#Juneathon 2015 Day 2

Pride comes before a fall.

Juneathon continues… I had the recurring and very dubious notion this morning of going for a small run before work. Despite waking 20 minutes before the alarm sounded, I opted to roll over and ‘snooze’ the intrusion twice before stirring. Instead of the run, I managed to take the wonder pup for a walk. The pup either gets dragged around the village or lifted into the back of the car so she can be let off the lead to roam freely and knacker herself out at the nearby Stratfield Brake. We opted for the latter.

This Juneathon malarkey means that I’m supposed to exercise every day for the month of June, regardless of how “up for it” I’m feeling. Yes, you can exercise in different ways but to me, running is always my first choice. After finishing work, I had intended to go out straight away but instead, succumbed to a very satisfactory 30 minute slumber. When I woke, the notion of having to go out for the sake of going out was no longer a welcome one. I haven’t long got back into the habit of enjoying running again and don’t want to ruin that by forcing myself to run when I don’t feel like it.

Anyway, as the wife was in the mood, I settled for dimming the lights and putting some Barry White on. Does this count for Juneathon?

My evening involved meeting some other budding parents at a local antenatal class. Still, no run to speak of; however, there was an informative video about breastfeeding - “the baby needs to get a big mouthful of breast” was a phrase often repeated.

When the class was over, the day was about to disappear but I finally donned my running gear and set off with a head torch to repeat the 5K I ran yesterday. As I was about to leave, the wonder pup gave her very best puppy eyes so I grabbed the lead and she came along for her second day of Juneathon also. As the pup doesn’t have any glow in the dark collars, she sadly stayed on the lead for the whole of the run but she kept a good pace throughout. The only downside was around the two mile mark when through either stupidity, complacency or idiocy, my left foot hit something on the ground and I binned it. Thankfully, my phone was intact and unbroken, the dog had opted to see how I was rather than run off with the lead that I had dropped and I had only incurred some minor grazing. So here I am, close to midnight again, blogging that I’ve been out for a run. Seems like such a simple notion but feels like a mighty triumph.

Juneathon, much like Marcothon, is a grand idea. I’m hoping that it will reinvigorate a spark to want to run every day, without it feeling monotonous, repetitive or boring. I’m hoping that it won’t beat the fledgling spark of fun out of me. I used to run every lunchtime when my job was based in the centre of Oxford. Since it was moved, and along with various other excuses, I have struggled to maintain my fitness and my enthusiasm for running in recent months. The last time that I remember running freely and enjoying it was in the run up to the Dublin Marathon in October 2013. Ever since then, I feel as if for the most part that I’ve been going through the motions.

ps Apologies for the second gratuitous selfie with the wonder pup. It was supposed to have been a nice, sunny pic of the Oxford canal but there was no sunshine to be had at 11.00pm and the pup deserves some credit for the second day of this regimented madness.

An ill little boy has shaped my day today- a sleepless night with Frank last night meant that today I...

#Juneathon 2015 Day 1

Inspired by my friend, Louise, on Twitter, I’ve opted to give Juneathon a go. This evening, me & the wonder pup pottered around a 5K. Nothing strenuous and the dog kept a good pace throughout. I think she’s destined for great things - podium finishes, long distance pacing, pooping in the bushes, etc.

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