Shamed Into Blogging

January 19, 2015 Comments: 12

The Running Goth has outed me at least three times in different places over the last couple of days for slacking, so before she finds anywhere else to shame me,  here’s an update.

On looking at my Running Free Online calendar, it’s not as bad as I thought. Okay, so the blogging perhaps maybe kind of a little titchy tiny bit slightly got a tad slack but I have sort of done some exercise. Look.

rfo-19Jan I think the 10 minutes last Monday must have been some kettlebells, the 4 miles on Wednesday was, in fact, a 6 mile walk in the countryside (my Garmin doesn’t like pausing too often and when it does it robs me of my mileage. Stupid Garmin). This countryside, to be specific.

countryside

The bike ride on Friday was cycling to the station before I went pizza-making with Helsbels where we put in further Janathon effort by kneading the dough for our pizzas. It counts. Shut up.

waitrose-pizza

The bike ride on Saturday was me cycling home after the pizza-making class, after midnight.

Okay, so I was slack last week – I admit it and I did annoy myself by being so slack but after such a promising start to Janathon where I had an immense amount of energy, that energy just seemed to disappear last week.

I promise to do better this week.

PBs And The Gods Of Sloth

January 10, 2015 Comments: 6

The Gods of Sloth were looking down on me last night as I was searching for a reason to drink wine. I knew drinking wine would prevent me from getting up early enough to go to my local parkrun but I really fancied some. It didn’t take long for me to find a reason – two reasons, in fact. The first was when I saw the weather forecast predicted 25mph winds and the second – which had me opening that bottle of wine faster than you can say ‘corkscrew’ – was when I saw parkrun had teamed up with a charity that tests on animals. Bad parkrun, bad bad bad!

Still, Janathon doesn’t care about windspeed or any other reasons for not running so I decided to do a parkrun distance on the treadmill at the gym and I must have ran like the wind because I GOT A MUTHAFUCKING PARKRUN PB, WAHOO! Okay, so I didn’t actually get a parkrun PB what with it not being done at an actual parkrun and it probably wasn’t accurate what with it being on a treadmill, but it’s the fastest I’ve run in at least five years and so I’m keeping that wahoo. It’s mine – all mine.

Oh, and in case you think I’ve been slacking the last few days – I haven’t. I’ve just been slack with the blogging but I’ve been gymming and body pumping and cycling and spinning and stuff and if you don’t believe me, here’s my calendar on Running Free Online.

Slacker? Me? Nope.

Slacker? Me? Nope.

Getting Fit With Best LDN Walks

January 7, 2015 No comments

A little while before Christmas, the Joe Blogs Blogger Network invited me to attend a tech walk in conjunction with Currys and Best LDN Walks. This involved being given a gadget, so obviously I was on that train to London quicker than you can say ‘HS1′.

I met up with Helen, who had also been invited (you can read her post about it here), and we headed over to  Green Park to join the rest of the bloggers who were taking part in the walk that day. On our arrival, we were handed our gadgets – a Jawbone UP for me (they originally gave me a Fitbit but as I already have one I asked if I could have something else and they kindly obliged), a Garmin Vivofit for Helen and various other techy things for the others. The purpose of us being given these was so we could track our steps while we were shopping to see how many calories we’d burned off during our afternoon’s mooching.

Charbonnel et Walker

Where Her Maj buys her chocs

After my initial embarrassment at being paraded like a tourist around the town I’ve called ‘home’ for the past 45 years, I relaxed and enjoyed the walk. Our guide was excellent – friendly, entertaining and informative. She led us through the streets of Mayfair and Piccadilly, visiting the finest independent shops, including Charbonnel et Walker, where the Queen buys her favourite violet cremes; James J Fox, who sold cigars to Winston Churchill; and the charming Berry Brothers and Rudd, the fine wine and spirits merchants who supplied the Titanic (maybe the captain was drunk and that’s why it sunk? If so, they kept that bit of information quiet).

James J Fox

Winston Churchill liked a puff in here

Halfway through our walk, we had a break in a pub for some warming mulled wine and a chance to check our gadgets to see how far we’d walked and I was surprised to see I’d stacked up a couple of thousand already.

Suppliers of alcohol to the Titanic. They overdid it on the ice

Suppliers of alcohol to the Titanic. They overdid it on the ice

For a fun way to burn off some calories and to help reach your daily step target, I’d definitely recommend going on one of the Best LDN Walks. They’re offering some of their walks at a bargain £1 at the moment – including a Haunted Pub Tour, which is definitely up my street.

Thanks to all involved for a great day out.

 

Workout To The Beet

January 6, 2015 Comments: 5

Did you watch Food Unwrapped last night? The girl with the bad hair (okay, so I’m not going to be offered a part in a Timotei advert any time soon, but I wish she’d sort that bale of hay on top of her head out; it’s worse than that restaurant critic woman on Masterchef’s hair) checked out the benefits of beetroot by checking out the muscles on some rugby types and also by having her stamina checked on a stationary bike – once with having beetroot before and once without. The results showed she had far more energy after having the beetroot and so I put it to my own scientific test this morning by having some beetroot juice (I would have gone for the checking-out- the-muscley-rugby-types method but, alas, we were all out of those and, to be honest, rugby players just don’t do it for me anyway).

No, it's not vodka and cranberry juice.

No, it’s not vodka and cranberry juice.

This juice is made of 2 apples, 1 beetroot, 2 carrots, 3 celery sticks, 1/2 a cucumber and 1″ ginger and it really energised me. It energised me so much I lifted heavier weights while doing body pump this morning, despite me not having done any strength-training for weeks, if not months (if you don’t count the 20 minutes of kettlebells I did the other day).

Beetroot works!

Let’s Talk About Pants, Baby

January 5, 2015 Comments: 11

This morning, I spent far too long trying to remember if I usually get a wedgie when I’m running or at the gym. Then I thought, ha, yes, I distinctly remember standing on a treadmill hoping no one could see me picking my knickers out of my bum. Whether or not this was a common occurrence, I couldn’t remember but, seeing as I haven’t been banned from the gym because of complaints about constant unwedgieing, I reckoned this probably wasn’t on the list of runner’s ailments such as, say, black toenails or that foot injury no one knows how to pronounce.

Still, there was a reason for my wedgie wondering and that was because I’d been sent a pair of pants known as Edgies.  They work on the premise of ‘Don’t get a wedgie with an Edgie’ (which isn’t actually their slogan but it certainly should be and if it appears on their website, remember where you heard it first and let me know so I can send them an invoice).

Edgie no wedgie pants

Look, Ma – no wedgie!

They work by having silicone banding round the edge of the legs. My first thought was I DON’T WANT TO WEAR RUBBER PANTS. I AM NEITHER A) INCONTINENT; NOR B) A GIMP but once on, you don’t feel them at all. In fact, Edgies are beautifully light and comfy.

You too can have a rubber band in your pants

You too can have a rubber band in your pants

We all know you don’t get clothes that are targeted towards *ahem* sportspeople without the word ‘wicking’ or ‘breathable’ appearing somewhere and the blurb for the Edgies was no different. I’d never thought about breathable pants before and not only because the phrase ‘wicker knickers’ sounds itchy but now I’ve tried these and without wanting to go into too much detail, after my run, I was perfectly fresh and dry ‘down there’ and I want to buy some more as I don’t want to go back to running in cotton knickers now. And yes, I know you’re wondering, and the answer is no, I didn’t get a wedgie. Thank you for asking.

Edgies come in a range of styles, which you can have a look at on their website.

Janathon stats

Pants in the post: 1
Wedgies: 0

Oh yeah, I ran 3.1 miles.

Sgt FitFlo’s Going To Help Me

January 4, 2015 Comments: 6
Don't be deceived by the lack of mouth. Sgt FitFlo can ROAR.

Don’t be deceived by the lack of mouth. Sgt FitFlo can ROAR.

FitFlo called me a slacker on my blog yesterday. She said – and I quote – ‘Slacker – get out and do some running!’ Well, I never knew she had it in her to be so Sergeant Majorish, so I did what I was told and this morning I went to the gym and along with 20 minutes on the rowing machine and 20 minutes on the cross-trainer, I did 15 minutes on the treadmill, listening to Audiofuel’s Thru The Gears. If you haven’t got Thru The Gears – get it. It’s fabulous and free and has plinky plonky pianos and at the finish it speeds up and WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH – there’s engines and guitars a-blazing – you’re full of adrenaline and you get to the end and think HELL YEAH! and if you weren’t in the gym, you’d be lying back, lighting up a cigarette and/or turning over and going back to sleep.

You can download it here.

At least FitFlo outing me for being a slacker reminded me of this song, which is one of my all time favourites.

Love it.

 

Making The Most Of What You’ve Got

January 3, 2015 Comments: 3

Okay, I admit it – I was a *bit* of a slacker yesterday. And to be honest, today wasn’t holding up to be much better at first. I didn’t have the energy to run but I still fancied a walk in some fields – especially as the postman brought me a bright red bodywarmer and I could have looked like a proper countryside person and everything – but the weather was, as I believe the official term is, minging.

But, I couldn’t slack off two days in a row, could I? No. So I peeked into the conservatory where Shaun’s been making new worktops for the kitchen (despite me pleading for shiny black sparkles, he’s making them himself out of wood) to see if there was enough room for me and there was about two foot of spare rug, so I reckoned I could do a bit of a kettlebell workout without too much danger as long as I avoided tripping up on that sticky-out-bit of wood (which I did. Thank you for your concern).

2015-01-03 15.51.35

I used the 10 Minute Solution – Kettlebell Ultimate Fat Burner DVD which – strangely – doesn’t actually contain any kettlebell exercises but dumbbell ones instead. You can use kettlebells for the exercises but I don’t think you’d be very comfy. Still, if you have dumbbells, they’re good workouts.

I did twenty minutes and I promise I’ll do better tomorrow.

2015-01-03 16.13.32

At least I haven’t tried to make out reading a book about sport is actually a sport.

 

I’ve invented a new exercise (again)

January 3, 2015 Comments: 3

Oh dear. After seeing Rachel’s photos on Facebook of a walk she did in the countryside (I cleverly detected it wasn’t in her home town of Shepherd’s Bush and she admitted it was ‘oop north. Well, Midlands, anyway’), I was inspired to go out for my own walk in the countryside, especially as I only have to cross the road to do this and not travel a hundred miles.

So, what I had planned was this.

The hills are alive with the sounds of a smiley sun face

The hills are alive with the sounds of a smiley sun face

What actually happened though was this.

The hills are alive with the sound of snoring

The hills are alive with the sound of snoring

And when I re-emerged, it was dark and time for dinner and Eastenders and then I went to bed. But then I felt guilty so I invented the Bed Sit Up.

Janathon Day 2 

Walks in the countryside by Rachel: 1
Walks in the countryside by me: 0
Eastenders: 1
Bed sit ups: 2

Janathon Penguin Prance Dressing Gown Dash Video Challenge

January 1, 2015 Comments: 8

You know I mentioned in the last Janathon newsletter that I was going to set up a Dressing Gown Dash Video Challenge? (If you didn’t receive the newsletter or you’re not taking part in Janathon [eh? why? whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?], you can read it here.) Well, seeing as on the very first ever Janathon my *ahem* effort was to run round the garden in my dressing gown, it seemed appropriate that I kick off Janathon’s 5th birthday in the same way but with slightly more elegance, sophistication and finesse.

So I did it in my penguin onesie.

Here’s the introduction:

And here’s the run.

Now it’s your turn. I want to see videos of you in your onesies/pyjamas/dressing gowns/anything except ‘normal’ running gear running round your garden/park/front room. I’ll post all the videos on here at the end of Janathon and the public can vote for their favourite and I’ll sort out a prize for the winner.

I can’t wait to see your videos!

You Can’t See Tits On The Radio

December 31, 2014 1 comment

Fellow Janathoner, Millie – who blogs at Run For The Quiet – asked me if I wanted to talk about Janathon on her Preston FM radio show. Last year, I managed to weasel out of this by claiming to have a sore throat (actually, I did have a sore throat and was gutted I couldn’t do it), so Deputy Helen stood in for me and you can hear the fine job she did here.

This morning, however, I checked I didn’t have a sore throat by speaking to the cat and all vocal chords seemed intact so I had a shower and mooched about in my dressing gown until I decided that, although no one would know what I was or wasn’t wearing, I wanted to look presentable for my radio interview debut and put some clothes on.

Despite a bit of an awkward start when the line was crackly and I couldn’t hear what Millie was saying, the interview went well. I managed not to swear (I almost said ‘arsed’, as in: ‘if you can’t be arsed to blog’) or take the piss out of anyone and I also squeezed in a reference to bar push-ups and dressing gown dashes.

Anyway, you can hear the interview in all my dulcet-Essex-toned glory below.

Millie spoke to Cathy about Janathon by Geek On Radio on Mixcloud

Thanks Millie, for inviting me onto your show.

If you haven’t signed up for Janathon yet, sign up now at www.janathon.com and if you need more reasons to sign up, we’re offering prizes from New Balance, Helly Hansen, Audiofuel and more and if you need further persuasion, read Deputy Helen’s post about how Janathoners have more fun.

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