Category: Regular Blog

Are Recovery Runs Always Weird?

Are Recovery Runs Always Weird?

by TartanJogger ♥ 8 Comments

@TheWelshWookie and I had a day off from running yesterday.

Today, we headed out for a slow, 5K recovery run. At least. that was the plan. My legs and my brain had something else planned!

Before I was even aware of it, we had run about 3/4 of a mile, and our pace was just over 9 minute per mile! I had to consciously try to slow down, but it still resulted in a first mile pace of 9.39, which is pretty speedy for me!

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Here’s the splits- faster than I had planned:

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For the rest of the run, I felt like we were on an elastic band- bounding forward at speed, then trying to hold back and run slowly. It was tough, in a weird way!

It’s funny, how after a race it’s difficult to just get back into recovery mode. We need to keep it light this week, so that we have enough energy in the running tank for Saturday’s CowalFest trail race!

…BREAKING NEWS….

The NFL are going to play three home games in the UK during 2014! And which will be the home teams? Well, would you believe this:

Jacksonville Jaguars- my team

Oakland Raiders- @TheWelshWookie’s team

Atlanta Falcons – my brother-in-law’s team

I wonder if I can swing three trips to London next year 😉

Today’s Stats:

Run: 5K recovery run

Weather: cloudy and cold. It’s time for long sleeves and tights, I think

Trainers: LunarGlides

Today’s life lesson: just when you think your day is going well, the other boot falls. Sometimes quite heavily…

How do you find recovery runs?

Race Report: Great Scottish Run Family Mile

Race Report: Great Scottish Run Family Mile

by TartanJogger ♥ 10 Comments

I’ll premise this report by saying that I didn’t run this one!

But, @TheWelshWookie ran it, along with two of my brothers, and four of my nephews. From what I saw, they had a blast!

All of the junior events were run on the Saturday, before the main half marathon and 10K which were on the Sunday.

We made our way to George Square with three very excited nephews, and arranged to meet my brother and nephew there. When we arrived, the whole area was filled with excited kids, and fortunately the weather was kind to them!

My nephews were instantly drawn to the sprint track, where the kids were able to queue up, and race against each other. They loved it!

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Here’s Kieran and Aidan, running in the middle two lanes:

And here’s Ryan, winning his race!

We then had time for a quick photo, before the boys headed off to the start line, and us girls headed off to find coffee, and a good point to see them run past.

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My sis-in-law then met us, and my brother and nephew joined up with the others at the start line. We heard the race begin, and I did my best to be a good supporter: clapping, cheering, shouting ‘you can do it’, ‘you’re almost there’, ‘you’re almost at the finish line’, and I got some really puzzled looks from the kids running past!

First to fly past us was Ryan:

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He was the followed by Liam and my brother Ants:

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Next, we saw Kieran and my brother Joe (He’s Ryan’s dad, but Kieran was obviously running more at his pace;) ):

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And then we saw Aidan, and TheWelshWookie. Aidan was pretty overawed by the whole event: the minimum age was 3, and Aidan only turned three on Wednesday!

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We met up with the successful runners after they had collected their race packs and medals. They had Belvita biscuits, an organic strawberry leather and a bottle of water in their bags, along with their medal- which is the same one given across all races this weekend.

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We then spent some more time at the sprint track.

Liam and Kieran are running in this one:

And Ryan here:

They had a few more goes; including Ryan racing one of the staff!

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We then headed for some well-deserved ice creams!

The organisation for the kids runs was great, and they all certainly had a ball!

100th Post; 10K Success!

100th Post; 10K Success!

by TartanJogger ♥ 19 Comments

I’m using my 100th Post to let you know that the Great Scottish Run 10K for 2013 has been conquered!

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It has been a fantastic weekend of running- it’s described at ‘Scotland’s Biggest Weekend of Running’ and it was certainly that!

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I’ll follow up with a couple of race reviews later this week, because celebrating is coming first today!

We’re watching the BBC coverage of the event, which is great 🙂

@TheWelshWookie has achieved a fantastic PB of 58:32, which is brilliant. I ran it in 57:45, 19 seconds short of my PB, but I’m pleased with this, considering the volume of runners.

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Well done to everyone who has run in the various events across the weekend; and elsewhere: it’s been a busy weekend of running all across the UK and worldwide! 😉

GSR Family Milers

GSR Family Milers

by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments

The boys did it!

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Funny Friday

Funny Friday

by TartanJogger ♥ 10 Comments

Just in case anyone I actually know reads this blog:

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Just so you know what I want! 😉

And here’s what’s likely to happen at Sunday’s Great Scottish Run:

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Happy Friday, all, have a great weekend!

Rural Living: Landslips

Rural Living: Landslips

by TartanJogger ♥ 6 Comments

As you’ll have seen from yesterday’s post, we had some heavy rain yesterday. I know because I ran in it 😉

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And so, as a result of all this rain, we have had a landslip. Actually, we’ve had three landslips today: two on the A83 at Glen Kinglas and Glen Croe at the Rest and Be Thankful, and a third at Tighnabruaich. The A83 is the main road into (and out of) Argyll, and this is the eighth landslip closure in six years, since we moved to Argyll.

Here’s the clear-up job today:

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And just to give you some perspective, here’s a wee map.The dark blue line is the affected part of the road:

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The road has just been re-opened for now, but as the forecast is for more rain, I’m obviously a bit concerned about getting to Glasgow tomorrow night for the Great Scottish Run weekend. 😦

The alternative route is a sixty mile detour, also marked on the map, and it adds about an hour and a half onto the two hour journey.

It’s just one of the joys of living in a rural area, on the west coast of Scotland!

Here’s the BBC coverage if you’re interested.

I have just one thing that I puzzle over. This is the warning sign at The Rest:

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When the lights flash, we’re advised to proceed with caution. Does that mean I should drive slowly, and keep an eye on the hillside; or drive fast to minimise the chances of being swept away? 😮

Wish me luck in getting through to Glasgow tomorrow!

Running in the Rain

Running in the Rain

by TartanJogger ♥ 26 Comments

When I was in Dunoon today, I watched the storm clouds brewing:

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And my first thought was, urgh!

You’d think I’d be used to it. I live on the West Coast of Scotland. Rain is something you’d expect me to be used to running in. But I’m not!

In the past, I’ve always been a ‘fair weather’ runner; I’ve skipped any runs that would involve running in the rain.

Yes, I know, I know.

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But over the past 18 months, I’ve run in all weathers, and I really do love it, but I still find that I need to drag myself out there when it rains. When I’m actually running, I enjoy it- running in the rain is great! It’s refreshing, it keeps you cool, the roads are generally quieter, I get to splash in puddles…… but why do I still find it hard to get myself out the door?

Tonight, the rain was torrential, and the wind was quite strong. I didn’t really want to run. But I did. And I LOVED it! We were pretty speedy (well, for us, that is). We only did a two miler, since we’re, ahem, lazy ‘tapering’ for Sunday’s 10K, but I’m really pleased with the run 🙂

And, I found another heart!

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Here’s a heart I found a couple of weeks ago, that I forgot to share….

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Run: 2 miles

Time: 18:44

Trainers: LunarFly GTX

Weather: very wet, rainy and windy

I listened to a Jillian Michael’s podcast again today, instead of music 🙂

Today’s Life Lesson: am I the only person who leaves their reusable bags in the car EVERY time I go to the supermarket?

How do you feel about running in the rain?

Newsday Tuesday

Newsday Tuesday

by TartanJogger ♥ 5 Comments

Today, I have a news round up for you, from the last 24 hours.

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The main news headline is: I GOT COMMONWEALTH GAMES TICKETS! Hurrah!

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@TheWelshWookie and I submitted requests for six events, and were allocated tickets for our two top events! 😀

We’re going to see the judo all day on Saturday, 26th July 2014: it’s the heavier weight categories, men and women’s and features all qualifying, right up to the repechage, but not the medal matches.

And, on Friday, 1st August 2014 we’re going to see Mo Farah run the 10,000 metres! I’m so happy! 🙂

We’ll also see triple jump, javelin, steeplechase, 4×100 heats, 4×400 heats for men and women, pole vault, women’s 800m, 100 hurdles, high jump and discus.

It’s so exciting!

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In other news, our Super Saturday race packs arrived today, for the Great Scottish Run! We’ve already received our packs for Sunday’s 10K:

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But the packs for the Family Mile, which my four oldest nephews are running along with the ‘big’ boys (i.e. their dads, and @TheWelshWookie) arrived today. They each get a proper race bib, and a tshirt, so it’s a great introduction to running for kids! I’m looking forward to taking lot of pictures!

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And finally, did you notice my new address, tartanjogger.com? I’ve had the domain name for while, but since I’m not very tech-savvy, it’s taken me a while to get it set up! If you’re having problems viewing my blog, please let me know!

That’s tonight’s news headlines; now for the weather.

It’s cold and windy, so I haven’t run. I’ll definitely need to head out tomorrow! 😉

Home from the Hen

Home from the Hen

by TartanJogger ♥ 16 Comments

I’m home!

We’ve had a brilliant weekend: as predicted, we had lots of fun, food, drinks and laughs. We had a blast!

Saturday night was party night, and it was fantastic! I’m only sharing one pic, though…

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What happens on the hen, says on the hen 😉

Yesterday was a day for recovering relaxing, including a visit to the spa, with its range of various saunas, steam rooms, jacuzzi, outdoor pool and other pampering areas. Bliss.

Of course, that was quickly followed by more food, drink, music and laughs!

Today, we’ve traveled home, and I think I could sleep for a week; running will have to keep for tomorrow.

Six days until the Great Scottish Run, now, roll on another busy weekend!

Whinfell Forest Run

Whinfell Forest Run

by TartanJogger ♥ 13 Comments

Morning! I’ve just been exploring around Center Parks, during my 5K run:

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It’s lovely!
Back home, @TheWelshWookie has run 3 miles- go, Wookie!
We’re heading for lunch soon, but for now, we’re having a breakfast beer 🙂

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