Day 467

1.  Finally a chance to catch up with FMG! Far too much to talk about for our conversation to be interspersed with gaps whilst we regulate our breathing so we opted for a walk rather than a run.

2.  Dougal couldn't believe his luck - the return of his beloved FMG to the pack and an extended walk where he was left to do his own thing whilst we walked the most convoluted route round the park to increase our chat time!

3.  For a variety of factors we unfortunately find ourselves completely out of step with our training for Glasgow and it's going to take us a while to get back in sync.  Doesn't feel right but thankfully (?!) we've got hundreds of miles of training ahead of us to look forward to!

4.  Wasted the afternoon trying to get the photo's taken for putting the last of the bags that I want on Etsy onto Esty... despite Al's best attempts I wasn't happy with any of them - thankfully the universe decided to intervene and the camera battery ran out before I got the chance to suggest we went through the process again.

5.  C&H both home this evening for the first time since last weekend and the last time before next!

London - 271

Glasgow - 65

Total Distance covered 763 miles

Day 466

1. Awoken at two o'clock this morning by an Etsy fanfare... "A sale?!" I dared to dream?! No, but a lovely message from the fellow Etsyer who put my card in her treasury thanking me for my creative and generous spirit.

2. A sale would have been nice - although let's face it not entirely conducive to getting back to sleep - but someone reaching out across cyberspace (and the Atlantic Ocean) to message me was very touching and might just have made me a little bit emotional reading it in the wee small hours this morning.

3.  Day spent making some rather random custom orders for H, nice change but haven't been near my sewing machine in days!

4.  Envious of Al heading out for a run this afternoon - I must be feeling better! Either that or I allowed myself to think that I was envious safe in the knowledge that I didn't actually have to do anything about it! (Hopefully by Saturday I'll be back in my trainers and ready to parkrun!)

5. 150 days to Christmas apparently but not something I need to worry about, I'm going to be sorted by the end of October this year - remember?!!

London - 272

Glasgow - 66

Total Distance covered 763 miles

Day 465

1.  My attempt to walk away from Etsy was interrupted by a FB message from our Team Captain reminding us that the applications were being assessed tonight so if any of our shops needed tweeking - today was the day! AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!! How do you ignore that advice?!

2.  With my resident photographer currently in Southampton the job fell on the poor long suffering Al.  It took us a while for him to be able to see what was in my mind's eye, which was perhaps made harder by the fact that I wished to be standing with my back to the camera, but we got there in the end and are still speaking!

3.  New photo's, new shop banner and some photo's ordered to use as handout's on my stall... it's been a busy day.

4.  So much so, that I almost forgot I was poorly!

5.  What I did forget, was that I had planned on running a 5 mile race this evening! Oops! Oh well apparently it was wet - better off at home anyway!

London - 273

Glasgow - 67

Total Distance covered 763 miles

Day 464

1.  Still not feeling very well, I really didn't want to go to the Etsy Team meeting today.

2.  But... a reminder from Al about how many people only turn up to parkrun once and miss finding out what a great thing it is, and off I went.

3.  Nice to see everyone but I can't help but sit wondering what on earth I'm doing there!  I haven't really got a presence on Etsy to talk about knowledgeably (as opposed to wittering on about it on here!) I don't have accounts on Pinterest, facebook, instagram and twitter to link across, I wouldn't know how to do that even if I did, I feel foolish for thinking I can tap into the world of on line selling and slightly alarmed that I would want to!

4.  But mainly I just feel middle aged and a little bit like my ship has sailed.

5.  Consequently I have come home, done as much of the work that I can on the Search Engine Optimisation module that relates to my partner's business, emailed it to her and told her not to bother commenting any further on mine!  I may still feel like I'm drowning in catarrh but I no longer feel like I'm drowning in Etsy! Not giving up, just stepping off the hamster wheel for a while.  (But... if for some reason the panel who are deciding on who should be the lucky recipients of stall space at the Etsy Made Local Market that I've applied for are reading this - I would dearly love a spot! I have bags to sell and vulnerable children relying on me to make my fundraising target! I feel shocking today, but I promise I'll step up to the mark and I've had 12,730 page views as I reaffirm this commitment on a daily basis!)

London - 274

Glasgow - 68

Total Distance covered 763 miles

Day 463

1.  My official Barnardo's Authorised Collector's licence arrived this morning, along with two collection tins...

2.  NOW it feels real!

3.  Unfortunately it's not the only thing - what started out as a sore throat on Saturday had grown into a full blown cold and I feel wretched.

4.  Not going to fool anyone when I say that I'm sad that I didn't feel up to going to the gym today, but I am a bit fed up to be feeling so rubbish after such a good run on Saturday.

5.  Nothing it seems is going to keep me from my sewing however! If I hadn't managed to cut the fabric into seventeen 'extra' bags I would have finished today when I made my fortieth! Edging ever nearer!!

London - 273

Glasgow - 69

Total Distance covered 763 miles

British Summer Time

Not entirely sure what happened to my intention at the beginning of the week to regroup and re-prioritise.  I think it started well and then sort of petered out.  As it is, I can't quite shake the feeling that I've lost a week just bimbling along. I know I haven't really, but I still think I need to try harder!

In less than three weeks H will have rehearsed and performed in his next show, C will have been to Southampton, Tenerife and collected his first year A Level results, Al will have run his last parkrun in the 40-44 age group and Etsy Favouriter and I will have been to Bark In the Park! I am therefore hoping that my Sunday Special from the 16 August will be full of good news, but for my part that won't happen if I don't start putting some serious thought into my stall. (I could up the anti a little bit by saying that I will also have made a sale on Etsy, but I've just remembered that part of my regrouping was to give me a feeling of having a break - something that I don't seem to have really got to grips with!).

Perhaps picking up on my slightly deflated mood the Chief at Team Barnardo's has added a motivational banner to the bottom of her emails to me, telling me that I CAN do this! And... as an extra incentive a parcel of goodies has arrived to help spruce up my stall! 

Balloons, stickers, some (for want of a better description) police tape - but with Barnardo's on it, and some inflatable noise sticks - although I think I might give those a miss for the dog show! I may however insist that you stand hitting them as we run past in Glasgow sis, if you don't do something about putting your running shoes on and doing it with us! SchoolfriendofMG750 I have yet to think what excuse from you to avoid this particular excitement would be accepted! (Not that I want you to have to wait until October for your knee op, but crutches could do it!).

There is part of me that wants to get excited about planning my stall, how I could make it look nice, what I could put on it to entice people over to have a look, but at the same time I am a little reluctant to get excited about it, fearing a fate worse than Westival.  Looking out of the window today, I can't quite shake the feeling that we're going to be standing in a soggy field in the rain, on what should be a beautiful summer's day, wondering what on earth we're doing there!  Oh the joys of the British weather!

London - 274

Glasgow - 70

Total Distance covered 763 miles 

Day 461 - Parkrun 84

1. I WAS RIGHT! I WAS RIGHT! I WAS RIGHT!  (Even if it meant he beat me!) Al ran his fastest parkrun in twenty two appearances this morning!

2.  I mucked up the timing for running five miles to get there, consequently had to run quicker than I'd planned to and arrived in the cafe for a quick drink of water before parkrun started with a face like a tomato and sweat pouring out of me leading the cafe lady to inquire after my health! (In my defence it was rather warm).

3.  Found myself running in a little group of men who very kindly all took it upon themselves to try and motivate me to keep going when I stopped to walk.  They were, I think, then a little surprised to find me leave them behind as I was (thanks to the walk breaks) able to maintain my running pace for longer!

4. Finished faster after running eight miles than I did last week after running three I AM AN ENDURANCE ATHLETE!

5. So... for the title only and not the sentiment of the song, for my unexpected strong finish despite appearing to be giving up, for the road I've still to travel and the battles I'll overcome along the way, and for the opportunity to show my most beloved Jeff (no not Galloway - yet!) at his finest....

Parkrun 84 - 1984

London - 275

Glasgow - 71
Distance covered   8.1 miles 

Total Distance covered 763 miles 

Day 460

1.  I may have found a new avenue for my obsession with viewing statistics - Pinterest!

2.  An hour spent watching a 'webinar' (my second in as many weeks!) has informed me that I really ought to be using this media tool to drive sales - and for the bargain one day only price of $199 I can find out how!

3.  Yet again it all feels a little overwhelming and like I have so much to learn - although thinking about it perhaps that was the whole idea behind the sales pitch! That said she did suggest opening a business pinterest page (which is how I get my hands on new stats to agonise over) so I can set up my 'brand' and tell everyone who I am and what inspires me whilst keeping it separate from my personal pinterest page... which is probably a good idea because I haven't used it since Westival and currently the only thing that I am apparently interested in is how to fashion things out of toilet roll tubes!

4. Lovely evening out in the company of Al and C to watch H perform on stage at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

5. Exciting news on my return - I have made it onto an Etsy Treasury List! This is a collection of related things that an Etsy user puts together... and was hugely exciting!  The fact that the person putting the Treasury together has four followers is entirely NOT the point!  Somehow someone with so little Etsy presence has found me which means that I'm no longer quite as invisible as I once was! #hittingthebigtime!

M - 276

Glasgow - 72

Total Distance covered   754.9 miles

Day 459

1.  Wee trip to see my future colleagues in Lidl this morning saw me come home with renewed vigour to find a way to make this work!

2.  But I spent most of the day hiding from the harsh reality of doing anything about it, by spending every spare minute sewing...

3.  Back on my training schedule with just over ten weeks to Glasgow, going for a run is not classed as something I do in my 'spare' time!

4.    Oddly for a Thursday I really enjoyed it, but Al is less than convinced by the run-walk-run method, and claims he can feel his 5K time increasing with every step!

5.  I am torn between wanting to be proved right - as he sprints round the park on fresh legs on Saturday all thanks to his walk breaks mid week, and hoping that he's right and I have half a chance of catching up with him!

M - 277

Glasgow - 73
Distance covered                4.3 miles

Total Distance covered   754.9 miles

Day 458

1.  Thou shalt not hide from Etsy.

2.  An email last night from my team partner who I am supposed to be doing the Search Engine Optimisation module with put paid to that idea!

3,  So when the dog woke me at five thirty this morning, it was on with trying to ascertain the best key words to tag to my bags!

4.  This is mind numbingly boring, and test 'tweak' that I did today has not resulted in any additional views, which makes me think that either:
 a) no one was searching the internet today for a reusable tote shopping bag/shoulder bag/market bag/cotton back/striped bag/library bag?/grocery bag or any chuffing type of bag at all; or
b) I've still not got the words right!

5.  Meanwhile my team partner is wondering how to increase her two Etsy sales A DAY average to three! I shall persevere but the supermarket checkout is looking like an ever more likely job prospect...

M - 278

Glasgow - 74

Total Distance covered   750.6 miles

Day 457

1.   Took Al on his longest ever run this morning - all 7.83 miles of it! Whooo hoooo!

2.  I returned home all post run euphoric, Al on the other hand fell out of the shower, back into bed and straight back to sleep!

3.  If I hadn't already worked this out.... I have been making the wrong thing!

4.  Why did I chose to make bags which take a huge amount of fabric and a lot of time, when I could have been making phone pouches which take a tiny amount of fabric and a few minutes of my time?!
Fashioned one this afternoon and am rather pleased with the result, not least because it means I can't see the screen and is acting as a wonderful deterrent to stop looking at my Etsy figures!

5.  That said I can only imagine how many hundred (if not thousands) I'd have been able to make from the vast amount of fabric I had in the emporium - suddenly 54 doesn't seem like too many to offload!

M - 279

Glasgow - 75
Distance covered                7.8 miles 

Total Distance covered   750.6 miles

Day 456

1.  Got up and went to the gym this morning #thisgirlcan!

2.  Sorted some stuff out and Al took it to the charity shop - I know who am I?!

3.  Another bag nearer the end!

4.  Reward came this evening by way of a message from FMG - she has had her official email welcoming her to Team Barnardo's and is riding high!

5.  We have a planning meeting (OK so coffee and catch up) planned for her return from holidays, and suddenly I don't feel quite so lost!  There is light at the end of the tunnel and company along the way.

M - 280

Glasgow - 76

Total Distance covered   742.4 miles

The Wall

I'm tired.  It's the end of term.  The boys are all on holiday, and yet here I am plodding on, not feeling like I'm making any progress, wondering what I'm doing it for, and what difference it would actually make if I just stopped.

I don't think I really took on board how long I'd be doing this for when I started, or at least how long it would feel.... when in marathon terms I'm only just past the sixteen mile mark, which I'd like to think would be a little early for hitting 'the wall'.  Yet at the moment I feel a bit like I'm beating my head against one!  It all just feels a little bit too much like hard work and a week on from writing about needing to find some inner grace and pleasure in what I'm doing, I'm still as wound up and grouchy as ever!

I am really questioning the decision to run three half marathon's this year, especially as full marathon training begins not long after we've run the third, yet at the same time I know that if it wasn't in the diary I wouldn't be doing any running at all.

It is, I think, becoming ever apparent that I need a break, yet I know I won't take one - so instead I need to regroup and have a look at what I'm trying to achieve, and perhaps set myself some different targets for over the summer holidays.

By far and away the biggest thing affecting my daily mood is Etsy.  I'm not doing enough with it to affect a difference other than a few increases in page views, so I either have to stop looking, or stop letting it bother me... "Good Luck with either or both of those!" Alternatively I could try following some advice that I read recently to change the figures I look at from 'today' compared to 'yesterday' to 'last 30 days' compared to 'previous 30 days'.  That might work, but I think a media lock down might be more effectual, however hard to implement.  I need to stop worrying about how I'm going to sell the bags, and just concentrate on what should be the fun part of making them.

To this end I spent a huge part of today (albeit in front of a Harry Potter binge watch) ironing fabric into bag handles so that when I come to actually sew all the boring bits are done!  Didn't do much for my mood today, but a sense of achievement when it was finished, and a promise of better things to come.

M - 281

Glasgow - 77

Total Distance covered   742.4 miles

Day 454 - Parkrun 83

1.  Dropping in at week 6 of Jeff's Half Marathon plan - I only had to run three miles today... perfect!

2.  One of them was supposed to be a 'Magic Mile' where I run as fast as I can and the time taken is then used to predict half (and full) marathon pace and finish time.  I had contemplated doing this properly - working out an actual mile start and end on the parkrun loop and going for it.  Garmin out of juice and not having worked it all out, in the end I decided not to bother and just see how fast I could run the 3 miles.

3.  Started well, ended strongly (more on that later), fell apart in the middle! Whilst I may have started well, I actually started off far too quickly and (in my usual layman's terms) this caused me to use up too much of a particular reserve of energy (yes I was surprised to find I had any either) leaving me struggling after a couple of miles, whereas if I'd gone slower this reserve would have lasted longer - or something like that! (Annoying thing is I've been telling Al much the same thing, and may even have written about it previously).

4.  This saw me finish behind Al (who had drunk five pints the night before) and (after a sprint finish battle) a second in front of my friend who was pushing a pram! A little distraught over the fact that I don't appear to be able to run 5K any more, I have decided to console myself with the belief that this is because I have trained my muscles to respond differently, no longer built for short 'sprints' I have made the transition to endurance athlete!  And like it or otherwise I'm going to have to get used to it. It is in fact......

Parkrun 83 - 1983

5.  Mint harvested, rum purchased, ice crushed, and limes squeezed, it was time to sit in the garden mojito's in hand and enjoy a great evening in the company of Mr & Mrs parkrunfastfinisher - although I'm not sure you can really be Mrs parkrunfastfinisher on so few attendances! What you are however is a bad influence and, not for the first time, I'm writing this with a slightly sore head which I'm blaming on you L - but in a nice way!

M - 282

Glasgow - 78
Distance covered                3.1 miles

Total Distance covered   742.4 miles

Day 453

1.  Al's parkrun Tshirt was delivered this morning!

2.  If I didn't think I'd see the day when I was excited over a new piece of running kit, then the day when Al was, was even more incomprehensible! However... the thought of wearing it to parkrun tomorrow is enough to make him consider running despite being out celebrating the end of term this evening!

3.  29 BAGS MADE - 28 TO GO!  Finally I'm passed the half way point!

4.  Etsy have very kindly added a new statistic for my daily perusal.... Now as well as

Views - Favourites - Orders - Revenue - for today; and
Views - Favourites - Orders - Revenue - compared to the same time yesterday
we have
Views - Favourites - Orders - Revenue - compared to one year ago

The minus one in  the Favourites column for a year ago today can mean only one thing - it's been a year since my son's friend (and now girlfriend) became Etsy Favouriter! Happy Anniversary! It's been a good year with you around.

5.  This led me to have a wee read at the entry for the 17 July last year - oh dear! Apart from the training plan for Brighton I could have written it today... complaining about Etsy, not finding time to do any exercises, HMG having had enough of listening to me moan and going off on holiday to give her ears a rest! Except that HMG is now FMG and we're twice members of the half marathon club - whether we've done our cross training or not!

M - 283

Glasgow - 79

Total Distance covered   739.3 miles

Day 452

1.  The computer system at the gym has clearly picked up an anomaly in yesterday's data - I awoke to a 'good to see you' email, along with a request to get in touch if they can help in anyway.  (What was missing off the end of that sentence was 'before it's a month until you next put your foot through the door!).

2.  Etsy too have picked up on some strange activity.  Sat sewing this afternoon and an unidentified alert tone was heard emanating from my phone... someone had favourited an item in my shop! Clearly such an unusual occurrence they felt the need to let me know immediately!

3.  This then led to a small flurry of interest, and I finished the day with thirteen favourites - all from people I don't know! The fact that my bag is now one of 465,749 items favourited by Ada is entirely NOT the point.... the fact that I no longer completely invisible on Etsy is HUGE NEWS! I have been found AND liked!

4.  Purposefully left my Garmin at home this morning and went for a four mile run-walk-run with Dougal blissfully unaware of my average pace! Enjoyed it and think it might be the way forward for a while, to just go with how I feel when I'm out there but struggled a bit on my return with no data to analyse!

5.  The news from Wiggle is good! One parkrun 50 Tshirt is out for delivery tomorrow... keep your fingers crossed!

M - 284

Glasgow - 80
Distance covered               4.2 miles

Total Distance covered   739.3 miles

Day 451

1.  It's a little thing and it didn't really matter, but I'd waited for the page view figures to near the magic 12321 and last night they were at 12320, refreshing every few seconds to see it change - it jumped to 12326 in one go :(

2.  This morning was no better - woke up it was 12344...
refresh 12344...
refresh 12344....
view my blog via Google so it didn't know it was me...
refresh 12346
AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!

3.  I am now waiting for 13579, or perhaps in the meantime I'll get a life and it won't matter to me by then - stranger things have happened!

4.  Moral of the tale... Cheats never win and patience is a virtue!

5.  Could have done with a bit more patience last night over the ordering of Al's parkrun 50 T-shirt.... he was quite happy to wait and do it today but gave in to my 'No! Do it now! Do it now!' enthusiasm, the internet connection was lost half way through the order, and now his one click only link is lost, and we are awaiting a resolution from either parkrun or wiggle....  :(  :(  :(  :(  :(

M - 285

Glasgow - 81

Total Distance covered   735.1 miles

Day 450

1.  Two things happened this morning that haven't happened for a while.  Firstly I had my recurrent haven't left enough time to tidy up the holiday let before handover dream and secondly the dog woke me up early.

2.  I would like to think that this was some sort of extra sensory perception on his part to release me from my nightmare, but no he just needed a poo and all I did was shift the location of my anxiety nightmare from fictional and subconscious, to real and very much staring me in the face - which is why I was to be found ironing at five o'clock this morning, and sewing at six!

3.  Etsy favouriter take point one as a warning that, when we go away this summer, I may well suggest that on arrival we leave as much stuff in the car rather than take it into the cottage just to be sure we're packed up in time on our departure!

4.  After sitting watching some stall holders set up in the park on Saturday morning, I thought I'd better check what facilities are provided at Bark in the Park... good job I did else I might have been sitting on Dougal's dog mat from the back of the car with my bags displayed on the grass around me! I have now requested a table, am on the hunt for a gazebo and not for the first time am thinking that perhaps I have bitten off more than I can chew!

5.  Parkrun 50 shirt arrived today - only 32 runs later! As I tweeted this morning 'who knew I would ever love a piece of running kit?' Shame it arrived after I'd been for my run!

M - 286

Glasgow - 82
Distance covered                 4 miles

Total Distance covered   735.1 miles

Day 449

1.  If inner beauty is running thin on the ground, external signs of it were completely non existent as I donned my waterproofs and wellies to walk Dougal this afternoon! Rain dripping off peaked hood is a hard look to pull off with any modicum of style...

2.  There was however beauty to be found.  Clearly sheltering from the rain in the long grass and disturbed by Dougal as he ran through, he appeared over the brow of the hill as if being followed by an ever emerging fluttering cloud of butterflies.

3.  I hasten to add that this was only beautiful because we were outside - put me in a room with just one moth and watch me scream to be rescued!

4.   My 'fully refurbished' phone is clearly not quite as fully refurbished as I'd like, and is showing signs of internal memory which can only be linked to it's previous owner.  When texting "looking forward to the end of term" this morning I got as far as "looking forward to the" and it wanted to complete the sentence with "GYM"???!!!

5.  Thank you Marathon Man for your continued support and retweets! Our combined efforts last night as part of #handmadehour saw Etsy views leap to eight!

M - 287

Glasgow - 83

Total Distance covered   731.1 miles

Channelling my inner Martina

I'm not the biggest or most ardent tennis fan, but watching at least some of Wimbledon is an annual event and increasingly as the years go by so is staring longingly at the female tennis players wishing I looked even a fraction like them, when in reality being female is about the only thing we have in common!

I don't follow celebrity culture, but can't help but feel that my sitting feeling rubbish because I don't look anything like a professional tennis player who is twenty years younger, a stone lighter, spends her life in the gym or on a tennis court, and is more aesthetically attractive to begin with is akin to those women who do the same with celebrities who are dressed head to toe in designer clothes, having had someone else do their hair and make-up, before being airbrushed for the finishing touches!  This year however, fabulous figure and winning smile aside, it was the inner beauty of Martina Hingis that I wish I could emulate.

Posed, relaxed, graceful, happy, clearly enjoying every minute of being on court, grunt free and able to smile to herself when she make a mistake, she was a joy to watch as she was crowned both female and mixed doubles champion- and I think it's time I tried to channel a little of my inner Martina... (there must be a little bit in there somewhere!)

She was however no where to be seen yesterday at parkrun as I trudged round, annoyed that my music stopped because I had 'no internet connection' despite the '3G' symbol suggesting otherwise, cross that my Garmin switched itself off, crosser still that this is probably because I forgot to start it again in my eagerness to get my interval timer working this week, wound up that I might have waisted my money on shoes that don't fit, and struggling to come to terms with my new 'no need for speed' ethos. And lets face it she rarely puts in a appearance at home either, where I sit surrounded by the evidence that I haven't done any domestic jobs for rather a long time as I attempt to sew my fabric stash into bags that I have no where to keep and no one wants to buy!

I'm sure that she looks significantly different during training, when it's all just hard work - relentless and monotonous, and perhaps finding that grace whilst I plough through my training and sewing regimes is asking a bit much - but perhaps I need to relax (perhaps?!!!) and enjoy the end game a bit more.

I am really glad that her reality TV career didn't take off (OK so maybe I follow celebrity culture just a little bit) and that she is back doing what she clearly does best, the question of whether or not I've found what I'm best at is perhaps more pertinent, but one that I'd rather avoid for a while longer -which is handy because in a house as messy as this there's plenty of places hide!

M - 288

Glasgow - 84

Total Distance covered   731.1 miles

Day 447 - Parkrun 82

1. Judgement call over whether or not to run to parkrun this morning, especially as FMG wasn't joining me, but in the end decided just to get out there and get on with it.  Four miles, run two minutes, walk 30 secs.  Went OK and was glad that I'd done it by the time we reached the park.  But it was hot and humid and not pleasant running weather.

2.  Parkrun itself was horrid. Disjointed run, no air to catch your breath, technical issues with music, Garmin and shoes, was really please when it was over..... until

3.  I was approached at the finish line by this man who started telling me that my problem was all in my head and I didn't need to walk, when I told him I was following a run-walk-run program he told me that that (or perhaps I) was brainless and that it made no sense to run fast and then stop to walk...

4.  After my initial hostility had worn off, I decided to thank him for his input - whilst at the same time feeling the need to point out that perhaps coming to run 5K on a Saturday morning and then sitting down for a cigar afterwards wasn't exactly the best thought out plan either! But perhaps I do need to concede that with regard to my running he does have a point, and looking at Jeff's table on run to walk ratio's, my running sections should be longer if I'm running faster.  So... a new ratio to try out next Saturday, after I've remembered how to reprogram my interval app!

5.  So still on the learning curve and still not altogether sure whether I'm on the right track, but time to adapt and change and make my approach my own and one that works for me... leading us nicely to

Parkrun 82 - 1982

M - 289

Glasgow - 85
Distance covered               7.6 miles

Total Distance covered   731.1 miles

Day 446

1.  Laughing with my sis last night over my apparent lack of knowledge regarding  the source of stress that has resulted in a slight eczema outbreak...

2.  She only had two words in reply - Etsy bags?

3.  I think she might be right (often is - however much I might like to deny it) so have spent much of today at the sewing machine - another two made!

4.  Somewhat disappointingly after a surge to 37 views on Etsy yesterday - I've gone back down to zero. More disappointing still is the fact that I would have reached the sewing half way point today if I hadn't carried on cutting fabric till there was none left and am now only a little over a third of the way there!

5.  There was however some good news from today!! Finally Mr L has experienced post run euphoria! Took a six mile Woodland Challenge with the parkrun boys and a post run pint of beer but he got there!

M - 290

Glasgow - 86

Total Distance covered   705.5 miles

Day 445

1.  SisterofMG750 open your marathon book at page 139, last paragraph, last sentence... it is the news we have been waiting for....

"During a marathon program it's okay to say "I'm starting my diet later" - after the marathon."

(We just have to pretend we've actually started our marathon program!)

2.  With this information taken on board it was into the kitchen to bake C's birthday cake!

3.  Cracking the eggs directly into the food mixer whilst it was mixing, and then dropping the shell in after it was not the best start.... having the cake tin skite off the oven shelf, flip over and land cake side down on the floor wasn't exactly the best end.

4.  Thankfully this is why icing was invented!

5.  Seventeen years of being a mum... loved (almost) every minute! Exceptionally lucky to have two of the best boys anyone could wish for, and it has been a privilege to watch them grow up into the young men that they have become with the world, ever increasingly, at their feet.  As a thank you for what I have, and an acknowledgement that not every child is as fortunate, this is why I chose Barnardo's.  Happy Birthday C xx

M - 291

Glasgow - 87

Total Distance covered   705.5 miles

Day 444

1.  Aaaarrrggghhhhhh!!! Everything is taking too much time!

2.  Had C taking photo's of me modelling my bags in the garden before he left for school, twelve hours later and I still haven't found time to upload them onto the computer - let alone get them onto Etsy!

3.  If I'd only kept up to my resolution to keep up to date with my finances on a daily basis, I wouldn't have had to spend the best part of this morning trying to sort them out.

4.  Judgement call this afternoon whether to sew or go to the gym.  Now I know you're thinking that really that isn't much of a contest and there's no way I would have chosen to go to the gym, and unfortunately you're right, but I am not happy that I didn't get to go - although I feel this may say more about my frustration at running out of time than my desire to exercise!

5.  Haven't found time to read my marathon book in days, not sure if this is because I've been so busy or because the next chapter's called "Fat Burning as a Way of Life" and I don't want to know the truth!

M - 292

Glasgow - 88

Total Distance covered   705.5 miles

Day 443

1.  Feeling like some sort of Pavlovian experiment Dougal and I headed out for our first run-walk-run together, changing from run to walk and back again at the clanging of a bell.

2.  The interval was different from Saturday - run two minutes, walk one, instead of run two minutes walk 30 secs, and I found it harder going, but I don't think three miles of each ratio really counts as an adequate sample to say what my preference is!

3.  Dougal was spectacularly unimpressed with the whole notion of the stop start approach and once walking I almost had to drag him along when the bell rang and we'd to start running again - but I have it on esteemed authority that he'll get the hang of it eventually!

4.  Two more bags finished and uploaded to Etsy...  For a wee look at how busy I've been please click on the link below!

marathongirl750 on Etsy

5.  Lesson today in being careful over what you wish for...  for some inexplicable reason my very very sharp pointed sewing scissors flew out of my hand this afternoon and up into the air, before landing point first, piercing the skin as they went, into an area of soft tissue on the front of my body! Oh for a pin in finger injury instead!

M - 293

Glasgow - 89
Distance covered               3.4 miles

Total Distance covered   705.5 miles

Day 442

1.  The trouble with having your oldest friend read your blog is that little by little the truth will out!

2.  Thus I must confess that the Barnardo's training day will not be the first time I have met Daley Thompson, as schoolfriendofMG750 and I once queued for his autograph at the opening of Olympus Sports in Glasgow.  The fact that I am now preparing to run a marathon in order to meet him may be viewed as a sign of desperation, at which point I would like to make clear that I haven't attempted to see him in the intervening thirty years!

3.  Still better be looking my best when I do... whatever works as motivation to get me to the gym!

4.  Tried so hard to be organised today and get through all the things on my to-do list.  Didn't do badly, gym and two bags made! Dougal slightly less than impressed with my new found focus - he'd to wait for Al to get home to walk him (thank you Mr L).

5.  Having a bit of a crisis of confidence over actually selling the bags once my hours and days and weeks of sewing are done.  Trying hard to keep the faith and some skin on the end of my fingers...I'd forgotten how many times I inadvertently stuck pins in myself last time I had a sewing spree.

M - 294

Glasgow - 90

Total Distance covered   702.1 miles

OMG!!

HMG is coming with me to London!

A little over a year since she was given the pseudonym Half Marathon Girl, and a little less than a year since she signed up for her first half marathon, HMG has been accepted onto Team Barnardo's for the full twenty six point two miles of joy that awaits us in London and shall therefore, from here on in, be referred to as FMG!


As with me, she has met the news with a mixture of excitement at the thought of going and anxiety at the momentous task ahead of us - but with the rather lovely added sweetener of a training day with Daley Thompson to look forward to!

Having had a little longer to get over my initial wave of panic (I am expecting it to return) I am able just to feel elated by the news! I am so fortunate to have her as my training partner, especially on the cold dark winter mornings when a lesser (and possibly more sane) individual would pull the duvet up, roll over and go back to sleep, FMG can be relied upon to be up and raring to go - the knowledge of which gets me up and at least out of the door.  I wish you lived near enough to come with us sis, but then again I have a suspicion that the thought of getting up to go running with two chatty people first thing in the morning might be amongst your worst nightmares!

At this point in reading Al is now wondering why, if I'm feeling elated by the news, am I not showing any outward signs of being anything other than preoccupied and a little bit glum?! It can be summed up in one word - Etsy! The more I look at my shop the more disheartened I get.  I keep hearing about success stories from other Team Members who have done the 'Search Engine Optimisation' module and there's nothing to suggest that I will be any different when I finish it, but I am in free fall on the old transition curve (referenced many moons ago) with no confidence left in what I am doing.   Instead of getting on with finding out what the necessary changes are, I keep looking at my viewing figures in the vain hope that they are going to magically increase just because I've taken some new photographs, when in fact the best photographs in the world won't make any difference at the moment because if I don't come up in any searches then they aren't going to be seen! The daft thing is, if there was a sudden influx of interest in my shop and heaven forbid should that lead to orders, I won't have anything to take with me to sell at my barking mad craft stall in August!

Time to get sewing, just as I need to start training for Glasgow! There may be trouble ahead....

M - 295

Glasgow - 91

Total Distance covered   702.1 miles

Day 440 - Parkrun 81

1.  In the end I decided to go for it - or rather go to parkrun and not go for it!

2.  Determined to start as I mean to go on, I was all set to trial my new run-walk-run regime.  What I hadn't factored on was quite how many things I then had to press at the one time when they said 'go' - music, interval timer and Garmin!

3.  This saw everyone else disappearing off up the hill whilst I struggled to get my interval timer to start! On a normal parkrun morning this would have sent me into a blind panic and seen me running as fast as I could to catch everyone up - not so today! I am rather proud of myself for sticking to my plan and trying to learn how to run without it being about the time. I actually rather enjoyed it and (as spotted by Mrs M) finished smiling for a change!

4.  My choice of song from 1981 was so nearly Bucks Fizz with 'Making Your Mind Up' dedicated to all those who wished I would decide if I was running or walking this morning as I over took them, then they overtook me, then I over took them....  But for my new found run ethos I've decided to go with this (yet another one you'll switch off Mr L)....

parkrun 81 - 1981

5.  Clearly awash with post run euphoria in the cafe afterwards I was sitting with two very experienced marathon runners and found myself showing interest in taking part in a fifteen mile run a few weeks after the marathon and making a mental note of which half marathons provided the best cake afterwards! It appears the road may not end on The Mall... HMG you have been warned! (sisterofMG750 I know better than to even think about going there!).

M - 296

Glasgow - 92
Distance covered            3.1 miles

Total Distance covered   702.1 miles

Day 439

1. Twelve thousand page views.... whooooo hoooooo!

2.  In an attempt to feel like I'd been a bit more productive today than I was yesterday I remembered a top tip from sisterofMG750 to do the one thing that would make the biggest difference to me today...

3.  Consequently ALL THE BAGS AND LININGS HAVE BEEN CUT! All I've got to do now is sew them (ahh yes and then sell them!).

4.  A phone call to Barnardo's this afternoon brought good news - they might have public liability insurance that would cover me at Bark in the Park, keep your fingers crossed!

5.  I'm really glad I rang them, made me remember why I'm doing this, and for a while this afternoon I managed to forget about all the hard work and hours of training and Etsying ahead, and just look forward to the experience of being part of and finishing the London Marathon! I can't wait and wish it was sooner, and am (when I stop to think about it) getting rather excited.  Which is odd seeing as I'm not sure I can motivate myself to get round three miles in the park tomorrow!

M - 297

Glasgow - 93

Total Distance covered   699 miles

Day 438

1.  I've had a nice few days.... too hot to walk the dog until the evening (and Al was home to do it!) I've been able to immerse myself in all things Etsy.

2.  Bubble burst on that one today with a drop in temperature meaning the afternoon dog walk was on, and an ironing pile the size of a small mountain.

3. I am so close to having all bags and linings cut and ready to start sewing but it looks like it's going to have to wait until next week, as if you think the ironing was the only job around the house that I've neglected you are very much mistaken but I think you know me better than that.

4.  Embracing my new running regime without actually going out for a run, I have downloaded an app for my phone (get me!) which I can set to 'ping' at me for my run - walk - run  intervals and it will 'ping' over the top of my Spotify app! All I need to do now is test it out on the move.  Last night Al was put to the task of working out the maths for how long it should now take us to run a mile HMG so that we can attempt to combine new strategy with old enjoyment of running to parkrun!

5.  Only one slight flaw to my plan - the more excited I get about trying it all out (new trainers on!) the more my hips seem to hurt and I am seriously thinking of not running at parkrun for what will be the forth week in a row. New regime or otherwise I think my body may be telling me I'm too old for all this!

M - 296

Glasgow - 94

Total Distance covered   699 miles

Day 437

1.  Spoke to soon when I considered myself one of the artist's community.  I am not professional enough to get insurance through that particular company and am going to have to seek cover as a market trader, and no doubt adopt the longer hours that goes along with my fall in status.

2.  The cost of the insurance is making me wonder whether or not I am barking up the wrong tree so to speak with launching my trading career at a dog show! I'm hoping for not a lot of competition but lots of dog owners desperate for a beautiful fully lined shopping bag! (Struggle with the word tote!).

3.  Which is a shame as my next module is all about key search words, and so far 'lined tote' is the only one that's been used - once!

4.  My marathon book, had I had time to read it today is also dealing with key words! This time the ones to practice that will motivate me most.... Strangely enough I didn't see 'Chocolate Digestives' as one of his chief motivator options!

5.  I did however make it to the gym this morning, and tested out both my new trainers and my new running regime... 2 minutes run 1 minute walk - I like! I also watched a video on how to do the 'arm running' exercise and had a quick go, but as I couldn't hear the commentary I missed the bit where he mentioned how many reps and sets I was supposed to do... Such a shame! I also missed the opportunity to ask my "strength expert" whether or not I should be doing this exercise - that'd be you then Biomechanics Man!

M - 297

Glasgow - 95

Total Distance covered   699 miles