30th THE END Thank you very much

Today's June fact  

IT'S THE LAST DAY OF JUNEATHON !

The last day was always going to be a challenge, mainly because Shaun was working which meant I had two dog walks, fruit & veg shopping, washing and housework to do as well as throw in a few miles run.  I think Archie knew I had to run this evening and lead me on a couple of nice, easy walks - around town this morning and down the riverbank to Piddinghoe this afternoon.  A very gentle 4 miles.   Now that there won't be as much running I will be coaxing Archie on some longer walks for the rest of the summer! 


I waited until Shaun got home from work before I went for my run.  I really had no more than 2 miles left in the tank so 2 miles it was!


Day 30 mileage :
Run : 2 miles
Walk : 4 miles + 2 miles to pick up Dani from a party on the other side of town


Juneathon Totals :
Run : 107 miles
Walk : 88 miles
Hours spent exercising : 81 hours
Weight lost : 3lbs


I was saying yesterday that taking part in Juneathon (and Janathon) is a double-edged sword.  The first half is fun, getting used to going out and running, the 3rd week gets more difficult as the mileage starts to take it's toll on your body (well it did on mine) and by the final week you're running out of things to say on the blog other than I ran!   But it's still enjoyable in a strange sort of way!


Having only completed a few running miles during Janathon I really wanted to up the ante - and I am more than pleased with the results!   Getting up and going out early has been a revelation, however I can't imagine achieving an early morning run during autumn/winter.  I'm off on holiday in just over a weeks time and I will be taking my running kit to run the beachfront walkway at Playa des las Americas.  I need to keep my fitness/stamina up for a 10k when I get back.


I couldn't have done any of this without the support from Shaun - who loves to sabotage and on more than one occasion has said "you don't have to run tonight" or "you're not going out in that weather". Trouble is he hasn't worked out it actually makes me more determined to get out and just do it.  It's been a lot easier to go out with the longer daylight hours.  I also couldn't have done this without the support and motivation from fellow Juneathoners - thank you for reading the blog and leaving comments and to @jogblog with going along with the bet - it certainly helped to have that hanging over me every day!  The motivation from Twitter is a major part of getting through the challenge.


Congratulations to my brother, @stevierun71 who is top of the Table of Doom tonight - great running this month, so proud of you x


What's next?


August 19th Seaford 10k
October 7th RISE Undercliff 8k
November Brooks Brighton 10k
February 2013 Brighton Half


I've still got to do a Parkrun - I really need to get that sorted!


Not sure if I'll be back for Janathon - will have to wait and see how the half training goes.


I'll still be blogging, just not every day!  There will be a few things with Danni coming up, including GCSE results and also the small question of getting Shaun back to walking long distance after he's had an MRI next week.

Well done everyone - it's been a great month x  

Good night and thank you

29th - Anti Climax

On 29th June 1613 Shakespeare's Globe Theatre burned down!

I hate that feeling when something you've been looking forward to and planning for ages is all over, and no doubt Sunday I will be feeling the same about Juneathon.  Yesterday was an amazing day and today was back to normal very quickly with the added benefit of feeling absolutely knackered.


I was surprised that feeling so knackered that I was able to do anything this afternoon after work.  When I took Archie out he kept heading to the woods so that's where we started and then headed back towards the river bank, it would have been a nice 2 mile walk if Archie hadn't decided to roll in foxes poo and end up in the shower when we got back.


Danni had another party tonight so whilst she was getting ready to go out and I was waiting for Shaun to come home, I had a little nap!  This set up me brilliantly for a run when he got back, and although I told him I was probably only doing 2 miles, I ended up pushing through and did 4 miles, getting back just in time for turkey kebabs coming out of the oven!


Day 29 totals
Run : 4 miles
Dog walk : 2 miles
Hecklers : Zero
Cyclists who made me run through brambles, stinging nettles & long grass : 5


Total Miles
Run : 105 miles
Walk :81 miles

1 MORE DAY TO GO 

Day 28 Promathon

Today is the day we've all been waiting for - no not the last 2 days of Juneathon, but my daughter's Prom Day!


I took the day off work to taxi Princess Dani around as required so was able to go out for my run first thing. I had only planned on doing 2 miles a day for the last 3 days but of course Juneathon madness took over and I decided to head out for 4!  That was a big mistake.  It was a very warm morning and although I took it very slowly it wasn't long before the sweat was running off me.  I had to keep wiping my sunglasses because they kept steaming up!  There were a couple of other runners out and we all agreed it was a warm one.  Not sure why but on the way back I began to feel a bit unwell, whether it was the fact I hadn't let my breakfast go down, over hydrating or over-heating I don't know but after a while I got that impending feeling of doom in my stomach that every runner dreads - I can honestly say I have never been so glad to see those golden arches.  Had a quick pit stop and then set off for home.  My Garmin was also playing up and didn't stop when I got stuck at the train crossing (again!) so all in all not a good run.  I'm sticking to 2 miles for Friday and Saturday ..... maybe!


Only a couple of short walks for Archie with me today, one before we went to the hairdressers at 12pm, and a longer one at 2.30pm.


So on to the business of the day.   Just a few photos before they left !

Day 28 totals:

Running : 4 miles
Dog walk :  1 mile and a bit
No of car journeys : 4
No of tissues used : Zero - that surprised you (& me!)


Juneathon Totals
Running: 101 miles 
Walking : 79 miles 

27th June - Wimbledon link - 3 days & counting

On 27th June 1985 Anne White played tennis at Wimbledon in a white body stocking

Today had to be an early run - luckily Shaun was getting up at 5.30 to walk the dog before work so I got up as well and headed out to West Beach.  Following last night's heckling it was lovely to be out that early, not very many people about at all.  It was quite foggy and a fishing boat was already heading out to sea, disappearing into the fog, made me feel quite relaxed.  I did pass one dog walker who gave me a funny look up and down- had to check that I had put my clothes on in the right order and round the right way!


This afternoon's dog walk was an uneventful one, Archie's mileage has seriously dropped since Janathon - what a lazy little boy! 

Day 27 totals:

Running : 3 miles
Dog walk : 2 miles
No of hecklers : BIG FAT ZERO
No of fishermen : 6
No of dogwalkers : 4




Juneathon Totals
Running: 97 miles 
Walking : 78 miles 

26th June Blogging gets harder! 4 days to go

Today's June fact is a birthday :

Chris O'Donnell (actor best known for playing Robin in Batman Forever & Agent Callan in NCIS Los Angeles) was born today in 1970.


Nothing very exciting today, no dog walk because Mr B did both the morning and afternoon walks, just a solo run (even though it's a run with Sue day). It was quite nice weather wise - a light breeze, cool temperature which I later found out was due to a fog which had descended over the Downs.  I couldn't decide how far to go, Tuesday is normally a 4 to 6 mile but I wasn't sure if I had that many miles in my legs.  I decided to do the Cycle Path route so that I could turn around when I felt like I'd had enough.   Having walked half a mile while the Garmin continued to "locate satellite" I managed a further 4 mile run.


On the way back home I unfortunately had to run the gauntlet of some nasty young girls.  The 3 of them were walking across the bridge, 3 abreast with dogs, one moved out of the way and I said thank you, at which point they decided to advise me that I had a "lard arse" and "runbitchrun" along with mimicking a running action - not that they looked like they could run a mile between them!  There are times when I hate living in Newhaven - runners are in the minority!


Day 26 totals:
Running : 4
No Dog walk :0(


Juneathon Totals
Running: 94 miles 
Walking : 76 miles 

25 down, 5 to go

First things first, June fact - it's a biggy!  On 25th June in 1876 Sioux Chiefs Crazy Horse & Sitting Bull defeated General Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Read all about it here.  Beats a list of dead people ;0)

So on to Juneathon 2012. The weekend's Longest Day Run has definitely taken its toll, not helped by having a rotten night's sleep and no time for a nap after work!  I took little Archie out for his afternoon walk but he'd already been on a long walk with Mr B so he wasn't really interested and spent most of the 2 miles on his lead up to the pond and back. No ball playing, no chasing rabbits, pheasants, foxes or barking at the sheep on the other bank - just walk and get it done.   If it hadn't been for the fact that Weightwatchers have reduced my daily pro-points by a significant amount we probably would've only done 1 mile.

When we got back Mr B had made a cup of tea so I necked that and got changed.  Feeling absolutely shattered I planned to do a 2 mile recovery jog run, nice and gentle down to the beach and back.  It was a lot faster than it felt at just over 23 minutes - felt more like I was staggering.  Hopefully running with Sue tomorrow so should be able to get 4 done, providing I get some sleep tonight.

At work today I had a health check which was arranged by Brighton & Hove City Council with a proper qualified nurse to advise on preventing Type 2 Diabetes, heart & kidney problems and strokes.  The main reason I wanted to do it was to have my cholesterol level checked which I've never had done.  Luckily I was able to answer most of her questions about weight, height & general lifestyle - she was amazed that I even knew my BMI!  Anyway glad to report that whilst my bad cholesterol is a bit high at 5.61 my good cholesterol negates it completely by being nearly 3.   She gave me a leaflet so that I can tweak my diet - mainly oily fish intake. Job done!

Day 25 Totals
Run : 2 miles
Dog walk : 2 miles
Fingers pricked : 1

Total Juneathon Mileage 
Run : 90 miles
Walk : 76 miles

Juneathon day 24 and Longest Day Run Pt 2

Today was the second half of Longest Day Run.  There have been some amazing runs done already and no doubt by the end of the day there will be some huge totals.  It has been a great challenge and it has been an honour to take part in the inaugural event, hopefully I will be able to take part next year.   The support and motivation from Twitter followers has been great, and pushed me further than I thought I could go.


Being Sunday it was a booked long run with Sue first thing.  It was raining and I needed to do at least 4 miles to take my total above 10 which is the furthest I've run this year so far.  Sue wanted to do 6 so that's what we headed out for.  The rain wasn't too heavy but when we got to Seaford beach the spray from the sea made it worse.  The wind was very strong, probably the worst it's been since Friday.  Sue hasn't done much running for the last few weeks so once we hit 3 miles there were a few walk breaks which my poor Juneathon legs were pleased about, but my head got a bit frustrated.  All in all not a great run, Sue likes to talk way too much and it's difficult to get breathing and pace right - I like running with her but I'm much better on my own!


No June fact today - can't find anything which is remotely interesting.  Instead here is a link to a list of people who have died on 24th June.


Day 24 mileage :
Running : 6.8 miles
Dog Walk : 2 miles
Weightwatchers WI day : 61.9 kgs (stayed the same)


Total Juneathon mileage :
Running : 88 miles
Walking : 73 miles