What Fat Bird Did Next....

Leading from the sidelines

2011-08-01T23:34:00.003+01:00

The only bit of me that was running tonight was my nose! I have a most unwelcome summer cold that's added extra challenges to the packing we need to do prior to moving out of our home on Thursday - and meant that I pedaled alongside the runners tonight.

One of the runners once told me that she liked it when I cycled with the running group as it implies to onlookers that she's too speedy for me to run alongside!

I have to admit that there are some advantages - the panniers are handy for unwanted layers, water bottles & car keys. It also means that I look at others' running techniques more than when I run with the group.

It's also meant that my road bike remains with me rather than in storage & I'm hoping that I will be able to use it at least a few times over our nomadic period.

Biggest downside tonight was that as it wasn't my mountain bike, we were constrained to the pavement on a beautiful evening. And it really doesn't feel as good to be on the sidelines - I prefer to be in the group.

Priorities?

2011-07-25T22:44:00.002+01:00

It looks as if we'll have a gap between completing on our house sale & purchase - which will mean a couple of weeks relying on our fabulous friends' spare rooms. We are so lucky to have friends who are stepping in to help!

We're in the process of sorting out about 20 years worth of stuff and I think we've got the trickiest bits nailed - tropical fish tank, umpteen containers of plants (including mega spiky agaves), food and bikes. This means that I can now stress about how to stay fit whilst homeless!

I think we'll be more regular visitors to the gym, not least because the food is OK value. However, I'm struggling to work out how I can continue to cycle to work as this will mean more complex bike and car storage! There's also the laundry issue - smelly sports kit will have to wait for weekends to be washed as I don't really want to take advantage of friends' washing machines. More eating out will definitely challenge my waistline.

And the move was my feeble excuse for failing to do a long run this weekend. Probably the biggest risk to my fitness is my motivation (as ever). If I want there to be obstacles, there will always be obstacles. Trick is to keep my Pollyanna head on, look for the positive and focus on staying off the sofa.

Walking to Run

2011-07-23T10:12:00.003+01:00

Blog I've just added to the running club site on walking as cross training...

Weird Wound Prevention

2011-07-11T23:04:00.007+01:00

We did a bit of loft sorting on Saturday. Given that we are moving house in a couple of weeks (COUPLE OF WEEKS??!!), this was getting to be urgent and it's a job we are great at putting off. No I'm not going to claim this as exercise, but in the sorting, my ipod armband appeared for the first time in years. And it fits my iphone. So this means I no longer have to risk chafing my waist due to bum bag or arms due to gilet rubbing on solo runs.

Found about €140 in euros too - but this was so much less exciting than the armband.

To reward ourselves, we went to Hurst Castle in the evening where Husband caught pollocks whilst I messed about with my camera. It's a 1.5 mile walk to get there from the road, all along shingle which makes it much tougher than the distance would indicate. I shouldn't have been surprised that Husband's rubbish ankles rebelled on Sunday, refusing to do much at all. They loosened up enough by late afternoon for a swim - and I joined him in the pool for a change.

Hurst is a bit of a conundrum - Husband can't really walk well enough to get there but he loved the fishing spot. I guess we stick to times when the ferry is running - or perhaps dig out the inflatable canoe!

Weird Wound

2011-07-09T09:58:00.002+01:00

15.5km ran last night. I have a half marathon to train for in September - and I've been procrastinating about getting my training underway. Club runs do help big time - but I need to do more mileage & add in more sessions at my pace. And I've struggled to get motivated!

There's a loop from my house that's a bit over 5km so I figure that 4 times that will be close to the race distance of 21km. 3 loops last night, but I stopped at 15.5km. Next week, need to take that to 17km (following the 10% rule) - and if I keep that increment going (big if!) should be up to race distance by early August.

Far more interesting to report is that I enjoyed it! Bunnies, puffballs and a buzzard swooping right in front of me, confused horse riders (I passed them twice) and avoided a drunk bloke in the woods.

My legs are OK - ITB was a little bit achey afterwards, but nothing major. However, I must find a better way of transporting my iphone as my left arm chafed on the arm hole of my gilet (has pockets) & I'm in need of sudocrem!

Decent Threshold Session

2011-07-07T22:30:00.002+01:00

I made it to the gym tonight - I am determined to try & get my cost per visit down, but it seems tricky to fit in any more than 1 visit per week in summer.

And I actually managed a decent threshold session on the treadmill - a rarity as I really don't love speedwork. Threshold is all about pushing my body's aerobic/anaerobic border so I ran at a gentle pace for a few minutes before switching to an uncomfortable pace for 4 mins, 1 min recovery pace, back up to the faster pace for another 4 minutes. The idea is that by not letting myself fully recover and then going up to the faster pace again, my body develops the aerobic threshold.

Anyway, I did this for 30 minutes - and almost enjoyed it. I need to learn not to beat myself up about being slower than I was a couple of years ago - it doesn't help! A Pollyanna attitude works much better for my motivation.

Bit of spinning, bit of stepping, rower weights machine & lats pulldown.

A Day With Dirt Divas

2011-07-04T23:05:00.003+01:00

Long time, no blog. And I miss it so I’m returning to the random ramblings of the Fat Bird world.

I’m such a chicken on my mountain bike – so much so that I needed to be chased up to book the course that Husband gave me last August for my birthday with Dirt Divas. Back to Basics, women only in Crowthorne Woods in Berkshire on Sunday. And I wasn’t alone in having my course gifted to me by a partner keen to get girlfriend/wife more confident on a bike.

Loved that we started off by learning how to get our bikes through a v gate – or into a bike shop – with dignity! Then it really was back to basics – some of which I knew, some of which was new to me. We were in small groups of 5 or 6 which felt about right. I hadn’t really twigged how much keeping the pedals flat affects balance – and how to move my weight over the bars when pedalling up hills. I did know – and already use - the thumbs trick for keeping the bars straight when pushing hard uphill. Probably the best bit was emphasising where we should be looking, which strangely isn’t at the ground just in front of the bike...

After lunch, we got to put skills into practice on single track, taking turns to tag immediately behind our coach Jacqueline and getting feedback. She claimed to have eyes in the back of her helmet! My crimes are staring at the ground and locking my knees.

The terrain was mostly twisty forest stuff that flowed very nicely without many hills. We also got to play in a bit called the Quarry with some steep descents – not my favourite kind of thing, but actually got to enjoy them. The trick is focusing, looking for and look at the exit point.

Only down point for me was forgetting any sunscreen and the very dull drive home.

So, the test will be whether my riding improves! I need to get on some single track soon or I’m worried I’ll forget it all.

Online charity sponsorship sites

2010-09-18T19:37:00.002+01:00

I've been using a well known charity sponsorship website for a couple of years now - it's made fundraising so much easier and painless for me and my generous sponsors. But there are more available so I've been doing a little digging into the alternatives, comparing Everyclick, Virgin Money Giving, Bmycharity and Just Giving.

I'm not a fan of Everyclick's fundraiser web pages - very basic and I find it tricky to navigate - but it it is unique in not charging any setup or monthly fees to charities for being able to receive funds through their site. £10 donated with a visa debit card & with standard rate gift aid gives your chosen charity £12.23. There's also the USP of additional funds that can be raised by using Yahoo via the site.Probably a good choice for fund raising for a small charity.

Bmycharity is new to me - the fund raiser web pages look fine and it gives the highest sum to your chosen charity of the four I've looked at: £12.63 on the same basis as I've shown above. However, it charges £150 plus VAT setup to charities for being able to receive funds through their site. If you are raising money for a big charity where this may be a comparatively trivial expense, this site could be a good option.

Virgin Money Giving's USP is that they are set up as a not for profit company. £12.47 is the sum your charity will get for £10 donated as specified above. They charge £100 plus VAT setup to charities for being able to receive funds through their site. I like the idea that fund raisers have a "permanent" web page where they simply add campaigns - if you regularly raise money (e.g. I do one run for charity every year), this could appeal.

Just Giving charges charities £15 per month for being able to receive funds through their site. £10 results in £11.92 being given to the charity - the lowest of the 4. So apart from being very used to using the site and finding setting up fund raising pages quite easy, I think I now have compelling reasons to go elsewhere!

Top 40 final report

2010-08-15T23:27:00.005+01:00

Now I am 41, it's time to look at what I have & haven't managed to do this year! All failures are to be rolled over....

26 straight successes.

5 adapted successes.

Leaving 9 failures.

1. Get into size 12 jeans (defined as Uniqlo - brand makes a difference!) - miserable failure, so rolled over

Making things:
2. Follow a crochet pattern - done
3. Crochet something wearable that isn't a scarf - done
4. Make vanilla ice cream - nope, rolled over
5. Make some home made Christmas presents - done
6. Make something from foraged food - done
7. Bake soda bread - nope & changing to make some bread
8. Make a curry paste from scratch - nope, rolled over

Culture stuff:
9. Discover a piece of classical music that I don't already know - nope, rolled over - it was weirdly tricky to get started on. The Proms might help me this year.
10. Finish a George Elliot novel - done
11. Watch Citizen Kane - done

Fitness:
12. Go to a circuits class - swapping for swim in sea at New Year - done!
13. Do a press up (not boxed!) - done
14. Swim a mile of proper head in water breast stroke - done and will do more
15. Try pilates - done & liked it
16. Try a dance class - done
17. Use my wii fit - done
18. Use our canoe - no, but used my sister's!

Home & Green stuff:
19. Grow something new to eat - done
20. Plant a tree in the garden - done
21. Fit a water butt - done
22. Get a thermal mug to wean myself off disposables at work - done
23. Improve our loft insulation - nope, rolled over
24. Redecorate hall & landing - done
25. Redecorate living room - done

Bike stuff:
26. Fix a bike puncture all by myself - done
27. Get the hang of berms - done, just about (1 at Dalbeattie!)
28. Get the hang of my GPS - nope, rolled over
29. Do the South Downs Way - nope, rolled over
30. Try somewhere new for mountain biking - done (7 Stanes Dalbeattie)

Running stuff:
31. Do level 2 coaching training - not possible, but did do some more running training
32. Eastleigh 10K in sub 55 mins - changed to sub 58 & done!
33. Great South Run - done
34. Half Marathon - done
35. Organise a WRN non-running event - done

Travel stuff:
36. Go somewhere new - done
37. Go to the Isle of Wight - nope, rolled over
38. Try a new spa or gym - done
39. Sleep in our tent - done
40. Organise a work social event - nope, but swapped for Try sailing

So resolutions to complete by my 42nd birthday are:

1. Get into size 12 jeans (defined as Uniqlo - brand makes a difference!)

2. Make vanilla ice cream

3. Bake bread not using a bread maker or IKEA cheat premix
4. Make a curry paste from scratch

5. Discover a piece of classical music that I don't already know

6. Improve our loft insulation

7. Do the South Downs Way (3rd time lucky...)

8. Get the hang of my GPS

9. Use our canoe

10. Go to the Isle of Wight

There will be a few more added when I feel more inspired.

Kirkcudbright & Skye

2010-07-04T19:49:00.003+01:00

More holiday blogging as I've got internet access again after a few days camping.
Tuesday in Cumbria was spent walking around Arnside Knott - one of Husband & I's favourite spots from way back when we were at Lancaster Uni. Clear blue skies meant that the Cumbrian hills were really visible (for once) from across the Kent estuary. We then drove over Hardknott Pass, stopping for a wander at the Roman fort.
Wednesday was spent with Middle Sister, C and MBIL along the easy going cycle path that now connects Caton with Glasson Dock through Lancaster - more old stomping grounds for us! C looked very contented on th back of MBIL's bike - managing to fall asleep on the way back.
Drove up to Borgue nr Kirkcudbright to glamp in a wigwam for 3 nights. This is a wooden hut type thing with electricity, mini fridge, microwave, kettle and sleeing platform with foam mattresses that can in theory sleep 4-5. Or me & Husband very comfortably! Loved the campsite too - and plan to return.
Rain meant we did sightseeing in Kirkcudbright on Thursday, with a gentle riverside amble.
Friday - we finally got the bikes to one of the 7stanes. Dalbeattie was one of the first to be built & its signature challenge is "The Slab" in the picture. Much too scary for me - it's a kind of vertical drop. As for Husband - well, cameras don't lie do they??
My technique was abysmal as per usual - although I did improve a little towards the end with my very own (patio) slab type drop off. And I've done my first berms! Very little - but hey, that's 2 Top 40s covered in one afternoon (other was mtb-ing somewhere new).
Very excited to see a red squirrel - and Husband saw a pine martin.
Dalbeattie doesn't exactly flow in many places, but it's certainly challenging and the views were fabulous. Again, a return is planned.
Saturday was spent mostly in the car, driving to Skye. We're in a cottage with the Fabulous In Laws for a week.
Weather today was abysmal - apart from a blue sky 40 minutes which we were able to take full flukey advantage of with a 3km walk to Talisker Bay in the picture before a tour of the Talisker Distillery.

UK Holiday - Why paddle our own canoe?

2010-06-28T20:39:00.003+01:00

Off on holiday at the moment - heading northwards. We had a sunny weekend in Llanymynech with Brother in Law's family with some gentle walking. Powis Castle Gardens on Saturday and from the house on Sunday. Husband adapted a hoop running game that we saw on Last Woman Standing to keep the boys interested in the Sunday walk - throw a ball ahead, then try to find it. They were also really keen to show us the old quarry's rails, connected to the huge Hoffman kiln and tower in the village.

Then further up to Cumbria to Middle Sister's home near Kendal.

We went paddling today on Windermere with Middle Brother In Law (MBIL??) and toddler nephew C. The plan was to use our inflatable, with MBIL using his lovely big "proper" canoe. but we worked out it would be quicker to set up and easier to keep C entertained on the water if we all went in the proper canoe. Husband in the back providing power, MBIL in teh middle proving local knowledge and skills advice and me in the front doing what I was told (for once!). C was extremely well behaved - he got excited about seeing a steam train. I was more excited by a red breasted merganser swimming along with her brood of ducklings. Getting canoe envy now - I think we may be getting a proper one if we ever get a garage for it to live in!

Dorset weekends

2010-06-16T22:13:00.005+01:00

Our first attempt to go to Dorset for some mountain biking 2 weekends ago was thwarted whilst packing. Husband tried to adjust my brakes and accidentally bled them dry of hydraulic fluid! Luckily, we'd already planned to spend Sunday pedalling along Bournemouth seafront with G - and my commuter bike was fine for this. Lovely afternoon with chocolate ice cream and great company.

My mountain bike spent a couple of days at the bike shop and last weekend, we tried again. Loaded the camping stuff and bikes and headed for Dorchester. Our route was based on one in a

Dorset mountain bike book we've had for a while but hadn't used. It started on the ridge trail from Maiden Castle to Hardys Monument that we did last year. We then went downhill at Hells Bottom to Portesham (cute sculpture was in Portesham quarry) and along a disused railway to Abbotsbury. Pasty to refuel and we decided that rather than follow the book's suggestion of a road route back, we'd simply double back. Big views of the coast and countryside. The path had actually been destroyed by badger excavating at one point! 30km in total.

Camped at Osmington Mills again and attempted camp cooking for the first time in years - successful chorizo pasta storecupboard carb fest! We walked to the beach in time for sunset, then to the pub that does Badger ales on draught. I slept well, but Husband wasn't convinced that his airbed was working for him and being in a grassy field wasn't helping his hayfever.

Slow breakfast. What I love about being away is that I don't have guilty thoughts about what I should be doing and can just enjoy coffee, eggs, papers.

Sunday's ride was from Puddletown Forest, using a Rough Ride Guide route. We lost a turning early on so opted to change the route - the track was a little overgrown as you can see here. Later, we got to do more vegetation ploughing as rape had almost obliterated the bridleway. Quiet countryside with chalk hills. I had to keep pushing my brake levers outwards as the rape kept on catching them, pushing my brakes on! We went past Thomas Hardy's cottage towards the end - a lovely quiet spot on the edge of the forest. Got lost again in the woods, but weirdly emerged right by the car. My legs are covered in scratches, I'm a bit burned (despite sunscreen) and it was a great weekend.

Number 15 - Pilates

2010-06-07T21:26:00.004+01:00

I have a pristine Darcy Bussel pilates DVD still in its cellophane wrap despite having been purchased about 2 years ago. It's lurking presence plus my occasional lower back & shoulder problems have created a nagging sense that pilates should be something I give a try. My only reasons not to are that I'm not big on exercise that doesn't involve charging around getting sweaty and that I didn't get on at all well with a previous attempt many years ago where there were about 30 people in one class.

I finally booked myself onto a class at the gym (so covered by gym membership) and was pleasantly surprised. The instructor was no nonsense & I could see what she was doing. There were only about 8 of us. And I realised that I had tried some of the exercises before without realising that they were pilates moves, thanks to a neat little "hotel room workout" in a Joanna Hall book that I used when spending most of my life in hotel rooms.

My tummy really knew that it had been worked for about 3 days afterwards!

So number 15 can be ticked off the list.

I have been to the class again - timing isn't great as it requires scarpering home on a Thursday very promptly - but I will go again when my calendar allows. Still haven't opened the DVD though!

Number 21

2010-06-06T19:22:00.001+01:00

Number 21 complete - we finally fitted the water butt. I say "we" but
it was more Husband - although I did instigate it with the old trick
of starting to dig out tools, claiming I was going to fit it all by
myself. Especially as tools included the drill that I am not allowed
to use since destroying several bits on plastic plant pots.....
Great bike ride with G & Husband today along Bournemouth sea front,
admiring kite surfers. She is so much faster - despite not having
pedalled since September!

So much catching up to do

2010-06-03T23:26:00.009+01:00

So much that I haven't written about recently! So much has happened - good stuff, bad stuff and I'm sure I can squeeze in ugly somehow.

In no particular order, I'll start with Top 40 progress - and with a picture taken yesterday of my first home grown strawberry (#19 - grow something new to eat). I shared it with Husband & fortunately (as many more are developing), liked it!

Next is #16 - do a dance class. I enjoyed a fabulous weekend with my sisters near Stratford which included lots of opportunities to try classes. All 3 of us did Street Dance - out done by many older ladies! Middle Sister & I also giggled our way through a Bravo Broadway class - jazz hands and a fantastically camp instructor. Yoga was also been revisited and I didn't hate it. Middle sister revisited body Combat for the first time in years with me. V.grateful to Baby Sister for inviting us - memorable and so much fun.

We haven't been cycling much recently - not since South Downs Way. My bike is now sporting new wheels as it was the hubs that had bust, not the bottom bracket - and that takes it's repair bill for 2010 to around £500 - maybe I should have bought a new bike instead at the start of the year. We we did a 20K route from the house on dry tracks yesterday, enjoying a long sunny evening.

I did my first parkrun last Saturday. This is a weekly times 5K that now takes place in parks around the country - and Eastleigh started just a few weeks ago. It's free to register, free to do & is very well organised. It's also a great time of day - 9am means that I still get most of Saturday for other stuff. My time was not my best (29:43), but plenty of room for improvement.

One of my original runners L tripped whilst running with me on Tuesday and was unlucky enough to break her leg - so I spent Tuesday evening in A&E with her. This meant cancelling the 8pm beginners group - but everyone was more focussed on L's injury.

So it's been a mix these last few weeks. Hoping that L recovers soon.

Not in the Algarve

2010-05-13T19:25:00.000+01:00

Pesky volcanic ash cloud stopped us from flying to Portugal on Tuesday
4 sailing - we ended up rescheduling to July. I say "we" but I mean X
and S!
So we've come to Cornwall for a short break instead. The fabulous In
Laws have joined us & we are in a flat at Watergate Bay.
Fabulous lunch at Fifteen (photo location) - loved that they
automatically brought huge jug of tap water with ice & lemon and yummy
bread with olive oil. We all had gurnard to start - deep fried served
with aioli. I had pollock next with lentils followed by tiramisiu.
Pleased to have a wine with Sexy Rose on the label! Service was
gently done - a fabulous meal!
Went surfing once digestion was underway. That implies a higher level
of competence though than I achieved....
Blue sky, sunshine, beach - not bad at all.

South Downs Way - final post

2010-05-09T14:39:00.000+01:00

Beachy Head - achieved by minibus!

South downs way - game over

2010-05-09T11:58:00.000+01:00

Part way before checkpoint 1, bike started making a funny cronky
noise. Mechanic checked it and the bottom bracket was going. He
thought I would be able to get to next checkpoint, but it got worse
and I couldn't get 1st gear. So had to retire at 110km, 60km short. So
it remains a challenge to try again.

South downs way - end day 1

2010-05-08T19:56:00.001+01:00

Got to the campsite at 5pm - 9 hours of pedalling but that includes
breaks. And wasn't quite last. And got the tent up. And bike is
receiving expert tlc. Now off to pub with a lovely group of 9 middle
aged blokes who have been keeping me company today. I think I will b
ok for tomorrow but it is going to be tough!

South Downs Way Day 1

2010-05-08T12:13:00.000+01:00

At 2nd checkpoint & disappointed no cheese & pickle rolls! A bit
drizzly but not too wet.

Number 15 done - Pilates

2010-05-07T09:21:00.000+01:00

I have tried Pilates before and did not enjoy. I don't have the right
mindset for slow classes, slow music and slow precise movements -
which is why I get on so much better with wii pseudo yoga than the
real thing. My Pilates experience was of a class of 30ish and I didn't
really get it.
But my back has been complaining of late and as I know my core muscles
are in need of development, I thought I should address 15 on my top 40
list with a class at the gym.
Only 6 attendees - good.
Instructor was straight forward and I could work out what we were
meant to do - good.
Abs ache today - probably good!
I may go again although 6:15pm is tough to achieve on a working day -
digging out my unopened Pilates DVD may be a more practical option.

Seaside running in Devon & Dorset

2010-05-03T11:08:00.000+01:00

One on Bournemouth seafront over a week ago with a banging hangover
and today with my Fabulous Mother In Law across to Meadfoot Bay. I am
v.jealous of people who can run by the sea everyday!

Paintball last weekend was great fun. I haven't done it for ages and
loved feeling a bit fitter whilst scampering around failing to shoot
anyone! Lovely big bruises on my thigh are just starting to fade. Hurt
my back a little the following day whilst attempting to extract
buddleia roots but it's been worst when sitting, not moving.
Did all bar the beginners' run off road for Wrn last week - much more
engaging than pavement pounding.

Big Run

2010-04-20T22:47:00.003+01:00

I did number 34 - Half marathon - on Sunday of my top 40 list. 2 hours 16 minutes & felt OK afterwards. Couldn't walk very well on Monday, but hey, the WRN-ers didn't seem to mind me leading from a bicycle!

A general catch up on the top 40 list - 15 complete:

1. Not Yet - Get into size 12 jeans (defined as Uniqlo - brand makes a difference!)

Making things:
2. Yup - Follow a crochet pattern
3. Yup - Crochet something wearable that isn't a scarf

4. Not Yet - Make vanilla ice cream

5. Yup - Make some home made Christmas presents

6. Not Yet - Make something from foraged food

7. Not Yet - Bake soda bread

8. Not Yet - Make a curry paste from scratch

Culture stuff:
9. Not Yet - Discover a piece of classical music that I don't already know

10. Yup - Finish a George Elliot novel

11. Not Yet - Watch Citizen Kane

Fitness:
12. Not Yet - Go to a circuits class

13. Not Yet - Do a press up (not boxed!)

14. Yup - Swim a mile of proper head in water breast stroke

15. Not Yet - Try pilates

16. Not Yet - Try a dance class

17. Yup - Use my wii fit

18. Not Yet - Use our canoe

Home & Green stuff:
19. WIP - Grow something new to eat
20. Not Yet - Plant a tree in the garden

21. WIP - Fit a water butt
22. Yup - Get a thermal mug to wean myself off disposables at work

23. Not Yet - Improve our loft insulation

24. WIP - Redecorate hall & landing
25. Yup - Redecorate living room

Bike stuff:
26. Yup - Fix a bike puncture all by myself

27. May not happen - Get the hang of berms - Might replace this with swimming in the sea at New Year.
28. Not Yet - Get the hang of my GPS
29. WIP - Do the South Downs Way

30. WIP - Try somewhere new for mountain biking

Running stuff:
31. No - parked to Sept & replaced by Land yachting - Do level 2 coaching training
32. Yup - Eastleigh 10K in sub 57 mins

33. Yup - Great South Run

34. Yup - Half Marathon

35. Yup - Organise a WRN non-running event

Travel stuff:
36. Not Yet - Go somewhere new

37. Not Yet - Go to the Isle of Wight

38. Yup - Try a new spa or gym
39. Yup - Sleep in our tent

40. Not Yet - Organise a work social event

UKIP don't love cyclists

2010-04-15T21:52:00.004+01:00

If I was even entertaining the idea of wasting a vote on UKIP, I'd be persuaded otherwise by their attitude to cyclists! Walk at roundabouts, don't ride on roads, pay for bike parking. Barking.

Persuaded myself to jog in the woods tonight - I've been checking out paths & tracks to see which would be suitable for the fabulous WRN runners. 6km, not fast, thoroughly enjoyable. I now have a bigger portfolio of runs which will take advantage of sunny evenings and the beautiful Hampshire countryside. I really didn't miss repeatedly fiddling with my ipod's headphones - the new ones stay put & sound good.

Pedalled to work today - love the sunshine.

Less than boundless energy

2010-04-14T22:56:00.003+01:00

Note to self - do not expect to be able to keep up with the speedier running group on Monday after pushing yourself on a Sunday. I was pathetic - didn't even manage to do the same distance, opting to have a brief chat with my neighbour at the top of the hill in the woods. I've got a couple of Mondays coming up when this might be repeated, so I will need to experiment with coaching from a bicycle - megaphone would give a great image!

Anyway, running took in more scenery - love the sunnier evenings & for very selfish reasons, I urge all to sign up to 10:10's Lighter Later campaign. Woods on Mon, river on Tue. Deer, sunsets, daffodils - what's not to love (excepting midges!)?

Brief swim tonight as Husband & CC Captain Chaos were installing gutter to the shed early evening and we only had 20mins or so before Aquafit took over the pool.

Pedalled to work today & yesterday. And a little wii.

Practise ride done

2010-04-11T20:06:00.004+01:00

Next month, I'm doing one of my top 40 - the South Downs Way on my bike. A dodgy tummy meant that I failed to do this in 2008 over 3 days - so this time I'm aiming to do this in 2.... However, this time, it's with vehicle support - including a meat wagon! Goldfish is doing it too and although it's a bit late for serious training, we did a practise route today: 69.13km as a figure of 8 route from Cheesefoot Head, completed in about 5 1/2 hours including stopping time. M joined us for the first and larger loop. We were moaning about it being chilly to start, but all divested layers after we'd been riding for an hour or two.

Very impressed that Goldfish managed to fix a broken chain on the hoof - and relieved that this was the only bike problem on the way. The tracks were very dry, making this a comparatively easy ride.

Today's picture reflects my C&G exam that I'm doing tomorrow - the tutor asked me to send him a photo of traditional Hampshire brick & flint construction as he's not sure about its thermal efficiency!

I was tired at the end, but felt that I could have carried on - good as the SDW days will be a bit longer. Not so good was a cramped thigh later when crouching to plant out beetroot seedlings - I may have to go down the electrolyte drink on the trip for the first time.

Skating yesterday with G, SE and the F clan who were en route between sailing and the Forest of Dean. Enjoyed both that & going on with G & SE to meet Z for an average lunch in a beautiful location in Lee on Solent.

Not much else to report this week apart from running on Tuesday with WRN, Body Combat on Wed and about 90mins walking on Thursday - actually, that's not so shoddy!

Big D was sent on holiday for Friday & Saturday (cooking for guests is not compatible) but is back today. But as I burned at least 2,700 calories on the pedal, I'm eating buckets!

Easter Sunshine

2010-04-05T22:37:00.003+01:00

So grateful for the weather deciding to be a little less typical for a British bank holiday weekend on Sunday & Monday. We'd hibernated during the rain on Good Friday & Saturday decorating the hall & landing (another Top 40 is close to completion), but escaped outside on Easter Sunday, spending the morning with Kitty & Goldfish at the allotment, then going for a 26km ride in the New Forest.

We did what I think of Kitty's route - Husband's favourite as it has some more interesting descents than most of the bike trails in the Forest. For the second time ever, I managed to cycle up the steep gravelly slope that's just after a horsey underpass. Completed it in 2 hours with no punctures - although Husband's chain & associated gubbins were demonstrating signs of wear.

I noticed the mosses more than usual - probably because all the usual spring plant happenings are so behind this year.

More sunshine today. Baby Sister came over with the children & we spent the afternoon admiring lambs, piglets and so many chickens at Manor Farm Country Park. J was very taken with a big black stag turkey, murmuring "magnificent" - not expected vocab for him! R still doesn't scream when being held by me - weird. A kept on calling me Grandma - bad enough - but she was aided and abetted by my naughty baby Sister!

Running tonight - I got very muddy checking out suitability of the path next to the Itchen, taking advantage of a no-show 7pm group. 5 for the 8pm group and we did the Bishopstoke hill route.

The Big D - again

2010-04-01T21:53:00.004+01:00

Apparently, 21% of UK adults smoke and that number is declining. 40% of UK adults are overweight - 20% are obese - and this number is increasing. So is it easier to give up nicotine or chocolate??

I'm embarking on the Big D - yet again - and I am trying to remember how I succeeded in 2006. Hence a photo of me in beautiful NZ in Jan 2005 as my stick - and prove to myself that I can lose fat - after all, I have done it! Carrot is the sailing holiday in May - I'd like to be more toned & look cool in the photos (yes, I am that shallow!). I do need to drink more liquid - I often eat when I'm probably thirsty. I've also re-done my WLR account - clean start!

New beginners on Tuesday - not many so I need to work on getting a few more & retaining all. Very pleased to have a few more in the 7pm Tuesday group now that it's relaunched as the "easier" regular run.

Gym last night - deliberately didn't run & did 35mins spinning and 20 x trainer. I've been walking a little more than usual as I've been on a course in Ealing this week & getting there on the train. But only 1 day of cycling to work.

Eastleigh 10K

2010-03-28T23:27:00.003+01:00

My time this year is 56:53 - just 7 seconds under my target of 57 minutes. I did make an effort this year - I have been guilty of treating the event as another run as opposed to a great opportunity to see what I can do! KB, J & KL were fabulous running partners - especially at 4.5km when I hit a bit of a bad patch. I found a second wind at about 7km - shortly after this pic was taken, but was running out of energy at 9km. And KB kept me going.

So proud of the WRN runners today. 7 of us completed the course - 4 in less than 1 hour - no drop outs!

A big improvement was pedalling to the race. Parking is always frustrating and it provided a good low impact warm up/cool down.

Husband was fabulous. He looked after my bag which was bulging with WRN runners jackets as well as cheering us on. And he took some great photos - more of which I'll be sending around soon.

I've been avoiding hard exercise as part of my prep for this morning. Bit of gardening yesterday & pedalling to work most days last week. We went 10 pin bowling with Kitty & Goldfish tonight - which must count at least a little as exercise!

We need more Rabbits

2010-03-25T23:09:00.003Z

I used to be a keen Girl Guide - and the organisers of the company I was in all took names from Winnie the Pooh characters - hence the leader was Rabbit to us. She was also a friend of my Mum - and Mum let me know today that she died 2 days ago after a long illness. She gave so much time and effort over to Guiding - and was an influence on me and many others. Enthusiastic, dedicated, caring and utterly consistent. More Rabbits in the world would be a good thing!

Ada Lovelace Day

2010-03-24T19:27:00.004Z

I heard the space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock on Desert Island Discs recently - and she was so passionate about her work, about space and about life that I've decided to dedicate my Ada Lovelace blog to her. She made her first telescope when just 14 so that she could study the moon and now develops satellite technologies & instrumentation.

She's now passing on her enthusiasm about space to youngsters through the Blue Peter satellite project and teaching schoolchildren.

Funny, clever and engaging - she sounded fabulous.

Brecon Beacons Weekend 3

2010-03-23T19:30:00.004Z

Much better weather on Sunday and we tried out a blue route from the National Park's Mountain Bike leaflet collection/book thing.

Supposedly 24km, but I clocked it at 20km and from the National Park Visitor Centre near Brecon. Glorious views - as you can see! And plenty of red kites - I know I'm getting accustomed to seeing them now whenever I go to Baby Sister's in Bucks, but still exciting.

We watched a shepherd & dog herding sheep for a bit - although I've never heard anyone on One Man & His Dog yell "will you f***ing come by??".

The route was a good mix with challenging descents that beat me (and one even beat Husband) and uphills where the rocks made pedalling almost impossible in places. Across open moorland and rocky tracks. The road bits were quiet, pretty lanes. The best bit was the final descent, whizzing across the side of a hill (not sure if it qualified as a mountain!). Somehow, I got 3 punctures in one wheel, but all so slow that they didn't materialise until we got home.

We finished in the tea shop with a Black Beef Pie Challenge, undoing any calorific deficit from the ride.

We took it easy at running last night as it's the Eastleigh 10K on Sunday. I could still feel Sunday's ride though!

Brecon part 2

2010-03-20T17:47:00.000Z

The first waterfall:

Brecon part 1

2010-03-20T17:46:00.000Z

I had a long and tiring week - lots of work and lots of other stuff,
no cycling and the only exercise were much needed WRN runs on Mon and
Tue. Husband suggested a weekend away - and even better, made the
location a mystery so I couldn't organise anything. I really
appreciated that!
So I am now in a leather arm chair, close to a log fire, trying to
decide if it's g&t or tea time. We are in the Brecon Beacons. Drizzly
today but we still enjoyed a walk to waterfalls at Gwaun Hepste: Sgwd
Clun-Gwyn, Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn and Sgwd y Pannwr. There was a 4th but
Husband's dodgy legs were starting to protest.
The hotel is fab - good food, interesting building (hunting lodge with
2 bell towers?!) and pretty grounds. I am almost de-worked and relaxed!

No drama - fantastic

2010-03-14T17:30:00.003Z

I felt a bit twitchy cycling today following last week's excitement (slidey then mega claggy mud that stopped wheels from rolling even downhill and then bike collapsed) and took the first descent at a pace that was even more chicken than normal for me. Once I'd warmed up my head and body though, it was fine. It's starting to feel decidedly springlike outside - catkins and snowdrops. Everything seems a bit later than previous years though - a few daffs are out, but not much else yet.

We did a 37km route from Farley Mount that includes the Test Way - it's a variation of one in the Rough Rides book that we don't have.

No punctures, no problems and the bikes didn't require hours of de-mudding afterwards - this is how a Sunday bike ride should be!

Another wander on the beach

2010-03-14T09:31:00.004Z

Bike shop fessed up - the pedal/coggy bit falling off was their fault - I'm actually impressed as it would have been very easy for them to bluff it & blame me instead! All fixed now & ready for a pedal today.

We went for a walk at Mudeford yesterday as we had much on our minds to discuss having just had an offer accepted for a house! I am trying to work out if pedalling to work will still be possible after the move, but it's 13.7 miles, about 4 times my current commute so I'm looking at ways to make it feasible at least a couple of times a week. I have a few months to work it out as we're hoping to do building works before moving in.

The walk also provided us with the opportunity to research which is the best cafe on the beach. My favourite so far is the one east from Avon Beach carpark & cafe - in the middle of the beach huts. Great soup, reasonable carrot cake, loved sitting outside.

Pedalled 3 days this week. Meeting in Sutton on Tuesday meant a train day and I had stuff to transport on Wednesday. Running went OK this week, with an extra 10K session on Wednesday. I've been trying to fit more wii in - surprised myself by having aching abs on Friday following exercising on Thursday evening.

Broken bike again

2010-03-07T14:41:00.000Z

Live update from a grassy verge near rockbourne where I await rescue!
As you can see, bike is broken. Had to be at the furthest point from
the start didn't it?

Sports bras wear out

2010-03-03T20:20:00.005Z

Let's just say that I bear the scars of a worn sports bra after running on Monday. Tuesday's choice of undergarment was a very different design - so nothing was exacerbated! Shock Absorber (which the offending bra was not) suggest replacement every 6 months - and other sites suggest 3-12 months.

You may note that Husband is on foot in this week's photo. My parents stayed for the day on Sunday unexpectedly - so we decided against cycling. Mum was too wiped out from a stomach bug for them to visit friends as they'd originally planned - so they watched the rugby whilst Husband & I went for a gentle walk in the woods. We also hit the gym where I tried a spinning bike for the first time - so much better than a "normal" exercise bike - felt much more realistic and great to focus on cadence. I think I can make more use of this as part of prep for South Downs Way. I also linked iPhone to the machines - exercise geek happiness!

Another 10K on Monday with WRN - and again, it went well. All other groups were fine - except 7pm Tuesday which didn't happen for the 3rd week. Cycled on Mon & Tue, but not today as I was walking around Earls Court all day.

My Swimming Coach

2010-02-27T23:47:00.004Z

Top 40 number 14 - swim a mile of "proper" head-in-water breaststroke - completed this evening with some great support from Husband. As usual, I was on length 35 when he completed his 50, and I was expecting him to adjourn to the spa pool to wait for me to do the 64 lengths that I needed to do for my challenge. But instead, he coached me - helped me to keep my pace going & ended up doing a total of 85 lengths himself! Very much appreciated.

I have swum a mile before - and it used to take me over an hour. This time, it was around 42 minutes - demonstrating how much better my technique is.

I was more aware of how warm the pool was than of getting tired at the end - but I can really feel my arm muscles now! Legs are fine, but they are more used to being punished.

We went straight out afterwards to meet M & C's beautiful new baby girl. We were definitely dehydrated from the warm pool as the first drinks kind of vanished! And Husband didn't recoil in horror when I mentioned that perhaps I could progress to front crawl next (can only do doggy paddle atm!).

And number 25 was also completed today. Front room is now complete with new flooring, stripey rug - and the attached pic is a print I've had for about 6 years that's finally been framed! 15th century Iranian tiger that I loved at an exhibition about the silk road....

A run that clicked

2010-02-25T23:16:00.002Z

6 of us braved a cold and damp dark evening to give the Eastleigh 10K route a go. Some runs go OK, some really click - and this was a click. L came along who I haven't seen for ages & it was great to introduce her to the other runners. We weren't amazingly speedy - darkness, puddles, tree root bumps on pavement and road crossings meant it was never going to be a PB kind of evening. Immensely satisfying though.

My only opportunity to cycle to work happened on Wednesday this week due to commitments in Portsmouth.

My mountain bike has finally been repaired - £340 of repairs! All wear, tear, salt and general abuse - no calamities. Price tag includes new brakes - but not the still needed new saddle. The bike shop bloke hinted that I may now be able to out pedal husband up hills - will have to see if that's the case on Saturday....

Fit head for running

2010-02-22T22:01:00.001Z

There's a phrase I liked from coaching training that in order to be
fit enough to run, you need to run: run to get fit to run. This is
working for my head this week. I have been very upset by what happened
last Monday - this isn't the place for details but many of you know
about why. And i wasn't even directly impacted. I was really
apprehensive about running tonight but it went fine. I enjoyed it. I
think the runners enjoyed it.
So to get my head fit to run, I need to run. Like getting back on my
bike post face smashing. To appropriate a slogan, just do it instead
of obsess.
Ramble over.

Walk at the seaside

2010-02-21T18:14:00.001Z

As I am mountain bike-less at present, we went for a wander at
Mudeford Quay. Water was really high and there were waves - a novelty!
There's also a new path being built - couldn't see why as it parallels
the current one. Read an info board and non the wiser - sailing
training at the olympics was on the list of reasons.

Swimming later this evening that I am looking forward to for once!

And I'm back

2010-02-20T20:39:00.004Z

I went skating today with G. We'd done lessons together about 2 years ago for a while, but quit when my progress plateaued and G finally acknowledged that it was a heck of a drive for her every Monday evening. Today, we went up to Basingstoke for a great hour plus scooting around. I can't remember many of the fancy-ish moves we learned - but was chuffed that I could still get around without sliding on my backside! I was also relieved that my skate blades hadn't rusted away. And G looked as cool as ever on the ice. Lunch afterwards at a cafe on the way home - lovely day and much needed fun.

Even learning about the £340 worth of repairs required to my mountain bike when I got home didn't dent my improved mood.

Ran well at the gym on Friday - 10km in 57:10. I think my lack of exercise this week may have contributed to being able to run well. And it was fantastic to be able to work off some pent up frustration on the treadmill. I'm hoping I can get back to WRN next week with a positive attitude - WIP.

Off to surf for avid juicy 3 brakes for my poorly bike now....

Holding pattern

2010-02-17T22:33:00.005Z

I've attached a photo from a fabulous weekend with parents and fabulous-in-laws. Nothing more to blog at the moment.

Walk free ride

2010-02-07T17:02:00.003Z

No walking today! But this is a good thing as we were on a bike ride in the Forest. Husband & I did the uber loop - a 39km perimeter of our regular Forest rides, completed in 2:55 of pedalling. I am feeling happy about not resorting to walking on a slippery, sticky stretch where the week's rain had made an impact. And happy about actually pedalling all the way up a slope where I've always resorted to pushing my bike in the past. It's just after the tunnel under the dual carriageway (often full of horses, but not today) with a gravel short and steep stretch just as you come out. Perhaps this compensates for my miserable performance at the gym on Friday - and maybe for the chocolate dessert I had last night with ice cream.

My bike is broken though - front brake was scraping from the outset, making progress a tad more challenging. And about halfway around, my front wheel started making metallic twangy noises. Husband has diagnosed a broken bearing in the front wheel - and I have no idea, so he must be right!

I definitely prefer bike rides where the ride is the point of the day - not just an obligatory piece of exercise to be squeezed in somehow/sometime. I like being able to focus on enjoying myself, not worrying about getting back in time to hit the supermarket. And a mug of tea from the thermos is a lovely way to round off a day in the Forest.

I was in domestic mode yesterday - 7 jars of seville orange marmalade and we cooked for Kitty & Goldfish which was an op to discuss allotment plans for the year. Domesticity may recommence in a sec as I've found a recipe for my spare oranges....

Objective revision time!

2010-02-06T15:20:00.002Z

I'm changing a few of my top 40 goals - some circumstances have changed and I'm having to apply a little realism!

31. Level 2 coaching - UK Athletics have revised their coaching qualifications and the new next level for me to do isn't available until September. And I'm 41 in August! If I did do the existing level 2, it would train me in coaching all types of athletics. Katharine from RiE apparently had to coach someone to do triple jump - having never done triple jump before. The big change with the new qualification is that it specialises in "Off track endurance" and specifically mentions mass participation running in the description. I think this will be more useful for me so I'm holding off. So I'm swapping objective 32 for "Swim in the sea on New Years Day" - which I did in Wales. So that's another done - yay me (with some fudging!).

32. Eastleigh 10K in sub 55 minutes - I'm changing this to sub 57 minutes - and that will still require some hard work between now and 28th March. I've found that coaching running 2 nights a week has done wonders for my endurance - but has not directly helped with speed!

I've been feeling a bit under the weather this week which may have resulted in me feeling like I was about to die at 6.5km at 10.5kph in the gym on Friday - or I might just be rubbish! Pedalled on Thursday & Friday - and I'm proud of pedalling to the pharmacy & paper shop this morning.

Fitness Equipment Al Fresco

2010-02-03T18:39:00.001Z

I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo here (poor quality - sorry!) but some intriguing equipment has appeared outside the Hub (home to Eastleigh WRN amongst others). It's next to the kids playground, but appears to be gym style equipment - there's a cross trainer thing, strider thing and a weird skiing thing. We did give it a try after running on Tuesday - fair play for trying something new for adult fitness.

I was really impressed with Cragside's "fitness trail" that was more of an adventure playground for grown ups that I tried in the summer - and the popularity of Go Ape demonstrates that this is a potential growth area.

Monday's 8pm group did some great hill work, but numbers were as patchy as last week. My marketing efforts are going to be helped by WRN linking with Race for Life again this year - and I think I can organise the required training sessions around the Winchester and Southampton events.

Too pooped to go to Body Combat today - I slept badly last night and had an earlyish start - so it was just a walk up the hill today plus I will dig out the wii in a sec. Pedalled on Mon and Tue.

On the way to another top 40

2010-01-31T10:01:00.003Z

Feeling very pleased - started decorating at half 12 and finished at nearly midnight and the front room refurb phase 1 is complete. We got the ceiling, whitework (bar the skirting boards) and 2 coats of paint on the walls done. And it now has energy saving light bulbs thanks to Husband agreeing to ditch the dimmer switch. Phase 2 is to get T in to fit the flooring (this falls into the category of "yes we could do it ourselves, but life is short") & paint the skirting boards. Phase 3 is the only fun bit - shop for a big squishy rug & choose pictures. I'm very tempted to make N from WRN an offer on one of her beautiful abstracts.

I am a little bit sad as the room used to be a chalky, sunny orange - but Husband has never liked it & I have to concede that application of yet another shade of beige makes for a more grown up looking room.

So not exercise (technically) - but my aching arms are telling me otherwise. And another top 40 is on the way to being achieved!

Haggis and a Hangover

2010-01-29T21:10:00.002Z

Good party on Wednesday night hosted by Futerra, but I'm not sure that I danced enough to justify alcohol & haggis calories. Damage was made even worse by not having pedalled that day (overslept).

I had the opportunity to walk off my hangover on Thursday, making my way to the Eco Home exhibition at the Geffrye Museum somewhere near Hackney - some great items and well put together if not exactly huge or surprising! It's interesting that even when using the tube, just how much walking I do when I'm in London compared to home.

Just a bit of wii last night & lazed on sofa, crocheting.

Pedalled today & hit the treadmill. I decided to just run - no x trainer, no step machine, just running. And I really enjoyed it - did just over 9K at 10.5kph, so used it as my "long easy run" of the week. I was helped by the TV - when it was just 4 screens, it seemed to be Question of Sport & soaps on a Friday evening, neither of which float my boat (honourable exception to the gloriously trashy Hollyoaks), but I got to see the 1950s with Andrew Marr which most definitely does!

Uneven

2010-01-26T22:05:00.002Z

Finished tonight's runs with a warm top half, but frozen from the waist down! It was so cold that the Panda's windscreen was already icing up when I set off home. It's been a bit uneven with WRN this week - 1 advanced, many Monday standards, 2 Tuesday standards and just 3 beginners. It is spurring me to actually do some marketing which I've let slip a bit of late. Given that I'm more of a career marketeer than I am career runner, you'd probably expect otherwise! Some of my laxness is down to confidence - can't quite bring myself to do a press release, even though it's well within my skill set.

I try to convince myself that communicating too slickly would be counter productive - but I'm so so far off slick atm. Pretty far off competent to be honest.

Pedalling to work has been great - Husband has serviced my commuter bike & I can really spot the difference. He also had to sort out the bike shed lock today after I managed to reset the combination without realising - a blonde (dyed) moment.

Challenging the little grey cells

2010-01-24T18:50:00.005Z

Although I love cycling in the Forest, it's really not great for my pedalling skills as it's so easy! We knew that it would be muddy, but Husband and I opted for a route that extends the much-ridden Ellisfield HCC route over to Preston Candover to get our brains ticking again. And it was muddy. Much of the mud was clay on chalk that varies between ultra claggy and ultra slippery and I have to confess to much walking. Having said that, I also did enough to feel that I'd pushed myself.

3.5 hours to do 26.5km! Very grateful we didn't get any punctures as fixing them would have been very messy - and Husband made me go through a deep puddle repeatedly at the end so that tyres rather than mud would interface with our bike carrier.

I was surprised to still see a little snow around - as you can see from this picture. Snow damage was evident on many of the roads with new cracks & potholes.

Snow damaged roads yesterday too as my satnav took me down a very little lane en route to my nephew's 5th birthday party in a village hall Buckinghamshire. I didn't want to repeat Husband's experience so took it very slowly & chose a different route home later in the dark. Very proud of my nephew as he was beautifully behaved at his medieval themed party, looking cute in a crusader outfit. I can't count any exercise for Saturday - but I did make vast quantities of sandwiches!

More energy required

2010-01-22T23:11:00.003Z

It's been a tiring week. Running went fine apart from having to decide whether an idiot bloke was being menacing - or just an idiot - and having to revise our route. On both days, I had to do a manic sprint back to the Hub to greet the 8pm group vaguely on time - very grateful to both 7pm groups for tolerating this!

On Wednesday, I experimented taking my bike to Cosham on the train as I am fed up of having to drive to work in order to go to a merchandising lab. Going was fine - I used the lifts to get over the bridge at Eastleigh station, direct train and I was directed to where the guard wanted my bike to go. Not so great coming back as I got the time wrong & had to change at Southampton. Complete lottery as no information about what train went from where, lots of lugging bike up/down stairs, no idea where the bike should go - but hey, I got home!

Body combat that evening after which I retrieved Husband from a country lane - he had destroyed a tyre in a pothole and like most modern cars, his doesn't have a spare - or even a jack!

Thursday was really tiring but more of a mental endurance exercise. I was representing my work area at a press event - try and engage journalists and spend hours on feet attempting not to let the boredom between journalists show on face/body language! Amazing venue and the whole thing was extremely well organised. Walked home from the station at about 8 & was asleep by half 10.

Just cycling today - a bit more coming home as I wanted to get Husband a birthday cake. Very proud of getting it home in my panniers with the frosting intact!

Very bright new jacket

2010-01-17T18:59:00.003Z

8km in 50 minutes wasn't quite the pace I was hoping for on Friday evening - but my solo run was my first outside since New Year and did include a fabulously vicious hill (Olympic Way to Stoke Heights) that I've only done downwards before. It was a useful opportunity to try out my new branded convertible and luminously bright windproof- as I was drenched on the inside when I got back, I remain to be convinced on its breathability. I think I had overdressed a little to be fair - it was much warmer on Friday evening than it's been for a while. I pedalled too on Friday so felt reasonably justified in stuffing face with pizza and wine.

Lots of walking on Saturday on a very enjoyable jaunt to Brighton with G. Probably not enough to justify my Choccywoccydoodah chocolate & ginger cupcake! Picked up a pair of leggings that should be great for Body Combat in the Sweaty Betty sale - deep and secure feeling waistband.

I'd been toying with the idea of joining Goldfish in Stockbridge today for a runners vs mountain bikers 8 mile thing but lost my nerve - still aching a little post

Friday, guilty about deserting Husband having spent Saturday without him. paranoid about my shoes slipping and sliding on wet mud and paranoid about ensuring that this week's WRN runs go well after last week's cancellations. Pathetic huh? Goldfish did really well too.

So went for a bike ride in the Forest with Husband instead. We did a 26.73km version of the Portuguese Fireplace ride. I was proud of cycling through the fords - lots of water and a noticeable current.

Anyway, pizza and cupcakes contributed to a weight gain of 2lb this week - so much for getting committed to dropping a dress size!

I bet Danny MacAskill isn't scared of cycling on snow

2010-01-14T22:27:00.002Z

This is fantastic - well worth a view!

I pedalled today - just as the snow/ice subsides, I've finally found a decent main road route to work that doesn't involve teetering past static traffic & waiting for a hundred traffic lights. The problem at the moment is that although roads are increasingly clear, the pavements and cycle paths are still lethal - although much better today. And with the ice's departure, my mood is so much improved.

And I swam today. My breathing is so much more natural - but my technique is still in need of the tutorial Husband gave me at the end.

No pedalling yesterday due to trip to Portsmouth for work - but I enjoyed Body Combat that evening. It's Juliana again & the new routine is refreshingly different with more of a Muay Thai empahsis (apparently). Not so sold on the music this time - bring back Foo Fighters...

Lots of gym - but I need sunshine

2010-01-12T22:48:00.003Z

Gym tonight - x trainer, 16 mins of intervals followed by 20min at 10.5kph. I really need to get to 11kph to stand a hope of reaching my Eastleigh 10K goal of 55 mins - still, baby steps.
I should have been running but the pavements are still too ice bound - and failed my risk assessment. What makes it even worse is that my next Beginners programme should have started tonight.
Gym on Friday and Sunday too - so I am getting some exercise. I'm also getting used to the new treadmills which have fabulous personal TVs and fans, but do take longer to set up.
I did cycle to work yesterday. It wasn't much fun as I was restricted to the busy roads I normally try to avoid.
Lots of wii fit - I'm on a mission to accomplish skateboarding atm.
Not feeling very good about life at the moment - I think it's lack of daylight, attempting to drag my eating under control and acclimatising to normal life post holiday. It's normally Husband who has a sad January - maybe it's transferred!
I have some new running kit about to arrive - maybe they will cheer me up.

Another Top 40 done - thanks boss!

2010-01-07T19:38:00.005Z

No ordinary paper cup, but a porcelain mug with silicone prevent-hand-burning wrap & silicone prevent spillages when taking drink upstairs lid.

Very pleased with my Christmas present from my boss - it's been used and it knocks number 22 off my Top 40 project!

Snow prevented exercise yesterday bar a thoroughly good walk in the woods with Husband - we went up to our wedding wood at Crowdhill Copse. And a bit of wii fit later on - I am determined to master skateboarding.

Less fun walking today to work & back - especially when I slipped, landing square on my backside on the way home.

Fantastic Start to 2010

2010-01-05T21:07:00.009Z

We spent New Year in Pembrokeshire with friends in a cottage near Saundersfoot on top of a cliff, but a short walk down a steep lane to get to the beach at Wisemans Bridge - and I had a fantastic time.

On New Years Eve, went for a mostly on-road pedal with Husband and Goldfish to Pembroke, following Sustrans Celtic Way. 4 hours to do 53km - with some challenging hills. I loved the stretches along the coast - and some pretty villages inland. Chips scoffed by Pembroke Castle & then back. Husband & I both had to walk up quite a bit of Slippery Back near Tenby, accompanied by a drunk but friendly bloke!

Short walk at midnight to the beach to let off fireworks - to cheers from the pub nearby!

On New Years Day, S & I participated in the New Years Day Swim at Saundersfoot - surrounded by hardier souls in fancy dress. The Simpsons group impressed me - although Lisa's hairy chest was a revelation! There were some mankinis too... a bloke wearing normal swimwear took the p*** out of our wetsuits, but boy I was glad of mine! "Swim" was more of a brief dip with a couple of strokes, but it was a great event to take part in - and I now have a wetsuit.

Husband & I then went west to Solva for a short walk - and as we drove back, the snow started. The lane to the cottage was transformed into a "treacherous" (word of the week on weather forecasts) snow/ice slope. So later in the evening, we played with our sledge on the driveway & had a snowball fight.

S, X, Husband and E joined me for a walk the next day - ostensibly to hunt for razor clams using a technique with a bottle of salt. Not successful - a beautiful location though and a fun fruitless task!

A new activitity on Sunday: land yachting at Pendine which is where various land speed record attempts have been made. A land yacht is a plastic tub on wheels with a mast & dinghy sail - we sat back & let the wid blow us along the beach as we jibed (is that spelt right??). Couldn't get the hang of tacking. It was very much like dinghy sailing - and I think the skills I picked up will be useful next time I try sailing. X looked really nervous at the start, but got the hang of it well. S and Husband picked up the skills quickly.

Ran with X later on - I'd been feeling jealous of every beach jogger we'd seen and I was so glad to get the chance to run myself. We teetered cautiously down the lane from the cottage, but once on the coast path, the route was mostly ice free. 5K and loved it - although X was having some hip pain which was not good.

We planned to go mountain biking at Brechfa on Monday but as it was higher up, too much snow and ice stopped play and we walked instead. -7oC at 2pm! And the walk was ended prematurely by seeing a buzzard caught up on barbed wire - we couldn't work out how to release it without injuring it - or us - so got the Forestry Commission involved. We did get a short walk later on - with Kitty & Golfish to a seafood restaurant in Saundersfoot.

More snow today and forecast to get worse so we headed home a day early. I have decided that I will sub 2 activities from my Top 40 list for the NYD swim and the land yachting - hope this is acceptable to any readers of my blog!

Had a Happy Christmas

2009-12-28T23:37:00.006Z

I ran for the first time since the Mince Pie run - and I'm not feeling better for the break, indicating successful over indulgence over the last few days. My Dad's got great choice in beer, my middle sister makes great ginger puddings, my brother in law cooks fantastic pork, my Mum's mince pies & Christmas cake are the best, my other brother in law aided and abetted the beer drinking and even the sight of my littlest sister looking decidedly svelte didn't halt my calorie intake! So it's not my fault. OK, it is. A little bit.

I had to cancel all runs last week due to ice & snow. It was too snowy in Northumberland so my running shoes stayed in the suitcase & I scrounged a pair of walking boots from Mum. It's great having walking addicts as parents as there's always spare kit!

Walking was required between our lodgings at a pub and my parents' home - only about 10mins, but a slippy operation on ice and compressed snow.

Middle sister & I escaped for a brief moon/snowlit stroll on Christmas Day in a vain attempt to create more food space.

We did a more substantial walk on Boxing Day, heading down to the Tyne and the east along its south bank. My older nephews used this as an opportunity to try out their new wooden swords - very impressed that they restricted hits to dragons and other such monsters and not each other - or youngest nephew who joined us in a rucksack. Nieces headed back earlier with their Dad as it certainly wasn't very warm. As you can see in Husband's photo, the light, snow, mist and landscape all made for a memorable walk.

And more walking yesterday at a lake close to Belsay - just with Husband, Mum & Dad. The snow and frozen lake made everything monochrome - our colour photos could easily be black & white! Lots of swans & canada geese hung out on the only non frozen bit of the lake, competing quite viciously for vistiors' bread!

Top 40 update

2009-12-21T22:25:00.003Z

Done:
2. Follow a crochet pattern - done with R's booties (very easy one though)
3. Crochet something wearable that isn't a scarf - done with R's booties
5. Make some homemade Christmas presents - done! Pity my female relatives!
10. Finished a George Elliot Novel - finished Mill on the Floss
17. Used my wii fit lots
26. Fixed a puncture all on my own (almost!)
33. Great South Run - done
35. A non-running WRN event - as the Mince Pie Run was more of a ginger balance/walk - and was much more about the mulled wine & mince pies, I figure it counts!
39. Slept in our tent

Failed:
6. Make something from foraged food - my sloe cheese was a disaster - so back to the drawing board

WIP
21. I've bought a water butt - haven't fitted it yet though
22. Loft insulation- you wouldn't believe how long clearing it out is taking!
25. Bought the paint for redecorating living room

9/40 - hmmm, plenty to be getting on with! I guess I won't need any more resolutions this year!

The Mince Pie Run

2009-12-21T07:23:00.003Z

10 uf us braved the ice and cold today & ventured across the icefields of Bishopstoke for the Eastleigh WRN Mince Pie Run. Very slidy & icy so we mostly walked, fitting ina few jaunty runs where the conditions allowed. And as you can see from our shoes, a little muddy!

Back to mine for mince pies & mulled wine - expertly served by Husband - in our very warm dining room.

It was great to get the different runners in the different time groups together. And Husband was able to put names to faces at last!

Ice and mood enhancement

2009-12-19T18:07:00.007Z

I haven't been feeling too good this week - been getting very anxious about a kazillion things that don't merit a high level of anxiousness. So it was great to get out for a pedal today in the Forest - and what a day. Blue skies, sunshine, little wind - crisp and icy. We were joined by Goldfish and did the route I think of as Kitty's route from Milkham. Lots of frozen puddles to crunch through. I'm not very brave with ice (or many other things) but managed to do a few - loved the sound of the ice breaking like glass. And as you can see in the photo, some of the ice wasn't crunchable! The boys whizzed past 3 deer really close to the trail - but at my sedate pace, I spotted them & we stared at each other for a bit before my camera scared them off. The ice meant that I didn't get as wet as last time - so although it was very cold, I stayed quite cozy in my layers. I am really appreciating my merino wool base layer and I put a pair of thermal leggings under therma cycling tights.

The ride did the trick with my mood and I feel much more relaxed now. I had been hoping that the treadmill last night would work - but no. It was a short but quite satisfying session with a nice solid 20mins of intervals. Husband should have been swimming but the pool was shut due to having been vomited in!

Just cycle commuting on Thursday, made a little more challenging by lugging 2 bottles of liqueur in my panniers.

Not to plan

2009-12-16T21:26:00.002Z

I haven't exercised quite as much as I hoped this evening. Body Combat didn't happen - the services of the previous instructor were discontinued last week and a very apologetic gym manager explained that he'd messed up with sorting out a replacement for tonight. Irritating, but these things happen. I've got mixed feelings about the change - liked the instructor, but also love her replacement. So by the time I got to exercise, I just had 25 mins - 20 on the cross trianer and 6 on the stepper.

And no pedalling today as I had to go to Portsmouth for work. None yesterday as I went to London. I did walk to & from the station in freezing weather.

Very proud of the Beginners - they completed their 30 minutes last night with aplomb. More important than my pride, I hope that they are all feeling suitably proud of themselves.
Running was good on Monday too - with one of the Beginners doing her first WRN 5K.
All good!

Sunshine in Noss Mayo

2009-12-13T19:47:00.004Z

I'm starting to feel Christmassy - despite the sunshine. We enjoyed this weird sun thing this weekend in Devon with the Fabulous In Laws.

Husband's legs withstood a 5ish mile walk near the intriguing named village of Noss Mayo on Saturday - loved the coast views from NT stretch called The Warren. Woodland with creek views through the trees, then up & over a hill back to the car. He was suffering afterwards though - shuffling when we popped into Dartmouth to see the Candlelit Christmas thing (great Irish band).

I got to do my favourite beach hut run this morning with my Fabulous Mother In Law. Nearly couldn't as I'd managed to leave my running tights at home - but despite being a svelte size 8, FMIL managed to find a pair of shorts my bum would squeeze into. I'm hoping that I haven't stretched them too much! We tried a variation that avoided the worst hill and involved some downwards steps - interesting, but I prefer the original.

Gym on Friday - new machines! All very impressive - individual TV screens and ipod docks - but its going to take me a while to adjust - wasted about 10mins faffing about.

Christmas party on Wed did involve a little dancing, but offset any benefit by feeling too delicate on Thursday to do anything except wii. Pedalled 3 days this week as I had 2 trips to Portsmouth. Running was fine on Mon & Tue - but low numbers which I'm attributing to Christmas!

My first puncture repair

2009-12-06T22:30:00.003Z

Heavy rain through the week meant that choice of bike ride this weekend was restricted to Forest tracks - unless we wanted to spend hours ploughing through bog. Chose a route we haven't done for a while - another Kitty creation which combines classic forest fire tracks with a stretch of "proper" bridle way just south of Brockenhurst. The river you can see in the pic is normally a Husband-ridable-ford - even he didn't fancy it today. Several mushy bits but as it was New Forest silt as opposed to central Hamphire clay, it wasn't too claggy.
Big news is that I fixed my first puncture, with a little supervision. And it was a back wheel one. And I patched it rather than just swap the inner tube. Another Top 40 thing to tick off my list.
No deer, but some pretty birds at the beginning - loads of bluetits and a couple of nuthatches, and a v.handsome fox in the carpark at the end.

Other exercise this week - I tried tempo running with J on Monday. This consists of running faster than's comfortable. The benchmark is speech - normal steady runs have normal steady conversation. Tempo running means mono syllables - but not as fast as sprinting. We did it as a pyramid - after warming up & a steady paced start, we did 1 min at tempo followed by 1 min at steady pace. Then 2 mins at tempo, then 3. Decided that would do for now, so repeated 3, then did 2, finally 1. It went OK & we did the 5km in under 30 mins.
Cycled to work Mon-Thurs, but had a day off on Friday so heaved around 60L boxes of books instead.

Goggle Grump Update

2009-11-29T19:59:00.003Z

First pair - grey lensed speedo - lost.
Second pair - black speedo - worked fine but cut into my eye sockets, making me look like a red eyed panda after a few lengths. Pain did take the edge off my swimming experience.
Third pair - lovely lilac lensed speedo - leaked badly, causing pool rage to set in as I attempted to tweak every length.
Fourth pair - considered stealing Husband's zoggs as they work perfectly - but instead bought my own at a ludicrous £17 from the gym shop. And they are perfect! Big lenses allow a degree of peripheral vision (a bit academic as I am a speccy four eyed creature and swim in soft focus). No leaking. Comfortable - even with hair/strap interface. Easy to adjust. Very happy!

41 lengths and I feel I'm starting to really get used to this head-in-the-water concept - so much that I was able to try & get my arms to perfom better. More upper body strength would be useful - I managed to burst into tears today when husband presented me with a too heavy box of books from the loft & I found myself stranded in pain half way up the step ladder. Not my most dignified moment! He did rescue me.

Uber Burley Loop

2009-11-28T23:05:00.004Z

I had the chance to try out Husband's new Forest route today - which takes in some of our favourite sections from 3 different routes. Starting at Burley, old railway line to Brockenhurst, up to Emery Down & over to the Portuguese Fireplace via the hibernating Reptile Centre. Husband fixed puncture and I admired cute pigs. Up to Highland Water towards Milkham, then parallelling the dual carriage way before cutting underneath it, going back to Burley via a pretty bit with a pond. 39.15km and we got back to the car just as it started raining.

We were still drenched though thanks to loads of surface water - and I got cold - esp at the end. My top half was well insulated with a wool base layer and windproof top - but my bum and legs weren't warm after first soaking.

I also managed to burn 140 calories on the wii - not quickly - in between jewellery construction.
My knee and backside have been a bit achey this week so all I did after Body Combat on Wed was pedal to work & back.

Running went well on Monday - and I think I have the sessions scheduled OK for the Christmas break. I do need to do some research and thinking on training plans though - so the group can approach the Eastleigh 10K next year with a measure of confidence.

Why haven't I been to Bristol before?

2009-11-22T22:54:00.005Z

Liked Bristol lots. Bit like Vancouver, Istanbul & Auckland (stay with me...) it's got water breaking it up at different angles and like 2 of the 3, has had lots of harbourside re-development. We had 2 objectives for the weekend - catch up with J who's in Bristol & try out the Thermae Spa in Bath. Hotel prices led to us staying in Bristol - and to be honest, I preferred it to Bath.
Lots of rain on Saturday. We got drenched waiting for ferries - but still enjoyed getting our bearings on the water.
Bit of a Brunel theme started - SS Great Britain was much more interesting than I expected. Husband told me about his Grandad being on HMS Exeter in WW2 when it was shot almost to bits, limped into Port Stanley & cannibilised metal from SS Great Britain's scuppered hulk to become seaworthy again.

Fabulous catching up with J & B that evening - and meeting their very cute son for the first time.

Got up a bit late on Sunday & walked over to Arnolfini to see a Climate Change art thing before breakfast in a cafe/bike shop. Then more Brunel - Clifton Suspension Bridge and a walk up to the Observatory for a better view.

Shopping in Bath was a bit disappointing, but the Spa was good. Busy, but apart from not having enough showers, it was well able to cope with the numbers. I loved looking out over the cityscape in the dimming light (and rain) from the rooftop pool - but goggles weren't needed. Very pleased that hugging Husband was socially acceptable in the pools - it was kind of romantic in an odd way. The water didn't smell bad - but didn't taste great - kind of old badoit! Steamrooms were very non-plastic and immaculate - although we couldn't tell which aroma was in each. The meal included with our package was better than we expected. I was surprised that we had to rush at the end in order to meet the 3 hour deadline - I'd expected to have exhausted its charms much sooner! My skin is now very soft and I almost relaxed. Not a cheap way to spend an evening - but enjoyed the experience - and it's another Top 40 objective ticked off.

A good week

2009-11-20T23:31:00.004Z

It's been quite a good week for exercise. I pedalled every day except Wed. Got myself to Body Combat on Wed and to the gym tonight. And running on Tuesday was fine.

Feeling a bit achey in the legs and feet tonight - weirdly, foot ache went away when running. I did better on running intervals than any session over the last few months, keeping it up from 12 mins to finishing at 30. I'm going to have to do more though - way off my Eastleigh 10K target pace.

Wii fit plus is here. The new calorie count feature satisfies my inner anorak - and confirms my hunch that it's nowhere up to "proper" cv work in terms of energy burned. It's not a huge deal for me as I tend to use the wii for yoga and muscle stuff. Some very odd new games - the cycling is especially odd.

I have invested in new goggles ready for a spa visit on Sunday - really looking forward to going away esp as some work pressure has just been eased. I'm almost feeling human already - much earlier than last weekend.

Goggle Grump

2009-11-16T23:09:00.003Z

I had such a grumpy swim yesterday - I couldn't get my goggles to stop leaking & was swimming with 1 eye shut for the last chunk of every length. Then wasted time fiddling about with them every length trying to get the fit better. Length 20 - they finally stopped leaking, but misted up so I continued to 40 in soft focus!
Windy pedal this morning but the weather calmed during the day and it was dry for running. Not a great turnout tonight but enjoyable, speed with first group & hill with the second. My knees are aching which I'm really hoping is a temporary state of affairs.
One of the runners was telling me how much fitter she feels now - I'm reallly chuffed for her. It makes it all seem worthwhile!

In touch with my inner anorak

2009-11-15T09:32:00.002Z

Through (finally!) connecting our wii to the world, I've discovered that 30mins of wii tennis burns 122.85 calories for one of my weight! So not as good as a jog or pedal, but still something. We're addicted to wii snowboarding though in the remote mode which I suspect is negligible in benefits other than entertainment. I've ordered the wii fit plus software - which will satisfy my inner calorie anorak as it gives calorie estimates. And sadly, this was a major motivation in purchasing.

Husband went cycling yesterday whilst I had a most enjoyable afternoon with G. The only glitch was having my purse swiped - in a busy shopping centre on a Saturday afternoon. John Lewis scored huge brownie points - their Card Services team were really helpful when we came in to stop my partnership card - allowed me to use their landline, looked up phone numbers and even brought us both a pot of tea. I now intend to do as much of my Xmas shopping as poss in John Lewis!

So apart from my wii fit, no exercise to report since Thursday. Hoping to do something today.

Back on the bicycle

2009-11-12T21:59:00.002Z

Two wheels better - even if I did get a little soggy pedalling home today. Traffic has been dreadful over the last few days- which is good for cycling motivation. Lowlight was an hour sat on Oxford southern bypass - lorry overturned on other carriageway causing gridlock. It's been the first proper soaking for my panniers - they passed the test.

No pedalling at the weekend as my folks were here en route to a stint working on a cruise ship - have convinced Dad that they are really galley slaves. The ship will slow down when he's teaching bridge as there will be one less rower...

Anyway, enough of the excuses. Gym on Sunday and tonight - overheated big time tonight as the ventilation is up the spout, probably due to the gym renovation.

Running was calorie-anorak-interesting on Mon & Tue as I took all groups bar the beginners on the same route. The one we looped back to do a little speed used 451 calories. The gentlest one used 331 calories. So that's 120 extra down to higher intensity and 0.21km more distance.

I am a slug

2009-11-06T20:37:00.002Z

No exercise whatsoever today - absolutely diddly squat (is that how diddly is spelt)? I attempted to collect my Panda from the garage & got stuck in traffic everywhere - the highlight was 10 minutes underneath the M27 at J8. So as the chap I spoke to had to collect his child from nursery rather than keep the place open just for me (he was apologetic - bless), I gave up & collected car today - so a third non-pedal day. The traffic was a useful reminder of just how much more I benefit from pedalling to work.
Gym last night - I hadn't been for so long that I didn't realise that it's getting a spruce up. This includes some "floor classes" - so my new mission is to persuade Husband to give a Spinning class a go with me sometime.

Curiouser & Curiouser

2009-11-04T22:44:00.002Z

Getting very confused about the relationship between Run in England & Women's Running Network. I'm hoping that the new RIE county activator will help to un-confuse me! I met her on Tuesday - she has a remit to develop new RIE groups across Hampshire - and I was hoping that this would mean more groups that Eastleigh WRN members would be able to run with - but I've been reading up on t'internet & am now more mystified. Anyway, she was lovely and is keen to support me which is fabulous. And she ran with us - very much appreciated!
Useful chat about development - I think I may need to review my top 40 objective to become a level 2 coach - might investigate alternative ways to improve my running coach skills.

No pedalling today as I was due to attend an off site meeting - which was moved to on site. And my Panda is being serviced tomorrow - so another petrol fuelled day.

I definitely spent a few calories on Saturday night bouncing around a dancefloor if the level of sweatiness I achieved was anything to go by! Nice gentle relaxing Sunday followed.

Body Combat tonight - haven't been for so long that the routine had changed. I'm plesaed that the new tracklist includes Metallica!

Dimpsy at the end

2009-10-31T18:25:00.004Z

Bike ride in West Sussex today. I had an email flyer from Paramo advertising a clearance thing in a church hall in Emsworth - so we shopped for outdoor clothing then drove north a bit to make the most of a beautiful Autumn day.

The notice on the carpark gate stating that it would be locked at 5pm prompted us to review our planned route - still adjusting to the clock change - and we cut back our plans. We should have been concerned anyway - I didn't have any lights & Husband's are very much of the "get me home just about legally" light level.

It still took longer than anticipated - proper hills and some lethally slidy downhills with wet leaves over wet tree roots with that special chalk/chalk mud combo that makes for no grip whatsoever! And a stick nearly brought our ride to a premature end - bending Husband's gear hanger quite impressively. Brute force brought back all bar 2 gears - but it will be going to the bike shop this week.

Stunning scenery though - enhanced by the light and golds/reds/browns of the leaves. We saw a stag run across the path & you could hear them rutting from the track. Husband bumped into a collague he hadn't seen since her maternity leave started in August - and met her baby for the first time. no time to chat though as the light was going.

28.3km in total - but we both feel like we had a proper work out, probably due to the mad dash to get back in time at the end and the proper hills! As you can see from the lower pic, it was definitely dimpsy (fabulous Devon word) with fading light and the moon was out. Mist hugging the lawns around the big house definitely gave an appropriate look for Halloween. Turned into the car park at 4:55pm!

It's been quite a sedate week though - just 3/4 runs on Mon & Tue, pedalling to work & a little wii.

Great South Run

2009-10-25T16:26:00.004Z

10 miles, 1 hour 41 - I'm quite happy with that! Helped by fab supporters, good company (thanks L!) great weather & a text from Z this morning reminding me to watch my pace at the beginning! It was a great event. Transport was the only bit I'd tweak if doing it again - parking looke too tricky, but it's a long walk from the station to the start for Husband's delicate arthritic ankles - so we'd probably take bikes next year!

I was very excited to meet WRN members from Canterbury and Weston Super Mare at the start - and to actually bump into L. We ran the first few miles together which was great. I also bumped into L from Garmin on the run too, looking very steady.

Not much other exercise to report this week bar lots of walking on a business trip. I was grateful to WRN members for allowing me gentler runs!

Quick pick sloe

2009-10-19T23:12:00.003+01:00

One of my Top 40 is to do something with foraged food. We've made sloe gin lots of times - very good it is too - but I have a hunch that something else can be done with these little plum relatives.
Only got around to picking them on Sunday - right at the very end of their season here in the deep south - on a pedal from the house. And as the ride took all afternoon, the fruit is now sat in the freezer awaiting inspiration... sloe cheese could be on the cards.

Anyway, the bike ride! Just me & Husband on the parched tracks of central Hampshire. Up to Owslebury, over to Cheesefoot head, bit of South Downs Way, back around to the normally mushy Park Wood track then home. 44.3km& a very pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Husband sustained a really good puncture - big metal staple, part one of which was visible on the ouside of the tyre. Part 2 had completely separated & was in the inner tube. First, tried to change inner tube but it was one with an extra long & delicate valve (schraeders are so much more robust...) & had to be discarded. Super patched the holey tube successfully.
Very confused to see some poppies & cornflowers close to Cheesefoot Head. Crimson spindle berries, dark red hawthorn berries and leaves on the turn to golden, red and brown.

Running tonight & I tried to take it easy as I have the Great South on Sunday.

Chocolate & subs for

2009-10-17T23:18:00.006+01:00

I have strong feelings about chocolate - it's up there with ice cream and beer as something I feel my life would be much poorer without. The good stuff is always preferable - dark chocolate with reasonably high cocoa solids and a depth of flavour - well demonstrated by Montezuma's dark chocolate.
However, there are a few substitutes that form part of my chocolate intake.

Not shown here is my recent discovery of FairBreak wafers now merchandised perillously close to the coffee shop till at work. Something a bit kitkat like about them and not too bad on calories (110ish) and these have now replaced Freddos as main threat to my diet.

I share a liking for the Special K Bliss bars with Mum & Dad. Has to be the orange version - the raspberry one is too sweet, but I think my fondness for marmalade also plays a part. The dark chocolate base is just about sufficient for a cocoa hit.

I've included a recent discovery here - Waitrose gave me a voucher for a free pack of macaroons - smart marketing as I've failed to avoid them since. As with the Bliss bars, just enough dark chocolate to matter.

Combining 2 of my loves has potential. Beer flavoured icecream may not be a wonderful thing, but I love chocolate icecream. Skinny Cow bars are fabulous - fewer calories than many yoghurts & infinitely more dessert like in my warped opinion. Only hitch is that my local Waitrose has switched from Triple Chocolate to a toothpaste flavoured abomination - and the stock of the revolting green version doesn't seem to be declining. So my fix can only be achieved on our occaisional ventures to a big Sainsburys.

Finally, I thought I was the only person in the world who liked nakd bars*. Bought a multipack on impulse, tried 1 and wasn't convinced at all. They claim to be uncooked and fruit packed (lots of dates) but there is cocoa there together with a unique earthy taste. 4 or 5 bars later, I was hooked! Very filling for a little calorie count, chocolatey enough to work and pretends to be virtuous. Again, the cocoa one is the only one I like. I have witnessed many (OK, Husband and Goldfish) be suckered in by the brand name only to be hugely disappointed & not sure that they are really food. So I was surprised to hear somebody not me extol their tastiness and chocolateyness - HC from running. I am no longer alone....

* = this logic is clearly flawed as Waitrose continue to stock them & I'm sure that my purchasing alone wouldn't justify their shelf space.

A little more conversation please

2009-10-16T21:28:00.004+01:00

My last long run tonight before the Great South - 16K in 103mins so a tad quicker than last time - but it was more important to me to prove that I could do the distance. I missed the WRN runners though - chunks seemed abnormally long without a quality conversation to occupy my head.
Bumped into Kitty doing her WRN homework - her halo was shining brightly!
4km - 6km, I was accompanied by a bloke on an invalid scooter with 2 incredibly fit looking red setters. He was updating me on my speed - very sweet if not necessary for a Forerunner wearer.
Later, a fox shot out ahead of me, disappearing into a hedge. A cyclist coming the other way convinced the fox he was cornered & he shot past me again.
High fived a yoof who was giving encouragement (kind of!) at 11km.
So quite an eventful run!

Gherkin

2009-10-15T17:53:00.001+01:00

New beginners started at WRN on Tuesday - although at least a couple are returners rather than true novices. I am getting more confident but have much room for improvement as a coach. Very excited that the group should have a second coach soon - not impressed with the booking system 4 her course though. J's perseverence will be a useful quality as a coach!

Last night was first ride home with lights - summer is over. And it will be pavement runs only with WRN now until March April. Sigh.

London trip today and as I am not sure I will be up for a gym visit later have been walking as much as possible - hence gherkin pic.

PW for me at Beaulieu 10K

2009-10-12T23:15:00.003+01:00

To be fair, I didn't set myself a time goal for the Cancer Research 10K yesterday at Beaulieu. It was still a shock though to achieve my Personal Worst for this run - 61mins.
Not the case for the other 5 Eastleigh WRN runners - 4 of whom were doing their first ever 10K race (and for 3 of them, I think it was their first ever 10K). All acquitted themselves brilliantly. LH was ahead of me all the way through. I did the first 4km with N before she moved on. Spotted K later on looking extremely comfortable. Spotted C & LW making their way over the finish line looking great.

Panniers were christened today - full load including laptop. The bike feels heavier but I think I'll adjust OK. Braking is really different with the weight so far over the back wheel and I can't do my dreadful powering up hills using my weight to push the pedals down - no bad thing I guess. All my stuff stuffed in very easily with plenty of room to spare and the transition to office was fine.

Running tonight was the first time I've kept a second long sleeved layer on - quite chilly. I was really chuffed that X came out with the Advanced group - and she ran very well. 4 runners in the 8pm standard group. Neither group was very speedy tonight - we all seemed to find it hard work. I think I need to rework & structure the warm up a bit more for colder weather when it's even more crucial.

De-Slugging

2009-10-10T21:28:00.003+01:00

I think I made up a little for my sluggish week today. Husband decided we should make the most of the sunshine in the New Forest - and opted to start close to the Portuguese fireplace.

28ish km in 1 hour 41 - predictably fast going on the forest tracks. We did pause to gather some chestnuts - although the pig shown here was more interested in acorns. Lots of deer too.

Followed up with a swim. Husband was pleased with his time, I was just pleased to do 40 lengths - must start upping this if I'm to get to my Top 40 target.

Speaking of which, I have done a couple this week. I completed a crochet pattern - but I'm not showing the output for a couple of weeks as it's for a gift (so 2 goals ticked).

I also completed my first George Elliot novel - Mill on the Floss. Liked it but felt the ending was a cop out. Loved the way the characters developed and the descriptions of the landscapes. My problem is that when I get into a book, I treat it like a rollercoaster ride, and like to roll on to the end caught up in the plot. Which results in reading way too quickly which means that I miss depth/detail/subtle stuff. Pretty much a fault that I exhibit in other areas too!

Bike Pimped but Languishing in Shed

2009-10-10T09:53:00.003+01:00

Husband did lots of great work to my bike last weekend - a much needed service, new brake pads (I did wonder why the back ones weren't working very well) and he's fitted a rack for 2 very yellow very waterproof new panniers. My back has been complaining about the Crumper messenger bag when fully packed - esp when my laptop is in it. The new panniers will move the weight stress to my quads and remove my dependence on plastic bags in wet weather. And are yellow.
So it's a shame that I haven't tried it out this week. Work's required some very late nights, logistics of hire car petrol filling, an awayday & a presentaion in London.
Work's also meant much less exercise than normal - even the wii has been under used.
But in the spirit of talking about what I have done, I ran 15km on Monday (albeit with a break at 10K) and did a day's much needed gardening on Sunday. A couple of walks - to paper shop, station and an eco house in Woking.
Not really any great surprise though that I've gained 4lb this week.

Allsorts

2009-09-28T22:06:00.004+01:00

Just cycling to work on Thursday & Friday. I have decided that panniers are the way to go - my laptop is just too heavy on my back & I'm not sure it will fit in my bag now I'm wearing more clothes at work (that sounds like I've been working semi naked - please be reassured I haven't been!).

Our new tradition of No Cook Friday (which I'm really enjoying) resulted in a little walking in high heels in Winchester between pub & cinema.

And next to no exercise on Saturday bar the wii.

Sunday was more active - I saw off P, K & L who were cross country running in Hursley (their first race) then went mountain biking with Goldfish, X, S and Husband. S & X were curious to try the South Downs Way to see if doing the full thing in May would be a good training goal. Unfortuneately, X wasn't well so we changed our plans slightly - which pleased Husband as it meant we were able to do one of his favourite impossible downhills. It's been tamed a little though which means it's just steep now as opposed to lethal. Beautiful weather- golden autumn light.

I swam quite well later on - up to 50 lengths now & the breathing is so much easier! I tried to think "hands are paddles" - still got some work to do...

Running tonight. Did some speedwork with the 7pm group then 5K with the 8pm group.

Top 40 list progress

2009-09-23T21:40:00.004+01:00

1. Get into size 12 jeans - hmm, gained 2lbs this week, so not so good so far!
2. Follow & execute a crochet pattern - will probably be baby bootees - thanks for the patterns K!
6. Inflict something homemade on all female relatives for Christmas - I have a commission from Mum for a green based necklace - and I feel inspired to attempt baby proof stuff for my sisters.
10. Finish a George Elliot novel - ordered Mill on the Floss today
13. Do a press up - vaguely tried tonight at Body Combat but reverted to boxed after just one failed half hearted attempt!
14. Swim a mile with proper breaststroke - getting better at swimming so may attempt this soon.
16. Use my wii fit - success, enjoying it!
29. South Downs Way - have signed up for this on a mountain bike in May
30. Try somewhere new for mountain biking - looks like this will be Portugal in May
31. Do level 2 coaching training - have attempted to sign up for a course at the end of Oct, but have bee thwarted by Run in England's web site!
33. Great South Run - feeling really confident about this now that I know I can do the distance.
34. Half marathon - this will probably be the WRN women only one at Castle Combe in April
36. Go somewhere new - Portugal planned for May - learning to sail
38. Try out a different spa or gym - plan is hatching to try the Bath one in November...
39. Sleep in our tent -yup, done!

So, two completed so far. Not amazing progress, but I'm not panicking yet. The goals I'm most concerned about are 1 (getting thinner), 13 (press up), 27 (berms) and given my lack of speediness, 32 (10k in under 55 mins).

Juliana was back as Body Combat instructor - good reminder of how good she is. Her control is so sharp and she motivated us really well. Had a spot of walking too as I had another London meeting.

Bloke Flu

2009-09-22T13:03:00.002+01:00

It's probably a good thing that I didn't blog much last week as I was in hypochondriac mode - I had the world's mildest cold & whinged & whined like a bloke about it!

Very grateful that I didn't pass the virus over to Eastleigh WRN's Z who completed the Great North Run on Sunday in a very creditable 2 hours 33mins - impressive stuff, especially as she ran it all and raised over £500 for the Alzheimers Society.

Due to my life threatening illness, I didn't do much apart from cycle to work on Wed & Friday and some wii-ing. Gym on Friday was kept gentle - 5 mins running on the treadmill and I was dead, so switched to x trainer!

Lots of walking at the weekend at the Boat Show and at the Goodwood Revival - I especially enjoyed the latter & plan to go in costume next year. The pic is of Rowan Atkinson going around the circuit on top of a mini...

Camping Revisited

2009-09-14T22:41:00.009+01:00

Quite a few years ago, Husband declared himself "too old for camping" following a rather soggy experience where trenchfoot seemed a real risk. So I was surprised when he declared himself ready to try it again - but with conditions:

Only in sunny weather
Only one night at a time
Adjourn to pub for eating

This weekend qualified on the weather front & I found a couple of appealing bike rides in Dorset that were a tad too far away for a day ride. Found a campsite at Osmington, rechecked forecast & packed the car with vast quantities of stuff.

Saturday's ride was 14.5miles, starting from Maiden Castle south of Dorchester with 490m of ascent. Real mix of terrain & scenery - loved a stretch along a chalk ridge at the beginning with sweeping views of the coast - and then Hardy's monument (that's kiss me not far from the madding crowd Hardy). Foresty bit, heathland and some fields, finishing up with a strtch of tarmac. It was surreal at the end seeing HRH's toytown of Poundbury on the left and the giant earthwork of Maiden Castle on the right.

We got the tent up fine, showered and headed for the beach where we watched the sunset. Pub - which did my favourite Badger ales - and Husband discovered their cider. As we walked back to the tent, we had one of our occaisional "wouldn't it be great to live somewhere where we could see the stars instead of an orange glow" conversations - kicked off by seeing the milky way.

Later, we discovered that we hadn't chosen the best orientation for the tent - our feet were above our heads and Husband got cramp. But apart from swivelling airbeds at midnight, a reasonable night's sleep. Bacon rolls for breakfast & successfully tried out my new expresso maker - thanks C & M!

This may be our only camping this year as I was struggling on the warmth front - duvet thing that's with my air bed, sleeping bag, fleece blanket & PJs and I was just about warm enough. But it's my first Top 40 big tick.

Sunday's ride was a bit longer (22 miles) and a bit higher (730m) starting from Ringstead. Loved the coastal views - and again, there was a real mix of tracks. We did have a few navigational glitches - guess where the bridleway moments across fields, and we managed to do a stretch of footpath by mistake. Guilty pleasure as it was good singletrack.

Back to car for malt loaf & the drive home.

Longer than usual commute today as it included a store visit. Running was good tonight - but my legs are feeling a little spent still after the 10 miler last week.

My first 10 mile run

2009-09-10T21:52:00.003+01:00

I was so pleased when Z agreed to do a longer run with me tonight. She has the Great North Run coming up so it fitted pretty well with her training. Agreed on 10 miles - 16K and further than I've ever run before. One of the reasons I was chuffed is that Z is the Queen of Pacing - she is incredibly consistent so I figured she'd be the ideal partner. I was pleasantly surprised to get a a note from L who I hadn't seen for a few months saying that she'd be coming too. And J, despite feeling a little sore from her first ever 10K on Monday, decided to join us for part of teh route.
We did a figure of 8 route - starting off climbing up through Stoke Park Woods as it would have been criminal not to on a beautiful evening! The rest of the route was road - and comparatively flat - so we did the hard bit first.

And we did it! 110 minutes which I'm pleased with - esp as the aim was to simply do the distance, not to push speed. J did the first 7.5K as she'd planned. So good to have Z, J and L to chat to which made it enjoyable rather than a slog. And the Queen of Pacing's skills were much used - my knee was starting to declare its presence after 9K, but all I had to do was slow slightly to Z's perfect speed and it cleared.

Best of luck to Z - I'm convinced she'll be fine with the half marathon based on tonight's run. And I'm no longer dreading the Great South - just need to watch my pacing!

Pedal, wii, mackerel and mixed feelings at running

2009-09-08T21:22:00.004+01:00

Bike Ride on Saturday to celebrate S's birthday. X organised a gentle pedal along the Test Way with lunch at the Mayfly. It wasn't quite as sunny as we'd hoped - but it didn't rain. Phase 2 of birthday celebrations was later on - I demolished vast quantities of sparkling wine and some of Kitty's very good pizza - and we adjourned to S & X's dedicated wii room (very jealous!) to play tennis. G is no longer a wii virgin. Finished the day with some fabulous cheesecake.

On Sunday, Husband made good on an offer he made a long time ago to take our godson H fishing. He headed over to Hengistbury Head with H, his brothers & dad whilst I attempted crabbing with K & W. Boys caught 1 fish, we failed miserably to get a crab. The mackerel provided lunch for H's semi veggie brother A whilst we had burgers - love beach bbqs. I figure that we walked a couple of miles at least - so a bit of exercise.

Running was a bit mixed yesterday. I was really impressed with J & N achieving their first 10k, but I felt really bad about D who had to cut back early with hip problems. Mystery injuries are so frustrating. The later standard group did well on their first hill. Running tonight was just me & L - beautiful evening jog in the woods with light best described as golden!

Does technique make a difference?

2009-09-04T23:35:00.001+01:00

No cycling today as I was in London - not as much walking as this normally entails as Husband kindly dropped me at Winchester station which gave me a very painless train journey.
Following a fruitless search for my goggles, we went swimming tonight. I'm finding the head-in-water thing much more natural and I had no half drowned moments - a result!
Less successful wer Husband's spare goggles which dug into my eye area quite painfully - I now know why they are his spares.
I really appreciated Husband giving me some coaching at the end - my arms haven't been contributing very much to my stroke which I now know is more down to lousy technique than my lack of upper body strength. So next swim will require:

Not drowning - still getting my breathing better!
Using my hands as more definitive paddles (as opposed to vague ones)
Not letting my hands come further back than my ears when pulling back.

Did some wii sport later - he beat me at tennis again & I attempted the boxing game which exhausted me as I didn't worry about technique and simply pummelled my opponent!

Soggy Wednesday

2009-09-03T12:20:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was the first time in ages that I got thoroughly drenched whilst pedalling home. I was in a better position than my colleague B who'd forgotten his waterproof trousers - however, my smugness was repaid by karma as I got even wetter at the gym entrance later on (canopy suddenly off loaded big amount of water onto me - so I got to do Body Combat wearing very wet cotton leggings - nice!).

I haven't rambled about kit for a while - so here goes - essential cycling wet weather gear:

Waterproof socks.
Waterproof overtrousers. I dont bother for showers or drizzle, but these make a big difference when it's pouring.
Bicycle clip to prevent overtrouser/chain interaction. I never have one and have been using a reflective snap on band instead which performs quite well. None with me yesterday so I tucked overtrousers into socks - not a good move as water then trickled down the top of the sock....
Waterproof bag. My Crumpler is pretty good at keeping my office clothes dry, but it struggles a little with very heavy rain and puddle spray, hence:
Carrier bag(s). Anything I don't want to get damp gets an extra barrier.
Wateproof jacket - ideally with zip pockets so I'm not scrabbling in my bag for keys etc, getting contents of bag unecessarily soggy.

Shoes were still wet this morning as were my gloves (my waterproof ones are winter only) so have switched to drier alternatives for the day.

Staycationing in Northumberland

2009-09-01T23:27:00.003+01:00

Our final summer staycation was in Northumberland, staying with my parents. I've been very keen to try the new Lonesome Pine trail at Kielder as we'd enjoyed the Deadwater Trail so much last year. Mum & Dad arranged a walk up in Kielder so we were able to travel with them (and cadge afternoon tea afterwards in Bellingham).

The trail was 12 miles long. Deadwater has had its red rating disputed by some as it has black leanings in places - Lonesome is also likely to be discussed but more in the other direction as it seemed more blue in areas - not esp technical (yay!) but enough challenges to keep the little grey cells ticking over. They seem to be in the process of adding more bits to it so I'm hoping that it grows more comfortably into its grade. All a bit academic really as I still chickened many sections! I did manage the north shore at the summit - a rarity - but it is a whopping 2m wide apparently to counteract the strong windy gusts across the exposed hillside. Husband did very well. I loved the views - especially with purple heather contrasting with red rowan berries (the latter is the sign of a hard winter apparently).

Middle sister, BIL and my nephews D (4) and C (nearly 1) came over so we spent the day at Cragside where we all got the chance to try adventure playgrounds - their trim trail is designed for 10-adult. I still can't do monkey bars! Fair amount of walking around the grounds - landscaped hillside, lakes providing HP power to the innovative house, formal gardens all surrounded by Northumberland hills. Pleased to discover that it takes much more effort to allow D to just about win running races now!

Coast on Sunday - 22 mile bike ride from Dunstan (should have been Craster but we couldn't get a parking space) whilst my folks walked again. Easy bridleways and byways. There was a scarecrow fete thing at Rennington which was entertaining - never seen an ostrich scarecrow before! Stepping stones across the river Aln were non existent so we took off shoes & socks to wade across. My favourite bit was along the stunning coastline - views to Dunstanburgh castle to the north, sand, rockpools, seabirds, fabulous! We took the bikes onto the beach at Boulmer to try out the hard sand. Very different to Friday's ride, but just as memorable.

Very grateful to parents for hospitality - which included packed lunches which are a novel addition to our bike rides.

We got back in time for a little allotmenteering before running.

The Beginners are no more - they all ran 30mins non stop so are now Intermediates. I also enjoyed the earlier standard run (soon to be renamed the advanced run I think!).

Big achievements tonight as well - 5K in under 40mins which I know is a milestone for L - both she and J ran really well.

30mins wii-ing tonight, 15 last night. Have discovered that I can't do shoulder stands.

Activity catch up to Thursday

2009-08-27T18:27:00.000+01:00

Beach Hut Breakfast last Sunday - but without the customary run first.
Instead, Fabulous Mother In Law and I went out on Monday morning for a damp but enjoyable run.
Bits of walking on Sunday - including a wander down to Babbacombe, back up Oddicombe.
Running went well on Mon and Tue and I think my scheduling headache may have a resolution brewing...
And that's all - apart form some wii fit.

40 things for 40 project - the list

2009-08-23T17:21:00.003+01:00

This is my project to complete by 12th August 2010 - i.e. all to do whilst I'm 40!

1. Get into size 12 jeans (defined as Uniqlo - brand makes a difference!)

Making things:
2. Follow a crochet pattern
3. Crochet something wearable that isn't a scarf
4. Make vanilla ice cream
5. Make some home made Christmas presents
6. Make something from foraged food
7. Bake soda bread
8. Make a curry paste from scratch

Culture stuff:
9. Discover a piece of classical music that I don't already know
10. Finish a George Elliot novel
11. Watch Citizen Kane

Fitness:
12. Go to a circuits class
13. Do a press up (not boxed!)
14. Swim a mile of proper head in water breast stroke
15. Try pilates
16. Try a dance class
17. Use my wii fit
18. Use our canoe

Home & Green stuff:
19. Grow something new to eat
20. Plant a tree in the garden
21. Fit a water butt
22. Get a thermal mug to wean myself off disposables at work
23. Improve our loft insulation
24. Redecorate hall & landing
25. Redecorate living room

Bike stuff:
26. Fix a bike puncture all by myself
27. Get the hang of berms
28. Get the hang of my GPS
29. Do the South Downs Way
30. Try somewhere new for mountain biking

Running stuff:
31. Do level 2 coaching training
32. Eastleigh 10K in sub 55 mins
33. Great South Run
34. Half Marathon
35. Organise a WRN non-running event

Travel stuff:
36. Go somewhere new
37. Go to the Isle of Wight
38. Try a new spa or gym
39. Sleep in our tent
40. Organise a work social event

Granite Way

2009-08-22T18:43:00.005+01:00

6 of us on today's pedal - me, Husband, the Fabulous In Laws plus Kitty and Goldfish who are here for the weekend. We did the Granite Way - a cycle route between Okehampton and Lydford following (mostly) a disused railway.

We started from Okehampton YHA next to the steam railway & Fabulous In Laws picked up 2 very reasonably priced hire bikes. Considering that they haven't ridden for 2 years - and before that, a much longer non cycling period, they did really well. R struggled a little at the start as her confidence is still a little shaken from a running accident 3 weeks ago - but soon got her pedalling back. T set off really well - and did even better after taking his saddle up a lot!

Kitty & I relished being able to take photos en route - there was no pressure to speed.

Terrain was really easy - off road tarmac at the start with some gravelly bits. Goldfish still managed to go flying due to another cyclist considerately running him off the track. At about 10km, we switched to quiet lanes and much bigger hills.

Pub at Lydford - loved my cheesey chips - and I had a quick look at the castle - a 12th century prison.

34.03km in total with a respectable ascent of 605m. Very proud of my Fabulous In Laws - and great to spend the day with Kitty & Goldfish.

Proper hills and random boulders

2009-08-21T18:56:00.004+01:00

We're in Torquay this weekend at the Fabulous In Laws. As they were walking today, we decided to cycle & dug out an MBR route from North Bovey - only 18km and "medium". It took us all day! Our route was closer to 22km due to navigational confusion - too many bridleways and although ascent was meant to be 720m, I haven't downloaded the "real" data yet & suspect that our diversion added metres to that too.

What made it so long was a slow section at the start - very technical steep uphills and boulder ridden singletrack downhills that were certainly beyond our ability in places. My bike started to feel more like a fashion accessory than a mode of transport! "Flowing" is not an appropriate adjective for the singletrack. Second half was easier technically (mostly) but some killer climbs. Even here, we'd be going through shoulder high bracken & getting thrown around by invisible random rocks. My legs and arms have been shredded by brambles and Husband is sporting a few more serious scratches.

What made the ride worth doing was the scenery. My favourite kind of woodland (twisty stumpy oaks dripping with lichen on a mossy bouldery thin soil). Open moorland with bright yellow gorse and purple heather. Dartmoor ponies, buzzards and an adder. And towards the end I finally remembered that granite isn't slippery when wet & my riding attained a marginally less rubbish skill level!

Scheduling dilemma

2009-08-20T07:34:00.004+01:00

Running was much better this week than last - although I'm now a bit concerned about a scheduling issue I've managed to create. Beginners don't all want to switch to Tuesdays and Intermediates like their 7pm slot. The worst case scenario is that I will have 4 groups and am in a state of exhaustion by Tuesday night - arrrgggghhh. Have asked WRN for some advice!
Some walking this week - station to home on Monday and home to park & ride site on Tue as I had a visit to London on Mon afternoon & left bike at the office.
Too dead to wii on Monday, just 15 mins on Tuesday but over 30 yesterday - it made for guilt alleviation for pizza that I had over at D & W's later on! wii fit is now my friend as it's telling me that my age is 39!

Milkham

2009-08-16T19:01:00.004+01:00

We tend to avoid the New Forest in summer - it's when the muddy bridlepaths are ridable to tempt us away from the forest tracks and crowds - and Lyndhurst in particular grinds to a gridlock. However, C now has a bump and she's been finding cycle commuting harder work recently so she requested a less strenuous ride. Kitty's 26km Milkham route has many fine qualities - including many possible shortcuts and cut backs, not too much in the way of hills and a couple of sections that are more engaging than the average New Forest pedal.
M & I were both glad we'd opted for a t-shirt single layer as the sun soon came out. Husband employed wrangler style whoops to shift ponies out of the tunnel under the dual carriageway where they were enjoying the shade - I'm sure they soon wandered back in.

There's normally top entertainment in Burley and today was no exception - a birthday girl and buddy were squealing wildly whilst vaguely attempting to ride a tandem. The squeals were inferior to C's guinea pig squeals - although I was relieved to not hear too many of the latter today as I was hoping she'd find the ride gently pleasant.

A little gardening when we got back - Husband had to mow the lawn as we have a rat problem atm. i did venture into the back garden - giving my feet a sauna in wellies. And a little wii tennis in addition to 30mins wii fit.

Like Richard Hammond's hair....

2009-08-15T22:02:00.002+01:00

... my performance is wildly inconsistent and not as good as it used to be! I was watching Total Wipeout at the gym whilst dripping with sweat running slowly.
Lots of exercise today - 30mins wii-ing plus after which I discovered that Husband likes the wii sport tennis game. And spent the afternoon carefully exposing pak choi, beetroot and leeks by removing a jungle of weeds.

Wii and swimming

2009-08-14T22:18:00.003+01:00

Quads are back to normal so I cycled today. I didn't want to push my legs so opted to swim with Husband tonight - and I can now do 40 lengths of proper, head under water kind of breaststroke - even enjoyed it. In the spa bath afterwards, I used the massage blast on my quads which felt like it was a good thing to do.
I've been having fun with the wii too - esp hula hooping (might have the courage to try the real thing sometime at G's now!) and the neglible fitness benefit balance skiing game. The yoga isn't driving me to rage as it's very functional & it's single moves so I can pick'n'mix.

Cognitive Dissonance

2009-08-13T13:05:00.000+01:00

Discovered last night something I’d suspected whilst setting up my shiny new wii fit– my weight is up to a level that I really should be addressing it. So I respond by having a bacon roll for breakfast! Never mind. Maybe weighing will help me with Big D…

I had a very enjoyable few drinks last night with friends to celebrate my actual 40th – so today started with a 50 minute walk to the pub to retrieve the panda.

I was really touched to receive a bunch of flowers from runner L yesterday. Runner K sent me an e-card – and runner P came along to the pub & presented me with a bottle of Lucozade!

My quads have been painful this week. I think it was down to running on Friday followed by an active weekend. I was truly rubbish for the standard run on Monday and was very happy to keep to a gentle pace for the beginners session. Still painful on Tuesday – so much so that I contemplated accompanying the intermediates on a bike! Instead, we opted for the flat Itchen Way route – runner N was dancing around the nettles Jason Robinson style! Runner D is preparing for a triathlon next year so I need to work out how to support her best.

So with even achier quads, I drove to work yesterday and I’m not cycling today. No plans for exercise tonight as I’m seeing CS for the last time on her UK visit. Might cycle tomorrow as the pain is less today – and am thinking about a swim as the least painful option. And playing with my new toy!