Home- Between Runs!

August 6, 2013 by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments

I’m ho-ome!

@TheWelshWookie and I spent the morning in Dublin. We visited Trinity College, where we were thoroughly entertained by tour guide named David as we did the walking tour. We then queued, and visited the Book of Kells, and the Long Room of the old library. Both were really impressive!

We then flew back to Glasgow, and were thoroughly delighted to find that my mum had made us dinner before we headed home. Thanks mum!

So, I now find myself between races- recovering from the Dublin RnR, and looking forward to The Perth Kilt Run on Saturday. It’s a busy week for running!

But, boy, it’s good to be home:

Today’s life lesson: people seem to leave their brains at home as soon as they get to an airport, so be prepared!

What do you look forward to most after a trip away?

RnR Dublin- Done!

August 5, 2013 by TartanJogger ♥ 1 Comment

I did it! I ran my second half marathon, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin half, and it was GREAT! My unofficial time, courtesy of my Nike+ SportWatch was 2:16:10 which is over 6 minutes faster than my first, so I’m pretty pleased, but I’ll wait for the official time before I celebrate that!

Right now I’m celebrating finishing, feeling good, and smiling the whole way round (well, we’ll see if the photographers captured that!)

The medal’s great:

And I’m not aching, or waking oddly- yet!

At mile 11, this song came on and, cheesy though it may be, it really gave me a boost in the final couple of miles:

I’ll post a full race report later this week. For now, @TheWelshWookie and I are heading out to hunt down a Guiness- shouldn’t be too hard!

Today’s Life Lesson: get to the portaloos early, for obvious reasons….

What have you achieved on this lovely Monday?

‘Twas the Night Before…

August 4, 2013 by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments

Tomorrow is the big day: the one I’ve been working hard for. It’s my second half marathon- the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Dublin! Squeeeee!

Today’s plan is to take things easy: do some sight seeing, stop for lunch and for coffee, and stretch my legs with a short two miler. I’m hoping to get a good night’s sleep too!

I’ll let you all know how it goes- see you on the other side! 😀

In Dublin’s Fair City

August 3, 2013 by TartanJogger ♥ 2 Comments

Today, @TheWelshWookie and I have arrived in Dublin!

We were in Glasgow Airport for 8.30am, and waited an hour, having coffee, until we could drop off our suitcase. Our flight was at 11.30, and we flew to Dublin with Air Lingus. Look away now if small planes make you feel queasy!

After a pretty bumpy flight, we touched down in Dublin, and waited aaaaages for our bag. Yawn. But, when we headed for the car hire, a pleasant surprise awaited us- a pretty smart hire car!

We drove straight to the hotel, had a very quick change, then caught the Luas, or tram, into the DT Dublin Hotel, which was the venue for the Expo. The expo was about a half hour walk, which was a good opportunity for us to really get our bearings in the city.

The Expo was fun!

i picked up my bib, goody bag (which contained mostly leaflets and money off coupons, a packet of crisps and a packet of blister plasters, which will be very handy!) and T shirt.

I then collected my World Rocker medal, even though I haven’t run the second half yet! It’s massive, and, of course, I had to wear it all day 😉

I bought some new earphones, to wear whilst running:

The yurbuds are super comfortable, and designed not to fall out when running. We’ll see!

We then headed back into the city centre, to find something to eat. We had a lovely walk:

Until the heavens opened, and we got a thorough soaking! Fortunately, we flagged down a taxi, who took us to the Hard Rock Cafe, which is where we ate the night before the Edinburgh RnR Half, too!

We’re now back at the hotel, relaxing, and looking forward to the rest of the weekend.

Today’s Life Lesson: Remember to take important paperwork with you- going back for it is a pain!

What have you been up to on this Saturday?

Any Excuse to Carb Load

August 2, 2013 by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Tonight @TheWelshWookie and I have begun the first part of our journey to Dublin for the Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon on Monday 🙂
We’re safely ensconced at the parentals, in Dumbarton, before our flight to Dublin in the morning.
It feel like we’ve started our holiday already, and so we’ve taken the opportunity to begin the carb loading already:

On our drive down, we saw two things you don’t see every day. First, a full rainbow across Loch Fyne, just as we drove into Inveraray:

And second was a vintage fire engine on a truck- sorry it’s only half a pic 😦

Today’s Life Lesson: never settle for poor service- take your custom elsewhere!
Have you spotted anything unusual whilst driving recently?

Getting Ready!

July 31, 2013 by TartanJogger ♥ 2 Comments

I have news! I received this email today:

I’m surprised that I’ll have the medal before I do my second half marathon, but, so what?! 😀

My taper and preparations are continuing for next Monday’s half marathon in Dublin. It has only just occurred to me that I can now say I have TWO proper runs next week: the half on Monday, and the Perth Kilt Run on Saturday! Woo Hoo! Tonight, it’s all about the packing and organising for our trip to Dublin:

Today’s stats:

Run: No, only stretching for me today 😉

Time: 15 mins NTC Shawn Johnson Stretch Guide. I think I’ll do 20 minutes of yoga. Or maybe I’ll sit in the hot tub instead….

Best stretching track today: Daughtry for me today

After my post the other day about Kara Goucher’s stretches, I thought I’d show you some screen shots from Shawn Johnson’s stretch guide too. Something I didn’t mention was that the athlete talks you through each stretch, and how to do it. It’s also accompanied by a video clip that actually demonstrates how to do each stretch safely and properly. Neat, huh?

Unlike the Kara Goucher stretches, this is an actual 15 minute long routine, with no repeating of exercises, so it’s great for mixing things up a little.

It begins with some basic stretching, like circling your head, arms, waist, ankles, etc.

It then moves onto a combined tricep, side and arm stretch which feels pretty good!

The second main stretch is a pike/squat stretch which I really like. It feels like I’m really working the muscles:

The next stretch is a leg combo of four stretches. Again, this is a really good one for running, I think. It stretches out the hamstrings, hip, inner thigh and quads:

Next, it’s a pretzel stretch, which is great for the legs and lower back.

The final two stretches are kind of yoga-ish: a dog stretch and a cat stretch. I can’t do a proper cat stretch- I’m too stiff for it!

I must admit, I do feel much more limber after doing this routine. Sometimes I then do some foam rolling, too, for good measure!

Today’s Life Lesson: is it only me who phones someone I need to talk to urgently, and they are out of the office; then on lunch; then finished for the day?

Do you have any pre-travel packing tips you’d like to share?

Running by the Crinan Canal

July 30, 2013 by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Tonight, @TheWelshWookie and I decided to mix up our running a little, by driving to Ardrishaig, and running part of the Crinan Canal towpath.

Today’s stats:

Run: 5 mile run. We did it at a gentle pace- I don’t want to run too hard before Monday!

Time: 55:03

Trainers: LunarFly GTX +3

Weather: Cloudy with sunny spells, warm

Best running track of the day: an old school track 😉

I had my new capris, with the running skirt attached, still to try out. I thought that a short, but-not-too-short, 5 miler was the perfect opportunity to try ’em out:

Ignore the packing and the suitcase in the background- I’m packing for Dublin! These were pretty cute, and really comfortable to wear. I thought that the skirt might be annoying, but I didn’t feel any difference, from running with capris. The fabric was soft, a little stretchy and very comfy. The skirt itself has a small pocket on each side, and a zipped pocket at the back. Very practical!

So, @TheWelshWookie and I drove the 12 or 13 or so miles to Ardrishaig, and parked up by the side of the canal. We started running just at these two locks:

Isn’t it lovely? I must confess, this is the first time we’ve run along here, and I loved it! I’ll definitely be back to run here again. There are mile markers en route, which is really useful. The banks are well cared for, too.

We passed some walkers, another runner, a few cyclists, some dog walkers and a horse and rider. Can you spot them in this pic I snapped while still running?

I have a question for any animal lovers out there, just because ~~I’m clueless about these things~~ I’d be interested to know: why is it that dog owners need to scoop their dog’s poop, or face a fine, yet horses just ‘drop and go’ and that’s OK? What’s the difference? :S

Anyhoo, we ran for 2.5 miles, then turned around and ran back. The scenery was lovely:

After driving home, we popped out to our fave cafe for some dinner, and treated ourselves to an After Eight Sundae….. very naughty, but very delicious!

Today’s life lesson: a dish with bubbling cheese on it is likely to be hot, and burn the roof of your mouth. Ouch!

Have you changed up your running route recently?

And Stretch…

July 29, 2013 by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments

In line with my taper for next Monday’s half marathon, this week will involve lots of stretching. Or at least, it should- so I’m starting off right:

Today’s stats:

Run: Nope, as I said, stretching was the order of the day for me

Time: 15 mins NTC Kara Goucher Pro Running Stretches. I might do the Shawn Johnson stretching later, too, for good measure 😉

Nice, surprising stretching track: Adam Lambert’s version of the U2 song, One.

Have any of you tried the Kara Goucher stretches, from the Nike Training Club app? I really like it, I think it has really helped me, and is one of the reasons I’ve been able to stay injury-free. Here’s a screen shot of the exercises:

The first exercise is a hip flexor stretch, which I really like.

The second stretch is a triangle stretch. I have terrible balance, so I try to take care when I do this one!

The next stretch is a series of prone position leg swings. When I do this one, I don’t let my swinging leg touch the floor, which I think makes it a little more challenging, but I like that!

The fourth stretch is supine scorpions: I don’t like these much! Too much co-ordination needed, which I just don’t have!

The final exercise is an ITB stretch, using a resistance band. This one feels great!

These exercises are all one minute stretches, totalling 5 minutes, and are repeated 3 times. It always feels great, after they are done! 😀

I’m trying to get my eating back on track, too, so my berries are now all ready and good to go:

Today’s Life Lesson: you know that your handbag is too heavy when it triggers the seatbelt alarm in the car!

What’s your favourite stretch?

Home! Zzzzzzz…

July 28, 2013 by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Good evening, one and all! @TheWelshWookie and I are home from our road trip, and we sound something like this:

We’ve had a fantastic weekend in Coventry, keeping up with the Joneses. Good food, and brilliant company. We’ve also had a few refreshments along the way:

Margaritas! Yum!

So, I’m now going to catch up on sleep, get prepared for the working week ahead, and get planning for our weekend away- again- next weekend. As it’s the RnR Dublin half marathon next Monday, I don’t have too much running planned for the week ahead, but I’ll keep you all posted.

Favourite driving track of the day: Perfect Ten, The Beautiful South

Today’s Life Lesson: all the crazies drive on the Motorway on Sundays….

What are your running plans for the coming week?

From Barnacle to Royal Leamington Spa

July 26, 2013 by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Good Afternoon, from a lovely, sunny day in Coventry!

This morning, @TheWelshWookie and I had a lovely run through the village of Barnacle, which was very quaint: it was a proper, quintessential village!

Today’s stats:

Run: 7 mile long run, my last ‘long run’ before the Dublin RnR Half Marathon

Time: 1:24:35 slow 😉

Trainers: LunarGlides

Weather: Warm, and sunny

First running track of the day: Barbra Streisand, by Duck Sauce…

We headed out of Coventry itself, along Alderman’s Green Road, right onto Lenton’s Lane.

We then turned onto Shilton Lane, onto Lower Road and through the village of Barnacle. Here’s a pic of the Village Hall. There’s no pub or shop, which would be a miss, I imagine! The hedgerows were bustling with wildlife, and I saw lots of butterflies and even some goldfinches.

We then headed down Mile Tree Lane, Hawkesbury Lane and then came off of the road, and onto the tow path, running along the Oxford Canal. It was beautiful!

I must admit, I was very tempted to stop off at a lovely pub called The Greyhound, but with a mile or so still to go, I thought I’d better not!

We then headed back to the road, onto Grange Road and then into Longford Park. 7 easy miles, done!

After a quick shower and change, we headed into Royal Leamington Spa, to do some shopping. There was a good balance of small, local shops and larger chains, which was good for an afternoon of browsing. We had a Cafe con Leche in a little cafe, and chilled out for a few minutes before carrying on with the retail therapy.

So, I’m now blogging in the sunshine, contemplating a BBQ later. It’s great to be on holiday! 😀

Today’s life lesson: when shopping, wearing flip flops, beware of freestanding displays. It hurts when you accidentally kick one 😮

Have you had some retail therapy recently?

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TartanJogger

Adventures in living well, quotes and very slow running

Category: Regular Blog

Home- Between Runs!

RnR Dublin- Done!

‘Twas the Night Before…

In Dublin’s Fair City

Any Excuse to Carb Load

Getting Ready!

Running by the Crinan Canal

And Stretch…

Home! Zzzzzzz…

From Barnacle to Royal Leamington Spa

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