For the last 3 months, I have been taking part in Jantastic – an amazing online community that helped spur me on and keep my feet pounding the pavement, through the hardest first months of this year.

The idea behind Jantastic was to set goals each month, of the number of runs you would complete, the longest distance you would run per week, and finally, a predicted race time.

I opted to run 3 x per week for the whole 3 months, with the distances increasing gradually as per my half marathon plan. I predicted a 10k time of 01:10:00 at either the Wrap Up and Run 10k or the Richmond Riverside 10k, and came pretty close with 01:11:51. Not a speedy time, but I was aiming to run at my target half marathon pace, and achieve a steady and comfortable run.

94/100 for my final score

Despite a few runs missed because of moving house, I completed 32 runs (out of 36) during the 3months which I’m pretty proud of. Mostly because of the consistency, something which I really want to keep going throughout the rest of the year.

January – 11 runs
February – 11 runs
March – 10 runs

Logging my runs has really helped me to get out there when I felt unmotivated, as I didn’t want to not meet my target! The final week also saw me run my longest ever distance of 9miles, spurred on and supported by the awesome Team Naturally Run Ladies, in a River Thames tour of London…

My legs were achey and tired by the end! But the amazing sights of London and the sense of achievement definitely made up for it.

What will April bring?

Well, I’ve restarted my Crossfit membership (wooo!) and am heading back to my first session this Thursday. I’m a little apprehensive- after such a long break, will I have forgotten everything? And I’m sure it will be painful (arrgh, DOMS) for the first few classes, but I’m really looking forward to getting back and seeing all my Crossfit Vauxhall friends!

This month also sees my first every double figure run- 10miles, eek! I’ve been scoping out a few fun routes to make the miles flow quicker though, and am excited to explore some new areas around my flat. The Wandle Trail looks like a good option, as blogged about by Cat- it’s right on my doorstep and runs all the way up to the River Thames at Wandsworth!

Did you take part in Jantastic? How do you motivate yourself on long runs? What’s your favourite landmark in London– I still feel a sense of amazement when I see all the iconic buildings, and beautiful architecture.

Beki x