Planes, trains and automobiles

Today's run was much more like it. On paper, it was as dull as, well, paper; but in reality, it was the perfect tonic to yesterday's trial.

The route was made up on the go, from James's house in Fleet, with the intention of going for "about an hour", on "nothing too muddy". Between us we worked out whether to turn right or left as we went, and after setting out around Fleet Pond, we reached a tarmac cyclepath that took us along the permieter fence of Farnborough Airfield (sorry, Airport) towards Southwood Housing Estate (sorry, Village), and back into Fleet alongside the main Southampton-Waterloo train line. A bit more of Fleet pond, and a chunk of road to bring it above eight miles, and that was that. Simple.

So why so good then?

It was unplanned. After spending yesterday psyching myself out of a run, today I got up late, put my running gear on, and left the house. Perfect.

It was short. If I keep going at the rate I have been, I'm going to be sick of running by the time I reach February. The further I go, the more compelling it becomes to constantly find another twelve, or thirteen miles, or nip out on a weekend and be gone for hours. I decided today that I would run less than ten miles with some friends, and give some thought to how I might want to run the second half of Janathon.

GV and John at Fleet Pond (pic by James)

It was in company. As well as James, who was in fine form at the end of a fairly miley week, we were joined by another good friend, John, who was down for a quick visit from Caerphilly. John likes a run himself, and about an hour is just right for him at the moment. I might mention that John is a cyborg, as he lost his right leg at the knee a decade ago. He has since been a mountain bike guide in Canada, and a medal winning sprinter in Beijing, but these days his focus is "doctors' school", and running has become a pastime, rather than a job. Though it may surprise some people, the transition from a sprinter to recreational runner is as tricky for John as it is for anyone - it'll take a while for him to adjust to the distance. He'll be aiming for a 1:45 at the Fleet Half Marathon this year, but like most goals he sets himself, there's no reason to think he won't get it (unless he drinks too much the night before - he is a medical student after all).

In reflection on yesterday's crappy run, I suspect that part of my frustration was that I took some time out of my day to think about some routes I'd like to run, which only left me disappointed with the route I ended up doing. Undoubtedly the hardest part about this challenge for me is juggling the non-running time to include both blogging, and planning.

Following today's excursion, I decided that if I can I should try to make a couple of "long" runs that I'd discovered part of my Janathon, which would require me taking it a bit easier during the week. I have to resist the temptation to push on for another hundred-mile-week for the sake of it.

It'll be interesting to see how it continues - like many fellow Janathoners, this is all new ground for me. However, it feels good to start the second half looking forward to some great running over the next fortnight!


Summary:
Today: 8.3 miles, 1:08 hrs, 1173 cals
January: 229.6 miles, 33.24 hrs, 31069 cals