Janathon Over… Now What?

Janathon is over… now what? Easy really, now I continue running.

I finally took the time to read through some of the emails that the good folks at the Brighton Marathon have been bombarding me with and suddenly realised that I needed to book a park & ride space. During the early days of my event planning I had toyed with the idea of staying down in Brighton but Mrs Dan made it quite clear that she had no intention of standing around in Brighton all day with The Son just to try and spot me to wave me past. I do not want to go and stay by myself so I will drive down to Brighton early in the morning and utilise the park & ride service to take a bus down to the starting area. So that’s now all sorted although I did waste some time trying to search for any guidance on the best park & ride location but then figured that would be the least of my worries on the day so just randomly picked one of the locations on offer.

I have a small(sih) shopping list of things to purchase and test before my training races:

1. New running shoes – I will reach and pass the recommended life expectancy of my current Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10 shoes as part of my training plan so time to visit a store and buy a new pair so I can clock a good chunk of miles to break them in. I would have previously shopped online but I want to try some options out to make sure I am happy. However, I do plan to stick with the Brooks Adrenaline range if possible because they have served me very well up to this point.
2. Vaseline – since I have upped the number of runs per week and total miles, I have begun to experience some chaffing on my legs. Marathon guides recommend some protection anyway so now is the time to experiment and get it right before the big day.
3. Nipple Protection – oh boy, do I remember watching runners in the London Marathon with blood stains down their shirt starting from their nipples. Not for me, no way thank you. I have always used whatever cheap plasters I could find but I plan to try a few different band aid / surgical tape combinations until I am comfortable.
4. Energy Gels – something I have used several times before on my long runs in 2011 when I was clocking 13+ miles at a time but it’s been a while since I tackled those distances. At the time I just bought a random selection of gels from difference places but found the taste varied so now it’s time to pick my favourite and buy a box.
5. Running Socks – I have always used Nike running socks just because those were the first type I came across. I’ve been reading some sock reviews and plan to try a few different makes and settle on my favourite.
6. Headphones – I love my Sennheiser PMX 80 headphones but every 6+ months they suffer from all the use they get. I always seem to lose one of the protective buds from a side and eventually the sweat rusts all the tiny screws and the grill over the earphones. My latest pair have lasted remarkably well but it’s time to get a new set.

Lots of training runs to complete before Brighton and new gear to purchase and test. Plenty of things to do before Juneathon rolls along.