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