Juneathon Day One

We're off! Day 1 of Juneathon is well and truly complete!

If you are an avid reader of this amazing mediocre tedious blog you'll be aware that I'm in London for a few days to celebrate my Mum's 70th Birthday. Which began with yesterday's fabulous helicopter ride over London, read more here.

So as May came to a close the focus turned to Juneathon. Early thoughts were to begin Juneathon with a parkrun, this did not materialise because I woke up slightly too late. Therefore, the first day of Juneathon was to be completed pounding the streets of London. This has many pros and cons:

Pros

  • Concrete is everywhere – no problem with underfoot conditions
  • Roads are all massive – no single tracks to risk your life on
  • Houses everywhere – no problem with choosing a route
  • People everywhere – lots of people to say 'morning' too

Cons

  • Concrete everywhere – can make it a bit hard on your feet
  • Roads are all massive – therefore loads of cars, vans, buses, lorries, etc. making crossing roads a risky business
  • Houses everywhere – very easy to get lost – on more than one occasion I would 'nip down here' only to come out not quite where I had expected
  • People everywhere – the people I did say 'morning' too just looked at me with a blank expression

But it was quite enjoyable to be running somewhere slightly different, and I even managed the odd picture along the way in a bid to liven up the post.

This I couldn't resist….taking advantage of the green space and extending your garden, there are so many plastic ride on thingys that it looked like a branch of Toys R Us, although not sure what they would do if the council insisted that the trampoline be stored in the garden…

Also, as I was running along the 'Green Chain Walk' for a bit I crossed the railway line, this involved bounding up the steps in a 'Rocky' style and punching the air. No trains about, although I think engineering works were in 'progress' as I did spot a couple of fellas in fluorescent jackets leaning against the fence having a smoke….

Day 1 mileage = 4.69

Mojo level = very high

 

Decision made!

After fighting with my inner self for the last couple of weeks I have finally decided that I will be participating in Juneathon this year.

If you are not aware of what Juneathon is then hold your head in shame, or maybe just google it and find out. But if you would like to know the jist of it, the idea is to run every day of June: run, log and blog. Simple.

Not quite sure at the moment exactly how much time and motivation I have, but suffice to say I will attempt to run every day with a plan to run around 120ish miles by the end of June. Having taken part in both Janathon and Juneathon in the past I understand exactly what it takes to run every day for a month, that doesn't mean to say I'll do it, but fingers crossed for a successful attempt.

What has finally made me decide to participate? Well a number of reasons, cue a bullet pointed list:

  • I've been lacking on the running front recently, so this is a chance to find my running mojo.
  • Work has finally calmed down a bit – meaning I'm more likely to hit the road.
  • Following on from the monthly projects last year it has all been a bit too quiet so far.
  • The lighter evenings seem to allow for a bit more 'stuff' to be done.
  • The blogging front has also been quiet for a number of reasons – #juneathon means a daily blog.

So there you have it…Juneathon starts on Saturday…and I'm very much looking forward to it!

 

Juneathon Day 30

Today’s run a steady dog jog, 4 miles on the trails around Bourne. A pretty uneventful run, except for bumping into Shaun who was in the middle of a 17-miler! He did invite me to join him, but I’m running the Thurlby 10k tomorrow so didn’t want to go crazy!

Total mileage today = 3.95

Total Juneathon mileage after day 30 = 114.07

After ten days of Juneathon I decided to take a more relaxed approach to the whole ‘run everyday’ mantra. Due in part, to workload and Euro 2012, but also the fact that I didn’t want the added pressure – I missed out on 6 days actual running. But on a positive note: I really enjoyed the month, mileage was good (considering I dipped out on some runs), had some really great runs, read some fabulous blogs and good banter on Twitter. Well done everybody!

Juneathon 2012: a success!

Juneathon Day 28

The juggernaut that is Juneathon final begins to slow as we enter the last few days. Tonight’s run, taken during the first half of the footy, was again another gentle dog jog round the woods – 3 and a bit miles at a steady 9min mile pace. It also means the 100 mile total has finally been passed. Compared to Janathon the mileage is down quite a lot, although this is due to the slightly more relaxed approached.

With just two days to go, the plan is a longer run tomorrow after work, followed by a gentle recovery run on Saturday. Then Sunday brings the Thurlby 10k.

Total Juneathon mileage after day 28 = 102.72

Runners passed = 1

Deer spotted = 3

 

Juneathon Day 26

It’s Tuesday, which means club training. Although what that actually means is that I am writing this blog in a state of exhaustion…

Tim, our coach, was continuing with the ridiculously stupid magnificent tempo training we have been doing over the last few weeks. The idea being that we are slowly developing speed and strength with the promise of better fitness and faster times. Worked very hard tonight:

  • Warm up
  • 16 x 400m – alternating between 5k pace and marathon pace
  • Cool down

Total mileage today = 6.21

 

Total Juneathon mileage after day 26 = 99.33