Monday over :-)

Wasn't too bad I suppose as Monday's go - spent the afternoon in a meeting discussing a subject that I enjoy so that passed the afternoon really quickly.
Had a funny weekend, woke on Saturday feeling quite yuk and slightly flu-ey, sniffly.. wasn't sure if had picked up a bug or whether it's the change of the weather - it's turned cold and damp again and even had some flurries of snow this morning.
So instead of a long run, we went to Achilles Heel in Glasgow and bought new shoes :-) Had a lovely long chat with Katie the owner and came away clutching a brand new pair of Asics Gel Kayano 17s - in black! Not sure how I feel about black trainers, but it's the job they do not the looks that are important. The runner bit of my head is happy with that, but not sure if the girly bit is quite as convinced! Then we headed up to an outdoor shop to look at a jacket which has apparently the highest hydrostatic head (I think I understand it... ) as a potential birthday present for next month.
After a mooch around Tiso and a nice lunch in the fitfood cafe we headed home.
I had a wee spurt of domestic goddess icity and baked a courgette and blueberry cake, made stock, made chilli, even made own breadcrumbs =:-0
Early night ensued, 3 Saturday's in a row we've been in bed by 9.30pm!
Sunday morning I woke with an excruciatingly sore knee and couldn't bend it past about 80deg so wasn't too happy :-( Had a good roll on the foam roller and did some stretching and it felt not too bad so set off to Linlithgow to have a run before diehard bootcamp. I had a nice wee run down the High St and round Linlithgow palace - some nice short sharp hills and a fine set of stairs thrown in the mix, then to the end of the town and back up to the top again. A run up and back down Preston Rd - hill!(!) then a few 100metres or so along the canal towpath gave me a 5.5km run and the new shoes were good. Quick change of shoes - I knew we'd be on the rugby pitches and had been wet overnight :-) and a 90 minute diehard bootcamp session.
Felt fine while was working but in car on way home got cold and couldn't shift the shivers which makes me think there was some sort of little lurgy hanging around...
Slept in the afternoon and called off pilates in the evening :-(
Still didn't feel great this morning, but better than yesterday although the legs are achey and my knee is still sore, so going to ice it now and have some medicinal red wine.

P.S. a post about post!

A strange thing happened today, at the end of our street - we live in a cul-de-sac, a postbox appeared...
A proper red traditional design postbox - picture to follow :-)
There used to be a small red box on a pole at the end of the next street down the hill from us which was the street before us when they were building the estate, if that makes sense?
Anyway it has gone and we are now the proud 'owners' of a proper red post box...
Ever the practical one, I remarked that it was useful as when giving people directions to our house I could say turn right at the post box - much easier than it's the fourth on the right up the hill...

Just a quickie

It's Friday evening and it's almost bedtime - I must be getting to that point in training where all the cumulative tiredness hits! I am so sleepy by 10pm! I've not been sleeping well this past week either which hasn't helped, however our fab physio found a "new bit" last night and with a bit of luck he's got to the root of my knee pain which has been wakening me every couple of hours during the past few nights. I only woke once last night, so that is huge progress!
I haven't run since Monday lunchtime other than at my bootcamps, this is quite remiss but I hope that the legs are better for being rested. They are tired and achey today but that's the post physio effect and the DOMS from Wednesday night's bootcamp, it was a really good circuit workout with lots and lots of static squats and lunges - good for lengthening the big muscles, but tired them out too!
Tomorrow is long run day, I want to go and buy new shoes too, so am hopefully going to get through to Glasgow early (ish) in the morning and then have a run in them in the afternoon.
Die Hard bootcamp on Sunday is back at Linlithgow so will probably be trail shoes as the grass on the rugby pitches will doubtless still resemble a marshy bog still.
We had to go to another funeral today - this time it was an older retired former colleague who passed away last Thursday which was coincidentally the 1st Anniversary of my wonderful mum-in-law's passing. This was a memorial service as he'd donated his body to medical research, so it was strange to be in church and have no coffin, however it was a nice service and was lovely to see so many other former colleagues - just unfortunate that we only get a chance to catch up on sad occasions these days. This is the third funeral I've been to in the last 3 months so I hope that the trend has passed for a while.
On a lighter note, we are now close enough to our trip to Barcelona for it to be coming up on the long range weather forecasts, and at the moment the weather looks like it is going to be sunny and warm :-)
Fingers crossed!

Flying through February!

Wow it's hard to believe we're half way through the month already! My mum used to tell me that the time flying in was a sign of old age, well I must be getting really old, time is just passing by so quickly!
I had a good second Bootcamp last Wednesday at Linlithgow with lots of work on the dreaded Preston Road (it's a hill!!) then Thursday was a trip to the donor centre in Glasgow and Friday was a rest day. Saturday was a 20mile long run and it turned out to be a really good day. The weather was pretty grotty here at home before we set out but by the time we arrived in Falkirk it had dried up and was trying to clear. I got dropped off at the Falkirk Wheel - a scenic start and has convenient conveniences :-)
If you look closely you can see the guy on the very large horse which is the first horse I've seen on the canal path although often hurdled evidence that they've been there!
After about 7 miles or so the sun started to filter through and it turned out a really pleasant day. The ice had eventually disappeared from the canal - The Union Canal runs all the way to the River Clyde at Bowling a total distance of about 31 miles, I went as far as Bishopbriggs and then back on myself a couple of miles so that I finished my journey at a canalside pub just outside of Kirkintilloch called The Stables. It is about 16miles to the pub, but I had to run past and back to make the total 20miles I was after. This is a handy finishing point as there is a safe place to park the car - John parked there after dropping me in Falkirk then ran towards and past me, then turned at High Bonnybridge and came back totalling 27miles!! As I am a much slower plodder, he arrived only about 15minutes after me and we had a very welcome bowl of delicious warming mushroom soup before heading home to watch a very disappointing Scotland performance at Murrayfield.
Sunday morning dawned wet and cold and Diehard Bootcamp beckoned :-) fortunately by the time we got to Bathgate the rain had stopped but it was incredibly muddy as it had rained all night, so the red cloying mud was prevalent once more! Another good hill workout for Sunday followed by circuits then home to a much more entertaining rugby match Ireland v France. Sunday was rounded off by a good pilates session and then a solid night's sleep!
It's Tuesday now and I had a really good treadmill run yesterday at lunchtime which was really reassuring as I started with tired legs but they worked well and I felt really good about it when finished, tonight was Bootcamp in Stirling, another cold and windy session, but the sleet at least stayed away until I was in the car coming home. There is snow and more cold conditions forecast so will see how it pans out for the rest of the week...

End of the week again!

This was the sunset on Tuesday evening as I headed toward Stirling, it was quite stunning...

I can't believe the week is over already! I had never intended to post daily, but I can't quite believe it's Friday evening again...
I suppose being so busy at the moment rushes the time past and the days always start to merge a bit as you approach the peak of a training programme.
I have done quite a lot this week, I did my Diehard Bootcamp on Sunday - previous post, then I ran at lunchtime in the gym on Monday. Tuesday was Stirling Bootcamp and I decided to run there so that I got a midweek run in as well. I ran just short of 11k then did the hour's bootcamp so was pretty tired by the end :-) I had extremely "twitchy legs" on Tuesday night so didn't sleep at all well, this meant that on Wednesday I was very tired and a tad grouchy, I was doing a job at work which involved a lot of concentrating on the screen so by the time I left work I was shattered and not looking forward to going to Linlithgow. I went though and have to confess I'm glad I went as I felt like a whole new person after bootcamp #2 of the week. Really enjoyed some well earned fish and chips on the way home!
Yesterday I didn't exercise as it was platelet donation session in the late afternoon and I'd got a ticking off last time for having done a spin class before I went as it pulls the Hb levels way down. I was really good, I ate extra healthily and took my iron supplements all week and stayed off the ibuprofen even though I'd have chewed your arm off for one (you're not supposed to take anything for 7 days prior to donating) so turned up yesterday feeling quite righteous and with a MEGA platelet count of 400 which I think is the highest I've ever had, and a Hb of 12.2 - it has to be 12.5 before they take the donation :-( Not a happy bunny - they say exercise is good for you too!!!
Today was always going to be a rest day as it's a 20mile run tomorrow, but feeling a bit guilty as I didn't do anything yesterday either...
However, fingers crossed that the weather brightens up a wee bit and we have good long runs tomorrow - a few folk I know are all going long tomorrow as the start of the marathon season rapidly approaches!

Busy weekend

to follow a busy week :-)
Yesterday I managed to do my 18mile run with a reasonable degree of success, it was hard but it wasn't nearly as much of a struggle as last week and the route I chose was varied in terms of scenery and weather! I ran from home (Tullibody) to Dunblane and back, all uphill on the way there and gently downhill on the way home - after you come out of Dunblane that is - stiff climb out of the town...
I left home in pleasant almost springlike conditions with the sun starting to shine albeit watery - watery is the word for the run by the way- the fields were all flooded by the River Devon where it hasn't so much burst it's banks, just overflowed. There is a bridge which is normally 6-10 feet above the water which would be lucky if it was 18inches clear.
I headed along to Bridge of Allan and the normally peaceful Allan Water was in fine spate as you can see above. From there it's a fairly steep climb out of the town and then a nice downhill into Dunblane. As I arrived in Dunblane the rain was just starting to drizzle, I took a detour through the town to add on an extra kilometre and also to find the conveniences ;-) when I came out it was tipping down, horizontal sleet and driving winds, it was like Florence all over again. "suck it up" they say across the pond, so I sucked it up and headed for home, there is something really satisfying about battling the elements I always feel like I'm saying "ha ha you can't beat me, I can still do this". By the time I got back to Bridge of Allan it was almost dry again and as I headed the last 5miles home the sun tried to come out again but not very successfully and the black clouds were gathering over the hills as I ran towards them. Half a mile from home my knight on his white charger appeared - well in a dirty green megane to be truthful but it meant I got home without getting drenched again - and it was half time in the rugby :-) I still clocked just over the 18miles so was pleased with the day's work.
Today I woke gingerly - you know that way you gently try every muscle and joint to make sure they're all still working before you get out of bed? I was in surprisingly good fettle so headed off to the Diehard session of bootcamp with some trepidation but feeling more confident than I thought I might have been. I really enjoyed it! It was definitely the toughest session we've had so far but I found my legs again and had a good wee 2.5mile trail run interspersed with some push ups, and then lunge and sprint sessions. Wet and muddy :-) This was followed by a tough circuit which Paul had set up for us while we were off on our run. All good fun and although legs are tired now - as is the rest of me, it's time for pilates and then that will be my "quiet restful" weekend over...
Bring on next week =:-0

It's been a busy week!

I meant to post an update earlier in the week, but it's just flown in, so here I am Friday night already!
This week has been busy, work has been busy and I've been trying to fit in as much training as I can as well so it's been a bit like: work, train, eat, sleep, work, train, eat, sleep etc., etc.
I had a rest day on Monday, but still did my wii fit to keep up with the 100 days challenge, then Tuesday I did a lunchtime gym session with the intention of getting a 7mile run in the evening however I was feeling bit unwell Tuesday afternoon so I'm afraid it was an early night in the end and no run. I had changed my Bootcamp session from Tuesday to Friday so that I could fit everything in. Wednesday was a good lunchtime run/interval session and then Bootcamp at Linlithgow, it was the start of the stormy weather so it was a bit wet and windy but we did it :-)
Thursday I went to spin class which was a tough resistance/climbing workout which I really enjoyed and although the legs felt tired after they soon picked up. Thursday evening was a visit to the physio for the regular care and maintenance pummelling - ouch!! When the bits that had knots in before are looking a bit better, he manages to find more! The drive back was interesting, horizontal rain in gale force winds - gusting to 90-100 mph with spectacular sheet lightning!
The weather seemed to have abated a bit this morning, still heavy rain but not so stormy and then it all blew up again about 3 o'clock this afternoon... The drive to Linlithgow for tonight's Bootcamp was a bit hairy as there were huge puddles and flooding on the road and at one point I even contemplated turning back for home. This evening's session was even wetter and wilder than Wednesday but 36 hardy souls turned out :-)
I am now showered, warm and fed and off to enjoy((?) depends on result) the last 20mins of the rugby with a glass of wine and then early bed as hopefully my legs will carry me round a long run tomorrow morning.