Tag: running

Next New Nikes?

Next New Nikes?

by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Today, I’ve been very domesticated again, catching up on the laundry.

I also went for a short run, to stretch my legs from Monday, and to prepare for Saturday.

Today’s stats:

Run: 2 miles

Time: 20:03

Trainers: LunarRacers

Weather: Warm, and sunny

First running track of the day: Black eyed Peas, I Gotta Feeling

You all know that I’m a pretty big fan of Nike trainers, they really suit my running jogging:

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So, I’m sure you’ll allow me to get a little excited over the new Nike free runs:

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These look so, sooooo comfortable! Just like socks with trainer soles!

What do you think of them?

RnR Dublin- Done!

RnR Dublin- Done!

by TartanJogger ♥ 1 Comment

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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:

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

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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…

‘Twas the Night Before…

by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments

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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!

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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! 😀

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Getting Ready!

Getting Ready!

by TartanJogger ♥ 2 Comments

I have news! I received this email today:

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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:

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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.

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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!

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

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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:

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

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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!

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

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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

Running by the Crinan Canal

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.

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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:

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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:

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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.

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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?

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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:

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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!

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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…

And Stretch…

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:

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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:

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

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

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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!

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

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

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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:

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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?

From Barnacle to Royal Leamington Spa

From Barnacle to Royal Leamington Spa

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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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?

Road Trip

Road Trip

by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Today, we’ve headed out, on a:

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😀 We’re on our way to Coventry, for a long weekend:

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Which is 406 miles away. Woo hoo!

And, of course, I’m planning to keep my running and stretching on track, so…..

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Does anyone else have this problem?

If you see us, give us a wave!

Car

New Socks n Tracks

New Socks n Tracks

by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Well, I’ve started off the week with every good intention, with a 5k run, which @TheWelshWookie did with me.

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Today’s stats:

Run: 5k run

Time: 32:02:57 so much for my planned tempo run!

Trainers: LunarRacers

Weather: Warm, and sunny, but cooler than last week

Newest running track of the day: Avicii, Levels

I left my run until later, heading out at around 7pm. I’m really glad I did that, as the sun was still shining, it was warm, but much cooler that it has been all week. I just ran my usual harbour route, which I love. As I walked back along the harbour, there were a few clouds, which was lovely to see. I took a couple of snaps (you’ll be used to this view by now!)

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I had two new purchases, which I tried out tonight. First were my new socks from the Color Run. No, they aren’t compression socks, but I wanted to give them a try anyway:

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My second newbie was a new album I had downloaded from iTunes over the weekend, #HolidayAnthems, which I love. I listened to it driving home from my meeting in Dunoon today, and again while out running! 😀

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It definitely kept me going tonight!

Today’s life lesson: sometimes, the male of the species can be reasonably domesticated…. which is a pleasant surprise (and means no excuses for the future)!

Have you tried out anything new on a recent run?

Village Jogging

Village Jogging

by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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I had planned to head out for an early run to beat the heat, but I’m afraid that the sun and the heat beat me to it!

Today’s stats:

Run: 7 mile ‘long’ run: definitely tapering now!

Time: 1:10:57 Given the heat, that’s Ok with me.

Trainers: LunarGlides

Weather: Sunny, hot, humid

First running track of the day: Jimmy Somerville- this reminds me of a teacher I had at school, who loved him!

As it is the Tarbert Traditional Boat Festival, I thought that the village would be busy, but it was much busier than I expected, for 9.30am! As I ran along the harbour, past the pontoons, there were lots of walkers, people heading for breakfast, walking dogs, enjoying the early morning sun. There were also lots of people setting up their stalls for the festival later today: the whole area was a hive of activity!

As I headed off of the path, and up onto Garvel Road, I managed to take this picture, and when you see it you wouldn’t know that the village was busy:

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Gorgeous!

As I headed back toward the harbour for the second time, I saw that the pontoons had filled up with lots more traditional boats than there were on Thursday night when I was last down by the harbour.

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Last week I asked, is there always something going on in Tarbert? Definitely yes! 😀

There are loads of activities planned for the day, including climbing the greasy pole. The prize for the highest climber is a bottle of whisky: I’m not even sure I could do it with it still laying flat!

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By the time I reached home I understood for the first time ever what is meant by the phrase ‘sweat pouring off you’. It was! But I’ve showered, rehydrated, and refuelled on some Thai red curry:

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I hope you all have a good run today, and a fab weekend!

Today’s life lesson: jogging in and out of walkers, saunterers and cyclists is not a good look, when you have no co-ordination 😉

What’s your favourite food to refuel with?