No marathon for me!

Yes, I know, it's been far too quiet on this blog of mine. Sorry!

Well, I'm not going to be running the marathon this year, which is very sad. But the reason is a happy one! Assuming all goes well, I'm going to be a mum come September. At first I entertained some notions of running anyway, but I'm just sooooooooo tired that even a 5km run is major achievement at the moment! Running for two is exhausting! But I do plan to defer my place until next year and use training as a wonderful way of burning off that baby fat.

Perhaps I should revamp this page and turn it into a baby blog instead!

Yikes it's cold out there!!

Finally got a run in this morning. I went to bed early last night so it wasn't too hard to get up at 5:30. Still don't like it though, and it only gives me about half an hour's running time. Ran 20 mins this morning, and briefly considered adding an extra bit to make it up to 30 mins but it was so cold and I needed time to get stuff done before work. CAN'T WAIT TO MOVE! Bet you're sick of hearing that now!

It's freezing today!! The whole world is white with frost and my cheeks are still all tingly from the ride into work. Brrrr!!! But it's FRIDAY, which is just wonderful, even though it's going to be another hectic weekend.

Tomorrow I'm going to get in as long a run as time allows, hopefully at least an hour. There's a lovely route along the Thames that would be perfect. Then on Sunday it's long run day with the Windmilers, which I need cos I've got a half marathon in 3 weeks and I'm nowhere near trained for it. I'm already entered, got my number and everything, so I have to do it, but I don't think I'll be breaking that elusive 2 hour mark this time. I'm just going to bumble round at my own pace and walk where I need to.

Tiny little pavement run

We're house-sitting in Putney at the moment which means a spectacular lack of park for my morning run. There is a little park over the road from the house, but it has no lighting at all and I don't fancy running alone around it in the dark cold mornings. So this morning I tried a circular route on the pavements. Depressing, but at least it was a run. Only 25 mins too, so not very far, but I have to leave the house at 7:20 for work, which means I had to be up at 5:30 to get this run in. Not sure I can manage getting up any earlier for a longer run... might not be able to function for the rest of the day on that little sleep!

Good news is that I saw a house I really liked last night. We're going back on Saturday for a daylight viewing, but I think we might have found the one!! So as soon as we're done house-sitting, hopefully we'll be moving to our house in the country and then work will be just a 30 min bike ride away and I'll be able to run to my heart's content! Ah..... and it's only 5 weeks until I get my canine running companions back. Happy days indeed.

Finally! A long run!

I had the best of intentions to get a good hour's run in yesterday, but we're house-sitting for friends for the next 2 weeks and when I started to get dressed for my run, I realised that I'd left my running shoes back at our house. DOH!! Picked them up later on but it was too late to run. Oh well, life goes on.

This morning was somewhat more successful. Got dressed, including shoes, and rode up to Wimbledon for the Windmilers Sunday social run. I haven't run long since before Christmas (shame on me!) so I wasn't sure how today's run would go. I was a bit tired on the uphills, and was in the group right at the back, but I did the very long route, which is about 8 or 9 miles. Not bad going. Could be better, but not bad.

Next two weeks should still be crazy but I'll run where I can. I'm looking at 4 houses after work tomorrow, and with any luck one of them will be "the one" so we can move as soon as we're done house-sitting and then I'll be able to get back with the programme.

New year, woo hoo!

This is the year that good things are going to happen! A few of them are happening already, although I wish they'd calm down and space themselves out cos it's all a bit too much! All the stuff I was putting off until the New Year suddenly needs doing! I started my new job on Tuesday, and it's going well, though it's a bit intimidating. And we need to find a new house QUICK cos the dogs are finishing their sentence in 6 weeks! In a strange twist of irony I am now indirectly working for DEFRA, the mean people who made me leave my doggies in France for 6 months. I don't like 'em, but hey, if they're paying my wages who am I to judge!?!

Anyway, new job is 1:30 - 1:45 commute each way, which needless too say has put a damper on my training. As did the cold I woke up with on New Year's day. Sniffle!

On Friday, as promised, I rode to Guildford, but the route I had planned was too busy so I had to buy an atlas and plot my own (somewhat longer) route as I went. It was 57km, which I figured was quite far enough, so I caught the train home. Ahhhhhhh......

And that was the last time I exercised until this morning. Unless you count the bike rides to and from the station on each end of my commute. I'm probably spending about an hour of the 3 hour commute on my bike, which isn't bad, I suppose. Anyway, this morning I dragged myself out of bed at 5am and got in a 6km run. Took me 42:05, which is not very good, but I blame a) not having run for a week b) just recovering from a cold and c) various other reasons.

So, until we move I'm not quite sure how I'll get my morning runs in, but I figure that if I can manage to get out 2-3 morning a week and get in longer runs over the weekend, I should be OK and then I can pick up my training schedule again once we move.

Not sure how much time I'll have for posting here since I don't have much internet access at work, so please forgive sparce entries until things calm down.

Up and down and up and down...

Well, marathon training has officially started. It was supposed to start on Monday but that's beside the point! I made up for lost time today and did the hill session that was scheduled for yesterday. It was my first ever hill session. Of course, I've run lots of hills before, and my run to university last year was uphill all the way, but I've never gone out of my way to look for hills to run up before!! It was pretty tiring but it felt good. I ran 10 mins warmup, then up and down for 30 mins and then a slow 15 min run home. The run home was very tiring but then these crazy sessions are supposed to get you used to running on tired legs, right? I'm going to keep doing the same hill session every time and see how my time improves. Today's exact time 55:07.

Tomorrow I'm planning an 84km bike ride.... I'm going house hunting in Guilford and rather than waste time and money on train tickets I'm going to ride out there and back. If I get too tired I can always throw the bike on a train!! Then on Saturday I'll be recovering from a debauched New Year and Sunday is a long run with the running club. So, I'm gearing up for a fit and healthy New Year, and I hope to be lean mean running machine (with emphasis on the LEAN) by April!!

Oh so full... no.... more.... food!

Oh dear Christmas is a terrible time of year! OK, you get presents, which is cool, and spend time with the family, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your family!! But there's far too much fooooooood! I had planned to go ahead and pig out on 24, 25 and 26 Dec, but it ended up including 23, 27 and 28 Dec as well. Oops! And official marathon training was supposed to start on 27th, and I ran for the first time since the 24th today. Still, all that festive nonsense is behind us now (except for New Year, groan!!) and it's time to get serious.

So, what have I achieved over the festive season? Well, Christmas Eve I got up early and ran random circles around Oxford before we all got into the car and headed up North. It was a nice run... not too cold and a lovely clear day. And of course exploring a new route is always fun. All told, my randon circles took just over an hour, which is not too shabby.

I was planning to run with my cousin (who is also running FLM... but she ran NY last year in 3:45 or something crazy, so she's way out of my league - we're not worthy, we're not worthy!) while we were uo North since we had a fantastic run together last Christmas, but it didn't work out. Far too icy and snowy. We had an amazing white Christmas which looked like this...


...and on Boxing Day we all went out for a vigorous stomp across snowy fields, which was fun, so at least I got some exercise.

Two days of laziness and too much food followed, until this morning, when I went for an hour's trot around Wimbledon Common. It was pretty cold and very frosty and icy this morning, but the sky was clear blue and it was a great sunny run. My training schedule told me I should be doing 25 mins of hills but I can do that any time... I'm not going to waste these 3 days I have off work and can use to run in the park in daylight!

I suspect I may have trouble getting my runs in over the next few of weeks. Come next Tuesday I start my new job out in Surrey, but we haven't found a house out there so I'm in for a monster commute. We're housesitting for friends until the 20-something-th of Jan, which is even closer into London than we are now. So, not sure when I'll manage to run. Either obscenely early or obscenely late. Not keen on either prospect. Oh well, got a marathon to run so I guess I'll have to make a plan. All suggestions welome!

On the good side, all this food has got me not wanting any more. I threw away the Christmas pud I had left in the fridge (after eating a large lump, she guiltily admitted!) and had absoutely no urge to buy bad stuff in the supermarket today. I think I've actually OD'd on food! So hopefully the healthy eating starts tomorrow!