the great mope of 2011

Since injuring my foot in an unfortunate tree root / foot interface towards the tail end of Juneathon, I have been experiencing what the experts refer to as “Running Envy”. The symptoms of this cruel affliction are, firstly, the inability to run oneself. This gives rise to feelings of inadequecy, a rejection of anything running related and the involuntary act of muttering “bastard” under ones breath whenever someone else is observed running. Sufferers of this condition often transfer their fixation with running onto other sports. As an example, the “Running Envy” victim may avoid all running related pastimes, including such things as not reading blog posts, and instead focus his obsession on some unrelated sport, for example cycling and the Tour De France, he may read blogs related to cycling like the always excellent Bike Snob and perhaps even take part in silly long-distance overnight bicycling events himself.
Which is all very well, but when said silly long distance overnight bicycling event leaves your bike with an annoying creak and the need for replacement parts, any kind of participation in this surrogate sporting activity becomes difficult in itself. So when my new bottom bracket and cranks arrived, I was keen to get them replaced as soon as possible. When I had first built the bike, I wanted it to be as “original” as possible, keeping and re-using as many of the original parts as I could and retaining the spirit of the original 30+ year old contraption. As I have now done over a thousand kilometres on the bike, wear and tear has begun to take it’s toll and I have realised that a 30 year old cottered crankset may not be the best solution to turning the wheels. So the cranks and bottom bracket were replaced and then the bike taken out for a spin last night. The pedalling feels so much smoother and it is obvious now that the old bottom bracket was literally on it’s last legs. Like an overdue visit to the Opticians, you don’t realise how bad things have got until they are suddenly put right.
And, despite still having pain in my foot, it does at last appear to be getting better. So after flunking out on my “one running race per month for 2011″ commitment in July. I hope to be getting back to some tentative running in time for the Bearbrook 10k in a couple of weeks time.
Ohh… look! What’s that over there? Looks like… Looks like my Mojo. I think I’ll go and get it back…

Soundtrack to this post: Augustus Pablo – Tippa Tone Blues

juneathon day 30: neither a bang nor a whimper

So that is it. Day 30 done and Juneathon complete. It never ceases to amaze me how many ways people find to fulfil their Juneathon responsibilities. And for me, that is what Juneathon is about, pushing yourself, thinking about what you are doing and finding ever more creative ways to squeeze in a run or a cycle or some form of exercise. Or wrack your brains to try and find a way of categorising a completely unrelated activity as being eligible for Juneathon.
Having done “run or exercise each day” in 2009, I became a Juneathon purist in 2010 and ran every day throughout June. This year I’d planned to run in the Vibrams or cycle on the fixie / singlespeed each day. And I almost managed it, apart from my little hiccup on Day 25 when I was warned off of putting any weight on my right foot by members of the medical profession and had to do free weights instead. It hasn’t been as physically or psychologically tough as before but that is possibly because I knew what to expect and paced myself accordingly. I was a little disappointed at having to substitute running for cycling from about Day 20 onward but I’d rather carry on and cycle than give up altogether. As always, I was motivated by reading of everyone else’s exploits, and by the nice comments left on my blog and it is this sense of community and common goals that make Juneathon so enjoyable.

So this year’s Juneathonism was rounded out with a 32.56km bike ride on the singlespeed

So, my final stats are:
Distance Run: 124km
Distance Cycled: 482km
Total: 606km

I shall give myself a few days off before I pull the singlespeed from the garage early on Sunday morning and head off on my last big (120km) training ride before The Dunwich Dynamo.

juneathon day 29: tubeless

Today I had the dubious pleasure of attending a trade “show” (the word show always conjures up images beautiful women in glittery costumes high kicking their way across a stage… when coupled with the word “trade” however, nothing could be further from the truth). It was at Olympia and I had to endure a train journey into London (not too bad) and then a couple of tube journeys to Olympia (not too good). The “show” was not especially exciting and I left clutching a bag of leaflets, 1 flash memory stick emblazoned with the logo of a company I will never use and a branded pen. Not much of a haul.
After the “show”, I needed to be in Oxford Circus, then Marble Arch, then Paddington. So I got the Tube to Oxford Circus, did what I had to do and then decided that as it was a nice day and the Tube was way too hot and crowded and Marble Arch was relatively close, that I’d walk to Marble Arch. Once at Marble Arch I again, did what I had to do and then decided that Paddington was now a walkable distance too so I set off for Paddington. By my estimate, roughly three and a half miles walked through the streets of London. I dropped in at the office and then decided that, as I needed to get back to Highbury and Islington, I’d better relent and jump on the tube as that was perhaps a little too far to stroll. And, in addition to that, my right foot was hurting. Like a bastard. So I guzzled some Ibuprofen and set off on my way home.
Arriving home, and reluctant to try and claim a bit of walking in London as my Juneathon effort for the day, I hopped on the singlespeed and knocked out a fairly swift and pain-free 17.3kms. Not sure if I’ll have time for any sort of Grand Finale tomorrow, certainly not a run with the sore foot, but maybe a cycle ride and an hour or so of free-weights to bring this years Juneathon shuddering to a halt.

juneathon day 28: i hear thunder

After the heat of yesterday, it was nice to wake up to a more civilised temperature this morning. Civilised, that is, if you have to go to work or do anything remotely strenuous… if you can just laze about and do nothing, give me the hot sun and high temperatures of yesterday, instead. But today did call for both a spot of exercise and a spot of work so I’ll settle for cooler.
And once again another bike ride was planned owing to the still nagging, achey sensation in the right foot. Today’s weapon of choice was to be the fixie again, which I prefer for short sharp blasts in and around town or basically anywhere that is a) not too far and b) does not involve steep descents. So a workmanlike 22kms out and back route along roads that were neither scenic or inspiring. I was able to just put my head down and go though and that in itself can be a rare pleasure sometimes. The route was along a main “A” road so no real junctions or turnings to watch out for so just switch to autopilot, be aware of the traffic and keep the legs turning. Which is not to say it wasn’t enjoyable as it is nice to disengage the brain for a while… And nice to get the days ride out of the way before the heavens opened and the lightning started an hour or so after I arrived back home
2 more days of Juneathon left and normally by this point I am dying for it to be over. Not so this year as I think my inability to run for the last bit of Juneathon has made me crave the idea of getting out for a run. I have the Cranleigh 10km on the 10th of July and hope to get in a couple of short training runs before then so long as the foot feels better. Oh and a 120 – 140km training bike ride planned for Sunday 3rd July. There really is no rest for the wicked.

juneathon day 27: be prepared

Just as the under-endowed man overcompensates with a big car, my inability to run has caused me to overcompensate by performing 2 seperate Juneathon relevant activities in one day.
As it was forecast to be hot today, descending into heavy rain and storms from mid-afternoon, I thought I’d get some exercise out of the way early so packed myself off into the garage where the weights and bench live and spent an hour repeatedly picking up and putting down heavy objects. One hour later, sweaty and a little shaky, I returned to the house, showered and started work. I was glad to be working from home today, it was really muggy out and the thought of having to travel into London on the motorbike, or worse still the tube, was something I fortunately did not have to worry about.
This evening, SonNumberOne was to do his cycling badge at cubs so I volunteered to cycle with him and his friend to the feild where the Cubs were due to meet. I dropped them at just before 7pm, leaving me an hour and a half to kill before having to pick them up. As the predicted storms had not arrived, I could not think of a better way to kill 90 minutes than just riding around on the fixie with no particular destination. So I set off on a meandering and random route which ended up being 32.77km by the time I’d collected the 2 cub scouts, now both proud recipients of their Cycling badges