Category: Reviews

Hey folks

This might be my quickest review yet.

Monday- Rest day (recovering from the 12 miles the day before). I did yoga when I first woke up to help with the stiffness, and then did a lot of cleaning and jobs at home. In the evening we went into London to see The Book of Mormen (Andy got it for us for Christmas)- it was very funny.

Tuesday- 5 mile run (recap here).

Wednesday- We went to Italy. We flew to Naples and then got a bus to Sorrento, where we stayed. By the time we arrived it was late afternoon so we just walked around the town a bit.

Thursday- Went to Pompei- walked for hours. Literally I think 5 hours. But no running.

Friday- Went to Herculanium. Had a little detour on the way as we forgot the instructions ( they said walk downhill from the train station, we walked uphill), and more walking around the site.

Saturday- got a bus to Amalfi- further along the coast. Not much walking here.

Sunday- Came home. I did have to run a bit here, because we had to catch the airport bus at 8.30, and so we checked out at around 8.15, only there was no-one on the desk, so Andy went with the case to the station, and I waited, then ended up running up 4 flights of stairs (big marble stairs) to the breakfast room where I knew a member of staff would be, and then I had to run from our hotel to the station. But this was not a mile so it does not count! I was going to have a run when we got home, but our flight was late (we had to get a bus out to the plane, and they were in no hurry organising them)- we had to circle over Brighton for a while. Also we were going to buy lunch at the airport, but had no cash left and no-where took cards. Never mind, we will buy something on the plane, we thought. But the only veggie option was an egg sandwich (not appealing to me at all) so that was a no. In the end Andy waited for the bag while I went to M&S in the airport to get us a late lunch (this was about 4pm- which I think it 5pm CET?) After landing late, the bags took ages and so in the end we got home just before 6, and the last thing I fancied was going out on a run.

So I played my joker. That is worth 50% of your runs, but as I have chosen 3 I was not sure if I would get 1 or 2, but it seems like it counted for 2.

I am looking forward to this week though, especially the Bath half on Sunday.

I am sure I say this every week, but the time is flying by!

This week was not that easy for me to get my 100% score, but I managed it, just.

I made some little chocolate pb cups for Andy (we don’t do Valentine’s but he bought me some popchips tp celebrate half term)- they are not really a recipe just something to do- melt chocolate, spoon into cases, melt some chocolate and pb together and use as the filling= delicious.

Back to the running:

Monday was a rest day as I had run 11 miles on Sunday and wanted to make sure I was recovered. I also got home late from work, and although I actually felt OK I didn’t want to push anything too much, especially as I had run on the Saturday too.

Tuesday I went out after work- I didn’t think I would go too far but in the end did 4.1 miles.

Wednesday and Thursday were both rest days due to being at work both evenings, and by the time Friday appeared I was crawling towards the weekend so decided to just chill out and watch some of the Olympics with a cup of tea.

Saturday I went out for a run- our parkrun was cancelled due to the council not liking them using the off road route too much, but that suited me fine as I went out for a little run by myself. After all the crazy wind I decided to run by the allotments and saw that our shed has blown over again. I tried to lift it but could only get it about 6 inches off the ground. We shall have to go at some point together. Anyway, I told myself I would just have to go out and run 1 mile (the minimum for a Jantastic run) but I felt OK and in the end did 3.6 miles- half a mile more than a parkrun.

Then I mostly relaxed (and did a little work)- we walked up to Aldi later in the day for some washing bits, and I was very excited to see these:

Chocolate marzipan hearts! They sell them at Christmas (in a different box) but I have never seen them at any other time of year.

Sunday morning we were off on our longest run- 12 miles. I wanted to do it in under 2 hours as I have been trying to keep to a sub 10 minute mile pace for longer runs. Last week we had to add on some small loops to our usual route to get it up to 11 miles, so Andy had planned a different route that he used to run when we were marathon training. It was all new to me, which I am never sure if I like or not- ignorance can be bliss when I don’t realise a big hill is around the corner, but also it is harder to pace myself when I don’t know what is coming. Anyway, from the start I think I had decided it was a bit too much of a challenge, I was tired after such a busy week at work, I was regretting my Saturday run in case it had tired out my legs too much. At least the weather was beautiful and we saw plenty of spring flowers out- snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils all in bloom. I kept worrying that I would need to stop and walk too, but luckily I won that battle against my mind and kept going. There were some tough hills, both up and down, so all we kept saying to each other was that we hope Bath is flatter than this! Nearing home we weren’t quite close enough to 12 miles so we had to add on a small loop and then our front door was dead on 12, with a time of 1.59.50! Phew.

So, 3 runs out of 3 completed. 12 miles as my longest run (that was what I set for myself).

Next week won’t be as successful as I am resting today (I did some yoga first thing)- tomorrow I am hoping to get in a 5 mile run before a busy day, and then we are off to see Pompeii- I am not taking my running things with me so shall enjoy a lot of walking and sightseeing. At least I can play my joker.

What I am loving too are the motivational messages that appear when you log in to your Jantastic homepage- today it says “Even a little run is better than no run. Yes you can.” That was what got me out the door on Saturday and although during tough moments on Sunday I was wondering why I did it, actually I am very glad I did as I felt loads better for the rest of Saturday.

One day it just said “Love running“. Which is the most important statement of all. Of course when the weather is rubbish/ you are tired from work it can be hard to get out the door, and we can get a big bogged down with trying to get faster or run further, but actually the reason I run is because I love it, all the rest is the icing on the cake.

I only just realised that it is now Tuesday and I have not reviewed my training from last week! At least on the Jantastic website you have until 8am Tuesday to log the runs from the previous week, so I am sort of in time with that!

But first, look at what came in the post!

Some super soft Thoosa t-shirts from their sale. They are cotton so not for running, but rather for relaxing in after my weekend runs 🙂

Back to the review:

Monday- 4.3 miles after work.

Tuesday- Rest day.

Wednesday- I gave Sweatshop a miss and headed out as soon as I got home. Partly because I will be missing the next 2 weeks (due to late meetings at work and then being away), partly because I knew I would be on my own at the back, and mostly because it was raining hard and I wanted to get it over with! In the end I did just under 4.5 miles- I was only going to do 3.5 but when I got close to home I felt OK and it wasn’t raining, so I carried on. Forgot about the headwind though so the last half mile was tough when I had to turn and run into it!

Thursday- Went to Pump. No luck missing the lunges this week, we had to do all the tracks!

Friday- Rest day

Saturday- Originally I was going to do 11 miles on my own, but then Andy suggested we go out on Sunday morning together. So then the idea of Parkrun crept into my head. It was the off-road route which I had not done before- people were talking (actually shouting to each other) during the run briefing, but it was also very windy so it was hard to hear. Once they started, I had to jog over to the run director and ask her the route, well more specifically how many laps I would have to do (3). It was much tougher than the normal flat route, fun, but also very tough as in parts the mud was very slippery.

My shoes were happy to get some real mud on them!

Sunday- 11 miles. Funny story. You can read about it here.

I was going to do some yoga on Sunday evening but I was really tired and just did not have the energy. After sitting for a while at Andy’s parents my legs really stiffened up, and I thought I would be really stiff and sore on Monday, but in fact I felt OK. I kept Monday as a rest day as I don’t want to push it and run 3 days in a row (well it would have been 4 as I was going out on Tuesday).

Anyway, the next stage of Jantastic is logging the length of your longest run- I had selected 11 miles so hit it right on the head. Next week optimistically I opted for 12 miles so we shall have to see how I manage that.

How is it going for any fellow Jantasticans? 

My how time has flown! I can’t believe that 4 weeks of the Jantastic challenge have already been completed.

The first month is all about being consistent, and I am so pleased to have managed 100% of my runs for the entire month.

This week on Monday I headed out after work. I have been keeping those after work runs pretty short, but I have wanted to increase them a bit- I just need to get home a bit earlier! I managed 4.1 miles on Monday, so creeping up slightly. I tried out my new trail shoes by running on the verges a bit- they are weird as the soles are so chunky so my feet feel very high off the ground. Anyway the grip seemed good which is the main thing- hopefully once the evenings get lighter I can use them on the fields a bit.

Tuesday was an evening of work, plus a little bit of baking for some respite:

Mince pie and marzipan slices and peanut butter brownies as alternative birthday cakes

On Wednesday we were going around to see Andy’s family so as soon as I got home I went on a run as I would not have had time for a shower and dinner if I had waited for Sweatshop. This was where Jantastic helped- it was tipping it down with rain and I didn’t really fancy it, but knew that I had to log 3 runs and would fancy it far less on Friday after work. Once I got out there I really enjoyed the majority of it. The first mile was hard as the rain was so cold it was stinging my face, but it then eased off, and I started to warm up and ended up going further than I had planned- 3.7 miles (was going to do 3 miles tops).

Thursday was Pump day- the instructor told us she had to be out on time, whereas usually we finish maybe 5 minutes late (takes a while to pack all the equipment back away) and she had voted to miss out the lunges track. I can’t pretend to be disappointed, but it did then mean we had the shoulder track (which I find the toughest) right after the biceps with no rest for the arms in between, so I really struggled with that this week.

On Friday I went to visit my Nan so was home quite late, and again it was torrential rain so I was very glad of my decision on Wednesday to get the run done.

Then on Saturday I headed out with Andy. I wanted to do 10 miles but he only wanted to do 8, so we did the loop together (eg me running a few metres behind him!) and then he headed home while I added a bit on to the end. My final couple of miles were much slower as by then my legs were getting stiff and I kept getting a stitch, which is unlike me. I used to get them sometimes if I had eaten too close to a run, but that morning all I had were a few dates before I got ready, so not sure what that was about.

Anyway, 10.2 miles done in 1hr 40 (100 mins)- even with the slower 2 miles at the end I was very pleased with my average pace- running with Andy really helps.

I had no eggs so made these pumpkin pancakes with Orgran egg replacer and the lovely buckwheat pancake mix- I think I only have a few servings left so might experiment with plain buckwheat flour as I really like them.

I got quite stiff yesterday but I think that is partly because I had a lot of work to do so spent 3 hours after my run sat at the computer, then I popped to town (had a Starbucks as a treat) and then spent another few hours at the computer.

Today we went out for breakfast.

This was a waffle with a poached pear, chocolate sauce and toasted pecans- delicious. Plus a pot of Earl Grey tea.

Then we walked around the lakes and gazed at all the flooding, and popped to see our families. Then we walked to the allotment (our shed had blown over, no idea how) and looked at yet more flooding- half the beds are underwater- one was about 6 inches deep as I stood in it (with my wellies on) and was amazed at how high the water came up! I think the walks have helped, and later on I shall do the yoga DVD again too.

So, Jantastic has been a success, onto Febulous. I have again decided to go for 3 runs per week, and then my long runs will be 11 miles next week, then 12, then 5, then 13 as that will be the Bath half- it is getting close now!

Also, Thoosa are having a flash sale. They are my favourite ever workout gear brand – I love their tights, their “Swift vests” are the most flattering and also cool (temperature wise as they are not tight) tops I have ever tried, plus they have some fab slogan t’s- I am just trying to decide which one to buy. So take a look!

So I am not sure how it happened, but somehow 3 weeks have gone by already. I realised at some point this week that I had not reviewed Jantastic week 2, so decided to combine it with week 3.

So, let’s see if I can remember.

Week 2 went like this:

Monday it was pouring with rain, I left work late with a pile of marking, so I opted for my yoga DVD to de-stress and stretch before tackling my work.

Also got to wear my new yoga socks- they have grips on the bottom so when you are holding certain poses you don’t slide down the mat. 

That meant my first run was on Tuesday- 3.5 miles. I think we went to the cinema on the Wednesday, and then I definitely went to Pump on the Thursday.

So after work Friday I had my second run of the week- 3.65 miles, so slightly longer than the other run but my legs were heavy after pump and the air was  cold.

Saturday I had a sports massage on my back and shoulder which felt so good. Then on Sunday I went out with Andy for a 6.8 mile run- as always it felt too fast but I managed to keep up.

So week 2 was successful with 3 runs out of 3 done.

Week 3 started with a run after work on Monday. I prefer to start the week that way, but took it easy due to running the day before. Normally I am fine to run 2 days in a row but that seemed to be what aggravated my hip over Christmas so I want to be cautious. I think I did 3 miles.

Tuesday was a rest day- we went to see Anchorman 2 at the cinema- so much more lighthearted than all the other films we have seen recently!

Then on Wednesday I braved Sweatshop for the first time in months! It was lovely to see everyone again, but there was no way I was keeping up with the main group. One of the girls came back and ran with me for a bit, then ran back to the person behind me, but most of it was on my own. It was dark when we set off and when my Garmin beeped (hold reset to save activity) I pressed the wrong button so ended up adding to my previous run. I never start it at home, but this time I let it carry on for my run home (which is about .75 of a mile) so in total over those 2 runs I did 6.9 miles, plus the run up there (still adding it up…). It was my fastest run to date so that is good.

Thursday was pump again- I had promised my friend last week that I would go a bit heavier on the weights this week- so tough!

Friday was just a rest day- I was going to do yoga but I had so much work I got on with that and then forgot basically.

Yesterday I went out for a long run on my own but decided I would see if I could keep up a similar pace to last weekend. Each time I noticed that my mile time was creeping over 10 I tried to speed up, and I managed to finish the 8.3 miles with an average pace of 9.54 min miles- I will take it!

Today has been a rest day- I woke up and sat on the sofa underneath the blanket and watched the tennis- totally unlike me to sit about like that but I really felt like I needed it. I was going to have a walk this afternoon but the rain stopped and then we had to pop to the hospital so I didn’t- I shall be doing my yoga DVD again later though, I promise.

So, week 3 done, onto week 4 and soon I have to choose the length of my long runs as Febulous will be here! Love it!

Jantastic runners- how is it going so far?

Everyone  what are you looking forward to in February?