Author: jogblog

Pushy pushy pushy

19 comments

During Janathon, I found out there was a local participant and so I tracked him down on Facebook and sent him a message and said hello local person and he said hello back and asked if I was a member of a running club and I said no, I had thought of joining Ashford & District Road Running Club as it looks nice and friendly but I live in [insert name of small area on the outskirts of Ashford] and I don’t drive and if my boyfriend didn’t want to come along I’d have to cycle two miles into town and then another two miles out the other side along the motorway and he said oh, I’m the membership secretary of that club and I live in [insert name of neighbouring small area on the outskirts of Ashford] and I can give you a lift and so I said hurrah, thank you, I’ll ask my boyfriend if he wants to come along and if he does, he can drive us but if not, I’ll take you up on your kind offer of a lift.

Shaun did indeed want to come along to the running club and we were going to go last week but I felt bleurgh and didn’t want to go but this week we did go and I got introduced to the other women running that week and I was asked how far and fast I run and I said not much at the moment, I’m really slow, about 12 minute miles and only doing about 3 miles and she said we’re probably doing a bit more than 3 miles today and so I thought ok, she probably means 3.5 or 4 miles and I can cope with that but when she told someone else the route she’d planned to go I thought THAT SOUNDS LIKE A FLIPPING LONG WAY TO ME and I escaped to the toilet and then I went outside to see if Shaun was there to tell him I wasn’t going to run and he was there but so were the women who were about to head off for their run and I said to Shaun, I’m not running, they’re going too far, I’m going to stay here and wait for you but then the women said OH NO YOU’RE NOT, YOU’RE COMING WITH US and I said no, really, you’re going too far, you’re going about six miles and I’m not fit enough, I only want to do three miles, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer and one of them ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY PUSHED ME ALONG TOWARDS THE ROAD and I said do you mind? I don’t really like being pushed and I shrugged her off and turned round and went back to the changing room in a strop but they all followed me and the one who pushed me said she was sorry she upset me and I said that’s ok and they said I wasn’t allowed to wimp out (not their exact words) and I had to run and I’d be fine and if I didn’t want to go the whole way, they’d come back with me and I said I didn’t want to cut their run short and I only wanted to do three miles and they said that was fine and when we’d done three miles, we’d turn round and come back and I said BUT THAT WILL MAKE IT SIX MILES and I said I didn’t want to hold them up and they said you won’t hold us up and I said but I already am, you’d be a mile down the road by now but they wouldn’t take no for an answer and so I went out and thought I’ll turn round after 1.5 miles and come back even though I won’t know where I am and after 1 mile one of them says we’re going too fast and I look at my Garmin and it says we’ve done a mile in 12 minutes and I think that’s fast? and I can’t turn around and run back as there’s someone behind me and there’s no escape and I have to keep going but there’s a lot of walking involved and we get back completely soaking wet as it’s been pissing down and Shaun’s been waiting 45 minutes for me because we’ve gone 7 SODDING MILES and it’s taken 90 SODDING MINUTES.

Bah.

But secretly I’m pleased I’ve done 7 miles even though it took a flipping long time and then Shaun and I go to the pub and I have sausage and mash and he has steak and chips.

Yum.

Stats
Distance: 7.06 miles
Time: 1:36:33
Pace: 13:41
Calories: 614
Running clubs: 1
Pushy women in running clubs: about 6
Rain: lots
Sausages and mash: 1
Steak and chips: 1

New third prize

14 comments

For today’s Janathon, I exercised my HTML and CSS skills by adding another prize to the four already on offer: a pair of Polaroid Polarized Sunglasses.

sunglasses

I have a pair of these and they’re pretty cool and I blogged about them last year.

To see the other prizes on offer, go to the Janathon prizes page.

(I may cycle later)

Stats
New Janathon prizes: 1
May cycle laters: 1

A confession in advance

5 comments

I have made the executive decision to not Janathon today. I’m a month behind with my coursework and I had an assignment due two weeks ago that I haven’t submitted yet and another one due next week and so today will be spent reading and writing (and I don’t mean reading Tweets and writing Facebook updates).

And I’m still feeling a bit bleurgh, anyway.

There endeth the excuses.

(If I do go for a bike ride later, I will delete this blog post and pretend I didn’t say anything about slacking.)

Near enough a Janathon fail

8 comments

I had big plans to be a hardcore double-Janathoner today. I was going to go to the gym in the morning, then to a running club in the evening but when I went to get dressed, I felt really bleurgh, so I thought I’d see how I felt after lunch but after lunch I felt even more bleurgh so cancelled going to the running club but then thought I should at least do a short bike ride and so I got on my bike but after 0.22 miles, felt sick and cold and so turned round and came back.

Ho hum.

Stats (cycling)
Distance: 0.43 miles
Time: 3:28
Speed: 7.5mph
Calories:14
Hardcore Janathoners: 0

Litterbugs

6 comments

I was going to go the gym this morning but Shaun said it was nice and sunny and bright and too nice a day to go to the gym so I said I’d go for a bike ride instead and did he want to come too? but he said no, he wanted to carry on building his shed and so I said that’s not very romantic, you should be taking me out somewhere and he said I’ll take you to Tesco later and so I went out on my bike and it was indeed a nice bright sunny day but it was windy and the wind had brought in tons and tons of litter all over the place, except I don’t think wind can be blamed for the carpet and the mattress I saw dumped; the blame for that would lie with some chavvy local Ashfordian.

Stats (cycling)
Distance: 14.26 miles
Time: 1:30:54
Speed: 9.4 mph
Nice bright sunny days: 1 
Romantic days out to Tesco: 1
Litter: tons
Pikey chavvy local Ashfordians: lots

Whoop whoop

5 comments

When I was in the pub with Helen after our traumatic experience on Wednesday night, she said she was thinking about doing the Ashford 10k. I said ooh, that’s near me, aren’t there any 10ks in London? and she said no, not in the Spring and she wants to do one as part of her marathon training, and so I said come down for the Ashford 10k then, and I’ll do it too.

Today I was wondering if it was such a great idea to enter a 10k that is only three weeks away, seeing as my training’s not been up to much for about, um, 18 months, so I went out for a run to see what I could I do.

And I did 3.76 miles WITHOUT ANY WALKING BITS and yes, it was a pathetically slow 3.76 miles but it means that a 10k in three weeks is not completely impossible.

Yay.

Stats
Distance: 3.76 miles
Time: 44:56
Pace: 11:58 m/m
Calories: 394
Ashford 10ks to enter: 1
Walking bits: 0

Just because I had to

4 comments

I had planned to go swimming today, as with my gym membership, I can use the pool in the posh(er) gym in town for free. Gym and swim for £20 a month, bargain. But I haven’t used my bargainous membership at the swimming pool yet because I haven’t been swimming since I was about 14 and don’t know if I can still swim and even if I can, I don’t know how to use a swimming pool. I remember there’s a little pool of water you have to walk through first but I can’t remember changing rooms and lockers and things and I’ll have to ask where they are and how to use them and I don’t like asking things as my confident days are few and far between but I’d been having a good week and was feeling good and so I thought I’d be brave and go swimming, then get something to eat in town after but this morning I got up late and the weather was minging and so I decided not to go into town and I decided I wasn’t going to bother with Janathon at all today as I wasn’t in the mood but then I thought I suppose I’d better do something and so I decided to go on a little bike ride and I cycled down the road and my hands were cold as I’d forgotten to put on my gloves and I couldn’t see as I’d forgotten to put on my glasses and I did a puny 1.77 miles but it’s better than nothing and it all counts.

Stats (cycling)
Distance: 1.77 miles
Time: 11:48
Speed: 9mph
Calories: 50
Free swimming pools: 1
Free swimming pools went to today: 0
Puny bike rides that are better than nothing: 1

The morning after the night before

7 comments

Although yesterday’s workout session was traumatic and although I didn’t get home ‘til after 1am and although I was slightly hungover, it’s January and therefore Janathon and therefore I had to get my traumatised, tired and slightly hungover body out for some exercise. I decide to take it to the gym and try out the Shock Absorber sports bra I was given yesterday.

The gym only has one woman in there who is – shock horror – RUNNING on the treadmill. I get on the rowing machine and do 20 minutes on there and then I decide to go on the treadmill and I do 20 minutes on there: 16 minutes running and 4 minutes cool down.

After I’ve finished I’m soooooooooooo grateful to Janathon, as without it, I’d never have done any exercise and now I’M FEELING GOOD and over the trauma of last night.

The sports bra was good, too.

Stats (rowing machine)
Distance: 2945 metres
Time: 20 minutes
Calories: 145

Treadmill
Distance: 1.4 miles
Time: 16 minutes
Pace: 11:26 m/m
Calories: 147
Gratefuls for Janathons: 1

Ain’t got rhythm

14 comments

I was invited to the Shock Absorber Mateivator Blogger Event which was to give us the chance to preview a workout devised by certified personal trainer Elise Lindsay where you work out with your friend in order to get the best results for your body.

As I don’t have any friends in real life, I decide to ask my blogging/Facebook/Twitter friend and fellow Janathoner, Helen, if she’d like to come along and she said yay freebies, cool, ta. (They may not be Helen’s exact words.)

We arrange to meet outside the Tottenham Court Road branch of Fitness First, where the event is being held but Helen texts me and says she’s been down the length of Tottenham Court Road and can’t find it. I too have been walking up and down Tottenham Court Road and can’t find it either and so I tell her to meet me at Goodge Street Station and we’ll get lost together. When she gets to the station, she says she’s found it and it’s hidden up a side street.

Once inside, Shock Absorber’s PR girl hands us a goodie bag containing a Shock Absorber sports bra, a water bottle, and a keyring with a locker token thingy the size and shape of a pound coin (which wouldn’t be of any use in a Fitness First as their membership cards lock and open the lockers but my local gym uses pound coins).

We’re taken into a room where Elise Lindsay gives us a talk about, um, I’m not sure because every other word was ‘literally’ and that’s all I could focus on and when we’re led into the studio for our workout, I say to Helen if Elise says ‘literally’ one more time, I’m literally going to walk out.

There’s about twenty of us in there to do the workout and Helen and I hide at the back and Elise puts some REALLY LOUD AND REALLY RUBBISH music on and starts to shout over it but shouting doesn’t make any difference, as I still can’t hear what she’s saying. She starts jumping about and stuff and we’re supposed to follow her. Everyone else starts jumping about in time in a nice coordinated manner but no matter how hard I try, I can’t do it. I decide to not try and do it and just stand still instead and hope no one notices. Shouty Woman notices. Shouty Woman comes over and says ARE YOU INJURED? and I lie and say I’ve got a dodgy knee and point to my knee in case she doesn’t know what a knee is. She shouts something I can’t hear and goes back to the front of the room to shout some more and do some more of that jumping about thing.

PR girl has also noticed that I’m standing at the back not doing anything and comes over and asks if I’m ok. I say yes but I’m really uncoordinated and I can’t follow what they’re doing and I’m a runner and I do running not aerobics and she says it’s not really aerobics and I think BUT THEY’RE DOING FLIPPING STAR JUMPS and I don’t want to do star jumps and I feel stupid and ridiculous and embarrassed and self-conscious and now I feel bad for not doing anything and Shouty Woman and PR girl probably think I’m acting like some petulant sulky teenager and I want to sneak out and then Shouty Woman tells us to put boxing gloves and pads on and I’ve got the pads and Helen’s got the boxing gloves and Helen says I don’t want to punch you and I say I don’t want to be punched but Helen manages to only punch the pads and not my face and then we swap and I have to punch Helen for a while and then Shouty Woman says we’re going to do squats and lunges and I think oh no, I can’t do squats and lunges as they hurt my knees and when I used to do Body Pump the instructor didn’t let me do squats and lunges as she said I leant over one way too much and I would injure myself and so I sit down and Helen says she can’t do squats and lunges either as she’s got a bad back and the PR girl and the Shock Absorber girl have blocked the door so there’s no escape and I feel really really uncomfortable and find the whole thing excruciatingly embarrassing but after they’ve done their squats and lunges, Shouty Woman tells us to get some weights and I think hurrah, I can do weights, yay, and we do stuff with weights, then we do things with a heavy ball and then THANK FUCKING GOD it’s all over and there’s a Q&A with the Shouty Woman and I say to Helen shall we skip that and go to the pub instead and Helen says yes, that’s a splendid idea (they may not be Helen’s exact words) and so we get changed and go to the pub and have a couple of ladylike pints of lager and then we go and get pizza and garlic bread and drink lots of wine to get over the trauma of it all.

Stats (workout)
Star jumps: 0
Being punched: lots
Doing the punching: lots
Squats and lunges: 0
Things with weights: some
Things with a heavy ball: some
Hours of excruciating embarrassment: 1
Free sports bras: 1
Pints of lager: 2
Pizzas: 1
Litres of wine: 1 (between two)

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