When Running You Should 'Do What U Like'!

Gotta keep this short as I need to get my stuff together for tonight; packed all into a bag so I can Take That and Party.

I am very Happy Now as Paula and I ran our furthest distance ever today: 14 miles! Although there was a real chance that we may not have completed it, being drowned instead by The Flood that threatened throughout; okay, so that's an exaggeration, the rain wasn't quite that bad but combined with too many hills (which I can only blame on myself as the one who plotted the route), I feel a real sense of pride that we completed that distance: An Affirmation that we really can do this! Saying that, I didn't feel quite so positive towards the end of the final 3 miles when I had to Reach Out to Paula, needing her to pep me up and Relight My Fire; never one to let me down, she was there with lucozade tablets; a real Babe!  I'm thinking that if running just 14 miles hurts that much, then running 26.2 is something I will Never Forget!

However, I am remaining positive as I still have 13 weeks left to train and it will inevitably take some Patience; I just need to Pray that it's long enough to fully prepare me! Still, I've made myself no Promises, no time we have to complete it in; and it's not like I'm trying to Rule the World, just run a marathon... all I need to do is work hard and no doubt I'll make it my Greatest Day of running yet; a day to Shine.

So all in all, today was a good run; it wasn't that I Found Heaven whilst out there, but It Only Takes a Minute whilst out running, to realise what a Beautiful World we live in. Whilst running through the gorgeous Heaton Park, there was even a lull in the heavy rain for a while; Could It Be Magic? I realised out there that I love running and Once You've Tasted Love there's no going back! If you run, you'll know what I mean; the only question is How Deep is Your Love?

Anyway, I must go as I'm off to a friend's 30th birthday party tonight and I'm Sure if I don't get going soon, they'll have played A Million Love Songs before I get there and that's my favourite song! And anyway, I'm looking forward to partying like a bunch of Kidz, staying Up all night! Don't worry though, I'll be here again, blogging tomorrow; Back for Good... After a big night out however, I might only mangage a run around the Garden!

Right, I really must go now, and anyway, I've Said It All. Have a great night yourselves everyone; did I mention I'm going to see a Take That Tribute Act?

Distance: 14 miles
Weather: mostly windy and rainy
Feeling: very, very, very achey!
See my run here or here.

A Paranoid Reality

My brother believes me to be paranoid. In a phone call today he applied the word directly to my state of mind: "That's why you're paranoid about those squirrels, you're exhausted." He said in response to my telling him about my planned day of running 14 miles, logging, blogging and partying tomorrow.

Paranoid - Paranoia - from the Greek "παράνοια" (paranoia), 'madness'. A term used to describe an irrational and delusional thought process; which typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself.

If this is the case, my brother is surely suggesting that I only believe there to be an imminent squirrel threat; something created by my mind but does not actually exist. I disagree. Reading around the blogs recently, there has been much reference by other Janathoners to watching eyes, threatening stares; strange encounters with animals. I am clearly not the only one. I got to thinking, why would my brother not instantly believe that this threat is real? Why would his first thought be that I am delusional? That I am mad? A proposition that, anyone else who knows me will instantly agree, is the antithesis of me. Yet, in that same second of dismissal, the suggestion took hold; what if I am delusional? How would I know? Are squirrels really just lovely, little licit creatures?

I googled.

And here, Ladies and Gentlemen, are your top 5 villainous squirrels to look out for. These squirrels are documented in our own history; in the stories passed down from one concerned human to another; from generation... to generation.

5. The squirrel in 'Never Trust a Squirrel', Patrick Cooper.

The title says it all!










4. Morwenna - 'The Dark Portal', Robin Jarvis.

Morwenna is an evil squirrel who betrayed the realm of Greenreach... an evil, treacherous squirrel... eeeeevil!










3. Zero - Megadrive, Aero the acrobat games.

Aero the acrobat's arch nemesis: Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel... his name says it all: be afraid, be very afraid!









2. Squirrel Nutkin - 'The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin', Beatrix Potter.

Squirrel Nutkin is an impertinent young squirrel - perhaps these days would be known as a 'hoodie squirrel' - who isn't respectful towards the owl, Old Brown; someone who has been kind enough to let him collect nuts on his island. Instead of showing the due respect the owl deserves, he taunts him with an annoying little dance and riddle each and every day he sees him. Eventually the owl flips and tries to skin Squirrel Nutkin alive - as you would!- the Nutty Nutkin escapes but he loses part of his tale in the attempt.

1. Tufty Fluffytail - The Tufty Club, RoSPA.

Do you mean that selfless little guy who used to teach us to 'Stop, Look and Listen', before we crossed the streets, when we were young whippersnappers? Yes. I do.

Don't be fooled people; this squirrel infiltrated our minds so successfully, we accepted his kerb drill propaganda as he intended us to: helpful, safe, innocent road crossing advice.

However, from his position of Road Safety authority; as spokesperson for RoSPA, Tufty was able to begin his bid for world domination; and we very nearly allowed it. Click here to see how Tufty did it.

So there we have it; don't ignore the glaring facts from fiction: Beware the Squirrels.

Distance: 1 mile

Weather: clear and double figures!!!

Feeling: a little achey, but good.

See my run here.

An ode to Janatholism

An Ode to Janatholism*

On Day 13 of Janathon,

I found it hard to fit a run;

I was at work from 7 'till 8

so arriving home, 'twas very late.

I was also full of a three-course meal

that was a part of the late-work deal;

Thus still attired within in my suit,

I plotted out a little route.

I made myself run 'least a mile

whilst I was thinking all the while:

Has this challenge become a curse?

'Cos my jan·ath·ol·i·sm is getting worse!

*Cited: 12th Jan 2011, Cake of Good Hope.

Distance: 1.1 miles
Weather: fine... quite warm acutally!
Feeling: full... very fat and full of delicious shepherds pie and creme brulee!

See my run here.

A Nick or a Nibble?

Obviously you've all been wondering what happened to my Sky box. Was it the squirrels? Did they really sabotage it? Well, the engineer visited earlier this week and it has been confirmed. My Sky box WAS sabotaged by squirrels.

"The outside aereal that runs into yer digical box, like, is broken our kid." The Sky engineer (with a pronounced Mancunian accent) informed us. "It's let wartuh in from the outside, like, which has run down the cable. Yer locky yer whole Sky digical box din't blow-orp like."
Crikey!
"How could that have happened?" We asked.
"A nick in the cable outside, it let the wartuh in and it's slowly run down the inside of the cable. Must've 'appened when it was put it." He explained.

A nick?

Or a nibble?

I think we all know the answer to that one.

Tonight, at running club, a fox was seen in the car park... was it spying on us? It certainly kept close to the shadows and whatever its reason for being there, it soon scarpered when it saw the rest of the club runners arrive... a fox is no match for the Oldham and Royton Road Runners!

Saying that, this particular club runner didn't do quite so well tonight; the session was 5 x 1 minute hard reps, with 30 second recovery between each rep and 3 minutes at the end of each set. We ran 4 sets. My 'hard' diminished as the session went on beginning with some very satisfactory 7 - 7.30 minute miles (I even hit two reps of sub 7minute miles!!). However, half way through the second set of 5, I pulled up with cramp in my left glute/thigh area; and although I continued to run, I couldn't get my leg to agree to a sprint; everytime I tried it shouted at me and gave me a sharp poke - I think I've upset it a bit! Anyway, by the end of the session, my thigh muscle's idea of 'hard' was something around the 9 minute mile mark! We've made friends since as I've promised it a short, slow mile tomorrow!

Distance: 4.65 miles
Weather: clear and warm (9degrees)
Feeling: crampy - left thigh muscle that is!
See my run here.

Feelings of Positivity

In the space of an hour, three different feelings created a veritable flood of positivity for me this evening; so I thought I'd share them with you.

The first was brought to me courtesy of my other (he might say better) half, in the form of childish, yet brilliant humour. If you watch home shopping channels, you'll likely have seen a 'revolutionary' toning device called 'The Shake Weight'. The device itself is very simple, you simply shake the weight back and forth, whilst holding it in various positions. In fact, you can see this demonstrated by a nice, toned, lady here. And... there's now a Shake Weight for men... I would like to mention at this point that this is somehow worse... and if you're interested, you can see it demonstrated by a very buff man, with enormous guns... which clearly came from his Shake Weight... here (if you haven't got your sound on, switch it on before you visit this website, whilst saying very loudly "I'll just have a look at this revolutionary new product which is a weight that you shake" just to prevent any adverse embarrassment).

If you have followed these links, you may already understand why we found this product so, childishly, humorous. But, if you're still unsure, it is this South Park parody on the revolutionary 'weight that you shake' advertisement that really pinpoints what is so wrong with the advertising of this product...



And so rude, crude and puerile humour, caused much laughter and invoked feeling number 1: HAPPINESS.

As amused by this as I was, I was still feeling like I wanted to skulk to the safety of the sofa, rather than head out for a run. So, I settled down with my laptop and had a read through some of your Janathon blogs for today. I read: A little of this about a new-found love of morning running... that left her feeling inspired for the rest of the day, as well as wondering whether someone had drugged her overnight; a little of that about a Geeky Dad whose funny pun (we can clearly see where my sense of humour lies) made me giggle and tales of shuttlecocks inspired me; a little of this from a blogger who ran a great 5k in a gym which she had all to herself, despite the fact that it's January(!); and a little of that which describs an unfortunate almost Paula Radcliffe moment that, as runners, we've all experienced to some degree... and if you haven't; you will!

And eventually it was this, little bit of this and that, that caused me to pull on my trainers and provide me with my second feeling: MOTIVATION.

Once out, I realised that it was what I had needed all along. I didn't run far, just a little 3.3 miles. But at the end of the run, I experienced my third feeling. A combination of the right song, at the right moment, with the right state of mind; that feeling that you know so well if you run, because it's why you love to run; it's what causes you to forget your form, your heavy breathing and niggling pain; it makes you feel free, young and euphoric; it makes you run like Pheobe from Friends.

It was my third feeling of positivity...



It was: RUNNER'S HIGH.









Distance: 3.3 miles
Weather: clear and +6 (almost like Summer!)
Feeling: really, really great!
See my run here.

NEXT TIME ON THE MAGATHON: More on the Squirrel Conspiracies

Running Observations

1. A battle against the elements: the wind pushing with all its might, urging us back to whence we came; whipping; faces feeling numb; fingers blue with the biting cold. We turn the corner and... stillness.

2. Chatting, laughing, anecdotes. Roar. Swooooosh. Drenched.

3. Thank you Natalie; my human water wall!

4. Illuminous, clashing, orange and pink: Paula. Running ahead. I'm Chasing. Getting Closer. Closer Still. Can't catch her... can I? Gaining, A little more. Push harder. Legs burning. Chest burning. Muscles burning. Closer. Close. Yes!

5. A runner: the left foot sporting a white running trainer; the right attired in a black gentleman's dress shoe. Why? Maybe the squirrels have the other trainer!

Distance: 4.11
Weather: Very windy and raining
Feeling: Really good.
See my run here

The Mobilisation of Magpies

Funny how my legs ache less today, after a whole week of running everyday, than they did last week when I'd run a fraction of the distance! Still, I'm obviously not complaining!

As I would usually have had a rest day today, I set off for a recovery run with my dog. Although it wasn't as easy as that, as for some reason, Doris was holding back; she didn't seem to want to step outside. 'Very odd' I thought, as it's not like her to shun a run! Anyway, I coaxed her out the door, and once we were out she seemed to get into the flow of things; as did I.

With Doris seeming a little off, I let her off the lead once we reached the park, and we agreed not to run around, but instead to explore the scenery and take time to absorb the beautiful day. "Ruff" acknowledged Doris as she set off to sniff some new surroundings, letting me know she appreciated a more relaxed approach.  Happily snuffling around the edge of a brook, taking a curious look at all that surrounded her, Doris suddenly stopped completely still... "gggrrrrrrr" she murmurred, "gggrrrrrrr".

Looking around, I was confused as to what had caught her attention; there didn't seem to be anything there.

"What's wrong girl?" I asked.

"Ruff, Ruff...Ruff." She replied. Leaving me, of course, none the wiser.

Her attention grabbed by something else, she skittered off to have a good old sniff in some more undergrowth; I, however, couldn't forget what had happened quite so quickly. I knew they were following....

But they weren't.


"Good afternoon Mr Magpie"

Convinced the squirrels were on our tail, I drew us up out of secluded valley we were walking within, as quickly as possible, and out into the open. As we climbed up and out into the field, the bright sunlight obsured our vision, blinding us from what lay ahead. However, without the sense of sight, my hearing became more accute. A strangely familiar cackling sound came to my attention; 'Where have I heard that before?' I pondered. Still blinded by the sun, I traced the sound of the cackling to its origin: A magpie.

It was then that I realised why the sound seemed so familar. The same sound had been present when Doris had been reluctant to leave the house; again, we had heard the sound as we'd headed into the park; and again, down by the brook, that same cackle, almost disguised by the whisper of the water. It was then that I was reminded of the comment left by a fellow blogger, steveandkatyrun, yesterday:

'I am worried at the thought of the squirrels plotting our downfall. There are rather a few of them in our local park, and what if they enlist the help of other small animals?'

What if indeed... I looked at the magpie with a knowing look; a look that said 'I know'. The magpie looked back; we both knew. It was clearly time to leave the park and head back to the safety of civilisation. It seems the squirrels have begun to enlist; my advice to you would be to keep your pets close, treat them tonight and show them you care... we're going to need as many of them on our side when 'S Day' arrives! Oh, and watch out for magpies too!

Distance: 1.31 miles

Weather: bright and quite mild

Feeling: nowhere near as achey as I thought I'd be!

See my run here.