Juicyju does Brighton- the good, the bad and the ugly!

[ju-ju-]

I am sorry it has taken me a while to write this, I have been a busy little Juicyju ( actually I am 5 foot 8 so I am really quite big, but it sounds good!!).

youtu.be/SKiVeHA6eoI(Not working as expected?)

The Good:

❤️‍The weather- the sun shone and it clouded over as the day wore on with a spatter of rain which was timely and perfect

❤️‍I met up with most of the other C25kers that were there- how amazing in about 3 years we have all progressed to running a marathon!

❤️‍I ran all the way with another C25ker . It was so good to share the experience and when I had a wobble they spurred me on to keep going

❤️‍ My training paid off. I felt strong to the end and it was good to run it like a long slow run, I wasn't focused on speed or meeting targets, but for enjoyment and participation which I am to continue with as I run more marathons

❤️‍Loads of water stops

❤️‍ The crowds were very supportive

The bad:

☹️ Brighton was generally very busy and my hotel was very expensive

☹️ The toilet situation was v bad, we had to queue for 1 HOUR... I nearly wet myself ( seriously) and there were no bushes to speak of. I did consider pretending to be a man, but I need a bit of practice to use a urinal ( remember the clip in The Full Monty?!!!)

☹️ The isotonic drinks were too weak and there were only gels at the stops- no fruit or anything ( Paris I  had dried fruit and other goodies every 5k)

☹️ I had a dip half way as I could see others nearly finishing and mentally I needed to be a long way away ( geographically)

☹️ We had to run for about 6 miles in an industrial area which was worse than grim

The Ugly:

👻 The barefoot runner badly limping at 15 miles ( ouch, ouch and ouch)

👻  There was a woman at about 21 miles obviously very poorly and it hit me the effect of running a marathon has on our bodies

👻 The couple with, 'hubby' and 'wifey' T shirts. That is all I am saying on that one

Me:

I feel strong and I ran 7.5 miles yesturday on my trail and it felt good. I am tired today but eating and resting.  I am really excited about planning the next one and supporting everyone else running races. As always i am also thinking about new goals.

My Next steps:

Up my mileage to 40 miles a week to prepare for an ultra and also to get my body to a place I can do marathons very comfortably so I can get the most from the experience

Sign up for Eden marathon in October- to enjoy, no time target

Consider an ultra in the Summer???????? should I??

Strengthen my hips ( my weak spot, they get very sore)

Train for a sub 2 hour HM in September by continuing my intervals, hill sessions and increasing my 10k till I get there ( I can maintain the right pace for that distance)

The clip is just a bit of fun from the day, and the pic is a medley of my visit!

Thankyou all for all your support and encouragement... back to the polls now ( sorry for the gap!!)

Juicyju

[poppypug Marathon]

You look absolutely amazing ! Love the new hair !

Fantastic Ju, Massive respect to you for taking this on. What a fantastic experience it mustve been for you . Great that you met up with other C25kers , a brilliant testament to the programme, who knows what we can achieve when we put our minds to it . You put a helluva lot of training in and it paid off .

Many Congratulations to you !

Heres to the next Panther adventure , you are such an inspiration ! xxx

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to poppypug]

aww thankyou. It was so good to meet up with them all, it felt incredible that just a few years ago we couldnt run for the bus, and there we were running a marathon!! 

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

Well done, you are awesome! 

A while ago someone told me about this ultra: guidedogs.org.uk/microsites... 

I was sorely tempted, but luckily someone else invited me to their wedding which is on the same day

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to roseabi]

Oh that looks fab...what a shame you had to go to the wedding!!!! And thankyou...

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to ju-ju-]

It's for the best I'm sure... haven't even run a marathon... yet...

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to roseabi]

Yet.....!!

[vixiej in reply to roseabi]

oohhh, that's noted for next year, thank you!

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to vixiej]

Looks good doesn't it?!!

[vixiej in reply to ju-ju-]

yes, I've warned my brother I may come to stay with him and I'll talk to my niece in the next couple of weeks, she did Turks Head 10k last year (first race) with me, I reckon she'll be good for a half marathon if she's not already there, and it's on her doorstep (they live the other side of the hill, Boscoppa!)

[benwill Marathon]

Well done on completing, i am sure you did great.  Is it rude to ask what time you got? 

 the isotonic drinks they tasted so watered down you could hardly tell if it was water or not

Sorry about the ladies toliets they looked bad but an hour, sometimes i got to be happy i am a guy. 

The industrial area was horrible i would prefer if they did the marathon the other way round so you went through it first and not last! 

I saw lots of poorly people it was sad and tried to bloc it from my memory.

As for an ultra go for it! what kind of distance will you go for?  I learned that an ultra is anything longer then a marathon.  So some come range from 30miles to 100 miles. 

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to benwill]

Hi Ben, I did it in 5 hours 25- nothing like your speediness but that was comfortable 12 minute miles which I prefer!! I was talking to a friend about that too as it would be so much better to do the industrial bit first as it gets it out of the way!! The Ultra i have been considering is 100k ( race to the stones)....!!!!

[benwill Marathon in reply to ju-ju-]

thats a good time as well i hope you are happy with it. Not sure i am that speedy! 

Race to the stones looks great, go for it and its a Ultra Du Mont-Blanc Qualifying race, the ultimate Ultra race! your be wizzing up those french mountains in no time! 

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to benwill]

hee hee - now that would be amazing!!!

[vixiej in reply to benwill]

I think they do it that way because a) its flat at that end and b) because they are horrid sadistic b*****s who want to see us suffer

[benwill Marathon in reply to vixiej]

I think your very right. But the hilly bits where not really that hilly 

[vixiej in reply to benwill]

very true, just the first 1/2 mile in the town could be counted and they are pretty short. Remember I'm a southern softie though hehe

[benwill Marathon in reply to vixiej]

Nothing wrong with being a southern softie. 

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to vixiej]

I think you are right there!!

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

I saw an article about this "Gotta Go" running skirt today, it made me think about the ladies loo situation at the Brighton Marathon...

kickstarter.com/projects/sk...

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to roseabi]

That vid had me in stitches!!!! I've just ordered a skort but it doesn't have a flap!!!

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to ju-ju-]

😄 I think it started life as an April fool joke but turned into a real thing because of people actually wanting them. But it does rather look like they kept the original April fool video!

[AncientMum Half Marathon]

Massive congratulations JJ, you were amazing. Sounds like all that hard training you put in on the trails has really paid off. It also sounds like you were much more ready mentally for this race than for Paris, but perhaps that's my imagination.

I've been waiting since Sunday to read this report, and it definitely didn't disappoint, so congratulations again, Sweetie, be very proud of yourself indeed xx⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to AncientMum]

Thankyou so much xxx yes it felt a million times better than Paris for lots of reasons, that nearly broke me.... 

[old_git Marathon]

Congratulations JJ!  Wonderful report and video plus epic run.  Hope I look as happy at 23 miles!

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to old_git]

Thankyou, I'm sure you would... 

[Dunnja Half Marathon]

Very well done JJ and peeps running it on here have been part of my inspiration.

The toilet issue is a huge concern as I go about 5 times before a race!!!

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to Dunnja]

You can upgrade and get priority loos!!!!!

[Dunnja Half Marathon in reply to ju-ju-]

Ooh, that is a must for me xx

[aliboo70 Half Marathon]

Congratulations jj,  sounds like all your training really paid off! And that it was overall a good experience with the goods outweighing the bads and the ugly???  And now on to the next challenge! Excellent stuff, very inspirational! P.S. love the video!

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to aliboo70]

Thankyou xx

[Eatcakeandrun Marathon]

Congratulations JJ - lovely to hear your report. I am going to try and take a few photos on Sunday, although I don't think I will manage a video! 

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to Eatcakeandrun]

Been thinking of you... Enjoy it, and I'm looking forward to the report

[Wristy Marathon]

ah yeah! boom! You look really fresh in the  vid as well, must be the sea air  

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to Wristy]

Thankyou....and thinking of you today....

[vixiej]

you were awesome and it was amazing to see you again! I am heading down your way in the summer, I want to come and run a trail or two with you, if you don't mind sharing sometime. And please do come and do Race to the Stones with me, I am wondering what I've let myself in for!

[ju-ju- Marathon in reply to vixiej]

Come and see me Deffo and we can do my trail.... It was so amazing to see you too, just needed longer. I'm so tempted to sign up to it....

[Jaxsy_runs Half Marathon]

Hello jj, how are you doing this time on after your terrific marathon? Really Lovely to see your photo wall and video of your journey , thank you. 

Congratulations on your wonderful achievement x