It's not Grim down South - Grim Night Terror Report

'This has to be the most stupid thing we've ever done.... and we've done a lot of stupid things'

This statement made by both me and eatingtrees pretty much simultaneously at 5pm on Saturday night summed it up I reckon. Here we were, sitting in a parked car, wrapped in a lot of layers with snow falling around us, just about to run around in pitch black with only a head-torch for company on a course that can make your balls shrink just thinking about the cold and in which eatingtrees has fallen over into a puddle within the first 100m once and gone over on his ankle on a different occasion. Oh yeah and we paid £25 for the 'privilege'.

CAN YOU GUESS WHO IT IS YET?

Once we couldn't put it off any longer, we headed to the start and jumped and jigged around a lot trying to keep some feeling in muscles that were getting colder by the second where it was announced to a series of jeers and boos that they'd had to divert the course a bit owing to the 4 inch solid ice covering the larger puddles that 'would cut us to ribbons'. At that point, I wasn't overly disappointed as I was still expecting some puddles, just not knee and waist deep ones.

WHAT ABOUT NOW?

The route was 2 laps around the forest, in the snow, with loud speakers playing screaming and heavy breathing noises throughout the route. Think horror film, not porn. It was really well marshalled and all done in good spirits but it didn't take long to realise that even the smaller puddles were sheet ice and the only way you were going over those is on your arse. So pretty much everyone followed the same route diverting around the big puddles and 2 laps were completed in about an hour and 5 minutes. Pretty quick for me over 8 miles. Only is wasn't 8 miles because of all the adjustments the organisers were forced to make through not fault of their own. It turned out to be between 6.5 and 7 miles which is more than I usually run on a Saturday night in Feb I guess!

Would I run it again? Yes but only if it was a proper Grim. It has potential and this one could have been great but a week of below freezing temps leading up to it just gave the organisers no choice in shortening it and making it safer. All in all it was a bit tame. I've never been able to drive home in the same clothes and shoes from a Grim event before!!!

Twas the night (or morning of the night)...

...before Christmas and HMC decided to step on some scales (at the parents, he doesn't own any)....

It's been a while. I've never been a light man and never expect to be so as I haven't done any exercise for around 2 months, this wasn't going to be pretty. 14 stone is pretty much standard for me and anything around that I'd be OK with. (for 'OK', read disappointed but not disappointed enough to actually do anything about it).

On we go... Huh? Problem. Step off, reset to 0, step back on again and same reading. A smidgen over 13 stone. Huh? What the _____? When in all that is holy did that happen and second question is... If I seem to have lost a 14th of my body weight, WHERE THE FUDGE HAS IT GONE?

I put it down to bad scales and got on with my xmas of cold, cough, chest pains, no appetite and needing to sleep during daylight hours. This was a horrible xmas personally. I've never been wiped out completely before but on my 31st xmas and George's very 1st, Daddy was not good!

Anyway, next was off to the in-laws for more food, drink and merryment. Again, I wasn't good but they did own scales which enabled me to test myself again. This time though, just after a meal and fully clothed (bet you're glad I left my nakedness out of the earlier weighing session now aren't you!). I came in just under 13 and a half and therefore have lost some weight somewhere.

After a couple of days, I think I've sussed it. No running or cycling means all my muscle has turned back in to fat and that's lighter. That's the only theory I have. I wish I'd known earlier in my life that if didn't exercise I could lose weight. Things would be so much easier.

Anywho, good luck to all the frankly disturbed and freaky people doing Janathon. I have no idea why! The only way I found time for Juneathon was running at 5:20am most mornings and that was before George was born. 5am on a January morning when I already fight for sleep every night? Behave people! But good luck anyway. I will be following you. Now I have 2 weeks to get myself able to do the re-organised Grim Challenge on Jan 15th. Don't suppose snow is due is it?

Last run before the ice age!

As the weather men had continued to shout that the world was officially going to end last night and we'd all be snowed in forever and a week, I felt I really had to get my backside out before the pavements spent the next week being covered in a layer of ice. Snow and slush I can deal with but I draw the line at ice.

After Saturday's trip out with eatingtrees, I was still aching quite a bit and didn't fancy this one too much. However, I had a personal battle to win. I had to get myself back under the 9 min/mile pace. I had slowed considerably recently and the last time I went under 9 mins was for the Royal Parks Half in Oct!! That's a long time!

I dressed up in that 'slightly' over-compensating manner and was therefore far too hot within half a mile but rather that than cold at the moment! (I've just calculated and I was wearing 9 items of clothing excluding my trainers!!). Ooops

The route was what I appear to have called my '5 miler - Winter route' on runningAHEAD. In other words, it has street-lighting and paths. Ticks all the boxes for me!! A quick description is first mile is downhill (pace of 7:50) second and third miles are flat (8:47 and 8:15) and then the final 2 miles or so are all up hill (hence pace of 8:58 and 9:17 for the final 1.04 miles).

Net result: 5.04 miles in 43:07. Pace: 8.34 m/m. RESULT!!!!! With some snow in my eyes, some pain in my calves/calfs?, hips and toes (where the sodding hell are my new trainers!!!) and not the most exciting route in the world, I'm pretty happy. Now I just need to keep it up and hope this bloody weather sorts itself by the weekend. I want to pick up the mileage!!