Juneathon: Day 17

Continuing this week's general theme of bizarre car stuff, I received a letter from a distant council demanding I pay £120 for a motoring offence committed by someone who is not me, driving a car which is not mine, in a place to which I have never been (although apparently Jogblog was born there). I have to write to them explaining why I don't think I should have to pay this £120. Where to begin....?

Later, got in a panic about impending half marathon and went out to force myself up some hills - didn't have time for a longer run today, but managed 25 minutes. On the downhill last half mile I thought I'd have a go at running at seven-minute-mile pace, just to see what it felt like. Well, I can confirm it feels - for me - uncomfortably fast, even downhill. How anyone can run marathons, or 10k's for that matter, or any distance at all really, at a considerably faster pace than that is beyond me. Then accidentally trod on a large stone which someone had considerately left in the middle of the pavement and narrowly avoided doing something unpleasant to my ankle. That'll teach me to look where I'm going.

Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: 25:31
Splits:

• 11:09
• 9:49
• 4:34

Average pace: 10:12 (quite pleased with this given the hilliness of the route, although I guess it was lowered ever so slightly by the microsecond during which I ran at seven-minute-mile pace)

Total Juneathon distance run so far: 66.81 miles
Total Juneathon running time so far: 11:01:55
Juneathon days completed: 17/30

Juneathon: Day 14

Today , and indeed this week, got off to a great start when I couldn’t start the car. Daughter had to get to nursery, I had to get to work. Car would not start. Key turned in ignition OK, engine turned over, but the reassuring sound of the engine firing was conspicuous by its absence. After ten frustrating minutes I gave up and called the AA, who assured me someone would be there within the hour. Daughter and I proceeded back into the house to while away the time playing with dinosaurs and washing the breakfast dishes (and harvesting my Farmville crops). AA man continued not to arrive. He finally materialised at 10.20, tried my key in the ignition, immediately asked me if I had a spare key, which I eventually hunted down among all the other spare keys, tried the spare key in the ignition, and lo and behold, the car started. How much of an idiot did I feel, knowing I could have got the car going in the first place by the simple expedient of trying the spare key (which never occurred to me for a second) and would not then have had to wait an hour and a half for AA man to solve the problem in five seconds. Apparently the old key had "lost its coding". Well, how was I to know? It looked the same...

So I finally made it to work, where I wasted some time reading Juneathon blogs and wondering how the Independent Adjudicator is going to decide the winner. If it goes on total miles run, or indeed entertainment level and professionalism of blog (or for that matter, considering the above start to the day, intelligence of blogger), I have no chance, even though I’m almost certain to do more miles this month than ever before. However, I do think Juneathon is having a positive effect. My legs don’t feel sore at all today despite yesterday’s 7-miler and I have tons of energy, despite having to stay up late last night to pick son up from his job at Cineworld at past midnight.

Anyway 14 days of Juneathon completed, 2 weeks of daily running, so I guess having come this far I'll just have to keep going. Unless I get injured, or ill, or drop dead, or something.

Just a short and (very) slow run today, though. In my defence it did involve hills. I still hate hills.

Remind me again why I'm doing this half marathon in less than three weeks?

Distance: 2.07 miles
Time: 22:12
Splits: 10:59, 10:25, 0:47
Average pace: 10:42

Total Juneathon distance run so far: 51.59 miles
Total Juneathon running time so far: 8:27:11