See Ruth run!

Slow progress

2009-10-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

A 4 mile run round my Dollar loop on Sunday and 4 miles at lunchtime yesterday. No hope of any more this week as I've got things on every lunch time and evening until Sunday again. Too busy.

Apparently the midnight sun marathon I mentioned in the last post is, like, a million miles from anywhere. Doesn't look like we've got the budget to get to northernmost Norway next year, at least. Not sure what holidays are on the cards at all, with my annual leave entitlement and salary yet to be confirmed I think I'll hold off booking anything until I know whether I have both time and money!

Passing thought

2009-10-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

Loitering on the Runner's World forum (thinks: is there an apostrophe in the mag title?), I came across this:

http://www.msm.no/midnight-sun-marathon.9866.en.html

Kind of tempting.

Leith run

2009-10-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

Four miles down the Water of Leith on Sunday. Wanted to get it done first thing, but Al suggested a walk with Dougal and Callum, so did a hour's walk by Cramond first. Then managed to persuade Cal to come on the run on his bike and Al to do 30 mins of it too. Lovely weather for it, and made me feel better about the cake overdose that followed in celebration of Morag's birth.

Actually, didn't do it all along the water but turned off past some allotments and discovered a new tunnel has been opened by Tesco's leading to a delightful park. Which made a nice change.

Yesterday planned to go surfing but instead had a sore throat and cold so cried off. Feel much better now so am annoyed with myself for not going as I haven't been surfing in AGES. But then, maybe if I had gone I would now have double pneumonia. You never know.

Autumn run

2009-09-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

Four miles (ish - going by timing and need to look out the magic satellite device to tell exactly) at lunchtime today. It's nice when I can get away from my desk, even if I do return bright red and shiny in a way that may not inspire confidence in my pronouncements to colleagues. Went down the Devon Way to where the tarmac ends and back. Next time maybe I'll make the turn off to the stables. I was inspired by feeling particularly fat last night at dinner in my previously-favourite-now-too-tight jeans. Something Must Be Done.

In other news, have found a lovely house to rent in Muckhart! The letting agent is an idiot who could tell us nothing useful about the heating, council tax or use of the garage and who told us the gardener was included in the rent, which turned out to be far, far from the truth. So I explained we couldn't afford it with all the extras he piled on at the last minute. Next day he called back and offered an affordable (just) price, so warmth and dryness and millions of (ok, five) bedrooms await. Very excited.

Off to do the horse tonight. She's just started back in work and is allowed 15 mins of walking twice a day. Last time she only freaked out once, which is an improvement.

So far so good

2009-09-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

Four miles at the gym to check the trainers, which are exactly like their predecessors, hurray.

Then a 6 mile walk yesterday with F&A and dogs, followed by a 4 mile run round Dollar today. Dougal is very happy with all this activity. Will try and get another run in tomorrow before heading to Edinburgh for Barry's birthday brucnh, which will probably weight me down for the rest fo the week.

New shoes

2009-09-22T05:28:00.000-07:00

Just bee up to Bridge of Allan to pick up my shiney new trainers. Asics GT 2140s to be priecise - lovely violet colour this year, much nicer than last year's black.

So, now I have to actually go running to make use of them and justify their exoribtant cost.

I've done bits off and on but nothing really concrete. What with riding and working it's hard to fit in. But not impossible - there's a fair bit of laziness coming into play here too. Al and I have pretty much decided not to do a 2010 marathon but perhaps to aim for a good time in one in 2011. But I need to do something so will look up a few spring half marathons to aim for.

Out of excuses

2008-11-19T11:38:00.000-08:00

Yep, my orthotics were here but my will power wasn't. I've driven round with my gym kit in the boot for a week and a half and the most exercise I've done is two 40 minute walks. Ah well. I don't normally start training till December anyway. But secretly I'm scared that without a marathon hanging over me I'll Never Run Again.

Must set myself a difficult time goal for the Alloa half to inspire me, and record it here so I can't wuss out...Let's see. How about [checks past blogs for previous half marathon times] ... 1 hour 40? That's what I would hope for just before running a (mythical) 3 hour 45 minute marathon. We'll see.

Very busy at work at the moment. Looking forward to next week's holiday - even if there's no surf I'm just going to sleep and read and be warm and not work.

Orthotic dependency

2008-11-10T12:56:00.000-08:00

Left my orthotics in Edinburgh last week which meant no exercise for me, as I've long since discarded the normal inner sole of my multiple pairs of trainers. Luckily Al brought them back for me this weekend and I was fully intending to go to the gym after work today. But then I ended up working till 6 and hurried home to my beloved instead. Except he wasn't there because he had to stay in Edinburgh and fix a server. Boo.

Gym tomorrow lunchtime it is then, though that may not leave me any time to buy food for the week as I have to hurry home for Dougal's obedience class...Took the Dougal Dog to agility yesterday and got out of breath hopping over a tiny jump with him. Pathetic. He loved it, but it's a big time commitment when we don't really have a routine. We'll see how it goes.

Monday gym

2008-10-27T15:49:00.001-07:00

Gym after work (even though it was dark and I wanted to go home and hibernate):

0.5 miles cross trainer
1.5 miles treadmill, incline 2%, 6.1 mph
1 rep of 10 for each of three grips on seated back, weights set at 5
3 reps of 10 shoulder press, weights set at 2 (pathetic)
3 reps of 10 tripcep kickback, weights set at 5
2 reps of 10 for each of two grips lateral pull down, weights set at 7 (not pathetic)
1 mile treadmill, as before

Not going to bother with the lunch time class again tomorrow. Will try and find proper pilates or yoga instead.

101 posts

2008-10-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

Didn't realise until today but that last post was my 100th. A milestone and, hopefully, impetus to get me to carry on blogging.

Just a quick update today. Did I say I'd taken the decision to run the Alloa half marathon in March? So training for that starts now. Went to the gym last week, first for a lunch time class that was supposed to be pilates and toning. But when I got there they'd changed it to aerobics. Which was fine, but I really wanted some core strength conditioning to complement my running. I didn't particularly need a workout. Shame, because that means there are no pilates classes at all either at lunch time or after work. Maybe I can find an after work one at another gym or hall.

Went back on Thursday for a gym session, doing five minutes on the cross trainer followed by two 1 mile runs at 2% incline and 6mph. In between the miles I went and played with all the weight machines to try and remember how they worked and what level of weights was feasible. I decided to try and do regular work on the back machine, lateral pull down, triceps and shoulder press. All good for the surfing. A week in Fueteventura is now booked so I need all the practice I can get.

Spent yesterday and today helping Fi and Ailsa move, so I can add some heavy lifting to the list. Their new place is gorgeous already, and I can't wait to see it when decorating is finished.

In other news, some plants I ordered online ages ago finally arrived and I've planted up two big tubs: one with heathers and an acer and one with lavender and rosemary. Round the back, in the bed my mum dug over when she came to stay, I've put hollyhocks, delphiniums and dwarf lupins. Round the front I cleared as much gravel as I could from the bed by the door and topped it up with compost to make a mini raised bed and put in scabiosa perfecta, delphiniums and a couple of left over lavender. I've planted a few smaller pots with daffs and tulip bulbs but still have loads left so will stalk the garden tomorrow night looking for appropriate places to bury them.

I've recorded all this here in case I forget what I put where. Plus, if my running goes to pot (no pun intended) I can always record the progress of my plants.

Doggy run

2008-10-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well, not quite as long a break as last time. Went for a run after work in the glorious autumnal evening air, and took the Diggler along. He was very good, coming back when called and pausing only briefly to play with a jack russell. He was knackered afterwards as Al had walked him already during the day and yesterday we went up the hill for a 'short' walk that turned into two hours (lovely though) during which Dougal ran non-stop. Afterwards he fell fast asleep on the sofa and refused to play with me, even though he'd woken me up that very morning when I wanted to lie in and refused to let me get back to sleep. He is very selfish.

Ailsa is right: running does banish bad moods and even my pathetic half hour tonight helped to lessen my frustration at a bunch of councillors who don't really understand what branding is or what they want from it. After spending months defending this county from accusations of provincialism, I really felt it was small minded and unprofessional for politicians to look at the research I'd done and say 'Well maybe everyone else thinks that, but I think we should just do what I want, even though there's no evidence to back it up whatsoever.' Very provincial.

I'm getting annoyed again so I will move on.

Here's a list of books I stole from Fi's blog. She can tell you all about it, but I've changed it so the ones I've read are in bold. Like her, I've changed the last two.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - have read less than half of the series so that doesn't count
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible - only a few bits. The Book of Ruth. Stuff like that.
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman (much better than Harry Potter)
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete work of Shakespere - again, less than half
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (loved it, even though I put off reading it for ages because I was afraid it wouldn't live up to the hype).
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald - hmm, must put that on my reading list
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy - but it took me two years and by the time I got to the end I'd forgotten what happened at the beginning
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - but I read the next one he wrote
37. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
38. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
39. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
40. Animal Farm - George Orwell
41. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
42. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
43. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
44. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins - I've never heard of this. Is it famous?
45. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
46. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy.
47. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
48. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
49. Atonement - Ian McEwan
50. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
51. Dune - Frank Herbert
52. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons - saw the tv series though
53. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
54. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth - pretty sure I did read this ages ago
55. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
56. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
57. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
58. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
59. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
60. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
61. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
62. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
63. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
64. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
65. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
66. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
67. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
68. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdi
69. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
70. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
71. Dracula - Bram Stoker
72. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
73. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
74. Ulysses - James Joyce - started it, never finished
75. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
76. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
77. Germinal - Emile Zola
78. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
79. Possession - AS Byatt
80. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
81. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
82. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
85. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
86. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
87. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
88. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
89. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton - did actually borrow this from a friend at school, even though my mum banned Enid Blyton from house.
90. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
91. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
92. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
93. Watership Down - Richard Adams
94. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
95. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
96. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
97. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
98. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
99. The Kraken Wakes - John Wyndham - there's a shocking derth of sci-fi on this list, unless you count Orwell and Huxley
100. The Koran - I bought a copy of this and have read bits of it. But I got bored because it was so similar to the Bible.

I make that 51% and a few good ideas for when I finish my current bedtime reading (Grazia magazine). No more Hardy though. Or The Da Vinci Code.

Sorry

2008-09-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yes, sorry it's been nearly a month since my last blog. It's been a busy few weeks. I should really detail everything here, there's plenty of material, but I haven't really been in the mood for blogging recently. I don't know why.

In short, I went to Maastricht with Al for a long weekend, which was pleasant. Then we held our much-delayed housewarming party, which was fun. Plenty of people (and dogs) came along and we sheltered in the barn from showers, finishing with an excellent bonfire that didn't quite set the barn on fire.

Unfortunately while I was clearing up the next day I got stung by something (a bee I think). Didn't think much of it at the time but my hand swelled up overnight so on Monday I looked as though I was wearing an inflated washing up glove. This took a trip to the doctor, some antihystamine and nearly a week to go down again. At one point I had my hand up in a sling to help the swelling go down, which garnered a lot of sympathy until people realised I hadn't actually broken my arm. It also curtailed typing somewhat, which is another excuse for not blogging.

I had to leave cleaning the house post-party until it had gone down, which drove me crazy. I can't stand living in a dirty house and this was really filthy - everyone had been in and out in muddy boots so I was dying to get the mop out. (Not that I minded for party purposes: I expected a certain level of mess. I just hoped I'd be able to clean it up quickly afterwards.) However, I did buy a carpet washer, which was a stroke of genius, as the stupid design of the cottage means everyone walks through all the carpeted rooms and there's a distrincly stained path wearing in. The carpet washer made a real difference.

But I have to say I'm getting fed up of the cottage. Yes, I love the location and the space and being able to walk out of the door and up the hill. But I'm not convinced this makes up for it being so cold, dark, damp and hard to keep clean. I'm sitting here writing this wearing my down jacket indoors to stay warm. And this is only September.

Not sure what to do about this, as it took us ages to find the place, nearly caused me a nervous breakdown getting moved in and Al adores it. Emailing the landlord about the growing damp patch and looking into getting a cleaner are my first thoughts. It would be a shame not to last much longer than the housewarming!

What adverts reveal about society

2008-08-30T04:58:00.000-07:00

Results are up for Coll and I was 33rd overall, or 6th female. About half way through the field, in other words, which is around my usual placing. Quite happy with that.

So, I was watching Top Gear last night. I think I've blogged before about Top Gear and how great it is, despite the fact that I know and care little about cars. In fact, the whole of Dave channel's output appeals to me and most of my pals. Which, considering it claims men aged 20-40 as their target demographic, says something about how they've misconceived what appeals to women aged 20-40. Or maybe something about me and my female friends. Who knows.

Anyway, I love Top Gear. It's great. But it's sponsored by Halfords, who have these little spots before and after the ads. And these spots enrage me. They really do. At first they just irritated me, but by last night I was about ready to stop watching Top Gear (which is, as we have established, great) just because of these enraging spots.

The problem is, they're just blatantly sexist and lazy in their stereotyping. I mean, I know these are just little sponsor bites and not full blown ads, but you think they would have put in some measure of creative thought. Even allowing for the target demographic.

Individually, they're just enough to mildly piss me off, but en masse they just add to the depressing drip drip drip of tiny assumptions made every day based on sex that all then add up together to contribute to nasty big assumptions that ruin women's lives. Possibly without them even noticing (which is even more depressing). In a typical spot, for example, a woman goes to Halfords to get her baby's car seat fitted. Not too bad. Then another women gets her ipod fitted up to the car stereo and indulges in a little flirty banter with the bloke over her taste in music. Slightly nausea-inducing. Then a bloke gets a new roof box fitted and shares an 'all blokes together' moment with the Halfords man relating to how much stuff his wife takes on holiday. That's enough! I'm enraged!

I think what really really annoys me about this last one is that it is too true to life - I've heard exactly that sort of conversation take place so many times.

Did I ever tell you about the time I took my shoes to be reheeled and was just in time to hear the Timpson's guy finish a conversation with his wife on his mobile? The guy hung up, turned to me, and said "All women should have their tongues cut out at birth."

Since I'm fond of my tongue, I asked to be served by someone else.

On the plus side (slightly) I also saw an ad last night that really made me sit up and think. It was for Huggies - the nappies. Nappies adverts are in the same category as those for oven cleaner and tampons and washing powder in that they are without exception boring, formulaic and almost impossible to tell the difference between. I mean, it's impossible to tell the difference between two ads for different oven cleaners. You can tell the difference between a tampon ad and an oven cleaner ad (just). They are also all products aimed largely at women.

So I was astounded by this Huggies ad, which featured a bloke carrying a baby into a hotel room. A rather retro hotel room at that - none of the unbelievably white shiny surroundings usually associated with these ads. Then the bloke goes to change the kid's nappy, laying him on a nappy mat on the bed - yes! A nappy mat! Not a basket full of feathers or a lawn covered in puppies or some other equally unbelievable surface. This ad was going for reality, big time.

And - this is the good bit - as soon as the guy pulls the nappy off a little bit, the baby sends pee shooting everywhere - all over the hotel room, up to the ceiling. It's exaggerated, of course, with the point being that Huggies are great at stopping leaks. But it's not that exaggerated. Babies do pee all over the place. So here was an advert that:

a) acknowledged that men sometimes change nappies;
b) acknowledged that sometimes nappy changing takes place outside of pristine home surroundings;
c) acknowledged that nappies are messy and babies pee everywhere.

Wow. I couldn't decide if I should be excited that society had taken the great leap forward into commissioning such a revolutionary advert or depressed (again) that it should come as such a surprise, in 2008, to come come across a product that acknowledges reality.

Who knows?

Coll half marathon

2008-08-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Got back from Coll last night after a great trip. We drove to Oban on Friday night, stayed in the van and got the 7am ferry. Colin and Helen accompanied us and were of good cheer. I was knackered after the night in the van and the previous night having been spent getting up to let Dougal out as he was whinging for a poo and then cleaning up after him as he ate a frog and spat foam everywhere. But we were cheered by the sight of Seonaid and the boys and hurried to the Community Hall to sign in.

The race began at 3pm - a great atmosphere and very friendly. There were about 70 people doing the half, and they set off at a hell of a pace. We quickly became strung out along the route and I settled behind a woman pushing a pushchair (yes, really - she was speedy!) and a woman in a turquoise top. Al stuck with me for three miles, annoying me by constantly asking about our pace. I think if you want to know your pace when you run you should make your own measurement arrangements! Luckily after mile 3 he dropped back. I was starting to enjoy myself on the undulating hills - just up and down enough to maintain interest. The head wind was a bit off putting but at least it was cool and I consoled myself with the thought that Alex had said it was all downhill and with the wind behind you for the second half.

The miles were also speeding by, and I suspected (rightly as it turned out) that they were measured short - there was no way I was doing sub-eight minute miles. At half way there was a mile off road on a compacted path through sand dunes, and as I emerged from this I realised that Alex had been lying and there was a good deal more undulation to go. With tired legs it seemed less interesting, and it also started to rain. Just past Seonaid's water stop the rain set in proper and the wind came round again to be head on. The last three miles were a real slog, with mile 12 being all uphill and into the wind. Al had disappeared from behind me but a woman in a pink top crept up! I was damned if I was going to let a place slip, so put on a spurt and distanced myself from her, managing to overtake Turquoise Woman in the process. But Turquoise deservedly regained her place on the last hill, where it was all I could do not to walk.

Finally the line appeared and I clocked under 1 hour 57: better than I expected at the start, though not as good as I might have hoped at around mile 6! Averages a fraction under nine minute miles, so that's not bad considering the lack of training. The best thing was the friendly atmosphere, encouraging water stops and great scenery. Al and Ailsa appeared within a few minutes and we headed back to the house for much needed warm showers and food. Helen had finished her 10k in under and hour, while Colin had achieved an annoyingly speedy 5th (I think) place.

Great ceilidh in the hall that night, though we weren't really up for much dancing. I did, however, allow Archie to take me on a turn around the floor. (Archie was loving having Helen around and she spent much of the weekend in Archie World. Al too, at one point, acknowledged that the van may indeed be a spaceship, Dougal's tether a dinosaur snare and Dougal's collar his magic dinosaur-shape-shifting-device.)

Al is much taken with Coll, especially given it is less touristy and a closer community than Tiree, where he's been before. He is already planning return trips and asking me when I can get a job there. Dougal, too, had a good time with beach walks and, in labradoodle Tally, he finally found a dog willing to play with him. They spent a good hour on Saturday chasing after each other.

Sunday was spent pottering around the island: we'd hoped for a surf but made do with driving Norman off road. No results for the race posted yet, but I hope to have made it in the top ten women. If not, then there's always next year!

Things to do when I retire

2008-08-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

I have been crap at keeping this blog anywhere near up to date since getting the new job...mostly because work doesn't allow access to blogspot and the last thing I want to do having escaped from the computer terminal at the end of a working day is to sit down at one again at home.

I think blogging may have to be added to my 'things to do when I retire' list. It's only a mental list, although, actually, I'm about to type it up so it will be made flesh: pixelled into life.

Ahem:

List of Things to Do When I Retire

Blog more.
Play musical instruments/sing.
Join posh exclusive health club and spend my days in the jacuzzi gossiping with Cheeseboarders while being served herbal tea by buff young personal trainers.

That's it so far, but I'm already looking forward to retirement mightily.

Did my longest run on Sunday, about 9.5 miles. The first 4 miles were with Dougal, and then I did a second, longer loop after dropping him back home. He is still loving it. I hated the tough hill I set myself at the beginning of loop 2, which forced me to walk for a minute, but the rest was fine. Not really sure of distances so it's hard to say how fast I was going. Who knows how Coll will be on the back of this rather erratic training, especially as Ailsa is now scaring me with mentions of possible hilliness. Ah well.

Now Dougal and AL are just back from Aviemore and I must desist on the blogging front to greet them properly. Dougal has definitely grown - he used to fit on my lap while I typed but is now getting mightily in the way of the keyboard and also investigating the desk for crumbs and - AARGH! LICKING ME IN THE MOUTH WITH DOG FOOD BREATH!

Yuch. Time to go.

Walking and running

2008-08-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

After finally taking the decision to enter the Coll half marathon, I decided I had better do some training. Having done bugger all since the couple of three mile jogs back in June, the prospect of 13.1 miles was daunting. I decided that, with five weeks to go, I'd try and cover a hundred miles in preparation.

Then I realised that it was a week earlier than I thought and I would be away walking the West Highland Way for a week, giving me three weeks prep time. So I decided to just do what I could.

I started with a few gym sessions, finding it pathetically hard to maintain 6 mph. Shortly before leaving Dougal with my generously dog sitting parents I did a three and a half mile circuit of Gartmorn Dam, bringing my total mileage up to 23.5 miles. Then came the walk, which was not as tough as I had expected in an up and down type way but still covered a lot of ground. My muscles, I have to say, barely complained at all. But the way runs along old drovers roads, well cobbled in the time and with a severe camber, which left me with rather sore feet from the hard pounding. Worth it for the scenery though.

Altogether we covered 75 miles in five days, but I couldn't count it as training: bitter experience has taught me that walking fit is not the same as running fit. So after an all too brief reunion with my parents (and tales of naughty but cute doggy antics) it was back to work.

I did six miles round Gartmorn on Friday in 55 minutes, pausing only to challenge the ned kid who tried to trip me up to a race (he lost, but then, he was about eight and overweight). Then in a rare burst of sunshine, we headed down to Yellowcraigs beach on Sunday. While Al and mate Pete went fishing I headed off down the John Muir path. I'd last covered bits of this coastal route on a long training run pre-marathon, taking it from Leith to Cockenzie and back. I now picked it up at Yellowcraigs and ran the four miles in to North Berwick and out the other side and back, making it eight miles. Was pretty pleased with this, my longest run so far, and with a few small hills to keep my interest. Also lots of gorgeous houses overlooking the golf course to the sea. Mostly tarmac, but some grass, a patch of woodland and lots and lots of boggy sections. The path skirts the golf course, which was closed due to flooding, and cuts across a ploughed field, at which point I cursed the fact that I only had my road trainers with me - they are just about dry now, three days later.

Hormones got the better of me for the beginning of this week, meaning I spent Monday night curled up in front of the tv and yesterday, by a supreme effort, managed just 5.5 miles on the treadmill. I'd been hoping for at least 6, but it was not to be. I did, however, complete a few minute bursts at 7 mph. Today I took Dougal with me on a 3.5 mile loop round Dollar. It was my first run with him and he loved it. Still very muddy out, though less so now that we have returned with most of the mud adhering to one or other of us. I let him off the lead on the off road stretches and kept him on in between - my running was faster with him on the lead because he was pulling forward at such a rate!

So now up to a total of 46.5 miles with nine days to go. Hopefully I can make it up to 70 or so, which should be respectable. As long as I get a 10-11 miler in at some point I'm happy to run the half knowing I should get round in one piece.

Dog walk

2008-07-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Al headed off for a weekend of sea kayaking today, so I came home at lunch time to let Dougal out. The poor pooch had pretty much spent all day home alone by the time I finished work though, so I didn't have the heart to shut him in again while I went for a run (I'm waiting until I can buy a proper running dog lead before running with him, as I fear he is too bouncy to run on the regular extendable lead without entangling us irreparably).

Instead, we had a lovely walk together. It must have been nearly four miles out along the back road but cutting back to the railway from the far side of Dollar. He did some heel work, which he clearly finds tiresome but has to learn so he won't get run over in the city, and had a good romp off the lead on the railway.* There some pools of water covered in dense green weed tempted him with their apparently firm surface and he fell through the weed into the water not once but twice - a very surprised pup.

I read somewhere once that walking uses a particular butt muscle not used in running, so it will be no great hardship to have to run and walk for the next few weeks. I can use the running to get fit and the walking to procure/maintain a perky posterior. A plan with no drawbacks.

Oh, and the big field at opposite us which was previous full of grass about the same height as me has been trimmed right down, so Dougal did mad big circular dashes all over it. He spotted a black lab that he thought was his friend Jake and was very disappointed when it wasn't. We were both knackered and hungry upon our return and, while having sated the hunger with pasta, I'm now even more knackered after dismantling the guest bed (which was too small for the mattress and held together with extra planks on a broken side) and getting the Ikea boxes for the new one in from the van. I'm leaving the remantling till tomorrow.

* This is a defunct railway track now used as a walk. I wouldn't let him run around in front of actual trains or anything.

Nedding

2008-07-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

I can't do justice to it, I really can't. So just the highlights:

Seeing the girls head off to the registry office in a state of high excitement and return (about 30 seconds later) officially nedded: it brought a tear to my eye (in a good way).
The first sight of the secret location, the glorious Ardanaiseig Hotel, and Fi's particular excitement at showing us all to our specially selected rooms (ours chosen for the short bed (as Official Shortest Couple) and fabulous freestanding bath).
Trying out the bath - mmm, hot water!
Seeing the boys draw up in their Inspector Morse car.
Walking into a timewarp before dinner when everyone had dressed up beautifully for the 1920s theme and the venue was perfect for it.
Venison.
Poker with a professional dealer.
Music and dancing and Fi and Ailsa looking really happy.
Messing about quietly with arty stuff in a comfy yurt.
Swimming in the loch, thinking all swimming should be done in fresh water, under the open sky.
Lying on short grass in warm sun.
Talking to Archie about dinosaurs.
Feeling pretty in my hippy dress.
Steak.
Ceilidhing with Simon and Morag like old times.
Al winning the Fantastic Prize.
Mulling it all over with the cheeseboard on the way home.

That's quite a lot of highlights. And the bits in between were great too. It really was lovely to see Simon, as well as others old and new faces. It was the perfect location not only for our own brand of crazy competitiveness but also for all the party, young and less young, to keep entertained.

Can't wait to run another Mouse Race next year! I'm already planning on asking the neighbours if we can borrow their tennis court and wondering if you're allowed to swim in Gartmorn Dam.

Back down to earth: Fi's sister caught me in a weakened hungover state and signed me up for the Coll half marathon in (gulp) five weeks. I'm going to try and run 100 miles before then: averaging 20 miles a week. So far I have done two gym trips, one 4 miles and one 4 and a half, at just quicker than 6 mph. It was horrendous: so depressing that what would have been a mild warm up three months ago is now a real workout. But if all else fails I can do the 5km race instead.

Friendly weekends and a political rant

2008-07-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

Long time no blog, what with two delightful weekends full of friends to keep me busy.

First there was the long-awaited hag do for Fiona and Ailsa: a fantastic event over three days organised with precision by Barry, Colin, Hils and Helen. There was a meal in the intimacy of a private room at Channings, where we could get all loud and annoying without worrying that we were bothering other people. Then on Saturday were split into two teams (I was on Fi's) and set on a series of challenges including golf, cryptic clues, rounders, tug of war, a beer mat collecting exercise and cheese and wine tasting. I was mediocre at all of these but nevertheless our team triumphed overall.

That evening we had a two round poker tournament, playing for actual money: £10 in the pot from each of 14 of us made it a prize worth winning and really very exciting. I made it to the second round on the back of extreme luck, including being dealt a natural full house, but Barry proceeded to amass a heap of chips so huge you could barely see his eyebrows. I went all in on the last hand - three threes - and won most of Al's stash (he claims, in the misguided belief that I would have done likewise, that he 'donated' them to me knowing I had the better hand) but even that was not enough to overcome Barry's hoard and he was declared a worthy winner.

Humph.

Sunday found us at the Sheep's Heid in Duddingston, a pub I've been meaning to go to for years but never got around to. It claims to be the oldest pub in Edinburgh, with a tavern on the site for the last squillion years, and boasts an old-fashioned skittles alley. To be honest I was hoping for a little non-competitive, genteel, ad hoc skittle action, but being us we once again organised into teams. Luckily a round of sausage sandwiches from the pub barbecue revived us enough to not lose every single round, but not enough to deny Ailsa the chance to claim a victory.

Last weekend Mo and Ray came up to visit, seeing the cottage for the first time. It is, at least, just about habitable for visitors now, though we still need a new spare bed. The current one is nailed together with planks and the mattress is too big and hangs over the edge. I have booked Al in for a trip to Ikea before my mum arrives. Anyway, Morag and Ray were most patient with it, and apart from the study, which still looks as a bit empty and seems to get covered in muddy paw prints as fast as I can hoover them up, the rest of the place cleaned up nicely after a two hour frenzy with the vacuum and duster.

We'd planned to do very little and enjoyed a leisurely lunch followed by a two and a half hour walk along the back roads to Tillicoultry, where ice creams were purchased, and back along the railway. It was the first time Al had done this route, which is familiar to me from running. It's a lovely walk with hardly any roads and Dougal loved it, romping happily with passing hounds. Back home he summoned just enough energy to eat his dinner before curling up on my lap and sleeping - the first time we've managed to tire him out!

I made a lasagna while Morag and Ray erected a massive Leaning Tower of Cake from the sponges I'd made earlier. Well, Morag mostly made it while Ray provided helpful comments, took photos and prevented Dougal from eating things. The shelves inside the oven have slipped so cakes come out a bit squinty, but my assistants managed to match the layers of sponge beautifully. Held together with whipped cream and an entire punnet of strawberries, it was a sight to behold.

After the previous weekend, Al had the poker bug and we had requested that our guests bring cards and chips. Fortified by cake and whisky, we pokered away until Al had won everything and then we went to bed.

I dragged myself up at 9.30 to let Dougal out. Having done so, I went to the loo and returned to the kitchen to find Al letting a rather confused Dougal out again. He (Al, not Dougal) had mistaken a pile of duvet for my sleeping form and was sleepily surprised to find me downstairs as well as still in bed.

While not exactly sunny, the weather was at least making some attempt at warmth and we spent a pleasant morning in and around the hammock with the papers before tootling off to find a pub for lunch. We tried to track down one in Powmill, which Al's parents had recommended, but we couldn't find it and returned to the Muckhart Inn instead. Al and I were on the bike, so Mo and Ray headed home after lunch and we motored back to the hound and more hammock time.

I took another look at my courgettes. They still haven't grown, even though I've watered them and been stung by nettles weeding them. Expert opinion (ie my mum) suggests that they are now goners. How ungrateful of them. At least my herbs are making a brave showing, proving that I am not a complete plant Jonah. The basil is even recognisable as basil already.

Back to work for a short week - Friday to be spent at a Secret Location for the non-wedding of the year. Took Dougal to the vet yesterday as he has an eye infection - probably from running through acres of eye-height grass. I was much more nervous than him. When the vet picked him up to put him on the table he thought he was getting a cuddle, and then he kept trying to lick the torch used to look in his eye. Now we have eye drops to administer, which takes a while as Dougal thinks they'd be much better taken orally.

Otherwise, I've been kept occupied following the Glasgow East by election. As Ray noted over the Sunday papers, the Sunday Times seems to be under the impression that the Tories could win this seat. Possibly their thinking goes: Labour not looking good, therefore Conservatives not looking bad. But I'm pretty sure that, in their desperate search for a way to show Gordon Brown where to stick his 10p tax band, the people of Glasgow East are not clinging to the legs of Tory politicians and pleading for forgiveness for the crime of never having voted for them before.

Oh no. I think the SNP will probably do quite well.

Especially if Labour keep coming out with stuff like this, from Labour minister David Cairns: "Councillor Mason [the SNP candidate] has finally let the cat out of the bag. He has admitted what we knew all along – he is a hard-line Nationalist who sees his role at Westminster to bring about independence."

Um, am I the only one who thinks that possibly the cat was never in the bag in the first place? That, in fact, the cat was sitting some distance away from the bag, sunning itself and opening flaunting a yellow SNP badge? Hello - it's called the 'Scottish National Party'. The clue is in the name.

Now I don't support Scottish nationalism (yet). I'm not quite convinced it's in Scotland's interests to go it alone, or that the rest of the UK will ever let go of all that lovely oil that Alex's relying on. But I do support democracy. And if the people of Scotland vote for an independent Scotland then that is what they should get.

David Cairns seems to think that if you support nationalism, you shouldn't be allowed to express that support democratically by electing someone to bring about such a state of affairs by peaceful political means. He's out of touch if he thinks that wanting an independent Scotland makes Mason an unacceptable representative to most Scots.

Quite apart from the fact that independence is not, north of the border, viewed with the antipathy it is in London, the SNP has managed over the last year and a bit to establish itself as more than a one issue party. I didn't want to like them. But they keep doing things I agree with.

I want Labour to win Glasgow East because I want Gordon Brown to stay prime minister. So my advice to Margaret Curran (who seems a lot more on the ball and is a proper Weegie to boot) is to ignore Cairns. Don't try and denigrate the SNP for being what they are, when what they are is popular. Instead, Labour might do well to consider why they're not so popular themselves right now.

Busy evenings

2008-07-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

Been unusually busy through the week with a delightful last minute dinner at Holly Cottage on Monday so Al could get his massage as he is a guinea pig for Fi. Of course he was late and as usual took 20 minutes to get ready so I drove like a demon until we got stuck behind a tow truck and had to crawl anyway. I was berating him the other day for his inability to leave the house in under half an hour and he pointed out that he often manages to leave very quickly...but then has to go back again for whatever he's forgotten. How hard can it be - it's not like he has to brush his hair or anything.

I suppose everyone has to have one annoying habit. Callum always leaves empty packets in the cupboards and fridge when he's taken the last of something, which drives Al crazy. I told him to think of the day when Cal leaves home and eventually opens his fridge to find nothing but empty packets taking up all the room.

Anyway, as soon as I walked through the door of HC I felt instantly relaxed, as is always the way, and was plied with wine and nibbles by Ailsa, followed by tasty roast (yes, Morag, I got your roast! Mwa ha ha!) Al too looked chilled out following his treatment. He is very complimentary of Fi's talents and has been persuaded to possibly go back to the doctor about his back, which is good.

Yesterday we'd invited the neighbours round as they'd had us over for drinks and had introduced Al to some cycling friends. We had a nice chat and some wine. they were amazed we had the fire on - 'But it's the middle of summer!' Oh yes, I am trying to avoid thinking about possible indoor temperatures come winter.

Tonight is a free night, phew. Then a public meeting for work tomorrow night and the hag weekend starts Friday.

Nice to have some time to myself but I am missing the jingle of little Dougal's collar as he potters around the house. We have turned into sickeningly doting dog owners. Gazing adoringly at Dougal and gently stroking his paw as he slept, Al announced that he loved him. I was slightly put out, pointing out that it had taken Al nine months to say that he loved me, and only then after I'd said it first.

'Has Dougal ever told you he loves you, eh?'
'Ooh yes, he says that whenever he licks my ear.'
'That's not him saying he loves you. That's him trying to get you to regurgitate food for him.'

First surf for ages

2008-06-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

I was about to write a moany blog about how I had finished all the chocolate buttons and fingers of fudge in Clackmannanshire and moved on to Crunchies and Cadbury's fruit and nut (which I have) while Ailsa keeps writing perky blogs about what lovely runs she's been on (which she has). Motivation keeps failing to raise its head for me. Despite nice-ish weather last night I put together half an Ikea chest instead of running.

But! I remembered that I had done some form of exercise after all - I went surfing on Sunday. Yep, first one since the crap session at Lunan on our hot tub long weekend in Angus back in January. It was a welcome hour's remarkably sunny interlude in a day otherwise spent hunting for lost keys of various types, (a tale with which I will not bore you, other than to say it was frustrating and climaxed in me shouting at a neighbour's child until he returned the roof-rack straps he had nicked from under my very nose! Tch, the youth of today...)

Back to the surf. It was at Pease Bay and it was good - long intervals and not too ginormous. Hard to get out due to complete lack of upper body fitness and I only caught one wave but it was just good to be bobbing up and down on the water again. Al pulled the muscle in his back he always pulls when surfing and I pulled my wrist as I always do when surfing - it was almost nostalgic after all those running injuries had made me forget the many other ways there are to crock myself. Al won though, by dropping a board on his head back in Leith while putting it away in the shed and getting a perfect fin-stick injury in the exact middle of his forehead - whilst dressed in full motorbike gear. For some reason he was not impressed by my observation that he should have kept the helmet on.

Where all my money goes

2008-06-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today all my money was supposed to go on curtains, but instead it has gone on something even less exciting: contact lenses and glasses. Every two or three years I walk into an optician and spend half a month's wages on being able to see. Surely this isn't fair? Do deaf people have to pay for hearing aids? I suspect, like glasses, you can get the horrible cheap ones on the NHS if you're poor enough but have to shell out for anything half way decent.

Luckily my optician has cottoned on to the massive rip off that is eye care in the UK and set up a scheme where you pay £3 a month and get 20% off contacts, glasses and that contact lens bit of the sight test not covered for free (non-Scottish readers, note that regular eye tests are free up here! Yes, free I tell you! Not that you'd know from listening to the BBC). So I signed up for that and claimed my £13 from the NHS for being really, really blind. They don't give me an extra £13 for last year though, even though I didn't buy any lenses in 2007.

Even with all the discounts it still came to £400. Most of that, as always, was on the lenses to go in the glasses. I chose a plastic option that was slightly cheaper but they might be too thick, in which case I'll have to have glass for an extra £50. I could have got loads of curtains for that.

Afterwards, I took that black dress back to TKs and swapped it for a log basket. I may have to wear the log basket if I keep spending money on boring things. But at least I can accessorise it with beautiful glasses.*

I haven't done any exercise since the last blog, and have eaten vast amounts of chocolate buttons and fingers of fudge. I'm in Edinburgh tonight though, and once I'd thrown everything visibly mouldy out of Al's fridge there was only a pitta bread and some organic vegetable soup left, so I ate that and felt a bit healthier. I think it's time to get back to my usual summer eating of veggies and salad. Unfortunately, despite its many other fine attributes, the cottage is absolutely freezing in even the warmest weather, which doesn't encourage me to eat lettuce and the like.

Fi and Ailsa are coming for dinner tomorrow though and I'm quite excited about the dessert (which I have already made and left in the freezer - I hope it turns out ok) and a starter recipe I found for sweet potato, mozzarella and parma ham stacks. It will also be a chance for Dougal to meet his cousins Baffie and Bridie, who will probably at best ignore him.

*I have to admit they are nice glasses, with a hint of sexy secretary about them.

Summer break

2008-06-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

Had an easy couple of weeks, dug a bit of garden, swung in the hammock with Dougal (nee Diesel), took Dougal for walks and met lots of new people and dogs. Al is astounded by the amount of female attention he gets when walking Dougal in town. He is just so cute! Dougal, that is. Well obviously Al is cute too. But not in the way that women run and and squeal and ask me if they can stroke him very often.

Anyway, the pooch and I had a hilarious walk down the Water of Leith where we met a rather boring man with a black lab; a friendly guy with another working cocker called Fergus (again, the dog, not the man); a scary looking, thick-necked but in fact quite friendly woman with a massive, thick-necked, but actually quite friendly rottweiler and a snooty thin woman with a saluki who looked down her nose and hurried past. Maybe it is true what they say about people being like their dogs. Callum and Dougal certainly hit it off. I think five months in dogs age must be about 11 for a human - they had a great weekend playing in the garden, building a den and a swing. Al banned the computer for the weekend though, and by Sunday Cal had had enough of the great outdoors and wanted his computer games back again. He is still a bit of a city boy.

Had a training course near York for three days this week, and it was pretty full on with the gorgeous sunny days spent closeted in a room with closed curtains looking at powerpoint presentations and doing emergency planning exercises. On the last day a BBC manager was invited to speak to us and spent an hour talking about how BBC local radio is the best place to get an emergency message out. When I pointed out that in Scotland we had to work with commercial radio because the BBC treats Scotland as one region and people in Glasgow don't care if Angus is flooded, she just said, 'Well, yes it obviously different in Scotland.'

I feel the Scottish chip on my shoulder growing with each trip to England these days. I like to think I started out prejudice-free and hope my feelings are based on experience rather than me having picked up a general Scottish malaise. I do hate the attitude that blames England for all of Scotland's woes: I think it's inaccurate and excuses apathy. But I've seen Scotland treated as an afterthought at best on all sorts of training courses and the like and it's getting irksome. The BBC has just promised to up its regional content in the news, anyway, so let's see if that helps remind people that it exists.

I'm feeling very relaxed about it all now, since I had the great foresight to book two days off and continue my journey south from York to see the parents in Sussex. Jenny is also here having just started work in Burgess Hill, and I awoke on Thursday morning to hear her snoring five minutes before she had to catch her 7am bus, so had to wake her up. She missed the bus but made the train thanks to a lift from mum...she moves to a room in Brighton tomorrow, which I hope will suit her.

Spent yesterday reading (feel like I haven't had time to read for ages) and shopping. Bought a very bling handbag for Sam, who I'm meeting briefly before my flight tomorrow for a birthday brunch. Also a back dress for myself, but I think I might take it back as it's a bit big. I have an opticians appointment in Edinburgh next week that I can combine with a trip to TK Maxx in Meadowbank. Today I was indulged in a belated birthday present of pedicure and back massage. My first ever pedicure! It was perfectly timed for my post-marathon feet, which the lovely lady did not even wince at, and we picked a dark red polish to cover the black nails!

Went for a run round the rhododendron-infested grounds of the conference centre one night before dinner on my course, and another round Broadbridge Heath and Warnham this morning. Just half an hour each and about three miles, which was just what I needed. It felt a bit sweaty in the humid weather but not particularly hard. Maybe I'll aim for an October half marathon. Or maybe I'll just keep going for shorter runs when I feel like it.

Done and dusted

2008-05-31T06:56:00.001-07:00

Yep, it's all over. I got a bad cold just in time for the marathon, and it also effected my stomach (as almost everything seems to do since I got food poisoning about 3 months ago. I fear my days of cast-iron stomach are gone forever) so I was fairly sure there was no point going for a PB. Marathon day dawning with a strong headwind further convinced me and I decided to run alongside Al, to have someone to chat to and prevent him hailing a cab half way round.

Good job he was there as despite a solid start that had us on track for 4.30, about 10 miles in my stomach ceased playing ball and the rest of the run was spent making it from one loo to another. Saw some pretty bits of East Lothian from behind various bushes, though, which was nice...Al was very supportive when I was feeling shit (more from frustration at knowing how much training was going to waste) and strangely at the points where I was feeling better he was also struck down, so we made it round together. Luckily it turned into a lovely sunny day, and if you ignored the sweaty people around you, you could pretend it was just a nice coastal walk. At least the roads were closed to traffic, unlike the North Berwick run when I kept thinking I was about to be squished by a lorry.

The other thing that got me round (apart from Al) was the truly top level support from the crew. Time and again they drag themselves up at ridiculously early hours of the weekend to shout and wave at us for a few vital seconds. Fi also had her bike which meant she could keep a flagging Al's energy up with food supplies and distract us from our pain with chat. One good thing about going so slowly was that I could actually enjoy her company instead of saving all energy for forward propulsion. Another was that I wasn't stiff afterwards. Other than an amusing patch of sunburn on the one bit I had missed when applied sunblock I was in better shape than after any marathon yet.

Haven't actually checked my final time yet, but it was about 5.16. Hang on...Yep, 5.15.54 for both me and Al. Although obviously I still have the better PB of the two of us...

This was in fact a personal worst, which is something I suppose! Definitely giving myself next year off and maybe the year after that. The next race I'm thinking about is next year's Alloa half marathon. Catherine and Danny gave me a subscription to Runner's World magazine so that's been inspiring me. But only from my rocking chair so far.

Otherwise, I'm enjoying not having too much planned for a bit. I poked some plants in the garden today and pulled up some dock leaves. Think I might buy a trowel and some gloves and clear at least the patch that might once have been a flower bed. Surf looks ok too.

Much more exciting is the news of an additional to the family! No - not like that. A canine one. Al and I went to see a working cocker spaniel in nearby Braco and have arranged to pick him up on Monday! He's gorgeous, five months old and black and white. Apparently working cockers are the same breed as show cockers but a different strain, with a broader head, soft mouth, and easy-to-train temperament. This guy is called Diesel at the moment, which is a terrible name for him. It might suit a staffie or rottweiler but he's far too friendly. He'll be a surprise for Cal come Tuesday evening though, so it's up to Cal to christen him. So excited!

I'm back!

2008-05-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

Internet access has reached Dollar! You just don't realise how much you rely on it until you have to do without. Although I don't think I'm as bad as Al who worked himself up into a frenzy trying to figure out how he would find out what time the bus went in to Alloa: with no access at the cottage he's have to go to an internet cafe. But the nearest internet cafe was in Alloa. Perhaps he could phone a friend and get them to check the times online for him...I let him sweat for a little before pointing out that he was standing next to a bus stop with the timetable printed on it.

Sooo...

Apparently my last blog was on 27 April when I ran 20 miles and all was well in world of running. Ha! I should have known that wouldn't last. There followed a week of absolutely no running that I can recall at all. I think I was manically busy at work and also moaning about and dreading my 22 mile race. Came very close to not bothering to do it at all, but I couldn't face the thought of explaining to everyone at my birthday party that I'd bottled it so I dragged myself off.

It actually went rather well. It started with a leg massage from Fi and a rousing send-off from Helen, Colin, Mo and Hils - I was frankly astounded that they'd bothered to get out of bed for what I was considering to be a training run, and yet more touched when they showed up half way round and then at the end as well. Conditions were good: cool and a little wind but nothing major. Shit, it's a long way, though. To the power station, which had been my 10 mile half way mark the week before, was only 9 miles from Meadowbank, so I still had 13 to go. A long slog up the hill to Gullane and a short slog up a hill to some other little village just before North Berwick. Most of it escapes me except the bit where I nearly just stopped and asked the nearest marshal to drive me to the end (Gullane - but then I had to keep going because a car full of cheeseboarders was cheering me on) and the final two miles which were much aided by the knowledge that it was nearly over.

According to the garmin it was 21.84 miles in 3 hours 7 mins and 47 secs. Average pace 8.35 miles. This is much pretty good. Though it would still mean running a last 4.2 miles in 37 minutes to make under 3.45, which I'm fairly sure is impossible. I was doing 11 minute miles at the end and had means of going any faster.

But I was pretty much on track and looking forward to almost certainly getting a PB at the Dunfermline half the next Saturday.

There was an intervening period to celebrate my birthday, which was done in great style. Luckily everyone was kind enough to bog off and left me alone for my much needed post-long-run nap which set me up in great style for an evening of drinking and chatting at my party. It was lovely: like going to a party where you know and like everyone. Which, in fact, it was. The girls had decorated the bar with fantastic 'wanted' posters and everyone dressed up, which was much appreciated. Nothing worse than a themed party where no one makes an effort. And various friends who hadn't met before intermingled happily, which is always nice.

And I got lots of fabulous presents! I won't bore you with them but suffice to say I spent all night and most of the next day telling people what fantastic taste my friends have and what tasteful presents I'd received.

A much needed and relaxing spa day was Sunday's treat, with plenty of gossip with the girls, playing with bubbles and a massage and scrub that left us zombiefied (in a good way). Finished off with a meal at a great gastro pub.

Sadly I was starting to feel a bit queasy at this point. I was cheered by arriving back at the cottage to yet more tasteful presents cunningly arranged by the generous (and sneaky) Fi and Ailsa in my absence - I was truly being spoiled! And had a peaceful walk in the hills in gorgeous sunshine with Al.

But most of the next week was spent holding the fort at work through various non-emergencies and near-emergencies that meant I pretty much had to be in, then coming home and going straight to bed. On the plus side, I'd been meaning to register with a doctor in Dollar so I got around to doing that and got an appointment on Friday. It's fair to say I was pretty desperate at this point. The doc was very nice and told me I probably had gastroenteritis (sp?), but did not offer the instant cure I was looking for. Instead I was told to go home, rest, drink lots of liquid and not run a half marathon that weekend. Which is what I had been doing anyway. What's the point of doctors if they can't hand you a magic pill that makes you feel better?

So that was the half marathon out, and with it my final indicator of what the hell sort of time I might expect in the Big One. Which brings me up to date, more or less.

I finally felt 100% again on Sunday, when I went to a really enjoyable concert with Al - the Waifs, who I last saw live at the Byron Bay Blues Festival, were playing at the Queens Hall, of all places. It was great! The audience was a real mix of Aussies, young hippies and older non-hippies. We were somewhere in the middle. Emily Barker was the singer-songwriter support act who performed with just her and her guitar and had a great voice. Then the Waifs themselves were just really cool: a great mix of folk, rock, country and blues-swing type stuff that's hard to describe but kept it varied and tuneful. I wanted nothing more than to be in the band, they looked like they were having so much fun. And the one woman (Vicky?) was an amazing harmonica player! I have tried to play the harmonica and it's much, much harder than you think. I was jealous.

Also, it sounds spoddy, but it was made all the more enjoyable by the fact that the mixing was good. Queens Hall has quite odd acoustics (when I was buying tickets the guy asked if I'd been before. I said yes. He asked where I wanted to sit. I realised I'd never actually been in the audience before, only played there with the Edinburgh Phil, and had to admit I had no idea. He thought I was stoopid). But the Waifs were set up so you could hear each instrument and vocalist perfectly, from the double bass to the drums to the annoyingly talented keyboard player. Having that balance right was essential.

On Monday I ran the back road to Tilli and back along the railway track, starting with the steep farm hill. Not too fast, didn't time it. Yesterday did the same again but the other way around and without the steep farm hill. Had to wait for some bullocks to cross the road. Both felt fine, but then I was simply plodding along. Bit stiff today, which is hardly a good sign after what should have been two standard mid week runs. The Ruth who did nine and a half Yassos at the gym three weeks ago seems more like three years ago, so remote does that level of achievement feel.

I have absolutely no idea what to expect of the marathon now. In some ways training has been better than last year: certainly more consistent speed work and the 22 miler showed promise. But, like last year, I've missed and essential two weeks' training just before taper point and there's nothing I can do to get that back. Plus, I have come to the conclusion that it is simply not realistic for woman to run a 3.45 marathon on less than five days' training a week. And I am not prepared to sacrifice the rest of my life to the point of sustaining that level of training for three, two or even just one month.

I like running, and I like being fit. But it shouldn't be a chore that you dread, that means you turn down nights out or a glass of wine or that is always dictating your meals and bedtime. This is what I keep telling myself.

I will see how the conditions are on the day. If there's a strong head wind, I'm not going to fight it. If I start well, I'll push for a good time. I'll be disappointed with a non-PB - just as I was last year - but, despite giving it some serious consideration, I'm not going to drop out. Because Ailsa would kill me.

A few more medium runs, maybe a short speed session, and that's me done.

Dog day

2008-04-27T13:58:00.000-07:00

Got a run in yesterday to make up for missing Thursday's. It was post dress shopping and dog shopping, so I had lots of exciting things to think about as I trundled round the 7.2 mile route up Easter Road, round Arthur's Seat and back. Didn't time it and took it easy as I had my long run today.

Re dresses - top secret stuff (mine too I as I want it to be a surprise for Al: I have actually shown him a picture but he will have forgotten instantly so that's ok) but lovely fabrics and designs to play with. Went with a colour recommended by Fi which is not what I would normally pick but I think will be really different and quite 1920s-like.

Re dogs - Al, Cal and I went to the Edinburgh Dogs' Home for a reccy. Just to ask how it worked and what sort of dog they might recommend. Of course we then fell for one particular pooch - a wee collie cross called Shadow. Much heartrending debate later we decided to go back and see him again today, but it turns out the home is closed on Sundays so Al will have to go alone tomorrow and make the Big Decision. He was lovely - he looks like Santa's Little Helper form the Simpsons, only more black - but it's a 10 year commitment so we have to get it right.

So yesterday's run was fine. Didn't time it. Felt nauseous after getting home, showering and going to Tesco's, which was annoying. Thought I'd figured out how to stop these blood sugar drops, but I suppose a salmon wrap for lunch was not sufficient fuel. Had a oatcake and felt better almost immediately.

Today, had a very successful long run despite not looking forward to it at all. Did 20 miles in 2 hours 58 mins 31. Average of just over 8 mins 55 per mile. Which means I did 20 miles today faster than I did 19 miles last week. I think this is because:

I prepared better food-wise, with vast amounts of lasagna and bread the night before and no booze, and vast amounts of porridge and banana in the morning. No wonder the original Greek bloke who ran the marathon died at the end - he was probably trying to run on nothing but feta and olives. It takes oats for a job like this.
There was zero wind - hurrah!
It was a faster route, being flatter and almost all tarmac.

It was hot though. There were people sunbathing on Portobello beach in bikinis! Despite wearing sunscreen I have still gone pink on my chest and arms.

Ran out past Portobello to Musselburgh and then kept on down the coast on the John Muir Way to Port Seton/Cockenzie power plant, then came back. Although I'm happy with the run compared to last week, it's still not putting me anywhere near 3.45 league. Looks like I might have to settle for a sub four hour at best. But at least I only have one more long run (ie race) next week before the marathon. Then my life will once again be my own!

Can't wait to find out about Shadow tomorrow. Must stay calm and objective...but it's hard!

Mid week runs

2008-04-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

In brief, 6 mile recovery run round Gartmorn dam on Monday. Once 3 miles clockwise in 27 minutes and once anti-clockwise in 26 - negative split!

Wednesday: 8 miles on the back road to Tilli and back along the railway track. This took 1 hour and something - I think 8 mins 20 secondsish. Slower than I would have liked as I was aiming for 7.2 mph and took exactly an hour to do 7 miles, with a push on the last mile. It is quite hilly at the start though I suppose.

Thursday: was supposed to go to the gym but didn't.

Today: went to the gym and did:

Cross trainer 6 mins, level 12, staying above 10 mets.
Treadmill, 9 x 0.5 miles at 8 mph, with 0.15 miles at 4mph in between. Yassos 7 and 8 at 1.5% incline, Yasso 9 at 1%.
1 x 0.25 miles at 8 mph, 1%.
12 x 2 on each of three grips for back machine, two grips for chest press, all at 20 kg.
Treadmill 1 mile at 6.5 mph, 2% incline.

Quite pleased with this considered my knackered state - especially making all the Yassos without extra breaks of any kind. Will try and make up for Thursday with a hill run tomorrow.

Dresses and long run

2008-04-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Met Fiona and Hilary yesterday for dress hunting. Good job they're in season, arf arf.

Yes, I have had a glass of wine.

Anyhoo...Discovered lovely fabrics for Fi and then went and tried on lots of dresses myself, forcing the other two to wait outside changing rooms and occasionally do up zips. Fi made me try on an burnt orange-coloured dress, which wasn't a great fit but the colour actually worked, which was a revelation. I now have an idea of what I'm after, having espied something on a website with an interesting back: having no boobs, it makes sense to accentuate the other side.

We then had a long lunch and talked about clothes 'for longer than we ever had before'. So overcome by our unusually girly chat* was I, that on popping in to Superdrug for contact lens solution I emerged with £20 of new make up.

Today I woke up, ate lots of toast, and went for a 19 mile run. Headed up the coast to Cramond, up the Almond to Cramond Brig and continued to the golf course on the way to Queensferry. Lovely day for it - to start with anyway. I'd left my cap in Dollar which meant, despite numerous hair clips, my hair kept getting in my face, which was annoying. The secondary purpose of my faithful headwear is to keep the my head warm (mostly) and the sun from my face (occasionally). Without it, I have definitely caught the sun. Just after I spent £6.99 on 'ivory 01' toned foundation - typical.

So, the first half was ok, though being 'off road' from Cramond onwards slowed me down, as did the steep step section, which I once swam round for the Rat Race. The last bit around the edge of the golf course saw the wind pick up and spray come right over the breakwater to soak me, which was refreshing. Then I turned around and was running into the wind. Not too bad through the trees and back to Cramond (hit the steps again at mile 13 and seriously considered taking a dip instead).

But back on the promenade from the roundabout on - Jesus! I've run that stretch plenty of times, sometimes in quite windy weather. There was a head wind for the half marathon at the same spot. But nothing like this. It didn't help that I was tired but it was like running uphill without the sense of achievement. It's hard to describe how debilitating a strong headwind can be. It saps your strength and your mental state: I felt like I was in one of those dreams where you have to be somewhere but your limbs are all heavy and you feel as though you're underwater and can't move.

I'd been on schedule for 2 hours 50 mins, but had to forget about the time and just get my head down and battle on. It was grim. Every so often the wind would die for ten seconds and my speed would lift, only to fall again at the next gust. So that was it all the way home. Managed a slight speed up for the last mile to finish in just under three hours, an average of 9.30 minute miles. Pathetic. If there's a wind like that on marathon day I'm doomed.

Am trying to be positive though. As well as the wind, had it all been on tarmac, I would probably have been quicker. But my right leg was showing some ITBS strain towards the end and is a bit sore now. That would probably have been worse if I'd been on roads the whole way. Was also a bit dehydrated despite drinking a whole bottle of lucozade on the way. Hmm. A lot will depend on the conditions on the day.

Half a mile from home a small child shouted that I was looking sexy with my something I didn't catch. What's that about? When I was eight I was scared of talking to adults I knew, let alone strangers, let alone shouting at them in the street. I briefly considered beating him to a bloody pulp but it seemed too much effort, plus I was pretty sure his comment had actually been a compliment. Probably a sarky one though, unless he was blind.

Got home, showered, ate two oatcakes, drank a litre water and slept for a hour. I'd been complaining to Al that surf is up and I don't have time to go. He said, 'Can't you go after running on Sunday?'. Aha. Ahahaha.

Nope. No, not really an option. I did manage to walk round the supermarket, but that was about the extent of it.

I've just had a dinner of Sainsbury's meatballs ('serves two') and potato croquettes ('serves two'). But then I didn't have lunch and had just used up 2,300 calories. Think I have some chocolate left somewhere...

*Yes, I am aware that talking about dresses is not exclusively the preserve of girls. There are gay men who are interested, too.

Better week's training

2008-04-18T13:31:00.001-07:00

Much better this week. After spending most of the weekend asleep I felt recovered and started back up with a very slow 10km flat jog along the railway line to Tilli and back. Felt fine apart from hideous heartburn (the result of having started to eat again after a three day gap) and clouds of midges. Nice evening for it.

Tuesday I was supposed to do speedwork at the gym but forgot my trainers so came back to the cottage. Luckily as it turned out, since Fi and Ailsa dropped by to pick up Fi's bike and Ailsa got to see round the cottage (and use the loo). It was another nice evening so I headed along the back road to Tilli (the long way round with the farm hill at the beginning) and back along the railway track. Felt good to push a bit harder and I quite enjoyed the hills which are tough enough to feel a sense of achievement without being actually impossibly hard.

Had Wednesday off to see Cal's school musical, which was very professional. He had a lead role with a couple of songs and lots of costume changes. At one point he was up on stage and looking so much like Al that it was quite uncanny - knowing that Al would rather have red hot needles stuck in his eyes than ever get on stage again after his swing dance experience. Cal definitely takes after his mum in that respect!

Yesterday I got to the gym for speedwork - made myself go even though I went to Tesco's first and it would have been all too easy to turn the car for home instead. Not only did I manage to get myself through the door of the gym but also managed 9 whole Yassos - though I had to have a loo break after numbers 6 and 8. I also lowered the incline to 1.5% for numbers 7 and 8 and 1% for number 9, instead of my usual 2%.

Altogether, did:

Cross trainer, 6 mins, staying above 10 mets
Treadmill 9 x 0.5 miles at 8 mph with 0.15 mile breaks at 4 mph (plus a couple of brief extra breaks)
2 x 12 reps on each of 2 chest grips and 3 back grips, all at 20 kg
Treadmill 0.5 miles at 7.2 mph (1% incline) and 0.5 miles at 6.5 mph (1% incline)

Fairly happy, though I would have liked to have managed the Yassos without extra breaks. Had to remind myself that when I started I could barely manage two in a row, so I have improved. But have I improved enough, is the question...

Today, drove back to Edinburgh and straight to Holyrood Park. Parked at the Palace car park and ran up the Radical Road the steep way - had to walk the very steepest bits, but for no more than two minutes, probably one minute. Then did one loop of Queen's Drive anti-clockwise and one clockwise and finished by running back up Radical Road the less steep way (no walking!). The whole thing took longer than I would have liked. It would have been great to have done it in an hour, but I think it was more like an hour and 10. Still, it definitely counts as the '1 hour hard hilly run' recommended on the official website for 'serious runners' at this stage. Not that I'm following that schedule - who the hell has time for six runs a week?

Long run scheduled for Sunday: should be 19 miles. I'm going to try and do some of the marathon route from Cramond out to Portobello. I have also booked myself a massage for a week on Sunday, which is a treat to look forward to. Though Fiona wants to practise her massage technique on me tomorrow, which is even better!

So I'm hopefully back on track but am going to have to work really hard for the next three weeks. I'll take the garmin on my long run and see if I can average somewhere around 8 minute 50 second miles.

Weighed myself tonight: 8 and a half stone, which is my official 'running weight'. I don't normally reach this weight till about three weeks before a marathon, when my mileage peaks. But then I was ill. And I have just eaten about three pounds of pizza and drunk a litre of water and juice, which should bring me up to par. I didn't take any water on my run so I'd probably sweated off about a pound of liquid too.

I have just discovered that if you mix half water with half apple juice (my regular tipple) but then add a few drops of lime juice it is really lovely and refreshing.

Another crap week's training...

2008-04-13T04:34:00.000-07:00

It started out so well with an 8ish mile flat run on Monday to Tillicoultry and back - felt good and fast, though I wasn't able to measure it exactly as I'm still awaiting a new garmin charger. Followed up on Tuesday with a speed session at the gym:

Cross trainer 6 mins, staying above 10 mets
8 and a half Yassos - felt not too hard, possibly because it is the week after my period, when training is easiest.
2 x 12 reps each of 3 back grips and 2 chest grips all at 20kg
1 mile at 6.5 mph

Then all went to shit. Went in to Edinburgh Wednesday night to catch up with Mo. We went to bodybalance, which was a nice stretch out (crowded class though). Mo told me she had just recovered from a nasty tummy bug, which she promptly infected me with. Either that or it was a dodgy sushi lunch pack from Tesco's.

So on Thursday I felt distinctly quesy driving home and was able to hold it together just long enough to deal with the heating engineer before retiring to bed with a bucket. Missed a beautiful evening for a run. Naturally, come daylight it appeared to have cleared up and I went to work, seeing as I had lots to do and it was the last day of a work experience student we've had in, who I had to assess. Got through the day, distracted myself briefly by hanging some curtains, and then collapsed in bed again for another vomitous night.

I'm now just about recovered, but have been walking about like a zombie all weekend and slept most of yesterday. No long run for me this weekend - I had to have a sit down after walking to the post office.

On a more cheerful note, met up with Fi and Hilary to discuss dresses and suchlike over a meal at an Italian fish restaurant that had a promisingly cosy atmosphere but disappointingly salty fish. It almost made up for it with stereotypically macho Italian waiters though. Good chat, and the girls were sympathetic about my plight. Felt slightly more human.

I am still not sure if I am justified in feeling sorry for myself at the moment, but I have been down: it feels as though neither of the two things I really wanted out of this year - a 3.45 marathon and a decent 30th birthday party - are going to be achieved. Just bad timing I suppose. It's not as if having a job or somewhere to live can really take second place to those. And most of my 'to do' list (currently standing at 39 items) no one else can do for me. Every time I finish one thing another appears: I arranged for my council tax to be taken directly from my pay, but when the bill arrived they hadn't taken off water and sewerage, even though we have a private water supply and septic, so now I have to call them again. And when I got a fridge freezer delivered the delivery guys broke a light so I had to organise an electrician, who didn't show up, so I had to organise him again...it's never ending.

I just want someone nice and reassuring (Super Nanny springs to mind) to come along and tell me it's okay, they'll sort it all out and all I have to do is go to work and concentrate on my running. Being a grown up sucks.

Catch up

2008-04-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Haven't been blogging because of lack of internet availability: no connection in the cottage and work does not view blogspot as a desirable web destination for its employees. So a quick catch up of training:

19 March
8 miles round Gartmorn dam in 70 minutes. Lovely route but got a bit lost and did further than I meant to, then had to sprint finish to get the car out before the gates locked.

22 March
In Ardfern for Easter with Al. Took Jake the black lab for a hill run and he acted as a sort of brake, adding the drag factor of five stones of bemused canine. Did 6.5 miles in 65 minutes up and down hills.

23 March
Long flat run down the peninsula and back: 15 miles in 2 hours 12 mins 30 secs. About 8 minute 50 second miles which was actually faster than I was aiming for.

25 March
Back at work, boo. Gym:

6 mins crtoss trainer
30 mins treadmill at 7 mph
2 x 12 reps on each of 2 grips chest press 20 kg
15 mins at 7 mph
2 x 12 reps on each of 3 grips back weights 20 kg
15 mins at 7mph

27 March
Lunchtime gym:

1 mile at 7 mph
32 mins hills at 6.5 mph (up to 6%)
1 mile at 7 mph

28 March
Lunchtime gym:

7.5 Yassos

29 March
Got up early for long run before Rachel's delightful and delicious birthday weekend. Did 16 miles (plus about a mile walk a the end as I misjudged my distance and went to far out). Took about 2 hours 30? Can't remember as I didn't write this one down. It was slower than I would have liked but hilly and I was trying to find a new route. Had a short but incredibly windy and rainy walk up one of the Falkland hills in the afternoon which ended with Rachel and I running down to stay warm - they say you're supposed to bathe your legs in ice cold water after a long run so hopefully that did the trick! Nice short recovery walk the next day too, when it was quite balmy. Great to see all the girls again. I wish there were two of me so I could see more of them and Al, who's weekends back always seem to coincide.

Last week was totally crap, training-wise. No excuse.

No, actually, lots of excuses. Too much on at work for lunchtime sessions and I took on a massive freelance proofreading job which has been taking all evening time not spent ferrying carloads of stuff. (My stuff seems to have expanded even more since the last move - or perhaps it's just because I can't be bothered to do more than 3 trips up and down in the lift.) I knew more work was a stupid idea, but the thought of it paying off my fridge freezer was too much to resist.

So I managed one measly hill run on Wednesday, or maybe it was Tuesday, up Dollar Glen. Very pretty. Got to the castle up the forest track and then ran down the road, running down for two grit bins and then back up for one so I got some more hills in. Probably nearly 5 miles altogether? Was sore the next day, which is unusual.

Productive and strangely relaxing weekend with Fi, taking a van to Ikea and spending up to my credit card limit on STUFF. Then she came out again yesterday to accompany me on bike for what was supposed to be a 17 mile run but was probably more like 16 again. Or maybe more, actually. I'll check on Map My Run. Anyway, we discovered where the mixed leisure route goes, which was very useful. I'm hoping to run to and from work a couple of times next week to up my mileage and make up for last week. And we'd definitely earned fish and chips at the Muckhart Inn.

Next week is to be spent running and assembling furniture. Both ultimately rewarding activities.

Lunch time session

2008-03-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

Might try and do lunch times more often. Only my speed session is short enough to fit and it means I have to leave out the warm up and weights, but hey, it also means I get home an hour and half earlier! And get away from the computer screen during the day. Although one of my designers did see my toiling on the treadmill, not looking my best. Ah well.

Did 7 Yassos! Back up to where I should be. OK, so some of the later walking breaks were a bit slower than 4 mph, but the running was all present and correct. Told myself that the 6th one was the last one, then that I'd just do half of one, then that I might as well do a whole one...amazing how you can fool yourself.

Had pasta last night to fuel me and a cereal bar at 11 (as well as usual muesli breakfast). Made a big but not spicy curry tonight so we'll see how that gets me through tempo tomorrow.

Edinburgh half

2008-03-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

Three sessions to blog about so will be quick.

Hill session on Friday after the bad gym day. Was also not great, but then I put up speed, incline and distance so was probably asking for trouble (all only by very little, I hasten to add).

6 mins cross trainer, level 12, staying above 10 mets
20 mins treadmill at 6.8mph
Chest press, 12 x 2 on each of two grips, 20 kg
Was supposed to do 40 mins treadmill at 6.2 mph, cross country setting with inclines up to 8.5%. Ended up walking a couple of times on steepest bits but then also added a sprint finish.
Back weights, 12 x 2 for each of three grips, 20 kg.

Yesterday was the Edinburgh Half Marathon and I got quite excited about it because Fi and Ailsa came down the night before and Ailsa's enthusiasm was infectious! I hadn't received my race pack in the post and had to email the organisers loads of times (they don't answer the phone) to find out if I could still get a timing chip on the day. They kept answering questions I hadn't asked but not telling me about the chip. It was finally confirmed the night before that I could be re-chipped on site, but by then I'd had a nightmare on Friday night that we were late for the start and then we got mixed up in a triathlon and I had to run in my wet suit. Ailsa proceeded to dream on Saturday night that we overslept and missed the start. So we were quite hyped up!

Luckily all went smoothly in the morning, thanks to loyal supporter and driver Fi, who dropped us at the start and met us at the end. The beginning was narrow and crowded, did my first mile in 8.17 - I needed to do 8.15 miles to make my target time of 1.50. Next two miles were worse at around 8.30 each - aargh! I considered giving up and plodding round, treating it as a slow training run. Especially as from mile three we were running into the wind. Then I though 'Fuck that, thee mile markers are probably in the wrong place anyway' and got my head down.

Did a few miles at around 8.05 and got into my pace and started to enjoy it. The wind died off. Had a hairy moment when I thought I was taking ages but I'd missed mile marker 8 - possibly distracted by the stench from the sewage works. Did miles 8 and 9 in 15.45 but pretty sure they were marked wrong as mile 10 took me over 9 minutes. The miles seemed to go much more quickly than usual, maybe because I was busy doing long division and multiplication in my head to work out how many seconds I had left to make up. But by the last three miles I knew I could make it and finished happy and tired in 1.48.25 (chip time).

Not a PB, but good for this stage in my training. I was lying earlier when I said I would be happy with 1.55 - I would in fact have been a grumpy bitch, so it's just as well I did it.

Ailsa also met her aims - plus a PB - with a fantastic time of 2.06.20. She looked fresh as a daisy afterwards, too, and was suitably chuffed. Am now slightly worried that she will beat me in the marathon. Actually, she could well beat Al, which would be great!

We then retreated for showers and burgers, for which we were joined by Barry and Hils, which was lovely. Had a good chat and absolutely stuffed my face with burger and cheesecake, then went home for a nap.

The day finished with the reinforced Leith Pub Quiz Team winning the Cameo quiz! I even contributed a couple of correct answers. Won chocolate and £30 off next time's bar bill. Doesn't get much better than that.

Today, experimented with a 'recovery run' as I was a bit stiff. Went to the gym after work and pottered about, basically. Was lovely (and a bit weird) not to have a set goal for the session. Did about 2.2 miles of mixed walking at a steep gradient and jogging at 2%, 4 mins cross trainer, 3 mins step machine and a mile on the bike. Was unsweaty enough to drive home afterwards for my shower instead of showering straight away at the gym, but felt better for the stretch out.

Tomorrow: speed work (or maybe tempo session, not sure). Need to up my mileage so may join Matt and his friend once a week for an 8 miler once the clocks go forward.

Bad gym day

2008-03-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

Was supposed to do a speed session of six and a half Yassos today but only managed:

6 mins cross trainer, level 12, above 10 mets
3 x 0.5 miles in 3 mins 45 sec each, with 0.15 mile at 4 mph in between
5 mins bike, hills
1 x 0.5 miles in 3 mins 45 sec
4 x 12 chest press at 20 kg (half on each grip)
1 mile at 6.5 mph
5 mins bike, hills
1 mile at 7.1 mph
2 x 12 on each of three grips of seated back weights at 20 kg

So frustrating after doing so well on the speed work last week but I simply couldn't keep it up. Managed three Yassos, then took a break on the bike and hoped to go back and do at least two more but collapsed in a sweaty trembling heap after one.

I think last night's Chinese takeaway is to blame. Last week I had two great gym sessions back to back after two nights of spag bol - it is clearly the food of champions. Might start paying more attention to what I eat. Also, downloaded a 3.45 schedule from Runner's World and they all have at least five days a week training. Thought I'd found one that only had three days a week, but it turned out they wanted you to do two days cross training as well! Feeling like I really need to ramp it up a notch now, especially after a couple of easy weeks. It's going to be hard.

Back on the flat

2008-03-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Had a great long weekend in Courchevel. Hadn't really had time to get excited about it so it all seemed a bit unreal until I got off the plane and was met by Al, who had gamely driven the two hours to pick me up. We had a leisurely drive back in Norman the van (also gamely coping with the hills), stopping for a fab lunch of salad - that typically French salad with about 2,000 calories because it was drenched in dressing and came with egg and cheese and ham and other good things.

Al's sharing a flat just down the hill from Le Praz with two ski instructor friends. A nice flat but the shower did remind me a bit of The Swamp from first year at uni. The boys were lovely and Adrian had even swapped rooms with Al for the duration so we could have a double bed. Went out with some other friends and had fondue. Mmmm, dippy dippy cheesey cheese.

Set off up the slopes the next day in some trepidation, it being two years since I last set foot on snow, and then only for a couple of days. All I could remember was being very bruised. Unfortunately one of the lifts was closed so we couldn't go straight to the nursery slope but had a take a different lift and traverse across. This traverse wasn't steep at all but it was very narrow, which meant I couldn't get going at all on the board and was soon feeling very frustrated. It took me about three hours to inch my way down, by which time I was fed up and Al was feeling very guilty for overfacing me (bless him for thinking I was anywhere near capable - I must have improved immeasurably in his imagination).

Met up with Adrian and a friend at lunch and, restored by a gorgeous goats cheese sandwich (the food was a feature of this holiday!) and the promise of nice flat wide slopes, I tried again at the nursery. Al was temporarily banished and Adrian, a qualified snowboard instructor, helpfully reminded me of all the things I'd learnt last time. Confident enough that I could at least side-slide down the steeper bits, we managed a final run before calling it a day and taking the lift to the highest point to admire the view.

Had a great dinner that night at the one posh(ish) restaurant in Le Praz - full of French people, which was a good sign. We shared a starter of three different fois gras, their speciality, which was mouthwateringly good. Then I had the best steak ever, cooked exactly how I like it, half way between rare and medium rare. The waitress actively encouraged me to be more specific about how I wanted it. I love this about France. At regular intervals through the rest of the holiday I would stop and remember this steak.

Did I mention it came with dauphinoise potatoes?

Anyway, back to the ski-ing...

Having grumped about the snowboard the day before, I was keen to see if ski-ing would be any less frustrating. Al's pal Jim runs a ski hire company (it is great having a boyfriend who knows everyone) and lent me a pair. We ventured off again - straight to the nursery this time - and lo! It was the easiest thing ever! I was amazed. Not only did it save having to hop around in ankle-twisting agony on flat bits, but I could also a) steer and b) stop. Marvellous. After just a couple of practises we were on to the green runs, where I spent the rest of the day happily ski-ing excruciatingly slowly, while Al skied backwards and sideways and upside down around me. Then he went off to try his new skis on a black run and by the time he came back I'd sped up ever so slightly. The only downside was that the ski boots were even more uncomfortable than snowboard boots and left my feet really sore.

Day three we set out on greens before arriving at a spot where there was supposed to be a green but wasn't. So we went on 'Indians', a piste that has been themed for the kids with pictures of native American leaders (called, in French, 'Le Chef') and wigwams. It began with an inauspicious initial plunge, down which I did the world's slowest snowplough - think glacial speed. 'I thought you said this was for kids!' I screeched, 'It's terrifying!'. At which point, of course, a posse of three year olds zipped by, followed by a teenager on her mobile phone.

After this it was fine, however, and we celebrated with tartiflette for lunch (very nice too, though I am still slightly annoyed that this dish, which I though I had invented myself at university, is so well known). We skied blues the rest of the day - actually, Al was on his snowboard that day so had enough to keep him occupied too. I really enjoyed it, though my continued lack of velocity meant I had to add my own 'speeding car' and 'screeching brakes' sound effects. So I would complete an extremely controlled turn, inch my way gradually over to where Al was waiting, creep to an imperceptible stop and then announce my arrival to the bemused boy with a cheery 'Screeeeee!'

So that was my ski-ing experience and I was sad to have to leave without learning more. Maybe next year I'll get a whole week and some proper lessons.

Back to work today, and it feels like I've never been away. Headed for the gym at half five and got as far as parking the car before realising I'd left my kit at home. So drove home and went for an outdoor run instead. It's foul weather - dark, wind and rain - and I cursed my stupidity for the first ten minutes, before sort of getting into it and gaining some perverse pleasure from tanking it past miserable-looking folk waiting at bus stops. After all, I was so wet a few more puddles wouldn't hurt.

Was aiming for the 7.2 mile Easter Road and Arthur's Seat loop, but it was pitch black at the park and I was convinced for a while that an innocent dog walker was stalking me, so I only ran up to the roundabout and turned around. Giving me a total of 6.7 miles in exactly an hour (timed by looking at my mobile before leaving and on return, since not even Geneva airport can provide a battery for my watch). Not bad: same speed as when I did the full 7.2 miles but with less of a hill. But in much worse weather - at one point I had to cup my hands over my mouth to be able to breathe in the gusts of wind. I would have aimed for 6.8 mph at the gym.

Speed work tomorrow and hills on Friday. Have decided to aim for 1.50 for the Edinburgh Half Marathon. I'll be happy with 1.55 though, at this stage in my training. And will need 1.40 for Dunfermline.

Spell check is working again: it suggest tartiflette should be trifled or titillate. I think both.

Last post...before I go on holiday

2008-03-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

Gym tonight for my speed session:

6 mins cross trainer, level 12, staying above 10 mets
6 x 0.5 miles in 3 mins 45 secs, walking at 4mph for 0.15 miles in between
10 mins bike, hills - set a bit higher than usual
5 min walking cool down at 7% gradient

Was very happy to get through all the Yassos without wanting to throw up. I feel this is something of a breakthrough. So happy that I set the bike higher and gave myself a good, leg-burning few minutes. I've taken the executive decision not to take my running gear on holiday - it would probably not get used and my trail trainers are still so muddy from the duathlon that they would contaminate all other luggage, even wrapped in a bag. And I'll have Jacqui's kindly loaned board and boots to bring back as it is. If I'm really desperate, I can run in my hiking boots.

Should be able to do a full four sessions next week, at least. Culminating in the Edinburgh Half Marathon as my long run.

Not very long long run and not very dual duathlon

2008-03-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

Friday night dawned, or dusked, or whatever nights do, and it was a lovely gusting gale force wind plus rainy, sub zero, black night. So Matt and I rescheduled our long run for Saturday. I proceeded to have an utterly frustrating Saturday morning as I tried to find a new watch battery for my Timex Ironman (sounds tough, huh? - not so tough with a rundown battery it ain't).

Al had assured me that a jewellers in Ocean Terminal would be able to supply the necessary and I duly trotted off to jeweller number 1, who told me that no, they only did Casio digital watches and I should try jeweller number 2 or 3, also in Ocean Terminal. Both jewellers 2 and 3 told me that the didn't stock lithium batteries and I should try jewellers 4 or 5 on Rose Street. Nae bother, I thought - I'll get a bus to Haymarket, buy my new trainers and walk to Rose Street.

Oh no. I had forgotten that Shandwick Place was closed for tram roadworks, but remembered on the way. But assumed, silly me, that the bus would simply skirt the closed off block and emerge at Haymarket. Lothian Buses had other ideas though, and completely rerouted the 22 down the bloody Western Approach Road, at which point I got off and asked the driver if that was his nearest stop to Haymarket. He answered 'yes' in a 'but it's still miles away you eejit' sort of way and I spent half an hour walking back.

Having finally got to Dalry Road and bought my trainers (in the five minutes it took me to say 'I'll have another pair of these please'), I headed for Rose St, via McDonald's loos. There jeweller number 4 did sucky teethy and recommended jeweller number 5 who is, apparently, 'into watches'. And jeweller number 5 told me to....try a jeweller on Dalry Road. Aargh! I had just come from there and now had no time to return before meeting Matt. Well how about jeweller number 1, he suggested helpfully, at which point I huffed off to the bus stop with my useless watch. There I was made yet more irate by a passing junkie* telling me to cheer up and then calling me a 'Stupid fucking wee blonde' when I failed to comply. What is it with the blonde thing? Would he have called me a stupid brunette if I had dark hair? Maybe brunettes smile on demand and thus avoid these situations.

So in the end I had no watch to time my long run or my duathlon, and will probably not have one for the Edinburgh Half, though I may just buy a cheap new one for that or I'll have no chance of pacing myself. So annoying, because it was a good watch. The Timex website holds no clues as to stockists, either. And even if I can get it done in town it won't be waterproof any more.

I ran off my frustration down the Water of Leith with Matt. We only did about 11 miles (he claims 12) but it felt easy the whole way except the last mile, when my right knee started showing signs of ITBS. I think that's the other knee from last year, so maybe that's progress of a sort...Wasn't too bad anyway. Runfinder.co.uk has been AWOL for days now though, so I fear I will have to find another site to measure my runs on. Any recommendations?

In past years I've fairly often done a training session the day before or after a long run so didn't think the duathlon on Sunday would be a problem. In fact it was a slog, but I think that was more down to the gradients. The worst bit was waiting in the sleet for 25 minutes at the changeover, desperately hoping that each approaching cyclist was Matt so I could get running and warm up! Then the ran began with a hugely steep ascent to pick up a token (a clothes peg) at the summit and come back down. Patches of path were knee deep in a type of mud that was particularly black and sticky - it somehow got inside my shoes and I later had to shave my legs to get rid of it. One guy lost a shoe. Back down, we did the whole of the loop from the short duathlon last time. Which was good in a way because at least I knew how far it was to the end. We also had to pick up another token, which was a fluffy Easter chick - a nice touch I thought. I was fine through the trees and so on - it really is just the hills that get me.

I passed a couple of people (who, unlike me, had just cycled for an hour, remember) but was passed myself by a couple so thought I'd maintained our overall placing. But the results show I picked us up from 63rd to 59th. Possibly I passed others at the changeover without noticing. Or their dead bodies were just lying by the roadside where I couldn't see them. And we weren't the last team! One other team failed to finish, so I count that as an improvement on our part. Plus we all got an Easter egg. As value for money and friendliness (and supply of hot soup and burgers) go, I would definitely recommend this series. No way I'd ever do the bike section as well though.

Gym tonight, after a rest yesterday. Need to get as much done as I can before the running-free alp trip on Thursday. I read an article which preached good running posture and went determined to run with my head up, looking at the ground 20 metres ahead, chest forward, arms pumping straight and not across my chest. All of which lasted about 30 seconds before my normal lazy running style resumed. New trainers ok - slight rubbing on inside right foot, which is my foot's fault. Did:

6 mins cross trainer, level 12, above 10 mets. Found a setting which changes the angle to work all the muscles in your legs, not just the quads.
45 mins treadmill, 6.7 mph, while watching Sky Sport football line ups (surprisingly mesmerising)
2 x 12 each of biceps, triceps and back all at 20 kg
15 mins treadmill, 6.7 mph

Was knackered but buzzing from a final sprint. Slight knee pain at one point but it faded. Now have to do speed work tomorrow.

*Sorry if this is not PC. He was definitely high though. I think I riled him by moving to a defensive position on the other side of the bus stop after he yelled at another guy two inches from his face.

Lazy week

2008-02-28T12:33:00.001-08:00

Yeah, couldn't really be arsed this week. Went to the gym on Tuesday, having waved goodbye to Al who came back for a fleeting visit, only to bore myself into submission. Was supposed to do an hour (probably split 45 mins / 15 mins) at 6.7 mph. Actually did 10 mins at 6.7 mph, 10 mins at 6.8 mph, got bored, went and did some weights (the usual, all at 20 kg). Then approached the treadmill again and did 3 miles in 30 minutes - a mixture of 6.7 mph and fast walking on a steep gradient. It wasn't that I was tired so much as just bored...And hot. It does get hot in the gym. Can't wait to be able to run outside in the evenings. Oh, did a bit of bike at the end too.

Anyway, I have also reached that 'must have chocolate' time of the month, during which I have learnt better than to deny myself. It's not every month my body decides I need chips and the sofa, but this time it was quite clear and I duly abandoned plans for my speed session both yesterday and today (not that I was planning two - I vaguely told myself I'd reschedule) and spent the time productively sitting in traffic jams instead. Well, it is the first speed session I've missed so far in all my training. Trying not to think about next week when I will be somewhere steep and snowy without running facilities.

Luckily I have agreed to run with Matt tomorrow which will get me back in the game. Have to come up with a 13 mile route for us. He didn't look happy when I mentioned it.

Quick catch up

2008-02-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

Had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday which left me in Edinburgh at 5pm - still light enough for an outside run. I went up Easter Road, round Queens Drive and back, a total of 7.2 miles. Tried to keep the pace up and finished it in 1 hour 4 mins, which I was pleased with. About 6.7 mph.

That was my tempo run for the week. Did my speed session at Friday lunchtime (having remembered to take my own hairdryer to the gym so I could go back to work without wet hair):

3 mins step machine at 5.5 floors per minute
3 mins cross trainer, level 11, above 10 mets
5 x 0.5 mile in 3 mins 45 secs, with 0.15 mile at 4 mph in between.
About 0.7 miles at 6.6 mph

Couldn't do more as I had to get back to work, but completed a 7 mile walk on Saturday and a 12 mile run on Sunday. The run was slow on the way back as it was uphill and there was a strong headwind, but it was a bright day and good to be outside. The smell of Fi's roast pork as I entered the home straight also kept me going! The walk was lovely - good company and lots of lovely scenery and interesting things to see along the way, including a folly and a 300 year old oak.

This week, planning tempo run and speed work tomorrow and Wednesday. Long run with Matt Friday night and the duathlon as my hill session on Sunday.

Newcastle trip

2008-02-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

Did my long run as planned on Friday night, with Matt gamely agreeing to come and defend me from muggers. Though frankly I don't think he would have been much use towards the end when he stopped chatting and started to look a bit peaky. The furthest he'd ever run before was 10km, so the step up to 11 miles was a big ask! However, he finished strongly and we agreed to run together again the Friday before our next duathlon. We also completed the flatish course (Easter Road, Willobrae Road, park, Meadows, Queen Street, Easter Road) in 1 hour 35: very respectable.

Then off to Newcastle for Helen's early birthday present - a surprise trip to the X Factor concert! It was a really nice break after a frantic few weeks as we chilled out on the train, kept Helen guessing till the last minute and were suitably entertained. Some of the singers were quite good, though not, sadly, Leon the actual winner. The songs were mostly old favourites though, which got the party going.

I was also completely won over by Newcastle. In the bright clear sunshine it seemed lovely, only an hour and a half from Edinburgh, with great shops! I was very excited by my first visit to Primark and got a great winter coat for £10 and a dress for £12 - though since Jenny has told me they were made in Chinese sweat shops I have decided to donate an equal amount to charity to assuage my guilt...A star find came on Sunday morning when Hilary remembered a nice area from an episode of Location, Location, Location and we went there on the metro and found a lovely place for brunch.

Unfortunately I couldn't continue the chilling out on our return as I had to give the flat a final clean - its new tenants will have moved in tonight. I hope they like it and take good care of it - it was quite emotional shutting the door for the last time. Was supposed to run as well but it was nearly 8 by the time I was done so I went to the gym after work today instead. This was last week's belated hill session:

6 mins cross trainer, level 11, staying above 10 mets
25 mins treadmill at 6.5 mph
10 mins bike, hills
1 x 12 reps chest press at 15kg and 3 x 12 at 20kg
35 mins treadmill, cross country 1 setting (inclines up to 8%), at 5.9 mph
2 x 12 reps each of all three settings on back machine at 20kg

Felt like I wasn't pushing it much. Will set the hills up another 0.5% on the inclines next week I think. Although I was probably fresh as a result of two days off and energised by a multitude of mini M&S flapjacks.

Slowly improving...

2008-02-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, slowly getting there. Went back to Runfinder and worked out the weekend long run was actually 10.8 miles, so 1 hour 40 mins feels more respectable. Nearly 9 minute miling it.

Gym yesterday, did:

6 mins cross trainer level 11, staying above 10 mets
45 mins treadmill at 6.5 mph
2 x 12 reps chest press at 15kg and 1 x12 at 20kg
2 x 12 each of biceps, triceps and latimus dorsi (finally remembered to check what it was), all at 15kg except the last biceps, which was 20kg
10 mins bike, hills
15 mins treadmill at 6.5 mph

Then today did:

6 mins step machine (was in the girlie gym and the only cross trainer is always busy), 5.5 floors per min
4 x 0.5 mile in 3 min 45 sec, with 0.15 mile walking in between (at 4mph)
1 x 0.25 mile in half time
2 x 12 reps pull down at 30kg, 1 x 12 at 35kg
3 x 12 reps tricep push down at 25kg
1 mile treadmill at 6.5 mph
10 mins step machine at 5.5 floors per min

Have to do my long run tomorrow after work as I'm away over the weekend so can't fit it in otherwise. I'm trying to work out an 11 mile route round Edinburgh that I can do after dark - surprisingly difficult, and it looks as though I'll have to either brave Windy Gap or stick to really boring, busy, fume-filled roads. I think I'll take the Gap and just hope potential muggers and rapists can't run very fast. There's only a short stretch that's mildly scary. Maybe I can get Matt to come with me. Or actually, I could go down Seafield Road to Portobello. That's only two thirds on boring roads, and Porty is quite nice early evening. Although it will be Friday. So it may be full of drunken chavs. Oh, I don't know. I wish it would hurry up and get light.

That leaves one more run - my hill session - to fit in. I had told myself I'd get up at 8 on Saturday to do it before leaving but I think it's more realistic to leave it till Sunday night and go to Meadowbank.

Anyway, the jeans are getting looser and there is starting to be a difference when I look in the mirror. I swear blokes find it easier to put on muscle. Al barely has to walk down the road and back to turn into a lean, mean, running machine. I've been training consistently for nearly two months and have just got to the stage where the barest glimpse of stomach muscle can be seen emerging from the flab. Hey ho.

Doh!

2008-02-11T12:16:00.000-08:00

That should be 1 hour 40 minutes, for the 10 miler yesterday, obviously. I'm not THAT slow.

Still slow though.

On the plus side, to make up for eating nothing but chips and doughnuts yesterday, I've been on a fruit and veg binge. Today I've had loads of dried fruit, an apple, a salad with olives and avocado, a stir fry with courgette, onion and peppers and blueberries with yoghurt. At least seven portions. I feel healthy just thinking about it.

Hills, hills, hills

2008-02-10T13:40:00.000-08:00

Long run today. I actually did the hideous hilly loop I'd been contemplating. Realised belatedly that to run it from Al's would add an extra three miles so drove to Rossie Place, ran it from there and and then picked up a clothes airer, clothes hangers and some utensils from the flat on the way back. Realised even more belatedly that I could have run it from Al's and added three miles of fairly flat Easter Road instead of three miles of hilly Queens Drive, but it was too late by then.

Felt pretty good as I was doing it, pushing it on the downhill and steady on the up. It was good running weather - cool and still and misty after a really mild springlike day yesterday. And on Radical Road I ran almost the whole second half of the uphill section. So I was disappointed to find it took me a whole 140 minutes to do the 10.2ish miles. Bloody hills.

TFI Friday

2008-02-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

Gave my self yesterday off to just go home, watch Top Gear (the one where they drive across Botswana - superb) and eat an entire family pack of mini eggs.

Then made myself go to the gym today and feel extremely virtuous that I did and have thus had a proper four sessions this week.

Did:

6 mins cross trainer at level 10, staying above 10 mets
3 miles treadmill, 6.5 mph
2 x 12 reps chest press at 15 kg and 1 x 12 at 20 kg
3 miles treadmill 'cross country 1' setting, which was hills up to 8% at 5.8 mph
2 x 12 reps each of biceps, triceps and the other one on the back machine, all 15 kgs except last biceps at 20 kgs

Then drove home. It's pretty much exactly a 40 mile drive which has had me musing that I could run it in a weekend, perhaps for charity? Could cross the FRB and run along the river rather than get squished on the motorway. Or maybe bike it in a day.

Another musing is to make Sunday's long run the evil radical road loop from a couple of weeks back with - get this - an extra three mile loop round Queen's Drive! Which would make it 10 miles. Hmm. I'm not sure that planning runs while driving is the best way forward.

Right. Got another bag of mini eggs needing attention here. Bye.

PS - anyone else having trouble with Blogger's spell check? Doesn't seem to want to check my blogs at all.

Gym

2008-02-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

Quick training update.

Gym yesterday - in Alloa, so still getting used to the machines there. Did:

6 mins cross trainer at level 10, staying above 10 kmph (is that the same as 'METS'?)
5 mins bike, just playing with the different settings, really
30 mins treadmill at 6.4 mph
3 x 12 reps chest press at 15 kg
2 x 12 reps each of the three different settings on a back machine which works biceps, triceps and some other muscle (lateral something or other? dorsal fin?) at 15 kg
2 x 6 reps pull down at 35 kg

The pull down is much more difficult as the weights only go up in 5kg increments so no 32.5 setting, plus you can't adjust the bit you put your knees under and it's set for big muscley 'world's strongest man' types (of which there are many) so I fly up in the air a foot every time I pull down.

Then finished in the ladies' gym with another 30 mins on the treadmill, alternating 6.4 mph with sections of slow uphill jogging.

Today:

6 mins cross trainer level 10, above 10 kmph (or METS or whatever)
Treadmill: 4 x 0.5 miles in 3 mins 45 secs, with 0.15 miles walking in between
10 mins bike, hill setting (very steep)
2 x 12 reps chest press at 15 kg and 1 x 12 at 20 kg
2 x 12 reps each of the three different settings on the back machine, all at 15 kg except the last bicep one, which I did at 20 kg
1 miles treadmill, 6.4 mph

Starting with the Yassos instead of doing a mile or so first made them easier, or maybe it helped that I had toast for breakfast and scrummy carrot cake at 3pm. Carbs rule! Need to cut down the walking time between Yassos though.

Weekend

2008-02-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

Well I think it's fair to say this has been one of the less scintillating two-day periods of my life. I feel as though I managed to bore myself deeply while simultaneously not achieving very much. I hate moving. And I especially hate moving when I can't even unpack into a new an exciting home but have to pile everything into boxes and live out of suitcases for the foreseeable future. I just want everything to be in its place!

Yesterday woke up to discover the sore throat had developed into a full blown cold. Got up and moved two full car loads of stuff from mine to Al's - each car load takes 4 trips in the lift up to his flat. I suppose I should be grateful he at least has a lift. It was strange driving in daylight. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with the dashboard - it looked somehow different. Was an alarm light on? Nope - just the fact that the headlight icon was off was so unusual it freaked me out.

Had two people come to look round the flat, one of whom seemed to like it and was also the ideal tenant - a nice quiet single nurse. The other guy said it was nice but had no room for a music studio, which is fair enough.

Couldn't believe it when the nurse said she'd seen other places at the same price smaller and not as nice. It's on at £545 a month! I can get a three bedroom house in Clackmannanshire for that, or I could if we weren't so damn fussy.

An update on this: there's nothing out there good enough! I rang a couple of agents to explain what we were after: rural, detached, with a garage or storage. One of them was great and agreed to keep in touch. One said, 'Oh, we've a lovely two bed flat in Alloa - very handy for the town centre.' Er, hello? Which part of 'rural and detached' did you not understand?

So now I'm stuck in limbo, surrounded by boxes. Al's flat was already stuffed to the gunnels with his stuff, so mine is mostly just abandoned. There are two crates of groceries in the middle of the kitchen floor. And I can understand how we might end up with two of everything, but how come we've got three open bags of plain flour, four packets of lasagne sheets and 50,000 jars of peppercorns?

Retired early to bed with Lemsip last night so missed the make-up hill training I was going to do. Dragged myself up today to do my long run, which actually cleared my head a bit. Did four and half miles to Murrayfield and back along the Water of Leith, so nine miles altogether. People getting ready for the rugby at the stadium, which I later watched the first 20 minutes of before decided I wouldn't be missing anything if I kept packing. (We lost, as usual, though in the face of some pretty terrible refereeing).

Lots of folk out walking along the river, which was higher than I've seen it ever: at one point you have to cross a footbridge, turn round and then go under the bridge. The water here was right on the footpath and only needed to be a couple of inches deeper to make it impassable. Lots of dogs out too. I was literally tripping over black labradors. They're everywhere! I must have seen ten or twelve of them. I'm definitely not getting one now - why be like everyone else? I also surprised one poor old golden lab who was obviously a bit deaf and didn't here me till I overtook him, when he jumped out of his skin. Most people were lovely and said hello but as always there were packs who blocked the whole path and then milled around failing to create a way through when I said 'Excuse me'. Also an annoying young couple who were walking towards me and could see me coming from miles away but still didn't see fit to stop holding hands or even huddle together a bit so I could pass. Grr!

Then back to the flat for another car load. Still loads to go - books, pots and pans and CDs, mostly. Said I try and get it cleared by next weekend. But what I really need is somewhere to put it.

Anyway, digging out all the food from the back of my cupboards had one positive effect, as I realised I had the ingredients for both a pre-dinner snack of stilton, crackers and grapes and a vodka and tonic. With fresh lemon, no less. Much needed.

Why I should run to work

2008-02-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

It's only 40 miles from home to work and yesterday I had lots of time to work out how long that would take me to run because a lorry blew over on the Forth Road Bridge at 6am, shutting both northbound lanes. I discovered this as soon as I put on the radio at 7.10am as setting off for work, which made the daily 'Kincardine versus FRB' decision easy. The roads were spookily quiet until just past junction 4 of the M9 - yes, the one junction where I could have come off and gone a different way. Then: gridlock.

Junction 4 of the M9 to Kincardine Bridge is not very far. To give you a flavour, I timed it on the way home and it took eight minutes. Yesterday morning it took me ...

THREE AND A HALF HOURS

I got in at 11.30: four hours 20 mins after setting off. I was unhappy and my left foot was sore from constant clutch action (though to be fair there was also extended periods of sitting in neutral). Apparently the lorry driver was unhurt, so he must have stayed well away from the M9 where several thousand drivers would happily have rectified that fact.

At least I was kept entertained by the variety of weather on offer: from sleet, to snow, to gales, to sunshine, to rain. Even the presenters on the local radio station were being apologetic about both the traffic news and the weather news. At one point, the newsreader added 'And that's the worst weather forcast I've ever read: sorry.'

So anyway, I could have walked that section, let alone run it, more quickly.

Went to the Alloa gym after work to relieve frustration and give the traffic time to disappate. Tried the ladies' gym for the first time. It has slightly newer machines but fewer of them and no water dispenser - surely that is a health and safety issue? Incidently, the hairdrier in the changing room is also crap. It is about as effective as asking someone to breath gently on your wet hair from a distance of three miles. I now dry my hair by getting in the car and turning the heating on.

Did 6 mins on the step machine as the only cross trainer was busy, doing 8 floors per minute I think. Then 15 minutes on the treadmill at 10.4kmph (found one treadmill set to kms, though it was ancient and I kept worrying it was going to conk out on me and it wouldn't show the time and the distance simultaneously). Then three full and one half Yassos. Still hate them. They're not getting any easier. Or rather, the first one is very slightly easier but I still want to die from the beginning of the second one.

Finished with some random weights, but they didn't have half the ones I wanted and the settings are all different from the Edinburgh ones. Did 12 x 3 pull down at level 6, which I think is 30 kg. Then some free weights and the pec machine. Think I'll be back in the mixed gym next time, less fragrant though it may be.

Was supposed to go tonight for a hill session but came home to move some stuff to Al's instead. Al was due to get the ferry at 5pm yesterday and was about ready to set off on the possibly five hour trip to Rosyth (usually 30 mins over the FRB) when the ferry was cancelled due to high winds. So he got up with me this morning and I've just heard he's arrived safely in France via the chunnel.

Just took some vitamin C and echinacea as I have yet another sore throat starting. I'll go to Meadowbank tomorrow, or do a couple of loops of Queen's Drive if it's not snowing. At least I'm not dropping the speed sessions, which is what I did last year - because I hate them they were always the first to go! Need to do a longer run Sunday too.

Forgot to say I weighed myself again last week - down two pounds so back to 9 stone, which is my usual sort of weight. Jeans fitting better again. Thanks to a regime of gym sessions and eating half my meals in my car. Perhaps I should write a book called 'The All-Car Diet' and make millions.

Race

2008-01-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

The weekend got off to a flying start once I'd slogged through the inevitable rain and wind to Fife. There I collapsed into the welcoming embrace of Fi and Ailsa who gave me alcohol and assured me that I would not have to drive to the restaurant where we were celebrating Ailsa's birthday. Hurrah! It was a really nice meal. I do like Japanese. Though unfortunately I really like Thai too and was so torn between the two that I could barely make up my mind.

Having been getting up at 6 all week I couldn't lie in past 9 so got up and let out the guest dogs, who were making pathetic noises. They are lovely bouncy, silky spring spaniel/lab crosses, though Al proved amazingly allergic to them. Cocker spaniels are still best though - much more mellow. Spent the rest of the day doing almost nothing except playing board games, eating delicious roast lamb and cake and feeling vaguely guilty about not having done any washing up or helping with lunch. But mostly just feeling chilled, which was much needed.

Back home, Al fed me prawn curry and salad - surely the worst ever pre-race meal. He must be trying to sabotage me. And himself.

Thus the first race of the season took place yesterday when I joined Matt in a team duathlon. It was a mixed bag. Set off steep uphill and, wiping the sweat from my eyes, managed to dislodge a contact lens. I could feel that it hadn't fallen out, just slipped down in my eye, so I carried on, blinking madly until it popped back in to place after a couple of minutes. In the meantime, I'd pulled away from Al, though not from the rest of the pack. Having spectated at the previous duathlon in this series before Christmas I wasn't expecting much - although very friendly, the participants are mostly Triathlon Scotland regulars and thus scarily fit.

Half way up the hill, we plunged off in to the undergrowth and trees, following a fire break back down, across the track and into a muddy section of pasture. This was about half way. They don't measure the course by length but by the time it takes the leaders to complete: this was supposed to be a 20 minute run and 20 minute cycle, which I think meant the run was about 5km. Emerging from the field though, I slipped in the deep mud and went over on my ankle - exactly the same as when I pulled it before Christmas (though this time I wasn't drunk and simply walking down some steps). Ow! I was extremely annoyed at myself as it slowed me right down for a couple of minutes, while another girl passed me and kindly asked if I was ok.

Once out of the mud, though, and back on relatively firm track, the pain lessened. I risked a glance behind me and Al was only about 20m back, so I pushed on and was able to forget about it until a last section of rough path, where I favoured it rather, trying to land on my other foot on steep downhill bits. A final push up towards the changeover and I overtook the girl who had passed me earlier - she promptly fell in behind and used me as a wind shield! I thought I'd run off the ankle but as soon as I tagged Matt and stopped running it came back. I watched Matt set off on the bike section followed by Al, about 2 minutes behind. Then I wandered round asking the marshals if there was a first aid post (maybe) or any ice (no). So I went and got changed in the car, which was just as well as work had come up with yet another crisis for me to solve so I had to make some phone calls. 'Are you near a computer?' asked our emergency response guy. I didn't feel like explaining that I was covered in mud in a car park in a forest on a hill with a pulled ankle so I just said no.

Anyway, Matt came in having got a bit lost but looking happy. Al was just behind him, chuffed about having overtaken some folk on the steep downhill stretch where most had dismounted. You can read the official results on the really useless Glentress Duathlon Website. In short, Matt and I were the fourth mixed team out of...four. But less than 4 minutes behind the others! We came 52nd overall and Al 56th. My run was placed 74th in 32 mins 29 secs. I really enjoyed the route, the off roading, the hill (kind of) and even the mud. Was just a bit worried about my ankle but I've been taking ibuprofen and it seems much better today - just a bit sore when I point my toes.

Today was my first ever drive to or from work not in the rain! (Or snow). It was much nicer: no spray or reflections off headlights. Took further advantage of the dry to run down London Road to the end of Portobello beach and back, which is 6.4 miles. This took me exactly an hour. I would have liked a bit quicker as I felt I was pushing it more than usual and I was aiming for 10.4 kmph. I managed less than 10.3 kmph. But then, if I hadn't had to wait for a couple of traffic lights, and if I'd measured it more accurately on Run Finder, it was probably close enough.

Both Matt and Ailsa have got in to the Edinburgh marathon, so there will be loads of us taking part! Still at the enthusiastic stage at the moment. By March I'll be fed up with it all. Though the race definitely perked me up, so that tactic seems to be working. Worked out today that the Alloa half marathon is on Easter Sunday so I probably won't be around, which is a bugger. Would have been good to support an event local to work and to have another race in the schedule. But at the end of the day I'd rather see Al in the brief time he has back from the alps and I have off work. Stupid day to have a half marathon, anyway!

Week 4 training

2008-01-24T14:10:00.000-08:00

Aargh! Too busy to do...well, anything, really. New job and bastard commute. So far it has rained or snowed every trip and I have got lost at least once a day (I know this sounds unbelievably dim of me. I am not the best navigator ever but I lay the blame squarely on the changing traffic cones at Kincardine which mean the route is different each time. Plus I have been trying different roads to see what's quickest).

So a brief update only before I fall into bed, to rise again in six hours time.

Gym at Meadowbank on Tuesday:

1 km cross trainer level 12, staying above 10 kmph
8km treadmill, 10.3 kmph (boring)
3 x 12 pull down 32.5 kg
3 x 12 shoulder press 15 kg
3 x 12 chest press 17.5 kg
10 mins bike, hills, level 12

Gym at Alloa on Wednesday - where the treadmill machines are set to miles, so I had to do some mental arithmetic to work out rough equivalents:

Induction - played on the machines and promptly fogot how they worked. My legs were pathetically weak compared to Induction Girl's, but my upper body earned actual praise!
1 km cross trainer level something or other, staying above 10 kmph
1.9 miles treadmill, 6.2 mph
3 x 0.5 mile at in 3 mins 45 each with 2 min walking breaks (annoyingly I accidentally hit the big 'stop' button twice during Yassos - not used to these treadmills at all)
10 mins bike, resistance 7, couldn't work out hill setting or rpms and by that point was too knackered to care

Gym tonight, Meadowbank - straight to treadmill as short of time:

4 km treadmill, 10.4 kmph
4km treadmill, random setting, level 10, 9.4 kmph
3 x 12 pull down 32.5 kg
3 x 12 shoulder press 15 kg
3 x 12 chest press 20 kg

Stupid random setting gave me one and a half continuous minutes of 7.8% incline! Climbed 161 metres over the 4 km so averaged 4% incline.

Tired.

Holiday!

2008-01-19T07:59:00.000-08:00

Had a lovely short break in Angus. I'd found a cottage (described as a 'bothy' but in reality much more luxurious!) with a hot tub and got it from Monday to Friday to give us some time away but still close enough for Al to work and me to look round Clackmannanshire.

Arrived around 6 on Monday after getting lost somewhere north of Dundee and ate a ready-meal curry pack for two that I had brought before trialing the hot tub. Ooh, it was great. Except the bit where you had to get out into the cold again. But you could sit back and look at the stars - fantastic. The next day Al went to Perth for a meeting and I went for a run. I discovered a disused railway track that had been turned into a walk and did 7km, measured on Al's gps thingy, staying well above the 10.2 kmph I was aiming for. Though it was interesting to see how much I slowed down at even a tiny uphill slope. Home, shower, hot tub, reading, dinner: bliss.

Wednesday we headed to Lunan Bay where the surf was forecast to be good. It didn't look huge from the beach but there must be some sort of optical illusion going on because once we got in it was massive! Seriously, I'd been expecting 3 foot and got 6 foot +. Couldn't make it out the back and was consequently very frustrated. I should have gone back to the van and got my shorter board, or tried further up the beach. The rip was full on and we ended up walking a long way back - nearly a mile. Haven't had a decent surf for ages now. Boo. On the plus side, the van was nice and warm from standing in the sun when we got back.

On Thursday I'd planned another run but it was raining really hard so I wussed out and we drove to Dollar instead. There we met up with a friend of Al's who lives there and popped in to the estate agents. Nothing to let in the area but Sean agreed to spread the word and we had dinner in a nice pub, the King's Head. Food was nothing special but it was friendly and inviting.

Back home now and yesterday I did the gym session recounted below. Seemed slightly easier than sessions at my work gym, perhaps because I'd had a couple of days off. Sweated buckets though. So unattractive.

Having missed a session due to rain, I decided to combine long run and hill work today. Gee, that was a great idea. Ran Willowbrae Road, down Queen's Drive past the lower car park and then turned up Radical Road - duh. Immediately had to slow to a walk and didn't get running again till it flattened out at the top. Lots of foreign students got in my way and annoyed me. Then round the back of Arthur's Seat on Queen's Drive and home past Meadowbank. Tried to measure this on Run Finder with limited success as it doesn't show tracks once you go cross country, and the satellite image had a shadow over most of the Radical Road. But I think it was 7.65 miles and took 1 hour 15 mins. The rising section of RR is about 15% on average for 0.8 km, I think.

Catch up

2008-01-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to myself of my gym session today: I'll do a full recounting of my trip to Angus tomorrow.

1 km cross trainer, level 11, staying above 10 kmph
3 km treadmill, 10.2 kmph
3 x 12, 15 kg shoulder press
3 x 12, 17.5 kg chest press
3 x 12, 32.5 kg pull down
200m walking, 800m at 12.8 kmph x 2
200m walking, 400m at 12.8 kmph x 1
remaining 400m jogging
10 mins bike, hill setting, level 11

That and a 7 km flat but fastish run on Tuesday. And a surf on Wednesday. Pretty happy.

Outdoor run

2008-01-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

My first proper run outdoors for ages. It's windy today and was freezing with blue sky and frost yesterday, so I wrapped up in long tracksuit bottoms and a sweatshirt only to realise it was actually quite warm. Checked RunFinder to remember the routes I saved last year and decided upon Willowbrae Road and round the back of Arthur's Seat on Queen's Drive, which is 6.17 miles with some significant climbing and descent. I had been inspired by Helen's strong finish in yesterday's Great Winter Run - she managed the 5km around the whole of the Drive in under 30 minutes, earning a very cool snowflake-shaped medal.

Looked out my ironman sports watch that Al bought me last year but it had died! Must need a new battery. So I just checked the time when I left and when I got back and I'd managed it in under an hour - about 58 minutes. Which I'm happy with, considering the hill. I probably wouldn't have been under an hour except, as I came up the steepest bit just after the roundabout meeting Queen's Drive, I spotted a long-legged girl speeding away about 100m in front of me. The wind here was head on so I resigned myself to not seeing her again and put my head down and struggled up. When it flattened out I realised she was still 100m in front of me, so decided to see if I could catch her up. With just a little more effort than I would usually put in I did, and passed her at the top loch. Felt very smug, even though when I got closer I realised she was only about 5 foot tall. She was still wearing lots of professional-looking gear! I do need to learn to push myself on these runs, otherwise I just plod along at minimum effort speed, so it was a good tactic to get me going.

Nice to get moving, anyway. Satisfying as it can be to see the kms tick away on the treadmill (and to be able to control my speed), it is still boring. Nothing beats getting from A to B - or n this case from A back to A again - under your own steam.

Away to Angus tomorrow to stay in a cottage we've booked for a short break. The running gear (and surfing gear) will be coming with us.

Rain

2008-01-10T06:04:00.000-08:00

It's been tipping it down all day. I arrived at work with soggy socks and it's not let up since - Morag and Hilary and I are going for a swim later but at this rate we'll be able to swim down the road to the pool.

Did my last ever session (barring re-employment) at my work gym:

1 km cross trainer, level 11, staying above 10 kmph
3 x 12 chest press, 15 kg (because I forgot I'd said I should put it up last time - duh. No wonder it was easy)
3 x 12 shoulder press, 15 kg
3 x 12 pull down, 32.5 kg
3 km treadmill, 10.2 kmph
3 km treadmill, random setting level 10, 9.2 kmph

Lots of other folk from my section were in there pounding away - and for the first time ever I had to wait for a treadmill to be free. Looks like the January rush has started in earnest.

Looking forward to supporting Lemon this Saturday as she braves to cold and hilly Great Winter Run. I'll have to do a longish run of my own on Sunday. Thinking of doing my usual Willowbrae Road loop, which is about 6 miles and flat except one nasty hill at Windy Gap.

Must get my arse in gear to apply for races: good news is, the Dunfermline Half has changed its date so as not to clash with the Great Edinburgh Run, so it looks like I can do both.

Evil Yassos

2008-01-09T07:37:00.001-08:00

Cold a bit better after being pampered by Al (he ordered a takeaway and fed me NightNurse). Lunchtime gym today:

1 km cross trainer level 11, staying above 10 kmph
3 km treadmill, 2% incline (I'm going to stop saying this: just assume all my treadmill work is at 2% unless I say otherwise), 10.1 kmph
200m walking, 800m at 12.8 kmph x 2
12 x 3 reps at 32.5 kg pull down
12 x 3 reps at 15 kg shoulder press
10 mins bike, hill setting, level 11, staying above 80 rpm (hard at the end)

The chest press was busy the whole time, but I was pleased with the rest. So proud of myself for the last half Yasso, which was a bastard. I loathe speedwork and all its kind. Only remembering an interview with Denise Lewis in which she described getting through the 800m to win Olympic gold on sheer force of will after an injury kept me going. Quite looking forward to tomorrow's hill work in comparison.

Last night I cooked myself a simple meal of potatoes, broccoli, spinach and steamed trout. Doesn't that sound healthy? Although I did then add a generous dollop of creme fraiche. (Low fat creme fraiche). It was delicious - I don't often do 'meat and veg' type meals, tending more towards the 'all in one pot' approach, but this has inspired me to do more. Although it did generate rather a lot of washing up. Ooh, I made more mince pies too. And ate them warm with brandy butter while watching Top Gear - bliss.

Running with a cold

2008-01-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

So boring having a cold, but at least I managed to stave it off over the festive season and as I'm not doing much but finishing up at work this week a cold is not much of a drawback now.

We all wussed out of aquafit yesterday due to various ailments, so I went to the gym instead:

1 km on the cross trainer, level 11, staying above 10 kmph (except for one moment where I slowed to 9.8 because I was picking a bit of white fluff off my boob, but I'm not counting that as it was only for a second and I'm well above 10.5 most of the time.)
6 km on the treadmill, incline 2%, 10.1 kmph (with brief pause at 5.15 km for a drink)
3 x 12 reps shoulder press at 15kg
3 x 12 reps chest press at 15kg (not too bad - should probably go up next time)
3 x 12 reps pull down at 32.5kg

Used my cold as an excuse to skip the bike, although I may now start having to choose between the bike and weights anyway if I don't want my work out to go on all day. Next time: more Yassos. Yuck.

Weighed myself yesterday morning. I am 9 stone 2 pounds, or about 58 kg. That's about 2 pounds over where I like to be, as the tightness of my jeans was indicating. Not a surprise after Christmas: I expect it'll come off when the exercise kicks in.

Weekend walk and delicious food

2008-01-07T06:07:00.000-08:00

'Hurrah!' I hear you exclaim. 'She's not banging on about the bloody gym for once.' Oh no. For I and my intrepid friends ventured into the Great Outdoors, followed by the Great Indoors, this weekend.

First, a drive to Ben A'an in the Trossachs, where Hils and I successfully rendezvoused with dog-owning friends and promptly hiked up the hill in the snow. Well, the snow was on the ground, while what was coming out of the sky was decidedly cold rain, but it looked pretty. There was an extremely steep start up through some woods, followed by a flatter section where oodles of mud was hidden under treacherous snow. Before long my boots, which I'd waterproofed the night before, were wet through anyway. We emerged from the trees for our first view of the hill, described by one website as 'unfeasibly pointy'. It really was. And the last section was unfeasibly steep, with huge stone steps turning into a scramble up the last bit, meaning gloves got as soggy as boots! I was very impressed with the dogs - especially Bridie - who found doggy ways up the rocks, clinging to patches of snow and tussocks of grass. Very nimble.

There were some drifts of snow at the top, so that I sunk up to my groin more than once, while we all emitted amusing squeaks and squawks as the ground gave way beneath us. Fab view across Loch Katrine where, two blokes at the top told us, you can get a steam ferry in the summer. We resolved to come back and ferry to one end and bike and run back. We'd had the only clear spell of weather at the top, lucky us, and hot-footed it down again as the rain came back. The return journey was slippy and slidey, but we saved time spent painstakingly crossing streams on the way out by simply walking through them, since we were soaked anyway.

There followed an exciting drive along a twisty, snowy road to Glasgow - luckily I was following the landrover so, I comforted myself, if I did end up in a ditch I'd have someone to pull me out. Actually, it wasn't bad because it wasn't icy, just wet.

Thence to the divine Hotel du Vin - blog readers yet to experience this joy, start drooling in anticipation now! A row of five Georgian houses knocked together, we were greeted by staff in tartan trews with drams of whisky. A swim in the bath later and we enjoyed, devoured, digested and discussed a truly amazing meal. It was the first time Fi and Ailsa had eaten there since discovering the place and they were worried that it had all been a delicious dream...but no, it was really something else. What I really liked was that all courses and everyone's choices (we all had something different) were of similar quality. There was no chance of the desserts letting down the rest, or of them producing only one or two good dishes and some mediocre ones. It was all superb. I had a boiled egg with caviar toast, a main course of potted duck shepard's pie (actually a fairy-light potato foam rather than mash, and with a velvety soft kidney hidden in the middle) and almond macaroon with pistachio ice cream. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

On Sunday we had a delightful wander round the Kelvingrove. This reminded me of a Bill Bryson book in which he laments the segmentation of the Smithsonian so that everything is given its own museum - so that if you want to see a plane, for example, you got to the Air and Space Museum. He felt it had lost the air of discovery it had when he was a child. Well, he should try the Kelvingrove, which is a happy rag bag of bits and pieces. There was a taste of everything: expressionist paintings, Italian and Dutch art, Egyptian mummies, dinosaur bones and fossils and shiny armour and swords and Glasgow-style furniture. All mixed up with random stuffed animals everywhere. It was everything you'd expect; almost a parody of a museum.

Plus! They had the Kylie exhibition, with all of her amazingly teeny sparky outfits and an exhibition of Quentin Blake illustrations. I love Quentin Blake, who illustrated many of my favourite childhood books - Roald Dahl and Michael Rosen - and here were familiar pictures from The Twits and Matilda and the utterly devastating Michael Rosen's Sad Book. I would love one day to own an original Quentin Blake drawing.

So, back to work. My last week at work - eek! And back to boring gym blogs, until the weekend, I fear.

PS - Hilary has started her own musings at Tea and Verbosity. Enjoy!

Why, when I've only worked a three day week, am I still glad it's Friday?

2008-01-04T05:53:00.000-08:00

These blogs are getting really boring, aren't they? I sense I'm in danger of losing both my readers. But that's what happens when training kicks in - I cease to have the time to have a life. Luckily tomorrow will be spent up a hill in the trossachs (sounds a bit rude doesn't it? 'She kicked him right in the trossachs'.) before heading to Glasgow for a night of luxury, courtesy of the generous Fi, who is treating the cheeseboard, in two lots, to dinner.

So hopefully we will get lost or fall down a ravine or something and I will have something interesting to write about on my return.

In the meantime, I did yet another enthralling lunchtime session:

1km cross trainer, level 10, staying above 10kmph
3km treadmill, 2% incline, 10.1 kmph (Gasp! So speedy!)
2km treadmill, random setting 10 (= inclines between 1.5 and 7%), 9.1kmph
automatic 5 min cool down (about 0.4 km)
3 x 12 reps shoulder press at 15kg (Ha! Back up to 12!)
3 x 12 reps chest press at 15kg
3 x 12 reps pull down at 32.5kg
10 mins bike, hill setting 10, staying above 80rpm

10.1kmph didn't seem that fast after yesterday's hideous Yassos, which I already know I'm going to dread. Will try and up it by 0.1kmph a week until I'm at at least 11kmph, which is marathon pace. Also, first session next week will see me up the levels of cross trainer and bike to 11. Hopefully.

No more snow. It's sitting on the hill and the crags, making the latter look particularly awesome and, well, craggy. Week after next I've found a lovely little cottage for me and Al to hole up, run, visit Clackmannanshire and hopefully do some hill walking. Which reminds me, I need to buy a map and some waterproof spray for my boots for tomorrow.

Snow

2008-01-03T08:25:00.001-08:00

Lots of snow today, though not much has settled in town. Pretty on the hill though.

Lunch time gym session went well: really felt as though I was pushing it for the first time. Also the first session to go over an hour thanks to my two extra kms (even though I knocked 5 mins off the bike as a reward). I managed one and a half Yasso 800s. Whew! I'm at the point now that normally I would be a month ago, due to ankle recovery time, which is frustrating.

Did:

1km level 10 on the cross trainer, staying above 10kmph
3km on the treadmill, 2% incline, 10 kmph
200m walking followed by 800m at 12.8 kmph
200m walking followed by 400m at 12.8 kmph
final 400m jogging
10 x 3 reps shoulder press at 15kg
12 x 3 reps chest press at 15 kg
12 x 3 pull down at 30 kg
10 mins bike, level 10 hill setting, staying above 80 rpm

I need to ramp all of this up a bit to meet my targets. Will try for two full Yassos next week and 7-8 km per session by the end of the month.

Last session of the year

2007-12-31T05:43:00.000-08:00

To the gym at lunchtime again. Really glad I made myself go as I had a good session and felt most virtuous afterwards. Did:

1km on the cross trainer, level 10, staying above 10kmph
3 km on the treadmill, 10kmph, 2% incline
12 x 3 reps pull down at 30kg
12 x 3 reps chest press at 15kg
10 x 3 reps shoulder press at 15kg (it's official: the shoulder press is my nemesis. Ironic, considering that I am a broad-shouldered babe with a propensity when in a halter neck dress to look like an Olympic swimmer. A male Olympic swimmer)
15 mins on the bike, level 10, hill setting, staying above 80rpm

A delicious flapjack, courtesy of Colin who came round with Helen on Boxing Day, was my mid-morning snack and proved much more effective than last week's crisps. Pleased with the run. Shoulder press - well, I had to leave it till the last of my weights as someone else was on it, which probably didn't help. Bike: a higher setting than usual meant I really felt it in my legs. I like the hill setting which gradually increases the incline but gives you short breaks at a lower incline every few minutes to recover. Why, I wonder, does running make me sweaty and short of breath but not particularly make my legs hurt (except in the avoidance of penguin syndrome) while cycling makes my legs hurt without making me out of breath? Ah well. It must all be good for me somehow.

Forgot to report back on my ankle earlier: Graham pronounced it basically ok but with limited movement because...well, I think he mentioned the word 'capscule' a lot, or something like it. I got the impression it had stiffened up when sore and now had lost it's former range of movement. He bounced up and down on it while pressing it into the treatment room bed for a while (ow), after which it was much more manoeuvrable. So I have exercises to do to stretch it out, and at least I know that if it does hurt it's not doing any harm.

Now, I was browsing Runners World the other day and came across the concept of Yasso 800s. A bloke called Yasso (great name) came up with the idea that if you wanted to run a marathon in x hours and y minutes then you should train by running 800m reps at x minutes and y seconds. In my case, 3 minutes and 45 seconds. You start with a couple of reps and build up to 10. I'm thinking of trying it and would appreciate any tips. Also, I have worked out that this means I need to run the 800s at 12.85 kmph, but as my maths is dodgy, please tell me if I'm wrong.

Hm, have also just worked out that I need to run 8.5 minute miles the whole way to make my goal time. Seems...fast.

Regular readers (of which there are about two) may remember I listed a series of races that I wanted to take part in. The first couple are out the window due to the new job and my need to find somewhere to live near the new job. But I intend to sign up for all three half marathons next week. Call it a new year's resolution (even though I don't really believe in new resolutions: I think if you want to do something that badly you should just do it and not wait until new year. But it happens to be new year anyway, so there you go). And I've got the duathlon and hopefully at least one of the later 10ks as well. Starting to look forward to it!

Lunch time gym

2007-12-28T05:39:00.001-08:00

Work is very quiet at the moment, as you'd expect. Decided on a lunchtime session and then faffed about what to eat mid-morning. Wanted some carbs to get me through - should I eat half my turkey and stuffing sandwich early? In retrospect, I should have done, but instead I took a packet of crisps from the office party leftover pile. This proved my undoing as, at 2.3 km in, I accidentally brushed the 'stop' button. As the treadmill ground to a halt I promptly felt quite nauseous and had to go and have a drink of water before continuing at walking pace. Really must not eat greasy food before running (or accidentally hit the stop button). From now on it's oatcakes for me.

So that meant I did:

1 km on the cross trainer, level 9, staying above 10 kmph
2.3 km on the treadmill, 2% incline, 10 kmph
0.7 km on the treadmill at level 20 hill setting (=between 9 and 11% incline), 6 kmph
3 x 12 reps at 30 kg pulldown
3 x 10 reps at 15 kg shoulder press
3 x 12 reps at 15 kg chest press
0.5 km on the treadmill, 2% incline, 12 kmph, just to finish off.

Not bad. Need to do something tomorrow really but I doubt I'll get the chance with Jenny in tow. As of January I'm aiming for 5km of running per session, probably broken up into two lots to start with. Going to start aiming for short bursts of hill and speed work.

Now I'm off to sign up for that duathlon I promised Matt I'd do with him.

Sunday run

2007-12-23T08:47:00.001-08:00

Got out today for a pootle round Arthur's Seat (the Queen's Drive route, not Al's crazy offroading). Took it easy and enjoyed the view and sunny weather. Not sure when I'll get the next run in.

A battle of wills

2007-12-19T06:11:00.000-08:00

The title of this entry refers to my ridiculous internal dialogue over whether or not to go to the gym this lunchtime. Pathetic Ruth was whining on about having a sore throat and having left her trainers in Al's van and it being Christmas and therefore an exercise-free zone. She came extremely close to winning the argument but luckily Righteous Ruth responded by pointing out that I could just do ten minutes and that would be better than nothing, I could wear my trail shoes and I'd be annoyed afterwards if I skipped a day since I already know I'm not going to have time for another run till Saturday.

Really, I was wishing I'd thought to bring a sweater since the sun was shining on the frosty slopes of Arthur's Seat in a particularly inviting fashion. (Incidentally, both the BBC and the Scotsman websites are confidently telling me that it's foggy in Edinburgh today. Er...nope. Frosty and sunny, actually).

I toyed with the idea of heading out in just my sleeveless running vest before deciding that the loss of digits, and possible whole upper limbs, to frostbite was not a great idea. So the gym it was. In deference to my sore throat and achy head and neck, I split my 3km into three sessions on the treadmill of 1km each, at a slow 9kmph but a 3% incline. In between, I did:

1km on the crosstrainer, level 9, keeping above 10kmph.
3 x 12 reps chest press at 15kg (fairly easy)
2 x 10 reps shoulder press at 15kg (very hard)
3 x 12 reps pull down at 27.5kg (easy enough that I should probably go up a notch)
3km on the bike, hill setting, level 7, keeping well above 80rpm which took me the best part of 7 minutes

Keeping the feet straight while running seemed a little easier, but that may have been just because I had less time to get bored of concentrating, or because I was going more slowly.

Can't do my thigh-tingling body pump on Friday as I've been roped into the Pensions Team Christmas Quiz. However, a leaflet from my new job (at which I will start at the end of January) promises a discount at the Alloa leisure centre, so I have a new place to check out.

Must do something on Saturday or this will be the first week since starting training I've fallen below three days a week. Mostly quite happy with how I've started though: I've got the habit going. Seeing Graham tonight as the ankle's still crock - fine for running but very painful when doing things that involve pointing my toes. This includes kneeling down, which is how I like to wrap my Christmas presents. Maybe a ligament thing.

Team Aqua rule the roost

2007-12-18T02:30:00.000-08:00

Gym before aquafit last night. In fact, a two mile walk to the gym before the gym as well.

Did:

10 mins on the cross trainer, (6 mins level 9 with 2 mins level 8 either side), keeping above 10kmph.
3km on the treadmill, 2% incline in 18 mins 26 seconds. Still finding it hard to avoid penguin syndrome.
3 x 12 reps pull down at 27.5 kg.
3 x 12 reps shoulder press at 15 kg.

Then a regular aquafit workout. As it was the last class till the new year, we decided to forgo the usual routine of one of us cooking and went to our local, Utopia, instead. With extreme excitement/competitiveness we discovered their pub quiz, previously cancelled, was back on! It was a pretty good quiz and we got better as it went along, picking up a bag of Malteasers for winning one round and surprising ourselves with our unexpected knowledge of the 1960s. To cut a long story short, we expected to come second and win a bottle of wine but either Hilary or the quizmaster added the scores up wrong (let's face it: the quizmaster is the more likely culprit) and Team Aqua won. We got £25 off our meal! Apparently some regular teams were disgruntled. But that is their fault for not knowing more about the 1960s.

New ways to make my legs hurt

2007-12-17T01:52:00.000-08:00

Lots of new exercise-type experiences to report this morning. On Friday I went along to the body-pump class at lunch time that I told you about. This class involves holding weights while doing various lunges, squats and arm exercises. Luckily for me the instructor had a cold so had cut the class down to half an hour.

Actually, that makes it sound worse than it was: the upper body and back stuff was all fine (probably because I had been assigned the teeniest weights ever as a beginner) but one track involved holding a crouching position which made my quads go all wibbly. Just as the lactic acid was building up to intolerable levels and I was about to keel over the instructor would shout 'Ok, team, just 10 more seconds!'. By the time you were actually allowed to stand the flood of blood back to my thighs was blissful. And then she made us do it all again. Twice!

So after that the obvious thing to do was to recruit Al to make me go hill running on Saturday. I'd envisioned a potter round Queen's Drive taking about half an hour, but the bastard drove us to the Dunddingston car park (yes! the one at the bottom of the hill! What's wrong with this picture?) and then warm up by slogging up the hundred plus steps to the top loch. I know there are over a hundred because I counted and then lost count when I had to start concentrating on not throwing up instead. So I was knackered before we even got the the starting point.

OK, here is a map to illustrate exactly what we did. Having gone up the steps (the orange line from the Duddingston Village car park), we climbed up the steep side of Crow Hill. By this point I was walking but still managing to keep up with Al who was running. This is one of the bizarre things about hill running. Then down the dip and back up again to the peak of Arthur's Seat. Then a scramble down to Piper's Walk - is it just me or is it wrong to have to use your hands on a run? At this point Al got a stitch, ha ha! And it was downhill so I ran ahead and then waited, stretching nonchalantly at the big boulder at the Hawse. The rest of of was not bad at all in fact: along the top of the crags and back through the middle valley to the road and back down to the car.

In all it took us an hour to do not much more than three miles, which I considered pathetic. Despite Al's attempts to explain that it's different with hills, I still consider this walking pace. However, it was a workout for the lungs if nothing else. And I have times to beat: 12 minutes to the top of Crow Hill from the car and 17 minutes to the top of Arthur's Seat.

Sunday would have been a rest day had Al not signed me up to the Santa Run (Father Christmas is dead: long live Santa) in Princes Street gardens. This is a trot twice round the gardens accompanied by 2,000 other people also dressed as Santa/Father Christmas. I was quite taken with the dogs in Santa outfits or with reindeer horns: I know it's wrong to dress up your dog and wouldn't normally approve, but in the circumstances it was acceptably cute. The preponderance of dogs, reindeer, kids, elves and so on made it more of a walk, and at one point as we shuffled past some more sedentary Santas one was heard to remark 'Look out for the competitive Santas!'

Al fought his way past lethargic Santas at the end to claim our medals (yes! medals for walking approximately 500 yards!) and we claimed our own wee elf from his mum and took him to refuel in the German Christmas market, which is exactly like a German Christmas market in Germany. I had the strange Dutch meat product known as frikendel.

The rest of my weekend was spent buying presents and collecting, erecting and decorating a tree. It took ages but does look very smart. I also bought a HUGE roasting tin only to get home and find it wouldn't fit in the oven so had to return it and swap it for one that was merely large. Christmas is, as always, accelerating towards me.

Gym

2007-12-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

Lovely meal at Calistoga's on St Leonards last night: nice pink bream, which I chose for the cheesy accompanying potatoes. These were potatoes that were cheesy and therefore divine. Also an excellent gingerbread man and eggnog ice cream. Plus we got cheese as well as dessert, so no need to choose between the two.

Tried to work some of it off at the gym at lunch time. No time for weights but did:

10 mins cross trainer (6 mins level 9 with 2 mins level 8 either side) staying above 10kmph
3kms on the treadmill, incline 2%, in 19mins 17 secs - found this very hard going. Don't know why: maybe because I hadn't eaten since breakfast?
15 mins upright bike, level 7, hill setting, staying above 80rpm.

When I was tired on the treadmill it was really hard not to slip back into my pigeon-toed run, which seems to take much less effort. But I am persevering.

Busy weekend

2007-12-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

Got out for my surf on Saturday having just had my hair highlighted. This led to amusing conversations as the hairdresser and then the girl drying my hair kept asking how I wanted it dried, or straightened, or what products to use, to all of which the answer was 'It doesn't matter because it's going to be in the north sea in an hour'.

So. Biggish swell for Belhaven, but light winds as promised until mid afternoon when they picked up and it all got a bit choppy. Took me a while to figure out how to work the new board - how far back I need to lie to paddle effectively and how easily you can get the nose under an oncoming wave. Once out the back I could barely sit up on it and at one point fell of with a yelp which Al found hilarious. Although it's only 6 inches shorter, the pointy nose means there's much less volume at the front. Anyway, figured it out eventually - I need to lie about an arm's length plus an inch back and it paddles lovely. Got up on some smaller waves and it was SO quick and turned really fast - felt like the difference between driving my car with and without the 'city' steering on!

Headed back for Al to go into town for a birthday cup of tea with pals and I did some work, including sending WEA an invoice that should nicely cover my car's MOT. Glanced out of the window and it was snowing! Soon went back to rain though. Then into town to meet Al and friends who had been round Mary King's Close. They said it was good but because there were young children in the party they didn't get the scary 'lights out' bit. Jo said that was just as well because she was scared enough as it was.

Had a drink before heading to Ana Purna's for veggie Indian food. Rob and Rachel came along, which was nice, and they mingled happily (I hope) with random friends of Jo's. Rachel bought Al a cap and bow tie to accessorise his swing dance!

Finally left the last pub and decided to walk till we found a taxi - ended up walking all the way home and getting in at 2.30 am. Then up again the next day for swing dance rehearsal. I hadn't realised how nervous Al was of performing on stage: I assumed that since he happily throws himself off mountains and waves and so on that a two and a half minute performance would be a doddle but apparently not. Now I feel guilty for persuading him. But it went fine and there was nobody he knew there! I think we all looked the part: the girls all wore dresses or skirts and the guys went suited up: Ray and Rob had trilbys (trilbies?) and Al wore his cap. And at the very least we had to be more entertaining that the adult interpretative dance troupe who just walked around looking morose for five minutes. We had Christmassy music and everything! I'm going with some of the class to the dance company's Christmas do on Saturday. Hopefully Al can come but his sister may be arriving from Australia.

Yesterday: straight to the gym from work. It was really busy but managed:

2 x 10 reps at 15 kg on the chest thingy
3 x 12 reps at 27.5 kg on the pull down
3 x 10 reps at 15 kg on the fly thingy
something else on the shoulder press.

Honestly, I am so bad at remembering weights I do. Next time I am taking a pen and paper with me. I think the shoulder press at the Leith gym is more difficult than the one at work, though why that should be I do not know.

Also did 2km on the treadmill, 2% incline at 10kmph, thinking hard about where I put my goofy feet. Then wanted to do the bike but it was busy so did 10 mins on the cross trainer: 6 minutes at level 9 with 2 minutes of level 8 either side, keeping above 10kmph.

Then aquafit, where Inge had returned and asked us what Bill had made us do. We whinged suitably ('He made us go in the deep end...without floats!'). I think she was inspired, or maybe I was just concentrating on working at the right level, keeping my heels down and posture straight, but it was a harder class than usual. Not as hard as last week though.

Tired now. Running with Mo tomorrow and should do something at the weekend too: maybe Arthur's Seat if the weather's nice.

More exercise!

2007-12-07T01:32:00.000-08:00

Ooh yes, getting back into the swing of it now. No pun intended.

Went to the gym at work before swing dance yesterday. Did:

3 x 10 reps 17.5kg on the chest machine (this is the one which I forgot the name of last time)

2 x 10 reps 15kg shoulder press (very hard)

3 x 12 reps 25kg pull down (easy - must go up next time)

10 mins cross trainer level 6 to warm up

3 km on the treadmill, incline 2%, in 20 minutes (annoyingly hard considering this used to be a doddle)

15 mins upright bike, hill setting, level 7

Whilst running, I tried very hard to think about how I was putting my feet down, concentrating on rolling from the heel to the toe and keeping my toes pointing out. Or rather, it feels like I'm keeping them pointing out, like a duck, but actually that's just making them straight because I usually run with them pointing in, like a pigeon. Quite hard to see them in the mirror because the front of the treadmill was in the way, but I think I did ok. Certainly felt like I was using my lower leg muscles in a way they weren't used to. Hopefully I can keep this up enough to avoid injury this year.

Then went to swing dance where we practised our Christmas show routine without mirrors or instructors to follow! This went surprisingly well, and I actually felt like I was dancing instead of following a series if steps.

There's a body pump class at the gym at work on a Friday lunchtime. No time today but I might go next week: I never do any exercise on a Friday usually so it would be a bonus session. And I know I say this every year but I do want to improve my overall fitness, not just running. I say that and then when it gets to the stage that I have to run an hour each session I give up on everything else. Need more hours in the day.

Going back a bit to Al's duathlon at the weekend, he went with his friend Matt. Al's signed up for the whole series of three, but Matt was only signed up to the first one. He wasn't sure about doing the others but I there's a team option so I said I'd do the running if he did the cycling. It's on 27 January and is about 5km of hilly trail running, so that gives me something to aim for. Matt cycles faster than Al so I will have to make sure I don't let him down in the running stakes.

In other Exciting News, my new surf board has arrived! Oh, it's so beautiful, just how I imagined. So beautiful that I have learned how to upload images directly into a blog just to show you. Should be small waves, light winds tomorrow so I will get to try it out!

Exercise!

2007-12-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

Hurrah! Finally got back into it yesterday. Went straight to the gym from work - the gym at Leith Victoria, which I hadn't been to before. It's teeny, but had everything you need.

Did:

10 mins crosstrainer, level 5, keeping above 10kmph
15 mins upright bike, level 6, keeping above 80 rpm
3 x10 reps at 25 kg pull down
3 x 10 reps at 15 kg shoulder press
2 x 10 reps at 25 kg something called 'fly' which works your front top chest muscles, whatever they're called
2 x 10 reps at 25 kg whatever the last upper body weight machine was

Plus some stretches. The three treadmills were busy the whole time but it was a nice change to get on the crosstrainer. Didn't really push the crosstrainer or bike at all and will set them higher next time.

After that it was straight in to the pool for a few lengths and the aquafit. Aqua is usually just a stretch out but this week we had a different instructor, Bill, covering for our usual lovely French (?) girl Inge. She had promised us "a 'andsome man" and he was indeed quite fit, though depressingly probably about five years younger than us. He shook hands with us all, even though we were all wet!

Anyway, Bill put paid to any notion that aqua is a bit of a doss by explaining that on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is standing still and 10 is completely out of breath and panting we should be working at a 6. The warm up was at about the level I usually find the whole class, and I actually got quite warm and out of breath for most of the rest of it. We did lots of jogging and jumps to keep the heart rate up, interspersed with weights. Not sure if the fact that Bill was a bloke made me work harder - my strangely male-orientated competitiveness kicking in. But it definitely helped that he had good music which I could set a pace to.

Anyway, between that and the gym I'm pleasantly sore in my arms today. The ankle seems to have survived, after I went through a moment of agony trying to get it in a wellington boot on Sunday. I was watching Al's muddy duathlon (he didn't come last and won a Christmas pudding) and hadn't allowed for the fact that pointing my toes to get the boot on would aggravate the injury. But as long as I don't have to run in wellies I'll be fine.

Meant to add, a while back I was tagged by a running pal. The rules are:

Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
Share five facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
Tag five people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Well I haven't really got any online friends to tag other than those who have been done already, though maybe I will try and get some now. But I guess I can think of some facts. How about:

When I was little I used to want to be called Laura after Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I am incredibly short-sighted and have yet to meet anyone more so (now there's a challenge - if you can beat my prescription I'll tag you!).
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to swap lives with my friends and do their jobs for a day. I think I would like Morag's best.
I will eat anything as long as it's dead.
I am completely lost without my diary, as Ailsa knows because I once left it at her house and went crazy. I don't even know my own mobile number. It's 07...something.

Enjoy!

Gang Show

2007-11-22T05:42:00.000-08:00

If you've been wondering where all the sequins and shiny, elastic-waisted skirts in Edinburgh have disappeared to recently, I have the answer. Last night I went to see Cal's stella performance in the Edinburgh Gang Show.

For the uninitiated (namely me, since everyone else I've spoken to seems to have heard of it) the Show is an annual event for all the Scout and Guide groups in the area and involves singing, dancing and acting on the big stage at the King's Theatre. This is the 75th year and Cal got to go as part of the quota of cubs and brownies. They have to audition, y'know.

Where to start? It makes me want to describe it with words like 'marvellous' and 'spiffing'. The curtain rose on 200 of them all sing-singing along in their neck scarves and shiny skirts (for the girls, anyway). I was immediately transported back in time to the 1950s, which was apparently where they had found all their scenery, which they had written the skits to fit. Bravely, they included lyrics about how cool and on-trend scouting was, and proved it with a costume change to sparkly sequined waistcoats that brought them up to at least 1982. Then they really went for it by throwing in a folded-arm gangsta pose at the end. Right on!

In fact, there were only three basic dances all night: the side to side dance, the gangsta pose, and various versions of spirit fingers/hands in the air. Occasionally some of the older ones did couple dances that inevitably ended with the girl sitting on the boy's knee. There was just enough situations in which people went the wrong way and cannoned into each other to keep you on your toes.

I knew Cal was featuring in two Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat songs, so at the appropriate moment I squeezed Al's hand: 'Here he comes!'

'How do you know?' enquired the proud dad.
'Don't tell me you don't recognised the opening chords to Jacob and Sons?'

All I got in return was a quizzical eyebrow. Could it be that I had kept my teenage obsession with musicals hidden for an entire two year relationship? Hmm.

Anyway, on came the prodigal son, featuring as 'boy at the right hand end of first line', and very good he was too. Up stepped another little pip squeak to sing the solo in Close Every Door. 'Aw', went everyone before he even opened his mouth. 'Aw' they all went again as he gamely squeaked his way through, missing all the high notes and squinting into the lights. Bless.

This segued into a joint High School Musical number with the brownies, and so the show went on. 'Is there supposed to be some sort of story?' enquired Al, gamely, after an hour.

At the end of the first half came a moment that redefined scouting for me forever. It was the obligatory Scottish bit, which started with a return to 1950 with peasant costumes and woodland scenery. Aaiiiee, I was watching Scottish country dancing! Then they sang Walking to the Kirk on Sunday Morning. Aaiiieee! I was listening to Walking to the Kirk on Sunday Morning! I was paying for this! Oh no, wait, I wasn't: Al was.

Then they did a 'Highland Swing Dance' ('We could do that!' I poked Al excitedly.) Then came the life-changing bit. The woodland scenery came up to reveal the full cast. And they started singing a Proclaimers medley to the tune of 'One Day More' from Les Miserables!!

They did the marching on the spot dance! There was dry ice! They sang 500 Miles! And they were waving a saltire at the back!!

I am not making any of this up. You know how rarely I use multiple exclamation marks.

I laughed so hard I thought I was going to throw up, and I had to bury my head in Al's arm to avoid censure from surrounding showbiz mums.

It was the most entertaining thing I've ever seen on stage. And there was more! OK, you can't really top a French-proletariat-rebellion-come-Scottish-eighties-anthem moment. But the second half featured the older kids, with some good soloists. A girl with an amazing voice sang Only the Good Die Young. There was a Robin Hood sketch, with an excellent dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham who sang a version of 'Rehab'. For some reason an entire circus turned up in the middle of Sherwood Forest for one song, and the merry men were all gay. Clearly the scouts are not yet completely PC.

Ooh, and my second favourite moment was when Maid Marion came on and sang truly awfully amongst yet more woodland scenery and a spotlight with a 'forest floor' effect that made her look like she was standing on a giant pizza. Squeakity, warbly, blah, she sang, and on came a girl dressed in pink with wings.

'Al, look out!' I instructed. 'Maid Marion is being attacked by a giant man-eating butterfly!'
Another dancer entered stage right.
'Two giant man-eating butterflies!'
'Hnarg?' enquired proud dad, opening his eyes and wiping drool from his chin.

Maid Marion proceeded to 'sing' about all her dear little woodland friends, while the animals did spirit fingers/hands in the air. There was a giant mouse, a giant owl, two giant bunnies ('I was a bunny in my ballet show when I saw six,' I informed Al, proudly. 'They're doing quite well.') and a giant something-triangular-and-brown. I later surmised from the lyrics that this may have been a newt.

There was a song about how Glasgow had got the Commonwealth Games but it didn't matter because England had lost the Rugby World Cup. An obligatory hymn (again, quite a good soloist). And then obligatory Scottish bit #2. They did some traditional jamboreeing in kilts, a female soloist entered and I hoped it was the good one, but no! It was Maid Marion again! Aaiiee!

They all sang It's time for us to leave you. Al looked hopeful. They sang Caledonia while giant saltires descended from the ceiling. I sang along. Al tried to look appreciative and then, with a final hands in the air salute, it was all over.

They're on till Saturday so all I can say is, if you can get a ticket you will be entertained.

How marvellous. How spiffing.

PS - Can you believe the blogspot spellcheck doesn't recognise 'saltire'? No wonder the Scots have an inferiority complex.

Ankle

2007-11-20T08:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, fine, I'll rest it.

Hmph.

It's still swollen. Have spent the last week doing no exercise at all except walking to work. My eyes have gone funny from staring at computers for hours. Can't wait to get running again. I feel like a slob.

Busy

2007-11-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

Although I've been too busy to blog it's not because of a wealth of exercise things, unfortunately. Rather, I've been putting in the hours at work (both the day job and the freelance) and also doing lots of bitty administrative type things like chasing credit cards that don't arrive, applying for jobs and fixing surf boards.

My board is now fixed though I've still to pick it up, and I still need to chase my new board. All has gone ominously quiet on that front so I need to check my deposit arrived ok. Got an extremely windy surf in on Sunday with Rob, borrowing his long board. Spent most of the time flailing vainly in the face of six foot walls of white but when you did get out there were lots of opportunities to practise handling different angles as the soupy green waves were coming from all over. Very refreshing.

The weekend before that we were up at Holly Cottage for very convivial belated celebrations of Fi's birthday. So convivial that I pulled a muscle in my ankle and was unable to partake of cricket on the beach or a run round the hill the next day. Then on the drive home I felt ill. I blamed a combination of car sickness and gluttony but as I then spent the rest of the night being lavishly sick in Al's loo it seems I was the recipient of a dodgy sandwich at tea time. No one else suffered though, so maybe it was a stomach bug picked up from my desk neighbour at work.

Lovely.

Anyway, I recovered from the vomit thing with the aid of a day off and pints of peppermint tea. But the ankle thing is getting annoying. Every time I think it's ok I do some form of gentle exercise (aquafit, running with Morag, surfing) and it swells up again. I could rest it completely, but I'm just getting into the habit of weekly runs with Mo and don't want to break a virtuous routine for both of us. I'm not doing the extra run per week I was hoping for by now, but at least a weekly potter down to the links and back gets me used to the concept of running again.

What else? Doing a fair bit of work for WEA, who have just got an excellent inspection report, Good for them. Ooh, I bought a new skirt and top in my bi-annual clothes shopping trip. This trip was nearly a disaster as I trawled town for 6 hours without finding anything I liked, but I was saved by the East sale at the last minute. The skirt was reduced from £150 to £45!

Aquafit is getting more and more deserted. Yesterday there were only four of us. I like this because it means I get more space in my depth and we do more work at the deep end. It was a miserable walk down in the pissing rain last night though.

That's it really. Al is trying to persuade me to go on a surf holiday to Portugal. I'm stressing about Christmas and where everyone will sleep and when to get a turkey. Lots of work to do. Going to go and do it now.

Races

2007-10-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's technically still dry and I know I said I'd go for a run again today, but it's cloudy so I won't have a spectacular sunset to distract me, plus I'm knackered after a long week. Instead I have come up with some possible races for next year, to fulfil the 'more racing will force me to be faster' part of the plan.

Here they are:

20 January
Fred Hughes 10 miles (St Albans) - aim for sub 1.32
9 February
PPUK Valentines Run 10k (Battersea) - aim for sub 53 mins
16 March
Forthside half marathon - aim for sub 1.45
23 March
Alloa half marathon - aim for sub 1.40
26 April
Balmoral 10k - aim for sub 48 mins
20 April
Balfron 10k - aim for sub 48 mins
4 May
Dunfermline half marathon - aim for sub 1.35
OR Great Edinburgh Run (10k) - aim for sub 45 mins
25 May
Marathon - aim for sub 3.45

Now there's no way I can do all of these: for one thing, the entry fees aren't cheap. I definitely want to do Alloa and Forthside and either Dunfermline or the Great Edinburgh Run, which unfortunately clash. I'd like to do one of either Balmoral or Balfron and one of either St Albans or Battersea. Surprising that there aren't more 10ks to choose from but I suppose it's quite a specific time period and I can't travel everywhere, especially during the week.

Oh, and the aim times are very rough estimates. I'll refine these as I do more research on 3.45 training schedules.

Evening run

2007-10-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Shock horror - I actually did one of those run things that are supposedly the subject of this blog last night. Was meeting Al and friends for dinner at 7.30 so Pathetic Ruth thought 'Oh, there's no time for a run between work and dinner.' But Annoyingly Righteous Ruth pointed out that when I'm training I think nothing of knocking off a quick 10k after work and still turning up at a restaurant on time, so the patheticness was brought to heel.

It was a gorgeous clear day with the views from my window at work even better than usual, so I found myself actually looking forward to getting out. Especially as this is the last week I'll be able to run after work in daylight. So I speed-walked home and got my kit on, unearthing a sports bra from the bottom of the heap. Took gloves because it's gone very cold lately, in a lovely crisp, wintery way. I decided to take it easy and do a steady anti-clockwise Queens Drive loop, not taking a watch or timing anything but not stopping to walk.

I'd been expecting a great sunset and I wasn't disappointed. First, as I reached the last evil steep stretch, a huge lemon yellow moon appeared, reflected in Duddingston Loch below. It was so arresting that it quite took my mind off the last of the climb. Then I had the flat to recover into a steady three-paces-to-a-breath, whilst admiring the cygnets in the top loch which are almost grown up. There were two big flocks of geese: one lot of big ones with black heads and necks and some smaller brown ones. Coming downhill, there was the sort of ridiculously beautiful and lurid sunset that, if you painted it, would look really tacky. The tourist-perfect silhouette of the Edinburgh skyline in dove grey (complete with the Balmoral clock, Calton Hill and St Giles) sat in front of a sky striped bright pink, yellow and baby blue. As soon as that slipped behind the equally glorious autumnal trees, I was treated to the ruins of St Anthony's chapel silhouetted in front of the moon.

All in all, well worth the exertion. I had no trouble keeping up a slow, steady jog. It's probably about three and a half miles, maybe just under four, from door to door. If it's still dry, I'll go again on Friday, maybe up to the trig point.

Weekends away

2007-10-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

I went down to Sussex for the weekend prior to a meeting in London on Monday. For some reason Horsham is full of 16 year olds. They are everywhere: in all the shops, on the train, blocking the pavements in gaggles and forcing me to walk in the gutter. I listened in fascination to many of their conversations. It is like listening to aliens. I would transcribe them here but I fear I would get repetitive strain injury from typing ‘Oh my God!’ that number of times.

We had curry and watch the rugby. Both were good.

On Sunday we set off in a convoy to complete the biannual exercise that is moving Jenny’s stuff to and from my parents’ garage. She always has one or two really random articles among the crates of pink books and seemingly identical pairs of unworn Dorothy Perkins jeans. This year there was her collapsible pole dancing pole (yes, really) and a ‘paint it yourself’ miniature cow parade cow (unpainted).

It’s a real pleasure to wander round the garden. These visits make me wish I had a garden, even though I know that if I did it would in no way resemble the Eden-like cornucopia of my mum’s domain and would instead consist of some paving slabs and the occasional pot of basil. At this time of year there was a particular abundance. We had apple, blackberry and raspberry crumble with some of the fruit and helped ourselves to tomatoes. Elsewhere, kale, courgettes and beans were raging out of control. Very tasty. Oh, and there were some, like, flowers and stuff too.

My London meeting was in Smith Square, unlike previous gatherings in Farringdon. This brought me close to where I used to work in Millbank. I wandered in the general direction of the river from Victoria and was pleased, if a little surprised, that my brain had in some far-flung corner stashed the directions I needed. Past the branch of Next where I bought my beloved black boots, only now falling apart after five years. Right I turned by the incongruous old pub flanked by glassy office buildings. Past the Laughing Halibut and its excellent fish and chips. Past the school where I used to go for orchestra rehearsals. Past the Speaker pub (a sure sign I was getting close to Westminster) and past St John’s.

The meeting was surprisingly useful, and they fed me cheese.

Then it was on to Westminster tube station to get to the airport. Over the road where I once shared a zebra crossing with William Hague. Along the river, past Parliament – where the concrete barriers that appeared after my second week of work, on 11 September 2001, have been replaced by shiny black permanent versions with luminous yellow stripes – past the exit where I was once nearly run over by John Prescott. Past some particularly smelly Brazilian students.

I was fully back in to London mode, hurrying along looking important and tutting inwardly at the bumbling tourists blocking my way (once, and only once, did I try to jog across Westminster bridge). To be fair, the tourists too were fulfilling every possible stereotype: Japanese with cameras, Americans with burgers, Brazilians without deodorant. Then two things happened: first I tripped on the edge of a paving stone and had to slow down and look a lot less important, whilst feeling foolish. Then the guy selling tube tickets asked me if I knew which line I needed. Obviously I no longer qualify as a Londoner.

I love getting on the Jubilee line at Westminster, it is like the interior of a space ship with grey and steel pipes and stairs everywhere – like an Escher drawing. The DLR out to City it pretty good too, with views of the Dome (or O2 or whatever it’s called now), the Thames barrier and the Tate and Lyle factory with the enormous tin of golden syrup on the outside. Just think of the flapjacks you could make with that!

My flight was delayed, then made up time so I arrived at Edinburgh airport before Al had left to pick me up. He suggested I call him from the bus when it got to Haymarket and he would meet me. I agreed, while secretly planning to call when it reached the zoo as it always takes him six minutes to leave the flat and get to the car. The bus driver punched my return ticket and said welcome home, and I was.

Mid-week, I did something I always think about doing but rarely carry out: took a flexi day to go surfing. I had loads of hours owing and the waves looked good, so I borrowed Morag's board (really must get mine fixed) and hit the road with Al. After driving up and down the coast for ages we settled on Seacliffe, which I had taken against after being repeatedly dumped on my head there. However, the sand has shifted, the rocks are covered, and Seacliffe was producing lovely regular sets of 3-4 foot waves. I had a great time, catching loads. Only once did I nosedive and get whacked on the back on my head by the Bic - ow! Those boards are so heavy, it's still sore five days later. Still, that taught me to lean back just before popping up, so it wasn't in vain.

Weekend number 2 was in Duror, a collection of approximately three houses near Ballachulish. We drove up in Norman the van, arriving in time for a late dinner of spag bol prepared by Al's friend Darren. We were staying in Darren and Jane's little lochside house, along with them, Clova the baby, Topper the dog and two other couples. Quite a houseful! We were sleeping in the veranda-conservatory where two walls of glass meant we had great views in the morning (once I'd put my glasses on).

On Saturday, after consuming vast amounts of bacon, but no egg because Al ate it all before I could get any, I joined an expedition across Loch Linnhe. Darren had recently bought a large open canoe, to which Al, Callum and I were assigned. Daz had his sea kayak and another couple had brought their little river kayaks. We had no trouble paddling to a beach on the far side, where we built a fire from tons of driftwood and cooked and ate sausages. As we were doing so, the wind got up and it was decided that Cal would be better off returning with the friends who had driven and walked to meet up with us. That left Al to do the hard work of not letting our canoe turn side on to the not inconsiderable wind swell, while I paddled desperately but ineffectually at the front. The waves were nowhere near as big as I would tackle when surfing so I wasn't really worried (plus we were wearing life jackets, obviously). Only afterwards did the reaction of the others, in their more manoeuvrable craft, reveal that we could quite easily have capsized! Luckily by then we'd drunk all the beer so that wouldn't have been lost.*

Back at the house, I'd offered to cook dinner so spent the rest of the day peeling and chopping and covering everything in goose fat. Periodically the others would come in and do bits of washing up or potato peeling, hoping to get their share of chores in before the rugby! We had pumpkin soup and roast lamb with all the trimmings and it was great. Sadly the rugby was less great, but I thought the Springboks deserved to win.

Sunday was spent reading the papers and eating more bacon and playing with Clova, who can do the most amazing aquarobics moves whilst lying on her back. She has also just started to acknowledge Topper, who patiently puts up with her grabbing handfuls of his fur.

We headed back via the Real Food Cafe at Tyndrum. I love this place, where the fish is always fresh and they have the great idea of offering half portions: just what a greedy girl like me who will eat everything on her plate needs. And they sell ginger beer and amazing tray bakes as well.

That's me more or less up to date. Aquarobics yesterday with the girls: only six or seven in the class so Small French Instructor obviously decided we were hard core and worked us like maniacs. We did some new moves and I felt happily tired afterwards. Luckily Ray was put to work making delicious tartiflette to revive us. Also made a pact with Mo to make running dates - we're both useless at doing exercise unless we have the pressure of meeting someone else so we've decided to start with a gentle loop around the Links next week. Of course, the hour changes before then so no more light evenings: boo. Might try and do a run or gym session tomorrow, anyway.

*The canoe wouldn't have sunk as it has floatation devices. But it would have been difficult to drag to shore.

Ballater 2

2007-10-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

Rob replied about my running. He said of the reasons I've given for hill running, he said B and E were good reasons and the rest minor justifications. He also suggested pyramid sessions, which is food for thought. Have I actually managed to go running again since Ballater? Of course not, but I did take my running kit on a lovely weekend trip away. It likes to get out and about.

Back to Ballater. After our run we watched a film, and then headed out looking for a suitable walk. We drove around a fair bit before coming across a perfect walker's car park at what I think was Invercauld estate. There were several walks marked and we chose the shortest, which was four miles (again, I think - it's all so long ago now...). There were a few sign posts along the way with interesting facts about the landscape, an abandoned lime kiln and a pretty summerhouse overlooking the big house and hills beyond. here, the gorgeous autumnal view was spoilt only by noise from the road. The valley seems to act as an amplifier so that you could hear every engine, which was a shame. But there were no other walkers and we completed the circuit in splendid isolation. Al took lots of pictures.

We fancied dinner out so took the van in to Ballater to the Green Inn. Post Three Chimneys, this was my second encounter with a 'restaurant with rooms'. Not expecting it to be busy on a Thursday in October, we hadn't booked. A mistake as it was full, but luckily there had been a cancellation so we got a table. The decor was a bit like being in someone's living room - lots of terracotta wallpaper and china figurines. But the food was fantastic. I had bouillabaisse and venison. Could have done with a few more veggies with the venison, but the meat was perfect. A highlight was the pre-starter mushroom cappuccino, and the desserts were also good. I ordered the fig tart more for the accompanying brown sugar ice cream than the tart itself but was pleasantly surprised.

We walked home, being responsible sorts, which left us to walk back in the next morning to get the van and head for a nearby riding stables in Glen Tanner. The weather forecast had been terrible so we'd planned a day in the lodge and spa, but having woken up to bright sunshine, an outdoor activity seemed called for. So I'd called up the stables and spoken to a jolly posh woman who assured us that it was a jolly lovely day for a ride.

Al had been once before, on which occasion his brother-in-law fell off, and was assigned the same horse: Bob. Most stables have a big, slow horse for adult learners and Bob was that horse. I was worried I'd end up on a pony as usual, but instead got a great little piebald called Felix, about 15 hands. It was just the two of us and the instructor, and he kindly took us on a slightly different route so that I could canter ahead. Before long poor Felix was gasping as we cantered up the steep hill, no doubt feeling much as I had during my run the day before. But he was game and keen to go again after a short rest. We even jumped some of the bigger drainage channels across the track, and Al got a short canter too. Great stuff.

We wandered round Ballater afterwards. Al had expressed a desire for toad in the hole with onion gravy and mushy peas, so I bought the ingredients and made what the packet assured me was the equivalent of 12 small Yorkshire puddings worth. By the time I'd cooked it all I didn't feel much like eating it, but luckily Al did.

Only then did we realise that we had less than an hour till the pool and spa closed - we were leaving at 7 the next morning and we hadn't had a swim. I dragged Al along and we had the pool to ourselves for a 20 minute swim. He tried to persuade me that the pre-sauna shower was nice and warm but I am not stupid and avoided its freezing spray.

Then we cleaned up, went to bed and got up at 6 to be back in Edinburgh for a school open day. It was Morag's party that night, and it was lovely to catch up with everyone and to feel like I'd been away and still had a weekend to play with. Bliss.

Ballater 1

2007-10-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

I've called this post Ballater 1 because there's no way I'll get it all written up before I have to go to dance class, but I need to make a start before I forget what I actually got up to!

We set off in Norman the van last Tuesday, making it to Craigendarroch, next to Ballater, in time for dinner with Al's folks. They have a time share in a lodge, which is basically like a very posh version of Centre Parks. It was nice and quiet - no kids, but lots of bunnies and red squirrels. I basically flaked out that night, having worked like a demon to get stuff done before going away. But the next morning saw us restored enough to join Al's dad on a lovely walk. We did a route that was about the same distance and terrain as McLeod's Maidens on Skye, though it was circular instead of out and back, and it wasn't raining as much! In fact it hardly rained at all. It started in woodland, then cut through to another valley - apparently the cut-through was a rare example of a valley formed by water melting out of a glacier rather than the ice itself. Al had fun telling us all about glacial geography. The washed away stream bank revealed a type of deposit (micrite?) that was typical of having melted out of glaciers because all the rocks were different sizes. And kames, which is where pools of water form inside a retreating glacier and leave a heap of deposit at the bottom. See, I was listening!

Al also pointed out that all of this was just theory and no one knew what really happened. He told the story of his geography lecturer who spent 10 years studying an unusual circular pattern of rocks in Iceland. Was it some sort of frost circle? No, it turned out a 1940s expedition had used them to pin down their tents.

Anyway, we looked at the glacial deposits and also stopped to admire an all terrain vehicle left by the track - complete with fresh blood: it was culling season for the red deer which overrun these hills. We saw two deer who had managed not to get shot, making great leaps across the heather. A lovely sight, but then so are the patches of land fenced off to protect them from the deer - the increase in vegetation when it's kept away from the munchers is massive. We also saw a small brown bird which we later identified but I now can't remember what it was. It and its mate bobbed up from the heather presumably to distract us from a nest. And we heard Capercaillie. We didn't see any that day, but saw some no the drive home.

The walk finished alongside a gorgeous river, with yellow and orange-leaved trees surrounding slabs of rock that sent water cascading downstream. At one point there was a disused fish ladder next to a tumbling waterfall. Beautiful.

Back at the lodge I took advantage of the bath while Al fell asleep. We had a lie in the next day but when we did get up it was to run up the Craigendarroch hill behind the lodge. It was another gorgeous route through the autumnal trees, but very steep. Before long the path became steep rock steps, each as high as my knee, and I was walking (albeit swiftly) rather than running. However I was still the same speed as Al who was running but taking teeny steps as a result of the slope! Hard work: got the lungs and heart going and proved, as if I needed it, that it is my cardiovascular fitness rather than my little legs which I need to work on. it was only 10 minutes to the top, where we were rewarded with a view across the hills and a bench. Then a 20 minute run down the other side (steep downhill) and back round (gradual uphill). We probably climbed about 200 feet in all, which is nothing. Sad to see how unfit I am at the moment, but exhilarating to get back out there. Must do more Arthur's Seat runs and get off the roads this year.

In fact, while we're on the subject, I'll set down my aims: to run the 2008 Edinburgh marathon in under 3 hours 45 minutes and/or faster than Al. My strategy is to improve my speed training. I want to do more in-between races - at least two half marathons and some 10ks - to really check my pace and give me milestone targets. So I need to do at least a 1 hour 40 half, preferably 1 hour 35. And I'm going to do more hill running. Because a) it gets me off the roads so saves my knees and other joints b) it is more interesting and you get better views c) it gives the cardio benefits of sprinting without the joint strain d) it avoids repetitive injuries like my ITBS because the surface is rougher and e) it really hurts so it must be good for me.

Rob, you are my running guru. If you're reading this let me know if you agree!

Told you I wouldn't have time to finish this. Tune in later for more walking, plus horse riding and a great restaurant recommendation!

Aquafit

2007-10-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

Just a quick catch up before I head off up to the wilds of Aberdeenshire (or somewhere) for three days. Went to aquafit yesterday - God it's good for me to have people to go with. Halfway through the afternoon I got a tentative email from Mo asking if I was still planning on going to the class, to which I replied with much more gusto than I felt. Truth is, I was secretly hoping everyone else would pull out and I'd have an excuse to collapse on the sofa instead. It turns out she was thinking exactly the same thing but luckily our mutual refusal to be the first to drop out meant that we both got there. And once we were in the water it was the usual fun, though, and I was glad I'd made the effort, even though lots of new people took up the middle ground, leaving me with a choice of floundering in deep water or not getting enough resistance in the shallow end. I wish they would organise the class by height or something.

The thing about aquafit, I've decided, is that you get out what you put in: you can make it harder by speeding up or increasing resistance, or just coast along (which would be a bit of a waste of time, but I swear the woman in front of me yesterday barely moved all class). It's never going to be a full on, high energy workout, but it probably burns more calories than Bodybalance and is a good stretch out too. It was great to feel the ache in my arms after two days' surfing. Also, I got to show off my bruises and Morag was obligingly admiring of the one behind my knee.

Packed last night for my little trip: including swimming, hiking and running gear. I'm taking my trail running shoes as Al mentioned a hill he had run up - gulp! I haven't run at all for three months and certainly not 'up' anything. Maybe I'll just hit the spa.

Surfy weekend

2007-10-01T02:15:00.001-07:00

Before I get into the surfy stuff, I just have to have a little rant. I headed into town on Friday to buy a couple of CDs: specifically, I was after the Mozart and Faure Requiems. Now I fully acknowledge that classical music tends to play second fiddle (so to speak) to pop. But we're talking about two Classical FM favourites here: it wasn't as if I was looking for something obscure. I schlepped all the way down Princes Street to Virgin to find their entire top floor closed and, when I finally tracked it down to not where the signs said it was at all, the classical music section had become a jumbled rack at the back of the basement. There was no Faure at all, and the Mozart was all mixed up so that despite three different little tabs announcing the Requiem none was to be found. Other composers had been mixed in seemingly at random and there was a depressing amount of 'Classical Chill Out' and 'The 50 Best Opera Anthems Ever' type stuff.

I huffed off to Fopp, which was, as ever, a delight. Its classical section was no bigger but was beautifully arrayed, easy to find and well ordered so that I found both CDs in seconds. They deserve my money and ongoing custom. Incidentally, who is running Fopp now? Was it bought over by someone? I do hope it survives.

And so to surf. Went out on Saturday with Conrad, a friend of Al's who has the surf bug but no car - I remember how frustrating that can be. We were heading for Coldingham but stopped off at Pease for a look and were tempted in. It's not often you see that 'corduroy' effect outside a surf magazine so to watch the waves lining up to infinity at one of my local breaks was pretty special. Unfortunately, once you're up to your neck in them they look less inviting. I guess they were about 6 foot, which isn't massive, but felt more than big enough. There were no real sets, either, just wave after wave, with no time for a breather.

I made it out the back once at the north west end of the beach and as soon as I was out there (having spent 15 minutes battling through the white water) my only concern was getting back in again in one piece! There was also an angler at that end and I didn't want to get tangled up in his line and shouted at as the rip was pulling me his way. So I headed back out with the river, which proved a much easier way to get out. I caught a few on the inside here, though the high tide meant you had to be careful not to end up on the stones of the riverbed. More than once I had to bail to save the bottom of my board from a scraping.

Conrad was charging it. He hasn't been surfing long and doesn't really stand much but was right out there going for the big waves! He has a bright yellow board and at one point I saw it do a spectacular spin up into the air as he nosedived. I was very impressed at his fearlessness. After a couple of hours we'd both had enough and I was sporting a lovely blue bruise on my thigh having been whacked with my own fins, so we retired tired but happy.

Yesterday I did make it to Coldingham, with Rob as my surf buddy. It was worth the drive, with that corrugated look but more regular sets and mellower waves. The surf school and body boarders were crowding the beach but there were only about six of us out back. I caught three gorgeous waves: 4-5 footers, taking the drop and cruising. One was even a backhander, though mostly because I had to steer around a beginner. The sun was out, there were cormorants diving all around us, it was great. Off in the distance you could see a ferry chugging along the skyline and flocks of birds forming long, wiggly vees in preparation for winter journeys.

So that was a brilliant day. Not even the fact that when I came in I discovered a massive ding on my board could dampen my mood. Seriously though, I don't know how I did it but there's two cubic inches of foam missing from my tail. Mind you, there's also a superior raspberry bruise behind my left knee and I don't know how I got that either. Maybe I had some sort of near death surf experience and wiped it from my memory.

Maybe it was a shark!

Or, more likely, the crack that I didn't repair let water in which made the foam swell and weakened the already thin and crappy glass. I swear that board dings when you breath on it. But! I am happy because I paid the deposit for my new baby yesterday. I can borrow Al's board while my old one is fixed and then take my new darling out in the winter swells. Maybe my old board knows that I don't love it any more and that's why it broke. Except I do love it - the main thing I don't like about it is that it dings so easily! And that it doesn't duck dive. Well, I can't sell it now - it can't be worth more than £20. I'll just keep it to play about on.

Shall we dance?

2007-09-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

Al and I went to our first swing dance class last week. He came and met me on the Grassmarket because he was too scared to go in on his own, the big wuss. It was hilarious as we started out with a Charleston-based dance that involved us flinging our arms in the air and remembering lots of complicated steps. I am not very good at dancing. But it was interesting to hear how swing had evolved - at one point the instructor even pointed out some Michael Jackson moves that had originated in the Charleston.

We did a partner dance after that, which frustrated Al as he had to learn to move his feet correctly instead of just spinning me randomly all over the place. Finally, the instructors gave us a quick demo at the end which inspired us all as they looked much cooler than I felt. They even did lifts!

One of the guys (there were four blokes to seven women, excluding Ray who was ill) recognised me and turned out to be a St Andrian who was in orchestra with me. A musical connection, of course. I'm quite looking forward to going to some social swing dances when I know a bit more.

On other exercise-related news (or at least an outdoor activity), we went paint balling for Barry's 30th birthday. This was good fun, though we had to share the games with about 40 other people. Still, once we had donned camouflage and helmets we all looked the same anyway. I escaped without major bruises but the midges did for me proper. I'm covered in itchy itchy bites on my hands and face. Little bastards - if I could have seen them I would have shot them. As it was, I don't know if I shot anyone, though I did at least get a few rounds off in more or less the right direction.

Sunday I could have gone mountain biking with Al and pals but elected to stay in bed instead. For some reason they were going at 8.30 on a Sunday morning - utter madness. I eventually got up and wandered home to watch the rugby (boo) and try out designs for my new surf board (yay). I'm thinking of getting it sprayed with a copy of my celtic knot tattoo.

Now then: running. I haven't done any for ages, this being my 'resting' time of year. But I'm thinking of starting up again maybe from late October. Work has at least calmed down enough for me to contemplate the idea. If I can't get a surf in after work this week then a little run can do no harm.

Addendum

2007-09-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

I meant to say that the difference between my book and Morag's website's interpretations of the walks was hilarious. The first coast walk we did was level 1 (the easiest available) in the book but a grade 3 (medium to hard) on the web. I guess it just shows how difficult it is to rate these things when so much depends on your fitness and experience. God knows what the Cuillin ridge would be on the website - off the scale presumably! The book takes 'walks' to mean anything you don't actually need climbing ropes for, while I imagine the website has a more tradition view that walking shouldn't involve your hands. Anyway, there are plenty of challenges left there for us.

Skye

2007-09-21T04:39:00.000-07:00

I have made the rookie error of reading Fiona's blog before writing this, which means that I can now only remember her excellent turn of phrase and will enscribe but a poor parody of her musings (see what I mean?). But here goes.

We went to Skye! First we went to Fife on Thursday night to avoid the bridge roadworks and ensure an early start in the morning. Then we spent about an hour squidging everything into the landrover so we didn't really set off that early after all, but hey, I got to climb on the roof of the car to lock the roofbox, so that was cool. I was preoccupied with the minor debacle of a freelance report I was coordinating. I'd set off to the Land of No Mobile Signal leaving my lovely and creatively talented but unfortunately completely disorganised designer in charge and phoned and emailed him a few times to make sure said report actually made it to the printers by its deadline. That faff notwithstanding, we made good time up north, screeching to a brief halt only when we saw a sign which advertised 'Cakes, coffee and other yummy things'. It did not disappoint.

All of which landed us in Glen Brittle on the west coast of Skye after driving across the bridge - I was taken aback at how short it is, having expected a Forth Road Bridge type affair - and fitted in a quick look round a ruined castle in the south of the island. The campsite was not as dire as I had prepared myself for, and we set up tents and got dinner going while admiring the view over to Rum (or was it Mull?). I 'helped' Fiona by putting her tent poles through the wrong loops - turns out her tent goes up outside first, not inside like mine. Which makes much more sense if it's raining.

I do like my tent, an excellent purchase in Australia when I walked the Overland Track with it on my back. I'd bought it because it was the lightest model I could find and I do hate carrying a heavy pack, but it is also spacious (for one person) and secure. And easy to put up, obviously.

It is also waterproof, which you'd think was a given quality in a tent, but Colin's proved otherwise. We woke on the first day to that sound of rain on a tent roof which can (occasionally) be comforting and homely but quickly becomes overlaid with the nasty realisation that at some point you're going to have to go out in it. We awaited Colin's arrival in the landrover, comparing notes on a night of broken sleep. The camp warden had told us that it was much colder than was usual in September and I'd been glad of a cosy Baffie sleeping right at the bottom of the sleeping bag (how she breathes down there remains a mystery) to warm me. However, because it was the first night both dogs had been restless in their strange surroundings and took it in turns to wake up and squeak. When Baffie did go to sleep her snores echoed around the campsite.

Good old Colin arrived, having left Edinburgh at some ungodly hour in the morning. We weren't sure if he'd be disappointed if we suggested an alternative to walking, but he jumped at the chance of a trip to the Talisker distillery instead. At this point we were still naively hoping that it would stop raining the next day! Anyway, Fi, Ailsa and I went to the pub while the others did the whisky tour and then we did a couple of short walks in the rain that afternoon. One led to what would have been a spectacular waterfall, though it appeared through the mist as only a distant white smudge and some atmospheric background noise.

We slept better the second night, probably due to being good and tired, and Ailsa was particularly cheery in the morning. Though still showery, there were dry patches and we decided to walk out along the coast. Originally we'd wanted to do a walk into the foothills of the Cuillin, but the book pronounced this boggy. The coast walk was mostly on a good hard track, with only a short section of bog towards the end, when we tracked down a neolithic chambered cairn. Much fun was had finding suitable places to ford streams, some of which had become minor torrents in the rain. At one point the dogs had to be tossed over a particularly deep and fast stretch, but mostly we managed with only swearing, jumping, slipping and hopping. The sun came out briefly for a ten minute rest by the cairn, then it rained again most of the way back!

We had dinner at the Old Inn in Carbost, which was an excellent pub. It boasted live folk music (not that we heard much as it was in another room and we were next to a table of rowdy walkers telling unfunny jokes), great pub food, a pool table and more types of Talisker than you could shake a stick at. To avoid unnecessary trips to the far away camp loos in the night, I stuck to wine and whisky, which seemed to do the trick. And speaking of tricks I even joined in the card games and learnt contract whist. Rock and roll!

We drove merrily back to Glen Brittle where, as soon as I was zipped up in my sleeping bag, it became apparent that a minor hurricane had taken up residence. My tent was making a noise similar to someone enthusiastically applauding a particularly deaf maestro, and whenever it let up the neighbouring tents decided to take over.

Baffie passed out, exhausted by her adventures on the walk, but woke up in the middle of the night (I having spent the intervening period staring at the seam of my tent) and decided to be scared of the noise. She emerged from the bottom of the sleeping bag for a cuddle and to sleep with her head on the 'pillow', which was fine until she stretched out luxuriously and the sleeping bag's zip started to unzip itself under strain. Rather than sleep with a cold back or holding the zip together, I tried to wake up the pooch to persuade her to move. My god that animal can sleep! She's like the canine equivalent of me. She ended up on her back with all four legs in the air while I held her chest with both hands and waggled her back and forth, occasionally stopping to check she was still breathing. To no avail: she simply snoozed on with tongue lolling and ears flapping. Eventually I used stealth tactics and took all the covers away so she awoke in 10 seconds, complained of the cold and returned to her foot-warming position.

All told, we did not have a particularly restful night and Colin discovered that a tent with no lining (who knew such a piece of shit existed?) had a tendency to gush water every time he touched the side, which was a lot. But we are made of stern stuff and even managed to just catch the ferry to Raasay. I can't remember now what made us late. Oh yes, the car keys were missing I think. Someone once bought Fiona those keys which, when you whistle of shout for them, make a noise so you can find them. But they ended making the noise all the time, whenever they called the dogs or something, so were ditched for being annoying. I think the only solution is an adaptation of a rather funky new laptop we have at work which logs you on by recognising your finger print. No need for keys and you can't forget your fingers!

Raasay was lovely, I'm really glad we went. The important thing to remember about Raasay is that is it in fact pronounced 'Rassay' with short 'a', or so my know-it-all boyfriend informs me by laughing every time I get it wrong. And he hasn't even been there!

We did a short, flat walk along a coast path that was easy to follow until the very end, when we got lost. Morag had turned back earlier and we'd left her with the map and directions. Duh. We were trying to get to the ruined village of Hallaig, which was deserted in the clearances. As it happened, I wasn't too bothered about seeing the village close to. We could see the outline of the ruins on the way, and I found the path wandering through the birch woods much more appealing It was autumn overload with orange bracken, purple heather and yellow birch, not to mention fungi the size of soup plates. There was a cairn overlooking a wave-washed and rainbowed bay with a poem by an apparently famous poet called Sorely Maclean. Fiona has reproduced it in full on her blog, so take a look. It's worth mentioning that, other than a damp couple near the beginning of our fist coast walk, we didn't see anyone else on our walks the whole time in Skye. Near Hallaig, the absence of people made it a particularly evocative.

We dropped Col back at the ferry and went on to discover one of my favourite bits of the trip. A while back I'd read something, possibly in the Scotsman, about a guy who built a 10 mile road with his bare hands. Well, presumably he had some sort of shovel or something, but he dug the stone, measured the camber, stuck it all together all on his own with no mechanical help. It was to get to some tiny settlement that people were leaving because the government wouldn't put in a road. I'd been quite taken with the story but had forgotten all about it until we found ourselves on the very road! I hadn't even known it was on Raasay! Well Callum's road was the twistingest, turniest single track road ever and I was glad we were in the landrover. Eventually we got to the end and turned round and did it all again going back.

We planned a quiet last night at the campsite using up our food and ended up having a picnic in the car as the rain came on again. We gave up and headed back to the pub for cards and warmth until we were drooping with tiredness and got a few hours sleep. We'd originally been planning to move camp sites half way through the trip, but as it was such a faff getting stuff all packed up and we'd had to miss a couple of the fair weather walks we'd ended up staying on. After much discussion, we picked Macleod's Maidens for our final walk. This nine mile route was another coastal walk which ended at a trio of sea stacks. We wanted to do Macleod's Tables - two flat-topped hills nearby - but felt they would be just too boggy and steep. Skye is basically a big peat bog with some mountains sticking out! Somehow, even a slope so steep that the path rises level with your eyes can be oozing water - surely it should all sink to the bottom?

We'll have to come back in better weather for some of the other walks, and maybe leave the dogs behind for what the book describes as 'handwork'. For amusement value we looked up the most difficult walk in the book, which was part of the Cuillin ridge. It was described as a difficult scramble with 'some interesting situations' - can't wait!

Anyway, the Maiden's was certainly not demanding in any technical way but was rather long and undulating. When we eventually spotted the sea stacks the wind was blowing so hard that my camera kept telling me that the picture was blurred and asking did I want to save it anyway? Unsurprising that the picture was blurred when I was crouching behind a hillock near the edge of a 40 foot cliff in the rain and wind to take it. The way back seemed strangely longer. I'm sure someone slipped an extra mile or two in between the beginning of the woodland plantation and the road, and we were all truly sopping when we got back to the landrover. I think the Maiden's was the right choice as the Tables would have been miserable in the wind.

Luckily, salvation awaited in the form of the Three Chimneys, where the lovely staff took one look at us and - no! they didn't call the police! - they made us coffee and cake and moved back our dinner reservation so we could spend a good half hour each scraping the moss from under our toes ('I haven't seen my feet since Sunday', Morag cheerfully remarked.) Dinner was everything I'd hoped for: good, fresh, local, seasonal food. Good portions - not teeny artsy fartsy stuff but not so much that we felt too stuffed. I had a mussel risotto followed by venison which came with tiny baby turnips. We all tried each others' food though, which is a great way to get a feel for a restaurant. Hil's salmon and Ailsa's aubergine salad were particularly fine.

We retired so our beautiful clean, huge rooms. I'd been expecting to share a double bed plus campbed arrangement in the family room, but we had full size single beds for two of us and a small double sofa bed made up for Mo, who pronounced it most comfy. I was asleep before she turned off the light.

Breakfast in the morning was another highlight, with tasty muesli, fruit, CHEESE! and smoked meat as well as endless coffee.

Then we drove back to Fife and thence to Edinburgh and my lunch break is coming to an end as well as my typing ability so I will say only that it has taken two days to dry my tent and my boots and still squelchy. But it was great! And I will definitely go back to Skye and do some scrambling and hill walks. I'll just make sure I take my new waterproof trousers with me.

Monday surf

2007-09-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

It's all been a bit quiet on the exercise front, with loads of work on, including freelance work so that I've been coming home from one computer and sitting down at another. I was asked at the last minute to attend a conference in Newport last week, which raised my hopes of a sneaky off-conference surf trip to the Gower. But it was not to be and I was forced to listed to investment experts tell me that when my fixed price mortgage ends next year I'll have to pay loads more money instead.

We were supposed to go to a wedding on Saturday - a friend of Al's - so got all poshed up in dress and kilt and taxied to the Balmoral (the hotel, not the castle) for 3pm. There was no sign of a wedding so we asked at reception, where the receptionist managed to refrain from laughing in our faces as she pointed out the the invitation Al was clutching said the 16th. Not only the wrong week, but the wrong day of the week, too! Al claims this is because they changed the date having reserved the 8th ages ago. Anyway, we took our posh outfits to the Scotsman for a cocktail before walking home. Al bemoaned having spent £5 on a taxi. I bemoaned having spent £13 on two bloody marys (maries?).

So I suppose I could have spent the unexpectedly free weekend doing sporty type stuff. Instead we went to a friend's barbeque (having by now changed out of our nice clothes, and with Al sporting my fleece with his dress shoes) and then to the cinema. We saw Run, Fatboy, Run, which I rather liked, predictable as it was. Al thought it was cheesy, which was true. I thought it could have had more running and less overt Nike sponsorship in it. Anyway, it inspired me enough to get off my arse and go for a walk on Sunday, after I took Hilary shopping for sensible walking clothes for Skye. I went round Arthur's Seat where there was a scenic burnt out car. How pleasant.

Real exercise finally kicked in on Monday, when I got my first surf for ages. Morag graciously accepted my apologies for aquafit and Al and I headed down the coast to Coldingham. Surf was small but regular and we were joined by Al's friend Ben and his girlfriend Sue, who I kept calling Sam by mistake. Ben was in his kayak and caught loads more waves than us. The water was incredibly warm - I wore my thin boots and no hood. At one point three flares went off to the south - probably a fishing boat with engine trouble heading for the cliffs. It was a good night for wildlife too, with a massive frenzy of gulls divebombing not far out. There must have been a school of fish being eaten from both above and below out there. And the closest seal I've ever seen, staring at us with bold curiosity.

Eventually I thought there was something wrong with my contact lenses because I couldn't see, before realising that it was just getting really dark so we had to come in. It was only 9pm but all the chip shops had closed - disaster! We were back in Edinburgh and it was 11pm before I got my fix.

We've had a warm few days and it's tempting to herald an indian summer, especially after the complete lack of an actual summer. But this morning I left home to the distinctive Edinburgh smell of hops. I know they must brew all year round but for some reason this scent always seems very autumnal too me. Let's hope autumn at least provides some warmer water surfing. I've lent my board to a guy a work who may buy it for his daughter, so I'm off to perve over possible replacements...

Back to business

2007-08-24T02:04:00.000-07:00

Dammit! I wrote a long, erudite and amusing blog yesterday which I then lost completely when the computer crashed. Now I have to be witty all over again.

So. The day after the wedding we enjoyed a late breakfast. I was entertained by Maureen the landlady who asked Fiona what the bride's dress had been like 'because there's no point asking the boys'. Fi politely revealed that it had been white. Then Maureen went on to complain about the football season restarting and not knowing 'what the men see in it' while Fi rolled her eyes.

We were invited to a barbeque at the Leeman family farm. The weather had broken and it was absolutely tipping it down, so it was a good job Helen and Colin hadn't been able to get married on the Saturday as they originally preferred. Instead they had arranged a great bash in a barn. We chatted and met the horses and Helen's sister's Romanian boyfriend carved up an entire cow and put it on the barbeque. Al and Barry proceeded to eat it all. We had chance to see some of the first photos of the events and eventually headed off replete.

We headed back on the Sunday, back to the ferry, where again someone had lost a small child. What is it about ferries that makes parents abandon their children? We stopped at the smokehouse hoping for a late lunch but they had just stopped serving, it being all of 3 o'clock. We belatedly remembered that they had done the same thing to us the last time we went there. So much for the customer being king - they lost our custom (10 people!) and that of the couple that followed us in. Instead we eventually tracked down the Cream of Galloway ice cream place, no thanks to the smokehouse woman's instructions. Here we tucked into the best commercial ice cream I have ever tasted: I had double chocolate and lemon curd. Al and Barry went back for seconds. Since Al had been going on about buying a landrover ever since he went off-roading with Fiona and Ailsa (in much the same fashion as I go on about getting a dog, I imagine), I bought him a toy Defender. Surely almost as good as the real thing!

Then it was a steady drive back up. Mo and I discussed starting swing dances in September, something Al had been quite keen on when I first mentioned it. But now, sitting in the back of the car with Ray, they formed some sort of anti-dance alliance.

'What day is it on?' asked Ray. 'I have some evening classes to teach...'
'I'm not sure,' says Morag.
'I think I'm busy that day,' counters Al.

But! To no avail. Morag is going to sign us all up.

So it was back to the flat and my parents who had been having a good but predictably exhausting time at the festival. With great wisdom, I had booked Monday off work and was able to catch up with them and enjoy a sample festival day myself. We went to The Early Edition - a sort of daily Have I Got News For You with free coffee and croissants (gallingly, we got there before they wheeled out the doughnuts). Then we saw Romeo And Juliet - A Rock and Roll Love Story. This was, predictably since it was put on by the University of West Connecticut, very earnest and amateurish.

I had a rehearsal in the evening and we had dinner on Tuesday night, after which Al and I went to a late-night stand up show called Stick Your Job Up Your Arse. This appealed to me for obvious reasons, and was also very funny, being the true life story of a guy who ditched his pharmaceutical sales job to become a comedian.

I've also seen the excellent Bacchae and a play called Long Time Dead. This was about climbers and very interesting staged with great lighting, as well as being quite emotional. Not sure if I'll get to see much more of the festival, despite people showing flyers at me when I'm clearly destined for work. But hopefully we'll fit a film in too.

Wedding Belles

2007-08-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

Last week saw me finishing work on Wednesday with a smile on my face and a song in my heart as I didn't have to return to the office for five whole days. We were going across to Northern Ireland for Helen and Colin's nuptials and the associated partying. I duly finished scrubbing my flat in preparation for my parents to stay in it while I was away and we set off, along with Ray, Morag having flown ahead to do bridesmaid type stuff.

We took the scenic route down through Galloway, taking it in turns to drive. Both the boys fell asleep at one point, leaving me to entertain myself by wondering what to wear in my hair. We passed the Cream of Galloway (mmm, ice cream) and a smoke house I visited with Fi, Hils and Morag last year (mmm, smoked stuff). But there was no time to stop! We had a ferry to catch.

'What do you have in the boot?' the guy at the terminal asked Al. I saw him mentally run through the list: bags, a rug, spare oil, a kilt, a dress, twenty five different sorts of hair decoration...'Oh, you know...just stuff,' he succinctly summed up. Ferry man nodded. 'On you go then.'

The ferry terminal at Stranraer proved less than worth hurrying for, however. I'd been quite hungry when we went in, but the sight of the array of 'food' on offer in the tin shack convinced me to wait until we were on board. Instead, our combined brain power (together with that of Hilary and Barry who we met in the car park) won £5 from the 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' game. Then Hilary and I looked at magazines. I bought Glamour and she went for Elle (free bag) while the boys took the piss until Al found a copy of Landrover World he actually wanted to buy.

We sat in the car with Al reading Glamour (what men really think about sex) and I read Landrover World (top tips for buying a second hand Defender) until Fi, Ailsa and the dogs arrived. The dogs looked pleased to see Al and put muddy paw prints all over the car and him. The crossing was swift and uneventful other than an announcement being made for someone to come and collect their lost child. It took us ages to exit the terminal at Belfast, partly because of rush hour traffic and roadworks, but we also had to drive across some carpet soaked with disinfectant as a foot and mouth prevention. They didn't ask us to get out of the car though, so foot and mouth must not survive on shoes.

We made it to the B&B, which was in the middle of nowhere but quite pleasant in a newly-built sort of way. One couple, it was announced, would have to stay in the other guest house up the lane. I volunteered us on the grounds that it would be mean to make Ray go on his own and anyway, we had just spotted some freaky fake children. The landlady had these manikin models of kids scattered round the house in dark corners. Maybe they were supposed to look like they were playing hide and seek but they actually looked like they were crying and/or hiding from a paedophile. So I was more than happy not to share a house with the weirdly realistic things (the dogs barked at them too).

Helen, determined to make the most of the event, was meeting folk in Armagh for drinks so we drove in for some food as well. Here we met up with Rob and Phil who had earlier in the day called me.

Rob: 'You know the wedding?'
Me: 'Yes.'
Rob: 'Well what time does it start exactly?'
Me: 'One o'clock.'
Rob: 'Excellent. And the church would be...?'

We were all knackered and poor Fi was not looking forward to her debut singer/songwriter performance so we tried to head off not too late, to Helen's chagrin. We charged Morag with making sure she didn't drink too much. And I drove a full car back to the B&B while Al and Barry went to get some booze. My passengers coped admirably with my inability to work the headlights and the occasional excitement of an unsignposted 90 degree turn in the rain and we arrived back safe and sound and with time for a few drams before bed and the Big Day.

The Big Day started with a Big Breakfast, as Maureen the landlady provided us all (apart from Fi) with two eggs, two sausages, three slices of fried bread, unlimited tea, coffee and toast and what can only be described as a 'heap' of bacon. I ate it all. Felt a bit sick, but it would have to keep us going till the evening meal. I squeezed into my dress with Al's help and faffed around choosing a hair decoration for about an hour before we set off. We were under strict instructions from Helen not to be late so we arrived almost an hour early and wandered around - or tottered around in my case, as I was wearing my lovely but rather impractical Prada shoes. It turned out we had even more time than anticipated as Colin's family were held up for half and hour by road works. Luckily the Reverend kept us entertained with practice runs of the responses while various wedding party members got out of cars and walked the last two miles.

The wedding itself was a nice service - not too long or with too much God stuff. Helen's brother read a beautiful Celtic blessing which didn't mention God at all. Fifi sang amazingly and sounded completely relaxed doing so. The bride and bridesmaids looked gorgeous but were outshone by the cute flower girls, who behaved perfectly for the service but proceeded to bash each other with their flowers and wrestle each other to the ground outside.

We took a roundabout route to avoid the roadworks between the church and the reception and ended up being first there, in time to greet Helen and Colin who had been stuck in a traffic jam in a Rolls Royce with only a bottle of champagne to sustain them. Then the fun really began. Both a champagne and a Guinness reception! Huzzah! My camera had broken so I appointed Al my official photographer. I stood around drinking champagne and directing him: 'Al - get a picture of the bride and groom.', 'Al - the bridesmaids.', 'Al - a group shot.' He was very patient (possibly due to the amount of Guinness available).

The meal followed, with waitresses constantly offering me more wine, champagne and potato of various forms than I could fit on my plate or in my multiple glasses. We shared a table with friends of Colin's parents who had been roommates at university. Just like me and Morag, I pointed out! Just think, they said, in thirty years we could be at each other's children's weddings...scary thought.

Helen made a fabulous speech and Colin an almost as good one...we hid in the bar for a bit and accidentally missed the ceilidh but there was a great cheesy disco. The first dance was 'Especially for you'! I danced a lot and was very happy and slightly drunk...the combination of the three later led to accusations of me being much more drunk than I actually was. In all, probably my best wedding ever.

A day off

2007-08-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

Well it is August so now officially summer whatever the weather may have to say about it. Guess what! I just touch-typed all of this. It only works if I'm not thinking about it though.

Anyway, I had a day off booked to take Callum up to Fife where Al was busy dogsitting. Callum came prepared for the journey with a collection of Simpsons-related goodies (board game, notebook and comic) but in the end we spent most of the drive chatting. Subjects ranged from What Edinburgh Needs Most (Me: sunshine. Cal: a theme park) via Places We Would Live If We Had a Time Machine (Me: ancient Rome. Cal: ancient Rome and/or Asterix's village) to Does Rome Still Exist (Yes.).

We arrived to find a gorgeous sunny evening. Al had kept the dogs happy, losing only one shoe to Bridie, which he had finally located in the garden (where he had earlier saved a baby bunny from her Jaws of Death). He cooked me a burger and the boys then insisted I play Buzz, a game-show style playstation game. I didn't want to but they made me and then I beat them by 3,000 points, ha!

An early night and then a slightly less long lie-in than I had planned as the dogs were squeaking to be let out. Bridie proudly brought the previous day's bunny to the back door - clearly it had not been as unharmed as Al had thought, so I made him go and finish it off while I had a shower.

It was a bit rainy so we headed for the aquarium at St Andrews, which was very informative, though it made me sleepy by being extremely warm and dark and full of soothing whale music and relaxing fish. I'm surprised people didn't just snuggle up next to the koi carp for a snooze. We saw rays ('Cool'), clown fish, aka Nemo ('Cool') and seals '(Very cool'). Cal got to hold a star fish. We also found a set of scales which for 20p would tell you which sea creature you weighed as much as. Callum weighed the same as something really boring, a trope, I think it was. I was a small grey seal and Al was a blue shark. Not a blue whale. I got told off for saying that.

It was sunny when we emerged which immediately made me panic as we had left Bridie in the landrover. What if she was dead! I ran back to the car going through nightmare scenarios in my head of how I would tell Fiona and Ailsa that I had roasted their dog to death whilst looking at cute seals. We'd had to park miles away because of the boring ladies British Open Golf Championships. But of course when I got there, Bridie was just enjoying a pleasant nap and spurned the water I poured for her and didn't seem to bothered about getting out of the car at all.

I took her back to the Aquarium to meet the boys and we went into town for ice cream. Callum pointed out every ice cream dispensary we went past on our way to Janetta's - which was a lot. I reassured him that the ten minute walk would be worth it as Janetta's would have hundreds, if not thousands of flavours to choose from and was anyway the pinnacle of human ice cream achievement in all ways. When we got there he chose chocolate and Al chose strawberry. Dear Lord, they are creatures of habit those two. I had turkish delight though, and very good it was too.

Bridie had a bit of the bottom of my cone.

We walked back via the cathedral, harbour and castle. I told Callum the myth that if you put your hand into a certain spooky hole in the cathedral wall only a good person would get their hand back, so of course we had to go and try that (not so effective on a bright sunny day). Then I pointed out the pier and told them about the pier walk, which Al embellished suitably ('And sometimes they fall off into the water and break their legs!'), and the traditions of swimming at castle sands and not treading on the martyrs' initials. We popped in to the quad, where Bridie peed on the lawn.

In fact, Bridie was having a whale of a time. With Baffie left at home because of her arthritis, the Dark One had all the compliments to herself. Many small children stopped to pat her. Many little old ladies admired 'him'. A man waiting outside the ice cream shop compared her behaviour favourably to his own dogs. Bridie lapped it up. Maybe she only seems evil in comparison to the Golden One. She also got very concerned that our pack stayed together and was particularly worried when Cal went out along the breakwater to play on a rock and Al and I sat on a bench instead. She wasn't happy till Cal was back safely with us.

When we got back we sat with Baffie in the garden for a bit to make up for her missing all the attention. All in all, a lovely day and I was sorry to have to head home.

Once I got home, I realised that I couldn't stuff any more clothing into my bottom drawer. This struck me as strange since it only contains my sports clothing. I still nurture the impression that I am not a very sporty person. So I pulled the drawer out to investigate and discovered:

A pair of running shorts
Two pairs of running leggings
A thermal running/ski-ing vest
Thermal running/ski-ing long-johns
An elasticated knee bandage
A pair of jodphurs
Four running tops with wicking
Three bandannas
Three charity run t-shirts
Four bikinis
A swimsuit
A pair of tracksuit bottoms
Padded cycling shorts
A gym bag
A running cap
A pair of hiking trousers with zip-off bottoms
and a travel towel.

Blimey! And that doesn't even include things like my wetsuit, riding boots and chaps, cycling and riding helmets and sports bras and running and hiking socks that reside elsewhere. Maybe I am quite sporty after all. I managed to fit everything back in by discarding a bikini that was held together by a safety pin (Jenny says I am not allowed to wear clothes held together by safety pins), the bandannas and the charity t-shirts, all of which will go in the charity clothes bin soon. In the meantime, maybe I should do some exercise.

A good cause

2007-07-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have read the full race report on the Rat Race website will know that we missed out the section where we would have had to slide down Hillend (an artificial ski slope) in inner tubes. Too bad! It looked like a lot of fun, and we could have used the ski-lift to cut out some climbing too...

But if you want to check out someone taking on a real challenge, take a look at what Jamie Andrew is up to. An acquaintance of Al's, he's taking on the equivalent of an iron man: a full on triathlon, including a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile cycle and 26.2 mile marathon-length run. A tough race for anyone.

Now imagine doing it with no hands or feet.

Now go to Jamie's fundraising site to sponsor his amputees' charity, 500 Miles.

Results

2007-07-24T02:49:00.000-07:00

Just to say, the official results are out. We came a fairly inglorious 133rd out of 183 teams, or 9th out of 13 all-female teams. Something to better next year, anyway! Can't find any photos of our team, though there were lots of photographers around the course. So if anyone comes across some, do let me know. We were team number 172 and had big yellow feathers on our bags. I was wearing a pink cycling helmet.

Spent a quiet week relaxing and not being sure what to do with myself now that I have nothing to train for. There was no surf and plenty of rain. Went out to dinner on Saturday at Daniel's in Leith, which I'd been meaning to go to for ages. Unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointment. I choose poorly from the menu (on the grounds that I could make tartiflette myself at home) and ended up with a cassoulet so salty that I was gulping water and couldn't finish it. A shame as the meat itself was beautifully cooked. Luckily Al was there to polish it off. And then my floating island was clearly cut from a big block and spongy with gelatin. Not really worth £40 a head.

More interesting was the film we went to see beforehand, 'Shut Up and Sing'. This was a documentary about country rock band the Dixie Chicks and the reaction in the States after they spoke out about the war in Iraq. The Chicks came over very well: intelligent, articulate and with great eye make-up. It also gave an insight into what life in a band is like and the sort of business decisions they had to make.

Had a good stretch out at aquafit yesterday with a new French instructor (or at least, she sounded French) which was good for the arms as we did lots of work wearing big webbed gloves to increase resistance in the water. If the weather holds tonight I'm hoping to persuade Hilary to walk up Arthur's Seat with me - we've done no training for Skye since the Pentlands walk weeks ago.

Rat Race Part III

2007-07-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

Where was I? Oh yes, heading back across the Cramond causeway. Well we picked up our bikes and cycled east along the Forth to a spot where we had a challenge of burying one of our rucksacks in the wet sand - mine being nominated as the smallest it survived the experience surprisingly well, though my whistle, which was hanging on the outside, did end up a bit gritty.

Then it was further on to the lighthouse on Shore Road, behind which lurked a ropes and climbing gear warehouse we'd never known about, despite running past there regularly. There was a massive queue for the climbing challenge, the result of our position at the back of the field, and it was moving slowly as only two ropes were set up. The challenge was to climb a climbing wall of about 30 feet - but using ice axes instead of handholds. Lee bravely volunteered and I reassured her that it looked quite straightforward while secretly thinking it looked hideous. We ended up waiting for a hour, and should really have skipped this section to get further round the course. But eventually Lee got to the front and womanfully made it up the wall, despite a couple of hairy moments. You could really see the effort climbers were putting in, with lots of wobbly arms and legs on display.

Next stop was Granton Harbour - or it might have been Newhaven, I'm not sure. Maybe they're the same place. Anyway, the climbing queue had thinned people out so there was no queue for the kayaks and we duly launched two of the plastic beasts. Jo took one alone and promptly steamed off ahead and became a small speck in the distance while Lee and I cruised gently behind, having a discussion about nail polish. I've no idea how far it was, but I think it took us about half an hour of continuous, if not particularly strenuous, paddling. Towards the end, the wind picked up and created some interesting cross waves, so we were glad to be back on the beach, where Jo had already landed, got her trainers back on and persuaded some blokes to carry her kayak back to the pile for her. The fact that the marshalls were loading kayaks back on to their trailers as we left shows how far behind we were now!

We were directed up yet more steps (I was beginning to wish I had borrowed Rachel's folding bike) and back along the coast to Pilton. The previous night I had been amused by the instructions to navigate through Pilton and Muirhouse - some of the less scenic areas of Edinburgh where I'd spent my Telford College days trying to persuade wee schemies to sign up to plumbing courses. Now the idea seemed less amusing as we got lost in the maze of residential streets. The instructions said we weren't to use Muirhouse Parkway or Silverknowles Road - whether to prevent them being congested by hundreds of bikes or because that would make navigation too easy I don't know. In the end, we were directed by some kids who surrounded Jo when we stopped in a slightly unnerving but ultimately friendly fashion. Another couple of blokes pointed us the right way too - so never let it be said that the folk of Muirhouse are not good-hearted. We also cheated a bit and used part of Muirhouse Parkway.

Finally we found our clock in point attached to a lamp post and headed west to Davidson Mains and Corstophine Hill. Thank goodness Jo was navigating here as I blindly followed where she led, able to see little beyond the handlebars of my bike as I pushed it up a series of vertical mud banks. If nothing else, I have to make sure the lower gears are working next year. We also passed another team! Hurrah! They looked even more useless than us! Jo's prowess led us to a particular bench and another clock in point before a steep descent. It was becoming clear that every one line of the nine pages of instructions took about an hour to complete on the ground and we were discussing possibilities for cutting the route short.

But first we had to finish at least the first half of the course. We headed for Ravelston Dykes and joined the same cycle path we'd been on that morning, stopping for me to abseil off a bridge into the Water of Leith. I didn't really get time to think about this and it was only when I screeched (well, swung) to a halt a few feet from a soggy landing that I realised.

'You mean I have to land actually in the water?'
'Yup.'

Well there wasn't much I could do about it by that point so I completed my inelegant descent with a gentle splosh. So much for keeping my trainers dry after the swim. (Incidentally, Jo, a freshwater biologist, informed me afterwards that the River Almond is 75% treated sewage effluent. Nice). My hard-working team mates had again had to carry my bike down to the river for me - I was getting good at choosing challenges that exempted me from hard work. Although the lackadaisical attitude of the marshall had been a little worrying. He'd asked if I'd abseiled before and when I told him not since I was about 13 his instruction consisted of 'Hold on to this rope with your right hand.' Hardly comprehensive.

But we were back on the bikes in one, or rather three, pieces. And from there via Haymarket (yay! the steepest set of steps yet!) back to Princes Street Gardens. There we were asked to deflate and reflate the tyres of one bike - at last! A chance to pump up that back tyre of mine! Jo was shocked at the state of my 'walls' - the sides of my tyres. Apparently you're not supposed to be able to see the stringy stuff.

Finally we were allowed to download all our hard won points and to go to the loo. Not that going to the loo had been forbidden before, we just hadn't really had an opportunity. I also got to change my contact lenses, which were getting a bit dry as I'd worn disposables in case the swimming was in the sea. We had a quick confab about the rest of the course. We'd already passed the cut off time for most of it - even if we'd cycled flat out we would have been turned back at the first challenge. And none of us had been looking forward to cycling up the Pentlands.

So we decided instead to head for the last challenge, which was at Tynecastle Stadium - enemy Hearts territory. Jo was hoping for something football related, but to my relief we were asked first to make our bikes stand up on their own (no problem: I had grown increasingly incensed at my bikes inability to be carried up steps without its front tyre swinging right round and whacking me in the face so I knew that I could turn the wheel perpendicular to the body of the bike and prop Jo's and Lee's on either side). Then two team members were to climb up an inside strut of the stadium and one to abseil down the outside. I gave the others but the briefest of chances to pick the abseil before claiming it as my own. It was quite a dull abseil as the back of the roof was curved so you only needed to walk down.

Then we had a sit down in the car park. We thought about going back to some more challenges (it was about 5pm at this point and we had to be back by 7). But another team revealed that you couldn't collect points for challenges completed out of sequence, and of course we'd just done the last one. So instead we pedalled back to Princes Street where we somewhat embarrassedly ran through the 'event village' to shouts of encouragement from spectators. I felt a bit of a fraud. One final challenge - to score a basketball basket each, which, amazingly, I managed on only my third attempt - and we were done.

We felt surprisingly ok, possibly because we'd missed out about half the course...Saw Graham the Friendly Physio giving massages to competitors and said hello. Lee and I have both seen him with the same penguin-toed problem which causes knee pain. Neither of us had been doing the exercises we were supposed to so we kept him off the subject - instead he professed that he'd like to enter the Rat Race himself next year! The next day I met Colin in Sainsbury's and he suggested getting his brother involved. The more the merrier, for if there are boys teams to compete against each other then it will leave us girls to concentrate on just getting round the whole course - a challenge in itself.

The aftermath? We met up for lunch on Monday and although we were all a bit stiff we also all felt we could have pushed ourselves more. the problem, we decided, was that we didn't like doing things that hurt. The solution would of course be to train much harder so that it didn't hurt as much. Hmm. We shall see.

Rat Race Part II

2007-07-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday dawned bright and, yes, actually sunny! I discarded my sweatshirt and waterproof as excess weight and headed out of the door with only my official race shirt between me and the elements. And a bra and pants, of course. And leggings.

Actually, a lot of thought had gone into the pants as the race website had warned that one team member would have to swim 100 metres. Neither Lee not Jo was particularly keen on this idea, especially as the swim was described as 'full of beasties' (or so I thought: in retrospect it seems they just didn't fancy stripping off in public). I had therefore dressed in the expectation of having to strip off, in my best big pants. Even bigger pants, with built in padding - as purchased from the bike shop where such items are considered desirable - were packed as spares in my rucksack. Along with climbing helmet and harness, emergency blanket, water, ibuprofen, compass, whistle, Lucozade, cereal bars, chocolate and oatcakes. I also carried three bright yellow ostrich feathers which I'd bought as Lee had said it was difficult to tell everyone apart in matching race shirts and helmets, and as team mates we had to stay within 100 metres of each other.

So off I set at five to 7, pausing only briefly to force down some cereal and a banana and consider deliberately setting off my smoke alarm to punish my noisy neighbours who had kept their party up until 5am. But I am too nice, and considered the feelings of my much better behaved neighbour upstairs and so refrained. I didn't even kick their front door as I cycled past.

Cycling to Princes Street I was overtaken by a fellow Rat Racer who called a cheery 'Good morning!'. Shit - the day hadn't even started and already I was being falling behind.

I rendezvoused with Lee and Jo and distributed the feathers, which we attached to our rucksacks. There was a quick briefing and then it was straight into the 'dispersal exercise'. This was the organisers' way of splitting us up so that Edinburgh was not forced to take the full brunt of 600 Rat Racers hitting the streets simultaneously. First we set off in a circular run that squeezed us through a narrow gate back into Princes Street Gardens - this pushed Team XX back to the last third. Then we had to get a look at a map of where four clues had been distributed around the gardens and split up to retrieve them. As Chief Runner I was assigned two of the four, which were luckily quite close to each other. Jo fetched hers ok. But Lee had volunteered to fetch the furthest away and as all the other teams streamed out of the gardens and we were left without her, Jo and I started to worry that she'd fallen down a well or broken an ankle. Luckily she'd merely been waylaid by a locked gate, but this mishap left us at the back of the field as we headed out on foot to the New Town, where we had to collect points from four different sockets. Some teams were back and collecting their bikes before we'd even left the gardens! And to add insult to injury we didn't even need Lee's clue: the clues were parts of an aerial photo of the New Town and the nearest points were on other bits.

Points duly collected we were allowed to pick up our bikes and set out on the 'proper' part of the day - exhausted already! Running with a rucksack with all that kit is my least favourite thing in the world.

We headed for the Grassmarket and then Chambers Street, where we had a choice of riding our bikes down a steep set of steps or carrying them. Having heard from my work pal Julia, also in a team, about her unsuccessful attempts to practice riding down steps, we took the walking option. From there it was the steep uphill of Old Fishmarket Close that provided another technical difficulty as Lee's chain decided it didn't like low gears and promptly fell off. She valiantly hoicked it on again and spent the rest of the day not going below 3rd gear (as did I, since my bike didn't seem too keen on the idea either).

Shortly after this I witnessed a girl from another team get a spectacular puncture with a loud pop and thought 'I'm glad that's not me'. Ah, the karma as, having carried the bikes down the steps of Warriston Close and cycled on to George Street, my front tyre went 'phssst'. Well, we were already about the last team out there, so we decided to regard this as God's way of telling us to take it easy. I watched in awe as Jo did a Formula One pit stop act on my inner tube, replacing it in about three minutes while I said helpful things like 'Is it supposed to look like that?'. Just as we were ready to set off again a bloke on a racing bike stopped by to see if we needed any help.

'No thank, we've just changed the inner tube.'
'I've got a racing inner but not a mountain bike one I'm afraid.'
'It's ok - we've already changed it.'
'Your back tyre could do with pumping up too - I've got a pump.'
'Really, it's fine, we've got one, we'll do it at the first queue.'

He seemed almost put out that we didn't require his services. But at least we were back on the move.

So to Haymarket and on to - ah bliss! - a cycle path. We toddled along, enjoying the shady trees and counting the bridges we passed under as the instructions demanded. After eight bridges we hauled the bikes up a steep bank to clock in for some points and then continue along the top of the overgrown path. We were right at the back so most of the vegetation had been trampled, but there were still nettles and brambles enough to snag Lee's bike and cause her to fall in dramatic slow motion into a spiky bush.

We joined a path alongside the River Almond - it was time for my dip. Luckily it was turning into a hot day and I was nice and sweaty and about ready for a wash. The water was chilly but a bit of energetic kicking kept me warm until I reached the lovely slippery muddy bank downstream where we emerged. In the meantime, my teammates had to carry all three bikes up some hideously steep wooden steps - as I swam round the bottom of a cliff, they were hiking over the top. I think I definitely got the better deal on this one, even if I did have to stand around on the river bank in my wet undies for a bit. I'd worried about my lack of specialist skills to bring to the team (Lee and Jo both being better climbers and kayakers than me) but it seemed that the ability to get changed in public, as honed in dozens of surf trip car parks, was in fact a key skill.

We continued, with me in nice dry padded pants but a damp bra, to Cramond. Here we left the bikes and walked (swiftly, but nowhere near running speed) across the causeway to Cramond Island. The island has various old bunkers on it left over from the war (the causeway itself runs alongside old submarine defences) and our first task was to don climbing helmets and 'storm the fort' by climbing up dangling ropes to a concrete balcony while enthusiastic marshalls threw eggs, bananas and flour at us. What a great job! I want to be a marshall next year! Luckily they had almost run out by the time we got there and apart from a near miss with an egg we were unscathed.

We headed for the north east corner of the island to find a 'prisoner' who, when we found him, looked cold and bored but gave us points and a clue which allowed us access to the next challenge: one team member had to climb a section of cliff. Jo volunteered for what she later described as 'an easy traverse'. I think this means a sort of sideways climb. Lee and I sat at the top and ate cereal bars. Julia's team had also reached this point and we had a quick chat before heading back to the mainland.

It was only about 11am!

Rat Race Part I

2007-07-17T04:47:00.000-07:00

So Saturday dawned, bright and, well, slightly rainy actually. My first task was to return to the bike shop clutching my inner tube to complain that they had sold me one labelled 'kids bikes'. They only slightly patronisingly told me that inner tubes are all the same and I could use it on any bike. Then the girls arrived for our last kit check at12 and Jo told me I'd got one with the wrong sort of valve.

Despite this inauspicious start, we had between us all the necessary paraphernalia and walked with it into town to register. Our climbing harnesses were checked with Jo's being taken off for a special inspection because, being the one Al gave her 10 years ago when he bought a new one, it looked a little the worse for wear. Luckily it was pronounced serviceable and we filled in lots of forms promising not to sue the organisers if we fell off a rock or drowned and telling them who to call if we did fall off a rock or drown. Then we carried all our kit back to my house and returned to Princes Street Gardens by bus with nowt but Lucozade Sport to sustain us.

At 3.30 we were given our instructions and map of Edinburgh, and we spent the next hour marking up the points we had to visit. The idea is that you run to various places and perform tasks to collect points. The number of points per task isn't released until the run starts at 5pm, but we decided on a strategy of heading quickly out of town to Leith, performing lots of tasks there, and then working our way back into town. There was a new time penalty system in place whereby if you took more than 2 and a half hours you got points taken off. The longer you took, the more points per minute you lost. It was all very complicated. Oh, and you get a wrist band with an electronic widget on it which you stick in socket at each place to collect your points.

At 5 o'clock Team XX were off! We headed straight for Calton Hill, and frankly I was knackered by the time we were half way up. At the top our task was to jump along a series of rocks without falling off (and suing the organisers). This we accomplished, but a very rude team of girls behind us were yelling 'Come on!' and 'Hurry up!'. Silly bints - if they wanted us to hurry up they should have got there first. The same team later nearly knocked Jo over running round a corner without apology. We did not take to them. In fact, I will name and shame them: they were team number 22. No team spirit prize for them.

We charged down the hill to Gayfield square, where all we had to do was stick our widgets in the socket for 10 points, then down Leith Walk to Pilrig. Here there was a short queue for the children's playpark challenge where each team of three had to work their way around the inside of a rope climbing frame while sadistic marshalls twirled it around. We did this, collected points and, with Lee feeling a bit sick, set off down Broughton Street to Tiso in Leith. Jo was navigating, Team XX style: 'Left here past Al's flat! Then cut through Ben's car park!'. Thank goodness there were lots of points in Leith and we hadn't been forced to venture into the alien territory of the west end.

At Tiso we successfully located the points socket in one of a series of tents and headed for Ocean Terminal. Here one team member had to climb up the totem - a series of ropes, ladders and beams two storeys high. Lee volunteered and completed in double quick time, like a little monkey (only better looking). Whilst watching her, I noticed another team sporting ridiculously shorn hair. One of the nearby points was a barber shop and I feared I remembered Al telling me of a previous Rat Race where a team member had to have their head shaved to collect points. Interrogating the newly-punked individual proved my theory. Hmm. Head shaving was not a usual part of Team XX's grooming routine. But it was worth 30 points. We resolved to drop in, since it was nearby, and see what deal we could wrangle.

With Lee safely back on the ground, we headed to the lift (10 points from the marshall in the lift) to the top floor of the shopping centre to the boxing gym where we did 20 push-ups, 150 punches to a punch bag and 20 lifts of the medicine ball each to collect our points, then scarpered down the stairs and out through the car park to the barbers. Lee and I explained to the guy wielding the clippers that we would rugby tackle him to the ground if he took more than a tiny amount from Jo's hair at the back. He barely touched the clippers to her neck before we squealed 'That's enough!' so shrilly that he capitulated to save his eardrums. Nice work: 30 points and you couldn't even see the mark. Bearing in mind that we saw guys with full on mohicans, wiggly lines and one with a saltire shaved into the back of his hair.

And so we were off to Newhaven, where we searched out a lobster pot on the sea wall and then climbed seven flights of stairs to a new apartment to answer a questionnaire. This was followed by what should have been riding chopper bikes along the cobbled and sloping sea wall, but the bikes were so knackered by then that we just pushed them.

Time was flying by and we headed for a chip shop where the consumption of a deep fried Mars Bar could have gained us 25 points, but we were too late - some places were only operating for a limited time. Thence to the cycle path under Ferry Road and a tunnel where it took us an excruciating five minutes to find the socket to collect our points. We'd actually been on this route on our last practice run and knew it was a fair way back to town so from there we legged it back along the cycle path to Broughton and then up Dundas Street where even doggedly-determined Jo overtook one red-faced Rat Racer who looked as though he was about to have a heart attack. I'd never really thought about it before, but Dundas Street is really quite steep.

We'd been much slower than we anticipated and didn't have time to collect any points in town - we were already collecting time penalties. So it was a last sprint along Princes Street to the Gardens, to clock in and download out points. They were pretty pathetic - 208 (including 57 minus points for time penalties) compared to over 400 points from Lee, Al and Colin's team last year. We'd reached just 12 of a possible 30 places. But it seemed that quite a few other teams had struggled with timing and we ended up 148th (ish) out of 300 teams after the first day.

Pasta, rice and flapjacks were provided and consumed before we headed back to mine with the route for Sunday, which had just been given out. Luckily the Saturday event finished earlier this year, so we had mapped the next day's route and I was showered and in bed by 11, rather than the 2am Al managed last year. If only my neighbours had had the decency to keep the music down: a pair of earplugs left over from a clay pigeon shooting trip did the trick and I slept till 4am, when I woke up and worried about my alarm going off until it did at 6.30. It was time for the next stage.

The Countdown Begins

2007-07-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

We had our last Rat Race practice yesterday, running about eight miles round the water of Leith and a random bike path that I never knew existed but took us miles without any of that nasty traffic type stuff. Although I did have to leap out of the way of cyclists a couple of times. I'm happy enough with the running side of things as I'm probably the fittest of the three of us in that respect. However, I'm still bricking it about the cycling. Haven't been back on the bike since Dunfermline. (I keep telling you - it's not my fault - it's at Al's.)

So it was a great run, really enjoyable, even. Tomorrow we meeting for pasta and a kit run-through. The kit requirements are epic and you have to prove you have everything. So even if you could have run and cycled 100km in a weekend, they make it nice and difficult by making you hump a ton of kit around at the same time. We need helmets, climbing harnesses, head torches, whistles, a mobile phone in a waterproof case, a first aid kit and a kitchen sink. The first aid kit even specifies both paracetamol and ibuprofen. Though seeing as I will be having me period at the weekend, I may well be grateful for both.

What else? I went to aquafit on Monday and managed to sustain possibly the world's first aquarobis-related injury by being too energetic with my jogging on the spot and whacking my knee into the side of the pool (just a scratch though). Went to check out Mo's new place afterwards. It has a HUGE living room, so from now on all parties at at hers...

But other than that it's just a case of washing all my sports bras in preparation for the weekend. Then I will be free! Free I tell you! I need never exercise again!

Except Jo and Lee and I did decide to keep doing bits and pieces for fun. But nothing major. Till maybe next year's marathon. Or those Lake District trail runs. Maybe.

Bonding experiences

2007-07-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Went to Morag, Rob and Rachel's James Bond themed barbecue on Saturday. Their last before they all go their separate ways. I'm excited to see Morag and Ray's new place, but there's no denying it's the end of an era at Brunton Terrace. Soon there will be strange people living there. Pah.

An excellent barbie, of course, with tasty kebabs and swing music and much dressing up. Guests at Brunton Terrace parties always go all out on the fancy dress front! Hils dropped by before leaving early to do interview prep, but Barry stayed and was on good form, having had a week to recover since the end of term. Al turned up late after the usual work crisis, but was impressed, he later said, by the fact that a barbecue which officially started at 5.30 was still going strong at midnight.

He still had work to go when I'd collapsed into bed at 2 - he was up till 5, I think. I eventually woke up to find him lying next to me wearing nothing but an old fleece he'd given me - obviously having gotten cold and sought something that would fit! Mmm...furry.

I had to rush off the next day for a Cheese Board bonding experience of our own: a pilgrimage to the newly-opened Cheese Bar in Glasgow. This proved worth the trip and we lived up to our 'ladies who lunch' aspirations with champagne and fondue of both the cheesy and the chocolaty variety. Now if only they could open a branch in Edinburgh. Preferably on our street.

Wine at lunch time and the hottest train outside of India made me sleepy on the way home but the walk back from the station revived me and, as it was a lovely evening, I suggested a walk on the beach to Al to get him away from the computer. We had a pleasant stroll along Portobello and discovered some bits of it we'd never seen before, since we usually just run along the front. We discovered it also had a 'back' of little lanes, leafy parks and posh houses. Al had fish and chips but I was still recovering from the exertions of lunch so got baked potato with....you guessed it, cheese. The irony didn't even occur to me until later.

We did some people watching: groups of teenagers on the beach (actually playing football and the like, not drinking Buckfast), couples and dog walkers. One old bloke was shuffling slowly down the promenade with two sticks while his two dogs wandered on ahead and then patiently stopped and waited for him. One of the dogs came up to say hello to us - it was funny, he so obviously just though 'Ah, I'll talk to these people while I'm waiting', came up and sat down in front of us to have his ears stroked. Although you have to wonder at that British mentality that meant I could talk to the dog but not the old guy himself.