Guest Post: Mandy's Jogging Diary - weeks 1 - 4, by Mandy Jones

One Sunday (Dec 2014) I marshalled a five-mile off-road race. At the end I watched the prize giving. For some reason (must have had a brain wobble) I suddenly became overcome with wanting/needing/necessity to try the race the following year (yep def a brain meltdown). 

Opening my big mouth I turned to my daughter and blurted out my thoughts...... Of course she was delighted..... Well I turned to the NHS website and decided to use the couch 'potato' to 5k as my training method. 

Run one arrived, sun shining, iPod blaring some 'get up and go' song - I felt INVINCIBLE woohoo - and off I went. Warm up good, first 60 sec jog ok, next okish, next mmm, next oh my what the hell do I think I'm doing? I finished the training and felt really good about myself. 

However, the next few days, boy I ached everywhere -mshoulders, hip flexors, calf muscles etc etc.. and to be honest didn't want to do any more. Run two arrived and the sun was shining again (thank goodness). I wasn't sure about this, but, teeth gritted, off I jogged. Not so bad as I thought and didn't feel quite as knackered as run one. I so admire anyone who can run more than one minute at a time! Let's see what run three offers. I don't feel quite as worried about the next one.

Well I've struggled through week two, and now entered week three. The first run involves a 90 sec run, then a 3-minute run and then a repeat of this. Oh boy, couldn't quite complete the first three minute run, but managed the second. This is soooo hard, how do people do this? 

So Sunday 1st Feb arrives and I head off for the second run of week 3, not going to give up. I decided to run along a straight piece of quiet road to see how far the 3-min run is. This did help me as I could judge how far I needed to jog for the last run.... I used markers such as: get to the lamp post, next the nice brown gate, then the roundabout. I'm knackered, but I completed it. I did have a tear in my eye and felt so proud of myself - yes I CAN do this. Planning to do the last run of week 3 on Tuesday... Onward and upward (I hope :-) !!!! )

So week four arrived and it was a bit of a shock: run 3 minutes, then 5 minutes, then repeat.... FIVE minutes, is this even possible? Well just about managed the run and felt quite pleased with myself. However, I made a huge mistake in run 2. I came in from work, tired but just wanted to get out there and get it done. I also didn't plan my route properly and got lost. The whole run was a shambles and I struggled to hit the 3 minutes and the five minutes. 

What a debacle, but I did learn a few valuable lessons:

1. plan your route 

2. you have to be mentally prepared, especially if you don't have the fitness to do these runs. 

I mean it, because if you are like me and so far out of your comfort zone, you have to fight to complete EVERY run! 

Morning of the 15th Feb and I have just completed run number three of week 4. Much more prepared, didn't quite manage the first set of 5 minutes, but managed all the rest. I would be lying if I didn't say it knocked my confidence with the other run, but after this morning, I'm feeling better and back on board.

Basingstoke Half Marathon Training Run #4

I need to make a confession. Yesterday at my grandparents' I had a snack-size packet of smarties - I know I said no treats before my birthday but... OK so I have no excuses. They were delicious and I ate them slowly. However, the rest of this week has been 100% clean, although I may have a treat tomorrow on my bff's birthday. I certainly won't be having treat days anymore, I can tell you... On to the good stuff... On Wednesday evening, Maxx and I decided to go for a run. Our route, which I thought was about 4.2 miles, goes through the village next to ours, past the Civil War ruins and through another village on the way back home. It's picturesque and quiet, passing pretty rows of cottages, a church and a couple of pubs. We ran the entire way round without a walking rest. Maxx mapped the route when we got home and found it was actually 5 miles! We completed it in 44 minutes, so I'm astounded at our pace - at times, I did run very slowly to catch my breath, so we must have been steaming along the rest of the way!  My motivation was just right; I was exhausted by the last mile and a half, but I kept telling myself how close we were and how proud I would feel running the entire way. This was a timely boost from Bad News Monday and puts us on track for our training plan ("plan" is used loosely - we're aiming to run 8 miles comfortably by the end of August and 11 miles by the end of September). 
In case you'd forgotten, Maxx and I are fundraising for Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare, aka Hersham Hounds, where my family have adopted 3 of our 5 magnificent goosehounds (to clarify, we don't have 5, but of the 5 we've owned - 3 being deceased - 3 of them have come from WGW). Please sponsor us - WGW is a wonderful charity with over 80 hounds in their capable care:  www.justgiving.com/PipandMaxx

Basingstoke Half Marathon Training Run #2

Before I begin, my travel post on Berlin will be up tomorrow evening, I promise!
Maxx and I have been tired this week, getting back into the 'home' routine, so we decided to run this evening when we didn't feel we were squeezing it in between other arrangements. We both did a treadmill run on holiday, but thought we'd just do a 20-minute loop tonight and do longer distances during the week. 
I felt really relaxed starting out, which is quite rare for me as I usually need a good mile to warm up. We ran across the field (my favourite part), over the road and towards the pull up bar in a surprisingly fast pace.
When we reached the turning point for home, we agreed to keep going as we were both now in a fast jog. It seemed silly to cut our run short when we were both feeling energised. I felt a bit like Ernest when I take him into a big field, just before he knows I'll let him gallop - anticipating that burst of speed, with the energy bubbling up to the surface. 
I'm genuinely surprised about how good I felt as we ran up the short incline and began our final mile. There was one point when I thought I'd need to stop, as I had a pain in my neck which had given me a headache, but I pushed forward, splitting up the remaining distance into smaller milestones.
Upon rounding the corner towards home, we really let go and ran. I felt elated, hammering along the road like an athlete! There's something gloriously freeing about running full speed along.
We took 30 minutes to run 5K, which equates to a 10-minute mile. It's not my fastest time for a 5K, but given we haven't been regularly training yet I'm happy with this time.
By the end of the month I'd like to be running 5 miles at 9 minute/mile pace.
Please sponsor us - Maxx and I are fundraising for Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare.  www.justgiving.com/PipandMaxx

A Brief History of Greyhounds

Once upon a time, there was a family named Jones who decided to adopt a greyhound. His name was Jimmy, and he was a beautiful light-coloured brindle. He was kind to the other, very old, family pet, a whippet cross named Jasmine whose sister had recently died. 

The youngest Jones, Pip, remembered being picked up from primary school, in 2000, by her mother and new greyhound. He was patient and long-suffering, laying down for hours so Pip could sketch him for her GCSE art coursework in 2006.

When Jimmy was diagnosed with cancer and had to be put down, the Jones’ were bereft. It was an unprecedented shock. But Jimmy had started something beautiful, and had introduced the family to the most superior of all pets, the greyhound (or long-snout as they are sometimes known in that most strange family). 

By this time, Jasmine too had passed and Pip had accrued a girlhound named Lassie (ridiculous name for a greyhound, but one must not judge). Lassie, or SeaBassie as they nicknamed her, was lonely. The family were lost, staring at the empty space on the carpet where Jimmy liked to rest.

Mother Jones researched greyhound centres and came across Hersham Hounds (aka Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare). Looking out at her, with perfect Malteser eyes which shone like the midsummer sun, was Rio, Hound of the Month. 

Romeo and Juliet’s love story could not compare to the love felt between Mother Jones and Rio. Of course he came home with them. The bond between Mother and hound was stronger than Ironman – Rio walked so close behind Mother Jones that his paws often went inside her slippers. He slept on her bed with his chin on her shoulder. He once gazed at her for a full hour while she ironed – as did her children, but that was more with shock than love. Rio helped to heal the gaping emptiness of Jimmy’s passing. He also helped to start Pip’s GCSE’s off with a bang when, on the morning of her first exam (Spanish listening), he tripped over his food bowl, smashed it, fell on it, and opened his perfectly-formed thigh muscle. Mother Jones nursed him on his dramatic return from surgery.

Lassie was diagnosed with cancer and passed away on 31^st January 2008. She was Pip’s hound – they snuggled together, listened to music together, pretended to do homework together. She had been there through Pip’s hardest, loneliest moments at school, and now she was gone. Loss is hard to describe because there is a nothingness which swallows everything – her spot on the sofa, her place at Pip’s side, her lead, her special walking boot which Brother Jones had decorated with the Nike symbol. 

The only thing harder than grieving is watching your deceased pet’s partner in crime grieving. Rio looked for her and wouldn’t settle. He slept in the family’s bedrooms but it wasn’t right.

Off the family went to Hersham.

Princess (aka Princess Pickle Baggins) bounded into the Jones’s life with more force than a Carl Froch knockout punch. When she stopped, dropped and rolled every five minutes on their trial walk, the family knew she was the one – she was odd, just like them. But the strangest thing was yet to happen – and that’s not referring to the jar of pickles she stole and safeguarded on her first night at home. Princess captured Father Jones’s affections by stealth – never before had the family seen him gently caress the ears of a dog, claiming what a lovely hound she was. Never before had he laughed when a hound joined him in his study and proceeded to chew his chair leg. Never before had he had a greyhound sign his Father’s Day card – until Princess. 

When Rio passed in early 2011, the Jones children saw their mother cry for the first time in their entire lives. Pip called her brother at work to tell him, then went home and cried, hugging Princess. She had promised her they would bring Rio home, but they couldn’t. This time, they had not said goodbye properly as he was already under anaesthetic. To this day, there is a Boofle toy which hangs in Mother Jones’s car - it is acknowledged as Rio in spirit.

Mother Jones called Hersham in secret. She told them she had lost her soulhound but she hated not having a boyhound in the house. Mother and Father Jones had had two dogs their entire relationship, and while she desperately wished Rio was still here, we sadly cannot bring back those we love when they become SkyHounds. 

Getting a new hound after losing a beloved one is ridden with sadness, happiness, and guilt. Is it too soon? Would they think we’re replacing them? Why are we here again? Why my hound? Pip waited on the bench outside with Princess, crying quietly. So many hounds which need homes, she thought. 

Out came a handsome black greyhound, with fur silkier than the Queen’s own bed sheets. When he turned his head to look at Pip, she almost fell into a swoon he was so heavenly. Mother Jones knew he was the right one, as ‘he licked my hand when I walked past’. It was apparent on bringing him home that he did not suit his name, Chief – they agreed he couldn’t be called ‘Big Wuss’, so Pip decided on Claus (his nickname is Mr Silks). 

That was in 2011. The family have had Princess for 5 years, Claus for 3 ½ years. The Jones family have adopted hounds from Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare since 2006, and will always advocate the hard work and passion Denise and her team put in to re-homing and caring for these loving, affectionate, gentle (and surprisingly lazy) dogs.

Please sponsor Maxx and I. This really is a worthy cause.

www.justgiving.com/PipandMaxx 
Once you go grey, you never turn away! 

Back on the (running) Wagon

Inspired by my best friend and blogger extraordinaire Boop (she told me her name was Becky but I think she's lying), I decided to lace up my trainers and go for a run. Only this time, I told myself I wasn't going to try and run a 5K or run for a specific time - I was just going to jog along, enjoy the sun and have a chat with Maxx, who joined me. 

I had started to feel that I should be able to run a 5K easily, having completed a half marathon - even though I hadn't run for a few months - and was constantly disheartened that I could only do about 15 minutes in one slog. What changed yesterday was: I took the pressure off. I took my pace back. Maxx and I chatted and admired the view and nearly ran into fallen tree blocking our path, and before we knew it we'd run for over 10 minutes. 

Our village has recently had some outdoor exercise equipment installed, so we stopped next to the pull up bar and attempted to do a set. OK, Maxx managed 3 fine... I half managed with him assisting me slightly. It was fun! I'm desperate to be able to do a full set of pull ups, so we agreed we'd include a set of 5 every run.

We set off again for another 8 minutes, stopping because I had a painful stitch. After a minute, I wanted to get going again - before, I would have just walked sulkily home. We ended our run by doing a lap of the athletics track by the village hall, with a 100m sprint to really finish us both off. I was the fastest! That's a lie.

My aim is to do another half marathon, then a full, then perhaps an ultra to raise money for Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare. But for now, I'm happy building my stamina back up and just enjoying any length of time or distance I can do.