#Janathon Day 1 - The Speedy Mile - Lipstick, Lettuce & Lycra

Happy 2018!

I’ve woken up feeling surprisingly perky, considering the amount of food and wine I consumed last night. Which is a good job really, because I decided to take part in Janathon again this year.

I first did Janathon in 2013, where I committed to running a mile each day. It was a challenge, especially as it snowed a lot and on several days. I did it again in 2015 when I included yoga as exercise, so it wasn’t half as challenging if I’m honest.

This year my aim is to get me doing more high-intensity exercise, and therefore the arbitrary rule I have set myself is to earn 500 points a day on my TomTom watch. This is based on heart rate zones, so gives me a bit of flexibility. It equates to about 10 minutes in my “peak” heart rate, or about a mile run, but I can also earn those points with 30 minutes in my “cardio” zone, or a bit longer in a lower heart rate zone. My normal hour at the gym will earn me about 500 points, but my Olympic lifting sessions don’t, as although they are intense, there is a lot of rest time.

So, anyway, that’s all very boring, and you don’t care. Today’s mission was accomplished with a 1.25 mile run around the block earning me 573 points. Hurrah!

I was pretty fast too, it’s not often I do anything under 9:30 minute miles, I’m normally a 10 minute mile kinda gal.

It’s amazing what I can do when I’m only running a mile and a lot of it is downhill.

I felt really good actually. The weather was crisp and bright, I felt perky and optimistic and was well warmed up after already having walked the Pugs before heading out.

If someone could remind me of this feeling when I’m running in the rain and I feel heavy and tired then that would be great.

In keeping with past Janathon tradition, I will be illustrating my posts with a photo of my post-workout feet, and a photo of my sweaty red post-workout face.

So, prepare yourselves, because here is my January 1st, 2018 sweaty post-run face.