Nine miles of misery and elation.

Now, other things have happened. We had a dinner party that was 4 days work, and seemed to work well for all. TheO covered the whole menu and shebang on her blog, and I am left to witter on about my god foresaken running.

Last week I did manage to fit in a quick 5k. It was 28.29 for the whole thing which pleased me greatly. However it was just fitted in between cooking and cleaning. (Mostly cooking and daily trips to see Mr Tesco.) We also took a trip to see Blarney and Spartan and babybelle - Blarney was in sore need of a massage and I fulfilled my role as kitchen assistant (not that I did much, Spartan cooked up a storm) and baby holder.

Now, I'm still trying quite desperately to pick up the miles in search of the Island Half. - which may morph into the Island 10K. So after a wonderfully relaxing Sat where we went mushroom hunting with a neighbour in a secret location - many good eatings were found and RF made them into a risotto that evening; post mushroom hunting we headed for a spot of lunch, then a wander round a fabulous little garden. A nice way to chill out post lots of cooking - and I only had a tiny hangover.

So relaxing and eating of leftovers was not necessarily the best preparation for a long run, but as that's what I had to work with, better to at least try.

Can best be described as: worst run ever. I took a new route as I needed to do a point to point run where there was a real destination rather than just building up the miles by heading up and down the same old roads. Sadly the route I chose (and had been warned off by TheO) was a very, very busy road. The verges looked like green pavements BUT the paths were all blocked and rough with huge divets and very long grass. Shoes were soaked in no time and I had to walk over the worst bits. This was followed by a torrential rain storm where it got so bad I couldn't see - but at that point the endorphins kicked in and this crazy, under-dressed runner was running though woods on a trail yelling "bring it on" - I may have seemed crazy but it was a very good moment. I felt like I'd defeated whatever nature was trying to thow at me. I hope that someone out there knows what I mean. I know it was all endorphins, but at least they did kick in.
9 miles and I felt I could have run further, but not a surprise as I was sooooo slow.

9miles, 1.42.29
avg 11.23 - noooooooooo

9.55
10.30
10.49 end of mile 3 the paths ended - and don't the times reflect that?
11.51 and then it started raining
11.48 and then it got dark under the trees
13.19 I finally went off road and through a woodlnd path - very rolling and there were bits of up hill walking in rain so heavy I could barely see
11.57 - still off road but getting back into my stride
11.04 - finally back on pavements and roads
11.13 - cannot be forgiven in time terms, BUT I was soaked to the skin and I swear my trainers weighed about 2stone each.

Luckily not hurting today but even before the run my knee has started to click (not painfully, just loudly) whenever I walk upstairs. Thanks body - that's the reminder of age I needed! Pah!

Stats.

Just done the figures. I've run (and it must be RUN, no long walks or mountain climbs count) 1355 miles since I started running 3 years ago. This is an average of 9 1/2 miles a week, every week for 3 years.... Must keep it up though.

Going to have a wee run tomorrow too... before heading to see Spartan and Blarney.
Finally managed to get house and work under control; sad not to have gone to London, but happy to feel much calmer and more focused.

Killing one bird with 2 stones.

Now, this could be a post about weight, but sadly there is well more than 2 stone that I'm dragging round as additional ballast.

This post is about the idiot who thought that combining my hill training with my long run would be time well spent. IDIOT. It was time knackering myself. The stats are pretty horrid.
I'll describe the run:
Out of the door and 1.25 miles uphill
Back down again (total 2.5miles)
Then up again
then down again (5 miles)
Then 0.25 miles along a flat section and back (5.5miles)
Then up hill for 0.75 miles
and back down again - 7 miles total.
Was meant to be 8 miles but the hills really did me in. 1.15.00 time. Avg 10.44 (11.54 was my slowest mile - eek)

So, I'm still at least one week behind on my training for the Island Half (which may become the Island 10K... it's been a while since I raced that distance...). But I have managed 17 miles this week and a circuits class (which was shit - taken by new guy who was rubbish).

Also - that time has come again to celebrate another anniversary. It was 3 years since my first ever run yesterday - and I'm still going.

Now last year there was a lot of stuff going on, this year has been quieter-ish.
We really did move house - it only took 2 months longer than expected and there's still plenty to do! We also managed to sell the old place. TheO passed all her exams with flying colours and qualified as a massage therapist. (Lucky, lucky me.)
Got a new nephew and the Cheeseboard had it's first addition (finally a girl!). There was Friends' Christmas, my Dad got married; we went to Santorini, and I developed a love of Gardening and asthma.

So put that way, it really was a quiet year compared to the year before. However it was the year we/I needed. Now I can focus on the future, and work, and a burgeoning love of travel - I'm already planning the next trip...

From a running point of view this year had been pretty shocking. I did the IslandHalf last August but haven't raced since. Mostly due to laziness. Luckily it's the Island that calls me again this year and hopefully that'll kick start the racing again. I've also logged my fastest 5, 8 and 10 mile runs this year so the PBs do keep improving all be it incrementally.

Whilst I haven't blogged as much this year as last year, and I definitely haven't run as many miles - it's fantastic to have a record of everything, and to be able to assess what I've done and how I've done it (slowly and with much winging) a the years pass.

Feeling quite introspective now but I think that's just the endorphins leaving the need for a shower growing. Here's to another year where I might even get the extra ballast shifted too.