Juneathon 2013 day one

So I'm having another crack at Juneathon this year. The deal is that you commit to running (or some other form of exercise) every day and blogging about it. Last year I did ok on the running - managed about 25 days - but not so well on the blogging. Let's see how it goes this year.

Last year I came at Juneathon from a standing start, having not run at all for at least a year beforehand. This year things are different. I've been running regularly since January and it's going pretty well. Last saturday I ran the Great Manchester Run (10k) with friends, and we're now signed up for the Great Birmigham Run (half marathon) in October. I'm feeling very positive about my running at the moment. I've made sporadic attempts to get into the running habit over the last 10 years or so but it has always felt like extremely hard work - the idea of being able to cover 10k with ease, let alone a half marathon would have seemed ridiculous. However regular running since January has paid off (it seems the secret of getting better at running is to run more - who knew?) and for the first time ever in my life I can now cover 10k with ease and a half marathon feels possible. It's not necessarily a pretty sight and I'm very far from being fast or elegant but hey, I'm happy.

My aim for this Juneathon then is to consolidate what I've done so far. I'd like to increase my regular training distance from 5k to more like 10k. I'd like to get a little bit faster. I'd like to lose some weight. And I'd like to stick with it. It should be doable - the only fly in the ointment (so far) is Glastonbury at the end of the month, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Today's run then - the aim was to go a steady 10k, not push the pace too much, and to try and keep my heart rate below 80% of max (first time out of the blocks for my new toy - heart rate monitor). It went well. The pace felt easy all the way around. I resisted my usual urge to hare off like a rat up a drainpipe. There was more in the tank when I finished. Passed two other runners as I went round and managed a cheery hello to both. A good start all round.

Day one 10k in 1.3.16
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