Day 188: Midnight Madness: Part Two

RUN: 2.1 miles

On the jog back through town, we attracted more comments from amused festive drinkers, and we even attracted some followers, who fancied a go themselves. High heels were no obstacle for one girl who decided to join in for quite a way.

Our mad midnight run turned out to be rather fun, and we didn't feel in danger or anything. But I don't think I'll be doing it on a regular basis, just in case.

Here's  the second part of our midnight run

Day 187: Midnight Madness: Part One

RUN: 2.1 miles

Tonight's run started at 11:40pm.

In the morning we're off to Ireland for a few days over New Year. We're flying to Dublin and then getting a bus to Donegal and staying with our friends' family in the countryside.

So a run in the dark when we get there is out of the question, really, and even though it's a 6am flight it will be quite late by the time we reach our destination. So a run after midnight tonight seems like the only option to squeeze in a run tomorrow... the things I do!

Well the things we do, actually. I had a chapperone - Boyfriend Andy and I headed out tonight to run two miles before midnight, then planned to run the two miles back after midnight as tomorrow's run.

We stuck to the main roads, through the town. Of course, on a Friday night during the festive period, we attracted the attention of a few people enjoying a night out while we were jogging along...

Here's our midnight run Part 1

Day 185: Family visit to run off the Christmas feast

RUN: 4.0 miles

Since Christmas is a time for family - and I needed to work off yesterday's feast - I combined today's run with a visit to my cousin and her fiancee in their new home two miles from mine.
It's nice to have somewhere to go on a run and somehow a distance seems much shorter when you're actually going somewhere, rather than running a circular route. It help especially if there's a warm living room and a cup of tea involved!
I think I might become a regular caller to Sarah and Anthony's house on the four-mile days of my marathon training schedule. Is it cheating to stop for as chat along the route?

Here's today's run

Day 184: "But you'll have to run on Christmas Day..."

RUN: 1.2 miles

The most common thing people say when they find out I'm running 365 days is "...but you'll have to run on Christmas Day and everything!"
Well, here it is - and it wasn't too bad, actually. I don't think I'll be running next Christmas Day, though - It didn't feel very Christmassy.

We got up early and boyfriend Andy and I went for a quick whizz round the block ahead of a busy day of family visits, cooking and - of course - eating!
It was just after 9am and there was nobody about - the roads were eerily quiet. I imagine the few people who did drive past were commenting on the nutty runners, though.

Six months down, six months to go..!

Here's today's run

Day 183: Quick Christmas Eve runaround

RUN: 1.7 miles

Just another little one tonight before preparing Christmas dinner for ten for tomorrow and a few Christmas drinks at the pub to kick off the celebrations. Busy busy busy!

Here's today's run

Day 182: Woohoo! I've reached the halfway mark!

RUN: 1.3 miles

I'll be six calendar months into my challenge on Christmas Day, but today marks the halfway point in terms of days. So time for a little reflection on the past six months...

 

A good way of motivating yourself to do something is telling everyone that you're going to do it. If you're anything like me, once it's out of your mouth, that's it, you have to stick to it.

 

I was in the bottom set at school for PE. Some people are built for action and exercise, but I have a natural inclination for keeping still and being creative. So, as I've said a lot before, 1,000 miles is a big challenge for me. Getting fit has been rather strange experience. I half imagined I would be a lean, glowing, graceful goddess of fitness by now (not really!), but running is still more difficult than I'd like it to be. Sometimes it comes easy, other times it's like I've never run a step before.

 

When I decided to do this challenge, I was aiming high - to raise £1,000 for the Smile Train. I thought people would think I was a bit mad, but perhaps I would be able to convince a few people to part with some cash for a good cause, highlighted by my silly running. Well the amount of support has been a lovely surprise. Halfway through and I've almost raised £1,400 now - how good is that?! It means TEN children can have corrective operations to change their lives. Fantastic! Thank you everyone.

 

Here's some photos my friend Donna took at the Abbey Dash in November - including a bit of warm-up aerobics

 

I enjoy doing races more than I thought I would. I'm not very competitive, but I like the atmosphere of running with thousands of other people and having a shorter-term goal to train for. If I get a good time, then that's a bonus. I also never thought I'd do a marathon - or a half marathon for that matter - but I'm going to give it a good try. Along with the cleft lip and palate children and all my sponsors, the thought of those 26 miles is another good motivation to get out and run.

 

The weather has been less of a factor than I imagined. I was dreading the winter, but the cold weather has worked in my favour and helped rather than hindered my running. I'm dreading the spring and summer now!

 

Running through my problems with painful shin splints in the first few months thankfully worked out well, and it was a lesson in perseverance.

Today I celebrated the halfway point with a little run and a few Christmas tunes on my iPod.
Here's today's run