Tag: run

Challenge Check-In

Challenge Check-In

by TartanJogger ♥ 7 Comments

Well, here we are, a whole week into Movember November already!

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And so, that means I’m already one week into the Pile on the Miles 2013 Challenge!

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I’m slightly off track. I should have achieved 35K by now, on the basis that I planned to do 5K per day. So far, I’m sitting at 30K, so I’m 5K adrift. I could be a lot worse!

Some of my distance has been walked rather than run and I was hoping to run it all. But with a 10K race on Saturday, I’ve been keen not to do too much running. I want my legs to feel fresh on Saturday, so that I can enjoy it 😀

But, after Saturday, I have no more races planned for 2013 (yet). Though I may try to sneak in a Santa Dash or two 😉

I’m looking forward to running purely for pleasure next week, with no training plan to stick to.

No doubt, after a few days I’ll be feeling a bit like a ship without a rudder!

How are you getting on with your November challenge?

Wednesday Wisdom

Wednesday Wisdom

by TartanJogger ♥ 6 Comments

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Movember Motivation

Movember Motivation

by TartanJogger ♥ 9 Comments

Is anyone else out there participating in Movember?

movember-logo

By participate, I don’t mean that I’m growing a moustache (fortunately, I couldn’t do that, even if I tried 😉 ), but supporting someone who is,  or doing some fundraising, or participating in a MoRun?

Here, chez TartanJogger, we’re doing just that.

After supporting Pinktober, promoting and fundraising for breast cancer research, November is the turn of the guys and supporting men’s health.

@TheWelshWookie started on 1st November, clean shaven, and his ‘tache is coming along nicely.

I’ve been wearing my moustache scarf 🙂

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And, on Saturday, we’re both Mo Running, in the Glasgow 10K event. We have our moustache T shirts at the ready, and I have a neon green moustache to wear 😉

It’s a really good event, to both fund raise and raise awareness at the same time.

For more info, visit here.

On an aside, you’ll all be familiar with the classic, mo’ logo:

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Every time I see it, I snigger.

Last year, @TheWelshWookie and I were at a Christmas Fayre, and overheard a conversation between two stall holders. They were looking at a doormat with a similar moustache logo on it, and the conversation was:

Lady 1: ‘I really like that doormat. The moustache on it is really cool’

Lady 2: ‘The what?’

Lady 1: ‘The moustache’

Lady 2: ‘Is that what that’s a picture of? A moustache?’

Lady 1: ‘Yeah, of course it is!’

Lady 2: ‘I always thought it was two whales kissing!’

Lol! So, to us, that moustache is now and forever two whales kissing 😉

Storage Wars?

Storage Wars?

by TartanJogger ♥ 10 Comments

On Saturday, my running blog friend Bernie from Get Going – Get Running wrote about his pile of running shoes, that his girlfriend is (quite rightly) fed up with. And it got me thinking- this is a problem that most of us runner have.

And I’ll admit that I agree……. with both Bernie and his better half!

Both @TheWelshWookie and I have too many pairs of trainers: old ones, new ones, trail shoes, racing flats, comfies, minimalist. You name it, we’ve got it. As long as they’re Nike Lunars 😉

I really want a pair of these:

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Santa, if you’re reading…….. Anyway, I digress.

When @TheWelshWookie and I were completely fed up with tripping over trainers in the kitchen, we visited IKEA.

And we purchased this:

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Voila! Suddenly, the problem was solved!

I use the little storage shelf for all of the running stuff I use all the time: gloves, waistpack, yurbuds, etc. We have an iPod dock on the top, which I use to charge my iPod or iPhone after my run. It’s perfect!

And all of those pesky trainers are tidied away, out of sight:

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And I think I need another one already! 😀

Today’s Stats:

Run: 2 easy miles on the treadmill. I’m keeping it easy this week, since I have my 10K MoRun on Saturday.

Time: 23:34

Weather: cold – I had to scrape frost from my car this morning, the first time this autumn!

Trainers: Nike FreeRun +5

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Pile on the Miles so far: 20K

How do you store your running shoes and peripherals at home? Any tips?

Makin’ Space

Makin’ Space

by TartanJogger ♥ 13 Comments

Since collecting my treadmill on Sunday, we’ve been working around the other stuff that was in one of our spare bedrooms.

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What you can’t see in this picture is the desktop PC in front of the treadmill, the musical instruments on the other side of the room, and the storage unit filled with electrical bits and bobs including a DVD player, video recorder, PS2, etc, etc.

Here’s where we got to, mid way through the clear and sort, when I was just about ready to throw everything away….. @TheWelshWookie wouldn’t let me 😉

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And here we are, with the new set-up: the desktop PC is gone, the MacBook has relocated upstairs, and the TV is wall mounted, so that we can watch it while using the treadmill.

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And, yes. At my age, I do still have my TY Beanie Bears on display. Does that say something deep and meaningful about me?

The wires and cables still need to be hidden, so we’ll pick up some trunking for that next weekend, but all in all, I’m delighted with all of @TheWelshWookie’s hard work today, setting this up.

Me? Well, I helped a little. And I watched my first two Christmas movies on Christmas24. I did run 5K watching the end of the second one, just to test out the wall mounted TV, of course 😉

And in other news, not only did the Zombified TartanJogger and @TheWelshWookie make it into the Lennox Herald as reported earlier in the week, we made it into the Helensburgh Advertiser too!

The article and picture are here  🙂

Today’s Run:

Run: on the treadmill. 5K.

Time: 34:40

Weather: very wet, dark and windy, but I don’t care, as I ran indoors!

Trainers: Nike FreeRun +5

Have you done any changing about in your home recently?

Pile on the Miles 2013

Pile on the Miles 2013

by TartanJogger ♥ 21 Comments

Welcome to the Weekend!

Oh, and to a new month too 😉

Do you have any plans for November, aside from Santa Dash training, Christmas shopping and keeping your toes warm?

This month, I’m joining in on Run Eat Repeat‘s November Challenge: Pile on the Miles 😀

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I’ll let Monica explain: she tells it better than I could…..

This is from her blog:

Pile On The Miles is an annual event in blogland where we challenge ourselves to walk or run more during the month of November. The goal is to pile on extra miles not pounds during this food filled time of year!

This is the 5th Annual Pile on the Miles Challenge!

The first one was in 2009 and I won 2nd place for the most miles. I took it over in 2010 and would LOVE for you to participate.

What: FREE Online challenge to walk or run more during turkey month.

Who: Everyone is invited to join. Everywhere around the world!

When: November 1 – Nov 30.

Where: Virtual! Sign up on this form and come back to RunEatRepeat.com each week to stay accountable and be entered in a drawing for prizes.

Why: To challenge yourself and encourage others to move more this month. This is about setting a goal and staying accountable with check-ins. It is not a competition for the most miles any longer – it’s about YOUR GOALS.

Me again, TartanJogger….

I’ve taken the plunge and signed up to complete 150K during November, which works out at 5K per day. Having done the 5×50 Challenge earlier this year, this should be achieveable. I’ll give it my best!

Is there anyone else out there joining me? Has anyone else signed up yet?

Happy Samhain!

Happy Samhain!

by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments
Source: http://scottishanduniversal.newsprints.co.uk/order/26058698/egp_len_181013zombies_06_jpg
Source: http://scottishanduniversal.newsprints.co.uk/order/26058698/egp_len_181013zombies_06_jpg

Happy Samhain, or Hallowe’en!

I hope you’ve all had a fun day 😀

I’ve been to a seminar, and on my way home, I treated myself with a trip to Costa. I had spotted a new, festive drink on their Facebook page that I fancied trying, and so I rolled up to the drive thru, and as I opened my mouth to order I could not remember what it was called! I ended up asking for ‘one of those new apple-y things’ 😮 Fortunately, the  barista knew what I meant!

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It’s called an Apple Spice, BTW, and it was delish.

In other news, @TheWelshWookie and I found out that our photo is in the local Dunbartonshire newspaper this week, The Lennox Herald.

That was a little Hallowe’en shock for us 😉 It’s of the Zombie Night Run, pictured at the top of the post.

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We’re stocked up, ready for any kids who come guising tonight 😉

Wednesday Wisdom

Wednesday Wisdom

by TartanJogger ♥ 2 Comments
Source: http://www.fitsugar.com/Motivational-Fitness-Quotes-21383537?slide=4
Source: http://www.fitsugar.com/Motivational-Fitness-Quotes-21383537?slide=4
Tuesday’s To-Do List

Tuesday’s To-Do List

by TartanJogger ♥ 14 Comments

Tonight, I’m not running. I’m having a rest day.

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Instead, I have several other things on the go:

1. I have a new copy of Women’s Running to enjoy!

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2. I have some Christmas cross stitch projects that I’ve only just started: I’m running late with these 😮

3. I have Steven King’s Doctor Sleep to finish reading.

4. I have Spanish revision to do.

I took a beginner’s Spanish class in the spring, and I recently received notification that they are running a ‘post-beginners’ class. Naturally, I signed up! It is conducted by video conference, so I travel to Argyll College in Lochgilphead where I am linked in with students from Campbeltown, Oban, Dunoon and Rothesay. It’s an interesting way to learn! So, this evening I’m dusting off my notes from the beginner’s course, and practicing my basic pronunciation.

Any help or tips on learning the lingo are appreciated! 😉

Testing the Treadmill

Testing the Treadmill

by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments

Tonight, I gave my treadmill a wee road test (pardon the pun!)

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I was late home from work; the clocks have changed meaning it was pitch dark outside, and the rain was pounding. Perfect treadmill testing time!

I ran for 20 minutes, just to give it a go, and get a feel for it. The machine was really steady and sturdy; it felt better than some gym treadmills I’ve tried. I set my Nike SportWatch to register my shoe sensor instead of the GPS, and away I went!

I was running reasonably fast (for me) but only registered at running around 10-11 minutes per mile. So, I increased the speed. I probably should have increased the incline instead- but I’ll try that out next time.

All in all, I enjoyed the novelty of it: being able to watch TV as I ran was fun, but in the long term I’m pretty sure that it won’t replace outdoor running for me 😉

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Today’s Stats:

Run: 20 minutes

Distance: 2.1 miles

Trainers: LunarRacers

Weather: wet and windy, hence the treadmill run!

Today’s Life Lesson: the day after helping lift a treadmill is not the day for wearing a skirt- bruised shins is not a good look!

Has your running week gotten off to a good start?