all done!!

last run of the year and marcothon completed before most folk were even out of their beds today! as it was so icy yesterday i had to run on the roads last night, i did the same today.  and the roads were deserted so it was great to stretch out and run properly! most of it was done with a cheesy grin - so pleased i did 31 consecutive days, never copped out once, ran thru a wee sore throat for a few days there and even out running in such poor running conditions in the last week! So it is a nice couple of days rest for me with a nice long run planned for sunday with dr mo! must admit it will be strange not doing it every day as i had kinda got used to it. it did teach me i can go out no matter how short on time i am i can make time if i want to and i have more stamina than i realise!! confused that i put on weight, especially on my ass but i put it down to muscle [under the fat!]. i never ate any more than usual but i never did any real speed sessions either! thanks to debbie and marco for instigating the marcothon challenge and thanks to andrew who ran with me for most of it every day too! and to donna and dr mo [and jill, maz and cree too!] who kept me company on longer weekend runs.


i will not miss the frizzy hair - i just couldn't keep it straight. It was only straight 4 times in december including today!! i will not miss the extra washings of all the running gear - especially in winter! it taught me discipline, belief in my own stamina, time management and knowing i can do what i put my mind to if there is a challenge there!!


next year, on sunday, i will start running to a half mara plan! then if all goes well shift onto mara plan in march and sign up for edinburgh again!!! 

merry xmas!

xmas day
and andrew and i hit the streets! i wore the santa hat but on retrospect i wish we'd both put on full santa gear! i mean when else do you get the chance to enjoy that? i got lots of looks from kids so if i made someone laugh i am happy!! and all that snow!!  I think it was so cold the camera on my phone went wonky!!

boxing day
after eating ourselves silly and having waaaaaaaay too much of my own home made heavenly tiramisu [vulgar quantities!] i felt tired and sluggish today [no booze mind you!]. i went to be at 12mn and was up at half nine - this is a rare occurrence! i never usually get longer than 8 am for a lie in! so i just never got out of tired mode.  i really had to use the guilt thing to stimulate me into getting out there.  and was still too full to take anything other than a light breakfast i ran on empty at 3pm. the route i took was badly chopped up and struggled to keep from twisting my ankle a couple of times. eventually i manage 2.5 miles in 30 mins!!! better than nothing! at least i did it. the alternative was the treadmill and i just couldn't face that! at least out and about the scenery was lovely and i passed a spot where there were more adults sledging than kids! hoping the tired legs will work wonders when the snow clears as it is tough running on this terrain but it is different and gives me a warm fuzzy feeling and a sense of achievement that only "real" or is that "insane"? runners will actually get out there and tackle it! andrew and i haven't bumped into anyone else running in this up our way but i passed another brave soul today! So here's to all you strong folk brave enough to put the trainers on and tread the white stuff, i salute you!

marcothon logue 27 12 09
did the basic 3! wanted to do more but left it till late in day and was too hungry! forgot to charge phone so missed opportunity t run with dr mo in am or yvonne [clydesdale harrier/ neighbour/ fellow dog walker/ mate] in pm.  so went out on own at dusk! was crunchy underfoot but not as hard and slippy as yesterday. just kept smiling at the thought of 4 days to go and hoping raspy throat won't amount to much!!

28th dec
ran with andrew! throat still raspy but not worse so out to run! roads much much worse! solid ice in most places. andrew ran way ahead most of run and i skitted about behind!

29th dec
andrew's throat now raspy too so he took the luxury and didn't run! happily yvonne was happy to go a run so we braved it off road mostly for an hour! most i have done on this ice! right ankle sore but managed fine considering conditions! 2 days to go!! i can't believe i have run for 29 consecutive days!!!! looking forward to rest day!!!!!

ONE week to go!!

I can't believe I have managed this far!! Just back from run in minus 4 powder! Kept mainly off road but some of the deep stuff was like jumping in molasses! So glad though to enjoy it in the sun! Ran behind Andrew all the way - hadn't the energy to catch up.  Either legs were too cold even with leg warmers on or they were still tired from yesterday's snow running.  However I have been home for 30 mins and my ass still hasn't thawed!!  Only one week of consecutive running to go! My New Year certainly will be happy!!

santa's grotto

well i have been out every day now for 21 days!! even in the snow! haven't resorted to treadmill yet [there is something soulless about running and staring at a brick wall no matter how good the tunes are!  yesterday donna was a bit wary about the snow but once out she realised it was fine underfoot and we did 5 together.

Love my Cannondale jacket!!!

 

Donna - confident enough to dance in the snow now!!

today i stayed local and went into the nooks and crannies of the estates near me and it was like entering santa's grotto! each house competing with the next for bigger and better lights and decor.  you can hear the buzz of electricity as you enter the street!  i swear you can see the sky glow orange over that neck of the woods.    

i am happy to say the legs have now reached the point where i can get out of bed in the morning without feeling they have been run over by a tractor as i slept. but it did take till day 20 to reach this point.  and still good today which i wasn't expecting as my garscube buddy and i dressed up as a giant cracker for the santa race. hunched over inside we ran back and forth for 40 mins!!! expected to ache all over today but luckily was fine.

Does my bum look big in this??

Anne and I up to our old tricks!!

how do they do it?

the consanis that is! i bet they are running mega miles and on a daily basis!! i am struggling to keep going! sat i did the 3 minimum with andrew [it was longer i think as we did a different route but i had no garmin and didn't bother with time] as donna had a cold. and on sunday i had planned to run with dr mo! last week she had suggested the whangie but on sat she decided 10 or 11 miles was what she preferred. on sat it sounded good to me too but while lying in bed on sun looking for ward to my run, my optimism disintegrated the minute i tried to put weight on my two pins!! i was aching - felt like twice my age and looked like jack nicholson on a bad day! i really will have to rehydrate better. anyway the thought of ten or eleven just seemed unfeasible - in fact just downright stupid so i gave mo the optout option - go slow or go yourself! she opted out. mo doesn't do go slow! half of me was elated as i knew ten was asking for trouble but i was also angry at myself for not just doing it! especially as i felt i could have after i'd walked a mile with the dog! Anyway ended up doing 3 with andrew and 3 with my pal yvonne. yvonne has been running well with clydesdale harriers and was having to hold back for me! but i was happy with 6. better than none!

monday though was a bigger struggle and nearly gave in today. i think i have a shin splint now but i have run through them before. i did some stretching [a rarity] after my run but at least i went - i did 26 mins and don't want to know the distance. in fact i think i might even leave the garmin off till the 1st of january!! then i'll be able to compare performance before and after!!

my cap's off to the consanis though! what inspiration! I'm inspired - i just wish my legs were too!

spoke too soon...

Well I woke on Tuesday am at 5!! Had had cramps in stomach Monday eve which didn't abate during the run and got worse as the night went on. Felt a wee bitty nauseous too but a wee half glass of rose and one quality street helped me forget that! After tossing and turning for a couple of hours I fell back asleep and woke at 8.30 looking like a Beetlejuice in negative! My hair [suffering 'cause I keep going to bed before it dries properly] was more fitting for the 80s and I had eye bags like Eastender's Dot! Exhausted I dragged my sorry ass out of bed and worked from home [didn't want to stray too far from the porcelain just in case!] not looking forward to running but dammit I was going to get out there!!

Anyway I did! I belted round the minimal 3 miles, actually doing 1 mile loops round my bit just in case I needed to go! I left Andrew behind as he said he was now feeling like a car crash victim and was running like a granny on valium! I was happy I did it and wished I'd taken the Garmin!

I did go to bed early tho trying to catch up on sleep!

Wednesday - yay feel fine! And lovely lovely jackets came today!

Can't wait to try tonight and now I can have a few to change with! And great for night running! What a magic idea - magnetic sleeves! And a bargain too!! Well recommended! Thanks for the chin up on that Donna - I'll try not wear the blue one on our days out together!! We did enough of that in the 70s!! lol!

was too warm to wear it!!

Thursday - sitting here shattered with sore legs dreading run tonight!! oh oh here comes andrew - better get running gear on before we talk each other out of it!!!

And oh yes those legs were sore!! tonight I felt my calves and ankles screaming out wat are you doing missus??? The rest of me was fine but that's no consolation every pounding step of the way! Will it get any easier???

Friday - well the answer to that is absolutely not!! In fact I felt like the pain was creeping up my legs as my thighs were sore tonight! Andrew and I just pounded the pavements in silence both trying to lose our consciousness in the music but every time we looked at each other we'd grimace in pain!! I suppose the premise now is that eventually I will get used to it?? The lactic acid will clear and allow me to perform daily?? When? How do the Consani's do it?? I bet they are doing megamiles too! Me and Andrew, we are just doing the compulsory 3 a day during the week!!

Just found out Donna has called off her 6 miles with me tomorrow and Maureen has postponed the Whangie! So sat will just be the minimum with Andrew and sun ten or eleven with Dr Mo! I must remember I have run 26.2 miles in 23 degrees and this will be a scoosh!!

seven trees a shining..

'tis funny on my first day of the marcothon i saw my first xmas tree, on the second day i saw my second and today on my seventh i counted seven!! of course i am sure that won't continue on that curve as we get nearer to the 12th day the xmas tree sightings will grow exponentially!

still at it tho! sat did 5.5 with donna and sunday did 10 with Dr mo, jill, maz and cree [maz's dug!]! we did a hilly partial west highland way run from mo's house which also means up uphill back home!! jill and maz split at the 5 mile marks and went out further whilst mo and i headed back - don't want to push it, since weekly milage has almost doubled!! was a great run with the usual hilarity! mo and i averaged 10 min miles which was fine since she had raced day before and i had run all week!

monday andrew and i did our usual 3 with me ahead for a change! andrew [whose milage has tripled by joining the marcothon] was feeling it and had been sniffling and sneezing all day! plus my homemade soup which is mega good for you and taste great gives us terrible gut cramps which slowed andrew down and speeded me up!!

i can't believe that is one week under the belt!! bring it on!!

5 days in....

4 new nails

3 day top

2 heavy legs

and a garmin ready to go!

Yes at last i have new nails on the toes that lost them after the mara in may! they've taken all this time to grow back but how long will they last is the real question???

As for the 3 day top - I really meant my gillet! i do have enough tops to change every day but my gillet i usually wash once a week [considering I only ran 2 or 3 times a week and most of the time lately that was only sat and sun!] so running every day means i have to wash it more often but make sure it is ready for the next day!! so i ordered a new one! A new jacket actually!!

I had always liked Donna's Cannondale Morphis shell! Its many zipped pockets and the magnetic sleeves that you can rip off faster than the chippendales troosers excited me like child at Christmas - I had to have one!! So today I bought it!! After all it was now an essential need rather than a luxury!!

As for the legs, yes they were tired today! Fifth day in a row running is a bit of a novelty for me at the best of times so only to be expected after having been a lazy b lately!! So clocked 5 and a half today since my Garmen is now working again having been connected to computer, all data downloaded and cleared and all software updated! Hate running without it!

So last week Monday to Sunday I ran 3 times and only clocked up 19 miles and that was a good week. This week however now having started the marcothon [see marco's and debbie's blogs for details] it should culminate in 29 miles providing I do 10 with Dr Mo [my sunday running pal] tomorrow!!

Oh and almost forgot- Andrew has joined me on the marcothon too!! This is great cause it will get my midweek speed up running together! Only prob is he started a day late, so guess who'll be running on the 1st of January - not me!!

on the second of xmas, my true love ran with me...

yep andrew joined me for 3 miles! was at andrew's pace but without a watch we have no idea, certainly over the obligatory 25 mins! legs fine but chapping at the bit to keep up with andrew. mika larking in my ears tonight - will need to get something a bit more upbeat for andrew runs!! some garage music needed methinks!

on the downside of all this daily running i hadn't foreseen is the increased need to wash my running gear more frequently and the problem of trying NOT to wash my hair daily and still cope with the frizz!! doubt it will be straight much this month!

more new running gear required!! yes i can always find and excuse to shop! not to self: NEED to fix the garmin!

on the first day of xmas....

the consani challenge! or is it madness?

well despair at my muffin tops led me to join debbie's mad suggestion at running every day in december! marco [see his blog] had achieved this successfully in november and debs decided she would do it in december and called out to volunteers. it must have been my subconscious that responded because before i knew it i had committed on facebook!! and it was up there in full view before i had a chance to change my mind!! how i am going to fit it in i really don't know but i will!! marco said the qualifying distance or time is 3 miles or 25 mins!! so it didn't seem too bad. i could always nip out before dinner for that and it will get me out. i am really fed up only managing to run sat and sun so i had planned to increase by at least another midweek run but this now solves that problem!

advent running..

day 1: 4 miles no idea of time - discovered garmen screwed - database full so will need to clear so i can record this. see if it improves my running!! the rain was pelting down and the wind had picked up. it was only 2 degrees and running was the last thing i felt like doing on tis dark dismal evening. andrew was supposed to be running with me and chickened out!! normally i'd say right what's for dinner and put the running thought at the back of my mind but not today! a challenge is a challenge! layered up and kylie alongside i stepped out to her beat! i decided on an undulating route aiming for 3 miles anyway [did 10 on sunday with khyber pass so wasn't to bothered about distance] and after the first hill i was peeling off the sleeves of my outer layer. much better!! by the third mile i felt fab. lungs and legs great, icy rain needles jagging my face, tunes in my ears, and the wind keeping me cool on the hills as i pelted along in the dark! it was great! i remembered why i love running! and another 30 days didn't seem so bad now! i did another mile for good measure and went home looking forward to tomorrow's run!!

muffin tops might be gone by xmas!!