Activity catch up to Thursday

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

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

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

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

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

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....

... 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

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

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!

Fabulous Fortieth Birthday Celebration

In the summer of '69 man landed on the moon and Bryan Adams bought his first real six string - and I was born on 12th August! So I'm a sixties baby by only 4 months.

After much deliberation, I took up Husband's suggestion of a weekend away with my buddies in the Forest of Dean - on the understanding that he would organise it all. He did a superb job - as did my uni friend E who acted as local fixer as she lives there.


We arrived with G on Friday evening, meeting up with my Fabulous In Laws, M, C and M's offspring JA and MA. We had a wander around Parkend village - lots of woodland, a pretty church and some mud! Met up with everybody else for beer and a meal. Surreal moment when a sheep vaulted over a wall into the beer garden!

On sunny Saturday morning, Husband, CS, X, S, Fabulous in Laws and the As headed with me to Symonds Yat where we spent the morning cruising down the Wye on big canadian style canoes. CS and I made the most of the river, investigating every bit of bank, tree, rock and swan - nothing to do with our steering! Green and pleasant. Lunch by the river then we went to a bit of forest close to Parkend to do Go Ape.

CS, G, Kitty, Goldfish, S, X and me made up the first group, with the As following an hour later - we couldn't get a booking together unfortuneately. We were harnessed up & briefed - all the time we were above ground we were attached securely to wires. X was amazing - she seems to have no fear and was very balanced, scampering across the course. I wasn't so good - but agility and balance don't really fetaure in my skill set and I'm nervous & shaky getting up the loft ladder at home - so perhaps I should apply some perspective! CS opted to be our photographer after the first section - very much appreciated and I love the sillhouette pic you can see here. G looked very Lara Croft down the zip wires, Goldfish managed to drop his specs (retrieved safely) so completed the course in soft focus, S did well to follow X and Kitty had a very determined look! M is a climber & reckons that the trick to a lot of the sections was to do them quickly. My arms ached afterwards & I'm keen to try it again.

Barbecue followed by cupcakes and rounders in the dark where we girls beat the boys (assisted a little by the fading light). Lots of fun.

It was a bit chaotic on Sunday for cycling - E & J were having major problems with their & their kids' bikes. I enjoyed a 22.8km ride with J - he was doing very well on a road bike on the forest tracks. Husband explored the mountain bike course with Goldfish, S and X.

Finished my weekend with lunch at a crafts centre - excellent ice cream in a sunny garden. I'm really grateful to my friends for giving me such a fabulous weekend for my 40th!

Achey legs

I'm not sure quite how I managed to persuade myself to run today as my morning off was being absorbed by chores - glad I did though as the sun is shining for once. I chose the itchen way route as its shady - but I now know that its not shady at midday! I carried on the path after allbrook 4 first time, running on a narrow strip in between the river and the navigation. I was slow but hey, slow is loads better than zero! Walked to the beautician today too.
Lots of cycling to work this week, getting v wet yesterday.
Body combat on wed, running with wrn on Mon and Tue. Experimented with intervals this week - needs more thought on how to make them fun 4 the groups.
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Ellisfield plus a bit more

Husband & I have done the HCC Ellisfield route a kazillion times - so much so that I was getting bored of it last year - but we realised today that X & S have never done it. Less surprising, D hadn't either but he is new to the muddy, nettly world of Hampshire mountain biking! He'd never met S & X before either - they live about 50 yards away from his house!

We needed a shortish ride and I was being very sniffy about some of the rides Husband was digging out (too long, too short, too dull, too much road - I was being pernickety) - so we opted for Ellisfield.

We started part way up hill one at Cliddesden Primary School as there weren't enough parking spaces in the village.

It is a good ride - plenty of off road & the variety of tracks means that the little grey cells get a bit of a work out too. Before the last section, Husband proposed an extension over to Preston Candover and Dummer so we ended up with a little deja vu on tracks we'd ridden last week! Unlike last week, it stayed dry. Heavy rain yesterday meant that my legs were very mud marbled by the end. With the extension, it was 27.42km with an ascent of 567m.

The rain meant that we didn't go out yesterday - opted for a session at the gym where I ran a little better than last time - 15 mins within the 30 minute run.

Bad news on Friday - whilst we were chatting to friends in the back garden, a rat made an appearance - more pest control required!