Try, try and try again.

Ok so my jogging, logging and blogging effort failed again as it usually does but it was nice to be able to say one night to another dad whilst picking up our kids from Cubs "I've run every day this year". The following day, my legs told me to eff off. I don't blame them really, they were getting a bit sore, but mostly from impact shock rather than muscular hurty's, which is sort of good. 

I didn't completely stop exercising, just jogs n logs. Carried on cycling to and from work as well as going back to TKD and more TT matches. 

Come to think of it, there is possibly only 1 day so far when I haven't done any form proper exercise. Yes, TT is proper exercise! Unfortunately there is no section on the running free website for ping pong and martial arts, and the ride into work isn't really worth logging. 

Still, there are plenty of Janathoners still going, and the very best of jolly luck to them all. 

I have run again since the early morning failing, and I will get back on it as I train for Abingdon Marathon. I will also try and review that Wahoo HRM thingy too. It's quite a funky little gadget, it's just a shame there is no website for a more in-depth geek out. 

TRFN

Those familiar aches are back

Had a TT match last night, first one since December 9th in fact, and this one was a damn sight tougher than the last one. 

We played against Drayton B, the only team so far this season to have beaten us, which was the first match of the season. 

It was quite a late one too! 

Started off badly losing the first 2 (out of 10) games of the night, before John pulled one back. Drayton then edged the gap to 2 again before yours truly played a ropey 4-setter to close it to 3-2 at the halfway point. It was 9:45 by this point and getting on. 

John was up next and duly won, but he dragged that out too for a good 25 mins. That made it 3-3. Jim then had play their "worst" player, again it want to 5, but jim lost that too. Needless to say jim wasn't a happy chappy - it was his first duck of the season. 4-3 Drayton. 

John was up for his last game against their best player next, and as he has done a few times already this season, made them look like complete beginners. He won 3-1 to put us level again! Awesome night for john again. 

My turn next against their captain in the last singles game of the night. 

I had beaten him already this season but I didn't deserve to, he should have thrashed me but for some reason just switched off. Anyway, I knew he was a good player having played him quite a few times over the years. I had only beaten him a couple of times. 

I never expected to win 11-2, 11-5 11-2!!

So, we were in the lead going in to the doubles, win this and we would win the match!

Started brilliantly with us winning the first end 11-2, Drayton took a tight 2nd and 3rd end before we managed to pull the 4th. So it was all down to a 5th end, again. Richard decided to adjust his game a touch and just thrash everything off his backhand, and there was not a damn thing we could do about it. Bugger. 

So we had to settle for another draw. We have now won 3, drawn 4 and lost just the 1. We are in 3rd place in Div 2 only 4 points behind Drayton B in 2nd, but crucially we have 2 games in hand over them, and 1 over the team in 4th and 2 points behind us. 

Keep the heads lads. We can do it this year. 

That's enough to TT jabber for the mo, next match isn't till next Thursday so there is a while to wait for that. 

As for my Janathon effort today, it was a killer. Not because of the route, but because I was effing knackered. Aching like a bastard from the match, half a bottle of wine, and less than 4 hours sleep do not mix with running. Done the shorter route again anyways just cos. 

Slowly again though. 5.44km in 31 dead. 

Hopefully will be suitably recovered by tomo evening to put in a touch extra distance, poss 10k instead. We shall see. Plus I have new running stuff to wear. Yaaaaay. 

👋👋👋👋

The Normalness Returns

Xmas is now well and truly done with at last, decs and lights have been put away, trees have been re-planted, re-boxed or just binned and as with the start of every new year, there are loads of people buying cheap running clobber and getting out on the pavements/trails for the first time in years, including the Wife type. Good luck to you all I say, please stick at it, you will love it eventually. 

I enjoyed this Xmas, mainly because it was the first one I've had where I've been off work on both Xmas eve and Xmas Day since probably before we had the boys. Also it was the first one ever we've had where it was just the 4 of us, at home, all of Xmas day with no visiting members of family, which was splendid. 

But my favourite bit - outside on Xmas eve at 5:30 in the evening looking up at the sky looking for "Santa". 

I knew it was the ISS, wifey new it was the ISS, but the kids didn't. They ARE convinced it was Santa, and seeing their faces and hearing the utter conviction in their voices that it was actually Santa was just magic, and I'm not ashamed to admit that for a little while, I hoped it was too. That would be awesome wouldn't it?

So for now the kids still believe in the big fella, and that can't be a bad thing. I hope it lasts for another few years yet. 

Had a boring sort of recovery run into work this morning, just the short 5.4k plod. Probs be doing the same tomo morning as I have a TT match tonigh - 1st of the new year and against the only team to have beaten us so far this season. I'll let you know more in tomorrow's blog. 

Cheers for the noo. 

39 years & 1 week

Yep, 1 week into my 39th year of existence outside of the womb. Don't feel any different to last year really, except possibly less grumpy which is always nice. 

Quite a pleasant day really, nice sort-of lie in. I say sort of as we were woken by the cat yaffing up on the window sill - at least it wasn't the bed this time - before Number 2 Orc child came in at 6:20. Not particularly unbroken sleep but wifey woman got up and done whatev's before I eventually crawled out around 9:40!! So much for the early morning Janathon effort. Still nice though. 

Wifey toddled off to church to leave me at home with the Orcs playing various electronic wizardry, 1 on a Kindle Fire, t'other on the Xbox. I sodded off into the kitchen to do the washing up before getting outside and disposing of a previous Xmas tree. 

This was the one we got for 2013 Xmas btw. We bought a real one in a pot with roots and all that gumf in the hope that we could keep it outside all year round, but alas it died. Don't really know why, and we weren't sure it was dead until all the needles had turned brown. 

So it was time for it to go in the brown bin. 

We bought another real one for 2014 Xmas, which is now outside, but we don't know if it will last. Still cheaper than buying a good fake tree though. 

Wife returned from church only to go back out a short while later taking the Orcs with her to grab a spot of shopping leaving me alone to enjoy the p & q while downloading the demo for Destiny. 😁

Once they had returned I was able get the Janathon effort in. Because I had been watching the Edinburgh Tattoo on the tele, I decided I HAD to have the Cold Stream Guards album on my iPhone to listen to, so loaded it up and buggered off out.

It was a nice foggy 10k up to RAL - turned round at 5k - and the music was lovely. Was planning on sticking to the same pace for the whole run but as I turned to head back, 633 Squadron came on in my ears and I defy ANYONE to not run faster when they hear that, followed by Ride of the Valkyries, well, same pace run can bugger right off. 

Whole run in the end was 50 mins and some seconds with the 1st half done in around 27 mins. 

Nice to get the first double figure run in. Will poss do 1 more in the first full week before upping the distance on all runs. 

Cheers. 

Busy day, for a change!

Yeah I know, disgusting innit?

At work all day on a Saturday actually doing WORK! Wasn't too keen on the idea myself but it needed doing, just struggled to find the motivation to do it, before realising I would probably get the sack if I didn't do it. Motivation enough even for an idle feck like myself. Still, got it done eventually, I just hope my boss thinks it's good enough. 

But then that brings up another question doesn't it. If he thinks it is good enough, will he get me to do more of them? I bloody well hope not, sort of. 

And so to Janathon 3. 

Slightly longer route home than the last 2 efforts, and I mean slightly 6.28km and in 37 odd mins. Very slow considering I've done the same route in 26 mins a while back. Still, that's what this is for, getting the legs back. 

Hopefully do 10k for day 4. We shall see. 

See y'all. 

Free stuff!

Ha ha ha, got you.

I meant free stuff that I have already got, not junk I'm giving away, but seeing as you're here, read on. 

Back in November I was having a moan at Facebook when I saw the competition entry thing for the weekly giveaway in Men's Running. It said "Last chance to enter!" So I did. Didn't have to do much, just provide my name and email address, I then promptly forgot about it. 

Imagine my unbridled joy when I got the "Congrats, you're a winner!" email. 

YAAAAAY I shouteth. 

After a couple of weeks and some impatient emailing, I got my shiny prize box. YAAAAAY I shouteth again. 

In my shiny box was the Nathan running torch I mentioned in my earlier post, a box of quite yummy breakfast bars, a set of insoles which I have to my dad as I didn't need them, a set of 3 funky little clip-on safety lights - also Nathan, an odd, and rather shit drinking bottle which looked like some form of Penis enlargement device. I shaln't be using this for either drinking from or any form of genital manipulation. 

But little star piece of geekery in the box was the Wahoo Tickr Run. It's got all sorts of gyroscopic devilry inside the little bestie along with HRM doodads. 

I shall blather about it more when given it a proper thrashing. 

Meantime, Janathon 2015 day 2 wasn't what I wanted it to be. Got out of bed late and had to take the short 5.4k route into work. 27 odd mins though so a touch quicker than day 1. 

Still going though, not broken yet. 

See y'all soonish. 

The Janathon Return....

Howdy folks, how's y'all?

Been a while innit. I'm back now though, but probs not for very long. Just until my knees collapse or some such. 

I'm still cycling, running and Table Tennising, but since last you read my twaddle I've started Taekwondoing too. It made sense really, done it years ago but not for long, my 2 boys started back in 2013 (or poss earlier) and really enjoy it, I was offered membership at a massively discounted rate so had to take it. Been doing it since the start of 2014 and am 3 grades in with 7 to go to hit that black belt target. 

Any road, more on that later, this shit's all about the run. 

It wasn't very exciting. It was just my standard bimble home-work route. It was dark, wet and windy, but I was teched up with a Wahoo Tickr HRM thing, head torch and my new shiny Nathan Zephyr Fire 100 running torch - 

so I was quite well kitted up, also being a bit wussy and wearing several layers, I was a bit too warm tbh. Glad it was only a tickle over 5k otherwise I may have boiled myself. 

But that was that, the 1st of hopefully, if I'm sensible!, 31 daily runs. 5.4km nice and slow in just about half an hour. 

Sadly most of my runs will be in the dark so not likely to see much to report. Hoping to hear Owls at some point though, that'd be top. 

Cheers folks.