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