Month: January 2014

Janathon Day 12. How to take 10 years off your age

At last, I found something different to do today for Janathon. I dusted off the Wii balance board and decided to do some Wii Fit.

It was immediately obvious I hadn’t used this for a very long time so it started me off with a body test. After various wobbly balance tests it announced I’d put on a couple of Kilograms and gave my Wii Fit age as 50. Well gee thanks!

I pressed on, and did 30 minutes of various daft games. I then thought, purely for scientific research I’d redo the Body Test. Moose wobbling about and then the machine proudly told me if lost one kilo and my new Wii Fit age was 40. Result!

Janathon Day 11. Plankathon

Due to my complete failure to find anything other than running to do for Janathon, I think I shall rename it ‘Plankathon*’. For variety, this one was performed after eating copious amounts of cheese,  washed down by a glass of Montepulciano. 1 minute 40 seconds, abandoned after husband re-entered the room and sniggered at me.

*My phone keeps trying to auto correct Plankathon to Plankton. Maybe I’ll try that tomorrow

Janathon Day 10. Hamstrings.

Feeling more and more disappointed about not running today.  Everything I pick up and read is about running (curse you Twitter,  and copy of Runner’s World in the toilet!) Tonight I have done a small amount of hamstring stretches whilst trying to feel if it’s stretching things too much or not.

Realised I need to do some form of cardiovascular exercise whilst I’m not running,  otherwise it will be sooooo hard to start running again. Really not keen on swimming,  so I guess it’ll have to be cycling.  Unfortunately my heavyy old ‘happy shopper’ bike is still buried in the garage under builder’s stuff and dust sheets.

The builders are due to go next week so hopefully then I can get back out on the road.  Unless any one has any ideas of any other forms of exercise I could be doing???

Janathon Day 7. A Decision and Yah Boo Sucks

Late last night I made a radical decision.  I would change my Janathon challenge from ‘getting out to run’ into a ‘not run’ challenge.  It’s a much bigger challenge,  and will hopefully help me to downgrade my ‘niggle’ back into a ‘twinge’,  and hopefully to nothing at all.

I was feeling quite sad as I love love love my running and hate cross training. However with my sensible head on, it might be just what I need to do to enable me to have a wonderful rest of the year for running rather than hobbling and grumbling.

With this in mind,  I did NOT need to open an email this morning and read “Jantastic has started. Let’s run! “ Yah boo sucks to them!

Instead I dug one of my trusty DVDs and started to do the 10 minute Abs section.  Then in a fit of enthusiasm I also did the never-before-attempted ‘buns’ 10 minutes. Let’s just hope I can sit down tomorrow!

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Janathon Day 6. Twinge, Niggle, Injury

A party game that doesn’t sound nearly as much fun as ‘Snog, Marry, Avoid’, I’ve been playing this one today. When does a twinge become a niggle, and when does that niggle become an injury? In some cases it’s obvious. Anyone who’s ever limped home from an abandoned run will know exactly what an injury is. After Devizes Half Marathon back in October last year, 13.2 miles in freezing rain ending with a steep, slippery scramble up a hill was enough to leave my backside sore with tight muscles. I laughed it off, because it’s funny to have a sore bottom after running, isn’t it? A month later l had to admit that my right butt cheek was still feeling a little sore after running. I think at this point it became a ‘Twinge’.

It’s now the new year, I’ve run a couple of times, and guess what – I can still feel it. I can feel it even when not running. It’s not desperately painful but I Googled my symptoms, and at this point I believe it officially became a ‘Niggle’. I’ve read up on some exercises I can do, and this made up my Janathon exercise for today. (Doing the exercises, not the reading). If at any point I decide to consult a Doctor or Physio about my bottom, then it will develop into an ‘Injury’.

Last time I had an injury it cost lots of money, I didn’t run for weeks and I ended up creating a stir wearing an enormous float in our local swimming pool (otherwise known as aqua running). Not keen on that happening again, so fingers crossed the exercises help.

Janathon Day 5. A step back

Yesterday I was all excited about ‘training like an elite’. Today I
appear to be limping like an elite. One of the exercises that felt strange obviously worked a muscle in a way it wasn’t meant to (or hadn’t been for a long time) and today it was feeling tight and a little sore.  I decided it was wise to forego my chance of a long run and to do something else for Janathon instead. It was too wet for a ‘dressing gown dash’ so it will be another plank for me for today.

As the builders are returning tomorrow for a week I guess I’ll be back to hiding under beds again.