Janathon: Day 7

Before you commit to reading this, let me tell you this - today's was not a prize-winning performance.

I had dinner with my boyfriend's family last night, and didn't get home till nearly 1am. Having been up at 5:30am for yesterday's run, and given I'm usually tucked up in bed by 10pm, you can probably guess how tired I was. I'd planned an early morning gym session for today's Janathon activity as I'm resting the foot again, but just before I left work yesterday, I volunteered to come in at 8am this morning. That shot my early morning gym plans down - the gym opens at 6:30am, and I'd have to leave at 7am to get to work for 8.

I hate exercising in the evening. It hangs over me all day, and by the time exercise o'clock comes round, I just want to curl up and wail. The only time I'll exercise in the evening is if I have a PT or SUPERchicks session - it's fine if I have someone telling me what to do, remember?

So I spent most of today dreading my Janathon task. I figured the gym newbies would still be all over the gym, if only to boast about going there on a Friday night (I know I did), so I decided to do a circuits session at home. I was in no state to think up a fabulous combination of torturous exercises, so I headed to Fit Girl About Town, one of my favourite fitness websites.

In the summer, I took part in the 4 Week Summer Challenge (and came away with a super pair of Sweaty Betty training gloves). Each week, the gorgeous Joslyn would upload a video of the exercises, with instructions on how long each set should be. The genius of the challenge was that each circuit lasted no longer than 20 minutes, but got my heart rate up and my muscles aching in that sick way I've come to crave. So when I needed a challenging but quick circuit tonight, I headed straight for Fit Girl, and my favourite circuit video (PLEASE NOTE: I am not even a fraction as graceful or generally amazing as Jos is in these videos, it's almost sickening how good she looks, but a  bloody good motivation!). It did involve me having to skip on the landing outside my flat to save the people who live below me from the 'thump thump thump' of my skipping, but it was totally worth it.

Thanks to the fabulous Fit Girl About Town, that's Day 7 done, and now I can pass out. I'll be up early tomorrow so I can hit the gym when it opens (in an attempt to escape the newbies) and feel smug for the rest of the day. That's the real reason I prefer exercising in the mornings, obviously.

Over and out.

Thanks to kaibara for this amazing shot!

Janathon: Day 6

Today's run didn't quite go to plan. I set off at 6am without AudioFuel to guide me because I wanted to know what pace I was running at on my own, even if it was my 'injury pace'.

It was all going splendidly, until I started to feel the familiar pain in my foot about 10 minutes in. Bugger. I wanted to crank out at least 7km today after yesterday's pain-free 5km test run. But I knew that it would only get worse if I pushed on, so I turned around at Marble Arch and headed home. Hence the disappointing 2.65km total. But I did use my extra time to knock out a 15 minute bodyweight circuit (lunges, squats, press-ups, crunches, plank - repeat till dead), so that made me feel a little better.

The bright side of today's run? I'm finally keeping a fairly consistent pace - look, the lines aren't going crazy. Thank you AudioFuel, it's working!

I'm keeping the foot strapped up today and heading to the gym tomorrow morning, so hopefully the rest will help and I won't have to skip my long run for the second week in a row (eek!).

Janathon: Day 5

I RAN! As you may be able to tell, I'm a little excited by it. I was only out of action for 4 days and I couldn't wait to get back on the road. I guess the running bug has finally bitten!

The 5am alarm call (I snooze for half an hour) did make me die a little inside - I hadn't woken up that early since before Christmas. But after a few seconds of poking myself in the belly (I find a little self-bullying comes in handy at times like this), I was up, changed and out. Because the foot's still not 100% better, I took it slowly, but managed my usual 5.23km route without any more pain. I'm going to try to extend that to 7km tomorrow morning, so I feel a little more prepared for this weekend's long run.

I wanted to share something I found in this month's Runner's World magazine. They interviewed Stefaan Engels, the mentalist who's running 365 marathons in a year. He said:

"I run just like Joe Average goes to work on Monday morning - whether I feel like it or not."

That's really stuck with me, and I think it's a great way to look at training, especially for an event. I'm really bad with self-discipline, and I reckon I need to start looking at my Paris half marathon training as something that I don't have a choice in. I go to work even when I don't feel like it (how often do we ever really feel like going to work?!), and it has to be that way with the training too. There's a half marathon to run at the end of all this!

While I've got you here, I want to say a massive THANK YOU to those of you who have sponsored Team Bangs on the Run. We're all training hard, and your donations really do keep us going, and will make us go faster! If you haven't sponsored us yet, and have a couple of pounds spare (check the back of the sofa) to give to Refuge, you can do your thing on our JustGiving page. Anything you can give really will make a difference - just take a look a where your money goes. 

Janathon: Day 4

 Flickr image from andrewr's photostream

Injury update: Yeah, still not completely better and it's starting to annoy me. I just want it to GO AWAY.

Today was my first day back at work after the New Year. That meant setting an alarm, actually waking and getting up in the dark, putting on clothes that aren't pyjamas (clearly the most painful part of the entire process), getting on a packed tube and actually doing work for 8 hours (well...).

But it was all worth it, because after work, I got back on that packed tube and went to my first SUPERchicks session of the year. I'd been looking forward to it all day, and it didn't disappoint - but it bloody hurt. It was squat-tastic and I'm going to hurt tomorrow. Although, at this point I welcome any pain that isn't coming from my stupid foot.

I picked up an ankle support from Boots on my way home, so tomorrow morning, I'm strapping the bugger up and we're going for a nice, easy run. It's Janathon, and I will run!

Janathon: Day 3 (and a small rant)

Injury update: Foot is 85% better (who needs a medical degree?), but on the advice of my lovely Twitter followers, I didn't run today. Very disappointed because I had a very tasty 11.44km route mapped out to christen my new shoes. But in the spirit of Janathon, and with my PT away on holiday (selfish), I hit the gym for the first strength training session of 2011.

I've been a member of my gym for a couple of years, and I can't tell you just how much I hate it in January. New Year's resolutions and cheaper membership deals mean that the place is overrun with people fighting over dumbbells and spin bikes, and suddenly there are queues for treadmills.

I'm fully supportive of people starting a new fitness regime, but there's one thing about gym newbies that drives me crazy - walking on treadmills. I'm not talking a brisk walk as a warm-up/cool-down, or as a power walking session when it's icy/raining outside, I mean the people who pay for a gym membership, buy gym gear, come to the gym, get on a treadmill, set it at walking pace, and leave it at that pace for a good 45 minutes before getting off and going home. Why pay gym membership? Go outside!

Anyway, I digress. I battled my way around the gym, jumping between free machines and snatching mats as soon as someone left one. It was like the gym equivalent of the January sales on Oxford Street. I'm back to work tomorrow. If the foot's better it'll be 7km before work, but I'll definitely be at the first SUPERchicks session of the year after work.

New Shoes and Janathon: Day 2

After a day of icing and resting my right foot, I was annoyed to find that the pain hadn't gone away when I woke up this morning. So I took myself and my Nike Lunarglides to Sweat Shop in Fulham in an attempt to find out what was causing the pain and make them make it go away.

It took Morgan the sales assistant about 2.5 seconds diagnose me. I'm flat-footed and need shoes with more support than my Lunarglides offer. I have to admit, I was disappointed to find out I'm flat-footed, it doesn't sound very nice, does it? I bet Audrey Hepburn wasn't flat-footed.

I'm a little ashamed to say that this was the first time I'd been to a running shop. I've become a little addicted to the online bargains on workout gear, so when I started running properly, I just ordered myself a pair of trainers online. I thought I had a high arch, and didn't really know too much about what I should be looking for, so ended up with the Lunarglides. They had purple laces, I was happy.

After trying on about 6 pairs of trainers with extra support for my flat feet (harumph), it was easy to see where I went wrong with my Lunarglides. They have no arch support, and very little cushioning around the heel. And then, I slipped on the Asics:

I see why runners love them so much. This pair (Gel Kayano 16s) supported my arches, heels and ankles, and were light and comfy. A quick jog on the treadmill (I overpronate too apparently) and I knew that these were the ones. So, these flashy white and gold bad boys are mine.

Morgan advised me not to run until the pain was completely gone, which isn't great for the whole 'run every day' part of the Janathon ethos. So on the way home from Sweat Shop, I got off the bus at Hyde Park Corner and walked home through the park (Walkit.com tells me the walk was 2.97km). I'm icing my foot as I type, and I'm really hoping that it's ok for tomorrow. I had a 10.4km run on my training plan today, and I really want to do it tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

I'm really loving reading everyone's Janathon blogs, and have managed to encourage/bully Jungle GG and Girl On A Mission to sign up. They'll get me back with something equally evil, I'm sure.

PS: How are you all liking the fancy new blog header?

Janathon: Day 1

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great night. I have a deep hatred of New Year's Eve, and as my boyfriend was working, I saw 2011 in with Mad Men and cheese on toast. Rock and roll.

I've never been able to stick to New Year's resolutions (if you've ever managed to keep one for a whole year, please let me know), but I figure I can stick to one for a month, so yesterday I signed up for Janathon.

If you've heard of Juneathon, you probably know what Janathon is about. If you haven't heard of either, let me explain. The aim of Janathon is to run every day, and blog every day. Simple, non? There are lots of fabulous prizes too, should you need an incentive (the best kind of carrot - next to cake).

Here are The Rules:

• You must run or do some form of exercise every day
• You must blog about it within 24 hours
• You must join the Janathon group at the Running Free website and log your runs/exercise
• You must visit other blogs and leave comments, giving your support
• You must link to the Janathon website and display the 'Janathon Participant' logo

This morning, with no hangover (smug much?) I hit the streets for the first run of 2011. 5k at a relaxed long run pace, including a detour to the Royal Mail delivery office to pick up the parcel that wouldn't fit through my letterbox yesterday. Obviously, the delivery office was closed, so the identity of the parcel remains a mystery (*please* be my Nike+ sports band!). You know how much I love early morning runs, and today's has been the best so far for people-watching. Walks of shame in fancy dress, people asleep at bus stops, more drunk cheerleaders, and a lot of abandoned high heels. Excellent work, Londoners.

In other news, if you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me mention a problem I was having with the arches of my feet after running. It's definitely getting worse, so I'm taking myself for a gait analysis this weekend to find the perfect shoes for my feet. In the meantime, it's shorter runs in my old trainers.

Best of luck to all the other Janathon runners - happy running!