Lap of honour

This week, I noticed that an illustrious group of 'athoners were planning to meet up at a 10K in Regent's Park today. Keen to put some faces to some names (and names to blogging identities) at last, I tweeted Fortnight Flo and the Magathon to see if there's be room for an extra; kind as they are, they said "Yes!" and I found myself on a bus to London at 6.40 this morning.

A group of friendly looking faces were gathered outside registration this morning so I took a chance and and introduced myself. Fortunately, it was Carla (who is still Flo in my mind), Rachel, Maggie, Louise, and Alma, who are a very lovely lot indeed (and not a random bunch of ladies wondering who on earth the sleepy blonde woman in lycra was bothering them on a Sunday morning). I marveled at how we'd all found each other having not arranged previously to each wear a red carnation; many of the affable 'athoners had met up before but they also had another trick up their sleeves (fast-forward to this afternoon when I looked at my Twitter feed):





Amazing! These are truly dedicated Janathoners, tweeting from the loo queue at a race on a Sunday morning. I can only marvel at the wizardry. I can do things like, you know, 'phone people on my mobile but I don't do that particularly well. I've got catching up to do, people. Maggie blogs whilst running and Rachel managed to send a tweet from breakfast whilst I was otherwise occupied with shoving a sausage sandwich in my face.

Technological talents aside, I had a thoroughly enjoyable morning with a charming, funny and friendly groups of ladies. They are also, incidentally, rather good at the running too and everyone completed the 10K in style. So in honour of these jolly Janathoners, I've attempted to recount my 3 laps of Regent's Park in tweets:

Lap 1:



 Lap 2:


 Lap 3:

A Tale of Two Coasters

Happy 2012, folks!

The only possible start to the New Year was the Hereford 10K, which is now officially a tradition after entering it 2 years on the trot.

Luckily, New Year's Eve turned out to be a relatively low key affair this year, having gone out too hard in the early evening with fajitas and cider at my brother's house, a case of deep vein Strongbowsis set in and we were all ready for bed by half ten. If it wasn't for a game of "spot the lookylikeys in Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra" (I saw Prince Philip, David Walliams and Grotbags... who did you spot?), we'd have been fast asleep as the clock struck midnight. Nobly, we soldiered on through but all agreed we'd do the champagne more justice if we saved it for after the run.

This year's race saw an unprecedented guest appearance from lovely boyfriend on the start line. Now, lovely boyfriend doesn't really share my love of running; he's a fit enough cyclist to do himself a lot of damage in trainers but he fails to see the fun in lacking the ability to freewheel on a descent. He has talked a lot about running "something" in the past and has put a lot of time and effort in to calculating his "virtual pb" of sub-40 minutes so this debut has been a long time coming and the press were notified.

Of course, we had no intentions of accompanying one another around the course. On the odd occassion that we've managed to go out for a run together previously, if he's not crippled me with amusement at the ferocity of his farting ("running jiggles up your innards", apparently. Who knew?) then we've ended up bordering on unkindess. Here's a case in point:

"Lovely boyfriend, you look like this when you run..."

*Cue impersonation of constipated Lego man hurrying for a bus*

"Well, Cake of Good Hope, you look like this..."

*Lovely boyfriend shuffles off up the road like an elderly hen in flip flops*

As such, we ran very different races: I managed to just break the hour (shaving 5 whole minutes off last year's rather sociable effort), whilst lovely boyfriend gained himself a REAL pb of sub-40 and bagged a top 20 place on an undulating course.

Have we converted him to running? Judging by the lack of freewheel on his descent of stairs today, I'm assuming not; although there are witnesses that heard him say he "enjoyed" his race. Our matching set of coasters proved useful in the bar after the race but I may have to resign myself to continuing the collection single-handedly again in future.

Christmas present

At this time of year, many running blogs are reflecting on the year just gone. Not here! I won't bore you with a list of resolutions for 2012 either; this is no time for naval gazing, it's Christmas!

As Oogway, the wise tortoise in Kung Fu Panda, says,

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the 'present'."



There's no need to wait until January. If you're not already up to your Christmas crackers in bread sauce then it isn't too late to give yourself a little Christmas present today and this is what the gift tag says:

Don't bother to keep the receipt. No refunds or exchanges necessary. Give yourself this gift and you'll be much nicer to everyone today (you'll also really enjoy your dinner and the first tipple will go straight to your knees). What could be more festive than that?

I hope you have a happy Christmas! Love from me x



*substitute other activities (e.g. bike ride/Twister/wheelbarrow racing) as you see fit.

All bottled up

If Santa is still looking for stocking fillers, he'd do well to check out my exclusive new range of aromatherapy oils:

End of Term Euphoria:

Use regularly to restore natural levels of optimism, creativity and sleep. The uplifting properties of this blend can be used to disperse the cumulative tension associated with long-term neglect of partners, friends and family. Can also be massaged into the eye area to reduce dark circles and puffiness.

Christmas Countdown:

This warming blend can be used to excite even the most miserly of beings. The comforting aromas of pine tree and mulled wine help stimulate an urgent need to drink, eat and shop festively. Use sparingly to avoid peaking too soon.

Caution: May cause hangovers.

Runner's High:

Apply liberally for unrivaled sensations of happiness, invincibility and appetite stimulation.

Tip: Blends well with Christmas Countdown.






I ran for the first time in a month today and contemplated the fortune I'd make with the last one. Then I realised the last thing I need is another excuse not to go training.

Still, I plan to make millions with the first bottle come January.

A spiral of self-distraction

Today, I have discovered 5 reasons why it would be a terrible idea for me to work from home on a regular basis:

1. Snacks*

(*You want the recipe, don't you...)

2. Doorstep Chuggers

3. Twitter

4. Cold calls

5. My withering will power

The only really justifiable distraction hasn't actually seemed that tempting:

Tomorrow, I shall run to work.

Dear Jim

Periodical disappointment

You may not know this but I'm a subscriber to a very popular glossy mag. Despite its massive following, it's only published once a year. Once a year, every year, except last year, when there appeared to be some kind of administrative error and it wasn't delivered. Obviously, I wrote a strongly worded letter of disgust. Fancy waiting 12 months for my magazine, only to be left so disappointed. Thankfully, the publisher rectified the error and sent this year's digest even earlier than expected. What a relief.


Congratulations to those who have a place in London 2012; I'll look forward to following your progress and cheering on April 22nd. Don't be too disappointed if you didn't though; as Lazy Girl Running says, London's not the only marathon. Personally, I'm looking forward to Stockholm Jubilee Marathon next July.

Will I enter the London ballot again? Of course I will.