Pump up the miles, pump them up now your feet are stomping ......

Yes... A biggie or big-ish run at last and with the boss chatty chatting as we ran which makes it seem shorter although I am not contributing due to being out of puff-ish. Glad to get the 10k under my belt today so total so far around 17k which is not bad. Hope to finish this off with a 5k park run on Saturday. The only concern is that if I complete this total k I will still not have finished THE GREAT NORTH RUN !.....! Keep the faith Nova, Keep the faith.....

Places I have run and forgot to list on that other running list post...

Amsterdam, lovely river runs on tree lined paths near my hotel. Stockholm, another one which drew me to water and one of the main rivers (or are they fjords?)past many great houses and very , very tall immaculately dressed men plus a quick turn around a park. Dublin!nearly forgot this one altogether as this must be one of my earliest runs on conference with work along the canal(water again...) with a few colleagues and then again earlier this year , possibly before I started this blog I think ( will check) did a quick run very early in the morning in the drizzle but still able to admire the handsome Georgian buildings and Dublin doors. Cadiz, a real gem of a run on a company conference and the perfect way to take a bit of time out from the full on conference antics. Ran through the dunes dotted with little gem coloured wild flowers to the beach and along the edge of the sea for a short jog. Majorca, only listing this one - as have already mentioned a Majorca run, because it ended with the best apple pancake known to man. Bet I have still forgotten a run or 2. I won't count thoseruns done on treadmills in hotels (London and Vienna to name but 2) Boy -don't I sound well travelled ... And like I run a lot!

Snowing in May?

Much needed lovely little run today and what a beautiful day it was too. Having spent most of the day indoors I was itching to get out. No runs with the boss so far this week and had hoped to get a long one in mid week but just not possible. Being housebound plus the lack of running was, i have to confess, making me a little grumpy and i suppose st the back of my mind i m nout dure how much training i will really be able to do in Chicago next week. That added up to a bit of a downer today, something thst doesn't sit easily with me and something i am keen tp put a stop to ASAP as life is just too short. In the end a nice little 3k with 5 sets of speed work along the way did the trick. I had terrible knee niggles earlier in the day and at one point I thought I had done some real damage and my running would have to be put on hold for a while but after a bit of stretching and massage it faired ok. The river was beautiful today with some kind of lovely tree pollen/fluff being shed by little trees a bit like small willows which lined the river bank. I don't know what it was but as I ran along the river the wind was blowing gently and it seemed like I was running through snow. Delightful. It made me think just how lucky I am to be able to enjoy the beautiful scenery for free.. but then I realised I had to pay gym fees to run here....so I thought about the great hill runs I do ... But of course there is a few miles to drive to get there and what with the price of petrol....anyway, the important thing is I am fit enough to run and able to really enjoy the beauty of nature which at the end of the day , as they say in Yorkshire, costs now't!

Little local trot

Dragged myself out for a trot from home, the 4.6k circuit of kirk and a bit more at the end to make about 4.8k. It hurt at the start , the knees feeling sore and the right ankle deciding to join the potty party for the first time which makes me think I need to strap that fella up as well, which means I am pretty much swaddled from ankle to knee on both legs. Nevermind ... So long as I get round injury free. Saw a long legged gazelle running in front of me at one point but thank goodness she turned off into a cul de sac so I didn't have to follow her around the circuit. I hoped to feel better by 3k but as happened last time, I really only loosened and sped up by 4k and picked up my pace to what I think is threshold level (proper running talk that) till I got home. Despite the mixed review, I enjoyed it in the end and felt glad to have done it. Gyming it tomorrow and will run on Wednesday. Need to get the miles in before I head off the the USA for conference week. Hope it it sunny with you my friends!

Where have I run in the world

Ireland a very little bit at school under major duress and def not more than 1 lap round the track. Majorca from parents apartment on one side of Santa Ponca bay to the cross of Don Carlos 3rd and back - a lot of walking involved. England Kenilworth around the Castle and that area but not more than 2 or 3k I should have thought USA some of the nicest- New York -I might just be dreaming that I ran in Central Park on my several visits but proba Bly just walked around it and went shopping instead.... USA California... Pismo Beach...lovely but probably not that far. USA Bedford Hills, really being nosy wanting to see the fancy houses! USA Hawaii On Lanakai Beach and fancy roads behind SO really I suppose I have been a sort of runner for while. Never enjoyed it until NOW!

Total k this week..... Started well but what a tail off!

Total for this week 16k but almost all of it done at the start of the week so must do better (or at least more evenly) this week. When I don't run regularly, I notice myself clocking other runners from the car with envy. Last week did end up a bit mad with work towards the end and I had to go to Ireland for a party with absolutes no chance of a run but this week promised to be mentally taxing but hopefully time rich so I can bang the miles in. I will....I must! I have my eye on the next 10k and hope to do a 5k park run beating 28mins on Saturday so let's see if I can run off some of the buns, cakes and garlic sausage rolls consumed this weekend .

Sneaked in a shorty on the treadmill

Only 3 K and nearly 1 K of that was a very fast walk but time on my feat as they say.... looking towards my next race and have decided it will be the 10k at a stately home neat here . I had a quick peek at the terrain and not as scary as my first 10k. I need to keep focused on a target and get the time on my feet up .  Next run.... hopefully in Ireland and hopefully it will be DRY!

The longest and one of the loveliest!

Well from a slow start this week where I was dispairing about low miles under my belt I managed to pull a blinder this morning completing my longest run so far ...13k. Delighted for a non-runner and what really makes it good is that it was a delightful run with hills , off road and great views. Started at the village pub and climbed slowly up a road to the start of the off road bit in the forest which was lovely, lots of dog walkers and bikers and generally people keeping fit and getting out in the fresh air on a Sunday morning. Then we (was with the boss... Could not attempt 13k on my own after all) headed off into a field on a small raised track with wheat and wild flowers either side (reminded me of another lovely walk in Nepal with my dad and sister and the boys as we returned from a treck through a sun dipped rice paddy field ) and then had to negotiate muddy puddles to climb up a gorse lined field through a wood to find a beautiful, silent lake. Then climbed up a very, very steep hill , ran along the top of the ridge past the gliding club and then a steep wood descent , finally back on the road to the village. I loved the run, knees sore at the end but boy, was I happy and... I think I even looked like bit of a fit person.... Will pop photo of the really muddy shoes and the view on in a bit. Wish me luck walking or generally trying to move tomorrow.

Lead leg excuse for a run and 2BAD pavlovas....

Really bad, lead legged run. Not good. Hard, rubbish .... Etc. really dragged. Did warm up of sorts. Did 5mins on the cross trainer and 2 mins in the treadmill before I had to escape the confines of the gym and risk the (many, many and sometimes heavy)showers which had skipped the area above the gym for the hour I was there. Good. But did not help the run. Anyway..... Then did a 15 -20min circuit session and 5 mins boxing with the boss. All in all a less than satisfactory session and run my global friends. The running has to get better.... And the bloody pavlovas! I made 2 tonight and both sucked. One , because the bairn helped (tired to "help" with the separating the egg whites but really mixed them up and but so the pavlova ended up like a pancake or pizza base)and number 2.... I forgot the vinaigrette and corn flour. The number 2 did rise but not sure what it tastes like... Oh well , life goes on despite bad runs and flat pavlovas.

Didn't run. It wished I had...

Some days you just need to clear your head and today I had been particularly inactive, studying scientific papers and i really needed a break. Decided to do a session at the gym and do some cross training (on the cross trainer....) and then on the spin bike but a class interrupted my space so did some weights instead and annoyed the boys who were hovering around the bench press and weights section desperately wanting to get their space back.... Nearly made me stay an extra 5 mins but I am not that petty. Just enjoy owning the space for a bit and strutting around the press bench ha ha! I think those boys are scared of me. I am a bit feirce at the gum ... Well i am not there to socialise... And I am a bit older so they dare not say anything to me as I focus on the job in hand. If only they knew I was nice lady really... But I must say I can look fierce at the gym! As I left the gym the sun came out and I desperately wished I had been for a run or could go for one now but will have to wait until tomorrow (: ! Something about the sun and spring and sunshine that just makes me want to get out there and run. Til Tomorrow then(:

Hello hills again!

Hills can be good -even lovely, partly because you do not have to go really far to have worked hard. It seems to be all about the short, sharp effort. The sun and spring helps of course. No photos today but will post and older one of me at the top of the hill. about 4k (and a hilly one at that)clocked today. Need to up that with a 5k tomorrow or the next day. Actually I have not run the Circuit of Kirk (big one) for ages so it would be good to time that to or row if I am up to it. Hope you are all well my friends...! By the way, I have not mentioned food for a while and that is not because I am. It eating .... I so am, just that I am trying not to stuff myslef with sweet stuff after a run which is a bit hard. On the nutella tonight, not on anything like cracker... Just from the tub....

No running but blimey... What heavy weights!

So I thought I would give the knees a rest and do some cross training but managed to get a short weights session in as well with big Blokey clean and jerk type weights, dumb bells etc. strength training is supposed to be important for running training plans and also burns fat (eating lots to compensate for extra miles run but it seems to be sticking to my hips a bit .... So need to either stop eating so much or burn a bit more fat) Did some dead lifts 25k and pyramid weights with 3 to 7ks. Hope to run soon. Take care y'all...

Kilometres run this week....3.

Yes my friends, that is the sad total for this week. Done today. Actually I was not intending to run when I went to the gym earlier but as I drove over the river and up the lane lined with bluebells I had to run outside instead of the cross trainer. Not really a run mind you...more of a true jog/shuffle with a break over the bridge for a rendition of the can can dance as it was playing on my I pod (decided to listen to my classical playlist rahter than foo fighters for a wee change) and the golf course was empty. There is nothing quite like doing the can can to get your heart rate up. It felt really good to be running - sorry, jogging again. Will do more next week -mind you, I thought my knees had emerged from the 10k pain-free... But not the case. They hurt a bit today. Hey ho. Need to start focusing on another race so I have a goal. Might even try to scrape in under the 1hour!