Tag: running

What you’ll need for a successful Juneathon….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 3 Comments

Having taken part in both Janathon and Juneathon for the past three or so years, and with the 'annual festival of activity and excuses' only a few days away, I thought I would impart my knowledge on what you need to complete a successful Juneathon:

  • A plan. Your plan could come in one of three guises: a target mileage/exercise routine, written down and stuck to despite everything else; or a more laissez-faire attitude, one of, run if you want, or not if you don't feel like it; or maybe your plan will be somewhere in between. Whatever you choose be happy and comfortable with the plan – knowing that, in the end the plan can always be chucked out the window. To conclude, you probably don't actually need a plan.
  • Running kit. Running or exercising for 30 days in a row puts an awful lot of pressure on your kit. There are a few things you can do to ensure you've always got kit to wear: tell the missus to keep on top of the washing (a risky strategy); or hit the shops and buy more stuff; or struggle on with what you have got, with the understanding that at some stage you will be wearing mouldy kit that has been dug out from the bottom of the wash basket. Therefore, you probably don't actually really need loads of running kit.
  • Hot water. Juneathon very quickly becomes showerathon. So ensure the boiler is in tip top condition and you have loads of hot water. Unless you are a bit skanky, in which case you don't even need hot water.
  • Time. If you are not one to do lots of exercise, be prepared to watch the month of June disappear quicker than Usain Bolt on speed. What with work, exercising, showering and complaining you'll find you won't have much time for anything else. Unless of course you don't actually have a life – in which case time is not an issue.
  • Creativity. One of the 'rules' of Juneathon is to blog everyday. People will not want to read blogs that say, 'went for a run today', or 'feel tired after today's exercise' – you need to try to entertain – include pictures – write poems – tell jokes – anything that will make people want to return and follow you on your journey through Juneathon. However, I think it is now acceptable to micro-blog – just posting 'I ran' on Twitter may be enough to suffice – so, creatively may not be required either.

In conclusion, this 'What you need for a successful Juneathon' post is clearly nonsense. Just sign-up and have a go.

 

One week on…

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 4 Comments

One week later and all is forgotten: the bruises have faded and are barely visible; the aches and pains have gone; and even the smell of whatever was at the bottom of the lake is no longer clinging to the skin.

The 20 miles. The 200 obstacles. It all seems like a dream.

It was a great experience. If you are considering taking part in one of the ever increasing selection of alternative runs about, I would recommend the Rat Race Dirty Weekend. It is 'the world's largest assault course', and if you're going to do something stupid you may as well just go for it. There was plenty of crawling, wadding, climbing, jumping, pulling, swimming, pushing, balancing, falling, swinging, as well as quite a bit of running. You can sign up for 2015 now.

Next up: Men's Health Survival of the Fittest at Nottingham in October. But more importantly, it's only a couple of weeks until Juneathon. Oh. My. God.

 

Saturday run…complete with obstacles…

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 6 Comments

Yesterday's run, with next Saturday's Rat Race in mind, was a leisurely jog around the woods. Although I was very aware of the impending 200 obstacles that are approaching very fast. In fact, they are approaching faster than the need to get out of the front room when the new episode of A Game of Thrones is on when you are still plowing through the first season. 200 obstacles!? I feel I need to say that again: 200 obstacles. All in the space of 20 miles. Yes, 20 miles. Let me just recap: 200 obstacles, 20 miles. So with that in mind I attempted to throw in a few obstacles into my 'leisurely jog'.

First up, a fallen tree across the path, not exactly an 'obstacle' in the whole Rat Race sense of an obstacle, but an obstacle all the same….

My second obstacle was unplanned. Picking up speed downhill through a particularly overgrown path I got snagged on some rather aggressive brambles. Resulting in me performing a 360 deg pirouette whilst trying to avoid getting pulled into said brambles.

Third obstacle: a run of fallen trees. Please note the dangerous looking spikes, making this a life or death obstacle…

Next up was the biggest test to date: a log stack. You could argue that it actually isn't a 'stack', although the forestry commission sign located close by stated: 'Do not climb on the log stacks'. Suffice to say I did climb on the log stack, nearly breaking both ankles in the process. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS.

The final obstacle of the run was a dangerous over hanging branch that required me to slightly duck under. Done.

So, five 'massive' obstacles completed during the 5 mile run. I'm ready!

 

Long Slow Run….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

With the prospect of completing 20 miles and 200 obstacles less than a month away I decided that I needed to get some miles under my belt. So this morning I ran 16.3 miles. It was a lovely morning. I was even feeling strong up to about 14 miles but the last couple were a struggle. A simple stile at mile 15 felt like a mountain and even kerbs were requiring a big effort. Not sure how I'm going to cope with 200 obstacles.

But I'm glad I've completed a nice long run. Plan is to complete 18 or so miles next weekend, with a few days at the gym in between.

 

One month to go….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

That can't be right! Can it? This time next month I will be going to bed safe in the knowledge that in the morning I will be participating in the Rat Race Dirty Weekend in Stamford. Just to confirm it is not some sort of mass sordid swingers weekend or a weekend trapping rats or even a sensible run in the country. It is in fact the “largest assault course on Earth”. 20 miles. 200 obstacles.

 

I'll be the first to admit that the training is not going amazingly well. I ran a half-marathon a few weeks ago, and done plenty of 30 min runs around the woods. I even joined a gym in an attempt to shake up the training a bit. But 200 obstacles!? So on the run home from the gym today I took the opportunity to attempt the mother of all obstacles….

As I approached the pipe that spanned the treacherous fast flowing dyke I was feeling somewhat apprehensive, I was sweating more than the 15min hill reps I'd just completed at the gym and even more than Ted Striker….

I was getting closer and closer. My heartbeat was increasing. In my head I was trying to work out what to do if I fell in. The walk home covered from head to foot in scummy, manky dyke water was not worth thinking about. I'd decided that if I did loss my balance I would dive to safety into the nettles, the idea of being covered in nettle rash must outweigh the risk of botulism. So, a plan was in place, if it came to it I would dive to safety…

I went for it…..

Suffice to say: I survived. I'm ready!

 

Only 68 days….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 4 Comments

….until the Rat Race Dirty Weekend at Burghley House in Stamford. Just to remind you, actually it may be just to remind myself: 20 miles. 200 obstacles. You did indeed read that right. 20 miles. 200 obstacles. Apparently, “It's bigger, bolder and badder than ever!” I think the time has come to put in a bit extra work.

Since Janathon I've been taking it a bit easy. Completed about a dozen runs, the longest around 10 miles. So with the spectre of the Rat Race Dirty Weekend on the horizon, plus the Newton's Fraction Half-Marathon just round the corner, tonight's run was to include obstacles. When I say obstacles, I actually mean just one obstacle. It may not look like much, but it's an obstacle all the same…

You may look at it and say: call that an obstacle? Granted, it is only 2 feet high, and when I approached it for the first time I sailed over it like a salmon swimming upstream on it's impossibly long migration to its spawning grounds. However, after 4 miles of trail running through the woods at a pretty brisk pace, when I reached it for the second time, it looked more like this….

Suffice to say I cleared it. I'm ready.