#Janathon – Week One

Well, that’s a week done, and a weeks worth of excuses overcome.

Miles Run: 10.6 miles

Average Pace:9’29″/mi

Excuses Overcome: 7

I’ve only done 10.6 miles in the first 7 days, but so far the excuses to not run I’ve overcome include 2 hangovers 3 long drives, one incidence of an achy calf and one very busy day. I might have hoped, if running my regular 3 times a week, to have covered more miles. Though if I’m honest, I would probably have listened to one of my excuses, put off the run and run less.

So, onto today. I was tired, both emotionally and physically. Another long drive was due in the afternoon, and we planned to leave around 4pm.

I wanted to do a 3 mile run today.

I meant to run first thing when I woke up, but I sat down to do some work.

Then I meant to run at lunch time, but I was busy. My left calf was tight and painful so I did a few stretches on it.

Then it was 2:30pm. I hadn’t packed for my trip so needed to run now to still leave at 4pm.

I got my running clothes out and then I sat and looked at them. I sat and looked at them for a full hour.

I was so tired, I really just couldn’t get the motivation up. My plans to run 3 miles today now well and truly scuppered by the fact it was 3:30pm I burst into action.

I did 1.5 miles, including a couple of steep hills, and every step was hard today. Those negative running voices were back in my head wondering how I’d ever thought I could do this, and certainly how I could have been foolish enough to sign up for a half marathon when even a mile was tough. I know I’m just tired and a little emotional, but it really was a rubbish run. As ever, I’m sure I still feel better for having gone than I would have if I didn’t.

My pace shows a 9’43” average, but when I looked at my splits I actually did the first mile in a rather good (for me) 9’33”, and it was just a ridiculously steep hill at the end that slowed me down. You can see the elevation (blue line) shoot up at the end of the graph. That’s it.

One thing about these short runs, I definitely go faster!

By the time I got home it was about 4pm, and twilight was setting in, which is a weird light that iPhones cannot cope with, so I am blurry in my rather fetching post run photo.

I cooled down, stretched out my poor aching calf and shins and hurled some things into a suitcase, meaning I finally left the house about 5pm.

That hour delay meant traffic and a dinner on the road, rather than in the planned (healthy) restaurant at our destination. I ended up in a Buddies USA diner. I’d been meaning to stop in one of these and see what they were like for years, and finally did. I MEANT to have a salad, but then I saw they did a burger with peanut butter.

You heard me.

It’s called the Elvis burger and has peanut butter, cheese and bacon. Seeing as it’s taken me 3 years to get around to stopping at this restaurant there was no way I was leaving without trying the Elvis burger.

It was nice, though not necessarily an experience I would repeat.

If you find me dead in a bathroom, blame Elvis.