A Cup of Tea & a Banana (Janathon Day 5)

Run - 7.8km, 50 minutes

The main job of January is to establish a routine and limit the temptation to backslide. The timing of runs is crucial as I know if I leave it to long before starting my exercise the chances are I will continue to put it off until the whole day has gone. Although studies have shown the best time for physical activity is the afternoon, for me, this is no good. My body might be slightly be at the park of its insubstantial powers but my mind will. It will find all sorts of ways to creatively procrastinate until that peak time fades away, the evening comes and tomorrow seems the sensible option. So I need to start by getting going before I can even begin to think about and begin the day feeling virtuous, as if I have achieved something. It is here that a routine is important because morning is the time we are most likely to automatically follow habit. How many of us do exactly the same thing day after day, even to the extent of eating the same breakfast. Changing such habits require a bit of conscious effort for a period before it has settled down and I am still in the settling stage but so far these first 5 days have been good.  My new routine is to roll out of bed, put on my kit and then have a cup of tea and a banana before setting out. Tea and banana now seems the perfect way to start a day. 

This morning was lovely. As I was drinking the tea I could watch the rays of dawn picking out the small clouds to make a pink mackerel sky. It wasn’t long before the pink faded and the sky was mostly blue but it was fun to watch the changes in the morning sky. When I got outside I could see there had been a heavy frost and everything was covered. My run took me through Gadebridge Park and there everything looked spectacular: trees, grass, ready river bank, skateboard park, all sparkly white. The air was clear, the wind was still., people and cars were scarce. There was a sense of peace. if you can’t enjoy a run on a day like this then it is time to find a new sport.

There was however one problem - only very tiny, hardly worth mentioning but nevertheless something a problem - yesterdays rain had left the pavements smeary wet and the frost meant there were areas of slipperiness. Quite a few times when I went to toe off I could feel the slight give of my foothold. Nothing drastic but just a reminder to pay attention and look out for ice and there was one sharp bit of hill where I thought it wiser to walk. But other than that it was lovely - a good way to start the day.

Janathon 2012 Day 19: Matutinal grey

Janathon 2012 Day 19: Run 5 miles, Time - 59min, Weather - rain clouds at first, gradually clearing

Sometimes when reading book you can be stopped in your tracks to wonder why the author chose a particular word or phrase. 

A couple of days ago I was read ‘Half the human race’ by Anthony Quinn when I was struck by a description of one of the characters being dressed in a suit of matutinal grey. Matutinal means pertaining to the morning but why was it used instead of morning grey, which was the generally used term for a type of suit in Edwardian times (when the novel is set)? If the book had been written by Will Self I would have accepted it as part of game called ‘play the dictionary’ but the style of this novel is fairly straightforward. So why the more arcane adjective?

I put the phrase into Google and found it is not common but it has been used to describe Raffles:

“Old Raffles opened his own door to me. I cannot remember finding him fresher, more immaculate, more delightful to behold in every way. Could I paint a picture of Raffles with something other than my pen, it would be as I saw him that bright March morning, at his open door in the Albany, a trim, slim figure in matutinal grey, cool and gay and breezy as incarnate spring.”

Well that is good. It adds a touch of Edwardian authenticity to phrase (and shows the wonder of Google. I would never have been able to make that connection in any other way).

But what has this anecdote about becoming distracted by one word in 150,000 got to do with a running blog? The answer is of course: ‘very little’. Except I have become interested in the trying to identify ‘matutinal grey’ by observation - what is the most common colour just after dawn? The answer so far is varied. Today for example was dark and rainy, nothing at breezy or spinglike about it.

But I am now looking more closely at the colours of the morning and that gives me another thing to pay attention to when I am on my run. Birds, animals, foliage and flowers, the colour of the sky, anything quirky: these are all things I look out for. It makes a run far more interesting than only thinking about my heart rate.

2011 Streak Day 263 (Friday Sept 23rd ): A beautiful morning

2011 Streak Day 263 (Friday Sept 23^rd ): Walk 4 miles, Time 1hr 5min, Weather - a beautiful autumn day

It is amazing what a difference a little sun can make.

This morning I looked out of the window and saw both a layer of mist and a rising sun. You could tell that the day was going to be warm and that the mist would soon be burnt off. You knew it was going to be one of those days that can persuade you that autumn is the best season.

I felt a great desire to take some photographs. I was keen to find some of mist hovering over water, with boats catching the early rays of light. I rushed out of the house.

During grey days I sometimes struggle to find enthusiasm because I know pictures will look flat. There have been far to many grey days this year. But clear autumn light is a wonderful thing and you have to take advantage of it when you can.

Unfortunately I was a little too late - the mist had just about gone when I arrived at the canal. But it still looked wonderful. It still felt good to be alive.

Everything was waking up. People were starting work in the boat, people were walking and cycling along the towpath. It was the perfect time of day.

P.S. I wont even apologise for the fact that this is the third canal photo in a row