Training Log Archive: BrandNewMe

1. Laurence's 2nd solo orienteering, and Lucy needs only minimal shadowing. I think Lucy will take after me (good navigator, tough, stocky) and Laurence his dad (fast but stop-start).
2. Mispunched, but not too gutted about it (surprise, surprise).
3. Another lazy dinner.

This week has been good. Lots of running. I think I am supposed to have an easy week now, but really I am having too much fun. Maybe easy on Tuesday. Maybe.

Bed at 9 last night. Refusing to let the kids in before 7. Think I am coming down with something though, as I am coughy and shivery.

Sosol by INT in Tulliallan. Brown.

It took some effort for ray to run with the Harrison park boys, the kids to do football training until 12 then get to Tuliallan by last start at 1, but we made it, sort of.

Pegged it to the start with Lucy, Ray and Laurence running behind, then started the brown. All of 30secs warm up. It was fun. I think I have probably done all if the control sites as Tulliallan now, and the only ones that tripped me up were 6 (looking for a pit - always fun) and 26, which I just didn't see on the map and so missed out. MIspunch 2 weekends in a row. Poor.

Legs felt tight, body felt shivery and stomach was bad, necessitating a few stops. Nice outing though. Cheap too, as we had missed registration so just sort of ran to the start, ran, then Ray was meant to pay at the end but forgot to, heading off to a cafe with all the cash.

Warm down jog to meet the family at the cafe the other side of Devilla. I would have liked to have been in the wood, but Ray had driven off with my map, and I was not up for a 3mile safety bearing through devilla. A bit too tired.

3 things

1. Laurence did his first ever solo course - and loved it. He then went out on the yellow too, but missed one out by accident. I know how you feel mate!
2. Bought some 'art therapy' grown up colouring in books. Meant to be good for insomnia / stress. Like ding a jigsaw without the bits getting everywhere. V excited.
3. We bought the kind of dinner from waitrose that just involves taking things out of boxes and putting them in the over. Lazy is good when you are tired.

Run to Mary Erskine where we were helping at a come and try it. Oh so tired! My mental tiredness has reached the point that I am unable to think of words, or process any information at all. Ray asked me how to drive to Mary Erskine's and I couldn't think of the route, let alone the words to describe it. Total brain mush. So I was a bit crap when I got there, as was supposed to be on dibber hire, and taking a dibber out and writing the number on the bit of paper was a bit beyond me.

Green. Thought it would be good sprint practice, and it was. My legs were too tired to really stride out, but I think I took the win, presumably crushing the dreams of quite a few w60s in doing so, the competition was so damned hot! I was going to run home, but Ray forgot this part of the plan, which I agreed with him on Thursday night when he was pissed, so didn't want me too, and I was so exhausted it didn't bother me.

3 things

Nice running at hopetoun
Nice running at the pentlands
Got lots of brownie points at work

Tired and grumpy. I tried to get any early night, but Ray got back from TT just as I was going to bed, predictably pissed, and wanted to buy lots of kit for the Icelandic OMM, but said he was too pissed (lazy more like!) to enter his card details so I had to stay up and do it for him.

Working late today, so got the morning off. This is my time trial from when we lived in Roslin. Castlelaw car park, West for half a mile, down to the rezzies road on the path by the forest, along the orad, up to the harbour hill / bells hill col, then right on the path, Capelaw, and home via the path on the west side of castlelaw and back the same half mile as at the start. I seem to recall my old time was never under 60, except one time when I got 56 but thought I might have stopped it accidentally or something. At least I have got fitter since then, and I wasn't so unfit at the time I used to run it. Nice views - v warm.

I got out of work at 8 and had to drive to Aberdour for the night, so drove to the hopetoun house entrance then ran to blackness. A beautiful route. So graeme, a 50-miler bike ride, not suitable for Kitch-style poncey bikes. Along the canal to Linlithgow, then the john muir cycle route to blackness then hopetoun and dalmeny crammond and home.

I am loving this lots of mileage. I just need to find something to be pissed off about every week.

Another sunny commute. Not sure how I am getting home yet - run or cycle so not logged the full commute. Only woken up twice last night, and no musical bads needed. It makes such a difference.

HW for a bit of shade. There were building contractors titting around (both times the only person that appeared to actually be doing anything was the man stopping people using the path. There was no discernable action going on) at two bits of the path, so some detours were required. Bad stomach. Taking it easy on purpose as my calves were a bit tight. High miles day as opposed to high pace I think.

Home, via the Lindsay's. I wanted to do a longer, more exciting run but had to work late and had to rush home for Ray to get out.

Felt really wiped out with the bad stomach I had going around HW at lunch, but I seemed to be running fast dispite feeling like I was dragging myself. I must still be angry :-) !

Good things:

1. Feeling crap but running fast
2. Managed to resist a last minute work lunch out to keep to training plans.
3. The cleaner came today! Yay!

BSBM now entered!

Good things:

1. 2 sunny runs and a sunny cycle.
2. Discovered a t-shirt I'd forgotten about and it is really good for running.
3. I found out what a maple and pecan greggsnut is. I didn't eat one, obviously - I'd never be able to run again, I just left that to the boys in the tax team. Learn something new everyday.

No sleep again. Partly late night, partly kids waking me up, partly insomnia. Such a beautiful morning for a cycle though :-)

Along the long canal loop then back via Greggs to buy some cakes for my work colleagues. Scorching! I felt shocking, and had to walk some bits. Perked up after a while. No energy. Probably due to running 8 miles post-dinner at 9pm last night then eating nothing after. Logistical fail.

Swimming lesson sprint around portobello. Gawd I was feeling shit, so after 5 mins jog started 2mins on, 30secs off to spice it up a bit. I did 7 before time ran out. Felt better afterwards.

Last night was like musical chairs, but with beds. Every hour or so the whole Ward family would swap sleeping arrangements, so dispite getting to bed at 10:30 and getting up at 6 I and the rest of the family are mega tired.

But brilliant morning as I saw my first set of ducklings of the year - and then another set. Both of which were being photographed by (tuff -looking, male) cycle commuters who had stopped especially. Cute ducklings melt everyone's hearts!

Intervals on the canal. 4 x 5mins w 1 min. All abut 1.3k. As ever, being really pissed off*** proves great motivation for pushing myself hard. The plan had been to have a hard week this week, but then I was unsure as to whether a week of no sleep and feeling a bit :-( was wise, but why waste the opportunity of converting the frustration into fast miles.

***Note: pissed off with me and me only! Respect to Jess for handing an awkward situation brilliantly.

Jog over blackford and braids, back through Morningside so 50/50 asphalt and off road. Nice night.

1. Ducklings!
2. Saw Fran twice today. Once on my cycle, and when she and the girls came around for dinner.
3. Lovely running weather today.

Sleeping tablets = deep long sleep. I feel better now.

Home from work via voter registration place to hand in postal voting forms, then pleasance to pick up kids from a friends (in service day). Nice to see some old town.

1. Found a long-forgotten mint aero in my drawer. Mmmm. Breakfast.
2. Good to spend the afternoon with the kids.
3. Got loads done in the afternoon / evening. Washing, cleaning, tidying, sorting old kids toys, making a good dinner, making a good dinner for tomorrow night, mountain of ironing, planning the week's training, doing some colouring in with Lucy, reading Roald Dahl's 'Boy' with Laurence (oh dear, we read the chapter when he gets his nose cut off in a car crash, hence L's nightmares...).