Running through 2012 I guess...

Happy New Year!

I didn't change the name of the blog as I don't know if I can without starting a new one, and I don't want to do that, I want to continue this journey... If you're interested in coming along for the ride then welcome, and if you're not it's no skin off my nose - there's a joke there but it's not for polite/mixed company :-)

It's now into February - 6 weeks of the new year gone already, wow doesn't seem all that long ago I was sitting on Hogmanay writing the last entry of 2011.

So what's new in 2012? Well I have found a new love - bench presses :-) actually weight training in general, just love it! Hard work but what a workout! I bought 5 sessions with personal trainers as a surprise stocking filler for John/us and boy was he surprised when he opened the envelope on Christmas morning LOL!!! We finished our last session today and I think it's safe to say, we've both really enjoyed it, we've adapted our diet and have both lost some weight and some serious centimetres, so here's hoping we can keep it going and carry on losing. John and Pamela from Pinpoint Fitness have come through every Saturday morning since 7 January and put us through our paces. They are knowledgeable, friendly and really good motivators :-) We've been doing 2 workouts during the week between sessions, so getting 3 good sessions a week as well as our running training the occasional bootcamp, oh and work! Guess that kind of explains where the year has gone so far!
We've just had a couple of days holiday and went up to Balmaha on Loch Lomond, we stayed at the Oak Tree Inn and spent a day running along the West Highland Way to get a feel for the route of the Highland Fling Ultra in April - more about that later. A brief stop in Glasgow on the way home yesterday for new trail shoes and we feel like we've had a holiday :-)

I will come back and update when I can fit it in :-)

And now the end is near...

It is hard to believe it's now 31st December! It's been a pretty good year all round, the last couple of posts were a bit gloomy but in the grand scheme of things I guess they were fairly minor setbacks.
I managed my 5km on hug a runner day in November and then it was a case of gently breaking myself back in in preparation for Marcothon 2011. There are some who doubt the sanity of folk who do "streaks" (does not involve removal of clothing) and there were times when I doubted my own, but I am so so pleased that I managed to run every day in December - 31 days giving me just over 100 miles.
Some days were better than others, some were hellish if truth be told, we ran early in the morning in the rain and the dark, we beat "Hurricane Bawbag" by running at 6am before the gales hit - this was a particularly ferocious storm on Thursday 8 December with winds of almost 100mph! It was affectionately named by some wag, as only a Scots wag would...
Other runs were in the middle of the day in glorious sunshine and crisp white snow, others involved negotiating large icy areas - this is a particular phobia of mine :-(
Some were treadmill runs squeezed in at lunchtimes or after meetings but at the end of it all there was one run every day for the month. During this adventure we have made new friends through the facebook group, all at various stages of madness and we had runners from "a' the airts" taking part.
A particular mention must go to all the parkrun friends who took part as their encouragement and support was invaluable as well as humorous and amusing - each day's highlight was looking forward to the various posts and Alan Lindsay's photos of Islay who looks like one of the best trained dogs ever!
This morning was the finale of Marcothon, runners came along to Falkirk parkrun wearing something red and joined by Marco and Debbie Consani who are the Marcothon parents :-) It was great to see the smiles on so many faces and the sense of achievement was tangible. As always with running it changes your perspective on so many things, I never thought I was capable of running 31 days in a row, I stressed a bit at first about the logistics, but as it became a habit it just worked, it was possible to fit a run in at some point of the day, even setting the alarm clock 15minutes earlier was no hardship...
I also managed to get back to bootcamp twice a week which I am still really enjoying and which is undoubtedly helping with strength and conditioning work.
Now as the new year approaches, it's traditionally a time to reflect and at the risk of getting maudlin, it's been a great running year with loads of new friends, loads of new experiences, a PB at 5k, 10k and marathon distance and my first ultra race all under my belt, lots of new runners are joining our merry band, some more willingly than others and there are already new adventures planned for 2012.
So all things being equal and my wonderful physio earning his money, and with the support and encouragement of my wonderful husband and friends I'm looking forward to whatever it brings!
Happy, healthy injury-free year to everyone xxx

p.s. might change the title to 2012 and come back and do some more, it's been fun reminiscing and writing it all down :-)

Grumble, grumble...not fair!

oh well, it was all going pretty good in the end, then wallop!! I've now got a rattly cough! I'm extremely cross, having worked hard to get the legs working properly again and I think doing a reasonable job - physio said he noticed a difference in a week - I do my exercises :-) this happens... just NOT FAIR!!!

I made it back to bootcamp last Friday and had a fantastic hour running around doing circuits in the mud and the rain, I've missed it over the summer, but it was too much to fit it all in, so I was all set to go back again tonight but have decided to stay in the warm and try not to cough too much.
I've not run much during the past 2 weeks, but I have had a couple of good long runs and half hour sessions on the treadmill and cross trainer, I was hoping for an even longer run this weekend to convince me that I would be ok in Frankfurt but I don't know now it will depend whether the cough stays up high or sinks down in which case I won't be running.

I know I shouldn't grumble I should be really grateful that I don't have anything more serious than a cough, but it is really frustrating when life slaps you in the face :-(

Fingers crossed that a good night's sleep and maybe a little medicinal rioja will do the business and I'll get my long run in at the weekend.

Black Dog Day(S)

Isn't he lovely? It's not really the most appropriate picture of a Black Dog, as he looks intelligent, gentle and loyal whereas the one which sat on my shoulder for most of last week was most definitely none of those things! I don't know where he came from, but it was Thursday evening before he decided to leave!
It was a really stressful week at work as we were moving into our new office and I was at conferences Mon and Tues so wasn't able to unpack until Wednesday, so I was in bright and early and was pretty much "at home" by the end of the day.
Thursday I was therefore able to get back into a normal work routine - or as normal as it gets :-) I was very, very tired all week, partly I think the change of routine, the early starts to go for the train and the stress of the move and worrying that I wasn't there etc etc meant that I did absolutely no running whatsoever all week =:-0 I keep forgetting that it is now only 3 weeks since the marathon and I think that I was probably more fatigued than I thought and the added stress just made it worse.

I felt much better on Friday and had a really good day, I had intended going to bootcamp on the Friday evening as I hadn't made it home from Edinburgh on Tuesday in time to go, but I was late finishing in the office so didn't get then either...
Saturday however was a new day and a long run was planned, it turned out an epic adventure but I will write it up in the next post as it is a tale in itself :-)

Update

you can tell I've not had much to say... it's been 2 weeks since I posted anything :-/
Catching up from my last post, John did smash his PB at Parkrun, 19mins!!! Wow he was flying down the finish and got into a little bit of a sprint for the line with a young guy who took the win by about 1 sec! I don't know if he had intended to sprint for the line, but I was marshalling and when I saw him flying towards us I was screaming encouragement and he responded :-) I think he also got a personal best for the number of insects stuck to his face and neck - Yuck!!
We went for a drive on the Sunday and did a wee recce of the marathon course, I was allowed to jog/walk 100m at a time, I did about 2 miles like that and was reasonably happy that the healing was progressing well. Monday at lunchtime I went to the gym and did a couple of miles on the bike and then a mile on the treadmill, again jog walking intervals and feeling ok.
Tues evening I decided not to go to Bootcamp as we'd had a day of very heavy rain and the grass was slippy and I thought the risk of slipping and maybe tweaking my leg was too great - also I was late finishing work and very tired. I allowed John to convince me to go to they gym, even though I was really tired, and settled down on the treadmill and yes he was right, I did start to enjoy it and feel better for the exercise. Then, PING!!!! Something went pop in my calf... it was a quick hop along on the treadmill as I hit the emergency stop button!
Fortunately there was no great pain, some numbness but I could walk and stretch reasonably easily. Following morning was very tender and a gentle exploration and treatment from physio reassured me that nothing seemed to have torn, it was most probably scar tissue releasing. Needless to say more taping took place and a lot of hobbling ensued - as well as a fair degree of worry and stress :-(
Further treatment on Friday and instructions to repeat the rehabbing I'd been doing and take it easy, lots of rest ice etc etc.
Managed back on the treadmill on Monday although I was petrified! I couldn't relax and was just waiting for the Ping! Physio made me laugh on Tues, she assures me that that is the mindset of an elite athlete - I asked for his legs!!
I am conscious that this is becoming lengthy and boring so will stop soon... We picked up our friend at Edinburgh Airport yesterday afternoon, he has come over from Canada to run on Sunday with us. It is great to see him again, and hopefully today we are going to take him up to Aberdeen and show him where his ancestors live - we have managed to research his family for him back to the late 1700s.
Weather for marathon is not great, it's been really stormy here all week with gale force winds and rain and still meant to be same on Sunday...
I woke early this morning and decided to try to jog a little this morning so I went out and managed 3km slow jogging with walk breaks at start, and whilst it wasn't exactly the greatest run I've ever had, it was the best I've had for 3 weeks!!
OK going to stop here it's just a bit of a ramble today :-)

I don't B**** believe it:-)

It's been 2 full weeks since I last posted! Crazy crazy times, it's all been running, training, sleeping oh and work... I feel kinda guilty that I haven't been on here for so long, because I really want to keep a diary of our year and that's 2 weeks missing out of it already :-(
Apart from me completing the 100 days challenge, we also had a good running weekend that weekend, we did the Strathclyde parkrun on Saturday morning which meant up at usual work time and out the door by 0745, it was a beautiful day and my new "coach" coached me to a new PB for 5k! Then we headed off up to Fort William for the Lochaber marathon on Sunday 10th. As it was such a lovely day we drove all the way up the road with the top down on the car which was great, lovely to get the sun on your face and you get a much much better panoramic view of the scenery than you do from a car with a roof on.

see what I mean?

We stayed overnight in Kinlochleven and after a lovely dinner, an early night and a good sleep we were up and preparing for the race on the Sunday morning. I wasn't racing, but I did have a long run to do so I had decided to leave before the start and run to the bridge over the Caledonian Canal so that I could get John's photo as he crossed the bridge.... Unfortunately I took a wrong turn, which gave me a good long run but meant I missed him crossing the bridge, I did however get some photos of the runners who were further back the field. Then I decided to head off up Neptune's staircase for the rest of my own run. Neptune's staircase is a set of 7 locks to allow boats up and down the hill and each of the locks has it's own wee hill so it was a fabby wee hill session - made all the better by the admiring and genuine "Well done Lassie" I got on topping the last one from the Lock keeper who had been watching my progress :-) Lassie I ask you!! Mind you he was getting on a bit!


I took his advice and crossed to the other side of the canal at this point and headed off for another few miles before I turned and retraced my steps. I stayed on this side of the canal all the way to the road and this gave me a long steady downhill as opposed to the individual hills on the way up. I headed back the scenic route I had inadvertently taken to get there and back into Fort William ultimately completing a nice 15 mile run in scorching sunshine and a strong headwind.
In the meantime John who was still rehabbing remember, was on his way back to the finish on the Shinty park and came racing home in an amazing 3:31!!! A new PB for him even though he was going to go and "take it easy"!!! Honestly... Men!!!
Glad to say he had no adverse after effects and made a good recovery, the post race beer possibly contributing some well earned carbs and hydration :-)
A leisurely and scenic evening drive down the road, back to bed and up for work next morning! A hard week's training followed and we decided that we would do our long runs on the Saturday this time and for a change we decided to run on the West Highland Way.
We started off from Mugdock Country Park and headed towards Drymen, what a fabulous, fun run! There were some cracking big hills and I had a blast running down them and dodging the boulders and muddy puddles - didn't manage to avoid all of them I have to confess - oops!
I really enjoyed the experience, I think I am growing to love trail-running. I wouldn't have tackled it nearly as robustly a year ago so I am really proud of the improvement not only in my strength but also and perhaps more importantly in my confidence.
Another crazy week of training and work, including Bootcamp on Tuesdays as usual and before I knew it it was Good Friday - yay Holiday!! Guess what? Still woke up at 6am :-) It was another beautiful sunny morning and we decided to take a drive through to Glasgow as it was time to buy new shoes in preparation for Edinburgh marathon in 4 weeks. A visit to Achilles Heel where once again I got exactly what I was looking for and new socks too :-)
After a lovely lunch we came home and spent the rest of the day working in the garden, no weeds left but what a workout for the hamstrings & glutes!
Yesterday dawned dull and drizzly and we went back to Strathclyde parkrun, this time John was chasing a PB and I was going to try very hard to pace myself properly on my own, he missed his PB by 4 seconds as he had to stop and tie his shoelace! I was 45 seconds slower than when he'd paced me round weeks ago so I still haven't got it quite right, but will keep practising. This morning's long run was on the old railway line to Dunfermline, and it was a shocker! Legs were just shot and although I managed 22km I had hoped for another 10km but I didn't have it in me I was so so tired, both mentally and physically.
Tomorrow is another holiday as it's Easter Monday and hopefully it's going to be another nice day so we will see what that brings :-)

Catching up

Another busy week has passed by already! Work wise it's busy and stressful, thank goodnes for exercise and running to relieve the stress...
I didn't run as much as I'd planned second half of last week, but I did get out on Saturday morning for a good 20km run, the sun shone and there was definitely a hint of Spring in the air. As usual though there was a strong headwind along Hillfoots Rd - a 4m straight from Tillicoultry to Alva which is a natural wind tunnel!
Sunday morning dawned grey and drizzly, but now wind whatsoever, perfect racing weather - It was the Alloa Half Marathon, this is our local race and it was the route I ran on Saturday. It's a well respected race which attracts a lot of club runners and is traditionally used by them as a sharpener before the London Marathon, it also has it's fair share of "fun runners" and this year there were 901 finishers. We went along to watch the start and then again at the 2miles mark before heading to Edinburgh for my last Diehard Bootcamp, this means I kept it up for 10 weeks which I am really pleased about :-) We met in the Pentland hills and headed out for a trail run with "challenges" it was about 5 miles in total in varied weather - some sharp showers and cold winds up high, but pleasant on the lower ground. We included hill sprints on short sharp grassy slopes, then on a narrow stoney footpath up a bigger hill, pressups and situps using the incline - that was interesting as slipping back down head-first was a definite possibility! We ran on all sorts of terrain, through burns and bogs, on shingle and grass but there are a good selection of paths/trails up there and a large number of "ramblers" as well as a couple of serious runners and mountain bikers. At various points along the way there were mystery challenges to complete including eating a doughnut without licking your lips, and we got to set challenges for the instructors as payback! As always we had a good laugh at the same time as working out and the 2hours passed quickly. I will miss the routine and the camaraderie which has built up over the last 10 weeks, but I am going to concentrate on training for Edinburgh over the next few weeks so will sign up for the one session a week option for the next 6 weeks at Stirling. I may well do another 10week programme over the summer months. It was definitely a good thing to do though and made getting through the dark winter evenings much more fun - I would have found excuses not to go out if I hadn't signed up to the program.
Yesterday the legs were a bit stiff, and I had an interval session on my program, I wasn't looking forward to it I can tell you! I went to the gym about 6pm and managed to complete the workout, it wasn't as bad as I'd feared it might be and in a slightly masochistic way I enjoy intervals, I think it's to do with the challenge element of it... Was very hard and I was tired when done, but sense of achievement of completing it is greater than the tiredness/pain. Today's workout is a 3mile run, which I would usually try to fit in at lunch time, but I have back to back meetings with only travelling time in between so I can't do it then, I have a bootcamp at Stirling tonight so will have a wee run before it and then do the session and that will be my training for today.
Talking about achievements... yesterday was day 80/100 of the 100 Days Challenge! 80 Days of intentional movement! Quite impressive - some of the days have only been a walk from the office at lunchtime into the town and back but they all count!

Running away...

No, not me, but the days/weeks/this year! I don't know why time is going past so quickly, old age? That's mid March already, nearly a quarter of the year gone in, and the days are lengthening quickly now. It's nice to wake up to the lightening skies and have an hour after work when it's still light.
It's 10 days since the Barcelona marathon, we ran in bright sunshine and 22C had the same glorious weather the following day which we spent walking around the city, watching the residents enjoying their holiday weekend and then got off the plane to 3C and rain!
It was a run of mixed feelings, I didn't get the time I was aiming for as I had a really tight left leg from 3km onwards which then led to the right hand side glutes and ultimately lower back seizing up so I felt like I was running bent in the middle... on the positive side though it is definitely the strongest I have ever felt running a marathon, and by far the strongest finish to date. I usually end up run/walking in the final 500m but this time I kept going all the way to the line totally fixated on the finish line and determined to keep going, it was hard work but I was so proud of myself :-) so perhaps on another day without my sore leg and maybe a little bit cooler I would have got what I was aiming for... I know it's there and I know it's getting closer so am not too downhearted.
It's a very well organised event and a great course, pretty flat with a mix of city and seafront running, it's well supported in most areas and the combination of nice weather and the Carnival weekend brought supporters out in numbers, many still in their fancy dress.
It was straight back to work on the Tuesday morning and then back into the birling maelstrom that is our work life at the moment...
In no time it was Friday and the weekend was upon us, we went out on Friday evening for a couple of hours with some friends and as the designated driver I managed to get through 4 Sprites! I woke on Saturday morning feeling as if I'd had more than 4 pints!! I had a head that felt as if someone had put an axe through it and generally felt yuk... It didn't help that the weather was foul, grey miserable and snowing! I have to confess that I barely went out of the house all weekend, I was still suffering from sore back from the race so had no motivation to go out and do anything. I missed my diehard bootcamp session on the Sunday which is probably a good thing as the challenge was to run up and down hundreds of stairs in a football stadium!
So all in all it was a funny old week last week and I'm glad it's passed :-)

Monday I had a physio appointment and he did a lot of work on my back managing to finally elicit the "crack" he was looking for :-) simple things that give some guys pleasure....
Seriously though although I feel like I have been kicked by a carthorse and then run over by the cart, I do feel the difference, I have much more mobility again and although I didn't do any exercise on Monday, I managed a steady 5.5km treadmill run at lunchtime yesterday and my bootcamp session in Stirling last night. It felt good to be back doing "stuff" and I am back at bootcamp again tonight in Linlithgow. This is the last of the 10 weeks of the Diehard programme, I'm glad I signed up for it as I do think it has made me stronger and fitter and I've made some new friends too. I will keep going once a week while I train for Edinburgh as it is good cross-training and I may do another 10 week session over the summer between Edinburgh marathon and our summer holiday...

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.

Shifting clouds

After yesterday's awful run, I had sore legs and a really sore shoulder/back however slept pretty well and wasn't too sore this morning although legs were still bit tight. I gave them a good doing with The Stick and they felt much easier afterwards so I set off to Bootcamp - die hard session with not quite as much trepidation as I'd had yesterday.
It was threatening to snow, indeed there had been some snowfall on the Ochils, and it blew through for most of the drive to Linlithgow and it was bitterly cold. We had a really good workout first of all doing some running and drills with Gordon then 'the hill' twice then down to the main school area again to do the circuits. Paul split us into 2 groups and my group spent the first 15minutes doing shuttle runs, by the end of which my legs were pretty dead but not sore if that makes sense?
Paul had laid out a circuit for us which was mixed and good fun - I have never pulled a tyre before but enjoyed being able to get to a slow run with it rather than just walking, then I discovered there were weights inside it as well! Finished off with a few stretches.
I feel physically much better than I did yesterday and I feel mentally a thousand times better than I did yesterday The big black cloud which has been following me about all week has shifted, hopefully not to return.
Time for coffee and a well earned stem ginger cookie and a couple of chapters of my new book.

Funny old day...

Yesterday morning's 5 miles was really quite pleasant, I left the house just before 8 and before sun up. I like the early mornings in the summer - 0530 time but this was pretty close, not too much traffic or noise. I wasn't sure where I was going or how my leg would feel so headed off and it eased off quickly and I had soon settled in to a reasonable rythm, something I've been struggling with this year so I went round the farm roads and back up the lovely hill near our home. It's mile 11 in our local half marathon and loved (dreaded) by many, but I managed to trot up it quite comfortably which really pleased me.
I got organised and set off to Annan just over 2hours South of here to go to my friend's funeral, the journey although mainly motorway was pleasant as the sun was shining most of the way and the hills were looking green instead of white. It was as you'd expect a very sad affair, it is so unfair when a person who loves life and brightens up everyone elses is taken from us. The priest mentioned how she touched the lives of so many people but that she didn't come into their lives so much as charge in head first :-) I think that summed her up beautifully.
Although it was very sad I met 3 wonderful friends there and it was great to be able to share with them the sorrow of the occasion and share our loss.
So, today I was supposed to run 15-16miles or 25km. I set off about 10am after a slow start to the morning - I woke at 6! I was really stiff in my shoulder/back which I blame on the 2hour drive, sitting hunched in a freezing cold church then a 2 hour drive home, with not much other movement in between to balance it out. Even when I stopped for a coffee I was so cold I was still huddled over... Anyway, excuses huh? I went out to do my run and it was awful! It was much colder out than I was expecting although I was dressed warmly enough and my legs felt like lead, I couldn't get them eased off at all and the elusive rythm which I had tasted so briefly yesterday was once again, just a dream, I had absolutely no energy to call on...
I stuck it out for 17km just over 10miles and gave up. I have spent the rest of today moaning and grumping about feeling tired and having no energy, poor John :-(
I don't feel quite so negative now and am off to have dinner, bootcamp tomorrow so will see how I hold up :-)

Friday again!

This week has flown by, it's had it's ups and downs... Monday brought a phone call from a dear friend to tell me that a much loved, mutual friend had lost her fight with illness and had died on Sunday. Even though we were expecting the sad news, it was still utterly devastating to hear it for real. The world has lost a wonderful lady, someone who loved life and with whom we always laughed. I hope that wherever she is now she is free from pain and loving her next adventure.

I have done my 2 Bootcamps, Tue in Stirling and Wed in Linlithgow and thoroughly enjoyed them once again. I had intended to run yesterday but my ITB is really tight and this has caused the ligaments in my knee to pull up causing quite a bit of pain so I rested and stuck a heat pad on it all day yesterday.

I am day off work today to travel to Annan for the funeral so I am going to go out this morning for my delayed run. I need to get 15-16miles in tomorrow so have to get out today and try to ease things off. One more coffee then will get ready and get out.

Mud glorious mud!

I was going to write Phew!!! But I think I have used that already :-)
We've had a busy weekend, woke up yesterday morning to another day of freezing fog and a very heavy frost. Not at all conducive to going out to run... Yesterday was a long run(21.25km) along the Forth & Clyde canal which was quite picturesque as it was still mostly frozen, there were a couple of patches where a little thaw had occurred and the swans and ducks could get in and swim - their legs must be devoid of nerves or they would be frozen! The towpath was in reasonably good condition although a tad muddy in places - the shoes bear testament to that they're a fetching shade of grey!

Today was Die Hard Bootcamp session 2 this time we met at Kirkton Park in Bathgate, a pretty wee park on the outskirts of the town, with a HILL in it! Killer Hill I think would be an appropriate name for it - it's not very far to the top in that it will only be 400 - 500m I guess, but it seems to go straight up - at least it does after you've been up it a couple of times! Our warm up run was just over 2 miles but it went up the same hill just a little bit further along on a good wooded trail which every time you thought you'd got to the ridge, went up again :-)
It was all good fun (?) in incredibly heavy claggy red clay/ash MUD! with a 20 station circuit to follow - one of the stations however being up the hill and back! Great fun doing pushups on frozen ground with a slight covering of mud on it - at one point my feet slipped away behind me and I collapsed on the Bosu ball which we were using for the pushups in a fit of helpless giggles - a picture to conjure with!
We went for lunch with a friend afterwards, it was good to catch up - thankfully he is a runner too so he understands our madness :-) Enjoying a little bit of quiet downtime just now with a coffee and a home made peanut butter & choc chip muffin before heading back out the door in half an hour to do an hour of pilates. I think I will aim for a day off tomorrow, but depending how work goes and depending how I feel in the evening I might do a gentle 5km, we'll see...
I'll sleep tonight!

P.S. Another good friend and much respected runner suffered a dreadful injury in the summer, he completed his first race today - Much Respect and congratulations to him :-)

Where has the week gone?

Can't believe it's Thursday night and I've not been back here since Monday! Had a good week so far, went to the gym at lunchtime on Tuesday and walked/ran for 25minutes, my calves felt like rocks they were so tight. Did 10min on the bike after and that helped to ease them out a bit so Tuesday night's Bootcamp wasn't as bad as I feared it might have been. Last night at Linlithgow was a bit tougher, but managed an hour each night in the lovely clear night air, even though it was minus 2 or 3C both nights. I like being outside.
Today's exercise was lunchtime spin class and although it felt hard at the time it didn't feel too bad, this afternoon though my legs have just gotten more and more tired so this evening's 3mile run/rest is a rest and I'll try to do a 3 mile run tomorrow evening as I am at a conference tomorrow so it will be good to stretch the legs. Aiming for 12-14 miles on Saturday morning and then the DieHard extra long Bootcamp is on Sunday. All this exercise will hopefully pay off...
Or it will kill me :-)
It's day 20 of the 100 Day Challenge so tomorrow will be 3 weeks and they say that if you do something for 3 weeks it becomes a habit so hopefully this is a good habit.

Dum de dum dum DOMS!

OK not quite, just a bit achey but have a sneaking suspicion they'll bite tomorrow...

Got up yesterday feeling good after Saturday's run, no recovery issues, did the hoovering and then it was time to set off for my special "Die Hard" Bootcamp, this is for the souls who are taking part in three sessions a week and lasts for 1.5 hours instead of the usual 1 hour weekly session.
Little bit of trepidation as it was as yet an unknown, so arrived in plenty of time and then spent 20mins wishing I'd detoured via supermarket to avail myself of their facilities.
However we gathered in the biting wind- but at least there was no rain and a feeble sun was attempting to break through, and after the introductions off we set for a trail run =:-0 Just what I needed to make me realise that whilst not painful I had rather stiff and tight legs! 20 mins or so on a nice mixed trail and I'd started to warm up so enjoyed the second half, especially as it was hilly and muddy - I used to be really prissy round puddles and mud but now I just plough through it :-)

Second half of the session involved pairing up with a partner and was a mixture of running round a small area of grass - on the path, as it was very soggy, in quarters, walk, jog, run, sprint - of course sprint quarter was uphill and into the wind just for good measure. One partner used the equipment whilst the other ran the circuit, a good range of equipment which really worked us out - my arms were dead by the end, I didn't know I could do squats while holding a medicine ball straight out in front of me or swing a kettlebell weight before yesterday! Thoroughly enjoyed the session, and we got our snazzy black Die Hard T Shirts as well.

Sunday evening we have an hour of pilates and we'd been told last week that this would be a foam roller session, both John and I were looking forward to that as he'd run 11miles on Sat and 16 on Sun so was needing the stretch as much as I was. We turned up in the "I don't really want to do this but I know it will be good for me" frame of mind and guess what? The whole session was done using 2lb weighted balls, one in each hand! By the end of it I couldn't feel my arms!

However, I do feel much better and healthier than I did last week so hopefully all this exercise has banished the bugs. I have to run tomorrow at lunchtime then it's bootcamp in the evening, sure makes the evenings fly in!!

Happy Runner today :-)

9.7 stress free miles on tired legs, really reassuring! It poured with rain the whole time I was out but after the freezing rain in Florence in November it was a warm shower! I'm happy that the running legs and desire/psyche are still in there somewhere and are starting to stir again - maybe it's like the snowdrops starting to poke little tentative shoots sunwards? Whatever the reason, it's hard to describe the feeling of getting that first long-ish run in the bag after a break, and this morning's was probably the least stressful run round that route ever.
I listened to a Marathon Talk podcast on the way round- I'm way behind with these and it's still only October in podcast land, but I love them, it's like having pals to chat to on your run, which is somewhat ironic as I prefer to run alone...
My legs were tired and took me quite a while to warm up but I was happy to just toodle round and enjoy being out and on the go again without the hacking cough I've had for the past 3 weeks. Tomorrow I do my 3rd Boot Camp of the week which is 1.5hours as opposed to the weekly 1hr session so that will be interesting. Gentle (??) end to the weekend with an hour of pilates and then I'll be ready to sleep again :-)