I’m back…

It took the sun to break through the clouds and for me to say “enough is enough!”.  To be honest I miss the running and cycling and with the poor wet / cloudy cold weather recently I’ve not been motivated to get out much and as a result I’ve been feeling cabin fever and putting on some weight!

So….  no more pies and back dog jogging and cycling after a reasonably restful couple of months recovering from the marathon and the London to Paris 24 hour cycle.

Tonight I decided to jog from the house and at 19 degrees (according to the car) went out in a black vest to try and get some vitamin D!  The dogs looked smart with their new leads – turquoise with white stars and lime green with turquoise stars… 

just waiting on their new collars to match.  It was the usual 3 mins hanging about in my front garden to get a satellite signal for the Garmin.

Run was pretty challenging today as I’m feeling out of shape!   First hill was slow, through the village I thought I had lead legs but the real challenge was the run up through the midgie Glen to the high point.. going up hill was pretty slow and out of breath.   The run back down the hill through the village was much better although I got a stitch when I was passing the park!

Least that is out of the way and it can only get better!    No challenges in the diary yet… thinking about it…

Well I haven’t posted in 5 months and I haven’t been training much in the last month but I’m keen to change all that… !

New blog entries I’m going to write up on wet nights to look forward to…

1. Brighton Marathon training…
2. Brighton Marathon event
3. London to Paris cycle training
4. New Bike
5. London to Paris in 24 hours event
6. The Cobbler
7. New Challenges ahead…

Watch this space

After a week of business trips to London, events in Edinburgh. Babysitting my nephew and frustrating work processes the dogs and I had cabin fever. Nearly a whole week without a run!
We headed out with a vague idea of a new route to avoid a skinny footpath in the dark. Candy and Winnie were well prepared with flashing collars and I put on reflective gloves. Just as well as it was already dark at 5pm!
No satellite signal on my garmin 310xt… 3 false starts, Two resets and and a turn off and on fixed the problem, by which time we’d walked quarter of a mile and the rain had started!
Down hill for the first two miles was a doddle but reality kicked in as the path evened out! As the rain got heavier and the dogs were shaking it out of their coats. I decided to go for 5 rather than 6 miles and turned to run back up the hill home!
Two dogs and me in the shower was a must at the end of our hilly climb home because we were all covered in leaf mulch and mud in the rain!
Surprisingly I felt more awake and happier despite the rain dampening the run!
One day at a time!!! Keep on going…

ninety nine, 100! Well that’s what we used to say at School and it’s proving pretty accurate for my marathon training plan thus far!

So what’s been happening? Well… lets get the excuses out early,
‘it’s cold’ ; ‘it’s dark’; ‘it’s too late’ ; ‘it’s too early’ ; ‘I’m tired’ ; ‘I’ve been working late’… etc!

So I’ve painted a desperate picture but actually I have averaged 2 runs a week or 9 miles (some weeks as much as 13 miles! v’s 20 miles plan).

My stats are improving… pace is going up and heart rate / recovery times are coming down… critically I’m delighted to report that I’m finding it a bit easier! (not the dark nights part just the running).

So bear with me… I’ve just got a new iPad from work so should be doing this dog blog more often now… =) only 21 weeks to go… !

p.s. Photos are difficult due to dark nights but I’ll see what I can do!

….and I did!   Well done Winnie and Candy for having boundless energy unlike me!

Training Schedule said 4 miles to do tonight.  Thankfully my late night work appointment in Edinburgh had been cancelled and resulted in me being home and ready to run just after 5…   and still light outside was a total bonus!

It definitely looked like rain so I wrapped up in a wind proof top (I call it the sweating jacket) and long leggings.  Just as well as it was chilly leaving the house.

I drove over to the dams, let the dogs off the lead and ran out and back 2 miles.  Mile 1 I felt invincible : pace 8:45 was much faster than I thought possible and mile 2 (slightly downhill) was faster still… the return up the hill was inevitably slow and I was glad of some thumping Daft Punk to motivate me back to the road.  I put the dogs on the lead after a sprint up the last hill and welcomed the long stream of traffic allowing me to get my breath back!

Steady jog back to the car and an overall pace of 9:11 – slightly slower than yesterday but further so I’ll take it!

And… the weather was most pleasant – it blew through a wee bit of rain but was mostly dry just a bit blustery.. Result!

October 22

I’m no lyrical gangsta but I have resumed training on foot and also on wheels!
Recent training achievements include cycling round Arran (56 miles) with a 5.15 a.m. Start – that’s dedication for you! A cycle round Millport towing two dogs… Literally! A 10k training run and more frequent shorter runs…
It’s hard work but the weather has been helping the motivation levels for sure!
I’ve invested in a new gadget to help me improve my 10k and other Personal Best times… A Garmin 310xt which should be here within the next two days!
Here’s the dogs in their trailer on the ferry to Millport!
Over and out… See you soon!