Pre-Mission 3 stats - Janathon Day 31

Phew - I somehow unbelievably made it to the end of Janathon - YABBA DABBA DOO. Though I will miss the Janathon cameraderie.

But wait, the end of Janathon marks the beginning of my third and SCARIEST Mission to date - FEBRULOUS or "INSANITY" (as my friends have taken to calling it!) = 28 days of running 10km a day.

I can't begin to explain how nervous I am - so voila:

1 part excitement: 1,000,000,000 parts trepidation.

Time for some pre-3rd-mission stats:
Weight: 10 stone 2lbs
Waist Measurement: 93cm/ 36 in
Distance ran during Janathon: 61.5km (that's exactly 61.5km more than I ran last January!!) Though I must pause a second to note that the winner of Janathon, Gary Vallance, ran 711km/ c. 400 miles!! during Janathon.  God I REALLY hope they don't rank us!!
Number of 10km completed in 2011: 0 (Saturday's 9.8km was pretty close though)
Number of Circuit/ Interval Sessions completed during Janathon: 16
Level of confidence I can pull this 3rd Mission off: 0.0000000001%
Potential number of kcals I will burn if I complete Februlous: Assuming you burn 100 kcals for each mile you run and Februlous = 168 miles. Number of kcals I will burn = 16,800 or 5lbs!!!
Ambition: If I somehow make it through Februlous, please can I be miraculously transformed to look like so:

I would kill to look like this OR Jessica Alba - I'm not fussy!!

Ever since I read the Para Fitness Guide by Major Sam McGrath a couple of weeks ago, one thought has lingered in my head, which has been haunting me, BIG TIME. To paraphrase the Major - to maximise your chances of completing a race/ fitness challenge, you should aim to complete 80% of your fitness challenge one month prior. Training is mental as well as physical. Then again completing 80% of a fitness challenge before you have to sounds MENTAL to me.

During Janathon I completed 61.5km - about 20% of my gruelling 280km Februlous target. Clearly, I am somewhat short of the mark ERGO this is going to be painful. Very painful indeed. Thankfully Lucinda is showing her support and is joining me in my 10km a day challenge for the first week. I am weak-at-the-knees grateful to have an ally in this.

I must now go say some last minute prayers:

Please let me survive the first day of Februlous
Please miraculously increase the temperature from 2 to 12 degrees, o Weather Gods, to enable me to breathe whilst running tomorrow. 
Pretty please let me survive the first day of Februlous
{Repeat x 1000}

Please do send me a prayer (and more importantly, one for baby Arthur Eccles too) xx

Arthur is only a week old but already has his own BRILLIANT blog, not to mention HUGE following - www.arthureccles.blogspot.com

Then again he is a MAJOR cutie!! xx

Fun, Games AND a COMPETITION!! - Janathon Day 30

I was invited to a fab "POSH" themed house party in Cambridge this weekend.  Haven't laughed or drunk so much in ages - THANK YOUUUU Hare {and Hare's lovely housemates}. Just what the doctor ordered.

Plus I sampled ;-)) the best punch I've tasted. PERIOD. Like a refreshing fruit salad, incredibly drinkable and oh so simple - just Pimms, Brandy, Apple Juice and Ice - YUMMMMM. I hereby declare EVERY Pay Day Weekend to be "Punch Party Weekend!!"

Punch aside there were also plenty of hilarious games, quizzes and dancing and before I knew it, it was 3am!

The Hare indulging in one of her favourite After Eight games - she is a MASTER at this.

I have literally never laughed so much.  Fortunately I also have the full footage on video for all posterity!! xx

This morning we were all feeling a tad tired, still a tad punch happy and after a yummy brunch - THANKS Hare - we settled down to the serious business of Hoppit/Croppit? - Sorry I can't really remember what it was called. (Blame my punch sozzled brain) It's a fairly simple board game, still in it's original 70s/80s box: Basically you have to protect your own four counters whilst taking out your opponents' counters via landing on their square and depositing them back at your "home." The player with the last counter on the board wins:

Some very happy faces as EVERYONE thought they would be victorious at this deceptively simple game.

In the end, Nat won against her fiance Josh.  

TRUE LOVE = a lifetime of sacrifice. 

Josh learnt a valuable lesson today!!

Fortunately the fun and games don't stop here: Last week PT passed on the details of a BRILLIANT Running Competition. Any Janathoners and Fitness Fans out there - here's the perfect excuse to kick off/ keep up the running habit. 

Introducing The SB Great British Run (click on pink title):

From the 7th-11th February 2010, for one week only, the Sweaty Betty community that accumulates the biggest running mileage will award each of it's members a £50 Sweaty Betty voucher. So whether you run 5 miles or 50 miles - if your SB community wins, you win too AND you get fitter and more fabulous in the process. WIN WIN!!

PT working out with Nell McAndrew!!! at Sweaty Betty!!!

I'm pledging allegiance to the 125 King's Road store as a) I pass this store a couple times a week and b) PT is also part of this SB community and I know how much PT loves to win and what a great runner she is! 'LOSE' just isn't in this girl's vocab!!

I'm also LOVING all the FREE classes Sweaty Betty offers as part of their 'Get fit for FREE campaign'!! - Running, Yoga, Pilates, Circuits - Sweaty Betty has it covered. Check out your local SB store and the classes they offer HERE

If you don't live near a Sweaty Betty Boutique - NEVER FEAR - you can still join in the SB Great British Run - just email your daily miles to logmymiles@sweatybetty.com to be in for a chance to win £50 SB voucher.

In the event that I can help the SB community to running success, this is what I would put my winnings towards - YOWZA!!:

Stella McCartney Run Performance Jacket
YOU WILL SEE ME COMING FOR MILES!!

Phoar - I DROP DEAD HEARTSIE THESE xx
Stella McCartney Seamless Tights

Ladies get signing up (King's Road, King's Road, King's Road ;-)) and get running. Plus let me know which SB community you belong to and what classes are a MUST try. xx

p.s. Janathoners - I'm just about to head out for a one mile run. I'm saving my run energy for Feb 1st and the start of my 10km a day mission - EEEEEEKKKK!!

Running by Letters - Janathon Day 29

Sunday Run Cub convened on a Saturday this weekend - just to confuse matters. Lucinda had organised a brilliant 14km route so Lucinda, Kaye, Shoshana, AJ and I set off armed with maps (THANKFULLY!!) for the longest run of 2011/ ever.  All bar fellow Janathoner, Half Marathon Training and accomplished long distance runner KAYE who regularly runs for miles and miles and miles when she's not climbing 1,000,000 stairs!!

Lucinda and Kaye managed the original and full 14.75km route in a staggering 1 hour 30 mins - WELL DONE girlies.

But for the slower but steady Run Club contingent - as the route progressed, our legs got wearier, we grew more convinced we were running miles not kms, our faces froze and our map reading skills fell to pieces (teasing AJ!!) so here's the slightly shortened route AJ, Shoshana and I ended up taking:

(Route Markers are in Miles!!)

Running by Letters Key:
A - Run Club meeting point and where we just missed PT joining us on the run - SO SORRY PT xx
Run kicked off: 9.08am.

B - I threw my first wobbly (the old "have to stop and tie my shoelace trick") - at the customary 20 mins of running mark. Fortunately Shoshana was not standing for any nonsense and we were soon on our way again but run/walking especially on the uphill sections.

C - Shoshana, AJ and I tag team run this stretch until my AudioFuel track kicked in and I apparently got noticeably faster - THANKS AJ - I like to keep you on your toes!!  Trust me the AudioFuel thing really works.

D - I realise we were not where I was hoping we'd come out (at the top of the Serpentine) and AJ realises we've gone off Lucinda's selected route and that we still have eons to cover. We decide to cut a section but are forced to drag ourselves up a steepish hill, for our sins.

Here after a gallant 4.5 miles Soshana completes her run ON A HILL. WOOP, WOOP. Great effort S.

AJ and I continue our brand of running (i.e. running with walking/breathing/talking breaks!!) and decide that the Serpentine Cafe will be our finish line as that MUST be 10km or thereabouts.

E - AJ and I stop for photo in huge lakeside mirror:

Proof we are shrinking!!

F - We pass Lucinda and Kaye at their 11km mark - looking as though they could run forever. And they do!!  AJ and I continue to the cafe, collapse on the bench outside then proceed to convince ourselves that we did run a rather hilly 9.8km in 1 hour and 10 mins AND on a freezing cold day. Two very happy people hastily depart for buses before the other suggests that we should really attempt another km!!

I may not have covered the 15km I was hoping for but today's run was my longest of 2011 and has set the baseline for next month's 28 x 10km. 

Plus left to my own devices, I know I wouldn't have gone more than 2 miles.

THANKS RUN CLUBBERS xx

Fail to Prepare is to Prepare to Fail - Janathon Day 27

So much news to share today but I will be good and save some for tomorrow.

I feel like I've achieved A LOT today:

1. Since today was my last day in the office before Mission 3 commences, I moved my work wardrobe into the office to help lighten the load of my backpack whilst I'm running 10km into work for the next month. Just need to figure out if the office has a laundry facility, then I'm ALL sorted ;-))

2. I've set up a Run Club Group on Facebook to hopefully cajole people into joining me in some runs over the next few weeks and help alleviate the boredom of running solo. Hoping to end up with LOTS of F.I.T. friends who will therefore make me look F.I.T by association ;-))

3. I've even sent out details for the next big run - 15km this Saturday, Hyde Park. SO FREAKING TERRIFIED. By all means sign up if you're interested and local: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_183790988318603 No homocidal maniacs please!

4. I spent all day honing my interview techniques with professional act-tors, Darling, no less.  It has to be said that whilst I'm on the firing line, at least the public sector make no bones about the necessity of brushing up our interview techniques if we're to have any chance of securing other jobs! 

I'm also submitting my 8 hour training session as today's Janathon workout as today's never ending 12 hour work day has left me too knackered to attempt anything else.  Plus rolling around on the floor with your tongue hanging out making ummms, ahhhs, ooohs and ssshh noises, feeling your ribs vibrate and your diaphram bounce and completing all manner of stretches, counts as near enough exercise/ lunacy in my book, Darling. Plus I power walked the mile to and from the venue and I was sent away with a whole list of breathing exercises for homework.

After 27 years, it seems that I have failed to master the art of talking AND breathing simultaneously - darling actor was getting very upset at my inability to not sound like a steam train. I'm too tired to find it anything but funny but no wonder I find running, talking AND breathing so impossible!!

Apologies there are no photos of today's workout ;-)) but check back tomorrow for details of a VERY special competition xx

An T.R.X.treme Workout - Janathon Day 26

Janathon is drawing to a close and despite all my NON-STOP whinging over the past few weeks (sorry about that!) - I finally feel like the training is all coming together - I feel stronger, fitter, recover quicker  and dare I say it, I've even shed a couple more lbs in the process (although that won't last long if I don't stop inhaling Maryland cookies and yummy Nairns flavoured oatcakes). 

So as a reward, an TRX(treme) workout was the order of the day:

WARM-UP:  A 4 mile/ 6.5km run to the park training 7am class - 40 min of running - including 2 miles non-stop completed in 18 minutes (2 mins off my normal 2 mile time - courtesy of the AWESOME AudioFuel 165 beats per mins which is making me run at a faster pace and with longer strides = WOOP)

WORKOUT: One hour circuit training class including the infamous TRX suspension training system - the brainchild of Navy Seal, Randy Hetrick.  It's tricky to explain well so I thought I'd just show you:

A new SUPERchick recruit with PERFECT form - AMAZING

Lucinda demonstrating an TRXreme ab exercise - 

This may look simple but I promise you more than 5 tucks is a killer

Yours truly getting a tutorial from SUPERtrainer Mel on a VERY COMPLEX!! one handed twist exercise

Intense concentration - although I appear to be doing NADA

Survived. Phew. That was a close run thing!!

PT demonstrating proper TRXreme press ups

Followed by some gentle jump squats

A CLASSIC PT ACTION shot - 

no-one can do more TRXtreme jumps than PT

The shoes come off - THIS is getting seriously TRXreme!!

Yup SUPERtrainer Mel can stay up there ALL DAY!!

The lady is PURE muscle.

COOL DOWN: 1 mile run through St James Park/ Green Park.

I am TRXremely happy with today's Janathon's efforts - Long may it continue!! xx

Audio{Rocket}Fuel - Janathon Day 24

Yesterday I was picking fellow Janathoner Kaye's brains about her best running motivation tips and Audiofuel seem to come up trumps. Plus as AudioFuel is officially backing Janathon, I took heed and headed over to audiofuel.co.uk last night to have a look. I even downloaded their free tester Grid Mix track onto my ipod shuffle ready and waiting for this morning.  (Check here for a free sample)


I have to say that I was more than a bit sceptical as AudioFuel is essentially House/Garage music (sorry I don't know the difference) designed to get you running to the beat.  Garage/House music is my idea of HELL. I can’t bear it on the occasions when I’ve been out clubbing, so much so I don’t do the clubbing thing and running to House music really early in the morning sounds doubly hellish. But where running's concerned, I'm prepared (understand desperate enough) to try ANYTHING.


And you know what - I EAT MY WORDS - AUDIOFUEL is RUNNING ROCKET FUEL.


Running to the beat is actually REALLY UBER amazing - It makes running more of a fun game and I was so distracted by landing my feet on the beats - 165 beats per min that I forgot about my achy knees and sore hips, tiredness, the fact that I couldn't breathe, time checking OR even the heavy backpack on my back for a FULL 20 mins!!! Plus I really liked the coaching over the tracks  -great SEXY VOICE!! and the brief reminders and time checks are just the right amount of cheesiness to keep you focused AND giggling - some of the instructions are a tad bizarre; e.g. "give yourself lots of breath" - what does this mean?!


Although Audiofuel has made me excited to get running and hitting this week's 40km target, unfortunately Audiofuel hasn't resolved my hatred for House music. Case-in-point  "Virtual Voltage dum, dum, dum-dum-dum, to the beat" for 10 mins straight was doing my head in but the follow on track - Dance Satisfaction - had a Britneyesque vibe that I was quite getting into, so much so that the instruction to keep my head still had me looking over my shoulder!!


My one gem in an otherwise sucky day (Thanks Kaye) xx

An exclusive Janathon Sunday Run Club - Janathon Day 23

Janathon heroes - GG and Kaye

(GG does have legs - all the Janathoning has made them shy!)

Sunday Run Club Take Two - specifically fellow Janathoners Kaye and GG are responsible for today's running efforts. I was massively nervous pre-run at the thought of attempting 8km, after this week's disastrous runs, and so maintained my usual place plodding along behind with cries of "do not wait for me" and "don't worry if I disappear from sight (I will have leapt into a bush to recover)".

I kept the girls comfortably in my sights until we got to 'the Honest Sausage' a little cafe in Kensington Gardens - when I had to pause for a walk - there was no sausage consuming HONEST! Though I could have killed for a rest - those little tables and chairs outside looked so inviting. Checking my watch - I'd been running for exactly 20 minutes.  So I resolved to have a quick 3 minute walking breather before running again.  But revving up to a run, I only made it a few yards before slowing to another walk. My focus had gone and my lovely pace setters had disappeared from view.  I was all ready to walk to hyde park corner and wave the girls past on their second loop, when across the road I spotted them waiting for me.

Outwardly I was so so grateful, inwardly I was cursing big time - as this meant one thing: I couldn't escape MORE running!!

But you know what, I managed another 20 minutes of running that I didn't know I had in me, so.....

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU GIRLIES...

Clearly I just need to station one of these girlies at every mile marker come February and 10km every day will be a breeze.

I eventually abandoned the girls after 50 minutes (Marble Arch - Green Park - Hyde Park Corner = 7km)  GG and Kaye were still going strong and were planning to run another 10km  - I have no idea how they do it but they make it look completely painless. I, on the other hand, needed to ease up on the old knees - they are, after all, unaccustomed to running more than a mile a day!!

Girl on a Mission - 40 minutes of running - WOOP, WOOP
Maxima Grumpa - 0 hissy fits - WOOOOOOOOP

xx

Timeout - Janathon Day 21

I had a serious sense of humour failure on today’s run – I am so INDESCRIBABLY sick of hitting the 10 minute running wall and failing to smash through it, climb over it, skirt round this impasse or crawl under it. So much so, the ensuing hissy fit was pretty intense – think 2 year old teething brat x 10 billion and that was me - my mood was not helped by the fact that, for some strange reason, today I went running without my gloves – assuming that a sunny day in January would be balmy – BIG MISTAKE - my fingers were so cold I was experiencing INTENSE pain, which of course alleviated my mood and my love of running massively. If only I could $%&$** run, I would be able to keep warm.

I got nowhere near to my 10km distance today which was imperative to get me back on track to my weekly 40km target.

In short I HATE running.  I LOATHE Janathon. I DETEST my 10 minute boredom threshold and I ABHOR my feebleness when it comes to running and I have NO FREAKING IDEA how I’m going to drag my lazy butt to run 10km everyday in just 10 days (despite everyone's belief that I can do this)

MAJOR $**%^&*$

There’s nothing like giving yourself a Timeout, aged 27.  xx

Crisis Averted - Janathon Day 19

It appears there has been no lasting damage from those cream eggs - at least according to the two "wow, have you lost weight?" comments I received today.  I am very lucky and have been the recipient of all manner of lovely compliments over the last few months but today's two struck a chord as they were 10 mins apart from two people who ordinarily are not fans of me - it's nothing personal (I hope!!), we just work on different sides professionally so we have a well honed good cop, bad cop routine and we don't typically exchange overt niceties. That's not in the rules!!

Clearly all this Janathon running is paying off  - as definitive proof (aside from my ego being stroked) is the massive news that I have rediscovered my ribs - I can actually feel the curve of the bottom of my rib cage - that's a new experience for me.  I may still have a pot belly but I can feel my ribs through a not too thick layer of fat - crazy but so exciting as holy bikini grail is finally getting a bit closer.

Clearly I'm being a bit facetious - this is NOT sexy 

This morning's training efforts were admittedly a bit painful - on account of still feeling a tad sick from eating too much easter themed sugar filled confectionary the previous evening - let that be a cautionary tale to you all!! But despite the nausea, I managed 2 miles of running and a rather hardcore Mel-special morning circuit session alongside some new and old SUPERchick faces.

EXCITING NEWS - the legendary PT is back and no surprise she is still light years ahead on the TRX/ any ab/ leg exercises when compared to a mere mortal like me. You wouldn't guess that it was PT's first session back and I'd been working out like a demon for the past few weeks - I managed two whole pike crunches on the TRX and I'm PROUD (though I'm not quite so proud of collapsing on the tarmac and wanting to cry like a baby - but we'll skate over that bit)!!

Thought of the day: You know the circuit is a killer when you're actually R.E.L.I.E.V.E.D to be sent for a run - SO, SO WRONG xx

Training Wheels - Janathon Day 18

The Janathon rules of blogging everyday make the task of skirting over the cheat days nigh on impossible.  Catching up with a friend tonight meant that I skipped my customary circuit training and my walk home - though I don't regret seeing my lovely friend for a second, as it's been eons.

I do regret the three cream eggs and the packet of pancakes I snaffled when I got home though, whilst catching up on the Biggest Loser of all things - oh the irony! Particularly as my friend had already bought me a yummy slice of apple flan. Mostly I'm disappointed about the cream eggs as I have worked hard at avoiding chocolate and making good decisions this year.  It has demonstrated to me that the training wheels are not ready to come off yet - my training routine and sugar abstinence does keep me on the straight and narrow. So I'm back on it tomorrow starting with a 4 mile run to tomorrow morning's circuit training class.

Perfection would be boring and the off days make the good ones GREAT. xx

p.s. My Janathon contribution: a 2 mile walk part of the way to work this morning.

The Para's Guide to Fitness - Janathon Day 17

Janathon Stats - Day 17:

Run target for the week - 40km/ 25 miles
Planned route for today - 4 miles: West Hampstead to Hyde Park Corner
Actual Distance Run - c. 3 miles {+ 1.4 miles (7 x 0.2 mile laps during SUPERchick circuits)}
Time running continuously before 1st walking break - 12 minutes
Time taken overall - 42 minutes
Number of walking breaks - over 10 (though none during S/C circuits)
Distance left to run to reach weekly target -  33km/ 21 miles
Blonde running moment - Thinking SUPERchicks started at 6pm so sprinting from Marble Arch down to Hyde Park Corner: Fortunately I met Kaye on her Janathon Run half way down the park who confirmed I am an idiot and that I still had 30 mins!
SUPERchick run circuit:

The day's rest has done me good - I can't say that my heart leapt at the prospect of today's run but I kept at it and it felt SO, SO much easier than Saturday's attempt although there were admittedly too many walking breaks overall.  Not a bad start to the week's tally though.

One of the things that has puzzled me for AGES has been my complete inability to say more than one or two words at a time whilst running, whilst other people can chat away really happily the entire time.  I just thought that I was totally unfit but I can across something in Major Sam McGrath's Para Fitness Guide this weekend that struck a chord. (The Para Fitness Guide is one of those New Year, New You Book releases but one of the best ones out this year, in my humble opinion: It's FULL of useful nuggets, solid training info and training plans AND crucially pictures of HOT military men working out!! What more could you want!!)

Anyway the Major lays out a really interesting table on gauging the intensity of cardio vascular training and the benefits of the different training zones, that I wanted to share:

According to the Major and the Spartans, the reason why I still have a protruding tummy is that I spend all my time training in my aerobic or anaerobic training zone aka I only manage to utter up to three words at a time.

Clearly I must master the art of running and chatting simultaneously to achieve that long awaited flat stomach. But as I may look weird chatting to myself - perhaps I will aim to run and sing (very out of tune I should add) - That won't look at all odd!! xx

Heart maker/ breaker - Janathon Day 16

As promised - no running today. Today's activity - an Xbox Kinect boxing lesson - 76 kcals burnt.  Surprisingly energetic and got me quite out of puff although the onscreen instructor was really grating. Give me the SUPERtrainers any day.

Today's main activity was making frames for twenty or so loveheart costumes for the Valentine's Race on the 12 February 2011:

Despite appearances - today wasn't a deodorant in hair day. 

I just may have forgotten to brush it - oops.

MASSIVE, MASSIVE thanks to my Dad for making me a heart frame and for the multiple trips to Hobbycraft, B&Q, Wickes and Staples to find wire suitable for making frames and a stapler to hold the felt fabric over the frame. Both of these acquisitions sound surprisingly simple but actually involved six trips and my sanity!!

However my favourite activity of the day was admiring the fab cauliflower we had for dinner - clearly any dramatic flair I have for dinner parties comes from my Dad:

One architectural cauliflower and tasty too.

Hope you had a happy and active weekend and your fingers have not been shredded by shaping wire into a slightly asymmetrical heart shapes. xx

7 Minutes - Janathon Day 15

I managed a whole 7 minutes today.  I seriously thought and felt like I'd been running for about twenty years but my watch was adamant: I'd only been running for seven minutes.

Clearly my lungs and knees are in need of a rest, but the one thing that has caught me off guard is just HOW mentally knackered I am from all this running: This morning I put two contacts in the same eye - even after checking which eye the contact still needed to go into - three times. On Wednesday I put deodorant in my hair instead of dry shampoo (dry shampoo helps with the wooly hat hair situation and absorbs most of the sweat, deodorant on my hair doesn't do the same job - although you'd think it really should!) I hate to think all the things I've done wrong/ mislaid and just haven't realised yet.

Conscious that I need to regroup for the week ahead, I'm not attempting anymore running until monday - tomorrow I'll be indulging in some FUN non-running exercise. CAN'T WAIT xx

Lunchtime Run Virgin - Janathon Day 14

I've never run at lunchtime before.  Typically I workout on my way to or from work - for me fitness training is a totally non-work related activity and I love having this buffer between my work and home life. It either energises me for my day ahead or de-stresses me and sorts out my thoughts on my way home. Plus I typically never have those theoretical one hour lunch breaks - 15 mins eating at my desk checking my personal emails is more like it! It takes me 15 mins to get changed into my running gear and get out the door!!

However as I literally couldn't drag myself out of bed this morning and my rucksac was too heavy to attempt to run anyway, but conscious of Janathon and my pesky 30km running target for the week,  at 12.20pm I bit the bullet and set off for a 4 mile route down along the Thames between Putney Bridge and Hammersmith Bridge - a route recommended to me by SUPERcat:

The just shy of 4 mile route took me 42 minutes - I managed to get to the 1 mile mark in 8 mins which I'm proud of but the remainder of the route was a combination of run/recovery walk/run. Truthfully my knees are TIRED and with the added complication of most of the route imitating wild countryside - mud, massive puddles and farm tracks - my knees found it tough going.  Give me paving slabs - however uneven - to run over any day. Fortunately there were enough runners along the route to ensure that I did keep running whenever and for as long as I possibly could - I have some pride after all!! At a guestimate I probably ran 70% of the route - but mostly I just happy I went running and kept trying to run for the entire 42 mins.

Observation of the day:  Running along the riverside I passed a number of rowing clubs as you might expect BUT also an unanticipated and shocking number of condoms underfoot - Rowers, it seems, are quite possibly the randiest people on the planet or at least the ones in Putney are!

p.s. Blister plasters are REALLY, REALLY worth the money - they have literally transformed my poor feet xx

A training tumble and TUMBLR stardom!! - Janathon Day 13

Well that 10km never materialised.  Of course, that would have been too easy.  :-))

Unfortunately my body is a tad knackered and still recovering from my 3 mile run stint yesterday. I did manage to haul my weary butt to the one mile mark by literally counting down the lamp posts and despite trying to sweet talk myself to picking up the pace again after a brief respite, I was having none of it. I can be very stubborn. That and the blisters were giving me a bit of grief.

As I'm still a way off my 30km run target for the week, I will try for another long run tomorrow although perhaps a more realistic 7km  - 10km is still a bit TOO ambitious currently!

However I didn't waste today's training opportunity, I walked EVERYWHERE today  - covering 12.5 miles in total - so my pins should be strengthening up nicely! Plus I mustn't forget this evening's SUPERchick class - which included step ups onto Achilles' plinth.  I should add Achilles stands about a meter off the ground - believe me that is one B.I.G. step up. In fact pass me the climbing gear.

NEWS FLASH: I'm very excited to discover that I made an appearance on tumblr - LOVE how I am leading my blogspot compadres in signing up for fitblr buddies, rather than trailing the pack as is my normal customary position in anything fitness related!!

Summer - I promise that my application will be winging it's way to you imminently. You are a genius!

Check out my tumblr debut on: http://fitblrbuddies.tumblr.com

Plus don't forget to sign up for tumblr buddies - I promise it is highly unlikely you'd end up with me!! xx

3 miles in 33 minutes - Janathon Day 12

I have so far regaled EVERYONE with my tale of running 3 miles in 33 minutes, in the rain, with my backpack this morning, like it’s some MASSIVE, NEVER BEFORE ATTEMPTED feat like scaling Kilimanjaro (which of course it is ;-))!!) so I feel it’s only fair to regale blogland with today’s heroics also:

Today, despite not wanting to run AT ALL when I woke up, and on seeing the rain, this feeling intensified a million fold, nonetheless, gameface went on in the knowledge that I need to complete 30km of running this week* and I set off reluctantly. Despite AAAALLLLLLL the odds, today felt like a proper effort as I only had two walking breaks – my first walking hiatus after 20 minutes!! of continuous running and then only for a distance of 0.3km (yup I measured it on route planner) and the second walking break (approx 100 yards) was close to Marble Arch (today's finish line) . All in all 3 miles/ 5km in 33 minutes. Not too shoddy especially since it was followed by an hour long SUPERchick strength training workout also in the rain.

Extra gold star for today's efforts.

One thing I did notice was how much easier it is to pace myself when I’m not having to dodge one man, his dog, his pram and his wayward child on the pavement. On the downside, running that early in the dark means that despite my best attempts I did end up splashing through puddles and so my feet got totally soaked. Really NOT helping the blister situation. Might need to invest in some waterproof socks - these apparently exist according to SUPERtrish. However on a plus, the rain disguises the sensation of sweat running down your back (which is intensified when lugging a rucksac). Also when it's raining you get the added benefit of having your face spritzed constantly, which when running, is rather nice!

*As you may or may not be aware, I’m meant to be in the midst of training frenzy for my next mission: Running 10km everyday in February. To adequately prepare me for this undertaking, I did create a rather lovely training schedule back in December. Unfortunately the last time I looked at said training schedule was before Christmas! Now D-day is only three weeks away so I've decided a simple and more memorable plan is required, URGENTLY!

The revised training plan for run 10km a day in Feb 2011:

• D-day minus 3 weeks: – complete a total of 30km of running
• D minus 2 weeks: – 40km of running
• D minus 1 week: – 50km of running (to include a 15km run - OMG - I've never attempted to run this far in my life EVER.)

On D-day I'm hoping/praying that my body can cope with shifting from 50km to 70km a week for a four week period after just three weeks training. Talk about a loooooong shot. ;-))

After today's efforts, D-3 Week's run total currently stands at 16.5km (Sunday – 5km, Monday – 6.5km, Wednesday – 5km) So tomorrow I'm planning a biggie - a 10km run from my house all the way to work.

REALLY, REALLY NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO MY FIRST 10km ATTEMPT OF 2011 xx

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BLOGS OF NOTE:

As promised the Janathon blogs of note: In total there are 238 Janathon blogs (215 of these appear to carry one of five identical wordpress blog templates - not sure why? - I didn't think it was in the Janathon rules.) However here are, in my humble opinion, the BEST 26 Janathon blogs where I LOVE to loiter:

• Makes me feel good about getting to bed before midnight: http://www.jog-blog.co.uk/
• Mistakenly thought it was written by a guy - very funny: http://thereisasixpackunderhere.wordpress.com/
• On her third race of the year! http://gemmasjanathon.blogspot.com/
• Good quality blogging: http://www.lazygirlrunning.com/
• Has a COOLIO Ferrero Rocher burned counter: http://travellinghopefully.wordpress.com/
• Stylish and clean blog - borders on design perfection: http://www.insertcleverrunningpunhere.com/
• One of the overused templates but GREAT blog regardless: http://www.nataliebowers.org/blog/
• A blog that epitomises Janathon:  http://irunitri.wordpress.com/
• GREAT writing: http://39midlifecrisis.wordpress.com/
• Insight into the male psyche - I am a tamagotchi!! http://richardjanathon.blogspot.com/
• COOL blogging: http://runhelenrun.co.uk
• Reminder that Janathon is a COMPETITION (recognise the header yet!!) : http://rosieblue89.wordpress.com/
• Best blog design: http://www.2011km.com/
• Love that he admits his c. 5 year old is his personal trainer. Plus Phil had the genius idea of running at midnight and so only having to complete 16 runs not 31!!: http://notmuchofarunner.wordpress.com/
• A poem everyday, normally rhyming couplets:  http://runrideswim.blogspot.com
• BEST HEADER EVER:  http://cakeofgoodhope.blogspot.com/
• Quality Running Blog:  http://web.me.com/julespickering5/Joggingjules5/Blog/Blog.html
• Pitta bread novice and BRILLIANT at commenting on other people's blogs: http://shazruns.wordpress.com/
• Fellow SUPERchick and the chica responsible for my Janathon exploits: http://ksweeswee.blogspot.com
• Interesting photos: http://haikugirloz.com/
• A daring SUPERCHICK who gets funnier the more running she's exposed to. Hang in there GG - you had me in hysterics today - I feel your pain!!: http://www.junglegg.com/
• 100% FUN blog - e.g. want to know how to decorate your baby bump?: http://gropethechaos.blogspot.com/
• Good girly blog: http://ramblingsofamulti-tasker.blogspot.com
• Like this blog name and the fact that the author is a farming magazine editor: http://allcaddywumpus.blogspot.com/
• Marrying running and puppy training exploits: http://halftherice.blogspot.com/
• Random delight: http://marathonmiss.wordpress.com/

Here endeth the Janathon blog list. Tomorrow a really concise post is the order of the day, cross my heart xx

Fitblr buddies - Janathon Day 11

I am LOVING the community feel of Janathon and having people check up on my progress. Even more I LOVE checking out other people's progress - so much so I find myself detouring to my fav Janathon blogs daily sometimes twice a day just to stalk them!! I have SEVERAL current Janathon blog loves but so that I don’t digress – MY  TOP JANATHON BLOGS will be tomorrow’s blog topic. Today I came across an advert for Fitblr buddies via Casey (http://fitastic.tumblr.com/) on Bendoeslife and knew I’d found my calling (for today anyway).

The premise is simps – get linked up with a fitness buddy somewhere in the ether for a WHOLE YEAR and have them encourage/cajole/ slap you into action as required and vica versa. I'm sure any potential buddies will be far too nice to actually slap - a shame as I'm always in need of a bit of mental slapping/ guilt tripping when it comes to actually doing hideous fitness stuff.

All you need to do to offer your services as a Fitblr buddy is complete and email your application to fitblrbuddies@gmail.com by the 25^th January, then get ready to welcome your fitblr buddy with open virtual arms. For more info check out:   http://fitblrbuddies.tumblr.com/post/2686792011/fitblr-buddies

My fitblr application is as follows:

Name: Girl on a Mission
Address: London, England
Blog Address: www.g-o-a-m.blogspot.com
Any kids?: Whoa - one step at a time - got to find "Boy on a Mission" first.
Any pets?: Just the unwanted sort who scare the living daylights out of you by running across your feet en route to their snack filled retreat. Pets I would own if domicile permitted - 2 kittens and a monkey called Bear. This probably makes me weird.
Your goals: World domination, six pack abs and running a 10km without complaining/ looking as though I've just attempted a marathon. 
What do you enjoy for fitness?: www.iamsuperchick.com But really doing as little as possible for maximum results then torturing myself by continually going for runs in the belief that I am a runner but that my body just doesn’t know it yet.
Favourite colour: Definitely blue, no PINK, make that Piue or blnk 
Birthday?: One every year without fail. These may become more infrequent as more time passes.
Anniversary?: See Any kids?
Allergies?: Exercise ha, ha! But seriously burpies and tricep dips - both make me break out in acute laziness!
Dislikes?: People who walk down the street waving their lit cigarette around but NOT smoking it – WHY? That and anything that scares the living daylights out of me.
Any other information you think your fitblr buddy should know:
My mind boggles at this – like dating – the dilemmas of undersharing/ oversharing are immense!! So while I contemplate this best possible answer (funny cute rather than weird psychotic) to ensure that I'm buddied up and not left out in the cold, here’s my Janathon lowdown for today:

Walk to work - 5.5 miles and SUPERchick session post work. Body is definitely feeling the effects of yesterday so taking it easier today. Plus I want to attempt another 4 mile run tomorrow morning so must get to bed pronto to maximise my chances AND to stop me polishing off the packet of cheddars I seem to have inhaled.  

Fellow Janathons - we're now over a third of the way there - Yaaaaaayy!! xx

Endorphin High - Janathon Day 10

Basically I'm too high on endorphins tonight to type much - thankfully I was planning to post an update from Marathon Megan who completed her version of Janathon from mid Nov to mid Dec last year when she was challenged to kickstart her Marathon Training by tweeting everyday about her running. Well it's nearly one month on so I thought it was time to get an update and check whether Megan's kept up on her run training.

Before I hand over to Megan and start jumping around my room, here's today Janathon effort: Run (with small walk sections) from West Hampstead to Hyde Park Corner in 42 mins  - a distance of 4 MILES/ 6.5km!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really pleased by this as it takes me 1hour 5mins to power walk and although I probably only ran 70% of the route (cos of the walking breaks) in reality it's such a MASSIVE improvement on just a few days ago. Plus I kept going despite having to constantly dodge people - one of my pet running peeves and I was running faster and picking up my heels more. Then once I got to Hyde Park, I completed a SUPERchick class which was fairly full of running intervals - and I completed EVERY SINGLE ONE of the running laps so I must be able to chalk up another 2-3km!!! Then I walked about 2 miles home. So going to sleep well tonight!!

The only slight downside to two days of being on fire is that I can feel blisters developing - first time ever from running!! Right now I'm too high on the endorphins to care but I'm guessing tomorrow is gonna hurt! xx

Marathon Megan's Update:

Megan Pre-Run!!

"One month on! Has it really been one month since the end of my 30 day challenge set by Justine?! (No not really as I am writing this at the beginning of Jan, but it has been 3 weeks!!) I wasn’t even sure I was going to get through the first 30 days, let alone this far. It is now only 94 days until the marathon and I am counting down the days. (You might think odd as that would mean willing it to be closer - however in my head it means that in 96 days I will have (hopefully) completed a marathon and it will all be over!)

Although I think I might be addicted to the endorphins! Since my last update at the end of November I have successfully completed Justine’s challenge and the long runs of the marathon training have commenced! These are organised by the wonderful Brighton Marathon Ambassadors, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the work they put in to plan the routes, check they are still safe in advance, and then guide us around them on a Sunday morning, and they do it all for free!

I was really worried about how I was going to tackle this aspect of the training. I missed the first two, so started my journey with an 8 mile cross country run- slightly daunting, but by then end we had actually run 8.5 miles and by some miracle my legs carried me the whole way! The route changes every 2 weeks, although it can be varied each week to add a bit of distance, so since then I have completed another 8.5 mile cross country run, a 9.5 mile and 11.5 mile road run in 1.5 and 2 hours respectively. Something I never thought would happen! and a 10.5 mile cross country run (where I felt like me legs would drop off at the end). We are going to try and add a bit to the end next week to make it nearer 12 miles! We will see how that goes as last week there was no way I could go any further!

My morning runs are still happening, although I didn’t do any in the week between Christmas and New Year. I did however manage a 9 mile run ON MY OWN!! I have never managed more than 4 miles alone before, so I am still feeling proud of myself now! It even included hills (inevitable when you live in Brighton) which I can’t stand!

Kung Fu training starts up again shortly, so combining the two is going to be another challenge; but as I run in the morning I should have recovered by the evening in time for the class, I don’t exactly have an active job! And I still keep one day a week for doing nothing.

I tried to register for the Brighton half marathon a few weeks ago, but had left it too late! There are others I could do instead, but I am feeling particularly apathetic about it at the moment – I sometimes feel the process of signing up is the hardest part! So, looks like it will be in at the deep end for me, with the full marathon being my first race!!

Anyway, here are a few things I have realised whilst doing this training:

• I can’t run my best at 5.45am and trying to do more than 4 miles is tough, however it is better than not going out at all (the alternative!)


• Don’t dither about in the morning, get up, get dressed, get out! The more time available for procrastination, the more likely it is there will be a reason not to go (there is always a reason not to go!) Once you have your kit on it would be silly not to go outside, and once you are outside you may as well go for a short run at least. Get your kit ready the night before, so if you don’t manage to get out of bed, you will feel really guilty every time you have to walk past it! Although I do draw the line at wearing the kit to bed, I think that’s going a bit far!


• The first 20 minutes of any run are horrific, get past this and you feel good at the end.


• Running with someone whilst chatting makes the whole experience more fun and helps you to pace yourself. We still manage 10 minutes per mile on the flat doing this (I can’t beat this EVEN when I’m not talking!)


• No matter how cold it is you warm up incredibly quickly, and actually starting off colder means you won’t ‘overheat’! I think the lowest temperature I ran in was minus 4, a complete achievement for someone as cold blooded as me.


• I still find it odd seeing hoards of men wearing leggings- still not sure if it should be acceptable or not, even if they are running!

Here’s to the next 94 days then!" x Megan x

Megan Post-Run - only looking slightly flustered I have to say.

So proud (and admittedly very jealous) of all that Megan's accomplished - those longer runs and those times, not to mention training in sub-freezing temps makes you a true SUPERstar with the stamina of a professional athlete!!  WELL DONE x a billion and keep up the training Megan - you have your LOVEheart debut on the 12th Feb to help motivate you ;-)) !! xx

A Marathon of sorts - Janathon Day 8*

*Posted a day late.

I'm not sure this counts towards Janathon's "run/exercise everyday in January" pledge but I feel "My Cooking Marathon" should:  Cooking for 14 people takes stamina, lots of prep, regular hydration!! and ultimately a massive leap of faith. Yesterday, after buying Waitrose's entire stock of salmon, tomatoes and coriander, among other ingredients, I set about making Nigella's Irish bread, Zested Salmon with Tomato and Parsley Couscous and Coffee Meringues with Toffee Sauce (with double cream and blueberries as I was worried there weren't already sufficient calories in the meringues alone!!) Voila:

Thankfully the gentleman I accosted in Waitrose helpfully indicated what stout was in layman's terms

My attempt at couscous resembles Nigella's photo is the background!!

Coffee and Nut Meringue Tower - ALL MADE BY ME. ONLY took twenty minutes with an electric hand whisk to make these - if that doesn't count as an arm workout, it really should! 

An example of the finished product - the low kcal version (i.e. without blueberries!!)

Just as with my running, last night's supper party taught me that I need to improve on my timings - sadly I jumped the gun and cooked the bread a bit early so it no longer had that 'just out of the oven' warmness and just the school meal quantity of couscous made, meant that keeping the couscous warm, without just turning it to mush was nigh on impossible.

However just like races, the finish is the most important and fortunately Nigella's meringues - even made by me - were BEYOND amazing. Everyone agreed on this - and loved them so much there was rumours circulating that I couldn't possibly have been the creator of these beauties!! Want to feel my biceps from all the whisking?!

One thing I've discovered about Nigella is that she seems to use A LOT of INGREDIENTS.  Our fridge is full of left over cream from the meringues (even despite only whipping up half the quantity Nigella advised). Plus last night's guests didn't leave empty handed - they all went home with a bag of fresh coriander - with mix feelings I should add!

Post supper, to attempt to burn off the 6,000 kcals from the meringues, we attempted to XBOX our way through some games.  After some slight technical difficulties, including getting SUPERjade to stay quiet long enough for the box to calibrate itself!! - (This was harder than it seems and took Jade AND the box three attempts!!) - we got down to the serious business of making ourselves look seriously idiotic.  For the record - I would just like to say my attempt at hoola hooping does not intentionally resemble a rabbit on heat or any sort of dry humping! Though it's true John Prescott made an appearance during the dance game (Rob!!) Plus there were some certainly illegal moves going on during white water rafting:

SUPERjade and SUPERjo doing their best not to fall out of the water raft!

Our titchy TV just about coped with Xboxing

All in all a GREAT night. ALL THANKS to my brilliant guests, Nigella and Waitrose.

Despite Rob's face, nobody was actually sick - yay!! xx