Janathon'12 - 2: A game of two halves.

Today was a bit of a bit-part day. Feeling pretty sore after yesterday (maybe I shouldn't have started on a nearly-10-miler) and with the weather looking cold and grotty, I abandoned the half-formed plan of doing the Back o' Skiddaw run that I've been saying I'd do for ages and went out for a brief walk with my parents. They're doing their own Janathon, walking and/or cycling every day, so it was nice to be out with them. Unfortunately my hips, thighs and calves were telling me to behave myself, so we had a nice (if chilly and windy)
5km-and-a-bit wander round by Harby Brow and over the fields, as shown below:

Part one - Over the fields and far away...
Unfortunately, I'm still playing by the rules of "If there isn't any running involved, it doesn't count", so once I'd got back to Leeds, I still needed to go for a run. My legs were still wanting me to behave, to sit down and immerse myself in the sofa, but my head decided it wasn't having any of that, so my head and I went out for a slow bimble around the block, dragging the legs along with us. It may have only been short, but it was a run, albeit a slightly slow one. I have a feeling there will be many occasions this month where I will have to ignore the protestations of my legs. They should know by now that I don't listen to them that often...

Part 2 - Round and round the rugged rock...
Oh, and as a little extra bit of niceness for the day, last night my friend Ann-Marie sent me the link to the Youtube promo video from last year's Grand Raid des Pyrenees, in which I get a brief cameo! If anyone's interested, I've posted it below, if anyone would like to watch (and yes, I'm the gibbering Englishman at the end!). I wonder what my next starring role will be?!...


Total distance: 8.69km
Total times saying "Ooh, that's a bit sore": Lots
Total cups of tea: 2
Total hot baths/showers: 2

Comments

Anonymous said…
How nice to share Janathon with your parents and well done on the second outing. Great vid -- you sound pretty convincing at the end.
January 3, 2012 at 11:13 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hundred Acre Janathon - Part Two.

Having made their rissolution to find a Janathoner, with an internet and some clogs, Tigger and Pooh decided to split up to collect the things they needed. Tigger bounced off to Rabbit's house to see if he could borrow the clogs Rabbit had been making, while Pooh wandered over towards Eeyore's house toward the pond to find the internet, or at least a fishing net. Pooh had found the net, and was carrying it back when he decided to stop by and see Eeyore. Eeyore was sitting in his house, chewing on a thistle and looking glum. "Oh, hello. I see you have a net. You've not come to catch me, I suppose?" Pooh smiled at Eeyore. "No, Eeyore. This is my internet. Tigger and I are going to catch a Janathoner, they like internets and clogs, and they run a lot." "Oh." said Eeyore. "I couldn't be a Janathoner then, so there's no point catching me. Running too much makes your legs fall off, I suppose. I'd rather just stay here" Pooh ...
Read more

Le Grand Raid des Pyrenees - the personal side

Image
So there's technical and logistical write-ups of the race going to other sites elsewhere, they're the ones that tell blow-by-blow story of the area, the trails, the race organisation etc. But this here is my blog, and this here is the personal side of things, so this here is the personal account of the Grand Raid des Pyrenees. In the beginning... A year ago, I would never have thought about running an Ultramarathon. A year ago, I rarely ran anything over 5km, except in races. Longer runs tended to butcher my feet with blisters which stopped me wanting to run. Road racing holds no appeal, and I'm not a skinny racing whippet so I'm never going to win anything doing it anyway. I run only for myself, for enjoyment and catharsis, to clear my head and shake out my legs. Because of that, the whole build-up to the GRP has been very strange for me - not unpleasantly strange, but strange nonetheless. Running, as I have often said, is a weak discipline for me, so entering t...
Read more

Hundred Acre Janathon - Part One.

It was winter in the Hundred Acre Wood, and most of the inhabitants were spending their time huddled up in their houses, keeping warm. Sometimes they would pop out, to collect some wood, or for another jar of honey, or some thistles, or maybe even to say hello to a neighbour. But generally they all stayed at home... ...All except Tigger. Tigger was, as usual, a bouncing ball of energy. Someone had told him, just before the New Year, about a creature that he might see if he was out of his house in January, called a Janathoner. Tigger was intrigued, he'd never heard of these Janathoners. Heffalumps and Woozles, yes: They were often heard of in the Hundred Acre Wood. But Janathoners? Never. And what a funny name! Tigger had bounced around the woods many times this January, trying to find one of the elusive Janathoners. He hadn't seen a single thing! He'd been told that Janathoners were only visible for the first month of the year, and he knew it was getting close to the ...
Read more