Janathon day 24: Well and truly beaten

This time last year I had the worst run ever! I was aching, felt terrible and was on the verge of tears the whole way round. Little did I know at the time, but the reason I was feeling so ropey on 24^th January, 2011, was because I was on the verge of coming down with flu. Not just a cold, but real flu where I couldn’t move from my bed.  I am so stubborn that even though it was my last run of Janathon 2011, I still stubbornly tried to exercise on day 25, only to crash and burn in style.

I was determined that I was going to enjoy tonight and it was only ever going to be positive that it landed on a Tuesday, as Tuesdays mean Run Dem Crew. I felt good when I arrived and was greeted by this. The Nike Make It Count campaign relates to me and really captures how I feel.All I ever want to do is to do everything to the absolute best of my ability. I touched on this in my Happy 30s post.

There were 147 people at RDC tonight and it was fantastic. There was such a positive and exciting vibe in the room and I chose to run in the fast hares.

RDC at 1948 (Picture courtesy of @RuthHooper)

It felt good and we saw some great Lomdon sights along the way. According to my endomondo app on my phone, we ran 8.3km but when speaking to other members of the group after the run, it seems we actually ran nearer 9.4km. This makes me happy, as it means I am probably cutting myself short on my runs but I’m cool with that. I guess it's better than not running enough.Our group split into two groups as it was quite large and I opted to go with the 'sightseeing runners' who were keen to get a glimpse of Tower Bridge. I've lived in London for most of my life, but I am always so impressed by it. The lovely @glennhancock led our smaller group and we had a fantastic run. Thank you all for letting us stop so that I could take the Tower Bridge snap below. I regretted not taking one last week so I wasn't going to let it slip through my fingers again.

The run tonight was considerably longer than last year’s poor attempt and the only glimpse of being near to tears, was when I saw one of the new RDC members run under the human arch that we created at the end of her run. She was nervous beforehand but she pushed on through, finished that run showing grit and determination and she made herself proud. That is what RCD is about!

It is magical when you see new people discover Run Dem Crew for the first time and even more special when they finish their first run with a beaming smile on their face. Tonight was always going to be better than last year because I was running with friends. Janathon day 25, I look forward to seeing you!