#Janathon Day 31 - Thanks again to Cathy, the real star of Janathon

I think I stopped just in time, 282 miles and my knees are just about intact but my leg muscles are aching sooo much.  Still, they will recover, I hope.  I've also finished my quota for this week's Febulous too so I can have a good few days rest.

So today's run was in two parts, my first run was before work and was 5.02 miles.  I rushed back and was just ready in time for my early morning meeting.  My second run was with Fleet and was 7.08 miles making his Janathon total 133 miles ... but I think he needs a rest now too.  This afternoon's run was so cold again, brrr! Plus Fleet went for a swim brrr x brrr!!

I'm must say that I'm very pleased with my mileage, the furthest I've ever run in a month and 'just' over 9 miles per day. 

The last word should go to Cathy, thanks again for organising this year's Janathon, you are the real star of the 'athons.

#Janathon Day 30 - freezing runs and CPR revision (not on real people)

Just got back from a First Aid course for Scout leaders at the Scout Hut - good to be reminded about and updated about CPR etc.  Second half of course is next week and I'm judging a Beaver cooking competition just before ... that's not cooking beavers, but Beaver Scouts testing their cooking skills, and not with hot food either :-)

This, together with a couple of runs, means I have had a very busy day. My morning run I did with Fleet and we ran 9.08 miles.  I'm not sure if I will take Fleet for a run tomorrow morning, I'll see how he is.  He definitely doesn't rush to go out the next day after a long run and, seeing as he can't talk, I tend to ere on the side of caution when we've done a longer run.

I went out for my afternoon run when the sun was shining but it became very, very cold.  I was freezing when I got home and it took me a while to warm up.  That run was 11.02 miles.

I have an early meeting tomorrow morning and so I'm not sure when I will go out.  I'll probably take it easier ...

My total Janathon mileage is now 270 miles and Fleet's is 126 miles.  Besides aching muscles and tiredness and hunger, joints are all okay :-)

#Janathon Day 29 - Italian food with shells, 'The Artist' and 250 miles :-)

A long run today along the Jubilee River of 16.18 miles this morning. I must say that I enjoyed it and didn't feel that tired afterwards which was a bit of a surprise. Maybe the Italian food helped last night.

I do enjoy Italian food and I did enjoy the main course but the prawns had shells on! This together with the sauce made it difficult to eat. But it was a very good evening with friends and the food tasted good even if it was a little difficult to eat. Also watched 'The Artist' before eating out, which we all enjoyed very much, although I did start coughing in the quiet bit!

This afternoon I went to the gym with my middle son (eldest son is in Leeds seeing his girlfriend) while my wife and youngest son played singles badminton.  Silly Janathon fever has set in and I ended up running 6.02 miles for 51 minutes just to raise my Janathon total to ... 250 miles :-)  I am very pleased.

#Janathon Day 28 - had to, um, turn round ... !

I had intended doing a longer run today but, without going into details and for a reason I've discussed before, I had to turn round and run home, carefully, and stop for compsure every few hundred metres! Oh well, I got home with no mishaps :-)  It was colder today than I thought it would be and my hands were frozen when I got home. Since arriving home I've been busy, busy, busy, and we're going out in half an hour's time so I need to go and get ready ...

So my run today (with Fleet) was 9.04 miles making my Janathon total is 228 miles and Fleet's 117 miles.

#Janathon Day 27 - night running = getting lost, tripping, sinking, slipping and running into things

Obviously a day for getting lost as I did tonight and so did runtezza today.  It was a beautiful day for a run but I was too busy and set off too late .... when it was dark!  I just can't get excited about running in the dark but Local Adventures raves about trail running at night so like a mug I tried trail running at night.

Well I got lost, and my feet got wet and muddy, I ran further than I intended and it was cold. I can't look out for owls or anything else except the odd moth that crosses the light beam of my headtorch. No, I have to concentrate on the beam of light from my headtorch so I don't trip, sink, slip or run into anything. Problem is I still trip, sink, slip and run into things.  Running at night would be fine if it wasn't so dark.  I will persist though.

On homeward stretch I felt really hungry and decided to listen to the first episode of Talk Ultra to take my mind of my tum. Unfortunately, hearing all about 250km runs and 10 hour training runs and running across deserts, jungles and Antarctica sort of sapped my energy! But I did find it interesting.

Still I ran 8.5 miles making my Janathon total 219 miles.

Remembering Eric

Just before my run today I found out a school friend had passed away. During my run I thought about my friend from school a great deal and ended up running just over 11 miles, which was a good few miles more than I had originally intended. I do wish we had managed to get together (he lived in South Africa) and do that run together but we didn't. But as I ran tonight I remembered Eric.

#Janathon Day 25 - Fleet smashes a 100 miles and knots again

Fleet has completed his century with a Janathon total of 108 miles, well done Fleet :-)

Last night I played badminton singles with my son for an hour.  Great fun despite my tired legs.

This morning Fleet and I ran 9.1 miles, the first mile is always the hardest.  This brings my Janathon total to 199 miles. 

It was Cubs tonight and I taught them (or tried) how to tie a sheet bend. I also went over how to tie a reef knot using a slightly different method that I think is easier for Cub age kids to remember rather than left over right .. etc.  The good thing about this method I'd worked out, is it makes it easier to teach how to tie a sheet bend.

#Janathon Day 24 - my legs are aching :-(

I've decided that my leg muscles are not going to recover until I have a few days off and so they will probably ache for the rest of Janathon, lovely :-(

Maybe tonight's badminton will help a little ... or not.  Normally all five of us go but it has been reduced to two of us, me and my youngest son. Singles for an hour ... my tired legs!

Stuck on a bug in my work too, so that's not helping.

Run today was 8.45 miles (in the drizzle) and my Janathon total is now 190 miles.

#Janathon Day 23 - my 99 miler dog

Fleet has run 99 miles with me (he's run more really if you count the back forth style of running he does).  The truth is it is probably 100 miles if I added all the fractions of a mile together and I was tempted to add them up but then he wouldn't be a 99 miler dog :-) it has a nice ring to it!

He is definitely getting fitter and faster, unlike me who might be getting fitter (I think or theorise) but definitely not faster.  My legs really need a rest as they feel quite heavy, clomp, clomp clomp along I go.  I should have a rest day but I want to run every day in January.  I'm not actually competing with anybody or maybe I am, I don't know,  but I do want to do better than I did in Juneathon - I hope my legs hold out.

And of course I also want to carry on into February and Marathon Talk's Febulous (the February section of Jantastic).  Incidentally, I was wrong about the total weekly mileage, you have to set the target length of your 'long run' (not total mileage)  and the number of times you want to run each week.  I think my target will probably be to run 5 times a week with a long run of 10 miles(ish) and maybe one longer run of say 13 miles once a month, but I'm still undecided.

So my/our run today was 8 miles and my Janathon total is now 181 miles but more importantly Fleet's total is now 99 miles :-) making him ... the 99 miler dog!

#Janathon Day 22 - holding myself together and an Olympic blockage

First thing this morning went out for a pleasant walk with my wife and Fleet. Returned and did a few chores, booked badminton court for Tuesday and had a lunchtime bagel.

Then decided to head out for a long run while my wife dropped my youngest at a (not so local) cinema, I'm picking up later, sigh. My run took me along the Thames and all go was going well but the bagel (or something) was um, uh well searching for a low level exit strategy.  I figured I would maintain self control and carry on regardless but unfortunately I had to stop every so often to, well, hold myself together a bit.

Carried on running and then reached a fence blocking the towpath! The towpath around Dorney Lake has been  closed off until November because of the Olympics and the need for a temporary bridge over the river. I'm all for the Olympics but I'm not sure why the towpath has to be closed for so long? So I ran up to Dorney Lake to find lots of people walking around there.  A duathlon had just finished and I thought ... toilets!  And yes, I found clean toilets (duathletes must be a tidy bunch) and was um, very relieved. 

My run back was much better although I started feeling hungry.  Total run was 13 miles bringing my Janathon total to 173 miles.

#Janathon Day 21 - rainbows, #Jantastic and isn't Fleet doing well

As runtezza has pointed out, Fleet has almost reached his ton!  He is now at 91 miles and seems to be managing a lot better than I am.

Although I'm not feeling that bad, knees okay (check), Achilles okay (check), hips okay (check), muscles okay ... well maybe not but it's not that surprising at this point in Janathon. Still, only one week left but then I am also doing Jantastic and that goes right through to the end of March, oh well.

I set a target of 5 runs per week for Jantastic but I've been averaging 7. Next month I expect I will drop down to 5 runs a week and I'm thinking of setting a weekly mileage of 30 miles, something to consider.

On my return part of my run today it rained but on the bright side I was very lucky to see a double rainbow straight ahead. With the open fields all about it looked like a huge finish line arch intended for me, beautiful :-) My run today was 8.2 miles.

My Janathon mileage is now 160 miles and, as I mentioned, Fleet's mileage is 91 miles. 

#Janathon Day 20 - doggy Christmas decorations and almost running into stays

Fleet came running with me today and wore his tri-colour flashing LED, it looks like a little Christmas decoration.  It works very well and drivers definitely notice him.  Our run was 8.2 miles and it was dark when we got back home. 

Talking of running in the dark, on my run in the dark last night I almost ran into a telephone pole stay, that was with a headtorch on too!  I would have hit it square on with my head and I know I don't run that fast but it would have been a nasty collision, surely stays on public paths should have reflective material on them?

Short post today so my Janathon mileage is now 152 miles and Fleet's is 83 miles.

#Janathon Day 19 - yawning plus other things

I'm yawning away as I write this, I'm not getting enough sleep, oh well!

Eldest son only had one hour's sleep last night as he was doing TMAs, which he finished and submitted. Subsequently I drove him to work (nice Dad that I am). Also had to take youngest son to drama school after his normal school.  Ordered a sofabed and toilet seat.  Made breakfast (porridge), washed up, took out rubbish. Also arranged First Aid course as requirement for Cub Leader, printed out my OU course timetable.  Did some further revision in preparation of OU course. Worked solid for rest of time, was stuck on bug but eventually solved it :-) , but customer hasn't paid invoice :-( so suspending work (this is frustrating and irritating). Notice no mention of a run.

(still yawning)

Ended up running this evening but it wasn't that bad even though it was at night.  It was a road run but large tracts were not lit so I used my headtorch with flashing red light on back ;-)  Quite mild outside, run was 8 miles

Came home and had heated discussion with one of sons :-(  

Realised that all my running kit is in the wash so put some washing on, hope it dries in time when I hang it up tomorrow!

My Janathon total is now 144 miles.

(yawn ...)

#Janathon Day 18 - overheating, bugs, Cubs, knots and the recovery position

I wore too much for my run today and I was a bit too hot, probably overheated a bit,  but I did another 8.1 miles plus it was drizzling too - I wonder if I was steaming?

Then I worked and worked and worked trying to solve a bug in my design, right up to 5 minutes before Cubs.  Then I threw my uniform on and rushed off to Cubs where I arrived just about on time Tonight we did knots and a bit of First Aid including the recovery position (I was the patient, I need recovering) and games of course :-)  Helped me forget the bug in my design!

Rushed home 'very hungry' and had dinner ... and here I am writing this post.

My Janathon total is now 136 miles.

#Janathon Day 17 - and all I can think of is bed

Run today with Fleet was 7.1 miles and Fleet had/needed a swim to remove all the mud.

Middle son had a maths A level exam today so I drove him into school and oldest son had psychology TMA to submit by 12, which he did :-)

Played and hour of badminton this evening as soon as my wife arrived home.  She went off to Scout exec meeting immediately afterwards and I made the dinner which she will eat later. As you can see it's a bit busy round here!  I have Cubs tomorrow night, it's a knot night so I need to check that I remember the relevant knots.

I am very tired, yawn. Local Adventures thought up a poem ... all I can think of is bed.  My running is not feeling very poetic at the moment!

Janathon miles are 128 miles for me and 75 miles for Fleet.

#Janathon Day 16 - Garmin had a flat and poo parcels

Monday morning and I looked outside and, if I'm honest, I made enough excuses or created enough deviations so I didn't have to run in the icy cold ... wimp? Yes, I think so.  I decided that lunchtime was the best time for a run.

Lunchtime came ... and went, I was too busy on debugging a new design (i.e. work was getting in the way of running, a bad state of affairs really).  I had a breakthrough with my work and thought, 'I better go for that run', picked up my Garmin and blank screen! The battery was not charged as I hadn't fitted the charging clip on correctly.  What to do?  I decided I'd charge it for as long as possible and delay my run just long enough so I came home in the light (I was taking a late lunch break plus all the rest of the time I was working). 

My Garmin was partially charged so decided to risk it.  Set off ... running shoes not right (I think they're wearing at the the back, new Innov8s me thinks), adjusted them and went a few more metres, adjusted them again and started off hoping I wouldn't get a blister (I've never actually had a blister running).  Then Fleet decided he need a poo, sigh, bagged poo and left strategically for return pick up.  Rest of first half of run was very pleasant. 

On the way back (i.e. just past the halfway point) Fleet 'encouraged' me to try a path I hadn't been down before ... we got lost!  Eventually found my way out of a maze of roads and started running home.  'Beep, beep' went the Garmin, battery low.  Oh dear, what was I going to do? Perhaps try and run faster and get home before the Garmin battery runs out. But I'm tired, sigh, run faster, started running faster. Fleet loves this but he can now run faster than I can, so I had to keep up, so running faster than I was expecting. Identify a cycle to my running:

Run faster! Briefly feel good (for running faster)! Get puffed! Getting cold! Getting dark! Too tired for this! But Garmin battery draining! So ...
Run faster! Briefly feel good (for running faster)! Get puffed! Getting cold! Getting dark! Too tired for this! But Garmin battery draining! So ...
Run faster! Briefly feel good (for running faster)! Get puffed! Getting cold! Getting dark! Too tired for this! But Garmin battery draining! So ...
etc.

It was really starting to get quite dark and cold, brrr.  My hands were starting to freeze despite having gloves on. Picked up poo parcel but soon after my Garmin went blank (as expected). Fortunately it was close to home so I was able to estimate the remaining distance fairly easily. Arrived home and took a long while to warm up despite having hot shower. But, solved problem on my design :-)

Total mileage today was 9.6 miles.

So that makes my Janathon total 121 miles and Fleet's must be about 68 miles ( he doesn't actually care).

#Janathon Day 15 - in trouble, acquring dogs and sticky, slippy mud

Another busy day but I did manage to squeeze a run in.  However, I was out a bit too long and I got in trouble :-s.  Run today was 9.1 miles with Fleet, he needed a swim as it was quite muddy. It was the sticky yet slippery mud variety, I ended up with mud all up the back of my legs - must be something odd about the way I run!

Almost acquired another dog, I reached a road and went to put on Fleet's lead and I found a little dog had joined our run. Ran back and eventually found the owner.

My Janathon mileage is now 111 miles and Fleet's is now 59 miles.

#Janathon Day 14 - scouting for goods and the mystery path

I have been on my feet most of the day today ...

Went for a good walk with my wife and our dog Fleet in the morning.  Frosty again, our dog loves the frost (and snow), he gets very excited and runs around madly.  Walked past a group of runners who might be part of a fitness group, I'm not sure.  Thing is I know two of the guys in this group and this is now the second time I've seen them running hard and I've been walking casually past knowing full well that I will be running later that day, and I'm sure they are looking at me as if to say 'you've stopped running' and I want to say 'no I haven't, I'm running later' but I don't because that would just sound silly and a bit pathetic and I know that they're not really thinking what they think I'm thinking and it's really all just in my head ... so, sorry, I feel better now.

After our walk I went out for a run along the Thames (told you I would) all the way to the bridge that carries the M4 over the Thames. I discovered that some steps there go up to the M4 and there is a path that runs right next to the motorway.  I was quite surprised to find a path so close to the motorway?  I think next time I might follow the path to see where it goes, I wonder if I could get back down to the Jubilee River? Where does the path go, a mystery.

After my run I came home and took my youngest son to the local sports shop and we bought him a badminton racket.  Then it was off shopping at Sainsburys (sigh), our family eats so much that we often have two trolleys for our weekly shop but this time we didn't expect to be purchasing quite as much bulk so one trolley would do. So instead I went off scouting for items further afield in the outer regions of the store while my wife gathered perishables within the scope of a few aisles.  I would return to the trolley laden with goods, check their suitability and then after acceptance of said goods would then head off again in search of the next items.  The problem with this hunter/gatherer approach to the weekly shop is that I end up walking miles!  By the time we had unpacked the shopping I was exhausted. I'm getting two trolleys next time.

So despite running 10.2 miles today, I suspect that I've doubled that walking! And, some of those miles were the very hardest miles that a man can do ... miles covered shopping!! And they don't even count for Janathon.

Janathon total is now 102 miles and I am very tired and need to go to bed.

Goodnight, yawn :-)

#Janathon Day 13 - thumb blister, quantum mechanics and a frost

I think I have a blister on my thumb!  This evening I replaced the overgrips on 'six' badminton rackets. The blister is a result of trying to remove the old overgrip tape on the badminton rackets.  All done and ready for our family badminton session on Tuesday.  This time we should have no grubby hands from perishing rubber. The handles are quite tacky now, non slip performance grips for maxim power transfer and control, I can hear those power shots even now ... I wish :-)

Also received my Open University course materials today.  I'm doing a course on quantum mechanics but I've spotted some more maths I need to revise before the course starts, I haven't done much studying for a while so hopefully it will go okay.

My run this morning was much, much better than last night's.  It helps running in the daylight, with a frost on the ground and a blue sky.  I should have taken a camera, beautiful view over the Jubilee River looking back towards Taplow. Good run, not boring but I had freezing hands by the time I reached home.  So a nine mile run this morning and with my faithful dog, Fleet :-) A good one, slow but good.

So my Janathon total is now 92 miles and Fleet's is 50 miles.

#Janathon Day 12 - boring run in the dark

I can't imagine that title will attract much interest.  What more can I say other than I ran 4.1 miles, it was dark and I had a head torch on.

I could tell you about the blinding lights and how cars don't dip their headlights just because I'm a runner with a headtorch.  I can also crash, you know! I can't see the path with dazzling headlights in my eyes. I should have a massive headlight that I can flash at drivers!

I'm tempted to make something up about my run but I'm far too honest, I'd never make a tabloid journalist or banker. 

No, it was a boring 4.1 mile run during which time I considered why on earth I was out running, why I was running at all and how tedious it was.  When I got back I felt much better not because I had run but because I wasn't doing a boring run in the dark.  Sorry if you were looking for motivation here :-(

Okay, so I'm in a grim mood today - It'll be better tomorrow I'm sure, I hope. Sigh.

My Janathon total is now 83 miles.

#Janathon Day 11 - a games evening at Cubs

So, as predicted, non-running-muscles-used-in-badminton are starting to ache a bit.  I wonder how I will feel tomorrow?

Tonight was the first Cub Night of the year.  It was a games evening and it was great fun.  I ended up arriving a little later because of work, but, despite the rush, it was good to be involved again.  I'm not doing the preparation for the evenings just. turning up to help out, although I am now back in uniform again.  It's really rewarding and fun, we just need more volunteers, no shortage of kids!  Sadly one of our two Beaver Colonies (which is full and has a waiting list) will be closing down because we can't find any leaders to run it. Sigh!

Went running this morning with Fleet and ran 8.1 miles.  This makes my Janathon total 79 miles and Fleet's 41 miles.

#Janathon Day 10 - badminton limb freeing and grubby hands

Just did a short run today of 3.5 miles and with Fleet.

All five us (not including Fleet, although he’d probably love tearing back and forth) played badminton tonight, brilliant fun. I haven't played badminton in ages and we all had so much fun that we decided to book another court again for next Tuesday evening.

What was even better is that it transpired that I had pre-purchased badminton sessions from ages and ages ago so I didn't have to pay tonight and have two more prepaid sessions :-)  I cherish these moments of fortune more than I should.

However, we all had grubby hands as the grip tape on most of our rackets is perishing so I will have to seek out a suitable supplier of grip tape. We have six rackets and I've replaced the grip on only one of them (I think). Plus my youngest son wants his own racket too so the saving on courts (not a real saving I suppose given that it was a prepayment) will contribute to a new racket and grip tape. I'm sure I remember putting grip tape on was quite fiddly?

The badminton seems to have helped my legs too; they feel much better now ... I wonder how they will feel tomorrow? But I must be positive ;-)

My Janathon total is now 71 miles and Fleet's is 33 miles.

#Janathon Day 9 - my legs might just fall off

I still haven't had a day off running and I'm wondering if I don't, will the aching in my legs stop?  If I carry on running will the aching subside?  Will my legs fall off? Or will my pace just gradually become slower and slower? I must do a shorter run tomorrow!

I definitely must do a shorter run tomorrow, or maybe not run at all.  Despite the tired, aching legs, I've booked a badminton court for tomorrow evening for some family fun. Hmm, every time I play badminton after a break, I inevitably ache all over ... maybe the legs won't feel as bad :-)

Anyway I must get to bed, I ran 7.4 miles today with Fleet, who is now a happy dog. This makes my Janathon total 67 miles and Fleet's about 30 miles.

#Janathon Day 8 - Did and done

Did breakfast. Did go for walk with wife and dog. Did my tax return. Did lunch. Did take middle son to work at sweet shop. Did run of 7.24 miles (surely can't be that accurate). Did log said run. Did bins. Did briefly help eldest son with pshychology essay (uh ... just a couple of sentences). Did suggest wife was better qualified to help him (she is). Did help wife with I.T. problems (I'm better qualified) but didn't sort out final problem (obviously not qualified enough). Did other chores plus more chores, sigh. Did study a bit. Did carve and eat roast (yum). Did watch Sherlock with wife snuggled up and two sons. Did this blog. Done 60 miles so far for Janathon.

#Janathon Day 7 - An escapade past a hotel ...

Tried a new run today through Cliveden which is a local National Trust property.  Started out from Cookham and crossed the Thames at Cookham Bridge.  Then straight across a muddy field, through some houses and then uphill along quite an awkward trail that follows the road. Had to run around a recently fallen tree (didn't fancy risking going under it as it was propped up on a fence).

Then I started working out a way into the estate. The main house and gardens is closed at this time of year but a section of woodlands (aptly called Woodlands) is open so I ended up running all the way to this part of the estate with a car park.  This wasn't particularly pleasant as I had to run along the road for some sections as the path disappeared.  I anticipated I might have this problem which is why I chose not to bring Fleet on the run.

Anyway I reached the Woodlands Car Park entrance (National Trust) and I asked the chap at the gate if it was possible to pass all the way through the estate so I didn't have to risk the road.  He said I couldn't as it was private, this confused me a little but what he meant was it was all owned by the National Trust ... I showed him my membership card and said 'That's different then!' - made me feel quite important, part of the Club :-) He then proceeded to tell me that I should be able to get through the estate and out of the entrance reserved for the hotel and that I could probably use this route in the future, just explain to anybody that I was going to/from Woodlands and keep away from the house. I'd been reluctant to try this entrance on the way up as (called Hedsor Gate), despite my earlier post about going round fields, I'm actually quite a law abiding sort of guy and don't like getting in trouble unnecessarily.

So after chatting a little more to the helpful National Trust chap during which time we both complained about how few public footpaths there were that side of the river, I set off.  Now he said to follow the route along the river and then up the road which keeps some distance from the house where the 'expensive' hotel is.  Well I tried this but alas, workmen were digging up the road I need to run along.  I had a choice to either turn round and run all the way back or risk running up to the house ... gulp! After a bit of thought I figured that I would risk the house (expensive hotel) route and explain that I was just trying to find the way out and was a bit lost, which was actually true! Besides, I'm grey enough such that younger people are disinclined to confront me and older ones might think I was a guest, there are some benefits to premature greying, although I'm sadly getting to the age where it might not be considered premature anymore, sigh!  I spotted a path through the woods that had a sign that said, very helpfully, 'The House'.  Surely I wasn't going to come across men in camouflage gear and air rifles ... surely not :-s (read previous post for explanation).

I ran out of the woods and I was at the house! 'Keep running', I thought.  I decided that I would keep away from open areas, not because of snipers ... really (previous post reference again).  I ran past the Orangery Restaurant all the time convinced I would bump into somebody important. I was relieved when I arrived at the road in front of the house only to see workmen in a truck with fluorescent jackets (always a sign of authority) looking at me! Yipes!

What to do? 

Well you'll be pleased to know that I walked boldly up to them, told them that I was lost and was trying to find the Hedsor Gate (the name of the entrance/exit). They were actually very helpful and friendly and it was only just a few hundred metres up the road :-)  They probably thought I was a guest! Incidentally, a hotel car did drive past me with two young staff members in it (a young man and lady), they smiled and waved at me ... they must have thought I was a guest too, or they might have been skiving, or I looked too much like their Dad and they really wouldn't want to confront me. I was quickly out of the estate and ran back home.

So it was a muddy run but one I would definitely will do again.  When the workmen have finished the road repairs it will be even easier and the Woodlands area has an outdoor exercise trail thingy. Now I know how quickly I can run past the house I hardly think it will be a problem.  Once the house is open again it will be even easier.

The route was 8.5 miles altogether but I could make it shorter in the future.  Next place I want to investigate running through is Taplow Court which is Buddhist owned ... I have a relation who helps out there in the coffee shop on weekends so she might be able to give me the lay of the land ;-)

So my total Janathon mileage is 53 miles, I hadn't planned to run quite so far today.

#Janathon Day 6 - tired legs, confused dog running pace and Jantastic plan

And another beautiful sunny morning.  Felt good outside in the sun but my poor leg muscles don't feel so good! Oh well, I'm planning on having a day off running this weekend and do some other exercise.

I've considered adding Fleet (my dog) on the Running Free website and adding runs that he completes with me.  Of course he ends up running a lot more than that but it might be fun.

Talking of Fleet, when I'm tiring and starting to run slower (most of the time at the moment) I think my pace ends up falling between his natural running speed and his trot. Poor dog struggles a bit when I have to put him on his lead, he sort of oscillates between two paces.  

Hopefully I will look after my legs enough to be able to continue with the Marathon Talk Jantastic thingy that carries on into March.

So my run today was 7.1 miles taking my Janathon total to 44 miles.
Fleet's total is now 22 miles.

#Janathon Day 5 - the pigeon shooters and running round the field dilemma!

So I keep thinking I should run around the field again. This is a route I did for quite a while until I was confronted by a camouflaged man with an air rifle in the neighbouring field about a week ago. He told me that the route I was taking was not a public right of way and they were shooting pigeons which was about the moment I spotted another camouflaged man in what looked like a very professional sniper pose ... probably shooting pigeons. I had obviously disturbed the pigeons in my fluorescent jacket and with my eager dog. They looked like they wanted to be soldiers, and they had guns so I didn't argue. I also thought they might be the owners of the field but I'm not sure now, as there is a gun shop that backs onto the field they were in.

I know it's not a public right of way but houses back onto it and I do no damage. The only rubbish I've ever seen was a pile of empty cartridges. If I knew who owned the farm I'd ask them if they wouldn't mind me running round their field. I think I might have spoken to the farmer a few months back when I found a dead swan in a stream in the vicinity, but I'm not sure and I don’t have the number anymore. Do you think i should risk it again and stuff the bird shooters, who have guns, and who are probably wannabe soldiers?!

I don't know why shooting birds is considered a sport. When I was about fourteen I shot a little bird with an air rifle. I remember looking at the bird and feeling ashamed and sad, I never shot anything again. From what I've read it's not even a very good method of controlling the pigeon population.

I also thought they should have had a flag or something up to let people know that they were shooting as there are houses nearby?

The question is, should I run round the field again? I'd actually quite like to wind the wannabe soldiers up but I don't want to annoy the farmer!

I've got that off my chest. In other news my son didn't get an offer for Cambridge but he tried is best and will probably go to Birmingham, even if he receives and offer from Imperial. I'm very proud of him :-)

Oh yes, I went running with my dog again today, 8.2 miles. He enjoyed it but is a bit fed up with aggressive dogs!

My total Janathon mileage is now 37 miles and Fleet's is about 15 miles.

Got to go now, hope this has no errors ...

#Janathon Day 4 - a sunny run with my dog and types of mud

Sunny morning run today :-)  With my dog too :-) :-)

During winter I progressively get better at running on slippery mud. The mud was definitely more slippery today than yesterday when it was more watery.  Tomorrow the mud will probably start sticking to my running shoes so tomorrow so I'll be a few inches taller by the time I get home.

Fleet, my dog, was very muddy too so we stopped so he could have a swim in a stream closer to home. He was a very happy chap.

So another slow run of 7.3 miles.

In other news my youngest son will be finishing performing in 'The Railway Children' at Waterloo on Friday, two more days.  A bit of relief in terms of travelling for us but I expect he will be sad. I think the area at Waterloo Station will be turned to shops which is a shame, it was a great production. 

My middle son should hear if he has a place at Cambridge tomorrow, either way he's done really well.

Janathon total is now 29 miles.

#Janathon Day 3 - windy, wombling, whinging, whateverness (but not wet)

A hard run against the wind today! Fortunately I set out before the serious downpour..

It was a bit of a mess outside our house as rubbish from bins had blown about as it was bin-collection-after-the-festive-season-day.  So I ended up picking up some litter and wheeled a neighbour's bin out the road, and then once I'd done my Wombling I was off.

I wore my new (Christmas present) Montane lightweight jacket with hood. I was very happy with it :-)

I couldn't work out what was happening with the wind direction?  I set out across the fields bent against the wind worrying that I was going to be going so slow that my Garmin watch would 'pause' (it's on auto pause). I kept reminding myself that the wind would be behind me on the return leg, but on the way back the wind kept changing direction so I ended up doing a kind of interval session.

The end result was 5.9 miles. Oh yes, and my legs are aching a bit and I'm taking too long with the blogging and I'm too busy at work and why did I register for an OU module and I really need to start stretching more and ... that's enough! Sigh.

Janathon total is 21 miles.

#Janathon Day 2 - Boring Post Warning

Warning! A boring post today:

I squeezed another run in today of 7.3 miles.  I'm not sure how much time I will have for running in the coming month, I think if I don't fit them in first thing in the morning then it will be difficult to find time later. Tomorrow I will run with my dog who, fortunately, had a walk later in the day.

! That is such a boring post. I did actually write something extra that was more interesting but I removed it, it spoilt the tone.

Janathon total from Running Free is 16 miles (bit of rounding error going on there)  
Jantastic starts today.

#Janathon Day 1 - Too much wine, sigh!

I had a bit too much red wine last night/morning plus champagne too but at least we tidied the house before going to bed. Woke up parched with headache but H2O helped.

Dragged on running gear and set off just before 8am clutching lucozade bottle in vain attempt to readjust hydration levels!  Really quiet and no other runners and no toilets open, which was a bit of a problem. 

But I enjoyed my run and arrived home feeling much better ... until about 5 minutes later when headache returned. Spent rest of day at family gathering and had a great time :-)

Janathon total 8.2 miles

Day 30 of Juneathon - completed, thank you Cathy :-)

I really did not feel like running this evening. I'm tired, I have a swollen calf from an insect bite from last night's run, it was almost 9pm and I'd not long eaten.  But I dragged myself out and staggered seven miles of pseudo running to the music of John Barry, it was a lovely evening, when I took the time to notice.  My main problem (a recurring one) was eating to soon before running, I won't go into all the details!

My final Juneathon total is 204 miles and besides tiredness and a swollen calf I'm still in one piece which is a better result than Janathon.

This month I've started running with my wife again and my middle son, with a promise from my eldest son that he wants to start running too.  Tonight is also my eldest son's Leaving Ball so that's my first child out of school, sigh!

A big thank you to Cathy and her team for organising Juneathon :-)

I must get to bed now as I have a long drive tomorrow, I'm taking my son to another university open day.

Day 29 of Juneathon - work, PC problems, Art Exhibition, Cub cycling and more work

I always knew it was going to be a busy week and yesterday was something of a peak of business.

Up at 6am and started work and completed circuit diagram design before breakfast. Did some household chores, breakfast etc., did some more work. Had my lunch at my desk, loaded bikes into car ready for Cubs. Did some more work.

Tried closing my computer, it crashed!  Had to leave for my son's art exhibition at 4.45pm. 

Great to see my son's work :-) He's a very good artist.  I'm sure that the art teacher believes I'm the one that's convinced his prized pupil to drop art, I'm the engineer that he believes just wouldn't do art. Some people think you can't love/do art if you also have a scientific bent, sigh!  Anyway, it was my son's decision to choose Chemical Engineering at uni and to drop art for A2 but I'm not sure I will convince the art teacher.

Dashed off from the school, went home and found my PC wasn't booting. Wondered how I was going to log my run, wondering how I was going to fit in a run! Changed for Cubs and rushed out to meeting point for cycling with Cubs.  Had a brilliant time cycling with the Cubs across the fields for about an hour and a half. Eventually arrived home about 9pm, still no run!

Changed for run, but very hungry so grabbed a slice of bread and a gel.  Started a recovery on my PC and set off for run, much later than 9pm. Started worrying if I would be able to download my run ... tried forgetting about this and listened to Marathon Talk.

Ran six miles and returned home to dinner. Had my dinner straight after my run.  Decided I'd better check my PC (putting this off), glanced at my Garmin and it was starting to download :-) so tentatively looked at my PC - it had booted up :-) :-) Downloaded and logged my run, whew!  My son comes home from his performance ... I eventually get to bed in the early hours of um, today. 

Up at 6am ....

My Juneathon total is now 197 miles.

Day 28 of Juneathon - running on empty and a standing ovation (not for me)

Ran a difficult eight miles yesterday before dinner yesterday. I was a bit hungry which didn't help, running on empty. 

I'm not sure when I will fit a run in today!  I have so much work to do so I started working at about 6.30am today and finished a section of circuit design. I'm going to my middle son's art exhibition at 5pm and then afterwards I'm off to a Cub cycle ride.  For the cycle ride I have to find two extra helmets, check my bike, fix up an extra bike for a Cub and load them in my car which means taking seats out.  I only have time enough to change between the art exhibition and the Cub cycle ride ... hopefully!   This means I need to load the bikes etc. before I go to the exhibition. Oh well, I'm sure it will work out - I might run later this evening ...

In other news my youngest son performed at the Press Night for The Railway Children and they received a standing ovation :-)  He has another performance tonight. 

My eldest son went off to school today dressed in a skirt and blouse for Muck-Up day! I suppose we will find out later what they got up to ...

 My Juneathon total is now 191 miles.

Day 27 of Juneathon - hot and humid 10 miles and my eldest son has finished school

It was threatening a thunder storm yesterday afternoon so I decided I'd better squeeze in a run before any thunder and lightening.  Ran from home, then along the river, over the river and back a different route.  It was very hot and humid so I kept the pace slower. 

I didn't take a drink with me but I did pop into a shop and bought myself a Lucozade Sport at about mile,  irritatingly I couldn't make use off the special offer for two bottles!  That drink tasted soooo good :-)

I ran past a group of people dressed up waiting for a boat trip, looked a bit uncomfortable in this heat.  I guess people probably thought the same about me but it wasn't that bad, yes I was hot and sweaty but I felt okay - I'd definitely rather be running in the heat than having to dress up in it! Anyway, it was good to fit in a longer run as I wasn't able to on the weekend.

In other news, it was my eldest son's last exam yesterday which brings to a close his schooling, end of an era.  My youngest son is performing at the Press Night for The Railway Children in London tonight so he'll be leaving school a little earlier this afternoon.

My 10 miles brings my Juneathon mileage to about 182 miles.

Day 26 of Juneathon - went running with my 16 year old son and I couldn't keep up at the end!

For the first time I went out for a run with my 16 year old son today. We set out at a slow to moderate  pace with Fleet pulling us along.  My son was soon running very comfortably in what was a very hot morning and we chatted as we ran though the fields.  After about a mile I asked him how far he wanted to run, I described the various routes and he decided on the five mile run.  The furthest he had run previously was the cross-country at school which we think was between two and three miles. 

We ran the first 2.5 miles non stop. At the half way point we turned around immediately and I suggested we could run the second half faster for a negative split.  We started running faster and then my son asked if we could run faster still, so we upped the pace again!  At this stage poor Fleet (our dog) was slowing a bit in the heat so we stopped off at a stream with a lovely deep pool that he could swim in - it looked very inviting to us too. 

After Fleet had enjoyed a bit of stick retrieving and had cooled down, we set off for the remainder of the run which was just over a mile.  My son suggested running faster still, which we did. Then in the last half a mile he said can we run even faster!  Well I did try to keep up but he was just too fast and he ran ahead for the last two to three hundred metres - it was definitely a negative split! 

I am very pleased to say that my son is very keen to continue running and now has his sights on the school cross-country race at the end of the year.  I think this is going to help my running too, I am under no illusion that I will be able to keep up with him but I do think that running with my son is going to push my running and it's fun too :-)

My Juneathon total is now higher than Janathon at 172 miles.  Fleet has now run 23 miles and my middle son 5 miles.  It's also my oldest son's last exam in sixth form today ... no more secondary school! :-)

Day 25 of Juneathon - busy ... and it's going to get even busier!

Up early yesterday so that we could make our way to Surrey University in good time.  We were all very impressed by the campus and, even more importantly, the Chemical Engineering Department.

We arrived back home later in the afternoon and then went for a run with my wife and Fleet (our dog).  Ran an easy 3.5 miles with a couple of stops for Fleet to have a swim, it was actually quite humid. A busy rest of the day and that was it.

My Juneathon mileage is now 167 miles which is what my total Janathon total mileage was.  I'm not sure how much running I can fit in today, we'll see.

In fact it's going to be a really busy week, my youngest is performing today, has Press Night on Tuesday and is also performing on Wednesday. My middle son has a visit to Imperial on Thursday and Birmingham Uni on Friday, he then leaves for an Engineering Headstart course on Monday at Loughborough Uni and comes home on Thursday, and the we go to Cambridge on Friday after which I have to be back in time to got to a wedding reception in the evening. My eldest has his last exam tomorrow, his Leaver's Ball on Thursday and then is off to Greece on Saturday and comes back the following Saturday, two trips to Gatwick ... sigh! So I'm both taxiing and visiting universities a great deal over the next two weeks, plus I have Cubs and a career talk on engineering for the Year 12s ... and I have so much work to do so I shall be trying to slot that around everything else including, unfortunately,  today and possibly next weekend.  Oh well, the hedges shan't be cut but I will still fit some runs and some family time in, I'm doing a barbecue tonight :-)

As I said my Juneathon total is 167 miles, my wife has now run 31 miles in June and Fleet has run 18 miles.

Day 24 of Juneathon - steaming (as in water vapour) and seven wet ones

Why do I find it so hard to go out in the rain for Juneathon but for Janathon when it was really horrible I found it easier, have I become soft?

Anyway, I looked out the window and complained to my wife that it was raining, she promptly told me not to be a wimp and kicked me out the door, well sort of.  A short run it was to be, maybe a couple of miles ... which turned into four ... then six ... and ended up being seven.  Seven wet miles :-)

I stopped just under half way at three miles (at that stage I thought it was half way) and I noticed steam!  Steam?  I looked around to find the source and strangely the steam seemed to be following me!! Yes readers (or maybe reader looking at my stats - 'Hi, Mum') I was steaming and I actually felt a little self conscious about it, it must have looked very odd ... perhaps even creepy :-s All that steam escaping wherever there was a hole ... wet and steamy, like a swamp thing, a running swamp thing.

I'd tell you about the rest of my day but it would only bore you so I shall leave you with my Juneathon total of 164 miles.  University visiting with my middle son tomorrow morning.

Day 23 of Juneathon - a run that was shortened and Marathon Talk's Magic Mile Challenge sounds tempting

Went for my run after dinner yesterday, not a very good idea.  I had hoped to run further but (on account of having dinner) I needed to turn back home and walk a bit to prevent a run.  This is a subject I've covered before so no more detail is required!

So I've run every day in June and I must admit I feel like a rest now.  Almost without fail, a rest of a day or two improves my performance ... slightly.  All I can say is that I'm glad I'm not Ron Hill.  What a bind to 'have' to run to keep your record going! I'm enjoying Juneathon but there is a limit to it (namely July) but to run every day since 1964! Now I know he is revered and has god-like status in the running community and I admire his achievements but .... not this one I'm afraid.  He has run every day for almost every day of my life and it just seems to me to be a bit, well, obsessive ... a bit like me at the moment :-)   

I listened to Marathon Talk and the 'The Marathon Talk Magic Mile Global Team Challenge' (that's a bit of a mouthful) seems like fun, well a bit of challenge.  I've been thinking that I'd like to concentrate on some speedwork and this might provide the motivation.  Anybody else tempted?

So I managed to run about 4 miles yesterday before having to head home, lifting my Juneathon total slightly to 157 miles, I was hoping it was going to be 160 miles, oh well.

Day 22 of Juneathon - sticky, messy Cubs cooking over fires and choosing a DJ that wasn't for my son

Went to Windsor to Moss and Brothers with my eldest son in the afternoon to hire a Dinner Suit for his Leavers' Ball, ended up purchasing a slim fit suit!  After all the stress of exams it was good to do something more relaxing and enjoyable, he has one more exam left next week and then that's it.

After we returned home I went for a run of about 8 miles.  I've not really had enough sleep recently and I think that the lack of sleep is not helping my running, I definitely felt a bit tired.

After my run I came home, got ready for Cubs and identified one of our 'many' bikes that might be the correct size for a Cub.  Loaded the bike into my car and headed down to the field where we meet.
The bicycle was the correct size so we had a happy Cub who can now participate in the cycle ride we're doing next week.  The Cubs made fires and did some simple backwoods cooking, they are really good bunch of kids and it seemed they had lots of fun.  They baked dough spiralled on sticks and toasted marshmallows over their fires, they also managed to scatter quite a bit of flour over themselves.  A few of the Cubs managed to get quite a bit of melted marshmallow over themselves too - marshmallow, flour and grass ... a sticky, messy combination. 

When we were baking the dough sticks I mentioned to one of the kids that I baked bread every day. He looked up at me and asked if that was what I did for a job, I said no but that it was bread for our family and that we got through over a loaf a day. He looked puzzled and said, 'If you bake bread who earns the money?'

Later I 'unexpectedly' closed the Cub meeting, I used to do this every Cub evening but that was a few years ago, I just about remembered what to do although there were a few confused murmurings from the Cubs afterwards.  Most importantly I enjoyed the evening and I was quite relaxed when a Cub's grandmother accidentally forgot to pick up her grandson after becoming absorbed in the Wimbledon Highlights ... life is too short besides I think we've forgotten to pick up kids before.

But back to the running, my Juneathon total is now 153 miles - this is about the distance I ran in the first week and a half of Janathon.  However, unlike Janathon, besides a bit of tiredness, my body is doing fine ... so running wise, Juneathon should just slip into July :-)

Day 21 of Juneathon - my son's first performance of 'The Railway Children' and what we're seeing at the Olympics

What a long day!

It's exam time in our household so life is extra busy and stressful.  Also, last night was my son's first performance of 'The Railway Children' in London and he only got home about 11.45pm, then wanted something to eat!  All in all, a very busy time and not the best time to fit in a long run.

Despite all that, we did manage to fit in a run and I was able to run about 3 miles with my wife and our dog.  Fleet even squeezed in a swim!  We also had a good chat with a friend we hadn't seen for a while, so it wasn't so bad. I did almost forget to log my run and it was only uploaded online at 11.56pm!

I don't know how I'm going to fit in a run today.  I've dropped off my son for his exam this morning, later he needs to go for a suit fitting for his Leaver's Prom and I've got Cubs tonight ... and all inbetween I work, whew!

Other news:
We have now found out that we will be seeing the athletics at the Olympics on the evening of the 7th August. Events at that session will be:

Women's 3000m Steeplechase Victory Ceremony
Men's High Jump Final
Women's Long Jump Qualifying Rounds - Groups A & B
Women's 100m Hurdles Semifinals
Women's Pole Vault Victory Ceremony
Men's Discus Throw Final
Men's 800m Semifinals
Women's 200m Semifinals
Men's 400m Victory Ceremony
Men's 1500m Final
Women's 100m Hurdles Final

Brilliant!  :-)

Not quite Olympics but my Juneathon total is 145 miles, my wife's is 27.5 miles and Fleet's is 14.5 miles.

Day 20 of Juneathon - short drizzly run in the evening and feeling fine

Quick post ....

Went for a run yesterday evening, in the drizzle and with my dog.  Felt a little guilty when I overtook a young man running but I didn't want to be too long.  Worked out a description for the meeting point for a proposed Cub cycle ride.  Ran back home again making a total run of about four miles, I might run further today.  Fleet (my dog) looked a bit tired when you arrived home.

My Juneathon total is now approximately 142 miles and Fleet's total is 15.5 miles.  Knees are quite happy and so all is well :-)

Day 19 of Juneathon - spoilt on Father's Day, stinging nettles, brambles and Boot's micropore surgical tape works

Spoilt Dad yesterday with three very appropriate cards (one handmade), two books, one polo shirt, a box of chocolates, an 'Old Fart' tankard and a homemade cake ... thanks sons :-)

Went for a gentle run of four miles with my wife and our dog in the morning. Tried the Boots micropore surgical tape on my nipples (see last two posts), seemed promising.

Later I went for, what  was intended to be, a fourteen mile run on a new route.  However, part of the trail was a bit too overgrown and consequently I battled through brambles and stinging nettles.  This made for slow progress and sapped my energy.  Eventually I made it out of the jungle of brambles etc, ran along a path which seemed to disappear!  How do paths disappear that don't lead anywhere?  I had not intention of running along the busy section of road and what was left of the path just wasn't very runnable so I turned round, bypassed the overgrown section (I'd had enough battles for one day) and found another route home thorugh a different village.  By this time I was really quite fatigued, I don't think I'd eaten enough and I think that yesterday I might have even missed lunch! I arrived home and was met by a few comments from my family concerning my bloodied limbs.  I won't try that specfic route again in summer but I did spot a very interesting trail across the fields that had no visible brambles or stinging nettles. Anyway, later I had a very pleasant barbecue and a nice glass of red wine ... but only a glass as I can't always drink much after a long run.

The Boots micropore surgical tape worked well, my nipples are happy and came off relatively easily in the shower :-)   I just need a solution for the stinging nettles and brambles now :-( 

So my second run was only 10 miles-ish, but was a fairly difficult 10 miles-ish.  This makes my Juneathon about 137 miles and other than the tiredness, scratches and rash from the stinging nettles, my body feels fine :-)

Also, Fleet's Juneathon mileage is 11.5 miles and my wife's is 24.5 miles.

Day 18 of Juneathon - sore nipples (the sequel) including mentions of gaffer tape, pasties and a dead goldfish

Set off for my run this morning, then about half a mile in it started pouring with rain again!  Put some Brave Soldier Friction Zone, which ordinarily works well, before abrasion, before soreness and tenderness, but evidently not after nipple grazing! So in desperation I put more on, to be precise two big dollops on each nipple and then (like a wimp) I ran home as fast I could in straight jacket mode as I did yesterday.  I'm half way home and guess what, the soreness subsides, and (remarkably) so does the mental image of sandpaper against my nipples. 

I get home, ring the doorbell, and while I wait for my son to answer the door, I decide that I'm going to turn round and try again ... which I did (not such a wimp now). But not before my sons have had a good laugh at the two white circles on my blue shirt where my nipples were!  I set off and ... I was okay.  Total mileage today was just over 9 miles, I did wait under some trees at one point during a spell of rain but otherwise I was fine.

Carrick "Pyro" Armer says to use Gaffer tape, big big ouch! Surely I'm going to end up with bald patches on my chest ... but it might work.  Will function (or experimentation) win over vanity?

 henniemavis, I've tried the bandaids before but it just doesn't stick on the hairs, thanks for the sympathy by the way (sarcasm intended), women don't seem to have the same problem. Same 'sympathy' I received from my sons who suggested I wear a bra!  And no, henniemavis, pasties don't work!

Kieron Chapman  suggested Boots micropore surgical tape. Same possible problem as Gaffer tape (i.e. bald patches and pain of ripping out chest hairs sited around sensitive nipples) but some how I think it might be better.

runtezza ... showering, I know, I know ... that water really fires up the soreness of the nipplies, ouch, ouch, ouch!  I agree that sports apparel companies are missing an opportunity, as long as they don't take up my sons other suggestion of placing holes where your nipples are!  That would just look kinky!

Moving on from my nipples ..

After my run I headed down to the Summer Fair where this afternoon the rain largely subsided until about 4.30pm.  I had a good time and chatted to a few people between a few jobs I was given. Ended up looking after the toddler bouncy castle just before the 4.30pm downpour, an easy job :-)  Plus ... we won six bottles of wine on the raffle, or rather my wife won six bottles of wine with raffle tickets that I paid for but that she had put her name to!  It doesn't matter, I have possession of the wine ;-)

In other news:
A goldfish (one of five my son came back from an earlier fair with) died this morning. We have rehoused the remaining four in more suitable accommodation that includes a bubbler oxygenation thingy and filter in the hope that the remainder will have a happier time and a longer life.
We had an Indian takeaway this evening which is a piece of news that indicates a level of rambling is beginning to set in which suggests it's bedtime.

Juneathon total is now 123 miles.

Day 17 of Juneathon - sore nipples!

Sore nipples!  I've got sore nipples! 

So after a very busy day today I thought,
'right, time for a run and who cares if it's raining.'
... raining ... it was pouring! So I searched for a clean running shirt and decided I'd wear the Asics running shirt that I don't really like very much and hardly wear.  Put on my running kit and wet weather gear and set off, in the pouring rain. I decided that I'd run about 7 miles but after a mile and a half my nipples started getting sore.  Stupid Asics shirt when wet must turn into sandpaper!  I decided that I'd better turn round before my nipples started to bleed, grrrr! So only 3 miles today.

I must have looked a right t'w'it as I ran home trying to run so that my running shirt didn't cause any more abrasion.  It must have looked like I was running in a straight jacket.  I must remember to put some Brave Soldier on next time when it's raining, or just stay inside.

In other news ... well it's raining ... and we have a Summer Fair tomorrow ... a Summer Fair!

Juneathon total is now 114 miles, hopefully my nipples will recover by tomorrow.

Day 16 of Juneathon - runner's washing machine formula, I think my dog is aching and wishing for a dry spell.

Firstly I'm very pleased with myself as I washed all my running kit and managed to dry one set before my run today.  My washing machine formula for running kit = 30 degrees, 1600 spin, extra rinse, short duration wash ... and no softener!  This formula really works well :-) (bit sad isn''t it - have I become a running geek?)

Another busy day yesterday and also irritatingly wet!  Brief period of sunshine in the afternoon so I grabbed the moment. I changed into my running gear and went downstairs. Now normally Fleet would stretch in anticipation of a run when he sees me in my running kit, not today. Just as I expected, he looked up and gave me a look of 'You're kidding! I'm too tired'.  Poor Fleet, I think he's aching.

So I went for a seven mile run by myself listening to 'Marathon Talk'.  A difficult run, I'm probably a bit tired too.  On the bright side, there was a beautiful rainbow later :-)

I came home and worked quite late, hugely over compensating for taking out time to take my son to his 'final' rehearsal for 'The Railway Children'

That's it, another day today, another run to fit in, and once again I hope for a dry spell later.

My Juneathon (am I the only one that has to correct myself after writing Janathon?) total is now about 111 miles.

Day 15 of Juneathon - a dog tired dog, little Cubs, a Village Fair and hoping they're wrong!

I decided to take Fleet (our dog) for a run yesterday (day 15).  As I have explained before, I am slowly building up his fitness after he spent a couple of weeks with, what we think, was Kennel Cough.  As you would expect, he loved it but he was a bit tired in the last mile and was running behind me. In the last half a mile, when he had his lead on, he was slowing down quite a bit. I just matched my pace with his.  He had a good rest afterwards - a tired but happy dog ... dog tired!

My total run was about five miles and was around the fields and so was fairly mixed terrain. I guess I was running faster and continuously compared to the last run I did with my dog when my wife ran too.  I shall give him a rest today.

Later on I went to Cubs. Unfortunately the weather meant that we were unable to be outside to complete the athletics badge but instead we were at the Scout Hut.  Having not worked with Cubs for a few years and now that my sons are all big teenagers, the Cubs seemed quite small!  Lots of fun, I'm enjoying myself, I hope they are.  We had a new little chap this evening who was a bit overawed by the noise and excitement, he sat huddled up with his Mum.  Half an hour later he was joining in and was smiling and looked very happy ... his Mum went home :-)  Great fun.

We have our Village Fair on Saturday which is run by the Scout Group.  My wife and I are both involved in this so I'm trying to work out when to fit in a run .... maybe I will have to get up early, or rather earlier than normal! The weather forecast is not good ... let's hope they're wrong!

That's enough rambling, my Juneathon total is now about 104 miles and Fleet's is 7.5 miles.  I hope the rain stops later, I don't fancy a wet run ...

Day 14 of Juneathon - happy knees, a late night pick up and sons who 'might' run

Morning chaos (including blog before work), work, eat lunch and work, work, stop, eat dinner, wait a 'few' minutes, RUN, log run (just), phone call from son saying he'll be home earlier from rehearsal, shower at lightening speed, drive 20 minutes to pick up son from rehearsal .... he's not early (he's on a coach from London), pick up son, drop friend off ... I must have been home past 11.30pm, go to bed!

So the run ... it went quite well actually. It was a good seven miles in under an hour and my knees are still happy. No dog today, he is still recuperating. He had already had a 'very' energetic play with my eldest son who is writing A levels, and my run was a bit rushed. Besides I had planned a sustained pace and a longer distance that he wouldn't really be happy with at this stage.  The vet says I have to bring up his fitness as I would for a human.

Talking of bringing up fitness as I would a human, my two eldest teeange sons have both made murmurings that they might like to do some running.  I think starting to run can be quite daunting but I know that I will be lagging behind them in no time!  Fingers crossed, I'd love to run with my sons.

Cubs tonight! I don't know how I'm going to fit in a run today? Maybe lunch time?  It will have to be fairly easy run.

My Juneathon total is about 98 miles .... maybe I should have run a couple more miles, but when!

Day 13 of Juneathon - went running with my wife and ........ dog :-)

Fleet, our dog, came running with me and my wife yesterday.  He was very excited and pulled his lead quite a bit.  We did just a short run of just over 2.5 miles at a nice easy pace - dogs need to be eased into exercise after being sick, just like humans and I had done a longer run yesterday.

Felt a little discomfort in my knees but that subsided after about a mile.

My total Juneathon mileage is now 91 miles.  Fleet's Junathon mileage is 2.5 miles and my wife's is 20.5 miles.

Day 12 of Juneathon - wet weather gear and going to see my son in 'The Railway Children' :-)

What a rainy day!  I was going to do a run with my wife but she wasn't keen on a run in the rain ... we've gone walking in the rain before but it wasn't quite as dreary, or romantic  (don't know why). 

I kept waiting and hoping that the rain would stop but it didn't look too hopeful so I put my wet weather gear on and off I went ... I sort of dragged myself out the door, lots of sighs and puffing and grumbles.  I did about a 12 mile run today and the the first half was really quite wet with a head wind too! Half way I was feeling quite tired but listening to Marathon Talk helped to distract me from the awful weather.  Anyway, the weather for the second half was better. I completed the 12 miles but I think I might have been a bit too hot for the second half.  Since returning I've been quite thirsty, and tired but I still want to do the Comrades ... madness!

Otherwise it's been a fairly productive day. I've now booked tickets to see my son in 'The Railway Children', I'm looking forward to that. He has technical rehearsals in London this week, some quite long days for a 13 year old.  He will performing at Press Night too, all very exciting.

I've also prepared my CEng application for the final sponsor to sign it.  It doesn't seem to be that important in what I do to be chartered and I've been stage 1 chartered (i.e. my academic qualification is at the right standard) for ages and ages. Not been chartered doesn't seem to have lost us any business but it doesn't hurt to jump through the hoop. Anyway, I thought I ought to tick it off the list of things for me to do, eventually! The head of the section at the IET that deals with the applications looked over my application and has given it the thumbs up, let's see how it goes. The only problem is when I become chartered I have to pay out more money each year, sigh!

Back to Juneathon, my total now appears to be 89 miles.  I think I might do an easy run tomorrow, hopefully with my dog :-)  He will be a 'little' out of condition ;-)

Day 11 of Juneathon - my lovely Nike Free 3.0 V2 running shoes (running anorak that I am)

Went for a four mile run with my wife this morning.  Nice easy pace through the fields so we were able to have a good chat. I mentioned how I might like to run the Comrades sometime and she was very supportive.  I think I would be planning it at the very soonest in 2013, something to work towards.  I doubt if our sons would come along because of school and university.

What I have :-)

I try to do a few runs in my Nike Free 3.0 V2 running shoes (see above, even the correct colour).  I love running in these shoes although they took a bit of getting used to.  I've slowly increased the distance that I run in them and my only real gripe is that they pick up stones in the soles.  Otherwise they are cool and light to run in, I recommend them.  Maybe I might try some Vibram's or a similar type of shoe sometime, I have suggested it but my family threaten to disown me!  For their benefit, any suggestions on the most socially acceptable free running shoes would be greatly appreciated (or just moral support for me)?  I think it's a Dad thing, Mums seem to get away with a lot more! What would be really convenient would be to win a pair, that would get under the radar ... so let me know about any competitions :-) Please!

 Surely these aren't that bad ... are they?

Talking of running shoes and embarrassing my family, I actually quite like these shoes ...

These are fun!

... I think they appeal to that side of me that desperately wants to wear more colour, they remind me of summer, the sea, the beach.  A bit of fun which symbolises what running is to me, fun ... well most of the time ... when I don't have runner's trots, sore nipples or sore anything else, when I have some energy, when I'm not too cold or not too hot or not too wet .... but maybe it's still fun even with all those things.  Maybe I need some competitions for these too!

So an easy run today bringing me Juneathon total to 77 miles.

Day 10 of Juneathon - miserable run with runner''s trots but I have finished Vol 1 of 'War and Peace'

My run yesterday was very difficult.  I set out but just had no energy at all, sigh.  I had planned to run a little further, despite the tiredness.  Alas, I had to turn round and hurry home as soon as possible. I occasionally suffer from runner's trots but haven't had a problem some time ... until yesterday.  So my run today was just over 4 miles making my Juneathon total about 73 miles. I had a really good sleep afterwards, hope that helps.

Next week I'm expecting to be able to run with my dog, he's not coughing any more and his antbiotics course ends on Monday. Who knows, maybe I might run a few more miles, that is if I have the time and energy ... and feel fit enough.
I've also just finished the first volume of 'War and Peace'.  I'm really enjoying it but it does take a little time to get to know the main characters - a marathon read!

Day 9 of Juneathon - I've got Olympic tickets, not a family of four and trying to leave comments, grrrr!

I am so happy :-)  We have 5 tickets for the Olympics and from the amount we were charged I'm guessing it will either be athletics or gymnastics.  I was quite despondent when we were not successful the first time and subsequently, each time I saw or heard anything about the Olympics stirred in me a resentment for the tickets I didn't get for my family. I seemed to be targeting this poisonous resentment on Sebastian Coe, maybe he sensed my glares at his image on the television, I'm sure I saw him twitch once! Anyway, this initial let down has made this change of fortune particularly sweet, I do feel a little hypocritical when my heart now jumps at the mention of the Olympics. So fickle am I!

Perhaps it helped that we were a family of five as this meant that we could not apply for any prime tickets as they were for families of four.  This is a common problem when we have more than two kids, everything is for a family ... of four! Why?  Is this some sort of covert social engineering?  And why would prime events at the Olympics be more suited to a family of four or less? Oh well, in this case being a family of five might have been advantageous :-)

This didn't seem to make my run this morning any easier.  I struggled to run the six miles. To be honest I'm just tired, I'm just not sleeping enough. I'm simply trying to fit too much in my day.  My run was helped listening to Marathon Talk.  I've only recently started listening to this podcast and I've never listened to a current episode, I'm always catching up, although I have skipped a few after listening to the first two and a half episodes.  I couldn't reconcile talks on running in the snow when I was sweltering running in the heat. So yesterday, I skipped to episode 70 and listened to some of episode 71 today.  This does mean that I probably have enough episodes for all my runs for Juneathon ... should this be a new challenge? Listen to all the Marathon Talk episodes.

Some of you will notice it will be past 1am when this post is eventually posted.  Yes I should go to bed but in my defense I did actually have a sleep earlier on so I'm feeling a little better ... I just hope I feel better tomorrow.

I have a gripe (nothing unusual there)!  Why is making comments on blogs becoming so awkward.  Am I the only Juneathon participant that has been trapped in an endless loop trying to leave a comment on a blog using Google ... you write a comment, sign in, type some obscure word to prove your human, sign in, type another obscure word, sign in .... on and on! Then you think, oops have a I inadvertently left the same comment half a dozen times? Why can't I just leave a comment as me?  Why has the whole exercise of leaving a comment become so complicated?  Even at the bottom of my posts there are a half a dozen icons, half of which I don't know what they are for.  What is this '+1'?  I could look it up but why should I ... waste of time ... have I just become a grumpy middle aged man?   But it is getting to me and I really am losing the will to comment.  I diligently read other blogs but I have lost a quite few comments down, what appears to be, some sort of security, spam filter black hole!  All these spiralling confirmations just to try to prevent me advertising Viagra, of course, they never spell it like that. Thinking about it, this post might never be published because I've said Viagra, some over zealous spam filter will recognise the word but they're wrong, Viagra is never spelt correctly! (which irritates me too) Maybe not publishing this post might be a good thing as I'm rambling ... grumbling might be more accurate.

But quickly changing the subject, my Juneathon total is now about 69 miles and I have some Olympic tickets :-)

Day 8 of Juneathon - Cubbing and I think I want to do the Comrades, maybe!

Tired tonight, yawn!

Went Cubbing tonight, first time back as a Cub Leader for 3 or 4 years ... noisy, good fun. The Cubs seem smaller!  Must be having teenage sons.

Earlier today had a phone call from my doctor asking me to go to the hospital for another blood test so this made my afternoon a little disruptive - nothing serious.  I can't believe the lack of parking at the hospital, madness.  Need to catch up tomorrow, when will I fit a run in?

Did my run this morning (fortunately), just over seven miles.  Listened to episode 70 of Marathon Talk where they were talking about the Comrades.  I grew up in South Africa, south of Durban, and the Comrades is probably the first running race I was really aware of.  I used to be in awe of people who run the Comrades, in fact I still am.  I really want to run it but it's just soooo long.  It's hard enough running a marathon, to run an ultra!  I really ought to give it a go .... hmmm.

Anyway, Juneathon total is now just over 62 miles.  And ... I've almost finished volume one of 'War and Peace', it's actually quite good :o)  I might bore you with details later in the month.

Day 7 of Juneathon - asthma checkup went well and a gentle run that wasn't

Went for my asthma checkup today, all well and my peak flow is as expected for my age.  However, last year my peak flow was above average and the only real difference is that I was swimming more so this adds further weight to plan to really tackle swimming after Juneathon.  And ... I have used salbutamol for a year :-) This does mean that my asthma is now quite well controlled so I agreed with the asthma nurse that it was a good time to see if I can reduce my Symbicort dosage.  This would be very good as I think the Symbicort might be contributing to the cramps I get and, of course, I don't want to take more medication than I need. 

If you are asthmatic and you carry a Ventolin inhaler I really recommend the Sports-haler for running and any other activities of that matter.  I clip this holder on my shorts when I go running.  I have accidentally gone swimming with it before, and my inhaler was still dry! Very good product, you can buy them here http://www.habdirect.co.uk/products/Sports_haler-p11510-r661 ... and I don't get any commission.

I could only fit in a run later today.  I started out thinking I would do a gentle run on account of my aching muscles but ended up doing some interval training, very tiring, maybe not as fast, but satisfying.  I know my muscles will eventually feel better and I think I can feel an improvement already, might be able to do some more hill running soon. Did about 5 miles today making my Juneathon total 55 miles.

Day 6 of Juneathon - this was my day but I got to 50 miles :-)

What a day.  Wrote three letters for various requests, permissions etc for my sons for school. Started work, frustrated with a research project we're working on with top universities, need info not getting it! Took tow oldest sons to school for A level exam. Worked on another project, designed some circuits but CAD crashed!!!! Grrrr!  Wife calls to say we need to take Kennel Coughed dog to vet "I can't!" says I (she sought sit out for tomorrow). Receive text from my sister and arrange to meet up with her, my brother-in-law and my beautiful little nieces at Legoland, feel much better :-) :-)  Reentered circuits. Provided directory and information services to lady with son who wants to join Scouts (we have a big, full Scout group), nice, friendly lady so felt even better. Entered some new circuits, determined to finish circuits before starting dinner (wife has to visit client this evening). Finish circuits later than expected. Start making dinner late dinner, empty dishwasher, clear mess on kitchen surfaces mainly from teenagers eating food during day, continue to make dinner, aware grocery delivery is at 8pm - ding. dong, groceries arrive HALF AN HOUR EARLY, I'm cooking, everything is almost cooked, all teenage sons have disappeared and out of earshot, grills on, pots on stove. microwave bleeping, dog (with Kennel Cough) is planning escape.  Run round house, grab two oldest sons, shopping (tons and tons of it) is deposited in kitchen, sons disappear, all available space is now taken by shopping .... no space for cooking!!  Start unpacking, cooking, loading dishwasher in vain attempt to clear space to dish out food.  Realise frozen food and other perishables are in danger of perishing in hot kitchen, seek out all perishable items and create piles and piles, while cooking.  Phone rings ... my wife "What!" I say.
"I'm leaving now", she says.
"Only now!!" I think.
"I've got loads of shopping everywhere!!" I say.
"Get the boys to help"
"Yeah right", I think.
"I've got to go. Bye", put phone down.
I can't do it so holler for oldest sons to help me NOW! They put frozen and perishables away (she was right). I have just enough space to dish up. We four eat, they complain about bones in slightly overdone trout, I growl.  Clear up. Give dog crushed up medicine in mushed up dog food and excite him significantly so he gobbles food down without noticing laced tablets.  He looks happily at shadows so is getting better. 
I wait then go out for run.
It's so hard tonight, my legs are still aching from hill running but ... I do it.  Just over 6 miles to make my Juneathon total 50 miles :-)  However, I am still in running gear and I really need a shower and I have to be at the Asthma clinic at 8.30am and I have a meeting with BBC afterwards.
But now I have logged, blogged and am totally wiped out! I am not checking this post ... publish now!

Day 5 of Juneathon - wet run, aching thighs, all reminds me of Janathon

My thighs are aching a bit from the hill running so going for a run today was a little difficult, but I did it. I was planning on doing a run with my wife but she's having a break today, as I have said, she has done really well.  So my plan was to run earlier so changed into my running gear.  Alas I spent hours wandering around the house in my running kit, much to the amusement of my sons.  I eventually got round to going out just when it started raining!  So a run in the rain, in summer ... actually reminded me of Janathon.  Needless to say I came across no other runners.

Set off and was sure I started my Garmin but realised just over two miles in that no mileage was registering. Might have accidentally stopped the timer putting on my jacket, I've done that before, maybe the buttons should have a shield. It wouldn't be so bad had it not been that I felt like I was flying and my speed looked good too, oh well.  So started my Garmin and ran another three miles and turned round and retraced my steps and calculated the bit I'd missed out at the beginning.  Ran just over 10 miles and very wet I was at the end. 

Running Free says my Juneathon total is about 44 miles. Back of my thighs were still aching at the end of my run today and I was so hungry, easy run tomorrow I think.

Day 4 of Juneathon - Garmin's beeping off on hills and a squeezed run

Squeezed in a 3 mile easy run with my wife. Her Juneathon total is now 14 miles although she will not be running every day.

For me having a nice easy three miles after the 14 miles the day before was just the thing to do.  I need to fit in a few more hill runs during Juneathon, but hopefully choose cooler days!

But fitting this run in was a real squeeze. My youngest son had another performance in the evening that we went to and we had to drop my middle son off at the stables, which left a slot in between when we could go for a run, prepare food and get ready ... we did it, just!

I'm starting to help out again at Cubs on Wednesday.  A few years ago I was a Cub leader and stepped back when work/home commitments became too much.  I'm now tentatively returning on the understanding that I won't be able to do the preparation - I'd be happy not to be in uniform but that might not be practical in the long term.  The Cub evenings will be good fun and I always find that I'm totally destressed afterwards. I've decided that I will have to run to the field where we meet during the summer to fit in my Juneathon run that day.

It's probably apparent that I'm not running crazy miles this time. I'm running the Royal Parks Half Marathon this year and I would really like to improve on my PB.  This, of course, means doing some interval training! I did a session last week and it was hard going, I crawled home.  My hill running has not been that great either so I really need to put a bit of work in these areas.

Talking of hill running, I've recently enabled the auto pause on my Garmin that pauses my mileage below a certain speed.  The other day when I was going up a steep hill, battling against gravity, in the heat ... bleep! My watch goes on pause!!

'What!' I think. ' This is really hard!!'  So I run a bit faster to make the thing start adding my most valuable metres ... but then I run too fast.  As you can imagine this does not help with pacing and I realise that it adds another level of stress that I don't need on an already difficult section of hill.  I need to forget my Garmin on hills ... but that's really hard to do during Juneathon.  Sigh, I really need to forget my Garmin!

Juneathon mileage is now about 33 miles ... and this post is longer than I was expecting!

Day 3 of Juneathon - a dead swan, two cuckoos and a water bottle refill

First run of the day was with my wife.  Nice easy run of 4.3 miles pushing her total up to 11 miles, not bad for a beginner. 

Spotted a fairly large dead swan in a stream.  It was obscured by foliage and we thought it was a rock at first. When we got home I thought I better call somebody about, I wasn't sure if it would be a health hazard to other animals, particularly the cattle that graze in the adjacent field.  So I called our local council with coordinates ready ... waited and waited in a queue ... eventually spoke to somebody who told me to call DEFRA.  Spoke to DEFRA, they took the details (but not my coordinates that I had ready) and they said that I really should tell the Local Environmental Officer at the council!!! SO I phoned the council again, was held in a queue again and thought 'stuff this' and hung up. 

Instead I called a local farmer and had a nice chat.  He wasn't that concerned but was very pleasant.  He did suggest I could try pull out the carcass if I wanted although he didn't think it was that necessary.  I must say that I'm a little worried that it might fall apart, how do you grab it properly?  It's quite big ... I shall have to see.  Maybe I should take some rubber gloves - but that's going to look a little odd, suspicious even!

Talking of our feathered friends, we've heard a couple of cuckoos on our runs - very special :-)

My afternoon run (not that I plan to do two runs a day) included some hills. It was quite hot and I took the wrong water bottle, too small it was.  So I stopped off at one of the houses along the way to ask if they wouldn't mind filling my water bottle, they kindly agreed :-)  Sweat was pouring off me, I was in my trendy running gear, sunglasses, running shoes, GPS watch - after she had filled my water bottle (a hand held one with a hole in the middle), she asked me if I was jogging?  I did hesitate before answering, I was wondering what I wasn't doing doing that didn't look like I was running, maybe I just look too old, my grey hair perhaps?  Maybe she was saying indirectly that I shouldn't be running ... oh well!  That's not going to happen :-) 

So I eventually got home - tired, hot, sweaty and happy. Changed into my dinner suit and went to a black tie gala evening, good fun.

My afternoon run was 10 miles making my Juneathon total 30 miles.  Easy, short run today (i.e. day 4).

Day 2 of Juneathon - nice and easy ...

Did a short easy run with my wife of just over 4 miles.  She is a beginner and doing really well. Her total (not that she plans to run every day) is now just under 7 miles.

I plan to do a longer run tomorrow but I'll see.

My youngest son was in a local dance show tonight, the performances were brilliant but I've only just got home!  We're off to a Gala performance tomorrow night, should be fun.

Juneathon total is now about 16 miles.

Day 1 of Juneathon ... but no running dog :-(

Juneathon!

Sadly I couldn't run with my dog today, we took him to the vet and we think he has Kennel Cough. He was all lined up to do Juneathon with me too. The vet thinks that he might have caught it when he went in for a general checkup (he has one every six months).  I always explain to the vet that he is an active 'running' dog and he gets all the injections, worm tablets, solutions etc etc ... surely the vet should suggest the Kennel Cough vaccination?  Maybe it doesn't work so well.  Oh well, he is a bit of a sad dog at the moment.

However, my lovely wife has started running so I'm very pleased.  So today we ran 2.7 miles before rushing back so that she could go off to see my youngest (for the second time) in High School Musical. I stayed home with my two sons who are (should be) studying for various AS and A2 exams.

Later I went for another run of about 9 miles. I feel much better, who cares about the Olympic tickets I didn't get, my dog will be better soon I'm sure, oldest sons are bound to do just fine in their exams and I guess we'll figure out how to get our 'performing' son to ever changing rehearsal times and performances and we can work how to get middle son to university open days across the length and breadth of the country and yes I am really, really busy at work ... but a good run and all is okay! And my friends ask me why I run :-)

So rounded up Juneathon total is 12 miles.   

Janathon complete ... lots of firsts and lots of thanks

I decided that I would take my youngest son to the gym and run on the treadmill for the duration of his gym program ... and did just that :-)

I just wanted to end Janathon running, even if it was on a treadmill.  I ran 7.2 miles at an average speed of about 7mph.  You get a few looks when you stay on the treadmill that long!  I didn't know how my head managed it really as it really is a bit mindless.

Final Janathon total appears to be 167 miles :-)    (sorry about all the smiles)

Janathon has been a great experience:

I've run more miles in one week than ever before.
My dog has run more miles in one week than ever before!!
I've made more trips to the gym in one month than ever before.
I've blogged more frequently in one month than ever before.
I've probably read and commented on more blogs than ever before.
I think it's the first time I've blogged about my running.
I've sent my first Tweet - only one though.
I've tried out new gym equipment for the first time.
I've had my first Achilles tendon injury (well it's a first).

and ....

I've been fortunate enough to have shared Janathon with a superb group of people. 

At the beginning of Janathon I was thoroughly enjoying the madness that Gary and Auswomble inspired me to greedily eat miles at a rate I suspected my body might disagree with.  Would I have started out more cautious had I known I was going to get an injury, honestly ... possibly, but that would never happen and I loved it.  It wasn't about what my body could manage, I wanted to see what my head could manage.  I know now that I could do some high mileage with a bit more training (and possibly a new body).

The injury is interesting as I have always had one foot that sticks out more than the other.  Over the years I've tried to correct it but it's always been there.  This might be the root of the problem and I will probably see if anything can be done.  I didn't think it would affect my running, I did have an insert put into my ski boots so this might be the solution for running.

I think there has been some discussion about awarding prizes next time.  Personally, I didn't push at the beginning because of the prizes and I'm not sure that they are needed.  On the other hand having prizes is fun too.  As a suggestion, perhaps the prizes might be distributed using a draw amongst all those that completed Janathon successfully - just a thought.

I am in awe of Gary, what an achievement! But I am also inspired by the runners in deep snow (see Yes, I'm Still Running...), the extreme heat such as Auswomble or in the middle of exams I run for cake!

Not forgetting those who have just started running, want to get fit, want to lose weight, training for a first race, marathon or 2011 miles ....  or just want some help to run outside in the cold and wet.  Every blog and every runner has a different story and all inspired in a different way.  In one month you could read about a new baby and sadly about a bereavement.  I regularly read blogs from as far afield as Manchester and also the Netherlands, New York and Australia - pretty amazing really.  I loved the way that running speed didn't segregate runners.  Thank you for sharing your running and a glimpse of your lives during Janathon.  A big thank you to Cathy and her team - Cathy you are a real gem and you deserve a medal.

Finally, I asked about vegetarian meals and had some very helpful feedback - thanks guys.  Runtezza wrote out a favourite recipe and posted it!  You are an absolute star, have a look at http://runtezza.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/vegetarian-recipe-4-u/ I will be making this dish, thanks.

I'm hoping to keep this blog updated, anybody else going to keep on blogging ... but maybe not every day?