And In Conclusion

Juneathon day 30: run 7.74km 46min

Mostly I have ignored the World Cup in recent posts, with no pictures of all the flags on cars or hung from buildings. So for the last post of this year’s Juneathon I would like to make some small acknowledgement that there is something happening in South Africa by taking a picture of a Zulu shield and spear (even if it looks more like a shield and a paintbrush).

As for today there was no doubt that for the last run of the month I choose my home of running: the canal. During the whole time I was very relaxed, looking around and enjoying what was in effect a final easy lap. At the mid point I stopped to take some pictures, then drank some water and felt satisfied that the end was close. As I passed the hedge that marks the end point of my run I imagined a tape across the path and me running through it, in triumph. The race had been run. It was over and I had completed 30 days of consecutive exercise.

“Hooray” the spectators yelled and clapped “Well done! Good stuff!” Well I’m sure the spectators would have done if they had known but in all honesty the couple of dog walkers were not at all interested in me finishing my run.

But reality should not intrude too far: in my mind I was finishing a long distance race and feeling far more satisfied than normally justified by a run just shy of 8k.

The basic Juneathon stats are below but in total I exercised for 25 hours 35 minutes, which averages out at about 51 minutes a day.

My quirk of thinking in km for running and miles for cycling masks the symmetry of the distances. I managed just over 100 miles for both (101.36 running, 103.5 cycling), which became a target in the last week

All my runs were at a steady/slowish pace, with the average being 5.71 min per km; and my cycling was about 13 miles per hour. Deliberately I wanted to keep everything fairly level so that I could continue from day to day. I was really pleased with how this worked because I only had a few days where I felt really, really weary.

As for blogging: I managed to blog every day, include a photo taken during that day’s exercise and write a total of 9,726 words

In summation I would say that everybody who took part in this year’s Juneathon did a good job, even those who did not make it to the end. there are no failures in this event! But special congratulations go to those who managed to run every day. One of those will be presented with a pair of gorilla’s feet as a prize but how Shaun chooses a winner I have no idea. His job is far more difficult than just getting outside and doing a bit of exercise



Juneathon statistics 30/30
Run 21/30
distance 163.13km
time 15hr 31min
Cycle 6/30
distance 103.5 miles
time 7hr 59min
Gym 3/30
time 2hr 05min

Cycle Facility

Juneathon day 29: cycle 21.7 miles 1hr 43min

I know there is a well establish website with photos of idiotic cycle facilities but nevertheless I feel I should join in with a picture from today’s ride.

This is your basic cycle lane: a little bit of red edged with some white lines, not much wider than a bike. However our wonderful traffic engineers have obviously given it extra thought. “What happens” they wonder “at those points where pedestrians want to cross the road?”

Obviously waiting for a gap with no cars or bikes would be very difficult so they need to be able to do it in two stages: first avoid all the bikes, pause and then wait for a gap in the cars. Genius! To allow this to happen they have altered the line of the curb, bent the cycle lane and built a little traffic island. The result is that it is impossible to cycle round this barrier at normal speed so there is no point in using the cycle path and the pedestrians don’t have to worry about looking out for cyclists before reaching the island.

The sad thing about bad cycle facilities is that some of them are so bad they are laugh out loud funny, yet they have cost. Resources are put into their creation and the authorities can turn round and say we spent so much on promoting cycling but it hasn’t worked so we might just as well forget about it. The cyclists look on bemused and wonder what sort of training and qualifications traffic engineers have to have and whether it contains a module on making things useful. (Just look at a few of the pictures here, here, and here).

Enough whinging. The cycle facility made no difference to my ride, I was soon out onto quiet country lanes, cycling through woods or past farms. It is odd, I live in an overcrowded part of the world, and towns and major roads are proof of this, but when I am out on these little byways I feel I could be in a world of my own. Anyway, after a fairly relaxed ride, I came home, listened to some Jan Gabarek, ate a sandwich, drank a mug of tea and thought pleasant thoughts

Juneathon statistics 29/29
Run 20/29
distance 155.39km
time 14hr 45min
Cycle 6/29
distance 103.5 miles
time 7hr 59min
Gym 3/29
time 2hr 05min

Under The Cover Of Trees

Juneathon day 28: run 11.67km 1hr 10min

The best place to run when it is hot is in the woods, where the trees not only provide plenty of shade they also cool things through evapotranspiration. So off to Ashridge.

This is one of my favourite place to bike or run but strangely, so far, during the whole of Juneathon, I have not been there. I can’t think of a good excuse except that it is a bit further away, so that to go for a run I first have to go for a drive. But nevertheless it always repays the extra effort as there is a contentment to be found in mature woodland. I also love the way everything changes with the seasons, from week to week things look slightly different. At the moment the bracken is particularly fine and as the photo shows, there is also the odd, random foxglove.

The route I run takes me into Berkhamsted Common and alongside the golf club. It looks a tricky course as any deviation from the fairway means you are deep in the undergrowth. As I was plodding along the pathways I saw a group of golfers searching for a lost ball. As a mental diversion I started to look as well and there it was nestling next to some tree roots. Well thats my good turn for the day I thought - except it wasn’t. It wasn’t the ball they were looking for. I merely managed to give someone who is probably golf ball rich another spare.

Anyway it was a bit of interaction, something that doesn’t happen too much round here. Most people avoid eye contact. It might not be quite the same as London, where you would be seen as a little weird if you tried to offer a greeting, but a lot of people want to stay in their own private world. To me the odd “hello” can make a run cheerier but I tend to look carefully to see if the other person looks as if they would want to respond.

Juneathon statistics 28/28
Run 20/28
distance 155.39km
time 14hr 45min
Cycle 5/28
distance 81.8 miles
time 6hr 16min
Gym 3/28
time 2hr 05min

Keeping Going

Juneathon day 27: run 10.69km time 1hr 6min

Another failed attempt at getting up early - after several internal debates inertia won and I left it too late. On hot days like today you really have to get out by about 7 or wait until evening. So it was evening.

It was interesting running after the football because I passed two pubs festooned with English flags. I wonder how much longer they will stay up. I tried the judge the mood to see if there was any agro after such a poor display but there wasn’t. The whole atmosphere was one of resignation and carrying on drinking in the warm sunshine.

I ran along the disused railway track that links Hemel to Harpenden on a straightforward out and back route. it was remarkably peaceful. I only encountered two couples walking their dogs, one man resting on the fence having a smoke, and four cyclists. Most of the time I was in a world of my own.

It felt hard though. I struggled but was determined to run 10k. I might not be on tip top running form at the moment but I take some satisfaction in the fact that I am keeping going

Juneathon statistics 27/27
Run 19/26
distance 143.72km
time 13hr 35min
Cycle 5/27
distance 81.8 miles
time 6hr 16min
Gym 3/27
time 2hr 05min

A Fragment of Life

Juneathon day 26: run 14km time 1hr 23min

One of my pleasures is to drink some good coffee whilst reading the Saturday Guardian, in a leisurely, relaxed way. It doesn’t make me think that all is well with the world - the purpose of newspapers is the opposite but there is usually at least one article that is really stimulating and makes me glad it was written.

The pleasure is enhanced if it happens after a run. There something about the mental ease one feels after a longish run that makes you savour the moment even more. This plus the fact that you are physically a bit weary and do not want to be doing anything too active

Today was no different.

The article I would want to bring to your attention was and opinion piece by Lynsey Hanley about Newcastle’s Literary and Philosophical Society. I rather liked the last paragraph:

“There needs to be a return of focus towards what the writer and academic Raymond Williams called "the articulation of what men have actually seen and known and felt". "Any restriction of the freedom of individual contribution," he wrote, "is actually a restriction of the resources of the society." To get from Neil Tennant to Raymond Williams and back in one train of thought, you need to learn what people have seen and known and felt. You need libraries.”

I certainly agree that we need libraries and any article that says such a thing makes my Saturday ritual a little bit more congenial. But the article also reminded me of the reason for this blog. It is my attempt to examine what I see, know and feel about running. Admittedly running maybe a small fragment of life but it is still something worth recording.

Juneathon statistics 26/26
Run 18/25
distance 133.03km
time 12hr 29min
Cycle 5/26
distance 81.8 miles
time 6hr 16min
Gym 3/26

Some Short Runs Feel Long

Juneathon day 25: run 4.1km 23min

Tired, tired, tired.

I think it has come to all of us this Juneathon - days where we just want to rest. Our bodies tell us their reserves are low and need replenishing and the thing you should not do is go out again. But because it is juneathon we do.

Today was like that for me - right from the alarm going off. I had planned an early run before breakfast but when it came to it my eyes really did not want to open. Evening would be fine I told myself but when I got out not only did the air felt heavy, my legs were even heavier.

“4k is all you have to do” I told myself but all the time my mind was like a little kid in the back of the car “are we there yet?”. Eventually we were. I completed the run and I just sat in the garden feeling more tired than I normally do after much longer runs.

I sat there bent foreword, elbows resting on my knees watching as the sweat dripped from my forehead forming patterns on the patio paving. I was transfixed. “Get up and do your stretches” a little voice was saying but I just did not feel like moving, the patterns were far more interesting.

Eventually I did move. Stretches were done, I washed and changed and after an evening meal with a bottle of wine everything was fine. In fact better than fine - I was happy that I had managed to keep going.

Juneathon statistics 25/25
Run 17/25
distance 119.03km
time 11hr 06min
Cycle 5/25
distance 81.8 miles
time 6hr 16min
Gym 3/25
time 2hr 05min

Hidden Strangeness

Juneathon day 24: cycle 20.4 miles time 1hr 38 min

Although it has been a warm sunny day, it has not been too hot because of a cooling breeze. For this reason the song going through my mind was Bill Callahan’s Rococo Zephyr. If you follow the link to a performance on YouTube you will realise that this is not really exercise music - no driving beats. However being slow and gentle it is perfect hot weather music and it suited my mood as all I wanted was a relaxed cycle ride.

My route took me along a number of small roads and as far as possible through woods. Today’s photo is of a very shady road in Bricket Wood. I have mentioned Bricket Wood in a previous post when I made a passing reference to it being the home of British naturism. I have since found out that it was also home to a coven of witches.

I am constantly amazed by the area that surrounds me. At first glance it seems unremarkable - just the dull Home Counties but behind the respectable facade there are all sorts of strangenesses.

On a completely unrelated note (well actually it is related to cycling) There was an excellent edition of ‘Off the Page’ on Le Tour de France (available on the iPlayer until 1st July). If you are at all interested in the romance of the event it is well worth a listen.

Juneathon statistics 24/24
Run 16/24
distance 114.93km
time 10hr 43min
Cycle 5/24
distance 81.8 miles
time 6hr 16min
Gym 3/24
time 2hr 05min

Cautious About Heat

Juneathon day 23: run 8.79km time 51min

Another hot day so the obvious solution is to run before breakfast and by the canal.

I am lucky in that most of my routes have tree cover but I also try not to run when it is too hot. From experience I know I do not handle heat well and that if I do too much in the sun I end up feeling feeble.

This article in the New York Times about heatstroke is very interesting for a couple of reasons. The first is the reminder that it is very sensible to be careful when running in the heat. It can be incredibly debilitating and cause damage. The second is the limits to what we know. The advice about heatstroke is not based on solid science but the equivalent codified folklore (or codified common sense, if you prefer).

It strikes me that this is probably no different from much of the advice we are given as runners. A lot of it can sound sciencey but actually not have a good evidential base. The topical example of that at the moment is barefoot running. People might have strong opinions one way or the other about whether cushioned trainers prevent or cause injury but they tend to be based on anecdote rather proper studies.

Juneathon statistics 23/23
Run 16/23
distance 114.93km
time 10hr 43min
Cycle 4/23
distance 61.4 miles
time 4hr 38min
Gym 3/23
time 2hr 05min

Minimum Levels

Juneathon day 22: gym

A hot day so I went to the gym where there is air conditioning. Unfortunately a lot of other people had the same idea and there were queues for some equipment. I think I would have been annoyed if I had been waiting for an elliptical cross-trainer to see one of them occupied by a girl on her phone, slowly moving as all her attention was on the conversation. But as there are no rules about how vigorous one should be on any piece of equipment, there is nothing you can do.

I am however amazed that some people can leave the gym without shedding a drop of sweat or allowing or without a single hair on their head out of place. But I must try to suppress such thoughts because it is one of my rules to never to make judgements about other peoples level of exercise. People must do what they feel able to do. However the only point of aerobic equipment is to raise the pulse and make you breath more heavily. If you don’t do that you might as well stay in the coffee shop.

As for my exercise: I worked hard on the rower for 20 minutes and then did some weights. A short 30 minute session in all, but it felt good enough.

As I refuse to take any photos of the gym. Today is another picture from my garden: some seedlings planted in a hanging basket waiting to be hung.

Juneathon statistics 22/22
Run 15/22
distance 106.14km
time 9hr 52min
Cycle 4/22
distance 61.4 miles
time 4hr 38min
Gym 3/22
time 2hr 05min

Three Legs of a Stool

Juneathon day 21: run 7.37km time 41min

Yesterday was very long: I got up at 4:30 and went to bed at 1:00. Fitting in the half hour run between the two journeys was great. It really freshened me up and made me forget I had driven for 2.5 hours. it completely eradicated the yawniness I often feel at the end of long journey.

As for the journey to Manchester: the best that I can say is that it was fine ... l until just past Junction 16. Then everything stopped. There had been a collision between two motorcyclists and a car and the motorway was closed for 4 hours. Absolutely nothing could be done and I felt really sorry for anybody with young children as keeping them amused for such a long time must have been a real struggle.

Most of us got out of our cars and wandered around or made any number of phone calls saying we were going to be late, or trying to check up on the situation - at one stage there was an estimate, which was passed on, that the road would not not be opened until 7:30 (!). Everywhere though there was a calm resigned air, which was appropriate because what else could you do and anger or agitation would have solved nothing. (One thing we dod notice though was the number of men wandering around dressed in shorts and flip flops - when did flip flops become good for driving?)

The upshot was that we were very late arriving and therefor every late in returning.

The consequence for today’s run was that I felt tired and it was harder work getting out of the door than yesterday, when I had no real time. It was a forcible reminder of the importance of sleep.

Running is a very simple activity but it is supported by three legs: the physical activity (the training), sleep and recuperation, and nutrition. All of them need to be in balance. Mostly we talk about the training (because it is the most obvious thing - it is after all the activity that defines us as runners) but the other things should not be forgotten.

During Juneathon we get no time for rest days, so getting good sleep becomes more important.

Juneathon statistics 21/21
Run 15/21
distance 106.14km
time 9hr 52min
Cycle 4/21
distance 61.4 miles
time 4hr 38min
Gym 2/21
time 1hr 35min

Must Rush

Juneathon day 20: run 5.35km time 31min

The big thing is that I have actually managed a run and for that I am going to give myself some bonus dedication points.

The reason is that the day is otherwise full of motoring duties. It started at 5:15 when I drove my niece to Gatwick airport so she could catch her flight back to Canada. Shortly I will be driving up to Manchester to move my daughter’s stuff out of her student house. In between there has just been enough time for me to go out for a half hour run and write these few words.

So toodle pip - off now to do some more driving.

Juneathon statistics 20/20
Run 14/18
distance 98.77km
time 9hr 11min
Cycle 4/20
distance 61.4 miles
time 4hr 38min
Gym 2/20
time 1hr 35min

Flashes of Contentment

Juneathon day 19: run 7.8km time 46min

Looking for “some one good thing” from my run is very difficult. Nothing much happened: I ran a fairly average distance, at a fairly average pace, I was not impeded in any way, nothing bad happened but there again nothing good either. It was a run.

But perhaps I am being a bit too proscriptive in my search for the good thing by looking for something new or a development. Perhaps I ought to look at the good things that are always there - the things that keep me running. For example there is that moment, near the beginning, when you realise you are starting to move easily. For whatever reason the start of a run is always a bit awkward - the body complains about being shaken-up, your heart rate goes up before settling down, and your legs feel a bit tired. After a while things settle down and you hit your stride. I will then often have a sense of freedom when I suddenly feel glad to be out. Those flashes of contentment are sometimes accompanied by the realisation that I am fortunate to be doing what I am doing and able to enjoy such moments.

This sense of good fortune is the “good thing” I will take from today.

Juneathon statistics 19/19
Run 13/18
distance 93.42km
time 8hr 40min
Cycle 4/19
distance 61.4 miles
time 4hr 38min
Gym 2/19
time 1hr 35min

Hemel Hempstead Twinned with Knossos

Juneathon day 18: cycle 7 miles time 35min

My day has been spent at a local archive of paper making in general and the John Dickinson Company in particular. As a cycled there and back I thought I would count the journey as my Juneathon. It makes it a fairly light day but I think 7 miles is just about allowable.

One of the reasons I have an interest in papermaking, aside from it being one of the most significant inventions in human history, is that our local mills significanct in the history of mechanically produced paper. The first continuous papermaking machine was installed in the Frogmore Mill in 1803, which is next door to the site of the first John Dickinson mill at Apsley.

John Dickson obviously grew to become the dominant producer of stationery in the country but one of the interesting things I found out today was that it was the wealth generated by these local mills that allowed the excavation and restoration of the palaces of Knossos.His grandson, Arthur Evans, used the money he inherited to buy the land at Knossos and undertake all the archeological work.

If my current plan is to try to look for “some one good thing” from every day then today it is the discovery that there is a strong link between Hemel Hempstead and the rediscovery of the Minoan civilisation.

Today’s picture is of Frogmore Mill. You can see the water disappears into the building, where used to drive the waterwheel, which were the original source of power. It now houses the Paper Trail, with its displays on the history of papermaking, an archive and a small, working machine.

Juneathon statistics 18/18
Run 12/18
distance 85.62km
time 7hr 54min
Cycle 4/18
distance 61.4 miles
time 4hr 38min
Gym 2/18
time 1hr 35min

Defensive Running

Juneathon day 17 run 9.66km time 55min

For some reason this year’s Juneathon has included a certain amount of trolley spotting but today the trolley is not merely abandoned, it is dead. Drowned in the canal, with only its little wheels visible.

I was by the canal again today because, for the first time in ages, the sky was cloudless and the temperature warm. If you run by the canal you not only get the psychological cooling from the sight of water, you have the real cooling effect of trees and shade from direct sunlight. As someone whose body shape is more eskimo than equatorial I do not cope too well with heat and so seek places to shelter. Pavements are terrible, they just reflect the sun and gradually bake you.

Having said that I am glad it is sunny again. It seems to make everyone more relaxed and today there was even some eye contact and smiles of acknowledgement with people I passed.

On today’s run I was mulling over a quote from Seneca - “he who studies with a philosopher should take away with him some one good thing every day: he should daily return home a sounder man, or on the way to becoming sounder.” I applied it to running rather than philosophy and questioned whether each run makes me better or puts me on the path to improvement. I am not sure it does but there again my aim is far more defensive: I am trying to stop myself becoming a more feeble runner. Each run is like another brick in the supporting wall.

However it made me think that I ought to try and think of one good thing about each day’s run. Mostly I run and do not think too much about the purpose and what was achieved. Perhaps I should be more focused.

Today for example I could take some heart from the fact that I finished feeling quite strong and increased my pace for the last hundred metres. So that is what I will take away.

Juneathon statistics 17/17
Run 12/17
distance 85.62km
time 7hr 54min
Cycle 3/17
distance 54.4 miles
time 4hr 03min
Gym 2/17
time 1hr 35min

Passing Through

Juneathon day 16: cycle 14.6 miles 1hr 5min

There are some places you just pass through. Hemel is one of them.

An estate agent would say that it’s well connected and although that is true it is not really the point. It is a place people pass through on their way to somewhere else. It is on the Grand Union Canal, a major 19th Century link between London and Birmingham,then came rail and it is on the West Coast Mainline. The past half decade it has been the era of motorways and the M1 and M25 pass close by.

Even though Hemel Hempstead is not a destination, a couple of years ago I thought it was the most frequently mentioned town on the radio but solely because there were always traffic jams at Junction 8 of the M1.

I took the picture of the M1, just before Junction 8, not because of any interest in motorways but because these major trunk routes are big black lines written over my local landscape. The can also be surprising because you can be almost unaware they are so close. Today my cycle ride took me along some quiet, singletrack roads, with woodland either side and lovely dappled lighting as the sun filtered through the leaves. Suddenly it opened up and there was the motorway full of traffic scurrying along.

I looked at it for a few moments and thought of the rush and the pleasures I was having meandering. It gave me a couple of seconds of smug pleasure, especially as I knew that in a few hundred yards the M1 would once more be invisible and I would be alone on a twisty lane with high hedgerows, trees and the sound of birdsong.

Juneathon statistics 16/16
Run 11/16
distance 75.96km
time 6hr 59min
Cycle 3/16
distance 54.4 miles
time 4hr 03min
Gym 2/16
time 1hr 35min

Empty headed

Juneathon day 15: run 7km time 40min

An example of how the need for a photograph influenced my route.

When I got up this morning I weighed the normal questions: which way should I go up or down? should I run there and back or do a loop? mainly trail or mainly road? hilly or flat? But then I thought another animal picture would be nice and the cows on the Moor are rather beautiful. So that was it - no other decision was necessary.

Other than that it was a remarkably uneventful run. Some days you see things, meet people, notice the unusual. Other days you are just left in your own world. Today was one of those days, with few other people around and nothing much to report. I cannot even remember what i was thinking when I was out. Some days I will chew on something (often trivial and inconsequential but nevertheless something) and when I get back I can remember a fair chunk of my thoughts. Other days flit by and I have no idea whether I had anything in my head at all. Today was one of those blurs. I know I went out, found the cows, came home but other than that not a lot.

Believe it or not I think the routine nature of this run was a good thing. A sign that things are gradually getting better. It means I was not worried about how my body was holding up, my lack of fitness, or how slow I felt. I was just running - that's all.

Juneathon statistics 15/15
Run 11/15
distance 75.96km
time 6hr 59min
Cycle 2/15
distance 39.8 miles
time 2hr 58min
Gym 2/15
time 1hr 35min

Sometimes I Can Show Self Discipline

Juneathon day 14: run 7.10km time 42min

Yesterday I felt quite relaxed about Juneathon. The run was nice and steady and I thought I had adjusted to exercising everyday. Hah! I should have known better. As a natural pessimist I should know the basic rules: never assume anything, never take anything for granted, and don’t believe that what is good about one day will last into the next.

Today the slot for running was pre-breakfast but when the alarm went off I really, really did not want to get up. it took a great amount of will power to tell myself that if I did not open my eyes NOW I would fail.

I bullied myself out of the door but my body was not so easily cowed. “You might have got me out here” it seemed to say “but don’t expect me to make things easy for you.” And it didn’t. For the first 10 minutes I had to work hard just to keep moving as my muscles and joints complained; but after that things eased up, a rhythm was established and I managed the 7km. Huzzah!

Days like today are probably the reason we do Juneathon. Without its impetus it would certainly have been a rest day. Instead I have the satisfaction of showing a certain amount of self-discipline (which is a victory because I do not rate self-discipline amongst my virtues).

Today’s photo is of plastic container, about 4 foot tall, abandoned by the side of the trail. Last week there were two more nearby but they had lids and have since been spirited away - perhaps someone wanted them for storage. It is strange they were ever left here in the first place as they are a bit away from the road and it would have taken some effort to move them to this particular spot. If someone wanted to dump them you would have thought they would have done so where it was easier. Odd, very odd.

Juneathon statistics 14/14
Run 10/14
distance 68.96km
time 6hr 19min
Cycle 2/14
distance 39.8 miles
time 2hr 58min

Gym 2/14
time 1hr 35min

Plodding

Juneathon day 13: run 9.23km, time 58min

So far there have been no animal pictures for this year’s Juneathon - an obvious lack. It is easy to rectify, all I have to do is to run across Boxmoor, rather than the adjacent canal path. in different areas of the Moor there are usually sheep, cows and horses grazing. Today I ran by the horses and took this photo. I must admit I felt a certain amount of empathy watching the horse slowly plod across the field with her head down. I could almost hear a sigh.

Although I was not sighing, I was slowly plodding. But that was OK - it is all part of the plan. My whole idea for this Juneathon is to run every session at an easy pace; not taxing myself with speed, excessive distance, or steep hills. I don;t want any hard sessions which require recovery time. Instead I want to rediscover some consistency and get used to the idea of automatically getting out of the door, without thinking.

So far so good. Almost two weeks of exercise. This plan might just work.


Juneathon statistics 13/13
Run 9/13
distance 61.86km
time 5hr 37min
Cycle 2/13
distance 39.8 miles
time 2hr 58min

Gym 2/13
time 1hr 35min

Is There a Gym Community?

Juneathon day 12: Gym

My gym is an ugly building - just a box but probably most gyms are the same. It gives little scope for my daily juneathon photo so instead I have used something else from I noticed: the number of bees in the garden. Maybe it is national been day or perhaps bee command decided to target this small area of Hemel Hempstead; whatever - they are all over the place. So day 12 will be marked by a picture of a bee pollinating an aster.

As for the exercise the most I can say is that it happened: (50 minutes 15 cross trainer, 15 rowing, 10 weights, 10 stretching)

Yesterday Phil asked me how my legs were holding up - the answer is not too bad but they do feel a bit leaden so I decided to go to the gym. Malheureusement - when I arrived all the rowing machines were taken. The only alternative was a cross-training machine. So I did 15 minute of that before a rower became vacant.

Why do I find some machines more boring than others? The are all basically the same in that you stay in the same place whilst moving your arms and legs in a prescribed way, but some are more enjoyable than others. The cross trainer, for example was really dull and the 15 minutes passed very slowly yet time on the rower went much more quickly. There is no good reason for this: the cross trainer was not physically harder (in fact I put more effort into the rower) and the view was only slightly different. So why?

I phrased the question as ‘less boring’ because nothing in a gym is really interesting. The pleasure comes from the warm glow your body gives you when it has been worked and the satisfaction of achieving a target, rather than the activity itself. I looked round the room for signs of enjoyment but all I saw were people in their personal space with inward-looking eyes, no communication, no joking, and hardly anybody acknowledged anybody else's existence. Gyms really are fitness factories.

When I finished, in the changing room, there was a huge contrast. A martial arts club had just finished and they were talking in groups, passing on tips, demonstrating moves, or generally chattering and laughing. They were involved both with each other and what they were doing. I know this is an unfair comparison because these people are in a club and have probably known each other for a long time, whereas nobody in the gym knew anybody else. But I think the difference was that together they were all trying to develop their skills.

Machines in the gym require very little skill.

Juneathon statistics 112/12
run 8/12
distance 52.63
time 4hr 39min
Cycle 2/12
distance 39.8 miles
time 2hr 58min
Gym 2/12
time 1hr 35min

Rain can almost be pleasant (Occasionally)

Juneathon day 11: run 5.08km time 30min

It is strange to think of summer as I watch the people passing by, huddled up against the rain, eyes cast down, enduring rather than enjoying being outside. It is strange to think of me out here dressed only in t-shirt and shorts whilst everyone else is wrapped up.

Well that is what Juneathon does for you. If there is only a short time available for running and it is raining and miserable, then run you must.

The good thing is that after the first few minutes of “Brrr - Why? Wh/ Why?” it settles down, you warm up, it becomes enjoyable, with the added satisfaction of having conquered your initial reluctance.

(Almost all my Juneathon photos are green so today’s is raindrops on part of a blue car).

Juneathon statistics 11/11
run 8/11
distance 52.63
time 4hr 39min
Cycle 2/11
distance 39.8 miles
time 2hr 58min
Gym 1/11
time 45min

Park Run

Juneathon day 10 run 5.52km time 32min

On a grey blustery, rather miserable day I decided it was time for a park run.

Nearby is a small park with a perimeter path of about 500 metres and sometimes it is good to go round and round in circles. The twist is that the field is tilted so that it is higher in one corner. The incline is not that steep and looking at it you would certainly not call it hill work but after a few laps it seems to get harder and harder.

If the slope was a bit steeper I would probably call the session Kenyan Hills. As it is the more accurate name would be Kenyan Slopes.

Recently they have improved the play facilities in the park. There used just to be a fenced off area with traditional swings and slides but now they have added some much more exciting equipment. But obviously the most important upgrade is a notice which tells us that the objects are indeed for play. Without that we might have been lost and puzzled

Juneathon statistics 10/10
run 7/10
distance 47.55km
time 4hr 39min
Cycle 2/10
distance 39.8 miles
time 2hr 58min

Gym 1/10
time 45min

Surrounding Villages

Juneathon day 9: cycle 18.8 miles, 1hr 26min

A cycle ride around some of the lanes to the north, including the village of Flamstead. It is a picturesque place with many old buildings. Although it is near St Albans it is actually in my borough, Dacorum. I live in Hemel Hempstead, a New Town, whose character comes from the rather austere and dull design of public housing from the 50s/60s and a working class population which originally migrated from East London. Yet around is a mixture of agricultural land, estates, stables and studs, and wealthy dormitory villages. My borough has great social divisions.

Personally they do not affect me very much. The only thing is that very occasionally the drabness of the town centre, its absence of beauty, gets me down. But that is not too significant because the town is surrounded by lovely countryside and there are a number of old settlements to explore - like Flamstead.

I spend some time in the churchyard and look at the names on the gravestones and war memorials. I look for the older common surnames to get a sense of the times when there would have been a few families in the village. I also like discovering flamboyant names from Victorian times. Today I particularly liked ‘Elijah Peacock’

The kemptness of the village is illustrated by todays picture. The hedge is amazing - beautifully, tightly textured and cut with precision. It was not actually the reason I took the photo: I was more interested in a whimsical idea of wheelie bins playing hide and seek, but never mind.

P.S. In a field near to the village the Time Team did some excavations and discovered the traces of four Roman temples (series 16 programme 6) and can be seen here

Juneathon statistics
run 6/9
distance 42.03km

time 4hr 07min

Cycle 2/9
distance 39.8 miles

time 2hr 58min

Gym 1/9
time 45min

The Ebb and Flow of Energy Cycles

Juneathon day 8: run 5.41km time 31min

Today’s Guardian carried a rather alarmist story about the dangers of ultra marathon running. One of the quotes which interested me was from personal trainer Rob Blakeman:

"We're very specific organisms, with very specific requirements and very specific limitations. More training is not necessarily better training. If you do a really tough workout, the next day you often feel as though you have the flu. It's a systemic stress. If you don't allow that systemic stress to subside before you go back to the gym, you break the cycle of improvement."

This ties in with something, again in the Guardian, from the column by Oliver Burkeman, which evaluates self-help advice and life tips:

The truth, according to an important new book, The Way We're Working Isn't Working (out now in the US, next month in the UK), is that we're thinking about this wrongly. High performance isn't about maximising time worked – or time asleep– because it's not about maximisation at all: it's about synchronising with the rhythms that govern our lives. "It would be reasonable to say," one researcher tells the author, Tony Schwartz, "that everything that happens in our bodies is rhythmic until proven otherwise." Marshalling research from across industry, sports, even professional chess, Schwartz demonstrates that what's key isn't managing time, but managing the cycles of energy and focus, rest and renewal.

This is all very well and good but it is not compatible with ethos Juneathon, which elevates as a virtue the daily grind of more miles. So instead of exercising according to the ebb and flow of my energy cycles I went out today for another steady run. it felt harder work than it should have done but the reward is another day being chalked off and the satisfaction of knowing that I haven’t fallen off the wagon yet.

(the other satisfaction was a casual piece of trolley spotting, complete with precise locational information - or road sign, if you prefer).

Juneathon statistics
run 6/8
distance 42.03km

time 4hr 07min

Cycle 1/8
distance 21 miles

time 1hr 32min

Gym 1/8
time 45min

Not The Perfect Doughnut - But Good Enough

Juneathon day 7: run 7.16km time 42min

Geoff Dyer is one of those authors I like and admire without feeling passionate about. He manages to be very artful, write well and make a number of acute observations (that you wished you could have made yourself), whilst giving the impression he is merely knocking off some thinly disguised diary pages.

Today he has an article in the Guardian about living for a short time in New York, finding the perfect cup of coffee and doughnut, and how important they were to his daily routine.

“Nietzsche so hated what he called "enduring habits" that he was grateful even to the bouts of sickness or misfortune that caused him to break free of their chains. Unlike Nietzsche I succumb all too easily to enduring habits. I like to go back to the same few places all the time – then, as soon as I break free of the prison of routine, I am left wondering why I kept going to a place I had stopped enjoying years earlier.”

I can relate in many ways, except many of my habits tend to be self limiting as once I realise I am doing things out of routine rather than real desire, I will stop - for example I had a period of really liking the almond croissants from Cafe Nero but I have not now had one for a couple of years. However in matters of running routine is important.

I have a small number routes I like and I tend to run them again and again. Occasionally I will make a point of trying-out different places, and I enjoy doing that, but most of my runs are meat and potatoes - standard fare. In fact it is all a lot like food. Most of the meals we cook at home come from a fairly standard and often repeated repertoire but every so often we make a conscious effort to try something new. Most of the time we don’t want to think too much about cooking, we want to eat. It is the same with running most of the time I don’t want to worry about it I just want to get out.

So today was along the Nicky Line.

“Delectica had been my base, it was the point from which my sense of familiar and localised happiness had spread. It was the epicentre of my wellbeing – what Marx, in a non-pastry-related context, termed the heart of a heartless world. I've always been dependent on places like this wherever I've lived.”

For me the heart is more the canal than the Nicky Line but the principle is the same.

Juneathon statistics
run 5/7
distance 36.62km

time 3hr 36min

Cycle 1/7

distance 21 miles

time 1hr 32min

Gym 1/7

time 45min

Conservation

Juneathon 6: Gym

Time for some variety: so off to the gym. The idea is to have some balance as running and cycling do everything for the legs and cv and very little for anything else. So today I was concentrating on my arms and upper body.

Other than that there is little to say. it was in the gym for about 45 minutes: 20 minutes rowing, 15 weights, 10 minute stretching. Not an overly tough session.

Walking home I passed the big block of apartments they are building in, what was, the Kodak building. I will not say anything about the looks of the development until it is finished but the sign in the photo is new. Apparently they have designated a small triangle of scrubby land between the road and the flats a conservation area! How very strange. Perhaps conservation is just another word for leaving the grass uncut. Certainly there is no ecological reason for anything here as the site is just over the road from Boxmoor, which is a lovely area of common land, used for grazing and recreation. In the best sense that is a conservation area, this is just silly.

Juneathon stats: 6/6
run 4/6
distance 29.46km
time 2hr 54min
Cycle 1/6
distance 21 miles
time 1hr 32min
Gym 1/6
time 45min

Seeing But Not Seeing

Juneathon Day 5: run 10.96km time 1hr 8min

It is amazing what you don’t see. I was back by the canal today, on a route I have run more frequently than any other. I feel I know it well, and always assumed the were new things to look at because so much is changeable like the boats, the wildlife, and plant growth. I didn’t realise that there are always new things to see because I don’t pay enough attention and miss what is before me.

This decayed iron railing is a case in point. I really cannot count how many times I have run past it but until today I was completely unaware of it. Strangely it is the sort of thing I find of passing interesting. I like seeing signs of previous buildings or activities that have now gone. My guess is that this was once a lock keepers cottage (only based on the fact that it is near a lock), but there is no sign of a house, everything is overgrown with no signs of the outline of the foundations. Standing there alone, the fence now looks odd and out of place.

It got me thinking about how much of the world around me I actually notice. Not enough is the answer. In the same way that Juneathon is forcing me to tackle an exercise deficit, I must find a conscious way of attacking an attention deficit. Just repeating the word 3 time is not good enough.

Juneathon stats 5/5
run 4/5
distance 29.46km
time 2hr 54min
Cycle 1/5
distance 21 miles
time 1hr 32min

Juneathon and Shopping

Juneathon day 4: Cycle 21 miles, time 1hr 32min

No I am not trying to claim shopping as a Juneathon activity, that would be plain wrong. Instead I am claiming the effort in getting to the shops.

It is very simple: I needed a camera bag and the best camera shop in the area is in Watford and so instead of driving there I cycled and thus managed to combine Juneathon with making a teeny tiny reduction to my carbon emissions. Double win.

The ride itself was extremely pleasant - a sunny day with enough breeze to stop overheating. In fact it was one of those days when you toddle along with a song on your lips. I have to add that songs don’t go much further than my lips because I am a hopeless singer. However I will often have a song in my head and sort of hum along.

Today it was ‘Vincent Black Lightening 1952, by Richard Thompson. I love his songs as they always have jagged phrases that can embed themselves in your mind: “red hair and black leather my favourite colour scheme”, “I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome swooping down from heaven to carry me home”, and something that often pops up when I am running “he was running out of road and he was running out of breath”

So with that and the perfect conditions the journey just whizzed by. It hardly felt like I had Juneathoned.

Today’s photo is of a house I passed in one of Watford’s quiet residential streets. Most of the houses nearby were the traditional tudorbethan or arts and craft homes from a 30s estate, but this stood out because of it was so much more of the era, with its passing nod to both modernism and art deco (i.e the squareness of shape and the wrap around windows from modernism combined with a sunbeam stained glass window and a rounded doorway). The white render was immaculate and on a sunny day, like today, it dazzled.

So in a way this ride was about design from two eras - home building from the 30s and engineering from the 50s. But remember “BSAs, and Triumphs and Nortons won’t do. they don’t have the soul of a Vincent 52”




Juneathon statistics 4/4
run 3/4
distance 18.5k
time 1hr 46min
Cycle 1/4
distance 21 miles
time 1hr 32min

Adaption to Mood

Juneathon Day 3: run 3.08k time 17min

I remember some advice from Joe Henderson about being flexible in your training and adapting it to how you feel on the day. He suggested you run for a mile (to make sure you had shaken all the inertia from your body) and then made a judgement. If you felt tired , then cut it short but if you felt good then why not go further or harder. In other words, within the overall framework of your programme, there should be latitude and you should try to work with rather against your body.

That makes good sense - I am constantly puzzled by how much my mood and vitality can vary from day to day. Today is a case in point, although the sun is shining and everything is well with the world, I feel weary and dull. There is no good reason - it is just how I woke up. So my run was short.

As I had a suspicion it would be a tough day I decided to run round the park, which is a circuit of about 500 metres. I ran for 3 laps to confirm that I did indeed feel very stodgy and so set a target of 3k, which is what I did. Enough to count as a run yet small enough to give me the feeling that I had listened to my body ... to some extent (If I had fully listened to my body I think I would have slept longer).

Today’s photo is of a park seat. It is fairly new and they must have decided that plastic is a cheaper alternative to the traditional wooden seat but something has happened. It looks as if some chemical has been spilt and some of the plastic has dissolved and flowed onto the ground. Most mysterious.

Juneathon Stats: 3/3

run 3/3
distance 18.5k
time 1hr 46min

Day 2: Water Droplets and Dogs

Juneathon day 2: run 8.17km time 47min

Out of the door by 7am - so another early run but not quite as impressive as yesterday. It was the right time to run though. The air was still slightly chilled, the sun was obscured by mist but there was a sense that it would soon clear away and the day would be hot. Everywhere was still damp after yesterday’s rain and the grass was full of water droplets. Today’s picture is just a close-up, trying to show how some of the droplets looked like jewels.

This time of day is obviously one of the peak times for dog walkers and most of them were friendly i.e. we smiled and said hello to each other. All of the dogs were well behaved and showed no interest in running at me. I wonder if there is any correlation between the time people take their dogs for a walk and their conscientiousness as owners and hence the behaviour of their dogs?

Usually dogs and runners do not mix well (unless you are running with your own dog). Small dogs must always be treated with suspicion as they have a tendency to snap at your ankles, run between your feet and cause you to stutter, hop and zig zag. As for retractable leads! Well all I can say is that many a time a dog has been one side of the path and the owner the other and only at the last moment have I seen the trip wire that is a fully extended lead.

But today the dogs are fine.

Juneathon stats:
days 2/2
runs 2
distance: 15.42k
time: 1hr 29min

Juneathon Day 1

Juneathon Day 1: run 7.25k, time 42 min

So it is Juneathon again and oh my do I need its discipline! I have struggled all year to try to maintain a consistent programme but failed, as one thing after another has popped up to derail my efforts. The result is that I feel heavy and sluggish and everything feels a much bigger effort than it should.

This will not do.

Juneathon is thus boot camp - a way of telling myself that I should try harder. But the plan is not to be stupid and push things too hard too fast (that would be the recipe for another collapse of some part of my body). Instead I will try to do something everyday but be fairly easy and relaxed - run gently and mix things up with other activities.

So how did day 1 go?

All I can say is that it went. Not brilliant but it has been done and I managed to get out of the door by 6am. The air was fairly chill and the sky was grey. It did not feel like June. I was expecting a lonely run but was surprised at the number of people around at that time: people walking their dogs, others walking to work, with ID cards swinging from their belts, one man was walking along in a quiet, contemplative way, smoking a cigarette and one other runner. All of us in our own ways preparing for the day.There was even a teenager cycling along on his BMX - that shattered another one of my preconceptions (surely one of the rules of the universe is that, during half-term holidays, all teenagers sleep till late).

I will try to take a photo on all of my Juneathon runs. Today’s is of a wheelbarrow abandoned on the trail. I have no idea why it was there or where it came from. Rarer than a shopping trolley it is just another wheeled object abandoned on a foot path.