Janathon Day 31 - The final day!

Today I ran the Lancaster Flood Relief 10K road race.  It was slightly ironic that the race was raising money for the locals who had lost everything in the severe December floods and it was raining - AGAIN!

Anyhow I ran with a friend who had never run 10K before, so I was keeping with her at her pace so for me it was an enjoyable gentle run!

You can read how we got on in my race reports here.

This afternoon I braved the rain for a second time and walked 3.73 miles.

So I have 6.19 running miles and 3.73 walking miles to add to my Janathon totals.

Total Janathon Running miles:  86.76
Total Janathan Walking miles:   37.86
Total Janathan Cycling miles:      Zero 
Total Janathon Swimming miles:   9.66

TOTAL JANATHON MILEAGE: 134.28

So that is Janathon finished for another year! 

PHEW! 

I made it!

Janathon - Day 29 and 30.

 I can only offer a paltry 1.5 walking miles for yesterday as I went out for drinks with work straight from work at 4pm ... and somehow stayed out until after midnight!

Consequently I have suffered somewhat today!

I was supposed to be swimming in Windermere this morning at 10.30am and I won't pretend to be disappointed when my swimming friend text me to say the lake was too choppy and we should cancel!  In my eyes the lake must have been horrendous as he NEVER says it's choppy even when I say it is!

Since I was already up I decided to go for a walk to try and clear the head instead.  It was dry but horrendously windy!  I did 2.9 miles.

After lolling around for a few hours I needed a little more fresh air and went out again ... this time for 3.98 miles.

So altogether I managed 6.88 miles - with a severe hangover!

Not bad going really!

Tomorrow I am running Lancaster Flood Relief 10K with one of my Ladies from my running club. She started running with us in October and this will be her first 10K.  She has come from couch to 10K in 18 weeks which is fab and I have promised to run with her at her pace.

I'm quite looking forward to running a race with no pressure on me to get a PB - I will be just enjoying the run and encouraging others!

Considering how dire my body feels after over-indulging last night I am really pleased that I don't have to run well tomorrow - as I wouldn't!


Total Janathon Running miles:  80.57
Total Janathan Walking miles:   34.13
Total Janathan Cycling miles:      Zero 
Total Janathon Swimming miles:   9.66

TOTAL JANATHON MILEAGE: 124.36

Janathon Day 28 - Another wet one!

It's been another wet and windy day, I have come to expect nothing less!

I had planned to meet a friend for a trail run but we decided because it was dark AND soooo wet and soooo windy we would be wiser to stay safe on firm ground and ran the streets instead!

Despite the weather I actually enjoyed it.  I can't say we put a lot of effort in as we were too busy talking but nonetheless we did 3.81 miles at an average 9.38 minute mile pace.

Total Janathon Running miles:  80.57
Total Janathan Walking miles:   25.75
Total Janathan Cycling miles:      Zero 
Total Janathon Swimming miles:   9.66

TOTAL JANATHON MILEAGE: 115.98

Day 27 - Another swim!

Thankfully by lunchtime today the rain had finally decided to stop so I didn't need to order my Ark!

Tonight I went swimming again but this time with the Tri Club.

The aim of the session was to swim at CSS over distance.

CSS is Critical Swim Speed and is apparently the speed you should train at to increase speed.

MY CSS is 2 minutes 18 seconds for 100 metres.

Tonight I swam 2225 Metres (1.38 miles) at an average 8 minutes 21 seconds for 100 metres so not too far off the mark! 

Total Janathon Running miles:  76.76

Total Janathan Walking miles:   25.75

Total Janathan Cycling miles:      Zero 

Total Janathon Swimming miles:   9.66

TOTAL JANATHON MILEAGE: 112.17

Positive thought for the day: I managed to get through the day without losing it totally!

Janathon Day 26: Floods, Floods and more Floods!

When oh when is this weather going to give us a break here in Cumbria! Instead of deep white snow and crisp cold air we expereinced last week we've now got rain, gales and flooding -again!

It is unbelievable - Bring back proper winter weather!!
I dare say by the time May comes we will all be facing hosepipe bans due to drought!

Due to the horrendous weather and flooded roads I decided to take the safer option of going to the pool for a swim.

I expected it to be packed out but Thankfully it wasn't too busy and for once everyone in my "slow" lane were going at around my pace so there was none of the usual lane rage!

I decided to do what I did last week and swim for an hour to see how far I got!

I swam for 59 minutes 48 seconds and did 2500 metres (1.55 miles) in total. This is 50 metres more than I managed in the same time last week!

I did my first set consisting of 1700 metres (1.05 miles) in 39 minutes 31 seconds. 

I am going use this as my benchmark to see whether I improve over the coming weeks!!

Total Janathon Running miles:  76.76

Total Janathan Walking miles:   25.75

Total Janathan Cycling miles:      Zero 

Total Janathon Swimming miles:   8.28

TOTAL JANATHON MILEAGE: 110.79

Positive thought for the day: We have been fortunate enough to escape the floods in our house!

Janathon Day 25 - Club night!

Tonight is my running club night! After a bit of a wet day I wasn't really looking forward to having to endure 2 hours worth of cold wet stormy weather!  However someone must have been looking out for me as the rain stopped just before my first run at 6.30pm!

We had another successful evening with 12 Ladies at the Intermediate session and 15 Ladies at the beginners. We even had 3 new members register which brings our total for Kendal to 40! I can't believe how we have grown from zero to 40 in 4 months!

Our Intermediate Ladies did 4 miles of non-stop running and the beginners managed 3.59 miles which consisted of intervals of 5 minutes running and 1 minute walking.

So altogether I have 7.59 miles for my running miles!

Total Janathon Running miles:  76.76
Total Janathan Walking miles:   25.75
Total Janathan Cycling miles:      Zero 
Total Janathon Swimming miles:   6.73

TOTAL JANATHON MILEAGE: 109.24

Positive thought for the day: 40 Ladies are changing their life for the better because of me!

Janathon Day 24 - A dip in the lake!

Last night we went out for a meal and Cocktails with my Daughter as a belated Birthday Celebration.  I had far too much to eat and drink but this morning I still managed a very quick dip in the lake. 

It was a misty morning but the lake was relatively calm, just a few waves rippling around from the boats etc.

I find it truly amazing how the body reacts to cold water swimming.  On the way out to the buoy we were aiming for I felt quite comfortable and didn't find the water too cold bearing in mind I am totally covered sporting a wetsuit, socks, gloves and 2 hats. whereas David who I swim with goes in in just his trunks and a hat!!

Anyhow, after feeling fairly confident my energy was suddenly zapped and I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere on the way back! 

We only swam 280 metres.  It doesn't sound much but it's still 11 lengths of the pool plus a bit more!

I made it back to the jetty and the boathouse where we get changed and surprisingly I am still not shivering once I get out!

Only 14 weeks to go until I can say I am an all-year round Open Water Swimmer! I WILL do it!

I have recently found a website that feeds my geeky side!  

It tells you the water temperature etc in Windermere! 

Now I can compare my good swims and bad swims and see if there is a common denominator causing me issues!

Lake Temperature

Air Temperature

Wind Speed MPH

This afternoon we went for a walk with the dog but had to take a detour as we found yet another bridge in Kendal that is closed due to structural damage caused by the December floods.  If Cumbria County Council don't get on it soon and start mending some bridges we will be stranded on one side of the river or the other as there will be no safe bridges!

So I have 3.44 walking miles and 0.17 swimming miles to add to my Janathon totals.

Total Janathon Running miles:  69.17
Total Janathan Walking miles:   25.75
Total Janathan Cycling miles:      Zero 
Total Janathon Swimming miles:   6.73

TOTAL JANATHON MILEAGE: 101.65

Positive thought for the day: I can accomplish anything I set my mind to!