Day 436

1.  For the benefit of those of you who don't read via my Facebook page here is sisterofMG750's response to yesterday's blog...

" I always find a little comfort in the fact that I rarely fit into the category of "most"of anything... let alone "most runners"!!"

Which is handy, because this then means that

" Most individual runners become injured or drop out of their marathon training in the last six weeks"

won't apply to you sis!

2.  Today's top tip for staying motivated...

"Do anything necessary to add more fun to your program: after-run rewards, special outfits or shoes after specific long runs, and so on" 

Set my mind off conjuring all sorts of new looks and killer sling backs, but in the end I found myself picturing pyjama's and slippers!

3.  I have been reading about how the left hand side of my brain is the bit that will throw doubts in and my right hand side of my brain, if I let it be creative, will counter these doubts, or not give them room to grow in the first place. So this morning when I became somewhat bogged down by the fact that I now need Public Liability Insurance to attend the family fun day, I couldn't get the lighting right on my cards and my attempt to tweet at lunchtime brought one viewer to my Etsy shop - I took Jeff's advice, stepped away from the computer and immersed myself in an afternoon of cutting fabric.

4.  It worked! So much so that I managed to psyche myself up to phone an insurance company recommended by my Etsy team - only to discover that they stop manning the phones at 1pm! Perhaps right side of the brain activity in the afternoon is a universal thing amongst us artists?!

5.  Best news of the day came this evening by way of a sale on Etsy from my Westival Saviour!  Money for Barnardo's and an improvement on yesterday's views to orders conversion figures all in one go! Thank you Mrs J!

M - 298

Glasgow - 96

Total Distance covered   699 miles

Quotes taken from Marathon You Can Do It! by Jeff Galloway

Day 435

1.  Hid from all my other jobs and got stuck into the first Etsy School module this morning.... as a result I have an action plan! First up to retake all the photo's currently on Etsy - starting with my cards.

2.  This saw me rearranging ornaments and even hunting out the tripod! Lighting wasn't great and I think I'm going to have to find a new location but in the meantime - the Russian Dolls have put in an appearance sis!

Click here to view!!

3.  I have been very brave and responded to a FB message asking if there was anyone interested in having a stall at a family and dog fun day in the summer.  I am trying very hard to block all memories of Westival from my mind, and consoling myself that if nothing else I could always text Al to turn up with Dougal and I'll enter the sprint with dog race! (Although there may need to be a veteran class)

4.  Haven't had a lot of time to read my marathon book*, but you will be pleased to know that apparently "It's actually quite easy to stay motivated by expressing the positive thoughts, feelings and momentum you get from your runs" and that soon this will flow over into my everyday life...  can't think why it hasn't happened already?!

5.  Although he then goes on to say that "After six to twelve months of regular exercise, most runners have made the lifestyle adjustments that make exercise a scheduled and important part of the day".
Looks like I might have some work to do on this front too - especially where the gym's concerned!

M - 299

Glasgow - 97

Total Distance covered   699 miles

* Marathon You Can Do It! by Jeff Galloway

M - 300

I can't believe that a week ago I was writing about having to do something about dipping my toe in the Etsy Ocean and here I am a week later, having been to a meeting, busily trying to take arty photographs of my cards and posting a tweet about it on a Sunday afternoon! (Before getting rather excited that it generated seventeen page views AND my tweet was favourited by a randomer!). They are, admittedly, relatively small steps but nevertheless important ones.

I am so pleased that I found the courage to go along and meet with Team Leeds on Thursday, and exceptionally grateful for how supportive they have been since then. Far too early to say that it's been a turning point, but for the first time in a long time I am learning something new and it feels as exciting as it does daunting.

The trick will be not to try to take everything on board at once, as it becomes apparent that the best part of everything about my 'shop' is wrong - albeit hopefully with the exception of what I'm trying to sell - but having signed up to undertake an Etsy School module starting tomorrow, I am hoping it will provide at least an initial path through the wilderness...  keep your fingers crossed!

Meanwhile there is no rest for the running part of Marathongirl750 either! A rather hot and humid six and a quarter miles with Al (and Dougal - poor dog) this afternoon confirmed that I am so much more of a morning runner! It was however nice to be back out running together, and I think the decision to run headphones in music on, was more of a statement of preference than a reflection on the amount of time we spent in each others company yesterday!  A mile short of seven hundred training miles, I was almost tempted to run that little bit further and am slightly gutted that I didn't realise today is MARATHON DAY MINUS 300 or I might have tried a little bit harder to tie the two milestones together.

M - 300

Glasgow - 98
Distance covered            6.2 miles

Total Distance covered   699 miles

Day 433

1.  Al and I had a day out today. No boys, no dogs. Think this is a first since our honeymoon - best part of seven years ago!

2.  Long (and very hot) drive to Norfolk to attend the memorial service for my friend's brother meant no parkrun.  The suspense for which song I'll pick from 1981 continues...

3.  A truly beautiful service to celebrate Chris' life focusing on what he'd done with his and a reminder to do the best with whatever time we've got left of ours.

4.  A slightly shorter and significantly cooler drive home, and despite our fears to the contrary the topics of conversation we'd been storing up since the middle of last week didn't dry up!

5.  The dog people offered to have Dougal overnight, meaning a guilt free lie in tomorrow... this doesn't feel like my weekend at all!

M - 301

Glasgow - 99

Total Distance covered   692.8 miles

Day 432

1. My marathon book has arrived! Not saying that it's aimed at the more mature runner but the seemingly incessant need to repeat itself every other page has made me wonder if I'm losing my memory a couple of times in a "I could have sworn I just read that" kind of a way!

2.  From what I've read (and read again!) his advice really is to not go for a time on your first marathon but just to enjoy the experience.... my thoughts exactly! But I did still find myself looking at the predicted times and finding myself smiling when I read that if I walk run for the first eighteen miles then I can run the rest, so maybe not a complete convert yet sis!

3.  Didn't make it to the gym today to treadmill test my new trainers, but I can report that they are very comfortable to wear whilst ironing.  Not entirely sure this is what the Up and Running Man had in mind when he said take them home and try them...

4.  A request in from Team Etsy to join in on Twitter's Follow Friday saw me attempt to tweet and link and use hash tags all in one go...

5.  Clearly this was too much for Twitter who saw my attempt at branching out from just posting a link to my blog as suspicious activity and blocked my account until I could prove it was me!

M - 302

Glasgow - 100

Total Distance covered   692.8 miles

Day 431

1.  Al went to great lengths last night to show me on a map where I was going today.  Not sure if this was because it's the first time he's known a local area better than me, or to make sure I didn't add "couldn't find it" to my list of excuses.  I suspect it was a bit of both, but thank you Mr L.

2.  Forewarned that I would be given the opportunity to go for a run outside brought a whole new dilemma of what I could wear that would tick both running shoes trier on-er, and creative nice to meet you new member of Team Leeds Etsy-er! But still it wasn't enough to talk me out of going, and a phone call to Up and Running this morning sealed my fate awhen I found myself committing to calling in at lunchtime.

3.  Was unconvinced that I was going to find a pair of shoes that suited and was in the process of saying I would have to call back later as I didn't have enough time before my meeting, when I put on a pair of Adidas Adizero Boston Boost... they were purchased within minutes! Very please to have found something I think I'm going to like, very disappointed that they were from Adidas after their rubbish customer service last week!

4.  I needn't have worried about going to meet up with Team Leeds - they were lovely.  I have an awful lot to learn, but as my shop viewing figures and subsequent conversion of viewing to sales rates are so low the only way is up!

5.  C is somewhat astounded that I had to go to the effort of stepping out of my comfort zone and attend a meeting for it to dawn on me that perhaps I wasn't labelling my products in such a way for them to be picked up by any search engine.  Apparently having spent the past year telling him that examiners don't have time to read everythimg and will instead scan through looking for the correct buzz words, I should have been able to work out that if I'm not getting any views my words are wrong!

M - 303

Glasgow - 101
Distance covered               4.3 miles

Total Distance covered   692.8 miles

Day 430

1.  Not entirely sure what the point of measuring all my fabric, drawing the shape of each piece onto the computer and then working out the optimum way to make as many bags from each bit as possible was - if when I come to actually cut it out I don't bother looking at my notes.

2.  This was the first thing I did this morning and the day kind of went downhill from there.

3. Actually I lie - the first thing I did was drop my phone. Thankfully the screen protector did it's job and cracked instead.

4.  A text from H which started "you know how you love me very much" could have been so much worse than a request to bake a cake for him to take to school tomorrow.

5.  Growing ever more anxious about going to the Etsy team meeting tomorrow, and am starting to concoct a range of excuses as to why I can't go.  In an attempt to counter this I am trying to get excited about a possible visit to Up and Running which is nearby, but it could still go either way.

M - 304

Glasgow - 102

Total Distance covered   688.5 miles

Day 429

1.  I have taken the plunge and offered my skills and services to Etsy Team Leeds, although I did feel the need to point out that those skills may have been acquired before most of the team, and certainly the internet, were born!

2.  Now begins the anxious wait to see if they think I might be of use to them... perhaps not quite as nail biting as the wait to hear from Barnardo's - not that the difference is discernible from my email checking activity!

3.  As a reward for hitting 'send' I allowed myself the treat of opening the doors on the fabric emporium - three more bags have now been matched up with linings.  Shame that it was at the expense of the three bags of grocery shopping that are still sat waiting for their contents to be put away seven hours after I got back from the supermarket (fingers crossed I packed all the fridge stuff in the one bag that did get unpacked when I first got home).

4.  First run since Liverpool - nice short three and a quarter miles at half marathon pace! Felt good to be out, and good to be home again.

5.  Best bit by far was the guilt free consumption of digestive biscuits (cherry picked from the unpacked shopping) which may or may not equal the calories burned - I lost count of whether I'd stuffed two or three down in quick succession on my return!

M - 305

Glasgow - 103
Distance covered                3.7 miles

Total Distance covered   688.5 miles

Day 428

1.  The easiest way to hide from the enormity of having to do something about turning my dreams into reality is to focus on someone else's,,,

2.  Oxford, Manchester and now Durham University Open Day - and STILL not enough time left to visit even ONE shop!

3.  Had a great day out with C and am somewhat sad that there aren't any others in the diary...

4.  Not least because this means back to running tomorrow; and the bit that I'm in denial over

5. Operation Etsy! 

M - 306

Glasgow - 104

Total Distance covered   684.8 miles

Crossroads

I was fully expecting some sort of crash after Liverpool, but I'm not sure I was ready for what's surfaced as a result!

It's hard to describe how I felt running last weekend.  The mental conversation I was having with myself was definitely one of a 'run as fast as you can and you never have to do this again' nature.  The realisation that I could step back and not 'run' London felt somewhat cathartic and I certainly finished feeling loads lighter.

In the week that's followed I've had my ability to tame the highly competitive part of my psyche questioned by those who know me well, but I really want to try.  I want it to be about the experience of being a part of the London Marathon and all that that entails, not about what time I can run it in.  I want to get to a place where my distance running is about being proud of the distance I have run not the time that it took me to do it.  I want to be happy just to be there, and to finish.  If I then find that it bothers me that I haven't ticked the marathon time box I'll have to do another one, but I don't want to turn London into an attempt to do both.

In viewing time as the only factor of success, I have forgotten that when I started this was actually about being able to increase my distance without my knee locking (which I now know was caused by my IT Band tightening as a result of lazy glutes) and I should be chuffed to bits that I've just run thirteen miles without it happening.  The ache in my hips however tells me that I've got an awful lot of work to do to double the distance, and I really don't need to add the pressure of speed into the equation. But I know I won't find it easy. The current plan is to see how training goes over the summer, see if I am comfortable adopting a different approach for Glasgow, and take my marathon training from there... watch this space!

Meanwhile I am becoming increasingly aware that if I felt the come down after Liverpool, it is nothing to what I'm going to feel after London, and I need start thinking about cushioning my fall - which is where the whole Etsy dilemma is surfacing from!  Oh man.... if I say out loud that I dream of having a creative business have I then got to do something about it?! And having just done so, is it already too late?!

Reality is that I've got bags and cards to sell and an opportunity to get involved in a local group of Etsy traders to see if I could make a go of doing something longer term- a bit of a no brainer really, except that it sends anxiety levels and thoughts of self doubt through the roof.  I fear things may be somewhat turbulent for a while - time to prepare yourselves for a bumpy take off! (although you may be better picturing a propeller starting to turn ever so slowly on the front of a Gypsy Moth* than any rumble from a jet engine).

*The Gypsy Moth, I've just realised, is the name of the pub that Al is intending drinking in whilst supporting me en route in London... Damn I think it's a sign! Now I really do have to go for it!

M - 307

Glasgow - 105

Total Distance covered   684.8 miles

Day 426

1.  No parkrun this morning - Manchester Uni Open Day with C instead.

2.  Which I'm afraid also means no exciting video link to a song from 1981!

3.  Immersed in a totally different world to the one I normally live in, it was nice to spend the day with C and also have a day where I didn't think think about running or Etsy.

4.  That said, I did have a sneaky peak at the parkrun results to see who had been there this morning... (Congratulations on joining the parkrun 50 club with a PB Mrs M!).

5.  And a fleeting visit to the student finance stand did come with an associated (albeit it also fleeting) acknowledgement that, if I ever think I'm going to be able work from home, I may have to brave putting my toe back in the Etsy Ocean.

M - 308

Glasgow - 106

Total Distance covered   684.8 miles

Day 425

1.  I have remembered what I did yesterday!

2.  Struggling to find any real context for my half marathon run, I spent a little of yesterday playing around on gb mapometer.  Having always been able to drive whilst living where I live now, I have no real concept of distance so decided instead to map 13.1 miles along the bus route I used to travel from home into Glasgow, which always felt like an awfully long and often rather monotonous journey! Thrilled to discover that not only did I run the entire length of the bus route but would have had to run out to the West End and back in towards town again to complete the distance!

3.  I am reluctant to say out loud that there is part of me that now wishes to run this for fear of being dropped off in Eaglesham and told to get on with it next time I'm up visiting sisterofMG750!

4.  First attempts to raise my Etsy profile came crashing back down.... after spending time uploading some images and writing a post about what I have for sale in the 'items for sale' section on my new Etsy team page, I received a message from the Team Leader to say that 'items for sale' refers to selling supplies and not a place to advertise ourselves...

5.  I deleted the posts and am trying so hard not to take it personally! I didn't know, she just alerted me to my error in a perfectly nice way, yet I am fighting a gut instinct to remove myself from the group and crawl back under the stone that I feel slightly foolish for trying to leave in the first place.

M - 309

Glasgow - 107

Total Distance covered   684.8 miles

Day 424

1.  Hard to remember anything about today.  An hour and a half meeting at school on the higher education process has rendered me brain dead!  I wish they would issue the powerpoint of the slides in advance so you can read them and only attend the meeting if you seek further clarification instead of wasting your evening having them read to you.

2.  I have made tentative steps towards increasing the profile of my Etsy shop and joined a group of local Etsy traders!

3.  This may involve me stepping WAY out of my comfort zone to attend a meeting next week... I have registered my interest but am yet to fully commit!

4.  Meanwhile following in the footsteps of both sisterofMG750 and HMG I have sent off for a book on Marathon running by Jeff Galloway who favours a run walk run approach.

5.  All in all it seems that there is some post Liverpool debrief going on inside my head, thinking about it perhaps it is this that has frazzled my brain!

M - 310

Glasgow - 108

Total Distance covered   684.8 miles

Day 423

1.  I can't help but feel that I have wasted the last three days.  I've done nothing and am wondering how long I can get away with blaming it on Sunday?!

2.  Dog had a poorly leg when he got up this morning so I didn't even walk him today - although it had mysteriously got better by the time Al got in from work...

3. Not sure that I really give Mr L the recognition he deserves.  Should have mentioned two things at the weekend and didn't - firstly WELL DONE for getting back under twenty five minutes at parkrun on Saturday, and secondly THANK YOU for supporting me through everything and especially this.

4.  It seems I am not the only one who thinks he's special, and certainly one of a kind.  A thank you card from one of his students seems to have him sussed....

"Wow, how annoying you can really be. Although you do make me cry with laughter, I feel sorry for any student that eats in your lesson, they will get caught. Apart from Amanda, obviously.

Just wanted to include, I didn't cheat the 134598 times you've accused me.

The last two years have been so funny, stressful and most definitely hard. I hope on results day I'll show you the hard work you haven't really seen.

Thank you"

5.  I hope on the equivalent of my results day, I'll show you that the hard work, the obsessions, the lack of housework, the limited topic of conversation, the moaning, general miserableness, fatigue and occasional moments of post run euphoria were worth it!

M - 311

Glasgow - 109

Total Distance covered   684.8 miles

Day 422

1.  An hour at the mercy of the Biomechanics Man and I feel like a different person - can't say it didn't hurt but it was worth it! What I wasn't expecting however was that the bit that hurt most was my shoulders!

2.  That said it did take them at least an hour after I'd finished running to relax enough to retreat down from keeping my ears warm, and the action shot horrors from my 'friends' at marathon photo did confirm my 'no neck' running stance, but still.....

3.  There is actually a not too bad picture of me crossing the finish line but the clock above shows the actual time elapsed since the race started and not my own personal time.... I have yet to discover if they offer a photoshop editing service to correct it to my 'chip' time!  In all fairness I can probably live without it, by which I mean the photo - no way I'm having the unedited version!

4.  The hunt for new running kit has begun! Previously purchased chest armour has been returned after suffering the same fate as before, and at five hundred and eighty miles and not a lot of cushioning left on the soles I think it is time to look for some new shoes.

5.  Disappointingly adidas.co.uk were unable to provide me with any technical information at all about which of their shoes might be suitable! The online chat advisor suggested that I did a google search for the information (but who was providing this info if not Adidas?!), the telephone customer service advisor couldn't help either and suggested I call their speciality sports section, the speciality sports section offered me rugby boots! The search continues....

M - 312

Glasgow - 110

Total Distance covered   684.8 miles

Day 421

1.  1:57:21...... I can walk in Glasgow!!!

2.  C&H have taken some convincing that I will be able to walk (no pun intended) away from my speed addiction, but so far I am standing by my decision, although the words 'home turf' from H this morning did set off a small internal battle - I can't be wavering after one day!

3.  Decided that I really ought to change the nail varnish on my toes to match my lime green 'Barnardo's' fingernails in celebration but I can't get down that far today! So I have updated my profile pic to show my slippers instead!

4.  Lovely debrief with my marathon running school friend this morning (AG to save you guessing G) who has recommended a fortnight off! And an appointment booked with the Biomechanics Man tomorrow who will no doubt burst that bubble!

5.  HUGE Congratulations to HMG for getting round under two and a half hours and running all the way! None of this would be the same without you - loving our adventures and so hoping you'll join me and sisterofMG750 at the big one. (No I haven't forgotten that you said you would do it sis!)

M - 313

Glasgow - 111

Total Distance covered   684.8 miles

LIVERPOOL HALF

After the wedding reception, returning hens, rowdy stags, rather uncomfortable beds, strange pillows and snatched moments of sleep filled with anxiety dreams, it was somewhat of a relief when six o'clock arrived and it was time to get up! Sitting on our beds eating our instant porridge gruel out of plastic pots and feeling slightly sick (not entirely related to the porridge) it was hard to find a reason why we were doing this - returning to the hotel several hours later we wouldn't have been anywhere else!

Having decided after Brighton that we needed to run our own races, but having done all of our training together, I was in the situation of setting off with a loosely put together 'strategy' but without any idea of whether it would work.  I decided on a (I think it's called) negative split approach where I would run the first four miles at around nine and a half minute miles, the middle four at nine and the last five at eight and a half to get me an average of just under nine minute miles and the chance of going sub two hours!

woman in fetching green vest looking rather nervous can be spotted on lhs of pic

This was a fairly nice way to start the race and it definitely stopped me from setting off too fast. I had the pleasure of running behind Elvis and one of the 'Fab Four' (although still not altogether sure which one) for the first few miles, but had to leave them behind when it came time to up my pace, only to have them overtake me again when I had to stop for a wee around mile five. Rejoining the race I couldn't help but feel like Dougal after he'd stopped to poo at parkrun as I desperately tried to regain my place in the pack, and clocked up my fastest mile of the day!

By mile eight I was on top of the world and decided that I ought to ring Al (whilst still running) so he could share in this rare moment of happiness - good job I didn't wait as by mile nine I was spent! It was a long and gruelling final four miles home but by now I had made a deal with myself - if I could finish in under two hours I would never have to do it again...

I am going to run/walk in London and enjoy the day for the experience that it is, and at sub two hours I would allow myself to run/walk in Glasgow to train for it!

So I ran through the pain, gave it my best shot, smiled at the 'Well Done Barnardo's' cheer and crossed the finish line in a time my Garmin suggests might be under two, but the 'auto pause' whilst I went for my wee might have pushed me over... worse still by the time I went to bed at half ten there still weren't any results to put me out of my misery!

Slightly emotional at the end and thoroughly overjoyed to see HMG appear through the crowds heading towards our designated meeting place our second half marathon experience was complete!

An afternoon spent in the spa worked wonders for our aching limbs and the taxi ride from the hotel to the station was the best £5 I've ever spent! Especially as it meant we were homeward bound, where my family, a nice meal and (dare I say on this occasion) most importantly my own bed awaited my return.

Only sixteen weeks till we do it all again!

PS Clearly need to learn how to read a gradient graph before I get worried about steep inclines - the hill didn't even come close to what we tackle at parkrun!

M - 314

Liverpool Half minus zero!

Glasgow - 112
Distance covered             13.1 miles

Total Distance covered   684.8 miles

Day 419

1.  Writing this on Monday and still can't quite believe I stopped faffing about for long enough on Saturday morning to actually leave the house!

2.  Lovely time volunteering at parkrun - it's been a while since I have and I'd forgotten just how much I enjoy watching everyone else do the running.

3.  Parkrun over and post park run tea and tea cake consumed it was off to Liverpool for lunch!

4.  Lovely time this afternoon meeting up with an old friend who I haven't seen for twenty years - very hard to remember that he was being polite when asking about our running and didn't really want a full breakdown on our training schedule, race strategy and expected split times! It may be another twenty years before I see him again!

5.  Beautifully designed hotel with fabulous central atrium with balconies running round the edge and the rooms situated off the balconies (I'll attach a picture). All very artistic but not so conducive to sleep when there was a wedding reception on in the lobby! Just as well we weren't going to get much anyway!

M - 315

Liverpool Half - 1

Glasgow Half - 113

Total Distance covered   671.7 miles

Day 418

1.  Almost packed and ready to go.

2.  For an overnight stay I seem to have an awful lot of stuff! 

3.  I'm blaming this on sisterofMG750 - if she was going to be there I could pinch her toiletries and not have to pack any... it's what big sister's are for!

4.  Just want to be actually on the train so that there's nothing else I can think about taking, or needing to take, or checking to see if the weather has changed in the last half hour (which it has been doing frequently).

5.  I think it's fair to say I might just be a little bit excited!  And I thought it was tomorrow night when I wouldn't sleep!

M - 316

Liverpool Half - 2

Glasgow Half - 114

Total Distance covered   671.7 miles

Day 417

1.  The weather in Liverpool this weekend looks set to be wet! Rain all day Saturday when we arrive and potential for rain on Sunday morning (it changes every time I look at the weather app - which is frequently).

2.  This is a little on the disappointing side, but it's OK because 'Rock n Roll' Marathon Series seem to think I'm running in Seattle on Saturday instead where it will be full sun and thirteen degrees - nice!

3.  I'm very tempted to sign up for my free runner tracking service and see how I do!

4.  Comparing the two routes I think however I might be better off in Liverpool rain or otherwise... although that said I think we should have paid slightly more attention to the gradient information that was readily available when booking HMG - the hill doesn't look good... Liverpool  but an awful lot better than this... Seattle

5.  Phew.... have just noticed that the gradient is in feet and not metres! So still steep but perhaps not quite so bad as to need climbing apparatus to get to the top of the near vertical section I've been envisaging all day!

M - 317

Liverpool Half - 3

Glasgow Half - 115

Total Distance covered   671.7 miles

Day 416

1. The (not mine I hasten to add) personal trainer's quip of "Put a bit of effort in"  as I attempted to send waves rippling (not quite) to the end of the rope I was somewhat half heartedly waggling this morning was met with a rather stony stare.

2. What he was clearly unaware of was the fact that I had expended all my effort just to get myself to the gym in the first place.

3.  I have decided that I'm lazy and I don't like going to the gym because it's hard work. 

4.  I have yet to reach any conclusion over how I feel about this... It may spur me into getting fitter, I may learn to live with it.

5.  Good news this afternoon however... my 'friend's' at MarathonFoto will be there on Sunday taking photo's en route - oh joy! Better still they have sent a link for me to email to my friends and family so they can see the unedited truth for themselves first hand - shame I deleted it by accident.

M - 318

Liverpool Half - 4

Glasgow Half - 116

Total Distance covered   671.7 miles

Day 415

1. Foolishly didn't get into my running kit before Al left for work and so had to fasten first and then adopt a kind of escapologist shoulder dislocation manoeuvre - but I got there without having to ask the boys for help... Some things you just can't ask of your teenage sons!

2. First run with Spotify for company - and I LOVED it! 

3. Had Dougal and me skipping along at 180 bpm with the added challenge of getting home before the 30 ad free minutes were up. We were doing fine until we encountered a couple of BT engineers and a cherry picker! No way he was passing that 'monster'!

4. Only recognised one song - which was rather apt for how I'm feeling about Sunday... Pointer Sister's 'I'm So Excited!' I shall however spare you the video link'.

5. Lucky Dougal got taken out on a further five miler this evening once Mr L got home. Didn't quite get as far thinking of joining them!

M - 319

Liverpool Half - 5

Glasgow Half - 117
Distance covered    3.4 miles

Total Distance covered   671.7 miles

Day 414

1.  Playing a game of hunt the school trousers first thing this morning confirmed what I think I already knew....

2.  Time to focus on getting a bit more organised at home instead of immersing myself in all things marathon!

3.  I did really well at this, up until about five o'clock when my resolve caved and I had a sneaky wee half hour feeding my fabric obsession.

4.  Unfortunately my determination to get on top of things at home meant that I had to miss going to the gym today...

5.  Which is actually a real shame, not least because after being fitted for a new sports bra yesterday I need to do some work on my arm strength to get into the thing unaided!

M - 320

Liverpool Half - 6

Glasgow Half - 118

Total Distance covered   668.3 miles

Seven sleeps till Liverpool!

Only it's far more likely to be closer to six and a bit!

One week to Liverpool.  I am in better shape than I was at this point before Brighton and yet still not in the kind of shape I would really like to be in, but as I approach the second of my three half marathon's this year I think it is a pretty fair conclusion to draw that in all probability I'm never going to be.  For all my chat and good intentions I just never seem to do anything that actually results in a change in my behaviour beyond the first couple of times of trying.  What I have to decide is whether or not this matters.

It was hard this week making the decision not to run, and I spent a lot of Tuesday feeling very guilty over it, although I'm not altogether sure why. With all the time I spend planning, thinking and writing about being a runner it's hard sometimes to remember that in reality I am still much nearer the 'fun runner' end of the spectrum than anything even resembling 'elite athlete'! Consequently a couple of training runs missed off my schedule is not actually going to make any significant difference, in either the grand scheme of things or in my actual time next weekend - what relevance my time has beyond a point of interest again is questionable.

The more I read about marathon training and top tips for nutrition, hydration and preparation the more my head starts to swim.  I would go so far as to say I am drowning in too many pieces of half remembered advice and it's time to simplify things and get back to basics. Really there are only two goals next weekend

1. Finish
2. Enjoy

Yet as the day draws ever nearer I can feel the pre race excitement (and nerves) building and know that come next Saturday night HMG and I will be lucky to get even half a night's sleep.  That somewhere a little ahead of 'fun runners' or otherwise we will be up at four, pinning, unpinning, and re-pinning our race numbers on our tops, deliberating over which selection of running kit to wear, looking out of the window to check whether what the weather app is telling us is anywhere near true, trying to decide when best to eat our instant porridge pots for optimum performance, and wishing that sisterofMG750 was there with us.  Not going to be the same without you sis - but hey only seventeen weeks till Glasgow!

M - 321

Liverpool Half - 7

Glasgow Half - 119

Total Distance covered   668.3 mile

Day 412 - Parkrun 80

1.  I hadn't really realised how apprehensive I was about today's run until it was over - not having run during the week, I was a little anxious about how I would manage over eight miles this morning. It went OK but the sense of relief afterwards would suggest that I was perhaps more bothered about this than I thought I was!

2.  My knee is almost healed and if I could only stop finding excuses not to go to the gym I might be in relatively good shape next Sunday!

3.  Actually I could leave the gym out all together, just get on with some regular foam rollering and I'd be fine....

4.  To be fair, I'd probably be OK without that either.

5.  Phone numbers exchanged with a friend I haven't seen for twenty years so we can meet up in Liverpool next Saturday, here's this week's song and I'm guessing a video that might hold Mr L's attention all the way through (unlike my previous offerings!).

1980 for parkrun 80

M - 322

Liverpool Half - 8

Glasgow Half - 120
Distance covered                 8 miles 

Total Distance covered   668.3 miles

Day 411

1.  It did only mean one thing.... my running vest arrived this morning and NOW it feels real!

2.  Or at least the fact that in just over a week's time I'm running a half marathon in a less than fetching lime green vest does...

3.  London still seems like a dream.

4.  Mainly I think because my head is too full of fabric to think of anything else! Almost all bags have been cut and I am now in the process of measuring all the pieces of lining material to work out how many bags I will be able to get out of them, before seeing if I've got enough to match up in a manner that will meet with my rather high aesthetically pleasing standards.  It is a huge and mind numbingly boring part of the job and I just can't seem to make any headway with it... nothing I can do but keep plodding on and hope that somehow this process will stand me in good stead when I'm actually running in London and the mile markers don't seem to be anywhere in sight!

5.  Meanwhile Liverpool just needs to happen - nine days is too long when I'm in the midst of an accident prone phase! Took the skin off the top of my big toe this evening whilst moving a table this evening - why oh why oh why?!!!

M - 323

Liverpool Half - 9

Glasgow Half - 121

Total Distance covered   660.3 miles

Day 410

1.  Unexpected and most welcome visit from HMG first thing this morning.  Good to see her, and really nice to be able to have a conversation which wasn't interspersed with gaps whilst we caught our breath!

2.  Unexpected and most welcome order on Etsy from my mother in law for nine cards! That's seventeen down eighty three to go!

3.  After which the rest of the day was rather boring by comparison.

4.  First enewsletter in from Barnardo's... which opened with "I bet it's not feeling real just yet, but believe me it soon will!" which can surely only mean one thing - that my running vest will arrive tomorrow!

5.  Slightly worrying was the email from Rock 'n' Roll Liverpool informing me that 'High 5' energy gel will be available on the day and in particular handed out a mile before we tackle the course hill, with the team on hand to give us a High 5 when we reach the top.  I had no idea there was a course hill let alone one that required glucose assistance to conquer!

M - 324

Liverpool Half - 10

Glasgow Half - 122

Total Distance covered   660.3 miles

Day 409

1.  Was quite proud of how much of my to-do list I have managed to score off, until I've just looked at it a bit more closely and seen that the date at the top is last Wednesday!

2.  The clarity of the screen on my new phone is making me feel like I've either got new glasses or that I'm twenty years younger when things were a bit more in focus than they are now.

3.  My complete lack of knowledge over what settings I'm supposed to have it on and the fact that it's taken me a week to work out that there wasn't any internet access on it (unless I was at home and using the home wifi) is making me feel twenty years older!

4.  In the absence of anything else to check on an hourly basis I've become a little obsessive about waiting for the post to arrive.  I have asked for a Barnardo's vest for Liverpool and it has yet to materialise.

5.  I think this has become my focus as it will be the first piece of tangible evidence that it isn't all a dream.  Unfortunately the addition of an ill fitting lime green vest to my running attire may well turn the dreaded action photo's en route into even more of a nightmare!

M - 325

Liverpool Half - 11

Glasgow Half - 123

Total Distance covered   660.3 miles

Day 408

1.  My insomnia has caught up with me and disappeared! Leaving me exhausted and desperate to stay sleeping just as all boys are back at school and I have to get up.

2.  I appreciate that everything is relative and compared to damaging your cruciate ligament (schoolfriendofMG750) my sore knee is nothing....but I did land a little over ten stone on it with considerable force and it still hurts, the graze has yet to fully heal and although it is slowly getting better I have decided not to run on it until Saturday.

3.  This decision was not taken lightly and I have beaten myself up over it for most of the day.

4.  I'm not sure quite what difference I think it is going to make to my half marathon performance in Liverpool, nor what I actually think the relevance of that 'performance' is.  I think I need to get over myself.

5.   Meanwhile I am cutting bag fabric like a woman possessed! The rest of the house is a shambles... but only nine more to cut out and then twenty seven to sew!

M - 326

Liverpool Half - 12

Glasgow Half - 124

Total Distance covered   660.3 miles

Day 407

1.  I made it to the gym! Went as soon as I'd dropped the boys off at school so I didn't have time to change my mind but climbing up the stairs to reception I did think "Really?! Eleven more months of this?!"

2.  Not sure I'll ever get to the point where I admit to enjoying it, but I do feel better once I've been.

3.  Nice wee moment with C late morning, sharing the excitement of my page view figures reaching eleven thousand one hundred and eleven! Waiting now for twelve thousand three hundred and twenty one, and twelve thousand three hundred and forty five... not that we're number geeks at all!

4.  My replacement iphone has arrived and seems to be in full working order - yipppeeeee! I think I need to change some of the settings though because it is currently making a noise when I receive an email, which is really ruining my procrastinating habit of checking to see if I've had any!

5.  Third bag sold! Thank you fellow parkrunner! Almost a tenth of the way there, although if you think of it in terms of bags sold to bags actually made it's a much more healthy sounding twenty three percent! (hmmm what was I saying about not being number geeks?!)

M - 327

Liverpool Half - 13

Glasgow Half - 125

Total Distance covered   660.3 miles