Tag: planning

The Best Gifts Come in Threes!

The Best Gifts Come in Threes!

by TartanJogger ♥ 21 Comments

Hello everyone, how has your Tuesday been?

If you’ve read my posts over the past few weeks, you’ll have seen that I’ve been a very lucky blogger indeed.

First, in the first instalment of the great playlist swap, I told you how Girl Runs Wild had sent me a wonderful gift box packed with some post run goodies.

Next, I was totally surprised to receive some amazing chocolate from Kyla (who can now be found at earlybirdfitness.com).

Yup, I’ve been spoiled.

Well, the best things come in threes. And that’s also true about gifts! Yesterday, I received a parcel from Amazon. Now, as someone who shops on Amazon A LOT, I was racking my brains, trying to figure out what I had ordered. So, I opened the package to find a lovely, scented candle!

My friend, Margaret, had sent me a wonderful ‘tranquillity’ candle, which is gorgeous: it’s scented with  lavender, ylang ylang and orange. It smells great!

20140325-184845.jpg

So, I was able to relax after my run, with the gorgeous candle, and the latest copy of Women’s Running magazine.

I’m one very lucky girl! I’ve been so touched by kindness recently.

Have you been counting your blessings? And gifts? 😉

 

Tag Teaming the ‘Mill

Tag Teaming the ‘Mill

by TartanJogger ♥ 23 Comments

This morning, @TheWelshWookie and I planned a 9 mile route. So, we had a breakfast smoothie, and got changed to head out for a run. Then, I made the mistake of looking out of the window, and seeing the icy, driving rain outside.

Ooops.

So, I made an alternative suggestion: why not check our running ‘outfits’ for Madrid by running our nine miler on the treadmill?

That’s what we did!

treadmill

As I mentioned yesterday, @TheWookie has had a dodgy knee, so rather than running nine miles straight, we tag-teamed it by running three miles and swapping over. I’m pleased to say that the running gear performed well, as did @TheWookie’s knee 🙂 We were also able to watch a couple of films as we ran, so we’ve now caught up with the excellent American Hustle and  the not-quite-so-good The Delivery Man. It certainly passed the time!

The plan for this evening is to chill out with a glass of vino and The Voice. What are your plans?

A Friday Update

A Friday Update

by TartanJogger ♥ 22 Comments

Happy Friday, peeps!

I thought I’d catch you up on my half marathon training: some people have been surprised to hear that @TheWelshWookie and I are going on runeymoon, but after I’ve explained that we’re able to combine a love of running with some sightseeing and relaxation, it makes more sense to them. I’m still following my Hal Higdon plan really closely, and the training is still going well. I missed one run last Saturday, but that’s really the first missed run and I’m already at the end of week 7’s training plan.

Unfortunately, @TheWelshWookie slipped on some grass when playing football with the nephews on Sunday and has re-injured his knee, so he’s not run this week. Yet. Hopefully he’ll be back to it soon enough!

Runners blog relay 2014

My  Around the World Running Blog Relay mileage is about on target: I’ve already gotten in 57.96 kilometres so far, and with a 9 miler planned for tomorrow I should be adding more to that this week.

Also, it’s almost time for The 5×50 Challenge 2014. We signed up for this back in mid-December, and time has flown in, as it now kicks off in eight days: next Sunday! I’m really looking forward to it, as I know it combined with #ATWRBR2014 will definitely keep me on track!

In wedding news, everything is in a bit of a lull: everything is organised, and I’m now just waiting to carry out the last minute things that can’t be done in advance. It’s three weeks today: I can’t wait!

How are your challenges going?

Affy Windy

Affy Windy

by TartanJogger ♥ 26 Comments

This morning, @TheWelshWookie and I headed out to do our eight mile run. We had perfect running conditions: it was cool and overcast but dry. However, it was affy windy. So much so that when we got to the harbour the Tarbert – Portavadie ferry wasn’t running!

We headed out on around glen road, which was where we ran a fortnight ago. It was quiet, and we kept our pace slow. We then headed back into the village, and along our usual harbour route to Garvel then around the harbour to the concrete and back. 8 miles done. It felt really good today!

20140308-140157.jpg

This was @TheWelshWookie’s longest ever run, and he felt good afterwards, too: the steady, slow pace and fuel practice paid off.

I took the MP3 player that Girl Runs Wild sent. And, I can tell you, she has some great taste in music! It has loads of really good, upbeat tracks, including ‘Gloria’ by Laura Brannigan, ‘Suddenly I See’ by KT Tunstall and ‘Grace Kelly’ by Mica. I was so excited to hear a track by The Lightning Seeds that I hadn’t heard for years! (It was ‘Sugar Coated Iceberg’ in case you’re wondering). Then, at around the 6 mile mark, I heard the first track that we both have, it was ‘Teardrop’ by Massive Attack. Love that.

As I got to my final hill, I was cheered by some good old Meatloaf, and I was signing along like a loon! @TheWelshWookie thought I was singing ‘I Battered the Hill’ instead of ‘Bat out of Hell’, so I think I’ll be sticking with those new lyrics from now on 😉

To finish the final mile, I had some Mumford and Sons, which was just right at that point in my run. I can definitely say that I am so glad we did the swap: I’ve heard some great tunes I don’t have, or I had forgotten about, and I’ve been introduced to some great music I hadn’t heard before. I’m not sure what Girl Runs Wild will think of my playlist, but I’m looking forward – with trepidation – to finding out!

After today, I’ve added to my  Around the World Running Blog Relay total by another 8 miles, or 12.88 kilometres, which brings my  total to 28.98 kilometres for week one 🙂

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend: I know it’s LA Marathon time, and the Inverness Half tomorrow too.

Are you running this weekend? What’s your goal?

An Update

An Update

by TartanJogger ♥ 16 Comments

Evening all!

I thought I’d give you a quick update on my half marathon training plan, and the headline is that it’s going really well.

So far, Hal Higdon is working out really well: it’s a good mix of runs, with four days running, one day cross training and two rest days per week. I’ve now reached Week 5, Day 4, so I’m not quite at the half way point yet. I’m managing to do a mix of running outdoors and dreadmill runs, which is also helping to stave off boredom.

So tonight, I’ve added to my  Around the World Running Blog Relay mileage: another 3 miles, or 4.83 kilometres, which brings my  total to 16.1 kilometres so far 🙂

In wedding news, I now have virtually everything arranged, I think. And if I don’t have it arranged, it isn’t happening! I’m just about to finish off writing the Order of Service, and that will be another job done! 🙂

funny-wedding-programs

I feel as though some things are just about coming together, in terms of both running and wedding planning this week 😉

What’s going well for you at the moment?

Tasty Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday

by TartanJogger ♥ 13 Comments

I’m still trying to keep on top of my eating, and yesterday I shared a pic of the sea bass I had at The Sister’s restaurant.

Here’s some more of my yummy recent treats!

Yes, I think I AM addicted to these Food Doctor pots:

20140128-191621.jpg

Yet more yummy salmon salad:

20140128-191608.jpg

A mid week, home made turkey and mushroom curry with wholegrain rice:

20140128-191543.jpg

A ‘good girl’ dessert:

20140128-191557.jpg

Here’s the fillet steak I had recently at The Grill on the Corner. We had it with a side of brussel sprouts. Yummy, yum!

20140128-191647.jpg 20140128-191637.jpg

What have you been eating recently?

A Lull

A Lull

by TartanJogger ♥ 13 Comments

The title of today’s post is a little deceptive. I feel like I’ve been completely run off my feet recently: mostly at work, but also in my down time, what with having a wedding to plan!

But that means that my running has taken a back seat this week, and I’m missing it! To be honest, as my training for the Madrid RnR half doesn’t begin properly until early February, this busyness has come at a very convenient time 😉

images (1)

I’m excited to share some of the wedding details with you (don’t worry, I’ll warn anyone not interested, so that they can avoid the posts) but it’ll have to wait a few more days. I’m planning on getting the invites out early next week so, all will be revealed after then!

In the mean time, I’m going to head upstairs to the treadmill to say ‘hi!’ to it with a short run. No doubt that after a few minutes I’ll wonder why the heck I was missing it! 😮

How’s your week going? Are you having a busy or a quiet one? Have you missed any workouts?

A Sunday Run for #MegsMiles

A Sunday Run for #MegsMiles

by TartanJogger ♥ 6 Comments

Like many of you, I’ve been touched by the story of Meg Menzies, who was tragically killed by an alleged drunk driver while out doing a training run last week.

I’m sure we’ve all had the same thoughts: sympathy for her family, comparisons, and the inevitable ‘it could have been me’.

And so, in honour of Meg, @TheWelshWookie and I ran 5K today. We chose to run our favourite training distance, following our favourite route around the harbour. I think that’s the most fitting way to honour this runner I didn’t know: getting out there, doing what we love, in the way that we love it.

Rest peacefully, Meg.

#MegsMiles

A Day of Deliciousness

A Day of Deliciousness

by TartanJogger ♥ 22 Comments

Although this is mainly a running blog, and I try to keep it focussed on running and eating well, sometimes lots of times, my life creeps in!

I’m sure that might bore some of you, and I’m sorry about that, but hey- it’s my blog 😉

So, after that intro, I think I’d better warn you. In twelve week’s time, I’ll be married. And so, that means some of my posts might include wedding talk over the coming couple of months (yawn, I hear you say!).

Today has been a day of getting organised. We only set the date back in late October, and although we have booked the main things, not many of the details have been ironed out. Hence, today is planning day! 😮

I’m trying not to turn into Bridezilla!

Of course, it also means that I have a fancy frock to fit into. And so, the healthy eating has been moved right back to the top of my agenda, where it should be! Last night I had a fab salmon salad for dinner. It was amazing! I had it with a couple of new potatoes, some chilli beetroot and light coleslaw.

photo

So far today, I’ve had a breakfast smoothie, with strawberries, raspberries, yoghurt, chia, flax and protein powder:

20130721-124328.jpg

Followed by another delicious Food Doctor pot for lunch:

photo (1)

And we have a lean pork casserole in the slow cooker for dinner. It’s smelling yummy!

What’s on your menu today? Any wedding tips you’d like to share?

Looking Towards Late Summer

Looking Towards Late Summer

by TartanJogger ♥ 24 Comments

So, it may still be January, and freezing outside for many of you. But I’m already looking towards late summer!

funny-graphs-summer

Already, I have my summer holidays all authorised at work, so I can now look forward to a few trips. 🙂

I’ve also been mooching around various running sites, lining up potential races.

So far, I’ve entered the ballot for places in the Great North Run:

images (2)

I watched last year’s race, wishing I was there! I know it’s always over subscribed, so I’ll just have to wait and see if I’m lucky 😉

I’m also still considering the Loch Ness Marathon, and I am definitely leaning towards entering it…. I just haven’t actually committed to it….. yet!

Back in the present, this evening I’ve done my plank-a-day, my squat challenge and some rowing. Gosh, it feels great to be back to it!

Have you signed up for any late summer races yet?