#Janathon Day 31 - It's over

For the final day of #Janathon I had intended to runch but a coffee date with the girls won out over a rainy run.

This evening I completed my Kathryn Budig Aim True DVD. I love the variety of postures and the playful sequencing disguises a tough workout. I am so excited to be attending a workshop with Kathryn this summer at TriYoga, I am especially looking forward to the Arm Balances session, kick your feet up.

#Janathon Day 31 - Aim True Yoga

#Janathon Day 30 - Letting go

To practice yoga you need not only a flexible, strong body but also mind. The hardest lesson I have been learning in yoga is to trust, my teacher, my body and my mind.

#Janathon Day 30 - Ashtanga Practice 

#Janathon Day 28 - Lunch Breaks at work

#Janathon has got me thinking a little more creatively about how I use my time and making the most of every day.

The first half of January I was overwhelmed with the choice of activities and found myself doing a little too much, at the expense of the husband and my sleep! This half the month I have been working out in shorter sessions, and maximising my rest and relaxing time.

Today I went to the gym in my lung break, I'm lucky to work on flexi-time and as I am on the University Campus I have the Surrey Sports Park just a stones throw away. It was great to get in the gym while it was quiet, I spent 10 minutes warming up on the cross trainer, before moving to the weights machines. I then completed 6 minutes on the incline stepper before winding down with some core work. Was good to feel the buzz of a good workout all afternoon.

#Janathon Day 28 - Lunch break gym session 

#Janathon Day 27 - Running Mojo

After Saturday's failed 10k at Glow in the Park I was feeling a bit blah about running. Every run recently has felt heavy and slow and just not as fun as it used to be. Turns out all I needed was a new route and a little gossip, out for my weekly run date with Evita we hit the roads and ran through to the next town over and completed a nice 8km loop in around 55minutes (including waiting for the trains at the level crossing).

Good to have the running legs back again.

#Janathon Day 27 - 8.2km run 

#Jantastic Run 1 Week 3

#Janathon Day 26 - Stretches and spring cleaning

Today was spent having a proper spring clean, I was intending only to get the Dyson out and then call it at day but a hour after that I'd pulled out the oven and was mopping behind it, after thoroughly cleaning all our kitchen cupboards. Actually fear I may have lost my mind! Why does it look messier than when I started? Looks like il have fun sorting my clean but messy house out this week!

In between being a domesticated wife I forgot my plans to run, however managed to find space and time on my mat, starting with some sun sals and then messing around with a little flow based on our class on Thursday. I really do enjoy the variations within flow classes, three legged dogs especially, and one day I will conquer the standing split.

#Janathon Day 26 - Vinyasa flow style practice plus a spring cleaning rampage  

#Janathon Day 25 - Attempted 10k

Tonight we ran the Votwo Glow in the Park run. Due to heavy rainfall and 50mph winds during the afternoon the course was a little rough around the edges. The rolling course would of been tough even in fair weather, however with the recent down pour the course was ankle deep churned mud.

We struggled down a steep decline and we then met a sharp incline, with the coating of mud we could barely sustain a slow jog, thankfully by this point Evita was laughing, we decided short after 3km that we would run to the finish and bow out. 

Although we didn't finish our planned race it was both Evita and my first timed 5k, so a new PB.

#Janathon Day 25 - Polesdon Lacey Glow in the Park 5k

#Jantastic - Run 2, Week 3

Glow in the Park - Mud and a podium place

One of the unexpected positives from running has been the support and friendship of those supporting me, through existing friendships and with the Team Naturally Run girls on Facebook and twitter. When my colleague Evita first asked me if I would like to go for a run last summer I didn’t think it would become the regular training run and we would be covering on average 10k while chatting away.

We agreed that we would find a fast and flat road course for her first 10k timed run, but in my excitement for finding the LeahGlow in the Park run at a local Park (Polesdon Lacey), I neglected to check the course information and it turns out that Polesdon Lacey is neither flat, nor road!

January has been just wet non-stop, and when it hasn’t been raining it has been windy, like proper rip up your fences windy (our poor fence!), the morning of the run, it poured with rain, and according to race organisers they lost most of the course markers throughout the day, replacing these little less than an hour before the run was due to start.

With our regulatory required head torches, and not so required neon outfits we made our way to the start line, with over 400 runners expected and 99 running on the night it was a quiet start-line, everyone bunched up close trying to bounce a little warmth into cold legs. This was the first event that I have ever been to without a warm-up, just a quick word from the organisers on course safety and we were off!

Before we had even hit the 1k marker I had started apologising to Evita for my mis-sell of the event. The path had quickly turned to trail, then to a mix of grass and mud, our road trainers were not providing the traction required for the mixed wet terrain. Around the 2k marker a steep rocky decline had slowed the pack in front to a walk, and we held hands as we clambered the steps down. It was somewhere between 3-4k that I thought maybe I would not be running the full 10k, which was confirmed when both Evita and I were on our hands and knees trying to stay upright up a hill, which can only be accurately defined as a small mudslide (I so wish I had taken pictures), the only thing keeping me moving up that hill was the need to keep ahead of Evita, whom I was certain would throttle me if she caught up!

We made sure to run the final 1k, and a token sprint finish, before bowing out of the second lap! Although for a short while, we were on the podium!

Glow in the Park 5k – Polesdon Lacey 25/01/2014 (49:26)