Tag: fun

Back Indoors

Back Indoors

by TartanJogger ♥ 16 Comments

Well, my outdoor running lasted from Saturday until Monday.

The weather has driven me back inside, and onto the dreadmill!

It’s not the driving rain that’s the problem, really. It’s the really high winds that have cancelled ferry sailings across the West coast. There was a time today when I could barely walk upright!

And so, after the elation of running in the fresh air, and at a decent pace, I was back to grinding out a slow run tonight. But I got it done, and feel smug better for it now.

I’m taking a rest day tomorrow, so hopefully I can get back outside on Thursday 🙂

20140225-195658.jpgHave you managed to get outdoors today? Have you run?

Am I Cold Blooded?

Am I Cold Blooded?

by TartanJogger ♥ 21 Comments

It’s Monday evening here in Tartan Land, and it’s been one of those days today.

So, I was really ready for my three miler tonight!

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@TheWelshWookie and I headed out to the harbour just as dusk settled around us. It was beautiful. Around the end of the first mile, it started to rain, and the rain continued until the end of our run, considerately stopping to allow us to walk home without being miserable. Just at the end of my run, I accidentally soaked myself by running through a big mahoosive puddle! I felt good- the run was just what I needed!

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We pushed a little, and ran our fastest three miler in a while, at around 10.08 per mile. I’m pretty happy with that!

As usual, I came home, showered, and wrapped up in my comfies.

I have a question  I’ve been meaning to ask you all: do you often find yourself really cold after a run? What do you do about it?

I know that at this time of year, the walk home from a run can obviously cause my body temp to drop, but my home is toasty warm, I take a warm shower right away, swap into warm comfy clothes, often wrap up in a fleecy blanket and sometimes even switch on the fire. I rehydrate, and have something to eat, then have a hot drink. But – sometimes – I can be cold for a few hours after an outside run.

Does anyone else find this? What do you do to warm up again? Am I making any mistakes, or do you have any tips?

#ATWRBR2014

I’m thinking about adding a daily distance log to each blog post during March and April, to keep track of my kilometres for the Around the World Running Blog  Relay. What do you think?

Have you signed up yet?

Back Outside!

Back Outside!

by TartanJogger ♥ 25 Comments

Welcome to the weekend! What are your plans?

At the moment, @TheWelshWookie and I are chilling out, watching rugby (OK, I’m watching and blogging- gotta love multi tasking!) and drinking coffee. It’s bliss!

This morning, I ran outside for the first time in a couple of weeks. And it felt G-R-E-A-T! The dreadmill has been hammered lately. Well, I say hammered. I really mean that it has been used for some pretty slow runs while watching Winter Olympic action from Sochi. Having the various sports to watch has made my treadmill running much more tolerable than it would have been otherwise: what am I going to do when the Games finish?  😦

Today’s Hal Higdon training plan called for a 6 mile run. It’s Week 3, Day 6 already. How did that happen?

@TheWookie and I had decided last night that we’d run the Big Glen: a loop that takes us out from the north of the village along the main road for about two miles, and then follows a single track road for a mile before reaching West Loch Tarbert. It then leads back into the south of the village, and is about 5 miles long. To increase the mileage, we decided to run along the Kilberry Road, past the village golf course, before  heading back into the village.

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And it was dry outside: no rain! It’s a miracle! 😉

We decided to stick to a long, slow run pace, and so I used my Audio Fuel track to keep me on target for this. Although I start off really slowly, sometimes I can pick up the pace at around mile 3 or so, and I didn’t want to lose steam at the end! Turns out, this was a great plan. I had a fantastic run, I really enjoyed it! At the end, I could have easily tagged on an extra couple of miles. I didn’t, though: best stick to the training plan 😉

As I ran, I was excited, thinking about the forthcoming Around the World Running Blog Relay: it’s going to be a great couple of months for us runners and bloggers out there! 🙂

We’ve refuelled on some soup and home made bread; and I have the new edition of Women’s Running to enjoy!

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Have a great weekend, all. How long is your long run this weekend? How’s the weather looking?

Supporting the Around the World Running Blog Relay 2014

Supporting the Around the World Running Blog Relay 2014

by TartanJogger ♥ 18 Comments

For those of you who haven’t heard, the wonderful Kyla over at Motivation came up with a brilliant idea last year, for all of us running bloggers who have connected over the internet, from the four corners of the globe.

Runners blog relay 2014

She came up with the idea of having a running bloggers relay race, and the inaugural event takes place during March and April this year 😀

The idea is pretty simple: we run a virtual relay race! It’ll allow us to see how far we get, in terms of:

  1. GLOBAL COVERAGE where we are from will allow a map to be drawn up, detailing where in the world we’re running – hopefully it will be truly global!
  2. GLOBAL DISTANCE we commit to a distance, which will allow the total number of kilometres run to be calculated. It’ll be really good to see how far we can get….. can we log enough distance to go around the world? 😉

It’s great!

And Kyla’s decision to run it in March and April will really help with Spring training!

So, who’s in? All you need to do is fill out this simple form to register where you are and how far you’ll be running. Remember it’s from 1st March  – 30th April, so hopefully it’ll be lots of kilometres!

For those interested in an extra dimension, fellow blogger The Improbable Runner suggested that we could use the Charity Miles App to raise funds for charity. I think it’s a great idea, as an added extra!

Visit Kyla’s blog post about the challenge here.

So, what do you think? Interested? Have you registered yet? Go on, you know the challenge will be great!

Do you Run to a Routine?

Do you Run to a Routine?

by TartanJogger ♥ 26 Comments

I do. But then, I really like routine and knowing what is coming next. For those of you who like management-speak, I’m a typical Myers-Briggs ISTJ. I’ll bet you’ve worked that out by now!

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I’m not much of a weekday morning runner. I’d really like to be, I know it would set me up for the day, and I’d feel really smug! But the thought of getting up early instead of squeezing out the last 20 minutes of sleep in my cosy bed it just too difficult for me.

So, I head off to work, and think about my run, before home time comes around. Then, I head home, get changed into my running gear and get out there. If I hesitated too much, or get caught up in other things, it probably wouldn’t always happen. After I’m done, I shower, download my GPS info, and have the evening to myself, which is great.

If I’m home at the weekend, I usually have a light breakfast, then head out for my run early to mid morning, knowing that I’ll have the rest of the weekend for chores, shopping, relaxing, going for walks, coffee, etc.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about mixing things up a little.

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When it comes to race days, it usually involves an early morning start, which throws my routine. With a few halves coming up, and my first marathon looming on the horizon, I think I might benefit from changing my training, to help get used to the early rises. But, I’m struggling to make a start, and commit to a change! At the moment, I’ll probably continue to toy with the idea until after the wedding, and look to make changes then.

Have you ever changed up your running routine? How did it go? Did you stick to it, or change back?

A Belated Festive Photo Dump

A Belated Festive Photo Dump

by TartanJogger ♥ 8 Comments

I’ve been clearing out my phone of the hundreds of pics I’ve had on there since Christmas, and thought I’d share some belated Christmas crackers with you.

I hope you like!

Is it nearly Christmas yet? 😉

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Recovery Day

Recovery Day

by TartanJogger ♥ 12 Comments

Usually, recovery means – to me – a recovery run. Or a rest day. At the moment, it has a different meaning.

I’m recovering from my HenWeekend 😮

We had a weekend of roller coasters, fun, laughter, pressies, food, oh – and some alcohol, too.

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We had a blast! But, the details are staying under wraps. What happens on the Hen stays on the Hen 😉

I’ll share one pic. Me, doing my Titanic impression on a fake boat…… I swear, it was fun at the time!

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I’m hoping to catch up with the blogs I’ve missed during the week, and I’m planning on resuming normal service tomorrow.

So, who’s was the last Hen/Batchelorette party you went to, and where was it?

Thursday’s Training Update

Thursday’s Training Update

by TartanJogger ♥ 25 Comments

Hi everyone! It’s the weekend for me, as I’m off Friday and Monday, soooo it’s vino night tonight!

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I thought I’d give you an update on my Hal Higdon half marathon training. The main headline is: it’s going great!

I think that the plan is really suiting my running style, but it is early days. Last week – week one – was a 3 miler on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, a four mile ‘long’ run on Saturday and cross training on Sunday. This week is similar: a 3 miler on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, a five mile ‘long’ run on Saturday and cross training on Sunday. So far, so good, but it has ten weeks to go.

It feels great at the moment!

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I did my three miles tonight on the treadmill, in my new trainers. All will be revealed soon, in a later post! 😉

Something I’ve been trying to do is to post my training runs on Instagram, so prepare to be bored, if you follow me there.

I’m struggling to figure out how to fit in my five miler this weekend. You see, I’m off on my Hen Weekend, to Alton Towers, and I can’t wait!

Do you think that walking around the theme park, queueing and screaming while riding roller coasters could count as cross training?

Have a fab weekend, everyone!

GNR: I’m in!

GNR: I’m in!

by TartanJogger ♥ 20 Comments

Well, the title of this post kinda gives the game away! I’m doing a very happy dance, as I’m in! I secured a place in the Great North Run! Squeeeeeeeeee!

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It’s one of those races that I watch on TV every year, and wish I was participating. And this year, I will be!

I think I’m right in saying that the Great North Run is the world’s biggest Half Marathon (correct me, or back me up on this, please!), and this year, the one millionth participant will cross the finish  line. Secretly, I’ll be running and pretending that it’s me 😉

It’s on Sunday, 7th September, and since that’s about seven weeks before my first full marathon, I thought it would fit in nicely with my training. I may have to tag on a couple of miles at the end, but that should be ok 😉

Unfortunately, @TheWelshWookie didn’t secure a place 😦 so, I’ll be running myself.

But I can’t help but be excited!

For anyone who has run it before, any tips?

Music for Running and Marrying

Music for Running and Marrying

by TartanJogger ♥ 17 Comments

To me, music is really, very important.

When I run, I listen to music most of the time. Sometimes, I’ll listen to a podcast, but mostly, I’ll have on my running playlist that consists of all kinds of upbeat tunes, from the 60’s to right now, from Motown to Dance mixes.

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My taste is eclectic 😉

In the early days of my blog, I used to post a song each day that played when I ran or worked out. Not sure why I stopped that.

I’ve recently bought Audio Fuel, which I plan to use with my marathon training. I’ve used it twice, and it seems really good for long runs.

In the car, I listen to the radio. In the bath, I have my iPod plugged into the speaker. We have iPod docks and speakers all over the house.

Am I painting a clear picture here?

Today, @TheWelshWookie and I have been looking through music and hymns we could use for our wedding. We’ve been belting out hymns, and putting traditional (and not-so-traditional) procession music up on the TV using YouTube and Apple TV. It’s been fun!

Have we decided on our church music yet? Have we heck!

We do have an iPod playlist for background music during the meal, and we have another playlist for partying either into the wee small hours, or the day after the wedding: it’s packed with floor fillers and family favourites. We’ve had our first dance song picked for ten years!

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But the hardest music to choose is striking the balance between hymns and music we like, that our guests will know and will be able to sing along with: hymns that are upbeat enough, wedding-appropriate AND set the right scene.

Hmmmm! It’s a taller order than I thought! Any suggestions?