Day 162 - Johannesburg!

Minimum two!

Great day in Joburg with Phil, Jo, Daniel and Jessica. Mostly playing with Lego, reading books, playing with dolly and swimming/mucking about in the pool.

Phil invited friends Kevin and Lauren to dinner, but in return Kevin was persuaded to act as guide for my run. A perfectly judged 3.8km in 21 minutes. A mix of gated estate, open space and riverside trail. Hilly and hot!!

Two more miles and the tally is up to 800!

Day 161 - bizarre!

At Schipol airport waiting for my flight to Joburg ahead of Monday's Wild Coast Ultra. Couldn't face getting up any earlier than 3.30 for my run, or indeed running at one minute passed midnight, so I've just spent 20 minutes jogging around the airport. Quite bizarre!

No idea how far, but lets say it adds one more mile to the tally. And it almost felt like a run. I'm wearing my Cascadia's and have a heavy ruscack that has all my essential kit for WCU.

One more mile takes the tally to 798 miles.

Day 160 - seven miles in daylight

Definitely starting to stay lighter longer and was able to get out for my run today before it got dark. Seven miles out to Pool Bank and back. Used MapMyRun on my iPhone for the first time and reassuringly it measured a tried and tested 7 mile route as 7.15 miles. Apparently I averaged about 8 minutes per mile and burnt off a load of calories.

Seven more miles takes the tally to 797 miles!

Day 159 - four chilly miles

Four this evening, usual Otley route. Still today but getting cold again, maybe 2 or 3 degrees. A stark contrast to East London in the Eastern Cape where I'll be on Sunday. Forecast is 33 degrees and not much 'cooler' at night!

Four more to the tally, edging closer to the 800 mark. Total: 790 miles since 1st September 2012.

Day 158 - quick two

School meeting this evening straight after work so no time for more than the minimum two miles.

Two takes the tally to 786.

Day 157 - stormy night!

Interesting weather! Lightning, hailstorms, ice several centimetres thick across the road, and that was just the drive home!

Rain lashing the windows, wind howling round the house and down the chimney, and that was sitting at the desk just thinking about going running.

But the run itself? Well, miraculously I hit a window in the weather. Yes, it was windy, but the rain had stopped and the clouds had even scudded away to reveal a starry sky.

Five miles in all, usual Otley loop and the running total jumps up to 784.

Day 156 - eight miles in full WCU kit

Eight mile loop up the Leeds Road to Bramhope, up passed the Fox & Hounds pub, down through Bramhope village and back down the Leeds Road.

Wore X-socks speed metal, Compressport calf guards, Skins shorts, Sub-4 long shorts, Skins short sleeve top, Adidas parkrun 50 T-shirt, Racing the Planet arm sleeves, Nike storm jacket, hat and gloves!

Used my new Ultimate Direction Diablo back pack with two litres of water plus compulsory kit such as head torch, dry sack, camera, Frosties bars etc! Felt pretty good, two litres of water is heavy, but pack was stable and there appears to be only one day, day three on the Wild Coast Ultra run when I might need to start out with two litres (or slightly more) in my back pack - though this hydration pack can hold three litres and the pack also takes a 500 ml bottle, so plenty of options.

8 more miles, tally now up to 779.

Day 155 - parkrun number 100!

Today's milestone was not reaching 155 days on the 365 challenge but running my one hundredth parkrun!

We ran at Hyde Park in Leeds where parkrun number one took place and in sunshine, blue skies and only a touch of ice on the ground I was very happy to run 19:09 for 14th place.

So, three more miles on the challenge takes the tally to 771.

Day 154 - three easy miles

Friday night, a long week, so just did an easy three miles. Cool, but less windy, felt pretty good and was almost tempted to run a bit further.......

Anyway, three it was which takes the running total on this 365 run everyday for a year challenge to 768.

Day 153 - five

Just five today, the usual Otley loop. Not much to report, still windy, Otley AC were out in force and its still windy!

Five more miles takes the tally to 765.

Day 152 - tired two.

Long day, no energy for anything more than two miles. Still very windy, so battling in one direction, flying in the other!

Still, another day ticked off and the running total rises to 760 miles.

Day 151 - just two

Very early start tomorrow so decided to do just two, that and the fact I think I'm still recovering from Saturday's race!

So, usual Otley two, two more miles and the tally creeps up to 758 miles.

Day 150 - five windy and wet miles

Not the best conditions for celebrating the landmark of running everyday for 150 days, but at least it makes the same old routes (today, five mile loop around Otley) at least feel different.

Ran in my new Brooks Cascadia 7's tonight. I was a bit apprehensive as my first try on they felt a bit odd and I was definitely put off by the asymmetrical lacing. However, the first five miles were a joy. They feel really light, fit well, felt nicely cushioned for a trail shoe on pavements so I'll definitely be doing a few miles to break them in for WCU. Though I'll also be taking my muddy, well worn Cascadia 6's!!

Five more miles takes the tally to 756.

Day 149 - seven mile recovery run

No ill effects after yesterday's moorland marathon. Easy seven miler out to Pool in Wharfedale and back. Most of the snow has now gone, though there were a few icy patches and it was very muddy and slippery in places. Most of the snow is now in the River Wharfe which was bank full at Pool with bankside tress now sitting proudly mid-stream.

A relatively high mileage week for me at 56 miles, but with the Wild Coast Ultra now only two weeks away I can comfortably cut back the mileage.

Seven more miles takes the running tally to 751.

Day 148 - Yorkshire Moors Marathon

26.2 miles today. Whitby Abbey to Robin Hood's Bay, on to Ravenscar, up Ravensdale onto the moors, turnaround and back to the Abbey.

Day started with an interesting drive at 6 am from Scarborough over the moors to Whitby. After the heavy snow fall the roads were passable, thanks to the busy snowploughs, but there was still quite a lot of snow on the roads....

The race itself was tough. A good start along the coast path which was partly frozen, nice dusting of snow and only occasionally muddy. The cycle track from Robin Hood's Bay to Ravenscar was good for running too, deeper snow, maybe four inches and drifting in places, but compacted quickly to create a good surface.

The climb up from Ravenscar was a challenge, with thigh deep snow drifts in places and once reaching the top and heading out onto the moors we ran straight into an icy headwind. Last year this section was very runnable, but today it was knee to thigh deep snow, very rough going, lots of stumbling and falling over and very little running.

It was a relief to get to the checkpoint at the A171 but I was not looking forward to the return leg.

Luckily, with the wind behind and a few more feet having compacted the snow it was a completely different experience and it was possible to run.

Unfortunately the snow back on the cycle track and on the coast path had melted quickly (it was a lovely sunny day!) and the coast path was just a sea of mud, slush and water. Very cold, very slippy, not fun!!

Still, a good workout ahead of WCU. 5 hours 26 minutes to be precise! and, amazingly, a negative split. I'd reached the half way point in 2 hours 50 minutes.

26 miles takes the running tally to 744 and that was also my 27th marathon.

Day 147 (Friday 25 January - amusement arcades, windy sea fronts and model train shops

Yes, Scarborough does indeed have it all!

Overnight stay in Scarborough ahead of the Yorkshire Moors Marathon and went out for 30 minutes running to tick off today's run on the 365 challenge. Completely surreal moment running along the promenade at South Beach, windy whipping in off the North Sea, sand stinging my face, completely deserted, yet three massive penny arcades were fully open. Lights on, music blaring, but not a soul in sight.

Also discovered that Scarborough has a shop dedicated solely to the supply of model trains......

Another three miles run, 718 now in total.

Day 146 - five miles

A run of two halves. First half mostly still icy, so spikes were again put to good use. Second half was mostly clear pavement, time for the spikes to come off. Did walk some sections as I neared home, ice is so slippy when you are not wearing Kahtoolas!!

Five more miles keeps the tally ticking along nicely. 715 miles now run.

Day 145 - just two.

Decided to skip tonight's five miler and do that tomorrow lunchtime in daylight! So, just two, spikes on, all very simple.

Total mileage now stands at 710.

Day 144 - ice, ice, Kahtoola!

Freezing temperatures overnight meant that all the slushy snow had frozen and with side roads pressed into ice rinks it was perfect territory for my microspikes. Great run out to Pool, up Pool Bank and back down the Leeds Road, and all before 9 am. Great start to the day. To top things off the sun even came out for my cycle to the station mid morning, beautiful.

So, seven more snowy miles takes the tally up to 708 miles run.

Day 143 - (Monday 21 January) 701 miles!

Working at home today rather fortuitously so got to run in daylight in the snow! A bit tough going up the Leeds Road, OK in the deep snow (a good 6 inches) but slippy in others footprints and slushy near the road.

Once off road and into the Chevin Forest though it was just a winter wonderland. Awesome!

And, those six miles take the tally on the 365 challenge to over 700!