Category: Regular Blog

Movie Marathon

Movie Marathon

by TartanJogger ♥ 8 Comments

It’s a wild, wet and windy day out there. Autumn is definitely on its way!

We’ve had a busy few weekends recently, and we also have several busy weekends coming up. So, what to do today?

Well, really, we have loads of domestic stuff needing done- but life’s too short, right? Hmmm?

So, we’re having a movie day here. @TheWelshWookie and I have a whole stack of films we want to watch, but haven’t gotten round to. Well, today’s the day.

We kicked off with Baz Luhrman’s version of The Great Gatsby.

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What’s not to love? I think Mr Luhrman’s movies are fantastic, and The Great Gatsby is amongst my top three books, ever. I know it inside and out. I was a little worried that it wouldn’t meet my expectations, but it was a joy: a visual feast, with musical greatness and artistic beauty. Very well done. And I bored @TheWelshWookie by quoting throughout the film.

Next up, was OZ: The Great and Powerful, which was great fun.

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As I watched, something rather momentous dawned. I already have my outfit for The Wedding of The Year. Now, the wedding isn’t until 28th December, but I have been so excited that I’ve been working on my outfit for months. And it is almost entirely ready. But, as I watched this movie, I realised that everyone is going to think that I have based my look on Evanora, the really evil witch. Oops. I swear, it is entirely coincidental!

We then had a pause in the movies for the Strictly Come Dancing launch show: glitter and sequins at the ready!

Finally, as darkness set in outside and we drew the blinds, it was time for World War Z.

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All in the name of research, of course, in preparation for the Zombie Night Run UK, of course! For those who don’t know, the scenes meant to be Philadelphia were filmed in Glasgow. It was amazing, seeing the city, especially George Square, being taken over by Zombies! Wow!

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This picture from the movie is taken from the exact start line of the Great Scottish Run, which is in four week’s time: the hill you can see is the first challenge at the very start of the run… I’m sure I’ll be telling you all about that start in just over four weeks! I’m hoping that there won’t be any zombies at that race, though! 😉

So, no running today. We’ll definitely be out there tomorrow, though… have a lovely Saturday night, folks!

Product Review: CrosstrainID

Product Review: CrosstrainID

by TartanJogger ♥ 3 Comments

Good Evening, everyone; have you had a good week?

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Here’s how I’ve felt today:

Long-Friday

So. Did you see any of last night’s season opener? Wasn’t Peyton Manning on fire? I’m so pleased that I have Wes Welker on my fantasy team! Roll on Sunday……

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had won a competition on Run Eat Repeat which is  fab blog!

Well, my prize arrived on Wednesday, and I am delighted with it. I love being a

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What is it?

It’s a CrosstrainID bracelet!

These are ID bracelets designed for runners, walkers, cyclists, swimmers, etc. especially those who train by themselves. You can decide exactly what text you want included, but suggestions are name, address, emergency contact, medical conditions, allergies, etc. So, if the worst does happen, anyone coming to your aid would have the information they would need to help you. Smart, huh?

The bands can be made of silicone, or fabric. I opted for a fabric one, with a pink reflector band, for extra safety. And because I love pink.

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After filling out the order, I noticed that there was no delivery option for the UK (the company is based in the US), so I emailed them, and the customer service I’ve had from David has been brilliant!

He agreed to send me the band, at no extra cost for postage- how amazing!

As soon as it arrived on Wednesday, I decided to take it out for a test drive:

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It matches my visor 😉

I wore it on a 6 mile run, in sunshine, so I was sweaty and sticky. It was a proper road test.

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It fastens with velcro, and I thought it might rub. But, no, it didn’t rub or chafe at all. In fact it was really comfortable to wear, and I easily forgot I was wearing it! That’s exactly how an item like this should be, I think.

As the nights are drawing in, and the autumn is getting closer, I think I’ll feel much more secure, running with my CrosstrainID. Thanks, David at CrosstrainID, and thanks Monica over at RunEatRepeat! 😀

Shine On Award

Shine On Award

by TartanJogger ♥ 6 Comments

I’d mentioned earlier in the week how pleased I had been when runningtoherdreams nominated me for the Shine On award. My first reaction was delight; my second was, fab, what is it? Being new to the blogging world, I had no idea that such awards existed, but now I do, and I’m delighted to have received this from runningtoherdreams: thank you! If you haven’t visited her blog, you really should: I’m now addicted to looking for hearts in nature while I run, but I think they hide from me!

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The rules for this blog award are simple:

1. Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Acknowledge that blogger on your blog, and link back.

3. Share seven random, interesting things about yourself.

I’m not sure if any of these things are interesting- you can judge that for yourself!

1. I’m left handed

2. I can drive a fork lift truck

3. I can read ancient Latin and ancient Greek

4. I’m a synesthete

5. I have an addiction to handbags

6. I can tap dance

7. I’m learning Spanish

4. Nominate up to 15 bloggers for the Shine On Award, provide a link to their blogs in your post, and notify them on their blogs

I’m delighted to nominate:

BayRunner Jamie

The Improbable Runner

Loving Food, Fashion & Life

278 to Boston

mudsweatandkettebells

janelikestorun

Paul Smuts

Run Kate Run

Run Dabblers

Tub on the Run

leanneandthehalfmarathon

Run Eat Life

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Run, Hemingway, Run!

Charlotte Hoather

5. Copy and paste the award somewhere on your blog

Nominating blogs is much, much tougher than I had anticipated!

Today’s Stats:

Run: 3.41 miles

Time: 34:58

Weather: Sunny and warm

Trainers: Nike Lunar Racers

First Running Track Today:

Today’s Life Lesson: there are still some gentlemen out there, believe it or not

Do you have plans for the weekend?

Visiting the Velodrome

Visiting the Velodrome

by TartanJogger ♥ 2 Comments

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

Today, I was at a networking event in Glasgow. As I left the house this morning, still half asleep, I keyed the post code into my sat nav, and I set off without thinking too much about where, or what, the venue was. It turns out that this was the venue:

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It’s the Emirates Arena, one of the brand new facilities built for the Commonwealth Games, being held in Glasgow next year.

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And do you know what venue is located within it? Go on, have a guess….. I’ll give you a hint…

Oh wait. Today’s post title gives it away!

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Yip- the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. Our event was held in a room overlooking the velodrome itself, and it looked pretty impressive! I didn’t even think to take a picture though.  I was obviously too busy gossiping networking 😉

@TheWelshWookie and I are going to enter the ballot for tickets at the weekend- we have an idea of which sports we fancy watching, so we’ll see what happens.

So, I headed home feeling inspired, and went for a six mile run. Unfortunately, after 4 hour’s driving yesterday and 5 hour’s driving today, I had lead-legs, but the final mile was fast, at 9:17! 🙂

Today’s Stats:

Run: 6 miles: 2 steady, 2 with lead-legs, 2 quick

Time: 1:02:58

Weather: Sunny and warm

Trainers: Nike Lunar Glides

First Running Track Today:

Today’s Life Lesson: remember to take photos when you go somewhere interesting! Doh!

Have you ever unexpectedly ended up somewhere before?

Tasty Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday

by TartanJogger ♥ 3 Comments

It’s been a while since I shared some of my good and bad foodie choices with you. So, I thought I’d do a bit of a tasty photodump today, so you can see what kind of stuff has been fuelling my runs recently.

I must be honest- there’s probably much more ‘naughty’ in there than there should be!

There’s the good:

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The bad:

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And the down right ugly (but tasty!):

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But I’m back on track this week, I promise!

I was recently nominated by the wonderful runningtoherdreams  for the Shine On award 😀

I really want to post about this separately- so it’s coming soon, as I want to do it justice. Also my Cumberland Pie is now ready 😉 Don’t judge me- it’s almost winter!!

Dreich!

Dreich!

by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments

Today has been one of those days….. and so I arrived home thinking…..

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So I did! But it was grey, and wet and windy out, so @TheWelshWookie and I got thoroughly soaked. It felt great!

There’s only really one word that can be used to describe today’s weather: dreich.

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I took a couple of pictures, just so you could see the village in the rain:

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I probably had too much fun, stomping through these on my way around the harbour:

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Today’s Stats:

Run: 4 miles

Time: 43:26 slow

Weather: Dreich!

Trainers: Nike LunarFly GTX

@TheWelshWookie’s first Running Track: he listens to the same playlist every day, so it is always

Today’s Life Lesson: sometimes, no matter how hard you try to convince someone that they need to listen to what you are actually saying, they just cannot hear it- they subconsciously choose not to.

What’s your favourite weather to run in?

Get Your Popcorn Ready….

Get Your Popcorn Ready….

by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

….’cause there’s gonna be a show!

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Beer? Check. Popcorn? Check. Hot dogs? Check. Cheat Sheet? Check. Draft Strategy? Well, kinda-check. Tonight is draft night!

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I’m not as well prepared as I’d like to be; I’m drafting using a new laptop, and on a website I’ve never used. But I have some ideas about how I’m hoping to navigate this evening, which is something!

No running talk from me tonight; it’s all about running backs for now!

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I’m looking forward to a new season, which is bringing with it some significant changes, too:

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See you on the other side, for a team check! 😀

Weird Shopping

Weird Shopping

by TartanJogger ♥ 1 Comment

So, @TheWelshWookie and I were in Glasgow today, shopping. Running was, of course, the main purpose of the shopping trip.
First, we visited the Nike store to swap my broken NikeFuel band. They swapped it, no problem at all- excellent service as usual!

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After a lunch stop at Buzzy’s in Princes Square, we picked up some pieces for our Zombie run:

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We also visited Run4It for a mooch, but didn’t buy anything.
Our final stop was at Go Outdoors. In preparation for winter, we’ve taken the plunge and bought:

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A head torch! Yay!
Winter is Coming….

Fantasy Football Friday

Fantasy Football Friday

by TartanJogger ♥ 15 Comments

Well, I have good news for you. If you’re reading this, it means that you’ve made it to the end of another working week. Hooray!

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Tonight, I’m supposed to be doing a 4 mile run. But the rain is lashing down. The wind is howling. I have stuff to do, so I’m chickening out rearranging my training schedule slightly. Besides, I have wine that needs to be consumed 😉

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Actually, I have housework to do. And packing.  THEN it will be wine o’clock.

I can’t believe that football season is almost upon us already, and it’s fantasy draft time this weekend!

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I’ve been in a fantasy league for 9 years. This year, @TheWelshWookie and I are in a different league, so my 10th season will also feel like a new start, in many ways. We’ve also moved from ESPN to NFL. So, as part of these changes, I’ve been reviewing my past draft strategies, and working out what has, and hasn’t gone so well in the past. Most years, I’ve gone for some form of handcuff deal, and it’s probably worked out well 75% of the time. As we have a new league, we’re starting with no keepers, which seems odd. I’ve had Wes Welker as a keeper since forever, so it’ll be weird not starting with him automatically on my team!

Here’s some of my prep scribbles so far….. no peeking too closely, now!

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Bring on Sunday, I can’t wait!

On running related matters, my bib and medal hanger arrived…… woo hoo!

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I’m just deciding where the best place is for it to go.

And my Nike+ FuelBand has conked out on me, so I’m a little disappointed about that. I’m hoping the Nike Store will exchange it this weekend.

Today’s Life Lesson: sometimes good folks really do think alike 😉

Are you a football fan? Do you play fantasy football?

A Different View

A Different View

by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments

We’ve made it to Thursday, and another weekend is almost upon us! Tonight, I arrived home later than planned, and not really in the mood for a run. But, I manned up, and @TheWelshWookie suggested that we try a new route. Instead of doing the usual out-and-back, he suggested we do the Big Glen, which is 4.5 miles, followed by a final half mile at the harbour.

I knew that it would be a little more hilly than usual, but I thought- why not?

We headed out, through the village, north along the A83 towards Lochgilphead. Although I drive this way most days, and I’ve walked it a few times, I’ve never run it!

We ran along the main road for just over 2 miles. The first mile or so is uphill, with some undulation over the second mile. I stopped to take some pics:

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At the bottom of the hill, just at Stonefield Castle, we turned off, looping back towards the West Loch. The first half mile or so was uphill, but after that, the next mile is all downhill. I loved it!

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And along the head of the West Loch.

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As we ran back towards Tarbert, there’s one nasty, wee steep hill: but we ran up it!

As we reached the A83 heading back into Tarbert from the south, I stopped to take some pictures of the deer:

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And a wee video clip too:

Here’s a map of the run:

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It’s lovely to have a shake-up once in a while!

Today’s Stats:

Run: 5 miles

Time: 56:20 – I kept stopping to take pics!

Weather: Cloudy and cool

Trainers: Nike LunarFly GTX

Favourite Running Track Today:

Today’s Life Lesson: what people tell you sometimes needs to be checked, to see if it meets with reality…

When did you last vary your route?