Friday 27 April 2012

Rock n Roll Edinburgh half marathon race report

finally - almost 2 weeks after the event...which I am still recovering from thanks to acute tendonitis:

This half-marathon was going to be my big one. Having done the Glasgow half-marathon twice, both times having suffered injuries and subsequent lost of training time and getting the same times of 2hours 15, I was determined this time to achieve a sub-2 hours. I had competed a full marathon last year and stayed injury free (though still managing to lose out to illness) and had a good training plan all ready and was sticking to it. 2 weeks before the big day I noticed soreness in my ankle but thought it was just routine tiredness from a 10k run, but it got worse. SO it was that I rolled up to the inaugural Edinburgh ‘Rock n Roll’ half-marathon with my ankle all taped up with fittingly goth-like kinesiology tape (winged skulls if you were wondering, no girly pink for me!!) and feeling more nervous than usual and not sure if I would get past mile 5 let alone finish.

I actually got off to a good start even managing around a 7mph pace and reached the 5km mark in 27 minutes. The sun was out and the music was suitably rock n roll. One of the draws of this event was the promise of local bands/DJs playing at every mile and I had left my iPod at home to enjoy the atmosphere – I wasn’t counting on running past the majority of the band stands when the bands were in-between songs – unlucky or what!!! At one of them the lead singer was ‘encouraging’ participants by shouting ‘run!’ and ‘faster’ I reciprocated by shouting back – ‘don’t shout, PLAY!’

Despite my good start the pain in my right ankle was starting to worsen by mile 7 and due to putting more weight on my other leg my left hip was beginning to ache severely. But I told myself – I am pretty much half-way, just the same again and I’m there! Popped two paracetamol and soldiered on! Unfortunately the second half of the run was harder – there were some tough hills which I could only walk through. The downhill was the worst and I was reduced to a pathetic limp. The crowd’s well-meaning shouts of ‘keep going – its downhill now!!’ were of no comfort at all but their encouragement really did help. Mile 8 was really hard – lots of downhill-uphill and the painkillers were not working and I had moments where I had to suppress tears.

I found I had to really concentrate on blanking out all thoughts of how far I still had to go and how much worse the pain would get (very difficult as it turned out!) The last 2 miles consisted off a long downhill stretch – coming down the mound into Princes Street – the very heart of Edinburgh. One other girl came to an abrupt stop with a cramp – I really felt for her being so near the end and having to surrender. I was determined not to.



Close-up I look very unhappy!
I limped past the finish line at 2hours 14 mins33 second, and broke down into tears…of pain, relief, amazement at actually finishing, and exhaustion.



Once I sat down, getting up turned out to be close to impossible and am even now walking with a crutch…I don’t regret running it when I really shouldn’t have. And perversely, despite the agony it was one of my best races. Runner are a strange bunch…I still plan on getting that sub 2 hour PB J



Actually looking happy with my medal (my mum in the background!)

Saturday 3 March 2012

a few weeks of ups and downs...

...and by that I'm not refereing to the hill reps my work running club made us do this week...I am refering to my half-marathon training. I have been trying very hard to stick to it and I have had some great runs. But have also had some setbacks - mostly self-inflicted loss of motivational one exacerbated by recent overconsumption of wine. I have been rather stressed of late and whenever this happens I turn to food and alcohol, much to my annoyance at myself, and obviously after a lot of wine of a Friday night, the inclination to run 10 miles is not particularly strong. Having said that, overall I have amazingly managed to persever and have got in some very good runs in amonst the not so great. Even managed a 7miler in an hour which I was very pleased with.

I have also been trying out my new running shoes - went for saucony kinvara minimal shoes which are designed to encourage a forfoot running style (which is what I tend to lean to anyway). Have to say, I am very pleased with them so far, although my calf muscles have been very tight as they get used the change. They are the lightest (but with plenty of cushioning) trainers I have tried AND  they are black - so they also score a goth bonus :)  I am sticking to my regular trainers for my long run though for the moment while my legs aclimatise.

So, half-way through my training and am really determined to put my all into the last half of my training and try to eat a bit better and cut down on the wine. Just need to want my sub-2 hour marathon goal more than a glass of red and pizza!!

Today's long run stats:

distance: 12.3 miles
time: 2hours 3 mins
calories: according to Garmin: 1464 (which must not be replaced by wine and cheese)

Tuesday 31 January 2012

day 31 - Going out in style

Last day of Janathon and one of the best runs I have had all month :) Pretty good considering running was the last thing I felt like doing on the way home from work. But somehow I managed to psyche myself up and went out feeling positive. Am also wondering if it was my thermal tights I had dug out - my thighs and bun were  definitely feeling less cold than before and it seemed to make my legs feel lighter and faster. I didn't think I would manage the 6 miler that my training plan said I should be doing, especially with the hills that I threw into my route but I managed over that around the hour mark.

I always have mixed feeling at the end of an 'athon - while I am looking forward to my first rest day tomorrow and getting some of my free time back, I will miss the community of brilliant people that take part in the events and reading everyone's stories. My running will not be letting up though as I have a pretty intense 11 weeks of half marathon ahead of me.

My last stats:

distance: 6.6miles
time: 1hour52seconds
calories: 884

AND NOW THE GRAND JANATHON TOTALS....

distance: 116.3miles running only (a big improvement on last year!) 118miles including cross training
time: 21.4 hours
calories: ooooh thousands!!

Hope to be back in June for another 'athon but for now, I plan to carry on my training and hopefully find time for a few blogs along the way.

Monday 30 January 2012

day 30 - and the end is in sight....

Mondays are always a struggle...I am usually tired after the weekend lack of sleep and its always a long day at work with meetings in the afternoon...the last thing I usually feel like is exercising, yet it is always the day I have my body pump class which is always painful. Don't know why it is but I am really struggling with building my upper body strength - I have been doing the class for a while but still find it hard to get above a certain weight on my bar - bicep curls are one of the worst. I sweated through just over 3 miles on the treadmill before sweating even more through my class. The gym is still stupidly busy - would the January part timers please just give up and go home now??

I have another stupidly busy week so kind of looking forward to a rest day on Wednesday though I am really supposed to be getting stuck into my half-marathon training!!

Hope other fellow Janathoners are looking forward to be bit of a rest - I will definitely miss the banter and support come February though :(

Here's to the penultimate day!

stats:
distance- 3.2miles
time: 29mins34secs
calories: 284
press ups managed at bodypump class: 10 (only 2 of which were proper ones!!)

Sunday 29 January 2012

day 29 - healthy hedonism

Another Sunday run following 4 hours sleep so only 3 miles today round the meadows. Not much to report on it really, wasn't too slow, wasn't too fast. Instead I'll tell you about my day yesterday  - I had a brilliant one overall - experiencing all the variety that life can offer sometimes. After my very healthy morning of running I went shopping, coming away with a PVC skirt and a new black and purple corset both of which looked awesome. Also bought some long overdue new music. After the shopping spree, I went to the theatre to see The Infamous Brothers Davenport which was brilliant. After which I went and had a delicious meal, complete with pre-dinner cocktails and rather scrummy red wine. After that I went to a fetish themed night at a near by club, rather fittingly called Violate. Thankfully I wasn't really drinking so not really hungover today, just very tired. So all in all a rather bizarre collection of activities. To balance all this out, I am having a very relaxed day with the Sunday papers.

Not very run-themed this time but it wasn't that exciting today...

stats!

distance: 3miles
time: 27mins29secs
calories: 384
evenings of hedonism: 1

Saturday 28 January 2012

day 28 - 100 BOOM!

103 to be exact. So have actually beaten my planned goal with 3 days to spare!  Was done in style as well. It is a freezing morning (I still have goosebumps post-shower!) but sunny and I felt pretty good as my night wasn't too heavy and was in by 11pm after eating my body weight is Chinese food. I felt like a nice long-ish run down by the seaside in Portobello. There were plenty of people braving the cold morning: runners, cyclists and quite frankly insane swimmers!! Yes, people swimming IN THE SEA on a very frosty January morning. 3 of them! Despite Scotland's reputation as the sick man of Europe and our terrible diet and lifestyle, there was no evidence of this here - just lots of people getting fit in various and crazy ways.

Was very happy with my run this morning. Not sure my effort tomorrow will be as good as I am out on a fetish club night tonight...for which I now have to go buy an outfit made of PVC (its the rules according to the friend I am going with!). Looking forward to some good dancing to industrial goth music :)

Stats:-
distance: 7.3 miles
time: 1hour8mins12seconds (am into triple digits!!)
calories: 928
insane swimmers in the sea: 3
Goals well and truly beaten: 1
PVC outfit to buy: 1

Friday 27 January 2012

days 26&27- my first fail

Yesterday was my first day where I had a Janathon fail. I left for work at 6:30am - I had an event in Perth to get to. I was on my feet filming all day and didn't get a lunch break so couldn't even get a cheeky mile in. The day event finished at 4:30pm and everyone went off for free time and to check into the hotel...I on the other hand had a 5min video to edit from all the footage of the day (lots of water industry guys doing team building activities) in an hour and a half in order to show it before everyone had dinner. Thankfully everything went to plan and got everything done...I celebrated going straight to the bar to get a pint of well deserved beer. Then it was dinner and more drinking and not surprisingly no running or exercise of any kind, unless you count wandering around Perth with video equipment and a laptop. I fell into bed around about 3am.  I got up today rather hungover. I felt marginally better later in the afternoon so went out for a lap of Holyrood Park...I must have looked a bit tired as a lovely smiley lady gave me some encouragement as she came past me on her way down the big hill I was struggling up.

Thankfully it was a beautiful day and the sun was shining and didn't actually do too badly time-wise. And now I'm off for round too for dinner and drinks for my friend's birthday party...may be another hungover jog tomorrow!

stats:
distance: 3.5miles
time: 33mins
cals: 410
whiskys, pints of Guinness drunk last night: too many

Wednesday 25 January 2012

day 25 - treadmill struggle and more excuses

Another treadmill day...just not liking the cold, windy weather at the moment. I was hoping for another 5miles today but could only manage 4.2miles, and felt every inch of it. I had to walk for bits of the session and didn't really get above 10.5 speed wise (I usually find this speed fairly easy).

Tomorrow is looking even worse - I need to leave the flat at 6:30am and due to be working til 6:30pm at least, then a work dinner thing so unless I get up at 4am I do not see much exercise being acheived. Having said that I have video camera equipment to lug around to and from the train station so thinking, maybe that can count?? Will also be taking my Pilates resistance bands with me so may get some weight training fitted in at the hotel between networking with collegues and bedtime!!

I hope others Janathoners are managing to struggle through and make it to the bitter end.

Stats time:

distance: 4.2miles (every one fully felt)
time: 44mins34secs (better that I thought!)
calories: 410 (roughly)

Tuesday 24 January 2012

day 24 - and the proper training starts

A gym session today as despite my car thermometer saying it was fairly mild, it felt cold and miserable thanks to the constant drizzle. As my half-marathon training was supposed to start today it was a hard session. I was supposed to do about 6miles but didn't manage it - was really feeling tired towards the end. I am trying to work to a maximum of 2 hours for my half-marathon (though it is not really the flattest course), the Paula Radcliffe 'new intermediate' training plan is pretty hard and not sure I will stick to it but I am going to try!
I was hoping to do a decent weights session but the gym was far too busy and there were even people waiting in a line for the machines - I am way too impatient for that.


stats:
distance: 8.48kms
time: 50mins

Monday 23 January 2012

day 23 - where I doff my hat...

...to fellow Janathoners that are managing to exercise everyday while juggling not only work but family too. I am struggling and I am single with no other real responsibilities other than my job. When I was training for my first marathon earlier in the year (while I was unemployed) I found new respect for people who manage to do this kind of training when they have others to look after, not least my dad who managed to do his marathon best (2 hours 48mins) with 2 young children. Though having said that I think my mum has to get most of the credit for picking up the slack!!

Anyway, I don't think I'll get much mileage in this week as I have a very heavy week work wise and a busy weekend with friend's birthdays and a club night to go to. Having seen that I am about 17miles off the 100 mile mark though I kind of hoped I could manage that...we will have to see.

It was a single (and a half) loop of the meadows today, started off pretty slow but managed a decent pace overall tonight. It was also running club night so I didn't feel like dodging all the running hordes so I left early.

Stats!
distance: 3.74miles
time: 33mins56secs
cals: 448

Sunday 22 January 2012

day 22 - dodging cyclists on the canal

The drawback of going on a favourite route on a sunny (but cold) Sunday morning is that it is also a favourite of every man, woman, child and dog....at least on a weekend. So my run along the union canal was a bit of an obstacle course, avoiding all the other people and dogs and children on bikes, especially at points going under bridges where I was a bit close to the edge of the water for my liking. Its a good course though as it is nice and flat so I could feel pleased with my pace, despite not feeling too energetic after a late night of wine-drinking and sleeping on my friend's sofa.

I probably went a bit too fast on the outward 2miles as I struggled a bit on the way back. Then it was home to the folks and a nice walk through the woods to the pub for lunch...oh and more wine! :)

stats:

distance: 4.15 miles
time: 37mins54secs
cals: 508
cyclists/dogs dodged: lots!

day 21 - a stickler for the rules

Janathon rules state you must run every day (or some sort of exercise) and log and blog it within 24 hour. Well I ran yesterday morning but am just blogging now with an hour to spare so am happy to have stuck to them :)

I ran 4.1miles in holyrood park and the cycle path next to it. It began a lovely sunny blue skyed run but by the last mile or o the rain began which was ok as it afforded me a sprint finish and its always good to get some speed practice in as I hate it!!

I actually did a lot of other exercise that day as am helping a friend who want to loose some weight and up her exercise effort so we went and did some walk/jog laps of the nearby park and walked along the canal and home. All in all a very active day which justified the prosecco and lovely mushroom risotto we had for tea (followed my more wine and chocolate dessert) - meals like that are why I run :)

Stats:

Distance: 4.1miles (plus quite a few extra walking)
time: 39mins
cals: 480


now off to do todays run...

Friday 20 January 2012

day 20- TFI FRIDAY!!

Seriously, it feels like 2 weeks have passed rather than one...its been a hard week and I have struggled to find the will power to get myself out the door in the morning and for my running - but I managed it somehow! Today was equally as hard but I even managed to get outside before it got too dark (really can't wait for the winter to be over), and did a circuit of Holyrood Park.

Now I just want to spend the weekend in bed catching up on missed sleep and chilling out but have promised a friend I would help her out get a fitness plan sorted. I know I will have fun catching up but at the moment not feeling at all sociable.

11 days to go...!

Stats:
distance: 3.5miles
time: 34mines
cals: 373

Thursday 19 January 2012

day 19 - where i wimp out

The voice in my head was saying 'you are hardcore, what is a bit of horizontal sleet?' but the other voice won out saying 'being hardcore is overrated, the gym is warm and dry'. Having said that, it ended up being a tough-ish session as I did the Audiofuel pyramid interval session. I had to walk in places but I was amazed that I even finished it, I really wanted to stop half way through but I powered on through. I even managed a pretty hardcore weights session.

On the subject of wimping out...one of my friend's suggested the possibility of taking part of the Tough Mudder event in July and I really fancied doing it, especially when I heard a guy at work was doing it, making my competitive side kick in. However, it coincides with a Celtic music festival in Stornoway that I was planning going on. Now when faced with a choice between an expensive form of physical torture and a festival of music and drinking well, my hedonistic tendencies took over...thus wimping out on a big scale - there's always next year!!

Stats:

distance: 6.8kms
time: 43mins
cals: 500
instances of wimping out: 2

Wednesday 18 January 2012

day 18 - where I'm leader of the pack...sort of

I didn’t have a good morning. After another night of not sleeping well, I found myself feeling frustrated, tired and even a bit teary. I’m putting this down to sleep deprivation, a bit of work-related frustrations and generally not finding the time to get what I want done, done.
My day was saved by a lunchtime run. I am never surprised at research that exercise can help with depression – it has got me through some of my toughest of times. And today I felt a whole lot more positive about life  It was our usual Wednesday running club at work today and as the person who usually leads it wasn’t in I took the role of leader (which really just involves saying where we are going and clocking the distance on our trusty garmin and making sure no one gets left behind.) As we had a newbie - to running and I think to exercise too – with us it was very start and stop, especially at the more hilly bits. We got to 1.2 miles at the foot on the Pentland hills and a volunteer kindly said she would accompany the newbie back to the office. The rest of us ran alongside the hills/golf course and managed 3 hill reps at the end. Those were a bit of struggle but I just managed without keeling over.
Overall a pretty slow one but that’s what happens with running with a varied ability group.
Stats:
Distance: 3.8miles
Time: 42mins (but more like 52 with all the stopping off)
Calories: 466

Tuesday 17 January 2012

Day 17 - running after boys...

 …Sadly not in the old playground sense, but in a ‘running to keep up’ sense. There is a reason I generally run on my own – I can go at my own pace (more slower than faster overall). However I have started some lunch-time running once a week at work. Usually its fine as it is a varied groups so everyone usually has someone to run at their pace. Today I went out with a couple of the guys, one of which is a proper runner and belongs to a club – right away they were running faster than me and I knew I was going to struggle to keep up…and I did. But I tried very hard because I don’t like feeling I’m keeping people back. When it did get too much of an for me they did courteously wait for me. Needless to say I was knackered after the 4.5 of rolling hills. Thankfully my other running male friend is a relative newbie to the whole running thing so I can actually run fast than him J Moral to the story – running after boys is only fun if there is something fun at the end of it for me, which in this case there wasn’t.
Distance: 4.6miles
Time: 45mins
Calories: 500
Boys (well, men really) worth running after: 0 – no offence to the guys with me – they are lovely people!

Monday 16 January 2012

day 16 - runner, interupted

I know I should have just braved the freezing temperatures and gone running outside when I had the chance but I didn't...I had spent most of the day on my feet at and event at work and just wanted a wee lay down before heading to the gym. I had a good long session planned on the treadmill before my body pump class which started at 18:50...

20 minutes in and the treadmill stopped dead, along with half of the others in the gym. I was lucky I hadn't got up to full speed or i would have ended up careening forward and headbutting the screen! Apparently the fuse had blown and it would be fixed in a few minutes...but then this turned into 20 minutes...my class wasn't due to start for another hour or so and the rest of the gym was busy as it tends to be in January. Was pretty annoyed as I had hoped to get in quiet a few miles today. I gave up and went home to do the dishes instead and had to motivate myself to return out into the cold for my class. (Luckily my gym is 5 mins away!) Glad I did as it was a pretty good one.

So, once again my stats are approximate as I didn't clock my mileage before the treadmill went capoot.

distance: 4.5km (??)
time: 20mins (i do know that as I looked at the clock before starting)
cals: not that many
treadmills not working: I'd say about 20

Sunday 15 January 2012

day 15 - I am hardcore

I wasn't really looking forward to running today, despite being one of those crisp, sunny winter days. I emerged from my flat having had 4 and a half hours sleep - really the dancing that took place between midnight and 3am could have counted as my Janathon effort - with a mild headache and sore legs from dancing all night. It wasn't a fully blown hangover but enough of one to make me what to stay indoors in my pjs. I thought I would only managed a pretty slow mile or so but miraculouslly once I got going I started to feel better.  I have hence come to the conclusion that a (gentle) run in the freezing cold is the new (mild) hanover cure - don't think it would work with a full on one though. Obviously I am not a medically trained expert so feel free to ignore this the next time you wake from a night on the tiles and think - "Yes, a run would do me the world of good!".

I ran down in cramond which is a great running spot as its nice and flat with great views over the firth of forth towards fife.  As the tide was out I even managed to run over to Cramond Island which is ususally cut off from the main land when the tide is in. I haven't done this since I was a kid and there are even more lovely view - you can see the forth rail bridge one way and the Edinburgh vista in the other - I am now sounding like a rep for visitscotland so I will stop now :)

It was a bit slow as the path out to the Island is rather uneven with a bit of running on sand and up a hill at the end. By the time I got back I had run 3.2 miles. I know that isn't very much but in my sleep deprived, hungover state I thought that was a pretty ok effort.

distance: 3.2miles
time: 34mins
hangovers cured: 1

Saturday 14 January 2012

day 14 - Everyone likes a top 10 list

According to a successful blogger anyway. So here's mine of top 10 things I like and don't like about running. Just so you know I'm not doing a list thing because I'm being lazy!!!

Top 10 things I DO like about running:
  1.  It allows me to eat cake (and cheese and drink wine)
  2. Make me feel good - at least after the run
  3. Doing mad things like Janathon and meeting (maybe not in person) lots of lovely people
  4. Buying new running gear
  5. Feeling of satisfaction on completing a race
  6. making up new running playlists for my iPod
  7. having a reason to get up early on a weekend (yes really)
  8. enables me to outrun hypothetical attackers/murders
  9. enjoying pretty scenery
  10. getting fresh air
Top 10 things I don't like about running
  1. It is time consuming
  2. Constantly having dry cracked feet
  3. Having to go out in the cold and rain for things like Janathon
  4. not being able to afford new running gear
  5. Technology failures so I don't know how far/fast I have ran
  6. having to get up early on a weekend
  7. Injuries
  8. I have ran out of cons for not running (which is probably a good thing!)
Anyway, my run today was along the Innocent railway cycle path and I managed the 5 miles I said to Fairweatherrunner and runningman856 I would do though it wasn't my best speed.

stats:
distance: 5.1miles
time: 47mins47secs
calories:618

Friday 13 January 2012

day 13: does my bum look cold in this

Its cold outside - being winter not very surprising but it got me thinking...I find getting the right running gear for cold days/evenings difficult - I always end up hot in some places and remain freezing in others. No matter what I wear, my body from the waist to my knees is usually some way towards being numb. Even my uncovered calves are warmer. I am assuming it has something to do with the fact there is rather more fat around the colder areas...Despite this me and my numb bum managed a pretty good run today. It was a kind of fartlek session as I am trying to get some bursts of speed into my some of my outings as I'm not particularly good at the speed thing. The meadows in Edinburgh is pretty good for this as it is a sort-of round course divided up by intersections of pathways so you can aim for a sprint to a certain points along the way and there are plenty of trees to act as markers.

I was also trying to work out how to work my nike + sportsband and calibrate it. It didn't go well. It said that I ran 0.5miles in 48mins - now I'm not that fast but that is just insulting. I think I did something wrong. Unfortunately the website doesn't load very well on my slow broadband so may take a while to figure things out. May have to stick to my Garmin.

Stats!!
distance: 4.7miles
time: 43mins55secs (going my my garmin, NOT the nike + thing)
calories: 543

Thursday 12 January 2012

day 12 - I am eating RICE CAKES

Yep, I am indeed - BUT I am not, repeat NOT on a diet, as people seem to assume when they see you eating them. I do actually rather like them. And besides I don't diet - I am currently trying to lose weight but that is solely so I can run faster and get my pb for the Rock 'n' Roll Edinburgh Half Marathon and its all about the healthy eating and, of course, exercise. I will still eat cheese and drink wine, but mainly on the weekends :)

Anyway...speaking of exercise - I had planned to run at lunchtime again today (was a lovely sunny day) but thanks to being rather distracted by twittering and blog reading I got to bed late and subsequently fell straight back to sleep after my alarm clock went off. And so, I was about an hour and a half late for work. So no lunchtime run for me. Due to the increasingly cold weather and my lingering cold which I thought I had got rid of but apparently not I went to the gym tonight. It was intervals - 2 minutes uphill and 1 minute fast. I don't usually like treadmill running but it went quite quickly thanks to a very funny episode of Big Bang Theory (Howard gets his penis stuck in a robotic arm) - I was laughing out load which isn't great in a busy gym.

My stats are kind of approximate as I managed to 'finish' my workout in the middle of it and had to start over.
distance: 6.6kilometers
time: 40mins
calories: don't know but more than what's in a rice cake!

Wednesday 11 January 2012

day11- my god is that the time??

I have just finished my dinner and its 10pm...where did this evening go? Exercise has taken up most of my evening. It was probably not my greatest idea in the world - I had arranged a running session with my new running buddy, forgetting that I had booked a body pump for that evening too. And thanks to my rather bad working out of timings after 5.6 miles I still had plenty time before my body pump class so there wasn't much else for me to do other than do some time on the elliptical machine.

So one pump class later I hobbled home, showered, made and ate my tea (all by 9:45pm) now all I have time for is finishing this blog then off to bed to be woken up at 6:30am for another day of work.

Not looking forward to what my muscles are going to feel like after my first pump class for about 3 weeks!!

Stats:
distance: 5.6miles running, 3.5kilometers Elliptical
Calories: LOADS
Muscles that are going to hurt tomorrow: most of them

Tuesday 10 January 2012

day 10 - the one with no title...

...cause I couldn't think of one.

My most uneventful run so far, so won't say much about it - was a route round the braid hills I've done countless times (though I still checked the distance on mapmyrun). I did my run at lunchtime today to save some time as I had to do food shopping this evening.  Thanks to my run I ate a very saintly cup of soup from the canteen. Was a bit concerned as by the time I went for my shopping I was pretty hungry, and as they say, you shouldn't food shop when hungry (or hungover in my case) - and in my case I'm terrible for buying loads of stuff I shouldn't. But I can proudly say that it was all fittingly healthy an in keeping with the 'get fit and slim in January' vibe. Was rather proud of myself - though no doubt I will probably wish I had bought something more interesting (read 'bad for you') in the next few days hours.

So stats 'n stuff:

distance: 7.73 km (according to Map My Run)
time: 45mins
calories: no garmin, no idea
junk food bought: none :)

Monday 9 January 2012

day 9: damn technology

I had already ran about a mile before my very temperamental garmin device decided to find the awfully illusive satellites. It seems to work fine up at my parents place but here in the middle of the city centre it seems to take an age. I can only think it is all the tall building that are to blame. Anyway, this means I have to do some faffing about with the software to work out the distance I missed out.

Wasn't a particularly interesting run today. Was tired after a long afternoon of meetings and all I really wanted was my dinner so was running on an empty stomach - not the best for a decent run.

It is now rather late and I'm trying to watch a programme about the Higgs Boson which is difficult while you are twittering/blogging and facebooking all at the same time. So will leave it at that for this evening

distance: 3.9miles
time: 38mins (which is a bit of an estimate)
calories 377 (but should be more)
new understanding of physics: none

Sunday 8 January 2012

day 8: mud (not-so) glorious mud

Thanks to my faffing around this morning with getting my nike+ sportsband software loaded, I was late in getting out and the car park at Flotterstone was full - it being a very popular Pentland hills spot for walkers/cyclists/runners. It also was a pretty rain/snow free Sunday... so I had to go to another area one of which meant a very muddy start and finish. This combined with some pretty steep hills made for a tough 10k. I was faced at the begining of this run with a sign saying 'Walkers please use the path provided through kissing gate and go round the farm buildings'. This was less of a path and more of a long narrow trail of fenced in deep mud so you could do nothing but push on through. I wish I had been as bold as the walker just ahead of me who ignored said sign and strode through the middle of the farm buildings.

Despite this I managed it in just over an hour. I have to say I was flagging by the 4.5mile point but thanks to my ipod and some motivational playlist choices I managed to keep plugging on. The thought of a second new years feast to make up for my parents being away over hogmanay also helped. Red wine and my mum's most awesome steak pie was waiting for me when I returned and I had a mental picture of this to help me through the nasty, muddy windy last mile.

distance: 6.2miles
time: 1hour04mins
calories: 744 (quickly replaced by said wine and pie)

Saturday 7 January 2012

day 7- sun rising to sounds of the prodigy

It wasn't quite sun rise as I spend the earlier part of the morning trying to finish my book (The Distant Hours by Kate Morton since you asked - it made very good winter holiday reading), but it was kind of rising over the peaks of the braid hills. It was a very beautiful morning today on one of my favourite runs in Edinburgh cause you can see over the firth of forth and the countryside and the city. If this run was put to music in a film it would be something to tug at the emotions, perhaps with some synths and strings...sadly my ipod playlist would not have made a good soundtrack, instead I had the Prodigy's 'Smack my Bitch Up'. A very good song, one to keep the pace up on a run but maybe more suited to a more urban run.

Anyway...yay to me as I managed my longest run of Janathon so far! It was a bit stop and start due to my ongoing coughing bouts and the fact I am in the land of windy hills. But a pretty good effort overall.

Highlight of run: beautiful views over Edinburgh and seeing a man with a funny walk akin to monty python's ministry with a cane AND an eye patch - awesome

distance: 5.6miles
time: 55m25secs
calories: 652

Friday 6 January 2012

the one with the cyber bullies

OK, so bullies is probably putting it strongly. Putting it in a more postive way. Fellow janathon-ers can be like having a bunch of your very own personal trainers who won't let you not do your exercises when you are feeling poorly. You may hate them for this as you go out onto the cold dark streets but you will ultimately thank them for the nice feeling of achievement when you return to your snug home.

This is how I felt today when I had earlier in the day decided to give running a miss as I was feeling pretty crap. I had a nice soothing bath instead. However, after receiving tweets from @jogblog and @runningman856 I caved and decided that I could not let my cold defeat my janathon-ing efforts. Unfortunately by this time the fairly okay weather had reverted to being cold windy and drizzly - that's what I get for putting off the inevitable! This did make me run fast though and so far 6 out of 6 janathon days done! I know I keep saying this but my mileage is going to increase....soon.

distance: 1.26
time 10m55secs
calories: 170

Thursday 5 January 2012

day 5: another rubbish running day

Destined to be bottom of the class if I don't get my mileage up soon...I am still trying to cough up my internal organs and didn't manage a full day at work (only by an hour so not too bad) but I was determined not to miss out a day of Janathon. Funny that I would be totally fine with missing a day of work though!

It was very cold outside so thought it best not to go too far so did a sort-of reverse route of my new year's day hungover plod. Happy to report I was faster than that day :) To combat the cold I wore my hoodie hood up, Rocky/boxer style, though with my running top on underneath I ended up being way too hot. Always think it funny how in winter weather you get hats/gloves to keep you warm but I find that my face is the thing that gets coldest - running balaclava anyone?? Probably not a good look, especially if running past any jewelry shops/banks...anyway, I'm rambling again.

So it was a very cautious 1.23 miles for me today and plenty of hot lemon and honey drinks for after.
Determined to do a proper run tomorrow!

distance: 1.23miles
time: 11m25secs
calories: not enough to mention!

Wednesday 4 January 2012

day 4: if it's not the weather, it's a cold

With the weather first trying to thwart my efforts in this year's janathon its now my second cold of the winter that's out to confound me. I started last year's month of running with a nasty cold and really thought that when I had and got rid of one before xmas I had had a lucky escape but it was not to be. I went out early this morning - before the seeming endless rain and wind returned - accompanied with a cough that was threatening to help me rid myself of a lung on the way round. Still, amazingly I managed a not-very-speedy 2.6 miles. After which I struggled through most of a day at work before giving up just after 3pm and retired to my bed.

Really hoping a very early night and copious amounts of ginger/lemon/honey drinks will kill this thing so I can get out running properly though the weather is still plotting against me!

distance: 2.64miles
time: 25.48
hot lemon drinks consumed: lost count

Tuesday 3 January 2012

day 3 - oooh, isn't it windy!!

So windy in fact that I didn't want to risk going out and getting hit by tree branches or rampent wheelie bins. Glasgow and the west in general seems to be alot worse but it is bad enough for me to want to stay firmly indoors. Also, as it is a bank holiday in Scotland my gym was closed so that option was also out. Instead I ran up and down the stairs in my parents house 10 times, which was actually rather hard and I was really quite breathless afterwards. Followed this up by doing 10 press-ups, 2 and a half of which were full press-ups opposed to my usual on the knees ones.

Again rather a pathetic janathon effort but hopefully normal service will resume tomorrow - at least the gym should be open!

distance: no idea but did 10 laps of the stairs!
time: not really that long
press-ups: 10 (with 2 full ones - yay me!)

Monday 2 January 2012

ice, mud and a scull splitting headache

Day 2

Well, certainly a better attempt than yesterday but still not a very pleasant run I have to say. On putting the bins out this morning, I saw that it was rather icy outside so would have to be a jaunt into the muddy woods and hills to avoid falling on my arse. Did have a near miss on going out to the back garden and forgetting that the decking would be slippery and almost fell flat on my back.

Even parts of the woods were icy so it was a rather slow pace today. After about a mile a headache started up and just got worse as I went along. I blame the extreme cold (there was very icy winds up on the braids) for this headache rather than the extended after effects of new year's partying.

Needless to say I was grateful to return home to thaw out my extremities and get some painkillers.
Tomorrow looks even worse weather-wise so may have to resort to driving to the gym.

distance: 3 miles
time: 32mins45secs
calories: 311

Sunday 1 January 2012

off to a wobbly start

Well, not the best start but it was never going to be!  Unlike last year where I had a very quiet hogmanay, I was out with friends to do the Edinburgh street party (which was brill though a little crowded!) and much drinking was done and I got in around 4:30am.

So, with a still pounding head at 3pm today I managed to stagger out to do a rather short lap of the estate which only equated to a mile. But I got out at least and it a counts. There were a few hungover runs in Juneathon but as of today I am having a dry January so this will be my one and only hungover Janathon day. Will get the mileage up.

Hope all fellow Janathoners have had a good start or at least a better one than me :)

distance: 1.17miles
time: 11mins48sec
hangovers: 1