'I couldn't find you, you're not on the last page...'

One of the nicest things my husband has ever said to me!

This might sound a little strange but it has topped off a fantastic weekend for me :-)
Yesterday I ran the Devil O' the Highlands 43 mile Footrace from Tyndrum to Fort William.  An undulating route which climbs from the start, and keeps on climbing!  Over 6000 feet of ups and downs across some of Scotland's most beautiful countryside in what can only be described as 'challenging' weather.  When the results were published today I wasn't on the last page :-)

A little bit of background... last year I wanted to take part in this race but I got injured in May after the Women's 10K and couldn't get the distance training in on time, so had to withdraw my entry.  However John indulged me and we went up to Glencoe the night before the race and stayed overnight in a Hobbit house at the ski centre, had a lovely meal in the Kingshouse Hotel, enjoyed an impromptu jam session and then on Saturday morning, ran up and over the hill with two large flags and a supply of jelly babies to support the runners at about 16miles.  We have since become good friends with many of those whom we spoke to, photographed and shared jelly babies with - that's the beauty of the running community :-)

This year, my goal was to complete the Highland Fling, however on returning from Boston, we both had nasty chest infections, so neither of us were able to toe the start line... Topped up on antibiotics we still managed to go and support our friends and it was lovely to be part of such a great event.  Bitterly disappoined at missing my race of the year, for which I had trained all winter, I sent an email to the Devil crew, the race was already full, but they operate a reserve list.  I heard nothing for a few weeks, and then got an email saying I was on the list. Not long after I broke a wisdom tooth and developed another really nasty infection which completely floored me, so in all, I missed about 9 weeks of training and had resigned myself to not being able to take part this year either.  Checking the reserve list, there wasn't much movement for a few weeks and then there was a wee bit of activity so I started to swither about whether I could up my training in time or whether I should withdraw?  2 weeks ago after much ummin and ahing, I decided to do a run on part of the course and then I would categorically make up my mind whether to hope I moved further up the list or not.  Long story short, on the Saturday I wasn't going, I was fed up and full of doubt, John convinced me I should go so we got up at 5am and headed off, not particularly well prepared for a long run but off to give it a go... I was to run from Tyndrum where the race starts, to Kinlochleven, about 30miles into the race and the start of the last big climb.  Cutting the story even shorter, it was a scorcher of a day, I've never seen the sky up there so cloudless, there was NO water on the mountains, but I had a brilliant day out and completed the run in just shy of 7 and half hours.  First thing I said to John when I met him at the finish was "I'm still not doing the race"  He asked if I thought I could have gone up over the hill to the end, and I said yes so we then had a lengthy debate as to whether or not I should hold off on withdrawing my entry.  When we got home that evening we looked at previous results, and my garmin data for the day, I reckoned I could do the run in about 7hours if it was a race, and we agreed that I'd need to do that in order to finish within the 12 hours. Then a friend messaged me telling me I was no. 37!! Soon followed  by an email offering me the place, and true enough my name was on the start list!  I really didn't know what to do... I spoke to a couple of friends who said I should do it, and asked my very experienced ultra running friend Karen, her advice.  She said if my head was in the right place, I'd be fine, I had plenty training from earlier in the year and that I should go for it.  So on Monday I accepted the place.  12 days til race day!

Hurried arrangements were made for a place to camp at By The Way for the night before, then at the last minute wonderful friends offered us a room in their cabin - fortuitous indeed, given the monsoon rain that fell on Friday night.  We drove up to Tyndrum and shared a lovely dinner with Bob and Amanda, Said hi to Jenni, Rob & Jo, then walked over to the pub for an hour and met George & Karen, Noanie, Sarah and a few other running acquaintances.
Saturday morning 4am, alarm goes off... no major queues for the loo, no fighting over the kitchen, breakfasts made and eaten - except for me, first time ever I've not been able to eat before a race!  Registration was between 0430 and 0530 at the Green Welly, we headed over in the car and got there about 5ish - I honestly can't remember what time it was!  Collected number and T Shirt, said hello to a few other friends, one last visit to the loo and then race briefing.  Soon as Gary was finished I wanted to go outside as was too warm in the building in my waterproof jacket - that would be the jacket I'd hoped to carry in my bag not wear!  It was freezing outside, blowing a gale and raining heavily.  The huddle of runners trying to shelter in vain grew ever bigger and before long we were all heading to the start and then it was 3,2,1 and we were off.  The route starts straight up a hill and I was determined I wasn't going to run up it as with no warmup it is a calf killer, a few hardy souls sprinted off, but it was reassuring that a large contingent seemed happy to march smartly up the slope, I fell in at the back and settled down.  I was convinced I would be the last finisher but I was quite happy about that, as long as the sweepers weren't breathing down my neck.  They were great, I only heard their voices once and they kept a respectful distance as I slowly eased in to my run/walk pattern, it was still p'ing down and blowing a hoolie!
Checkpoint 1:  Bridge of Orchy - 6miles into the race, I reckoned 1h30 was as slow as I could afford to be and I think it was about 1h20 when I got there, it's a lovely run along the side of Ben Dorain, but I had slipped going up onto a large rock and my foot slipped downwards putting a lot of strain on my achilles/lower calf, I was a bit worried as the pain was shooting under my foot and I was getting a fluttering in my mid calf - I remember thinking 'I can't pull out at Bridge of Orchy, I have to keep going even if it means the rest of my races this year are out the window'... John was waiting for me and I took a drink and a babybel from him and set off to climb the first proper climb of the day.  There is no official time taken at this checkpoint, it's just a check that everyone is through in one piece.  I was pleased with my climb and was soon up at Murdo's mount and then running down to Inveroran.  This isn't an official checkpoint, but John was there to meet me and David Meldrum was there too, it was nice to see them, I took a sandwich to walk with, and drank some coke.  Off down the road to Victoria Bridge then the climb up to Glencoe.  I was still in last place at this point but comfortable having had a good run down off the hill.
The journey up Telford's parliamentary road to Ba' Bridge and then across Glencoe is undulating (ok lots of ups and downs!) so I marched up the hills and ran on the downs and the flats, again I felt like I was strong and coping well, the sandwich went in the bushes for the wildlife as it was just too hard to eat, but I had my first pouch of organic baby food and it went down fine.



Checkpoint 2:  Glencoe ski centre - about 18miles.  4h04m.  I had a fab run down into the checkpoint, there was a beautiful full rainbow and it looked like we were going to run under it.  I passed about 10 people though they didn't stop here so they passed me back.  Sarah Self, David Mooney & David Meldrum were here with John, I ate a boiled egg and I think I'd an espresso shot (can't remember) then set off down the road to cross the main A82 and into Kingshouse.  The group I passed on the run down to the checkpoint had stopped here for a cup of tea/refuel and I passed them again.  By now the weather had got even worse, wild headwinds and driving rain blowing right up the glen into our faces.  A tough run along the road in the wind, then a wee climb up the hill before the trail descends again to parallel the main road in the approach to Altna Feadh.  David Mooney was waiting with John at the start of the Devil's staircase, I picked up a gel from them and a bottle of irn bru, assured them I didn't need a change of clothes, I was soaked but warm and had no chafing issues, was delighted to report that nobody had passed me back and by this time I'd passed another couple.and it was off up 'The Staircase'.  This is a mighty climb, it just goes up and up, then there's a cheeky wee false summit about 200m from the top, but I climbed well and didn't stop at all, passing some walkers who were finding it tougher than I was.  At the top I stopped for a few seconds and raised my irn bru to the cairn in a toast - 'made it' :-)
Of course, what goes up must come down and down you go, all the way to sea level in Kinlochleven.  When I'd been up a fortnight ago, it was hot and dry, so the run down was tough but I'd felt reasonably confident about my footing, yesterday was a completely different story - the water was roaring down the hillside in all the burns and gullies, and places I'd hopped and skipped down were now slippery slopes that I took more cautiously.  It's deceptive too because although it's a big downhill, there are some sneaky 'ups' in it, however I got onto the road to the Alcan works and that's the start of a non stop descent to the river, across the mdf bridge and along past some houses, then back into the woodland and up to the road.  

photo thanks to Dave & Julie

Checkpoint 3:  Kinlochleven - almost 30 miles, 6h55m (bang on target) John and David Mooney were here again and we were joined by David's girlfriend Julie (wonderwoman) Docherty who had run from Glencoe to Kinlochleven supporting a friend Katy.  I'd another boiled egg here and a can of Gin & Tonic! It was delicious!!  I also ate a couple of spoonfuls of rice pudding - John was sure I wasn't eating enough although I felt fine, I'd had a pouch of yoghurt on the way down the staircase and was feeling in great fettle, I also took a banana which I nibbled half of as I checked in and out of the checkpoint and walked along the road to the start of the climb.  Here I met George & Karen so quick hugs and reassurances that I was looking great and it was across the road and ready to tackle the third and toughest climb of the day.  It is a tough climb, relentless upward slope and some big stone steps all of which take their toll on you, respect to all the runners who ran WHW in June, it's 83miles into their race!
Eventually you get to the top and I was delighted to discover that my legs were still happy to run on the flats and downs and even on some of the gentler ups.  At no point so far had I suffered any slumps in my energy levels and it was great to get a break from the relentless rythm of climbing.  By now the weather could be best described as FOUL!  The wind was blowing from all directions and of course the Lairig is a pass - a valley - so it's like a wind tunnel, I don't think the rain stopped at all up here, I just think it's ferocity varied!  There was water running across the paths, some of the times it was calf deep, but I just ran right through the middle of it, I don't bother trying to skirt round it and it's quite refreshing on hot tired feet :-)  After about an hour I could see a saltire fluttering in the distance and a mile or so later at the top of the hill, there was Jeff from the Wilderness Rescue team with his supply of drinks and his camera.  A welcome sight indeed!  A quick cup of irnbru and a few cheery words then off I went.  In the distance I could see the ruined cottage which is a landmark I love as I try to imagine what it was like to live up there in the middle of nowhere, I ran up there in May with John so it was familiar territory and similar weather so I kind of felt I was on the home stretch.  The next few miles passed and soon I was running down into Lundavra and there he was again, my amazing supporter, with hot coffee, a puff of my inhaler and words of encouragement about how brilliantly I was doing - 7 miles to go and I had 2h40m to get in under the 12 hours.  I remember excitedly telling him that STILL nobody had passed me - this meant I wasn't last! 
A climb out of Lundavra made all the more interesting as the sandy soil was gloopy, sticky mud but I managed to get up the hill and along the wee track on the side of it without incident and was able to run down to the gate then into the woods.  Through the woods which in places were as dark as night and disappointingly unable to get a good run down due to the slippery conditions, then back up the other side and at long last the horrid, horrid wee climb up to the Fire Road.  The Fire Road marks the end of the trail and is a fabulous couple of miles of downhill on a fairly good surface.  I was really pleased with my performance here as I settled into a nice steady rythm and was able to keep it going all the way down, I passed a couple of guys here and my wonderful friend Bob.  I had a few pangs of guilt here because I'd been joking on Wednesday with him that if there was the remotes possibility of me catching up with him we'd cross the line 'oldies' together - I asked if he was ok, and he said yes but he could only walk, 'can you not jog with me?' No he replied on you go I'll see you at the finish.
At the bottom of the hill the Run Route sign pointed left and there at the end of the road was John again - this was a HUGE surprise as I didn't expect to see him there and it was lovely to see the huge grin on his face when he realised I'd passed the guys who'd been ahead of me earlier - that was, it I was at Braveheart car park 1 mile to go and it wasn't quite 11hours!  I was going to be in under the 12 hours and I wasn't going to be last!  I was on a real high and he topped it off by telling me our friend Noanie had had a storming run to finish 3rd female!  If ever I needed something to push me on to the end that was it :-)
I ran/walked in a steady 50/50 rythm to the end of the houses, then I saw Karen across the road, waving like a true daftie and shouting encouragement, I could feel myself starting to well up and I shouted back to her 'I think I'm going to cry!'  I kept on running and as I rounded the corner I was met with a wall of cheering and a crowd of our friends all whooping and hollering!  I found myself somehow managing to run just a wee bit faster as the line approached - not quite a sprint finish but it felt like it - and the most amazing sense of elation and emotions overwhelmed me - I genuinely could not believe I'd done it!  It wasn't about the distance, it was about not being last and about having passed people and never being overtaken and about feeling strong and healthy at the finish and having wonderful friends to support me/us and I flung my arms round John's neck sobbing!  But they were happy tears!  A few friends have told me that everyone joined in :-)  It was amazing!  Oh and the bloody rain stopped about 3miles from the end!

photo thanks to Fiona Rennie

Finish: Fort William - 43 miles 11h08m42s
So there you go, I did the Devil and I wasn't last and when the results were published today, John couldn't find me because I wasn't on the last page...
I can't put into words what that means, but I'm sure there are some of you who will understand :-)

footnote (no pun intended - no blisters, no chafing, no injuries, just a sore big toe from stubbing it on a rock!)

It's over :.-(

But it was awesome :-)

We had a fantastic holiday and I ran my two fastest marathons so far, had good weather, good food, good wine and met good friends - not much more I can ask for really (apart from being able to stay and not have to come home!)

After my last grumpy post on 21st Sept, things did get slowly better...
I still didn't manage to get back to my full training but I did manage to get some running done, managed a long steady run that weekend then the following weekend we went to Strathclyde parkrun where I managed to set a new 5k PB of 29mins! This was over 2minutes off my previous best so I was chuffed to bits and somewhat reassured that the previous couple of weeks of bugs and stress hadn't taken too much of a long term toll.
We got through the remaining days of work and headed off to sunny Toronto on morning of 10th October - and yes it was sunny :-)
Arrived safely at lunchtime which gave us heaps of time to find our way to our apartment and get freshened up before meeting up with the first group of the ever growing group of friends and fellow runners whom we meet every time we go.  First evening was a quick visit to the opening of a new running shop followed by dinner with friends, managed to keep going til 'normal bedtime' which meant we'd put in a 22 hour day but it helps to alleviate the jetlag.  Up early next morning and out for a nice gentle wee 8km run, it was supposed to be a 5k but John hadn't got his internal satnav quite tuned into the new time zone yet and missed the road sign, and because I was comfortable and enjoying myself I didn't think to question him - not that I would ever...
Next couple of days were spent quietly socialising, nothing raucous we had a race at the weekend! Weather stayed nice and crisp and sunny so we ran a little each day then spent time just chilling and catching up, it was great.  Weather forecast was threatening to turn for the weekend and there were really strong gale force winds and heavy rain on the way - this filled me with a little bit dismay as a long stretch of the race kms 10-20 head out along the Lakeshore and if the wind came it was going to be a real tough fight to run into it :-(
Sunday morning dawned wet and grey but seemed reasonably calm and true enough when we left to go to the start it was torrential rain but there was no wind - guess you have to take the breaks where you get them, and the rain was preferable to the gales in my book.  We warmed up by jogging gently to the start, got changed and dropped our bags - offering a silent prayer of thanks that we had managed to rent a place that was only 5minutes jog from the start line.  John's corral were off pretty quickly, but I had to wait about 20mins before I crossed, at which point the rain stopped! (another silent thanks sent heavenwards!)
Micro report of race - started off to fast had a great first 30km then struggled to 35km picked up again after that but was done and hurting at the end - however it was all sooooo worth it to cross the finish line 27minutes quicker than I'd ever done before!  Very happy bunny indeed!
Ice bath, shower and out to meet up with our fellow runners and supporters - no wild partying for me though by 9pm I was in bed and out for the count! Slept til 0630 like a baby!  Very gentle 3km recovery run first thing Monday morning then our friends Eric and JuneAnn who had taken a couple of days off came to get us and we went off to hunt down specialist running shorts which unfortunately the shop no longer stocks, had a nice Indian buffet lunch, home to change and out to spend the evening with more friends in their beautiful new home and meet their daughter who was born just after we visited last year.
Tuesday morning a better and further early morning run - 5k this time then lunch with E&JA and chilling and dinner with them in their home, we spent the evening watching US presidential debate which was interesting!  Wednesday was pancake day - pancakes for breakfast is part of the thrill of a trip to Canada or USA and I hadn't had any yet however I also didn't want to be too naughty and eat stuff that I wouldn't eat at home however I did want to have them once.  A little bit of internet searching found a place highly reviewed and not to far to walk from our appt - just over 1mile so that was our exercise for Wednesday we walked there and back.  Luck was on my side too the pancakes were made with oatmeal and banana so were reasonably clean, and they were delicious! It was a quirky wee place too so was fun to visit it was called Aunties and Uncles and I'd highly recommend a visit if your ever in Toronto.
Thursday morning we jumped(!) on the streetcar (tram) and took a trip to The Beaches - this is an area of the city which has only been part of the marathon route for the last 2 years and it was nice to go back and see where we'd run.  Another find for lunch and another evening out with friends.
Friday we picked up the hire car and drove to Niagara Falls to get ready for race 2 - guess I should do another post about it as this has probably bored the pants off you by now :-)

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 :-)

Runtime Error

This post isn't about my adventures per se, it's about a group of 13 fab guys who accepted my challenge :-) 10 of the group were non-runners, 1 fell runner, 1 Ironman and 1 19 times marathoner were the others.
As the team all work for IT they decided their team name should have an appropriate feel to it hence runtime error :-)

The challenge laid down 12 weeks ago was to train for and take part in the MHFS 10K in Glasgow on Sun 19 June. They all took on the challenge with various levels of eagerness and a little reluctance in some corners :-) Much encouragement, some gentle nagging and bribery with healthy cakes, and a pre-race pasta party along the way, race day dawned...
Absolutely perfect race conditions, overcast, 14C, occasional light showers forecast - it rained while we were travelling and stayed completely dry before, during and after the race.
Everyone turned up in plenty of time and got themselves organised, toiletted, lubed up and soon it was time to get into the start waves. As always the race organisation was superb, each wave of the pulse start was called forward and led by a piper to line up. Nice wee downhill start and then they were OFF!
First of the team home was
Will in a cracking 35:37
John M was next in 41:32
Dave R followed in 43:52
Callum was 44:55
Rab in 57:08
Colin was 57:49
Brian in 57:50
Steve was 1:06:40
Mark in 1:12:47
John A in 1:20:03
Dave K in 1:21:49
Ross was 1:22:40
Rob in 1:41:43

Each and everyone of them achieved something or learned something about themselves today - I think that shows in the grins in the "after" photo
As well as the personal achievement, they have also managed to raise £1000 for CHAS and they are already talking about what they are going to do next!

I'm really glad they've all been bitten even if it is only a tiny scratch by the "bug" and I am immensely proud of each of them :-)

Another long run

Yesterday was another long slow run, I had hoped that I might be able to manage about 50km and had mapped out a route that I thought would do - an extensions of a 32km route that we do regularly on the Friday evening. When we woke early Sat morning it was quite blowy and raining - no change there then - when are we going to get a Summer????
I was also cold, which is unusual in that I am by nature a warm person and only feel the cold when I'm tired, I should have taken heed of this, however I had a think about the weather/route etc and decided to run the opposite direction to my original plan to avoid as much of the wind as possible. I set off ok, then a mile or so in, realised that I should have added a couple of miles to the start of the route to extend it so decided to take a previously un-run path to try to make up for the mistake. It was a really nice path to run, but, it was very hilly and not exactly the best way to start a long run! It was tree lined though so offered some shelter from the wind & rain. It was hard going when I left the shelter behind and had to run the 2miles from Alva to Tillicoultry straight into a strong headwind. Fortunately I turned at Tilli and the wind was at my back for a while, I decided to take the Devonway bridlepath to Sauchie to avoid the steep climb out of Tillicoultry, it's an old railway line so the gradients are much gentler than the road's. Huh! about 1km onto the path "Mixed Leisure Route Close" for upgrading! This is definitely a matter for some debate, upgrading means tarmacadam on top of what was a great trail, yes I appreciate that this makes it more accessible for wheelchair users, parents with buggies, cyclists etc but spare a thought for us poor runners who really appreciate a break from the road under our feet and leave us some trails!
The closure meant that I had to run up the roadside, steep hill! Hey ho, rain wasn't too bad at this point and wind was at my back, so it was a case of "suck it up!" Through Sauchie to Clackmannan by which time it was raining properly, wind however had almost completely gone, so ever onwards... Nice run in the rain down on the Kennet Pans, this is reclaimed farmland along the river Forth, and although it's still a tarred road it's a nice run downhill from Clackmannan on to the flat lands of the valley bottom or the Kerse as it's called in these parts.
Quick stop for a bit of bagel to nibble on and over the new Clackmannanshire bridge, then into Kincardine over the old bridge. I usually run Kincardine Bridge first when I do this route but I was really struggling with the tedium of familiar territory - quite a contrast to last week! so decided to change the order. John met me as I left Kincardine with a welcome Coke and a change of top, was about 25k by this point so half way through my hoped for distance. I was feeling good mentally but was struggling with a tightness in my left leg which just wouldn't ease off so this was slowing me down a bit. I left Kincardine, headed back along the Kerse it was only light drizzle by now, and when I got to Clackmannan I followed a new path back to Alloa. This was the best bit of the run in terms of underfoot as it soon left the tarmac and headed onto a track between fields, this came to the BlackDevon Wetlands and the path became a path through a grassy meadow, it was a joy to run on but by this time my leg was so tight and I was wet & tired that I didn't get as much of a lift from it as I should have. I was also by this time, conscious of the clock and worrying about getting home to cook dinner for some guests we were having over for a pre-race pasta dinner so I gave in at 35km and John picked me up back in Alloa.
Mixed feelings about the day, did I set my goals too high? Not sure, a positive though was that I was able to do 35km for the second week in a row and this one was on tired, sore legs.
Home, quick epsom salts bath then dinner organised, who for and why is for the next post :-)

Blown Away!

Well almost!! Whilst nowhere near as bad as the conditions suffered by the people of Missouri, we have had some incredible weather this week! It has been reasonably sunny and in places warm, but we have had gale force winds certainly across Scotland, since last Wednesday. We took our Canadian friend up to Aberdeenshire on Thursday and found the house that his Grandmother had been born/lived in until she emigrated, and we also found in Fyvie churchyard, a number of graves of his ancestors. It was a beautiful day weatherwise, just windy! It kept us off our feet for most of the day though which was good marathon prep, although it was nearly 400miles of driving but he saw a lot of Scotland on the way.
Friday I had a taping appt at the physio and left duly taped up in pink tape and set for the marathon, most of the day was chores and baking a banana bread which has to be the most delicious banana bread I've ever had. The chef has run 15 consecutive Boston Marathons so I reckoned if it worked for her it was worth a try! Risotto for dinner started the carb-fest.
Saturday morning dawned bright and fair if a little windy - though not too bad and we set off to Edinburgh to watch a friend complete her first ever race, she was running the 10K as part of the Edinburgh Marathon Festival. We picked up our friend's race pack for the Sunday, watched the 10K - cheering her in to a fabulous finish with a huge banner ;-) then met other friends also up for the marathon for a pasta lunch. By the time we got home on Saturday afternoon it was starting to rain and it was forecast to be like that for the next day too - wasn't really looking forward to running in it I can tell you. More pasta for dinner to enhance the glycogen levels and after pinning on the bibs and laying out the kit, it was off to bed at 10.
Sunday 22 May 5.30am - not a cloud in the sky and the wind seemed to have dropped, felt more hopeful... porridge, banana and honey, coffee and a slice of home made wholemeal toast, dressed, numerous visits to the loo and we were ready for the off by 0725. As we left it was raining gently but looked promising towards the East with bluer skies and whiter clouds - ever the optimist me :-)
Parked easily in George St., made our instant porridge and ate it as we walked along towards the start area for the marathon. This is the time when the real collywobbles start, when you are heading towards the start and you see the first other runners heading the same way - this is the OMG moment for me - you realise then the enormity of what you're about to undertake and why you have spent the last 3-4 months training and clocking 500+ training miles - it's quite overwhelming and sometimes tear inducing!
The start area was very well organised, plenty of porta-loos (that flush and had paper) well marked corrals, easy bag drops and MC on the radio bus doing a great job.
We met up with friends, took some photos, sheltered from a passing shower then went off for "one last visit" and to our separate start corrals.
I won't go into detail on the race, it's 26.2miles so rather a lot to write, it was rainy, the sun shone, it blew gale force winds, fabulous people braved the elements to come out of their warm homes to cheer us on and hand out jelly babies, there were spectacular views across the Forth, got blinded by sand some times, plenty of banter amongst fellow participants.

Highlights for me include:
1. passing my super fast husband going the opposite direction as Seton Sands, having the energy to shout to him that I love him and to high 5 him in passing - it brought a smile to more than me I can tell you.
2. being stung to bits by giant hailstones at mile 16!
3. free range chickens wandering across the course at mile 17-18 :-)
4. battling into a 25-30moh headwind for the last 6 miles of the course - it was unbelievably strong, there were a couple of gusts - apparently up to 50mph - I believe that!! When I could barely stand.
5. passing lots and lots of people who either couldn't keep up their pace or had simply given up trying in the wind.

6. being able to finish strongly and then meeting up with John again afterwards - that's the best bit :-)

We met up with everyone in the pub for a welcome beer/coke then another friend who had come to support us and he kindly drove us back to Edinburgh to our car.
I got a new PB, I managed to finally break the 5.30 barrier - not by much clocking a 5.29 finish, but given the conditions on Sunday I am absolutely delighted with my performance and time! This was my 10th marathon so I guess that's something of a landmark :-)

Yesterday we visited Glasgow and had an eventful journey home as all the trains were cancelled due to the horrendous weather which blew in from the Atlantic. This morning we took our friend back to the airport - he as made it down to Heathrow and is en route back to Ottawa.
We are enjoying the last day of our holiday just chilling and recovering, legs almost feel up to a wee jog - though not in the gales which are still blowing! Think I am nearly hydrated again and am almost back to normal - whatever normal is!
To everyone who has inspired me to run, to keep on going when injured or feeling down, and who make me keep on wanting to put myself through this torture again and again - Thanks! :-)

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!!