Marathon Training Tuesday

Marathon Training Tuesday

I ran today! Woo hoo!

558169_3943571740337_1861952164_n

Today’s Hal Higdon marathon training called for 3 miles. It was great to get out there. I sported my Great Run t-shirt for the first time 🙂

20140527-192239-69759442.jpg

As we headed to the harbour, it was sunny and a little warm, but by the time we got to the end of the first mile it was chucking down! But, it actually felt really good to run in the rain.

When I uploaded my Nike+ SportWatch data, I saw that the Nike+ running site has had a facelift, and I like it! 😀

Screenshot (22)

I was really pleased with the pace tonight.

I also received an email today from the organisers of the GB Relay. It contained a link to the contact details of participants, so I’ve emailed the people on either side of our stage, so that we can arrange the baton handover. Hopefully it will all go very smoothly!

Did you run in sunshine or rain today?

 

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

Welcome to Monday.  Is it a holiday where you are? It isn’t here in Argyll, so I’ve been busy working all day.

Today is day one of my Hal Higdon Marathon training programme. And it’s a rest day 😉  I’ve been really inspired by everyone’s running this weekend, be it at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival, Mull of Kintyre runs, Rock ‘n’ Roll Liverpool, Bupa 10K or many other runs. Well done!

Here’s something to set up your week:

36f2d5153e6d764e2417f53d637a4778

Absolutely. How are you going to be of value this week?

Wednesday Wisdom

Wednesday Wisdom

3c78eef8c2bdcca4d19699fba783efa6

The Garden

The Garden

While I was out running, in the rain, on Sunday, I was admiring the fields full of bluebells and the primula that were blooming by the side of the road.
@TheWelshWookie and I had decided to run the Glen road in reverse: and it turned out to be tougher than expected! So it was good to be distracted by the beautiful plants and the lambs gambolling in the fields.
When we got back, I realised that our own garden is getting to that point in Spring where the colours are beginning to pop and burst out all over. The fushia, clematis and roses aren’t yet out- they’ll give some late summer and autumn colour. But the peonies and azalea are showing off their style!
Wanna see?

20140520-174806-64086580.jpg

20140520-174805-64085939.jpg

20140520-174805-64085184.jpg

20140520-174807-64087245.jpg

20140520-174808-64088037.jpg
How’s your garden looking at the moment?

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

Happy Monday! Did you have fun this weekend?

I’m happy to report that we’re really pleased with our route for the GB Relay. Most of it is along a cycle path, and is reasonably flat/undulating with no stonking great big hills!

But here we are, back to the working week. Do you sit at a desk while working? I used to. For the past year or so I’ve been standing most of the time. I moved my laptop stand from my desk, and rearranged my office so that I could stand when using my laptop. My phone is right beside it, and all of my important files are in the drawers below, as I’m using a three drawer filing cabinet as a ‘standing desk’. It’s the perfect height for me to work at comfortably.

When I need to focus on a piece of work, I can sit at my desk and concentrate, without being distracted by incoming emails.  I have plenty of room for laying out work, so it’s much harder for papers to go AWOL, or be abandoned due to other distractions. For me, it’s a win-win 🙂

At first, I thought I’d perhaps do it for a few weeks. I’ve now been doing it for so long it’s second nature. Also, as my ‘standing desk’ area is looking out of the window, I get to enjoy the views too!

Here’s an interesting infographic I found on Pinterest, which I thought I’d share:

sitting-is-killing-you-580x4002

 

Do you sit, stand or walk all day?

300

300

movieposter

Welcome to my 300th blog post! And, I had to find any excuse to celebrate by posting a picture of fellow Scot Gerard Butler as a Spartan ❤

This probably reminded him of the weather at home:

giphy

Anyone out there doing a Spartan race this year?

If so, this might be the workout for you, courtesy of Men’s Health 🙂

GB Relay Update

Tonight, I saw this post on Facebook:

Screenshot (21)

So, with FREE STAGES up for grabs, now might well be the time for you and your team to bag a few stages!

Happy Friday, all!

The GB Relay

The GB Relay

Well, @TheWelshWookie and I were hoping to run in the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll Liverpool half marathon next weekend. But, plans have changed, so we’ll have to pass on it this year.

So, that means that our next run will be as part of the Great British Relay 2014 on 8th June 🙂

GBR2014logobannersizegif.gif.cropped780x160o0,0s782x160

The aim is to break the world record for the longest continuous relay around the coast of Britain. Did someone say record attempt? We’re in!

The British coast has been split into 594 stages, and the run is done continuously, 24 hours a day, during June and July 2014.

81a5d34a4aa235f48f33174b08fc0733 (1)

@TheWelshWookie and I will be running stage 138, from Duror to Strath of Appin Primary School, which is at the very north of Argyll and Bute. Our stage handover is at 18:19, and our stage is 12.5K long.

There are still a few gaps along the way, including immediately before us, so I have no idea how we’re going to get the baton!

We’re going to go for a recce on Saturday, and try to figure out how we’ll get ourselves from the finish to the car; or how we’ll get from the car (if we park it at the finish) to the starting point! I’m sure we’ll figure it out, but with no buses or trains, it’ll be a challenge 😉

We’re really looking forward to being part of such a brilliant event, and if you’re in the UK and haven’t signed up yet, visit the website  GBrelay.com

Any suggestions for how to manage the logistics? Have you signed up?

Wednesday Wisdom

Wednesday Wisdom

ef19e850716fe6366106207c34d6e019

A New Arrival

A New Arrival

On Saturday, @TheWelshWookie and I went for a little run around Tarbert Harbour. It was a damp day, with blustery showers, but we were lucky and managed to time our run between them: more by luck than design, I hasten to add 😉

And, the village has had a new arrival: our brand new ferry is here, and almost ready for action!

Our current ferry, MV Isle of Cumbrae, is a lovely little lady. But she’s a bit tired and ever so slightly old fashioned. But we’ll miss her.

IMG_0959

Her replacement is a hybrid ferry, both diesel and electric, and she is much bigger than her predecessor.

She’s MV Lochinvar, and can carry 150 passengers and 23 vehicles. She’s brand, spanking new, and only the second of her hybrid-kind in the CalMac fleet.

I can’t wait until our next visit to Portavadie, so we can see what she’s like inside and on the water 🙂

When was the last time you were on a ferry? Where did you go?

20140513-183413.jpg

20140513-183426.jpg

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

Welcome to another wonderful week!

I hope you enjoyed @TheWelshWookie’s first ever blog post yesterday: I think it’s good to have a different perspective on a race sometimes. That’s probably one of the reasons why I love reading blogs 🙂

This made me smile today:

cfee097519383bca41b2fcc943513e67

Absolutely. Are you planning on making the tough choices this week?