Tom Roper's Running Training

The weekends-only Juneathon

This isn't very good. At the end of this post I offer my Juneathon activity so far and, with the exception of two Roman runs in the first week, it takes place entirely at weekends. The best I can offer for weekdays is that I've thought very hard about it.

So on Saturday I ran three miles or so on the familiar Seaford Head route; on Sunday I managed five and a bit miles, along Seaford front, but then turning inland at Tidemills, the ruins of a what was once a mill, hospital and sea-plane base, and returned home along the main road.

I also tried to make up for my poor show so far by adding a sea swim, of about six or seven minutes. Unlike the Norfolk beaches of my childhood, the sea off Seaford beach deepens quickly. There is none of the walking for miles and miles only to find the sea still at knee height that I remember at places like Holkham. Here a few steps take the swimmer up to his chest, and, having launched, a few strokes out of his depth. The beach is shingle, and its steepness can make getting in and out difficult if there is much surf. This was not my first sea swim of the year, but the cold still shocked me, and my extremities became numb. I acclimatised and swam parallel to the shore, trying to count my strokes to keep a tally of the distance. After what must have been six or seven minutes I got out, onto the nearly deserted beach. As I dressed another swimmer, wet-suited, swam more powerfully out to sea.

As we are now half-way through, here's the balance sheet:

Days I ran: 5 out of a possible 15

1st June, Rome: 3.13
3rd June, Rome: 3.59
6th June, Seaford Half Marathon: 13.09
12th June, Seaford Head: 2.98
13th June, Seaford front and Tidemills: 5.61

Total: 28.4 miles

And one sea swim of around 6 or 7 minutes duration.

The Seaford half-marathon

I hope a hot half-marathon will make up for my lack of application to Juneathon so far. It was, fortunately, a little cooler than Saturday, the previous day, and when we assembled at the start on the front, Seaford Head was invisible in mist.

For this, the seventh time I have entered this race, I was under-prepared. Training had been sporadic, mostly limited to weekends, and over shorter distances than I would have liked. And it was probably a mistake to follow the red wine at dinner the night before with other, more potent, liquors. However, two runs in Rome the previous week gave me something of a base. I was also cheered by the unexpected presence of a Swedish friend at the start, who had come to support her brother; visiting for the weekend from Gothenburg, he had decided on the spur of the moment to run a half-marathon.

After the start on the front, the race set off to Bishopstone village. I had the opportunity to marvel at my fellow runners' varying ideas of appropriate race clothing for a hot June day. One young man wore a waterproof top and covered his head with a wooly hat, apparel better suited to a chilly January run. At the first hill I resolved that I was going to walk up each hill. In fitter, faster days I have run up the inclines, but this year I was conscious of my limitations. The longest hill comes early on, a mile or more of hard climbing along the Greenway to the tops of the downs east of Bo Peep. It's a long time since I ventured up here, something I must rectify. When I lived nearer the path from Seaford to Bo Peep, this area was the starting point for most of my training runs.

Then we ran a mile or so along the top of the downs, before the descent into Alfriston, and the road crossing, ably marshalled by the doyens of Seaford running, Bill and Glynis Young. The race then headed seawards along the banks of the Cuckmere on dry rutted paths, and over many a stile. This section can be tedious but I was lucky enough to fall in with a couple who had come all the way from Leicester to take part, and their company helped the time go. Before I knew it I was at the Golden Galleon. Here the last ascent took us up Seaford Head and then along the cliffs before plunging down to the final stretch along the front. I had nothing left for a sprint finish, and hobbled over the line in 2:33.02.

This represents a poor time, my worst for the distance, and I felt distinctly weak afterwards. Nevertheless, I finished, and can come back for another attempt another year, when commitments may make training more possible. The views are splendid, the marshals cheery and helpful and the photographers from Sussex Sport Photography now know me by name.

Juneathon days 1-5

I'm tardy in recording the first few days of Juneathon, and they're not very impressive. But still:

1st June: a run round Rome, where I was on holiday. It was hot, and I ran out from my hotel, hoping to find the Parco di Traiano. I failed and found myself at San Giovanni di Laterano instead. No matter

2nd June: can I claim some sightseeing on foot as Juneathon activity? I hope so

3rd June: another run round Rome, with a little more distance. This time I found the Parco di Traiano, ran round the Colosseum and past the Domus Aurea.

4th June: not much to report, I fear

4th June: a five minute sea-swim. The sea was still cold, though air temperatures were very high.

Not very impressive, I agree

Juneathon 2009

I ran on the last day of Juneathon. I was away in the Cotswolds, at the JISC Digital Content Conference, and had time after the close of the afternoon session to take myself off for a run in a curious landscape of old quarry pits. I ran along the side of the Thames and Severn canal, now disused, and along some roads, at quite a decent pace. The Garmin had become drained of juice the night before I left for the conference, so I put it on charge and forgot to pack it, so I timed myself by my watch and guessed at the distance. My pace felt pretty good.

I enjoyed Juneathon, even if I did not rise to the challenge as fully as I might. But I have taken some exercise everyday, and I have enjoyed following others' Juneathon activity on blogs and on Twitter. For a definitive list of participants, see JogBlog's blog

My final totals:

Indoor activities
Press-ups: 901

Walking and running
Walks: 19.6 miles
Runs: 58.49 miles

Aquatic exercise
Indoor swims: 500 yards
Outdoor swims: 500 yards
Sea swims: 35 minutes

Dinghy sailing: 18 hours

Juneathon 26 -29

Here's several days in one;

Friday 26th: a difficult day to fit anything in, I had to content myself with walking to and from a meeting on another campus, distances to follow.

Saturday 27th: dinghy sailing. If injury is a good measure of effort, then this was one of my best sessions: the tally includes bruised knees, elbows and a painful wrist that for a while I thought was broken, and some blows to the head from the boom. On one of my frequent capsizes, I hit my head on something, and the safety boat, always cautious when sailors are bleeding, towed me back to the shore.

Sunday 28th: a run, at last, and the first for a week. I ran up Seaford head and along the Cuckmere, in hot though cloudy conditions. My knees hurt at first, thanks to the previous day's bumps, but I was fine after a while. I hope it will be a little cooler for Bewl. On the afternoon, a very agreeable swim in the sea. A strong current ran east to west, the opposite to my last swim.

Time: 1:03:05
Distance: 5.58
Pace: 11:17 (slow!)

Monday 29th: no time for anything more than a press-ups session: 97

Juneathon so far:
Indoor activities
Press-ups: 901

Walking and running
Walks: 13.9+ miles
Runs: 54.49 miles

Aquatic exercise
Indoor swims: 500 yards
Outdoor swims: 500 yards
Sea swims: 35 minutes

Dinghy sailing: 18 hours

Juneathon 24 and 25

On day 24, I managed to walk rather than take the bus for two trips from site to site at work, one taking me about 45 minutes,, the other taking around 25 minutes, distances, via Google maps, to follow. On day 25 88 press-ups was all I could manage.

Juneathon so far:
Indoor activities
Press-ups: 804

Walking and running
Walks: 13.9+ miles
Runs: 48.91 miles

Aquatic exercise
Indoor swims: 500 yards
Outdoor swims: 500 yards
Sea swims: 20 minutes

Dinghy sailing: 12 hours

Juneathon 23 and the plans for days 24-30

Not much to report for the 23rd day: 80 press-ups. The next couple of days are going to be difficult. Today I can manage a walk between two sites at work, but my son's concert in the evening prevents a run with the Striders. Much of tomorrow will be spent on a train, going to and from my aunt's funeral in Dorset, and Friday is taken up with work, though perhaps there will be the possibility of a walk. Saturday will be spent sailing, so no running till Sunday, when the Bewl 15 will be but a week away. As for Monday, I'll try for an evening run and on the very last day I shall be at a conference and the hotel has a swimming pool, so I can finish in style with a swim and run.

Juneathon so far:
Indoor activities
Press-ups: 716

Walking and running
Walks: 13.9 miles
Runs: 48.91 miles

Aquatic exercise
Indoor swims: 500 yards
Outdoor swims: 500 yards
Sea swims: 20 minutes

Dinghy sailing: 12 hours

Juneathon 22 and the Brighton marathon

Today was a difficult day: no time in the morning, evening or at lunchtime to do anything, but then I realised that, after an all-day meeting at a different site, a walk to the station from there would cover some miles. So I walked from Putney to Clapham Junction in 35 minutes, a distance Google Maps reckons to be 2.3 miles.

Entries go live for the first ever Brighton marathon tomorrow morning at 10 am. The route has been announced, starting in Preston Park and finishing on the front at Madeira Drive. I've hung up my marathon shoes, but if I was a younger man....

Midsummer Juneathon

It may or may not be midsummer today. I ran in the morning, not quite as far as I'd hoped, and swam in the sea for around ten minutes, I also did 88 press-ups.

Time: 43:50
Distance: 4.41
Pace: 9:56

Juneathon so far:
Indoor activities
Press-ups: 636

Walking and running
Walks: 11.6 miles
Runs: 48.91 miles

Aquatic exercise
Indoor swims: 500 yards
Outdoor swims: 500 yards
Sea swims: 20 minutes
Dinghy sailing: 12 hours

All hail the Great Helmsman: day 20

For the 20th day of Juneathon, two-thirds of the way through, I had another dinghy sailing class. This week I learnt to gybe and to capsize, in slightly cooler weather than the previous week. I think I understand it, but I need a lot more practice on the water. I now require my maily to address me as Great Helmsman.

I'm unsure quite how good dinghy sailing is as a Juneathon activity. It is physically demanding yes, but not continuously, in the way that running or swimming are. Periods of exertion come in short bursts.