Juneathon 3 (’17) – Wasp attack!

Wasp attack? 

…Well… Not quite.

 I just wore my Garmin (GPS tracker – for the benefit of my parents) while I played tennis today and here’s the Strava screenshot…

A tennis match on Strava always looks like a wasp attack.  I covered 4.5 miles during the course today’s game.

Incidentally, I might have played better if I had actually been attacked by a wasp during the match, but I won’t go into that now. Suffice to say – it wasn’t the best. Roll on the day that my pesky tennis elbow pain is gone!
I might actually go for a run tomorrow.

Advertisement

10k taper ?

Tapering? For a 10k? Is that really necessary?

Well, no. No, it isn’t. But that hasn’t stopped me from inadvertently experimenting with it as a tactic. Because, as previous blog posts have shown, I’m a proper science type person an’ that.

Either that, or I just generally haven’t been running much recently and now that 10k I signed up for ages ago has come around.

It’s known as a ‘pudding run’. Intended to have connotations of Christmas and because you get a Christmas pudding instead of a medal at the end.

It is  NOT called that because it is run by puddings. Except for me, that is.

I feel like a right pudding, currently. Caught in a bit of a cycle of being a bit overweight, making running harder, not enjoying running as much, not running as much (/eating all the food), being a bit overweight, etc. I decided to hit the gym a bit for some variety.

Don’t worry, I shall not bore you with tales of my reps and weights and sessions and motivational quotes and the like (yawn). Suffice to say I do a variety of things and do a few circuits of said variety. I was feeling stronger and generally quite good… until I attempted something a little beyond me…

…That ‘something’ was getting out of the car on Thursday last week.

Yes…I don’t know why I thought I was capable of exiting a vehicle on my own without anyone to spot me.  Doing so without a warm-up was clearly just sheer recklessness. The result was an initially mild ‘mmm…That twinges a bit’ that gradually intensified into a ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be able to paint my toenails put my own socks on again!’. 

I don’t really know what I’ve done exactly but it’s somewhere between having my spine ripped out (like on the retro computer game Mortal Combat) and maybe pulling a bit of a muscle.

So here I am three days post-injury, and able to walk at least, but really not sure about tomorrow’s 10k. I still have hope… Especially since immediately following that, I have a tennis match to play.  That is ‘immediately after’ as in I have warned my tennis partner to expect to see mud-splattered legs when she’s serving.

If I’m honest, and I had to choose between the run and playing tennis, I’d choose tennis. But:

 1) I’m greedy and I want to do both.

2) I’m tight and I’ve paid for the run already.

3) If I do do the run and then find I cannot play tennis/walk/breathe properly, my son (aged 10) would likely do a good job of standing in for me in the tennis and I’d enjoy watching him.

I shall no doubt write a blog post next week about how it’s ALWAYS the right thing to rest an injury.

I’ll keep you posted.

Living up to the name

Sooo…  there now follows very little at all about running. This is because I have done very little running at all.

Since that triathlon I did last month, I have run one less time than the number of EU referendums the UK has had.

Now I’m not sure if it’s the cause or the effect…  if it’s to do with the lack of running or the result of the referendum… but my motivation has been on a fairly low ebb recently.

My Garmin will tell you I have been running…but it’s lying.  I’ve been playing tennis while wearing it so I can see what distance I’ve been covering and still get ‘BOUNTS‘ points. (I’ve written about them before, I’ve effectively earned £15 so far this year for free, just doing the little bit of activity I already do. If you’re looking for a Bounts referral code, use avery1132 or just click the link for 100 free points when you do your first activity.)

Smallest child has taken up tennis (instead of dancing) which starts at 9am on a Saturday, so that’s parkrun off the agenda for the foreseeable future.  I don’t mind that.  Just glad that she is being active and enjoying it.  The biggest child has been doing a lot of tennis too (more about that later), and thankfully, the same sport has been keeping me active in this non-running month.

It’s weird that I enjoyed the triathlon so much, ran a great 5k time considering the swim and bike beforehand, and yet have done nothing to do with running since.  In part this may be due to the dodgy left ankle which seems to flare up after any exercise recently.  It may also just be a bit of the post-race blues that I often get.- does anyone else get that? Oh… and putting a bit of my recent weight loss back where it came from.  Here’s a picture of just how unmotivated I’ve been…. I have a brand spanking new pair of some of my favourite running shoes in the cupboard – unworn – tags still attatched… and they’ve been there for four weeks.  Even their presence can’t persuade me outside yet.

  
I have signed up to one of the free 5k decathlon race series in September and a local 10k in November/December (I can’t remember exactly), so I have something to work towards at some point at least…and a bit of work to do beforehand.

So I really have been ‘Not Much Of a Runner’ recently. My thoughts a few years ago of doing an Ironman before my 40th birthday will remain as just that – thoughts.  I did look into it, but the cost financially and physically have me beat(en) before I’ve started.  There’s a reason not many people do one.  Mine is not one of those inspirational ‘Can do’ blogs I’m afraid.  If you want one though, go and check out www.runslikeadog.wordpress.com and read about Cathy, who is two weeks away from doing her first Ironman .

 

It’s been all about the tennis for me and my boy. With the help of a little bit of luck, he was selected to go onto Centre Court at the Nottingham Women’s Open Tennis to go and toss the coin at the start of the quarter final match featuring the British player ‘Tara Moore’ (who lost incidentally) – obviously a highly specialised job that only a ten year old can do.

Him doing that meant that my daughter, my wife, and I got free tickets for the day and we saw some great tennis.  I also got free tickets earlier in the week thanks to the tennis club I play for.  The following weeks thanks to another internet competition I’d entered, we got free tickets to the semi-finals of the challenger tour (kind of like the equivalent to the Championship as opposed to the Premiership – to use an English football comparison – and I won’t mention English football again).  This involved a lovely drive to Ilkley, Yorkshire and the prize also included a grass court coaching session on that morning.  I hat a bit of a hit too but pretty much left my son to it for a couple of hours before settling in to watch some more great tennis.

   
    
  

  

As a result of yet another competition, I then won free tickets to the men’s ATP event in Nottingham on the Monday (I had already taken the week off work) but anticipating it would be chucking it down, I cycled there and back home so at least I got some exercise despite only seeing 20 minutes of tennis before needing to collect the kids from school.

However I then got a message from the competition people saying that as it was such a washout on the Monday, and one of their other winners was unable to accept their free tickets for the Tuesday, would I like them.  Well yes I would indeed, I said. So I cycled again on the Tuesday and this time got a bit sunburnt.

  

   
On the Wednesday, I actually already had paid-for tickets that I’d purchased months ago (see, I do actually contribute sometimes) and I cycled in once more, but this time I had a friend collecting the kids from school and I wouldn’t have to leave early and I could relax a bit.

  

 Logic would dictate that carrying a bottle of bubbly for over half an hour on the bike and then opening it would only have one result. Well it did… and the cork landed – as I was helpfully informed by the security personnel – on court number 3! oops.

No more free tickets since then.  I’m not going to Wimbledon this year.  Maybe my son will get good enough in about 15 years to qualify there and I’ll get my free tickets then.

 

I’ve been playing tennis as well, though –  I’ve bought a new racquet AND tennis shoes, and I’m  working my way through the rounds of my club’s own championship so will be playing in the semi-final soon… most likely to be against our club’s coach… mmmm… I know this is supposed to be a running blog, but I’ll let you know how much I lose by.

I don’t think I’ll be winning a trophy…

Juneathon done.

30 days of exercise.
30 days blogged about…Just sometimes a day late or sandwiched in with another post…

…like this one.

Last night I went straight to the tennis courts after work and left there 4.5 hours later. Lovely.

Lost a big match after going down 9-7 on a tie-break. A bit gutted, but a great game.

Not been doing much running this month, to be fair. Not in terms of miles anyway.
It doesn’t look like I’ll be entering the Nottingham marathon this year. I said I’d only enter if I managed to shift 10kg.

I haven’t.

I think I need a bit of a break. No pressure. No goals. Just enjoy the running. Or not running.

Time to sit back, relax, enjoy Wimbledon.

I went down to the tennis club again tonight, actually. Stopped off first, bought some ice, bought some beers…

  
My kind of tennis…

Cheers, Juneathon people.

Normal service of only occasional random blogging (sometimes about running) now resumes.

P.P.P.P.p.P.P

Poor 

Planning

Prevents 

Predicted 

parkrun 

PB 

Performance 

.

.

.
I was so up for a parkrun this morning. ‘Up’ mentally, and ‘up’ physically… I’ve been getting faster and fitter (just not any lighter… But that’s all part of my cunning training strategy!).

I was actually out of bed and everything!…

…Well… nearly everything. After yesterday’s ‘out of the house all day’ adventure with the kids, we ordered in a pizza that evening. It was lovely.

And then everyone went to sleep. Which was also nice…but it unfortunately meant that this morning, there was all the morning stuff to do plus all of last night’s ‘last night’ stuff to do, there was no milk, hard-working wife still had hard-work to do, the kids were up, tennis coaching and ballet lessons awaited the little people and the in-laws were due round at some point today too.

I should have done it last night. Then I could have been off and out this morning.

Despite having got all dressed up in my running gear, I traded the run in for a proper breakfast, numerous cups of coffee for myself and my good lady wife (I only have one by the way – that term is not used to differentiate between different wives, like I have a ‘bad manly wife’ or anything), and getting both the kids and the house looking moderately presentable… 
…this included eating a cold slice of pizza.

Having taken Child1 to tennis, I met a fellow club member there and we ended up playing a set ourselves so I did at least get some decent exercise in.

As a bonus, Bounts – the website I have reported on before where you can earn points for exercise – redeemable for real world cash gift cards (sign up here for 100 points to get you started), have recently started magically recognising my attendance at my local tennis club and awarding me attendance points too. That would have been extra handy if it had started a month or two back, based on how much I’ve played recently. 

After lunch I took Child2 to ballet, did some food shopping and then I’ve spent the late afternoon cremating meat on the BBQ and drinking cold beer with my wife and her family. 

There are worse ways to spend the last part of the day.

Tomorrow’s breakfast

Double Monday

Monday 22nd June

I remember, approximately twenty-something years ago, at school, I loved Wednesdays.

Wednesday’s timetable was, I think: double P.E (yay! Love P.E!) double maths (love puzzles) and double music (love making lots of noise).

Today (…well…yesterday now…but today too, actually) is not a Wednesday.

Monday, at school twenty-something years ago was double hunanities. I don’t know why it was called ‘humanities‘ it wasn’t very humane to bore the pants off us students for hours and then give us ten hours of homework to do by yesterday. Well that’s how it felt. There were probably other lessons on a Monday, but they could not overshadow humanities!

Today (yesterday now) is (was) a Monday.

But it didn’t just feel like a Monday, yesterday, it felt like a double Monday.

I was unproductive and slow and if my thoughts were spoken out loud, I’d have told myself to shut up and get out of my own company.

I was looking forward to tennis night though, in the same way that twenty-something years ago, I looked forward to the end-of-school bell…

…But when I got to tennis it started tipping it down with rain, big time.

So at this point, I’m supposed to tell you how I laced up my running shoes and went for an invigorating run in the rain, singing at the top of my voice, smiling at everyone who thought I was mad and brightening people’s day as I deliberately stand next to that huge puddle as the car drives by to give myself a refreshingly muddy shower and celebrate the wonder that is the sensation of life!! WoooHooo!!!

…But no.  I didn’t do that.  I have done that before…but not on this particular double Monday…

On this particular double Monday…I played tennis in the rain for an hour and a half with other mad people.

It was quite nice.
______________

Tuesday 23rd

I didn’t post yesterday’s post yesterday, because if I did, my parents would have phoned to check I was ok. They read my blog…and they read into my blog…which is dangerous. I am ok.
I was ok. It was just a double dose of Monday. You don’t need to phone. Oh and dad has said I can use that poem thing I was on about for father’s day (as long as I credit him), so I’ll go and edit that into my B&B post in a bit

Today was a different day. It was Tuesday, for starters.

I felt much better today.

I am considering a late night run, but having done 60 press ups in 60 seconds earlier (just to see if I still can) and therefore meeting tonight’s Juneathon requirement, I think I might go to bed early…or at least early for me.

Don’t forget people (UK people at least), Friday is national handstand day – yes, seriously that is a thing.

That day’s blog could be interesting.

B&B

It’s Father’s Day today so I started by getting up early and running 20 miles…

  
…nah!! I had a lie in and was given breakfast in bed for the first time in a long time.

I went on to have a lovely day – I exchanged emails with my dad (I didn’t actually speak with him but he doesn’t really ‘do’ Father’s Day so he won’t mind) who had written a great short poem about being a dad… I just thought, I could share the poem here but would want to check with him first.

I played tennis (my Juneathon activity for the day) with my son and watched tennis from Queen’s …. Go Murray!

Then it was dinner with the in-laws, a game or two and then bath and bed for the kids.

Then I thought I’d check out the Randoms bag for today… 

 

So to complete a related exercise, I figure it’s time for a couple of bicep curls. 

Cheers.

______UPDATE EDIT _______

Dad has given permission for me to use his poem as long as I credit him:

Here is my own advice to dads; it’s all about deciding …

When to say yes
and when to say no
When to hold on
and when to let go
When to jump in
and when to lie low
or when to admit that you really don’t know.

When to reach out
and support should they fall
When to cheer up
when they’re made to feel small
When to build up
and to help them walk tall
or when to step back and do nothing at all.

And if you’re not perfect
it’s not really so bad;
Just try to be
a “good enough” dad.

© C.D Avery 2015

Ten(ish) out of ten

On day 10 of my Juneathon month of daily activity, I once again played tennis (and I once again repeated the ‘ten(ish)’ title because I am boring and lazy mostly).

That is something that you may not know about me because normally my posts are so dynamic and interesting? Yes… well…

I was recently nominated by another blogger RunMaggieCooper to share a few facts about me and link to some other interesting blogs that I read.

Well, I am even less into chain type things than she is, but having said that, I enjoyed reading her post so here is a link back to it.

I won’t go nominating other folk but will add links to other blogs over the next couple of weeks (I’ve been a bit rubbish on the ‘reading blogs‘ side of things this Juneathon, but I do try to read a few each day and comment or ‘like’ if I have stopped by).

Back to day ten, anyway…as you might have gathered, it was tennis again. This time – a league match for my local club. Four decent sets (about 3 hours) of tennis. The best bit was coming back from 4-0 down in one set to eventually win on the tie-break (9-7). Yay!

It felt good to have done decent exercise as that morning I went to the farm with my daughter and ended up eating a full english breakfast for lunch (in addition to my earlier breakfast) and most of my daughter’s lunch (a giant sausage roll) too.

The plan was to eat a light, healthy dinner…except as I headed home, my hard-working wife text to say she hadn’t eaten yet and could I perhaps pick up a takeaway on my return.

I didn’t needed much (any) persuading!

Outdoor spin class

Put the running on hold for a minute…

Sunday 7th June saw me and my son travel to the Nottingham Tennis Centre to compete in a child(10&under)&relative mini-tennis (red ball) doubles tennis tournament.

Along with all the other pairs there (about 30), we were invited to go along after having won a more local event initially (for us, this was about a month ago).

The tournament was to run alongside the qualifying weekend of the Nottingham Open so we were playing on courts next to where the likes Agnieszka Radwanska and Daniela Hantuchova were getting some hitting practise in.

(this is not them)

I won’t go into the whole format but essentially there were 4 groups, a ’round robin’ took place for each group and depending on where you finished in the group there was then a knockout type competition for the top pairings, middle pairings or lower pairings.

We finished top of our group despite losing a match and despite my son falling onto his hand during the final game.  However, we went on to win our quarter final game too.

One more win and we were in the final. It was all very exciting!

(We didn't play in this court)

Except it was not to be.

I could give you a point by point run down of the match here, but I shall summarise just by saying…

competitive dad.

The third place play off was a much more enjoyable affair, though we just lost that one too.

So fourth place. We’re happy with that.
Plus, we were fed…

…got free parking right by the entrance, got to see some great tennis, and professional tennis player Shelby Rogers (world number 70) did a Q&A with the kids and was really great with them. She’s playing in Nottingham Open main draw this week and has qualified for Wimbledon too. As long as she isn’t playing Heather Watson, I shall be cheering her on.

My son had taken an oversized tennis ball for autographs… which was obviously an excuse for a promotional shot it seemed.

Oh…and I didn’t put enough suncream on…

So that was all yesterday (Sunday 7th June). Today (Monday 8th) I played tennis for 3 hours myself after work today. I then came home, read bedtime stories and then ate the entire contents of the fridge.

Juneathon week one – done.

Tennish

Juneathon 2015 (day 2)

Forget the French open. All the real tennis action was going on at my local tennis club in the Nottinghamshire (league something or other) short format mixed doubles.

Our local club has a few advantages over the courts at the French open:

1) it’s free to watch the matches

2) there are no large pieces of display/advertising to fall down and injure people (or whatever it was that fell on spectators’ heads on Tuesday as Roland Garros).

3) it isn’t in France*

I’m no good at making tennis sound exciting. I think it’s a great game. I love the psychology and everything. But I’m not a tennis writer. I won’t try to be one today.
We won.
That’s all you need to know.
And you don’t even need to know that to be fair, but I’ve told you anyway, you privileged people, you.

I will also mention at this point that I’m appreciating the rainbow tennis photo love from yesterday’s blog post by the way. Thank you. I was happy with it too 🙂

More tennis to come on Sunday when my son and I play at the Nottingham Open. Yes. Seriously.

We won a small tournament a while back and our prize was to play at the qualifying weekend of the Nottingham Open with (packed) lunch, free entry, a further tournament to play in, watch the WTA tennis qualifiers (maybe also some bigger names on the practise courts), and possibly some further prizes – who knows?! I’ll let you know how it goes – obviously.

So… It’s all good. Two days in to Juneathon and how would I rate my performance so far out of ten?
Well..

…ten (ish), of course.

*Not that I have anything against France particularly, but it would take longer to get there and we’d probably be expelled from the Nottinghamshire league.