34/31 yeah... I know, I know, those poor old legs...

yep you did read that right, 34/31 ie I've been running for 34 days - well it kinda goes like this...
Day 32 was New Year's Day and the lovely people at Strathclyde parkrun had put on a New Year's Day parkrun so it was only polite to go along and support and thank them for giving up their time, providing mulled wine, lovely goodies for post run nibbles and a chance to get the cobwebs blown away as you head back round Strathclyde Loch at kilometre 3!  This run was an exercise for me in keeping a consistent pace which is something I'm not very good at and need to work really hard at, so I was pleased with a respectable enough time, but even more pleased with a fairly flat line on the Garmin stats - this shows my pace was consistent, only increasing in the last 500m which was a big breakthrough for me in my head if nowhere else.
Then, 2nd January 2013 - yes it WAS only yesterday!  It feels like ages ago!  We went to Lenzie to take part in the Lenzie Jog - what a great wee event, well done to Kirkintilloch Olympians, who even managed to organise almost perfect running conditions :-)  as well as soup, roll and shortbread for after all for £1!  I opted for the single loop of the course, 4.5km John and some friends did 2 loops but I decided that one would be enough for me and hopefully I could build on my success from parkrun and manage another reasonably consistent run.  I not only managed it I finished in the top 25% of a race for the first time in  my life :-)  These are for some folk, minute achievements but they mean a lot to me and that's what it's all about.
I have set my goals for 2013, and along with the desire to continue to lose weight and get fit, my A goal this year is to complete the Highland Fling Ultra  27th of April and still be upright and possibly even smiling.  I would also like to achieve PBs at various distances so with discipline and consistency I'm hoping to hit them all.
So, today it was back to work, and I really wasn't sure whether to stop for a couple of days and then resume training at the weekend, although I woke with tired legs, I found myself packing a bag this morning. I'm not in my usual office until Monday, I'm working with the police in Larbert so as the sun came out at lunchtime, I found myself changed and off out for a wee explore of 'die umgebung' (one of my favourite German words).
I was only away half an hour and it was a stiff old pair of legs that slowly plodded the first km but picked up a wee bit for the next 2.5km and I felt heaps better after I'd done.  I thought I'd found a wee path back but it was a bit brambly and although I just thought I'd got a couple of wee scratches at the time, it transpires the back of my left leg is now covered in rather large weals - oops!
Ach well I'll put some germolene on them later :-)
I don't know what I'll do tomorrow, whether I'll take my shoes again or whether I'll rest, I think I am just going to listen to my body and if it feels up for it well we'll see...
I have entered 2 races in the past few days, the D33 ultra - well it opened early on Hogmanay and I was at the computer at the time... and the Devilla Forest 15k so I have a couple of shorter term goals now to look forward to before the Alloa Half Marathon and the ultimate goal for this year The Highland Fling.
More about them nearer the time, and back to fitcamp on Monday!
To those of you who don't go back to work until Monday enjoy the last few days of your holiday, personally I'm quite happy to have gone back on a Thurs as it makes the first week back a lot easier to get through when it's only 2 days long :-)

An achieving day...

Another wee tick in a box in the Big Book of Life for me today :-)
This for those of you who aren't local, is the Clackmannanshire Bridge, it's the newest crossing of the River Forth and is a great link to The Wee County.  However, I have a thing about crossing bridges over water, according to my learned friend Malcolm it's known as Gephyrophobia. 
I have crossed this bridge on foot a few times since it opened as it forms part of a great 20mile loop for us from the house over either this or the older Kincardine Bridge, back over the other one and home again and whilst I have run some of it, I usually walk part of it, sticking as close to the fence as I can, especially if it's windy.  Well after all the preamble, the point of this is that I ran all the way across it today and into a headwind so big :-) about that...
This morning we went along to Falkirk parkrun to volunteer, there was a good turnout once again and although the sun was hidden behind the clouds it was a pleasant morning for a run.  
I am following a new training program (I think I've mentioned this before!) and my weekend sessions are a 60min easy run and a 10mile Long Slow Run henceforth known as LSR ;-)  I could race the 5k at parkrun instead of the 60min Easy occasionally if I want, but tomorrow I am going for Afternoon Tea with Prosecco in Glasgow with 3 friends from work, to celebrate one of them getting a promotion, so I had to swap and do my LSR today and I'll do the easy run in the morning when I get up.  So, I decided that I would run home from parkrun, John dropped me off in the middle of nowhere and said "see you at home - you should head in that direction..." we have a strange relationship in some folks eyes LOL!
There was a wee ENEasterly blowing which meant that I was running into it all the way across the bridge, but I made it the whole way across and carried on along the carse and up the hill into Clackmannan.  A wee downhill out of the town to reward you for the climb up and then along the main road to Alloa.  It feels reasonably flat but when you look at the stats on the Garmin it's a steady climb all the way home.  I've a wee bit of an ache in my achilles and stiff legs now, but apart from that nothing too drastic, I came home and feet went straight into a bucket of rainwater which was fine and cold and helped to chill things off!
A recovery shake, an epsom salts bath, a yoghurt and I felt fine, so I baked some muffins and cookies to pass the afternoon.
This evening has been spent watching the football, Bayern Munich v Chelsea, I've no favourite to win, and I'm not even a football fan, but I enjoy the competition of the big games... Euro 2012 starts in a fortnight and I'll probably watch most of those games too for the same reason.
Still doing reasonably well with the eating, and no alcohol for 12 days now, just 6 more to go until Brussels when I may have a wee vin rouge in the Grand Place as I partake of the jazz festival, then on Sunday we run the 20km race - but more about that nearer the time.

Midweek ponderings :-)

That is sooooooooo true... and was brought home to me yesterday :-)
On Monday I started my "Devil program"  this is a training program which will hopefully get me fit and ready for the Devil of the highlands ultra in August.  I entered the race after the Highland Fling at the end of April and am on the reserve list.  However it is usually the case that most of the people (usually all!) on the reserve list do get a place to run, as people enter at the start of the year and then have to pull out for a myriad of reasons.  Some get injured during the training, for others life just gets in the way...
So the program started on Monday, and fortunately that was a REST day :-) I was quite glad as I was fairly tired after the 10k on Sunday.  Yesterday I had a great morning at work, then had to spend the afternoon dealing with other people's ineptitude, arrogance and downright stupidity, so by the time it got to the end of the day I had lost all my enthusiasm and excitement about starting a new program :-(  However, I 'zipped up my mansuit' put on my shoes and went out to do my first Fartlek session.  The sun was shining and although my warmup involved running into a stiff northerly - so stiff that at times I didn't feel at all like I was running downhill, I soon got into the session... 2m30 fast then 1m30 recovery times 6 then a gentle jog home. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was really pleased that I managed to do all six intervals and was still fit for the uphill all the way home!  I met my son out for his run and he chummed me up the road which was nice as it discouraged me from stopping half way up the hill and walking the rest of the way.  By the end of it, the stresses of the day had gone hence my picture :-)
Today was a better day workwise, and this evening's session was a 50min easy pace run.  A friend and colleague came with me and we chatted round the 6.5k route and had a very pleasant time.
My legs are quite tired and a bit stiff now so tomorrow morning's first job will be a session on the foam roller...
I have another 40min easy run tomorrow night then on Friday I get another REST day :-) I plan to put my trail shoes on tomorrow and go for a wee easy run around Gartmorn Dam, and if the weather forecast is accurate it should be fine and muddy :-)
I'm still trying to stick to the healthy eating principle that I learned working with the guys at PinPoint Fitness and doing pretty well, next week I am going back for a free week with them to trial the new stuff they've been learning this past week at their training camp in Marbella - something wrong here - John and Pamela train in Marbella we train in cold, wet Cumbernauld lol!

2 steps forward, 3 steps back...

Just a little grumble :-(
Went out for my run on Sunday morning as planned, legs were a bit stiff and bottom of left calf round achilles was really grumbly, but hoped that it would ease itself out. It didn't!! I grouched and stressed for 9.7k and came home still with stiff achey legs...

I'm hoping that they are just more tired from my exertions in July than I think they ought to be, in my head the Lakeland Trails marathon and Clyde Stride are consigned to history, I really enjoyed both events, but they're done and so it's time to move forward. Unfortunately my body isn't keeping up with my head! Hey ho...

I'd like to say I'm a patient person by nature, and in some ways I am, but not at the moment! I've been really suffering with pains in my leg in bed and this has been disturbing my sleep so that hasn't helped my mood, but this morning I did 10 mins on the foam roller and stretching my hamstrings and calves with the resistance band and it has felt better during the day. I'm off now to do another wee session and hopefully by tomorrow will be able to get back out for a relatively pain-free run.