Author: jogblog

The one where I discover how unfit I really am

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My gym is only .25 miles away. I’ve run it a couple of times and it usually takes me about two minutes and thirty seconds. Today though, it took three minutes. That’s 30 seconds slower. That is appalling. I know I’m not a speedy runner, never have been, but surely I can run .25 of a mile in under three minutes?

I had planned to go on the treadmill but as today obviously wasn’t going to be a good running day, changed my mind and, after I’d been on the rowing machine and the cross-trainer, went on the mind-numbingly boring stationary bike, which was made un-mind-numbingly boring by pedalling along to Audiofuel’s Martin Yelling Interval Session. Yep, Audiofuel is so good it makes stationary cycling fun (even if it is designed for running).

Well, that’s the first week of Juneathon over – well done everyone for your achievements so far – how are you all getting on?

Stats
Running: .5 miles / 6.08 minutes
Rowing machine: 20 minutes
Cross-trainer: 20 minutes
Stationary bike: 20 minutes
Juneathons completed: 7/7 (sort of, with a bit of creativity on the first day) 

Home body pump

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The good thing about doing body pump at home is you can skip the bits you don’t like. In my case, that’s the lying down bits, the abs bits and the stretching bits (and, no, that’s not all of it, shut up).

The bad thing about doing body pump at home is you have the instructor on the screen doing the same cheesy facial expressions and using the same cheesy phrases each time you use it.

Still, home body pump is almost as good as doing it in a real live class and I must have put some effort in, as my arms, legs and abs are now aching.

body-pump-screenshot

I also accidentally went for a ten mile bike ride. After cycling the long way round to the farm shop (2.5 miles), as it was such a beautiful (albeit windy) day, I decided to carry on.

p.s. I’ve seen some slacking going on the last couple of days, so can I remind you all: SLACKING IS NOT AN OPTION.

Thank you.

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Yesterday the delivery man brought me some new shoes.

puma-faas-500-v2

They’re Puma Faas 500 v2 and the other pair of Puma I’ve got are bright pink, so I was pleased with these ones not being pink and making me look like I’m training for a Race for Life, but I’m now worried, what with the turquoise bit, people will mistake me for David Icke. Or maybe a Native American. But, most likely, people will just think ‘ooh, nice shoes’.

These shoes are comfy. One thing I like most about them is the wide toebox; a lot of shoes are too narrow for me and give me blisters even on the shortest of runs. I was impressed with these and as my current shoes are just about ready to be recycled, I reckon these will be taking their place.

Another thing that powered me through my run today was the Audiofuel Juneathon 2010 mix. It’s a fantastic 25 minute mix that Sean at Audiofuel made for the 2010 Juneathon participants and you can download it for free here.

Win the chance to train with Jo Whiley!

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jo-whiley-running-partnerBupa are offering the chance to be Jo Whiley’s training partner for the world’s largest half marathon. Read below for more information.

Jo Whiley is looking to recruit a running partner as she prepares to tackle the Bupa Great North Run. One lucky member of the public will win then chance to be her training buddy and help keep her motivated as she faces her biggest ever physical challenge. The famous broadcaster will be joining 56,000 runners for the world’s largest half marathon on Sunday 15th September.

The duo will become training partners and receive expert guidance from Bupa’s team of sports medicine experts along the way. Jo will be paired up with one lucky winner via a competition on the Bupa Facebook page. The winner of the competition will attend two training sessions with Jo, receive regular contact from a Bupa sports medicine expert and will join her at the start line of the iconic 13.1 mile course.

The presenter has committed to running her first ever half marathon, in a bid to get fit and help her face her busy schedule. This forms part of Bupa’s My First Run campaign, which aims to inspire 2,000 people to take up running by offering free Bupa Great Run 5km places to first time runners.

Like Jo, you may be used to years of early starts but are still tempted by the snooze button instead of exercise. Alternatively, after a long day’s work if you are lured to the sofa rather than the treadmill then running experts advise that a training partner will help you get those trainers on and get running. Running with someone else makes it easier to get started and stay motivated.

Jo Whiley said: “Like a lot of people, my life is really busy with my many presenting commitments and running around after four kids. So, I find it difficult to motivate myself to get active and having someone to train with will help me stay focused. I appreciate the benefits of being fit and healthy and after some great advice from Bupa, all I need now is someone to help get me to the start line!”

To enter the competition visit the Bupa Running Facebook page and submit your reasons why you should be Jo’s running buddy before Sunday 16th June.

Don’t you know who I am?

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blank-face

Well, that was embarrassing. The woman on the gym reception usually waves me through without me having to show my card but this morning, she gave me a blank look. Then, eventually, recognition: ‘Oh, Cathy, yes, hello, go through.’ Has it really been that long since I was in the gym?

After watching a couple of people walk slowly on the treadmills, I was tempted to have my usual moan on here but instead, I will just say a ‘you are hardcore’ to the 7ft 70 stone man who was running on one.

Cowathon

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Stupid Juneathon.

Stupid stupid Juneathon.

That’s what I thought when I realised that I was going to have to do some exercise today, as Mondays are usually spent wishing I hadn’t had a bottle of wine the night before.

But, Juneathon can’t be ignored so I decided to go for a walk and take a photo of some cows.

cows

There was a baby cow in this field last week but I couldn’t see it today, so it must have been hiding or something (this is what I tell myself about all farm animals when I try and convince myself that they’re pets).

I was going to walk a mile but the sun was shining, so I extended it and walked a mile and a half.

Stupid Juneathon.

Oh, by the way. WordPress isn’t letting me comment on any blogs, including my own, but I am reading the blogs and enjoying them – keep up the good work!

Go-ID Personal Emergency ID Kit

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I used to have the Cram Alert ID, but that’s a subscription based ID and it expired aaaaaaaaaaaaages ago and I wasn’t going to renew it, especially as I could never do the stupid thing up. I looked at other IDs but didn’t get around to buying one, which means I go running ID-less.

Then I got the chance to try out Go-ID which lets you create your own ID online, then print it out in your own home.

When you buy your ID kit, you’ll be sent a metal fob that you can either affix to your running watch, or tie to your shoelace or hang on your zip or backpack. You’ll also get everything you need (except the printer) to print your label; the label (including extra labels in case you mess it up), the laminate to cover and protect it, velcro for affixing it to your watch and a silicon cover and metal hook for attaching it to your shoes or zip.

Sounds like a bit of a faff? Yeah, it is. It totally is, but I managed to print off my label with emergency contact details the first time I tried, albeit after a bit of tweaking to make it fit nicely (you can preview the label before printing).

go-id-label

go-id-hook

I really can’t be bothered to tie ID to my shoelaces, partly because I then spend most of the run looking down to see if it’s still there and partly because if I wanted to wear a different pair of shoes, I’d have to untie it and retie it and meh to that. So I used the supplied velcro to attach it to my Garmin.

go-id-garmin

However you want to use it, there’s plenty of instructions and diagrams on the website, which will walk you through step-by-step to make your ID.

The Go-ID kit costs $18.95 and is available in four different colours.

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