Some musings

“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley”  Robert Burns Nov. 1785

“Well that was a bit of a wash out in running terms” John Munro Nov. 2019

After much checking of weather forecasts during the week, the final decision was to head to Aviemore for the last long run for both of us. We managed to get away from work a little early which meant we got well up the A9 before darkness descended and settled for the evening.  The forecast was for a cold, clear day on Saturday and I’d 18miles on ‘easy trail’ on the programme so intended running across the Ryvoan pass from Glenmore to Nethybridge and back.  I went to bed Friday evening looking forward to the day ahead and had a good 10 hour vansleep. 

Saturday morning was grey and damp with mist hanging right down to below the tree tops!  However apart from feeling a bit pissed off that the forecast hadn’t been true, we had breakfast, got ready and headed off.  John had decided he wasn’t feeling the love so would head off and see how it went but most likely leave his long run til Sunday.  As I trotted down the road from Glenmore to the Hayfield I was already feeling the dampness catching in my lungs and decided I would change my plans and do loops of the G24 route. I know this well, it’s varied and it doesn’t take too much navigation. I texted John to tell him and set off up the grassy hill remembering how much I’d looked forward to this year’s race but been thwarted by the dreaded lurgy.  As I danced across the patches of icy snow I changed my mind again and headed along the side of Loch Morlich, this is a nice trail which leads out onto the road which is usually a bit tedious, but as there’s been a huge amount of forestry work here, the road was thick with mud which had been compacted by heavy plant and with a coating of snow was a reasonable surface for a change.  I was running and hiking and maintaining a constant pace which I was pleased with but still struggling with the damp making me wheezy and by this time John had texted to say he’d stopped and was back at the van. I decided to run to Aviemore and asked him to meet me there. I continued to trot along at a steady pace but wasn’t feeling 100% I couldn’t put my finger on it it just wasn’t right however I finished my run but it was only 9.25 miles - half the distance on plan 😢

After a relaxing afternoon in the van we went to the Pine Marten bar for dinner, a couple of beers and a singalong with the resident musician who we’ve seen before and is really good! Walking back to the van I started to feel uncomfortable with severe stomach cramps and a sudden but thankfully short lived bout of D&V knocked me for 6! I don’t think there was anything wrong with my food or the 2 shandies I had, I get these episodes once every year or so when I am tired and/or stressed and it goes as quickly as it comes on, always without any warning but it meant that today I am completely washed out so didn’t do any running. I’m almost feeling back to normal now after a nap when we got home and a lovely steak pie dinner, will have an early night tonight and hopefully be back on form tomorrow.

So yep it was a bit of a washout in running terms but we had time together with no interruptions to talk about future plans and reminisce a little too - we don’t get those chances too often and it was nice to sit watching the snow falling at breakfast time.

We leave for Oman early next Sunday morning so I need to be back up to full power before then! 

Miwok 100km - not to be

So, as we say... 💩💩💩 happens! In this case literally 😝 

A severe does of gastric flu hit John Thursday evening, thankfully not so severe symptoms but unpleasant none the less, along with the resultant sleep loss for me Thursday evening (ironically once he was ‘finished’ he slept like a baby - I lay awake all night fretting!) meant that yesterday we were both wiped. 

Went to bed and set my alarm for 2:30 just in case by some miracle I felt better, however I woke at 2 and switched it off at 0215. It’s a tough decision to make but this is a course and a distance that I needed to be 100% for both physically and mentally. Physically I would have been lucky to hit 65% and mentally was all over the place so decision made and a good 4 hours sleep followed. I’m sad to have had to have made this call, this race has been on my want to list for 5 years and up until yesterday I felt I was as close as I was going to get to being ready, I’ve worked hard to get here and was really looking forward to giving it a go. I’d rather be a DNS and be somewhere familiar with John than a DNF miles away and not being able to get back to him for hours.

When we get thrown the curved ball, we either catch it or duck out the way complaining that it’s not fair. I feel I’ve caught it this time, I’m sad that I’m am not out on that stunning course today chasing cutoffs but I’ve a good whack of training in the bank and I’ll find another race to put it to good use (there are already a few lined up for rest of year) so it won’t be wasted. We’ve had a great trip over here which we wouldn’t have had without the race, we’ve been new places and I’ve achieved things I never thought I could and wouldn’t even have attempted a year ago. We’ve caught up with great friends and had a really good and well deserved break together with time to just be together and enjoy each other’s company and share the adventures so it’s definitely not been a wasted trip. 

Bonus is we can spend our wedding anniversary together instead of being apart for most of it as it would have been! 

2019

It's been on my mind a few times over the last couple of months that I've not put any of my random ramblings down on virtual paper.  I'm not sure of all of the reasons but think that it's mainly because social media as it is today means we almost live in the moment and each others' moments too.  This is brought home really strongly if we're away for a weekend at a race and you realise that you've not touched your phone all weekend other than to message the next checkpoint when first runner and sweeper has passed you.  I have heard myself say on a couple of occasions "I've not been on facebook all weekend - but that's because most of the people whose expolits I would be following are here"
I love following friends on social media,looking at their photos, listening to them on podcasts or just reading their tales and I guess the corollary to that is that there's no point blogging as it's all on instagram/twitter/facebook etc.  I do however like the blog for my own personal use, it's like the diary I never kept very well when I was a teenager and I like to be able to look back and see how I felt about a particular race or a trip we did or whatever.  So here's a wee recap of what I've been up to so far this year.
Interestingly when I came here today, I reread the last post (from Sept 2018!) which was about my new friend Consistency. I am pleased to report that she has stayed by my side all year this year and I have so far, had a good year.  I have been training for a number of races of varying lengths in 2019 and so far all has been going to plan - apart from not being able to motivate myself to get out the door this morning, which has left me feeling really sorry for myself all day today.*

In December we went to Oman, John ran and I was put in charge of an Aid station, I have been meaning to write about that since we got back and I will still try to write it up, it will just be out of chronological order!

2019 has gone pretty well so far:

At the beginning of January we went to Kielder for the Winter Series. We ran a 10mile run on the Saturday morning and a 10km in the dark on the Saturday evening.  It was great, trails are superb, weather was kind, stars amazing!  I was final finisher in both races but worked hard, did my best and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

End of January saw us fly out to Chamonix for a spontaneous crazy weekend - deep snow made our usual trails interesting but fabulous! The last minute-ness of the trip also added to the excitement and adventure.



The first of the 'big' races of the year was in Gran Canaria at the end of February. 
I did the Starter (30km) and John was entered for the Advanced (65km) however he had been rehabbing a calf injury in the weeks before and made the right decision not to start while he was waiting to board the bus to the start line.

I loved the race, from start to finish even the big hills and the technical stuff and the weather was spectacular which was a bonus!
I wasn't the final finisher this time, there were a fair few behind me :)
We also discovered the joys of  "All-Inclusive"which was great on the Sunday for post race, poolside recovery!

Our first marshalling event of the year was D33/99/133 on the 15-16 March.  This was a one off race series to mark the 10th anniversary of the D33 and George's final event as Race Director.  What an amazing weekend it was! Weather was fickle as usual, very windy and bright but cold on the Friday for the D99/133 and then on Saturday it tipped down and was freezing!  As per usual, the Sunday was a beautiful day though still bit blowy and we had our traditional run out to Dunottar Castle before heading home.  So many stories and photos already shared from this weekend that I won't add more in here.

Sunday 24th March saw me running round the North Inch in Perth, and round and round and round 21 times!  (though lots of folk went round 42 times!)
We have been to spectate at the Self Transendence & Anglo Celtic plate races a couple of times in the past few years and the format of this event has always appealed to me.  Contrastingly it's John's worst nightmare :-)  I like the sociable side of it, you see your crew and everyone else's and spectators every lap and the speedy runners pass on the loop with words of encouragement or a thumbs up as they fly by.
When the race opened in November I think I was the first to enter!  I was the last over the line in the 50km but I had a brilliant day!

Now it's mid April and we are getting ready to fly to the USA next week, we will have some holiday time exploring Boulder and Colorado Springs, then my 'A' race - Miwok100 is the weekend before we fly home. John is also running it but not sure if it's his A race or not.  I am looking forward to this with a degree of trepidation because although the distance and terrain aren't phasing me, the cut-offs are tight and right on the edge of what is doable for me. I am going with the intention of giving it my all but also aware that there is a fair chance I will get timed out.  I intend to keep smiling though as that seems to have been the theme of the year so far!
So there you are that's a quick round up of the year so far...


*I am sitting writing this with a sore throat and a snuffle and absolutely no motivation to go out and run even though it's a beautiful morning. This is due to combination of things, I have been carrying a bug for about 6 weeks which abates but just doesn't go completely away. I am working in an office with people who are sniffing and coughing all around me.  I've found work quite stressful over the past few weeks - all of which combine to make me feel a bit run down.  To try to counter this I have been taking spirulina as a supplement again and trying to get back into the clean-eating habits I'd established well since the beginning of the year, but this week has been a struggle.  Add in the pre holiday stress which I always suffer from and you have the perfect recipe for procrastination