Juneathon days 7,8 & 9 - no more marginal thinking

I've been on the treadmill the last three days, due primarily to the completely bonkers weather. I know lots of people (proper runners) really like running in the rain but it doesn't do anything for me. I was also a little disheartened by how hard my last outdoor run felt so was happy to spend a few days building up distance on the treadmill.

When I first ran on the treadmill early last week I was labouring under the misconception that it was measuring distance in miles, but I've realised now that this (sadly) can't be right, otherwise I'd be running the fastest miles of my life with pretty much no training (except sitting on the sofa and eating donuts). So, clearly it must be KPH which means I have a way to go until I am back up near my personal best.

10 years ago I used to be able to run 5k in 30 minutes relatively easily, and my 10k PB was just under an hour, so a standard pace of around 6 minutes per k. I'm quite a way off that now, averaging 7.5 mins per k. Yesterday I turned the treadmill up to a 6 minute per k pace just to see what would happen. I kept it up for about 4 minutes but it felt insanely fast and crazy to think that it was ever a comfortable pace for me. Still, I guess it's unrealistic to expect to do no training for months and then suddenly be match fit after a week of exercise.

On the plus side I am delighted to have stuck with Juneathon so far - this is literally the only time in my life that I have ever managed an exercise streak of more than three days. That we're 9 days in and I'm still with the programme feels amazing. I think it's actually easier to stick with something that requires action every day than it is to stick to a regime of three times a week or whatever. With every day there's no question about whether you're supposed to be doing something or not - you are! With three times a week it's far too easy to put off till tomorrow, and then tomorrow again, and then before you know it you're out of the habit. Interestingly, I've just read a piece in the Guardian magazine which makes pretty much exactly the same point - apparently it's all to do with marginal thinking. Check it out here if you are interested.