A little bit of inspiration

Following the cold, miserable weather that brought me to a halt through February and March, how nice April has been.

A complete absence of motivation in the form of planned races has kept the month sensible, re-building my mileage from near nothing to nearer 15 per week as the weeks have worn on. Last week saw a trip to Wales to thrash the mountainbike which saw a missed longer run but kept fun levels high and fitness possibly higher.

But yesterday saw a new form of motivation entirely. The marvelous girlfriend who is JogBlog wafted a book under my nose just as I was finishing the Telegraph Book Of Unpublished Letters but before I started the Telegraph Book of Obituaries (I love the absurd nature of a correspondent who takes the time to write something so abstruse just for the sake of personal entertainment but which is enjoyable to all, alongside an occasional write-up on a war veteran who undoubtedly carried out his service with unbelievable enthusiasm, often having been captured, escaped, been injured, recovered only to get captured again before settling down to a life as head gardener of a nursery. Or the simply unbelievable obit of the man who almost single-handedly perfected the lobotomy process, having been offered “troublesome children” by the aristocracy to quieten them down to avoid embarrassment at social functions for practice. I can read them forever, it seems). Not sure if I’d like it (but having trudged on through one “classic” title in the recent past, only to give up at page 273 having decided I’d given it enough chance to warm up by then if it was going to – if you haven’t read “On The Road” by Jack Kerouac, don’t. It’s impenetrable shit. And that’s coming from the author of this blog, so it must be really, really bad by my reckoning. There, that’s a review for you!), I gave it a go by skipping the introduction. After about two paragraphs I decided it was good. After the first chapter I was hooked. The style and passion in the writing and the content are superb – I can honestly say I love it. And it’s the direct reason for today’s run.

“Feet in the Clouds” by Richard Askwith. It’s an old book but has aged superbly. About fell running, basically, and while a certain paper once wrote (completely wrongly, I might add) about a fellow runner’s blog that it “Simply made you want to tie up a pair of laces and go running”, I’ll repeat the quote about the book with the assurance that it indeed does make you want to get up, get out and get amongst it. Tales of endurance, adversity, ridiculous accomplishments, camaraderie, mishap, recklessness…superb reading.

There are no fells near Ashford. The hills I run around between Hawkinge (aka the shittest place in the universe) and Folkestone are steep but short and will be thrashed off-road before long again. But are also 15 miles away. The Greensand Way is flat but at least off-road and goes past my front gate. I decided to run 7 miles today, slowly and off-road, in the style of an out and back. The decision was entirely attributable to the book. I even turned my ankle around the 2.5 mile mark in a track made rough by countless horseshoes. The discomfort was deemed mild in fell-runner’s law because there were no bones or claret visible so I continued to run away from home without breaking stride. It hurts a bit now, but not enough interfere with anything in life beyond being something to comment about.

I think I particularly love the attitude of the athletes to injury, following my ability to hurt myself in everything I do (incidentally, I didn’t even fall off the bike in Wales. Following my broken ribs last year I think I either took it a lot easier, practiced a bit more or had better luck. Superb fun). I now have confirmation that there are lots of others out there who will finish a race on broken limbs, who will run on through torn ligaments and who thrive on finding a way around injury. I think I have a new calling.

Until the novelty wears off, at least. And I hope it does wear off. Travelling to find fells to practice on and then race around might be beyond my wallet or diary. But until then I’ll carry on reading. And being inspired. And hopefully carry on enjoying my runs and staying fit through the year.

Fastest mile of the month was a 6.06. Fastest overall run the Maidstone parkrun at (what felt gentle, honest.) 6.45/mile average (well it’s a run, not a race apparently, I just loved the scenery what with it being along the banks of the river Medway and got a little carried away running and chatting to a couple of experienced parkrunners in their 50 and 100 run tops – before I knew it the run was over). Not going to break any records at that pace but it makes the 7 minute pace that much more enjoyable and the month average pace of 7.22 for all runs is equally encouraging. A few more miles alongside a few more longer runs and I might get race fit before Christmas.

Slacking…

Yep, that’s me.

Since Janathon ended I’ve rested my niggles and think I’m almost un-injured. I have a sore left knee and upper shin still, a result of the scaffold board rolling onto my leg, but all else is just about clear. The end of the day sees my right foot hurting but no more than after the 5 miles I ran last Saturday.

Truth is, I’ve been meaning to go out twice this week and simply haven’t been able to convince myself to go. My will is currently my weakest bit…the Saturday outing was fun, fast and enjoyable. The thought of a cold outing after work isn’t doing it for me so I haven’t been.

Weights in the conservatory three times a week has been enough, I’m afraid, and the opportunity to catch up on house bits (garden, joinery and bits) has been great.

Holiday next week and I have an 8 mile running commute booked in around my bike MOT. Hopefully things will kick-start from there.

Garmin almost made it! Janathone done. Yay!

I wasn’t sure how to end Janathon. Having done over 6 miles everyday through wind, rain, cold, relative warmth (I wore shorts and a short-sleeved top Thursday of the first week!), snow and just normal January weather, the day was average. Having done the majority of the runs on the hills around Paddlesworth a flat outing seemed a sad end. Having achieved my goals and having moved the goal posts twice (from 186 to 192 to 200 miles), upping my mileage to gain a leaderboard place seemed pointless.

So having had a bad day (read busy as hell without time to think of a run let alone doing one) I realised time had gone and the best I could do from work was a quick 1.6 mile out and back to improve the evening and leave a shorter run. So that’s how I started.

And nearly finished, to be fair. All my aches and pains felt horrible and such a short outing didn’t really give them a chance to warm up and dull down.

But once home I changed and got ready to go. Until I noticed my Garmin had died. I charged it last night so knew the battery was fine but I had a grey screen with very weak, faded numbers and no functions coming up. I popped the charger on and it showed 88% battery but changed the time to 10.58. Removing the charger it went blank, started up then froze into the grey screen again. Emergency measures called for Cathy’s Garmin to be borrowed. And it was.

A loop of Knight’s Park and Park Farm made for the shortest day of the month but enough to see me comfortably over 200 miles. Challenge over. The odd bit is the Garmin still playing up (I have no map data of the Hawkinge outing, just time and distance so something was wrong as I used it there - I know how long it was and have proof from the piss-taking from a groundworker about how slow can a mile be. I didn’t explain that I’d run one and a half. I’ll accept his ridicule in the hope he comes for a jog one day.) I’ve got the data off it (what was on there) and have done a soft reset which works for a minute, allowing all functions to be explored, but after 5 minutes or so it locks and touching the buttons makes it go grey and dull again. Think it’s time to send it back to Garmin for a check. Is this a first to exhaust a Garmin thrugh the month? Will an easy week rejuvenate it, I wonder, as I hope it will me?

So back to normality. It’ll be nice to just run again soon. I’m going to rest my damaged bits (currently standing at right heel, right foot bridge, left knee outer, left knee inner, left thigh, left little toe – I let the nail grow a bit too long) for a while before starting again. Not having a Garmin will be nice in a way, depending on how long it’ll take to sort. I’ve got some joint relief  product I’m going to test and review – hopefully the battered state of my body is an ideal battleground to see if anything can cure me! If it’s any good I’ll be out and about next week.

The house needs time as well as running and blogging, least of all to repair the damage from the tree. Work needs full focus. Mountainbiking needs more attention and practice ready for Wales in April. The garden will start growing in earnest and the greenhouse will need filling up. But I also need (yep, need. Not want. Need.) to produce a sub 18 minute 5k, a sub 40 minute 10k race time and be comfortable in myself by putting on some upper body weight.

I think I need a miracle.

But 200 miles in a month. I’d never have thought it. Thank you, fragile body. Back soon.

Sleepless and damaged but Janathon goes on.

Sleepless – me. Damaged – the house. Janathon – the constant to allow perspective.

Last year I had a Janathon hiccup when a blog post was a day late when mum died. I’d been for a run before going home and was half way through dinner, completely oblivious to any ill health even, when a 125mph drive to try to get to see her proved fruitless. I know everyone reacts differently in what are on the whole similar circumstances. One of my reactions was to continue Janathon, to chase my goal, to keep running and while I did so I had plenty of time to collect my thoughts and reflect on life. Many people wondered how odd my behaviour seemed. In hindsight I can relate to their wonder but it’s simply how I coped. It wasn’t planned.

This year, having had a couple of injuries but also having ploughed in some consistent miles, my initial target was passed. Then, while brushing my teeth, I heard a similar noise to JogBlog. She thought the initial sound was the mice/rats/squirrels we have in the roof doing some hardcore gnawing. They’re odd buggers and can make a din. I thought the wind had picked up enough to dislodge some mortar from the ridge tiles (we live in a 1750 converted bakery). A couple more brush strokes and I instinctively ducked, wondering what the increase in noise was and whether I was about to be joined in the bathroom by the chimney that adjoins it. JB thought the mice had turned to dogs and had gone wild – that or the mice had eaten something structural and something was about to fall on her. With a final crescendo of sound, I put my brush down and came out of the bathroom to meet her on the landing, both of us bemused. A little scared at what I might find, I must admit, I put a shirt and jeans on and went outside to see what had occurred. And, believe it or not, I was relieved to see the chimney still there. Less happy as I went around the porch though and saw the Ash tree leaning on the house, branches having removed roof tiles and brushed the window (without breaking it…miraculous!). To be fair, Cathy was a bit shocked. Seeing the weight of the tree had landed about 4 feet above her head, she had every right to be. Don’t tell her, though.

I’ll bet the inhabitants of the roof were as scared as us. Certainly put the wind up the cat.

The worst bit was not knowing if it had done structural damage and not being able to see. So we decided to leave the upstairs to itself and decamp to the conservatory as far from the tree as possible. Onto my futon which is a superb place to sleep unless it hammering with wind and blowing a gale and you’ve already lost half the house just when you wanted to switch off and relax. A good nights sleep it certainly wasn’t. Prospects of a fruitful Janathon appeared scuppered.

Come this morning, though, and a damage assessment, things looked better. A call to my regular tree surgeon found him able to come away from the trees he was removing and sort me out. Three hours of skilled removal saw the roof/tree interface concluded with a no score draw. The tree had somehow survived with a massively reduced rootball – it had simply leant over out of the ground – no damage to the fence it was alongside, the drain it borders or the water pipe that runs alongside. Very lucky. Indeed.

Which lead to a reduced day and Janathon to squeeze in.

Tempted to say forget it, I popped out for a singular mile for milk while awaiting the boys. Then waited until I got home to run depending on energy/guilt levels. And as far as my leg would allow following yesterday’s scaffold board interface, of course. Either 3.8 or 4.8, I felt. As it turned out, guilt kicked in and I wanted another 6 mile day, so 5 it was. Resulting again in 6.1 miles and a Janathon running total of 195.84 miles.

So…will I do 4.16 tomorrow? Or anoher 6 to make all of the month 6 mile or more days?

I’ll wait and see. Fingers crossed we don’t have 10mm more rain. At least there aren’t any more trees to fall on the house.

Ah, the 80′s. So yesterday. Janathon 29.

Today has been spent inside a cloud.

Hawkinge (AKA village of doom, shittest place on earth, most depressing place to work ever. A couple were meant to look at one of the houses on the estate on Saturday. Not knowing the area they arrived an hour before the viewing to look around. Half an hour before they cancelled. They didn’t like it up there. Sensible people. It really is shit. Imagine, if you’ve never been to Hawkinge, putting your head inside a particularly fragrant, surprisingly loose cow’s arse. During bowel evacuation time. with another cow stood on your foot. It’s that shit.) has seen nothing but drifting water all day. The kind that makes you soaking wet in 30 seconds without any raindrops actually falling. Except that for most of the day rain has fallen, too. The grey material (mist? Nope – visibility less than 1000yards. Fog? Nope – no advection or any other vection present. I was quite vexed though. Just simply moisture droplets in cloud form scudding past at eye level and below) is the most depressing stuff ever. At least it was warmer.

Except that wasn’t much of a bonus. 15 minutes before I set off for the run I knocked a scaffold board off the pile I was walking past. Having just passed it, the board fell straight down onto my left outer rear knee bit, the sticky out bone on top of the calf. It hurt a surprising amount so I headed back to the office and got changed. But didn’t know what top to wear. A long sleeved running top was right for the heat. But I knew I’d get cold once soaked (around 8 seconds in) So I opted to overheat but stay dry in my fleece running top. Along with a rapidly stiffening knee, it wasn’t to be a promising run.

And exectations were lived up to. Uninspired, tired, left knee hurting on the inside as well on the newly hit bit, right heel playing up, right foot bridge making me roll my foot oddly. I wish Janathon was over.

Except around 2 miles in when I realised I was past my target 186 miles for the month. All done. Target acquired and executed. Tick (in a Justin Lee-Collins style). But 6.2 miles to the next target (10k a day). So on I plodded. No air punch involved.

Once back I changed and again reached for the computer to play some odd music. Today was a mix of Buzzcocks which inspired (don’t ask how my brain works) Fergal Sharkey’s A Good Heart. My god. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the video before. I wasn’t going to watch it today (I intended writing the diary with musical accompaniment) but couldn’t take my eyes off it. Are any 80′s cliches (musical, style, fashion, hair) not complete? Even the nasty moustache is fully represented. Shocking.

Then I realised I was out of the 80′s in mileage, too. Just inside 190 miles I now need fewer than 5 per day to reach 200, a mere mile per day to exceed 10k per day. My knee has stiffened enormously since I’ve been home but surely I can get out for at least a mile tomorrow?

Hopefully there isn’t that much of a sting in Janathon’s tail, is there? Maybe – when I got home, the rain gauge in the back garden is registering a mere 1mm for the day. Just 15 miles (as the crow flies) from site. Did I mention Hawkinge is shit?

Timing…Janathon day 28

Today, I have mostly been getting things just a little bit wrong.

A perfectly pleasant morning with sunshine and temperature that quickly rose to marvellous rapidly clouded over without me snatching the opportunity to head out for a jog. The clouds spurred me into action but around 2 miles from site I got drenched by the first shower to come from it.

Which also turned out to be the last.

The run turned out to be pleasant enough if a little quick (7.32 average for 5 miles) with 4 days of running still to do. Ah, well.

But then a busy afternoon made me forego a second trip out and made me accept I’d be home before I went. As I finished locking up it started tipping down with rain. With the promised high winds making it all but horizontal.

Trying to leave the house I was so intent on pulling the door through the gale that I left my foot in place a little too long. My painful foot.

Bah. Not too bad, thankfully, but it made me consider stupidity as I headed around the block in the downpour. The only good thing about the weather was that I decided that since I was drowned I might as well stay soaked for a while longer. It has turned out to be my second longest day of running in Janathon as well as being the quickest for overall pace.

Odd how things turn out. Fingers crossed I don’t wake up with a body so battered I can’t make 6 miles.

3 days to go. Hopefully my timing will improve to make a happy ending.

The same but different. An odd anniversary. Janathon day 27

Today marks one year since mum died. Bollocks.

With nothing properly arranged (Dad’s been ill this week so didn’t know if he’d want to meet up or not) until 9 this morning, I intended popping over to Chevening to see her headstone whatever else occurred and after a call to say he’d make it with us, the day was set.

I headed out for a jog to see how my legs were holding up and the answer wasn’t great but was far from a disaster. The change of shoes yesterday makes me think I’ve hung onto the Mizunos for a couple of miles too long. Again I wasn’t sure what distance to aim for so went straight for my 4.5 mile route. Around 1.5 miles in a saw what looked like a hi-vis caterpiller bobbing up the road ahead. It turned out to be a group of girls in varying styles of green, yellow, pink and black out for a morning jog. Passing them to a comment of “that’s how we’re supposed to be doing it” illicited a response of “far from it, I’m ruined” and my mind was set on the shorter of my interesting loops.

I simply headed home and massaged my legs attempting to ease my sore tendons and muscles to allow another short plod as recovery this afternoon.

And that’s how it worked. The odd thing being a target of 1.5 miles this afternoon topped up to 2.5 miles to round a loop out, making a better overall day than anticipated.

4 days running to go and if I manage 6 miles a day I’ll get to 200. My running graph on RunningFreeOnline looks metronomic – the same distance day in, day out. Thankfully I’ve only repeated the same route 4 times maximum and most routes have been unique which shows (if nothing else) that living and working near countryside and lanes is good for variety with consistent distance available with little effort. But the way my legs are responding, 200 is no certainty. Thigh pain was the order today along with tight ankles. I will bottom out what’s making me sore – probably as soon as I rest on Friday.

11mm of rain last night. Trail running will have to wait a while yet.

Short and bitter. Can it get any colder? Janathon the cold.

If this year has done anything for my resolve, I hope it’s to make me determined not to sign up next year. At least not to running everyday. Maybe internal activities with the occasional venture outside if it’s suitably clement. The only problem is, that’s pretty much like the rest of my year.

I don’t think I can take much more coldness. Hopefully it’ll warm up tomorrow. I haven’t warmed up in the slightest all day. My site is in Hawkinge. 3 degrees colder than Folkestone below it, we still have 4 inches of snow covering everything while Folkestone (2 miles away) hasn’t a drop left. It didn’t warm above -2 degrees all day. Spending a day there is the most uninspired I’ve been in 25 years at work. I don’t think I’ll warm up all weekend, if I’m honest.

My runs today were horrible, unsatisfying affairs but at least I’ve maintained my 6 a day target. Legs are now throbbing, toes hurt with cold, two toenails have delaminated today (I guess in the cold) and I’ll see if they survive until things warm up along with my toes being bright crimson with broken capillaries. My foot still hurts but it’s again no worse. My heel is playing up worse again but I’ll try to sort that before bed. My knee seems to have eased right off. Or maybe it’s frozen.

Not a happy Janathoner but the last weekend of January last year was so much worse anything is an improvement.

Did someone say 6 days to go? Hoo fucking ray.

Shorter but longer? Could Janathon exist beyond science?

I awoke this morning with a painful foot. Which took so much of my early mental capacity that I wasn’t even thinking about my knee, heel, calf or anything much else. Just that Janathon was either to come to an early finish, was about to become more painful or else was to be the beneficiary of a miracle.

Over the course of breakfast I stretched it around a bit. While in the car (Radio Kent surprised me – the presenter asked for people to contact him with their favourite things about their town; Dover Castle, Kearsney Abbey, Cranbrook Windmill were cited as examples. I was impressed. They announced the appeal because of their noticing they were always downbeat. It was as though they’d read my grumble. Then they immediately went into an interview so downbeat I turned over to Radio 4 to listen to something less frustrating) I refreshed my love of cruise control as I massaged my foot whilst heading coastward at 67mph. While doing this I promised I’d try to be devious.

My last foot injury healed while doing my normal work. This site is smaller than that but I’m still doing an average of 6,000 steps a day (I love pedometers). If my feet will heal doing that, I reasoned, then maybe it’d be ok with a few short jogs thrown in to the mix over the course of the day.

When to go, I wondered. If I left it late I’d have more recovery time. But also less time to try and do a couple of jogs to increase mileage. If I went early I’d have time for more running but I might not be able to do any at all if proper pain stopped me moving (my gauge of pain being too bad is when I can no longer walk easily. Mile 25 of the London marathon having walked 16 miles after suffering a stress fracture at mile 11 is my ultimate definition. I’m not going to ever get that far again.) because I’d not left it long enough.

As things turned out, 10 o’clock tea came and went without being able to stop due to work commitments, 11 o’clock became the new 10 so I made a cup of tea and vowed I’d be back in time to drink it before it got cold.

I slipped out of my work hi-vis coat, my work fleece, my jumper and my work boots and changed into my running fleece (to cover my shirt and tie) and my trainers. And Garmin, of course.

I set off for Waterworks hill with no intention of getting there. I simply looped the top of the hills, ran along the nearest crest to site and turned around after 0.6 miles and headed back. No hills (I turned around before they get properly vertiginous), a gentle slope and a little used lane were my companions. And I felt ok. Not perfect – the foot was indeed grumbling a lot, but no worse than last night as I retired to bed. But good enough to let me think I could repeat the activity. And my tea was perfectly drinkable as I got into the office (no milk assisting the heat retention. I gave up milk at work about 10 years ago. It saves having to buy any on the way to the office as well as making it taste worse than at home thus making me look forward to home more. I live a sad life, it has been said.).

So after a late tea, lunch was also half an hour delayed. But before I stopped I again stripped, covered and changed before heading out on the same route. The early strides seemed if anything easier, so I extended the jog for another 0.1 of a mile (the hill becoming slopey but not steep still at this point). Upon return, this time I had 1.5 miles in the bag. Still little increase in discomfort.

3.30 saw another repeat. Another 1.5 miles this time. Same result.

And then work bit again and I didn’t get away from site until just before 6 so Mr. Cruise Control dictated slightly more mph on the way home to allow me to change from work shirt and tie to running top. But since I forgot to buy scones last night and fancied a stop in Tesco without stares at my stick legs in full running kit, I opted for Jeans. Decorating jeans complete with paint, mastic, glue, a stitch repair to the thigh where I cut them open on a fence a while back. And fleece top. I figured if I got there in one piece at least I’d fit in shopping. If I had to walk I’d look ok. While jogging I’d merely look like a thief. But at least I wouldn’t have to change when I got home.

So I set off for a 2 mile loop to the shop (itself less than half a mile away). Legs felt tired; foot felt sore but, I figured, no worse than in the morning. My pace was slow but in jeans, why wouldn’t it be so?

But it was another 2 miles run. And now I’m home with a throbbing but better than yesterday appendage.

So yes, 4 short runs. And a day total longer than yesterday. The biggest hiccup in many ways was leaving the Garmin recording cycling from my trip to the shop last night and having to edit the download to running activity. If that’s as bad as things get there might be hope for 186 yet.

As it is I’VE MATCHED LAST YEAR FOR JANATHON MILEAGE!!! Yay.

And yay again. Whatever tomorrow brings, it’s a new experience. As well as the Last Janathon Friday of 2013. And thank anything for that!

Seriously worried about even finishing Janathon 2013 now…

My after run music (I might even make it a routine to listen to a bit as I cool off if I continue to run late in the afternoon and have an empty site when I return) tonight was a quick bit of The Vapors followed by a singular Blondie, wrapped up by about half an hour of The Ramones. No sedation needed.

My before run day consisted of lots of doubt regarding my battered legs. My right heel/ankle is better. Not as swollen, not too tender, it only played up at all during the day when it got properly cold so worry there is reducing. Which is lucky because my left leg is all over the place. The left knee now has a consistent sharp, stabbing pain directly under the kneecap which makes stairs a trouble as well as occasionally causing a wince as I sit at the computer. The best part of the day for it was setting out the manholes this morning when I set up a drawing area and repeatedly rolled up a trouser and knelt in the snow while checking dimensions (the ones I calculated last night). It remained painful but was, worryingly, joined increasingly over the course of the day by a sharp pain in the left calf right at the top where it disappears into the soft bit behing the knee. Stretching, massage – neither of these has any effect.

Starting the run I doubted I’d get a mile. At half a mile I was happy I’d at least got in a Janathon run. The cold water running down the lane again caused calf discomfort and immediately soaked through my trainers but at least everything else felt warmer and less painful. Plodding on I tried a new route, enjoyed leaping around instead of simply running true as I dodged icy patches and slush puddles (as all lanes, my ones are massively potholed, cambered and in a disgraceful state) and amazed myself to see 1.5 miles on the Garmin before I’d had another chance to check how bad I felt.

And as usual once warmed, I felt better. So I carried on out to my usual turnaround point, did a far-away loop (to increase the mileage a bit), ran for home and then did a little loop again when I was right by the car so I could collapse and at least get home rapidly.

It wasn’t needed.

What has now gone wrong, though, is that my knee pain (front and rear) has been beaten into second place by serious hurt right across the top of my right foot. As though I’ve dropped something onto it. But because it’s just bones, there doesn’t seem anything I can do to relieve the pain. I’m trying a stretchy bandage which has provided immediate relief so hopefully it’ll be better come the morning.

Fingers crossed or I might not yet make last year’s total…nah, come off it, last year I totalled 156 miles. I’ve got 150 now. I’ll just get out each day no matter how rotten things turn and do it. 186 might be beyond me if things don’t improve, though. It feels at last (I have, after all, been expecting things to go wrong!) as though proper risk of injury is on the horizon and I simply don’t want to be limping around. As soon as the snow’s gone and Janathon is over, I’ve got mountainbiking to improve and windows to finish as well as speed to recover.

What will the morning bring? Fingers crossed it’s not more pain.