself, and enjoyed it, what does that make me?
A sadist?
A lunatic?
An Opus Dei Member?
A runner? (In mind if not, quite yet, the body?)

The punishment wasn't quite beating myself with willow branches or that spiky thing Paul Bethany wears around his leg in The Da Vinci Code. No I did my 1st ever night of Speed Drills...
2 sets; 10 minutes of 1min running as fast as I could, & 1 minute slow to recover.
As crazy as it sounds the 15 minutes gentle jog in between the 2 sets was the hardest part of the whole night.
Seriously, the time flew by when doing the drills, and the voice through my headphones seemed to say "GOFAST... ok slow" but when it came to the "endurance jog" it's like he switched his stop watch off, went for a brew & had his evening meal + a short nap or something! It couldn't have been only 3 minutes since he last spoke, I'd been jogging for a week already... An so I have proved all time is relative & Mr Einstein wasn't just a mental librarian.

There were 2 high points during my run (well 3 if you count twittering the run)
1) passing another runner going the other way, who was clearly out on one of her 1st few jogs. Like me she's overweight & was sweaty red, she was running with a bloke (quite a nice looking one) who seemed to be there for moral support & as we passed we smiled at each other. Not in a nudge nudge kind of way. But in a "I feel your PAIN" kind of way, and it only made me smile more, a full on kiddie grin that lasted a good few minutes. (In fact it brings a smile to my face as I type now)
2) the bit at the end where the voice goes, "that was a great work out well done!" I nearly cried tears of joy! I made it, and I didn't cheat, or slack off, stop or any naughty stuff! I FUCKING KICKED ASS! I ROCKED! I was indeed on fiya!

And then when I found I'd acually covered just a little over 5km during the run, well I was just a little bit chuffed as you can see from my twitter post...

Thanks to everyone who Shouted for me there and then!
@carlautte
@lottabottle2
@rosa_rocks_uk
@sheri3004

And my time for the 5k was 49min 54 sec, ok we're not talking rocket speed, yet, it's not a PB (37:20), but I'm FUCKING stoked about doing it without realising! I accidently ran 5k. 10 days ago ask me to run 5k & you could watch me have some sort of breakdown in the living room, amongst my fizzy pop & M&S chocolate biscuits!

And I know I normaly post my total distance in Miles, but this just rounds my run off nicely.

30km in 9 days, EXACTLY! couldn't have done that on purpose if I'd tried!

VIVA LA #JANATHON!

Running for the Catharsis

2011-01-08T20:02:00.000Z

Catharsis or katharsis (Ancient Greek: κάθαρσις) is a Greek word meaning "cleansing" or "purging". It is derived from the verb καθαίρειν, kathairein, "to purify, purge," and it is related to the adjective καθαρός, katharos, "pure or clean."

I've been slightly melancholy over the past few days, in early January '96 my Mother was killed, and obviously it's January now, so it's abit on my mind, as it is every January.
I'm also planning a wedding, for this May. Yipee! But, right now, it always comes back to the fact that my Mother as a dress maker should be making my wedding dress. That was written in stone at age 10 or 12 when girls realise that weddings & stuff happen and it's a day you can plan to dress up like an actual princess & people on the high street won't laugh.

So while today was a rather Lazy 2 mile run, I certainly did use it to pound out the stress & headaches out.

My husband to be has obviously noted the melancholy as there are Gu cookies on the counter in the kitchen.

Spot the Difference & Proof the voices just aren't in my head & Who to blame...

2011-01-07T21:24:00.001Z

So that was the 1st Seven Days of Janathon! Phew, my shins have begun & ended their protests about it. Hopefully that's the most I'll have to put up with. (Please no one say "famous last words")

I have a game to play today. Spot the Difference;

Aside from my in ability to crop them to reasonably the same size, and that one is of my feet stood up & one of my feet sitting down, can you spot the difference between my new trainers?

Yes the bloody English crappy weather has made my feet all soggy, and made my beautiful white trainers all black & mushy. *SULK* Well, what should I have expected? Really, this is England, in January.

It was a cold wet run & more like one of those assault courses where you have to put your foot in each tyre as you run through them, trying to avoid the deep cold puddles & the sadistic drivers trying to soak me. This must be a good form for me as I ran my quickest mile.

And through the magic of technology I can share the "Attaboy" (yes that really is what Nike call these audio clips) BTW - they don't start talking until 3 or 4 seconds in...

Listen!(yes yes I wrote Paul instead of Paula, my fingers were cold!)

oh & while were at it this is the Crazy Loud American shouting FIYA!

Listen!

So whilst out allegedly running, I was got to wondering who to blame for this soggy situation, and I gave this thought my full undivided attention, missed the turn back home & it was a full 3 minutes before I properly looked around and realised my error.

Using this extra time to curse & swear I remembered the Tweet that started this horrible chain of events for me...

Yeah, back in November it might have seemed great, but with all this extra weight & cold & wet & snow, I'm not inclined to agree with my former self or this Tweet.

So here's the last bit of embedding into this blog, and another Nike ad that I like..

I hope this blog post makes sence, but I've just eaten a whole packet of Oreos, and fear I may be entering some kind of sugar coma.

Total Miles at End of Week One

PS - Mr Virtual Runner, Thanks, honestly, I'd not have started this and once I've warmed up & dried out I'm certain I'll love Janathon again.

PPS - Cathy, extra thanks for doing this for us. Love you!

Day 6 - Lance Armstrong has moved in.

2011-01-06T21:39:00.001Z

I'm Lance Armstrong, Well Done! You just beat your longest run!

It must be getting tight for space inside my phone, Lance, Paula & Loud American guy.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Janathon day 5

2011-01-05T20:15:00.001Z

Really quick run today & a really quick blog post. I'm ravenous, so is my Son, who I'm breastfeeding. There's chillie on the table, it's calling my name!
No podcast tonight just a few powersongs. Shortest run MTD.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Janathon Day 4? Make it So!

2011-01-04T23:02:00.001Z

Not quite a triumphant as yesterday, but I ran.
Today I listened to the 5k101 podcast from Running mate.

A little different in the run/walk splits than the previous podcasts.
2min run 3 walking, if I'd have tried this back when I started I probably wouldn't have ran ever again, and this time round I think I just took it super slowly so as not to be totally dead at the end of the 2 min. Coupled with the plugs for both their Facebook page / website & their app, I didn't enjoy this one so much, I think I might be very annoyed with Tod the narrator if I had to listen to this 2 more times.
So not impressed with the week one podcast.

I was impressed to come home & see Captain Picard reading the CBBies bedtime story!

But he didn't say "Make it so" at any point & I had to explain to my daughter why I was shouting it at the TV.

Oh here's a bunny I saw in a church yard on my run.

It was very dark, hope this shows up ok.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

"All this has happened before - All this will happen again"

2011-01-03T20:34:00.002Z

There we go broke the 2 mile mark on Day 3 of Janathon! W00T!

Todays run was brought to me via the NHS Choices C25K podcast!

I didn't want to listen to the same podcast 3 days in a row, and a quick search in iTunes threw up this as one of my alternative options for Week One.

During the run you're prompted by the lively sounding Laura, who encourages & counts you up to each change of pace, and tells you that she'll have you running 5k, or for 30 min, with the next 9 weeks (3 weeks quicker that Robert Ullrey.) The music is quite generic, but they've obviously choosen the tracks to match a BPM for the pace of the walk/run.

No shout out from Paula Radcliffe in the Nike+ app today, she must be having a day off, just some random american guy telling me "You're on FIYA" (well that's my attempt at how to write the way he shouts "fire" down my head phones)

Oh & this Nike add, accuratly sums up how I feel abour running at the moment...

Day Two - Day One - Week One

2011-01-02T15:48:00.001Z

So I felt rubbish yesterday, it had been 6 weeks since I last ran & when I actually did yesterday, it was a huffy puffy, CBA affair.

This morning I downloaded Robert Ullrey's couch to 5k program. And went out and felt much better about it all. The podcast was the 1st thing I did when I started running, and I distinctly remember thinking "The bastard, this is week One?!" when doing the intervals.
Today, I felt much better, don't get me wrong I was knackered and red at the end of it all, but I ran and didn't feel like I was about to die!

Things I learnt today;
1) turn off voice prompts when listening to podcasts.
2) breastfeeding my son means I need new sports bras, not just everyday bras.
3) Paula Radcliffe must live in my phone, as she congratulated me on my furthest run this month!

Total for Janathon!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Janathon Day 1 - 1.59mi

2011-01-01T16:34:00.002Z

The year started well, I didn't get up till nearly 12, (this I think needs a reward as I have 2 children under 3 in the house,) and I couldn't find my trainers. Of course I eventually found them, in a shoe box for my red high heels, so heaven knows where they are, and what logic I was using when I put them there.

Obviously, the best place to keep my trainers is in a shoe box for party shoes.

I'm feeling quite ashamed, I loaded up the Nike+ and it promptly told me it's been 6 weeks since I last ran. So I deleted all the old runs, to hide my guilt, and hopefully with some effort over January I'll get some good numbers. It amused me greatly that at the end of my run Lance Armstrong chimed in & told me I'd just set a new record for running a mile!

It was cold & starting to rain as I shuffled around the park, I think I was lapped by a toddler on his new bike and a geriatric dog being walked by an old guy.

One day done, 30 more to go!

On a slight tangent, I was given a mug this Christmas (although it wasn't a Christmas Prezzie) Thankyou Kate, it makes the pre run esspresso taste all the sweeter!

Janathon 2011

2010-11-21T16:04:00.002Z

Yup, I've just signed up to run everyday throughout January 2011!

I'm not 100% certain that I can manage it, but 100% up for the challenge.

Interested? head over to the Janathon website & get more info & join in!

There's also a Facebook Group for it & a prize for the person who manages the most days/miles!

Motivation or Madness? Ask me 1st Feb!

Do Not Run When You Can't Breath - 1.13K

2010-11-19T22:02:00.014Z

It's honestly more like 300m... stop... wheeze... stagger about a bit... walk... wheeze... give up... stumble home. Seriously I should never have gone out.
But I did, mostly because I was about to pull out my own hair. Honestly how hard can it be to teach your daughter how to use the toilet?! It's becoming a war of attrition, who can last longer, her refusal to do it & my refusal to let her be lazy & have bloody pull up nappies.*

So I went out, with a completely blocked up nose, and a cough, ran & stumbled about & then came home and finaly stopped wheezing about 9pm. Stupid me.

* there's no health issue here. I hate the nappies, please don't worry about my little girl, she fine!

Great Manchester Run Round 2

2010-11-16T16:30:00.000Z

So at 8:30am the web page for the 2011 Great Manchester 10k opened!
and by 8:46am I had a place! Yippee!

This year I have decided to run for Refuge, the women & children's charity against Domestic Violence.
Yes, it does deserve the capital letters, it's a serious issue & it's one that strikes quite close to home for me...
But 1st some facts;
· One in four women is abused during her lifetime.
· One in nine is severely physically abused each year.
· Two are killed each week
·On average, a woman is assaulted 35 times before her first call to the police.

I'll give you a moment to lift your chin off the keyboard while the numbers sink in.

Refuge are committed to a world where domestic violence is not tolerated or ignored and where women and children can live in safety. Money raised and donated to Refuge goes towards many things;

£10 could allow a woman to buy her child essential materials for school – many women arrive at Refuge with nothing but the clothes they are wearing and do not have the means to buy the things they need.
£50 could fund a session of play therapy for a group of four children, helping them to overcome the trauma of witnessing or experiencing violence.
£72 could pay for two days of fun activities for a group of children in our refuges.
£75 could fund a local support group session for women who have experienced domestic violence.
£96 could pay for a training workshop for 5 women, helping them to enter the employment market and regain their independence.

Why Refuge?
This year (2011) I turn 30. Yikes, and it's also 15 years since my mother was killed, by her abusive partner. Half my life has been without my Mum, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

The Great Manchester Run isn't until May, 180 days away! I did the last one in 1hr 40min, I was pregnant, but I aim to get this one under an hour!

Wish me luck ( and Sponsor me) Cheers!

Splutter - 3.2k (35:20)

2010-11-13T15:13:00.000Z

URgh it rained on me & I nearly died!

Yup, that was a difficult * ahem * run. And yes I was beeped by a mystery person in a little 2 seater Audi, yet no one has owned up to the beeping! I like the suggetion that perhaps I pulled whilst out running, I'm a hot (& sweatty) mamma!

I took a different route & just aimed to beat my last trip out, and I just happened to do that just before the rain poured down! Phew

If I don't get out this house I'm a gonna kill - 2.81KM (32:27 min)

2010-11-06T19:00:00.028Z

Screen shot from the Nike+ GPS app

Well, all I can say is I lasted the recomended 6 weeks. Almost.

I know, it's nothing like the 6 MONTHS the phisiotherapist recomended I wait, but I swear someone would have lost an eye or a limb if I didn't get out of the house.

I was trying to wait, but this cold wet November evening I couldn't take it any longer and put my trainers on and ran. Sorta. I more jogged till I wanted to walk, walked for a bit then jogged a bit more then spluttered along trying to look a little fitter than I am and returned to a walking pace. I guess you can tell that by the fact it took me 30+ min to get less than 3KM! Still it's a start, and if I ever needed proof of the stress busting results from running then this was it!

I'm going to do more on Tuesday. I just need to work out how to fit it into my hectic schedule, I may have to go at the crack of dawn, after the Little Lads 5am feed. Yikes.

I previously ran with a Nike+ gizzmo but since I upgraded my phone and it now has the GPS, I invested £1.79 in the Nike+ GPS app...

All I can say is this: I'm annoyed. The app seems to work just as well as the £20 kit, and it's almost impossible to loose (I have lost a fair few phones in my time) and only costs £1.79... think of all the lattes I could have had!

I have only used it once, so it's possible that it was a fluke & the app is a load of rubbish, so give it a couple of runs & I'll let you know. But for now it seems good.

It's a BOY!

2010-10-22T21:27:00.000+01:00

My son was born on 27th September @ 10;36am.

I'm happy to say he's perfect in every way, however the speed of the delivery caused some complications that meant & quick dash to surgery for me.
The up shot of this is a whole heap of stitches & the physio has told me there will be no running for at least 6 months, and I should take up some low impact sport until then.

March to May hopefully gives me enough time to get back into the swing of running. In the meantime I'm going to have a look through the local pages to find out what low impact exercise classes there are in my area & a think about what I'm going to do with my lardy bottom for the next 6 months!

No running for No quiet

2010-06-30T20:23:00.001+01:00

If ever there was a day that I'd want to have gone running, today was it.

Lots of bad & crummy things happened today & I just had to waddle through it all... and try to smile, else I'd just have sat down & cry! Don't misunderstand me, nothing that went wrong today was life threatening or TEOTWAWKI type stuff.

but it was topped by visiting the park with my daughter & feeling all miserable that there were at least 5 runners, on my route!

There is nothing more than I would have liked than to have put on the shoes & shorts & just blanked everything else out, apart from "Left foot Right foot."

I'm just winging & venting, it's too hot, I've had a crappy day & I'm too exhausted to do anything!
Hugs Please!

2.09K (26 min) & my feet hurt!

2010-05-29T18:21:00.001+01:00

So I walked to work this morning, I had to do it a quite a fast pace, because like every Sunday morning, I was behind schedule & late. I blame my 2 year old, who decided to read stories to the bump at 6am. In reality, I should have wore better shoes & I might have been on time.

I wore Crocs, the rubber shoes with holes in, and now my feet ache beyond belief.

So it's kinda had me thinking about barefoot running, there's a bit of a renaissance in this going on, although all the ladies & gents I see around my local park wear shoes.
It's hard to get my head past the "won't that rip my feet to bits?!" and the "but it'll hurt?!" "what about in the winter?!" reactions. But I really do remember desperatly trying to take my shoes off at every opportunity when I was a little nipper.

The thing barefoot runners say, is that running barefoot takes you back to the way humans are supposed to run, we're not Jack Hawksmoor (geek reference there, sorry. He's a comic book character who has rubber soles, so doesn't need to wear shoes) so, they suggest, wearing padded running shoes alters the natural gait of humans, potentially causes more injury & uses more energy than running barefoot. And, they add, of course sports wear companies want you to wear running shoes, they make & charge you for them, there are still thousands of people too poor to afford fancy shoes, who run just as well, if not better, than those in fancy running kit.

I must admit to being quite taken by the Vibram Fiver Finger solution to running barefoot. They're like some kind of foot glove, with toes, and a grip on the bottom that's broken to the separate parts of the foot.But then that just seems to be playing to both sides of the fence, and those shoes are just as expensive as the regular kind of running shoes! An expensive mistake to buy some & then hate the experience.

My internal jury is out, I'm not sure how much research or evidence each side has, for the pros & cons, some serious googling needs to be done before I'm tempted to venture further than the back yard barefoot.

I have a million questions for barefoot / Vibram wearers...
How's the weather affect your training?
Do you have places you can't / won't run?
Just how good are the Vibrams? Do they actually compare with barefoot?

oh the list could go on & on

2.03KM (36 min) & a clever Baby

2010-05-27T16:18:00.002+01:00

Just a Thursday afternoon waddle around the local park really.

My little baby really has turned up the wiggle factor by about 10, and a stroll out in the sun we've got seems to send the little blighter to sleep!

I also found the following article, through Twitter I think, from Natural News.
Granted it's a bit old, September 2009, but I like what it says...

"Children whose mother exercised 30 minutes a day score around eight points higher on standard IQ tests than children whose mothers were more sedentary," says psychologist Richard E. Nisbett, author of Intelligence and How to Get It.

But best of all I like the closing statement

"The mother is the most important IQ agent here," he said. "In families dominated by a father, there are higher mathematical skills but that's all we contribute, I'm afraid."

So there we go. It's all down to the mummy, like we didn't know it already!I'm glad I'm getting up off my bottom and doing a bit of waddling about.
I'm certain that moving about more this pregnancy, compared with my last has made it better for me.
I certainly haven't had quite so many aches and pains as I did last time, and while I've had *ahem* slower digestion (if you get my jist) I'm sure it'd be slower & more painful.
And while I can't yet tell how clever my little wiggler is I'm certain the exercise is as much benefit for the both of us.

Meanwhile I must thank John, Maggs & Thomas who donated to Heart Research UK last night. The current total is £120 (including Gift Aid).

THANK YOU!

2.09km (25 min)

2010-05-23T16:16:00.010+01:00

ARGH too HOT!

Tried walking to work this morning & it's just too warm. It was at 8am.
Think I may have to dig out a swimming costume and do that instead of running, I really don't want to overheat the bump!

Official Race Certificate!

2010-05-18T18:49:00.001+01:00

I can't upload the pictures from the site as they were taken by a company called Marathon Photos but you're welcome to go have a sneak at the thumb nails at the Great Run photo site My bib number was 31614.

The more photos I see of me the less photogenic I believe I am... they're all beauts!

10k (1hr 36min 48 sec)

2010-05-17T15:47:00.004+01:00

There we go. Taken from the Great Run Results site, you can head over & check up on me if you like!

I took it quite easy & must admit found it quite hard to not to jog much more than the 1st kilometre. I didn't quite manage to get the 1 hour 26 I was aiming for, I put this down to 2 reasons;

I needed a wee for the whole 1st 5k, but couldn't see any place to do one, and I wasn't about to wee on the road side bushes, or test the theory that Police men have to let pregnant ladies wee in their hats. Then when I did get to one, just out side Old Trafford, there were queues, so I wasted time there.
I just couldn't get my walking pace quick enough without breaking into a full on jog, which the Mid wives told me not to do. I just couldn't seem to get to those KM markers quick enough.

But still I was 10 min behind target, and thoroughly enjoyed ever moment of the 10k. Perhaps I was a little dissapointed that there were no jelly babbies at the Bupa Boost point around the 8.5km mark. But the cheer & the shout out I got as I crossed the finish line made up for it!

.I am proud to say that I beat both the Monkey & the Lion running near meat the start, but the Giraffe started a little ahead of me & I just couldn't catch him, must have been those long legs.

I don't have any pictures yet, but as soon as I do I'll get some copies up on the blog.

The Donations website is open another 3 months, so you still have time to head over.

Many Many thanks to the people who have already donated & pledged money. You lovely lovely people...

Kate & Nigel
Lewis Jenko
Stew B
Neil, Vanessa & Catherine @ Fast & Fresh
Daddy & Lily
Lelia, George, Michael & Helen

The Morning Sickness of the Long Distance Runner

2010-05-11T20:49:00.001+01:00

The story I've been squeeing about is on page 3 of the Lancashire Evening Post today. The story covers a full page.

I'm quite amazed at how much attention the fact that I'm running & pregnant has generated to tell truth. I'm sure other mums with 2 or 3 kids have to run around just as much, if not more, as me, only not as officially as I am.

Well it was fun to do the interview & the photos, even if I think I look a bit weird in them.

The link to the LEP full story is below, please don't forget the whole point of the story was really to help me raise more pennies for Heart Research UK, just let me know if you want to pledge, I'll add you to the running total (PUN!)

The Morning Sickness of the Long Distance Runner

Is it a Boy or a Girl?

2010-05-10T18:37:00.003+01:00

20 week scan
Originally uploaded by millie.lavelle
Go can you tell?

This is the bump that will waddle around the course with me this weekend,

during the scan we asked the ultrasound lady to see if she could tell.
She had a quick look & is 75% certain...

Highlight to reveal
*** BOY!! ***

where you right?

10km (43 min)

2010-05-08T18:27:00.002+01:00

YEAH RIGHT!!!

That's the time that Paula Radcliffe did her 10km when 6 months pregnant in 2006!
I doubt I'll pull a time like that out the bag, but it's food for thought. I'm not & never have been as fit as she was & will most definitely be Jogging & walking the route next week, I think I'm going to aim for a target time of double Paula's

so there we have it target time of

1hour & 26 mins!

To hit that I'm going to need a pace of 8:36 through out, so I think I'll have a ferret about for the Nike+ gizmo & see if I can waddle around abit and handle the speed!

(i've been casually mooching about at pace of around 11+ So stand by for a swift retraction!

oh and have I mentioned that you can sponsor me?? (hint hint)

6km (1hr :07 min)

2010-04-27T17:49:00.019+01:00

You know I think I've lost my Nike+ gizmo, so the distance was worked out with Google map & the time was done via the timer on my phone. Yeah Dead accurate I know, but I'm on a tight schedule here I just need to move my bottom & get these KM done so I've got time to not be red faced & huffy when I get to nursery. Well, less huffy & red.

took me just over an hour to Jog / walk around the 6k, giving a pace of around 11 min. Not going to put me at the start of the pack is it?!

So it's quite weird doing all running & stuff when you don't quite balance the way you thin you should! and I'll admit I'm much slower than I could go,but then if I'm out of breath then Jelly bean is out of breath & I really don't want that to happen.

Yes it feels a bit gutting to have flogged myself & made myself do all that horrid running in the wet & cold november / december only to think I'm just going to waddle the whole way around.

Right off to get the 1st born from her day of destruction & chaos at nursery!

Are you ready to rumble?!?!

2010-04-25T15:46:00.002+01:00

Well no not really, I never was a great fan of those 2 geordies, but I couldn't think of a cool thing to write as the title.

So with the run being in 4 weeks time the Great Run people send out emails to suggesting that now is the time to find out & test if you're fit enough to take part...

Err probably is my reply! They suggest that if you cannot comfortably run 6k by now & feel like you could still keep going at the end then, you might not be quite fit enough to do the full 10k on the big day... sensible stuff really, no one wants lots of lazy bones filling up the street and causing further obstacles for the other runners!

well, I'm knackered after this weekend, with just me & my daughter at home yesterday & a full shift today in the new shop, so I'm going to skive till Tuesday & see what time I can waddle around in then. Honest.

Stuff you knew already...

2010-04-19T10:19:00.002+01:00

Dating scan
So it's been over a month since I've posted anything here...

Rest assured I haven't given up on the whole running thing, although it's starting to get a whole lot slower!

So in the week I was registering for the Great Manchester Run, I was also about 2 weeks into growing my 2nd baby.

So since the last post in Feb, there's been all kinds of life changing drama, well no, but it's a blog, drama sounds better than the reality.

I'm still doing the run, in oooh look 26 days (yikes), but the midwives & doctors said I could take it slowly, VERY slowly, and all will be fine.

I must admit that my running is more of a slow jog or fast walk, at the moment, and well, it's only going to get slower, but hey, speed isn't the point, it's the gettign up off my lardy bottom & moving.

So yeah! Double Yeah! With added Yikes, for the fast arriving dates!
(16th May - Run & 24th Sept due date)

Sponsor me the Traditional way. (sort of)

2010-02-27T13:12:00.001Z

Ok, so not everyone wants to use the clicky links & put card details into the internet & while I'm certain no one REALLY thinks I'll fail, some people prefer to be traditional & pledge the money & then donate after the event is actually completed.

It's no secret that I'm rubbish with bit of paper & I'm quite nervous about loosing an actual sponsor form, so of you'd prefer to sponsor me the traditional way, then please do so.

Either, add a comment either below or through the Facebook thingy on the left, you don't need your full name I'll work out who's who. Or drop me a txt, and email, a message on Facebook & I'll add your name to the virtual sponsor form! If you pledge a specific amount the Virgin site lets me add the pledge to the running total & will even work out how much Gift Aid you'll be adding too!

THANK YOU!

Lazy Days & a Big Thank you!

2010-02-27T11:42:00.001Z

So I haven't actually done any running for about 2 weeks, I've been uber lazy recently. In fact the last running I did was the 5K around the park.

A combination of overnight shifts at work (yes there really are people who buy Footlong Subs at 3am!) and a cold have kept me out of my running kit. Sorry.

So I have one more night shift tonight, and I PROMIS I'll run on Monday afternoon.

On a nicer note I want to say a GIANT Thank You to Lelia, George, Michael & Helen! My latest sponsors, bringing my Running total to £44.85 (in Gift Aid)

If you'd like to sponsor me please click the Links below, and don't forget to click the Gift Aid buttons, every extra penny to Heart Research UK counts!

DAY 13 - 5KM (37:20)

2010-02-12T21:37:00.000Z

PHEW! That was hard work, but fun.
Ok, so I didn't run all or it. I did 4 intevals, and I walked approx 1.1K of the whole 5.
The whole distance went like this;
Ran - 1K - Felt horrible, got jumped on, twice, by an excited dog & had to run up a hill!
Walk - 300m
Ran - 700m - in hindsight probably could have pushed myself and gone a bit further, but that Dog had lapped me & was comming back for more
Walk - 400m
Ran 1.2K - this was great,
Walk - 400m
Ran the Final Kilometer, buy kept counting down the final meters, and it started to rain pretty much as soon as this interval began.... but Lance Armstrong told me how great my workout was once I completed it! (thanks to Nike+ the last time it was back in Decemeber, when Paula Radcliffe told me my training was going well! Obviolusly this is a pre recorded thing an a feature of the Nike+ gizmo, but it still makes me smile even more when they pop up & cheer you on!)

I actually punched the air once I completed the 5K, I was well chuffed with myself.

Then I almost had to run to nursery to pick up my daughter from nursery!

DAY 12 - 1.73KM (15:10 min)

2010-02-11T19:37:00.000Z

Just a quick & cold run today. Was up at 4am with tummy pain, how daft does that sound. But still, poor nights sleep does not make for a happy me the next morning.

Still, I did a lap of the park, in the cold!

DAY 11 3.36KM (30:08 min)

2010-02-09T20:46:00.002Z

A sneaky run squeezed between work & picking up my daughter from nursery.

Quite nice, a few too many people walking dogs to tell truth, but quite nice.
Todays better, was better than yesterdays better! Only a meter or two, but better all the same.

Day 10 - 3.34KM (29:38 min)

2010-02-08T13:58:00.001Z

Todays running, My Better was better than "your" Better.

so I've probably mentioned the Yellow Gate. Reaching the Yellow Gate is the start of the run, this ends my warm up & is the point where I get my wiggle on.
It's 700m from the Yellow Gate to the Rose Garden... That was my better.
Today contained 2 sets of "from the Yellow Gate..."
2nd time round My Better is Better than the old better - 900m continuous pace run.

Sorry, check out the vid below, if you wander what's spawned all the silly and daft "My better..."

TUESDAYS BETTER WILL BE BETTER THAN YOUR BETTER.

Sponsor Me!!

2010-01-19T18:12:00.001Z

With my running vest came some sponsor forms, so expect them to be waved at anyone who walks past me at every opportunity.

I've also added a Just Giving button to the blog.They let you pay with Pay Pal & include Gift Aid too.

So that's all major credit cards, cash & Pay Pal taken, please ask about cheques!

Thanks in advance.

Millie

DAY 8 - 5.14KM (40:11 min)

2010-01-19T14:17:00.001Z

Today's run contained 2 sets of 700m straight runs! One at the start and then one to end.

there's this yellow gate where I start my run & I've been trying to get as far as possible from it as I can, it's almost 700m to the rose garden from the yellow gate.

On the way out I did it with a pace of 5:46, on the way back I did it at about 6:40.

Not record breaking either way, and the average pace for the whole 5K was about 8:02.

but given that I'm only on Day 8 here, I think that's not too bad!

My Heart Research UK vest arrived today!! will get a snazzy picture asap!
Rest day tomorrow. I feel like I need it!

DAY 7 4.28K (35:55 min)

2010-01-18T16:30:00.002Z

There's something cool about running a route and getting further than you normally get, in a quicker time!

Alright, so I'm still a little of a snot monster. But at least I actually ran today, the total distance was also the furthest I ran in a very long time. Not far off 5km, hopefully tomorrow I'll crack it.

I'm getting an average pace of about 8:30 per Km. So I guess I'm looking at a 10Km race of about 1 hour 20min!

DAY 6 - 3.43KM (31:36 min)

2010-01-17T19:12:00.001Z

Running with snot dripping out my face seems to be my weakness, tonight was more of a walk than a run.

I've downloaded the podrunner interval workouts, with the varied BPM, and it was working until i just couldn't function and had to slow to more of a walk / power walk type speed.

I'm afraid the music is a bit mindless for me, I do like dirty metal, but the BPM works quite well & helped keep a steady pace. Unfortunately I'm not musically inclined enough to mix my own, & may just have to stick with this. But that's not too bad, anything that drowns out the sound of my panting & puffing as a jog on is a winner in my book.

urgh... lurgies & a Running Vest!

2010-01-15T16:09:00.002Z

So the snow went, and then I got the WORST cold ever.

No, Seriously. Like some new form of plague. I think I was almost on death's door.

But now I'm nearly over it, and I think tomorrow I'll be good to run. No honestly. Round the park, before my dearest goes to work. He can play with the nipper while I dash round.

I also have been having an email chat with the lovely ladies at Heart Research UK, they're sending me a running vest, and stuff. I haven't been this excited about getting post in years! (perhaps that's why I haven't got the lurgies anymore!)

I've said at least 12, how many have you?

2010-01-07T18:53:00.001Z

This is a Nike Ad, from about 2 years ago...
Too cold is in there, so I got my bottom off the couch, stepped away from the hummous, and went for a quickie

DAY FIVE - 1KM (probably) (10min)
This run sucked...
I went to the Gym, and nearly killed myself slipping on the ice, lost my Nike+ gizmo on the way, and hated every second of running on the treadmill, and then sulked all the way back home.

Thankfully tomorrow is a rest day.

oh, and;
I've got shin splints
I'm exerting myself too much
I've got a case of the Mondays, the Tuesdays, the Wednesdays.
I wanna do something else
After New Years
I might make a mistake
I fell bloated
I have gas
My blister hurts
My tummy hurts
Its not in my genes
Im not the athletic type
I dont wanna slow you down
I think ill sit this one out
I´m too weak / too slow / too big
I ate too much for breakfast
I´ve got a headache
It´s raining
My dog is sick
I can´t right now
Not inspired
It makes me smell bad
I´m allergic to this stuff
I´m fat
I´m thin
It´s too hot
It's too cold

what's the excuse for my next run?

Look what I've gone & done now...

2010-01-07T13:35:00.003Z

At 8:30 am this morning The BUPA Great Manchester Run on line registration opened...
At 8:36 am I was 2248 in the queue!

So, longish story shortened, after about 20 min in the virtual queue I was paid up & registered! omg omg OH MY GOD!!

Please please donate a few pennies & sponsor me!

Well as I've not ran since before the snow, I better get my trainers on & get moving!

I have lurgies...

2009-12-07T17:07:00.001Z

...thousands of them.

I've been on deaths door since Sunday, and going to work this morning just killed me.

It's a bit gutting, I really wanted to run Sunday & just could not move out of bed.
Now I'm drugged up on Lemsip & hot water bottles.

whaaaaaaa whaaaaa!!

DAY FOUR - 3.37 km (27:31min)

2009-12-05T21:07:00.001Z

This was possibly the run I least wanted to do.
It's very cold out, pouring with rain, & shortly before I left the house Curry was ordered & beers were opened.
That & I'm working overnight tonight, and I got up at 7am this morning & won't get to go back to bed till 7am tomorrow
But I did it, and ran quite well. Almost 2 minutes faster than the last 3.3km I ran on 1st Dec, thanks to Song 2!
I'm eating curry and yawning my head off.
I'm running again tomorrow, but only a short one.

Night Night!

DAY THREE 1.74km (13:11 min)

2009-12-02T21:28:00.001Z

I ran much better today... I actually enjoyed my run!
Just a short one today however, but there must have been some magic on my iPod, as all the right tunes (well 3) came up;

Don't Stop the Rock - Freestyle
Rockafeller Skank - Fat Boy Slim
Song Two - Blur

163 training days left,

estimated 10KM time 1 hour 16 minutes...

DAY TWO - 3.39km (29:21)

2009-12-01T19:09:00.001Z

That was hard work.

I ran further than Sunday, both overall distance and the time between slowing to a walk and returning to a run.
Not much mind, the Nike+ Gizmo had me 4 second quicker per KM than Sunday, but than again that's 13 seconds over the whole run!

Current estimated 10K finish time = 1hr 22 min!

I run again tomorrow, I'm off for a bath.

Why does My Stomach hurt?

2009-11-30T08:01:00.001Z

Aaargh!

I warmed up & stretched, I cooled down & stretched! So why do my stomach muscles hurt so much?
How many more unexpected running pains will I discover as today goes on?

I don't want to go to work this morning!

DAY ONE - 1.86km (16 min)

2009-11-29T21:21:00.003Z

Today I ran for the first time in about 18 months. Well, 13th June 2008 to be exact. I know this because about 2 weeks before this run I bought the Nike+ gizmo to go with my iPod Nano... after this staggering run of 3.85km (32min) it went on the shelf, and then somehow into the change jar that sits on my bookcase, and collected dust & was just generaly ignored. Untill today.

This cold & wet November lunch time I went for a run, because I couldn't be bothered walking for 10 min to get to the gym, the one I pay £40 a month not to use.

Perhaps I was dizzy from the exhertion, or perhaps I was high on the endorphines from doing some exercise, but I have decided to take part in the BUPA Great Manchester Run on 16th May 2010. I realize that my runnging track record is not great & I may not make it through the 166 days, from now untill the race day, but I have choosen to run the event for charity.

My choice to run for charity is not as nobel as it seems, it is more to guilt myself into running, than anything else. This is not to belittle any charity or the people who work for them, it is a difficult & admirable job. And it is the prospect of failing these hardworking people that will motivate into running. Much more than my growing girth, and increasing reluctance to move from the couch.

The charity I have decided to run for is Heart Research UK. There are main 2 reasons for this...

"Heart disease has touched most of us in some way. It can strike anyone. Some are born with it, others only find out when it is too late. In fact, 700 people in the UK suffer a heart attack every day - that’s one every two minutes." (Quoted from the Heart Research UK site)

I work for Subway, who in mid 2009 became chain partners with Heart Research UK. I think this will give me enough opportunity to get my bosses / co-workers / regular customers to donate a few quid, and possibly badger a few (fitter) people into running with me... Plus if I tell them I'm going to do it, & am doing for a company charity, I have less room to wiggle out of doing it.

I run again on Tuesday, I shall attempt 3.21km, or 2 miles. If I never post again, I didn't do it...