Race

The weekend got off to a flying start once I'd slogged through the inevitable rain and wind to Fife. There I collapsed into the welcoming embrace of Fi and Ailsa who gave me alcohol and assured me that I would not have to drive to the restaurant where we were celebrating Ailsa's birthday. Hurrah! It was a really nice meal. I do like Japanese. Though unfortunately I really like Thai too and was so torn between the two that I could barely make up my mind.

Having been getting up at 6 all week I couldn't lie in past 9 so got up and let out the guest dogs, who were making pathetic noises. They are lovely bouncy, silky spring spaniel/lab crosses, though Al proved amazingly allergic to them. Cocker spaniels are still best though - much more mellow. Spent the rest of the day doing almost nothing except playing board games, eating delicious roast lamb and cake and feeling vaguely guilty about not having done any washing up or helping with lunch. But mostly just feeling chilled, which was much needed.

Back home, Al fed me prawn curry and salad - surely the worst ever pre-race meal. He must be trying to sabotage me. And himself.

Thus the first race of the season took place yesterday when I joined Matt in a team duathlon. It was a mixed bag. Set off steep uphill and, wiping the sweat from my eyes, managed to dislodge a contact lens. I could feel that it hadn't fallen out, just slipped down in my eye, so I carried on, blinking madly until it popped back in to place after a couple of minutes. In the meantime, I'd pulled away from Al, though not from the rest of the pack. Having spectated at the previous duathlon in this series before Christmas I wasn't expecting much - although very friendly, the participants are mostly Triathlon Scotland regulars and thus scarily fit.

Half way up the hill, we plunged off in to the undergrowth and trees, following a fire break back down, across the track and into a muddy section of pasture. This was about half way. They don't measure the course by length but by the time it takes the leaders to complete: this was supposed to be a 20 minute run and 20 minute cycle, which I think meant the run was about 5km. Emerging from the field though, I slipped in the deep mud and went over on my ankle - exactly the same as when I pulled it before Christmas (though this time I wasn't drunk and simply walking down some steps). Ow! I was extremely annoyed at myself as it slowed me right down for a couple of minutes, while another girl passed me and kindly asked if I was ok.

Once out of the mud, though, and back on relatively firm track, the pain lessened. I risked a glance behind me and Al was only about 20m back, so I pushed on and was able to forget about it until a last section of rough path, where I favoured it rather, trying to land on my other foot on steep downhill bits. A final push up towards the changeover and I overtook the girl who had passed me earlier - she promptly fell in behind and used me as a wind shield! I thought I'd run off the ankle but as soon as I tagged Matt and stopped running it came back. I watched Matt set off on the bike section followed by Al, about 2 minutes behind. Then I wandered round asking the marshals if there was a first aid post (maybe) or any ice (no). So I went and got changed in the car, which was just as well as work had come up with yet another crisis for me to solve so I had to make some phone calls. 'Are you near a computer?' asked our emergency response guy. I didn't feel like explaining that I was covered in mud in a car park in a forest on a hill with a pulled ankle so I just said no.

Anyway, Matt came in having got a bit lost but looking happy. Al was just behind him, chuffed about having overtaken some folk on the steep downhill stretch where most had dismounted. You can read the official results on the really useless Glentress Duathlon Website. In short, Matt and I were the fourth mixed team out of...four. But less than 4 minutes behind the others! We came 52nd overall and Al 56th. My run was placed 74th in 32 mins 29 secs. I really enjoyed the route, the off roading, the hill (kind of) and even the mud. Was just a bit worried about my ankle but I've been taking ibuprofen and it seems much better today - just a bit sore when I point my toes.

Today was my first ever drive to or from work not in the rain! (Or snow). It was much nicer: no spray or reflections off headlights. Took further advantage of the dry to run down London Road to the end of Portobello beach and back, which is 6.4 miles. This took me exactly an hour. I would have liked a bit quicker as I felt I was pushing it more than usual and I was aiming for 10.4 kmph. I managed less than 10.3 kmph. But then, if I hadn't had to wait for a couple of traffic lights, and if I'd measured it more accurately on Run Finder, it was probably close enough.

Both Matt and Ailsa have got in to the Edinburgh marathon, so there will be loads of us taking part! Still at the enthusiastic stage at the moment. By March I'll be fed up with it all. Though the race definitely perked me up, so that tactic seems to be working. Worked out today that the Alloa half marathon is on Easter Sunday so I probably won't be around, which is a bugger. Would have been good to support an event local to work and to have another race in the schedule. But at the end of the day I'd rather see Al in the brief time he has back from the alps and I have off work. Stupid day to have a half marathon, anyway!

Week 4 training

Aargh! Too busy to do...well, anything, really. New job and bastard commute. So far it has rained or snowed every trip and I have got lost at least once a day (I know this sounds unbelievably dim of me. I am not the best navigator ever but I lay the blame squarely on the changing traffic cones at Kincardine which mean the route is different each time. Plus I have been trying different roads to see what's quickest).

So a brief update only before I fall into bed, to rise again in six hours time.

Gym at Meadowbank on Tuesday:

• 1 km cross trainer level 12, staying above 10 kmph
• 8km treadmill, 10.3 kmph (boring)
• 3 x 12 pull down 32.5 kg
• 3 x 12 shoulder press 15 kg
• 3 x 12 chest press 17.5 kg
• 10 mins bike, hills, level 12

Gym at Alloa on Wednesday - where the treadmill machines are set to miles, so I had to do some mental arithmetic to work out rough equivalents:

• Induction - played on the machines and promptly fogot how they worked. My legs were pathetically weak compared to Induction Girl's, but my upper body earned actual praise!
• 1 km cross trainer level something or other, staying above 10 kmph
• 1.9 miles treadmill, 6.2 mph
• 3 x 0.5 mile at in 3 mins 45 each with 2 min walking breaks (annoyingly I accidentally hit the big 'stop' button twice during Yassos - not used to these treadmills at all)
• 10 mins bike, resistance 7, couldn't work out hill setting or rpms and by that point was too knackered to care

Gym tonight, Meadowbank - straight to treadmill as short of time:

• 4 km treadmill, 10.4 kmph
• 4km treadmill, random setting, level 10, 9.4 kmph
• 3 x 12 pull down 32.5 kg
• 3 x 12 shoulder press 15 kg
• 3 x 12 chest press 20 kg

Stupid random setting gave me one and a half continuous minutes of 7.8% incline! Climbed 161 metres over the 4 km so averaged 4% incline.

Tired.

Holiday!

Had a lovely short break in Angus. I'd found a cottage (described as a 'bothy' but in reality much more luxurious!) with a hot tub and got it from Monday to Friday to give us some time away but still close enough for Al to work and me to look round Clackmannanshire.

Arrived around 6 on Monday after getting lost somewhere north of Dundee and ate a ready-meal curry pack for two that I had brought before trialing the hot tub. Ooh, it was great. Except the bit where you had to get out into the cold again. But you could sit back and look at the stars - fantastic. The next day Al went to Perth for a meeting and I went for a run. I discovered a disused railway track that had been turned into a walk and did 7km, measured on Al's gps thingy, staying well above the 10.2 kmph I was aiming for. Though it was interesting to see how much I slowed down at even a tiny uphill slope. Home, shower, hot tub, reading, dinner: bliss.

Wednesday we headed to Lunan Bay where the surf was forecast to be good. It didn't look huge from the beach but there must be some sort of optical illusion going on because once we got in it was massive! Seriously, I'd been expecting 3 foot and got 6 foot +. Couldn't make it out the back and was consequently very frustrated. I should have gone back to the van and got my shorter board, or tried further up the beach. The rip was full on and we ended up walking a long way back - nearly a mile. Haven't had a decent surf for ages now. Boo. On the plus side, the van was nice and warm from standing in the sun when we got back.

On Thursday I'd planned another run but it was raining really hard so I wussed out and we drove to Dollar instead. There we met up with a friend of Al's who lives there and popped in to the estate agents. Nothing to let in the area but Sean agreed to spread the word and we had dinner in a nice pub, the King's Head. Food was nothing special but it was friendly and inviting.

Back home now and yesterday I did the gym session recounted below. Seemed slightly easier than sessions at my work gym, perhaps because I'd had a couple of days off. Sweated buckets though. So unattractive.

Having missed a session due to rain, I decided to combine long run and hill work today. Gee, that was a great idea. Ran Willowbrae Road, down Queen's Drive past the lower car park and then turned up Radical Road - duh. Immediately had to slow to a walk and didn't get running again till it flattened out at the top. Lots of foreign students got in my way and annoyed me. Then round the back of Arthur's Seat on Queen's Drive and home past Meadowbank. Tried to measure this on Run Finder with limited success as it doesn't show tracks once you go cross country, and the satellite image had a shadow over most of the Radical Road. But I think it was 7.65 miles and took 1 hour 15 mins. The rising section of RR is about 15% on average for 0.8 km, I think.

Catch up

Just a quick note to myself of my gym session today: I'll do a full recounting of my trip to Angus tomorrow.

• 1 km cross trainer, level 11, staying above 10 kmph
• 3 km treadmill, 10.2 kmph
• 3 x 12, 15 kg shoulder press
• 3 x 12, 17.5 kg chest press
• 3 x 12, 32.5 kg pull down
• 200m walking, 800m at 12.8 kmph x 2
• 200m walking, 400m at 12.8 kmph x 1
• remaining 400m jogging
• 10 mins bike, hill setting, level 11

That and a 7 km flat but fastish run on Tuesday. And a surf on Wednesday. Pretty happy.

Outdoor run

My first proper run outdoors for ages. It's windy today and was freezing with blue sky and frost yesterday, so I wrapped up in long tracksuit bottoms and a sweatshirt only to realise it was actually quite warm. Checked RunFinder to remember the routes I saved last year and decided upon Willowbrae Road and round the back of Arthur's Seat on Queen's Drive, which is 6.17 miles with some significant climbing and descent. I had been inspired by Helen's strong finish in yesterday's Great Winter Run - she managed the 5km around the whole of the Drive in under 30 minutes, earning a very cool snowflake-shaped medal.

Looked out my ironman sports watch that Al bought me last year but it had died! Must need a new battery. So I just checked the time when I left and when I got back and I'd managed it in under an hour - about 58 minutes. Which I'm happy with, considering the hill. I probably wouldn't have been under an hour except, as I came up the steepest bit just after the roundabout meeting Queen's Drive, I spotted a long-legged girl speeding away about 100m in front of me. The wind here was head on so I resigned myself to not seeing her again and put my head down and struggled up. When it flattened out I realised she was still 100m in front of me, so decided to see if I could catch her up. With just a little more effort than I would usually put in I did, and passed her at the top loch. Felt very smug, even though when I got closer I realised she was only about 5 foot tall. She was still wearing lots of professional-looking gear! I do need to learn to push myself on these runs, otherwise I just plod along at minimum effort speed, so it was a good tactic to get me going.

Nice to get moving, anyway. Satisfying as it can be to see the kms tick away on the treadmill (and to be able to control my speed), it is still boring. Nothing beats getting from A to B - or n this case from A back to A again - under your own steam.

Away to Angus tomorrow to stay in a cottage we've booked for a short break. The running gear (and surfing gear) will be coming with us.

Rain

It's been tipping it down all day. I arrived at work with soggy socks and it's not let up since - Morag and Hilary and I are going for a swim later but at this rate we'll be able to swim down the road to the pool.

Did my last ever session (barring re-employment) at my work gym:

• 1 km cross trainer, level 11, staying above 10 kmph
• 3 x 12 chest press, 15 kg (because I forgot I'd said I should put it up last time - duh. No wonder it was easy)
• 3 x 12 shoulder press, 15 kg
• 3 x 12 pull down, 32.5 kg
• 3 km treadmill, 10.2 kmph
• 3 km treadmill, random setting level 10, 9.2 kmph

Lots of other folk from my section were in there pounding away - and for the first time ever I had to wait for a treadmill to be free. Looks like the January rush has started in earnest.

Looking forward to supporting Lemon this Saturday as she braves to cold and hilly Great Winter Run. I'll have to do a longish run of my own on Sunday. Thinking of doing my usual Willowbrae Road loop, which is about 6 miles and flat except one nasty hill at Windy Gap.

Must get my arse in gear to apply for races: good news is, the Dunfermline Half has changed its date so as not to clash with the Great Edinburgh Run, so it looks like I can do both.

Evil Yassos

Cold a bit better after being pampered by Al (he ordered a takeaway and fed me NightNurse). Lunchtime gym today:

• 1 km cross trainer level 11, staying above 10 kmph
• 3 km treadmill, 2% incline (I'm going to stop saying this: just assume all my treadmill work is at 2% unless I say otherwise), 10.1 kmph
• 200m walking, 800m at 12.8 kmph x 2
• 12 x 3 reps at 32.5 kg pull down
• 12 x 3 reps at 15 kg shoulder press
• 10 mins bike, hill setting, level 11, staying above 80 rpm (hard at the end)

The chest press was busy the whole time, but I was pleased with the rest. So proud of myself for the last half Yasso, which was a bastard. I loathe speedwork and all its kind. Only remembering an interview with Denise Lewis in which she described getting through the 800m to win Olympic gold on sheer force of will after an injury kept me going. Quite looking forward to tomorrow's hill work in comparison.

Last night I cooked myself a simple meal of potatoes, broccoli, spinach and steamed trout. Doesn't that sound healthy? Although I did then add a generous dollop of creme fraiche. (Low fat creme fraiche). It was delicious - I don't often do 'meat and veg' type meals, tending more towards the 'all in one pot' approach, but this has inspired me to do more. Although it did generate rather a lot of washing up. Ooh, I made more mince pies too. And ate them warm with brandy butter while watching Top Gear - bliss.

Running with a cold

So boring having a cold, but at least I managed to stave it off over the festive season and as I'm not doing much but finishing up at work this week a cold is not much of a drawback now.

We all wussed out of aquafit yesterday due to various ailments, so I went to the gym instead:

• 1 km on the cross trainer, level 11, staying above 10 kmph (except for one moment where I slowed to 9.8 because I was picking a bit of white fluff off my boob, but I'm not counting that as it was only for a second and I'm well above 10.5 most of the time.)
• 6 km on the treadmill, incline 2%, 10.1 kmph (with brief pause at 5.15 km for a drink)
• 3 x 12 reps shoulder press at 15kg
• 3 x 12 reps chest press at 15kg (not too bad - should probably go up next time)
• 3 x 12 reps pull down at 32.5kg

Used my cold as an excuse to skip the bike, although I may now start having to choose between the bike and weights anyway if I don't want my work out to go on all day. Next time: more Yassos. Yuck.

Weighed myself yesterday morning. I am 9 stone 2 pounds, or about 58 kg. That's about 2 pounds over where I like to be, as the tightness of my jeans was indicating. Not a surprise after Christmas: I expect it'll come off when the exercise kicks in.

Weekend walk and delicious food

'Hurrah!' I hear you exclaim. 'She's not banging on about the bloody gym for once.' Oh no. For I and my intrepid friends ventured into the Great Outdoors, followed by the Great Indoors, this weekend.

First, a drive to Ben A'an in the Trossachs, where Hils and I successfully rendezvoused with dog-owning friends and promptly hiked up the hill in the snow. Well, the snow was on the ground, while what was coming out of the sky was decidedly cold rain, but it looked pretty. There was an extremely steep start up through some woods, followed by a flatter section where oodles of mud was hidden under treacherous snow. Before long my boots, which I'd waterproofed the night before, were wet through anyway. We emerged from the trees for our first view of the hill, described by one website as 'unfeasibly pointy'. It really was. And the last section was unfeasibly steep, with huge stone steps turning into a scramble up the last bit, meaning gloves got as soggy as boots! I was very impressed with the dogs - especially Bridie - who found doggy ways up the rocks, clinging to patches of snow and tussocks of grass. Very nimble.

There were some drifts of snow at the top, so that I sunk up to my groin more than once, while we all emitted amusing squeaks and squawks as the ground gave way beneath us. Fab view across Loch Katrine where, two blokes at the top told us, you can get a steam ferry in the summer. We resolved to come back and ferry to one end and bike and run back. We'd had the only clear spell of weather at the top, lucky us, and hot-footed it down again as the rain came back. The return journey was slippy and slidey, but we saved time spent painstakingly crossing streams on the way out by simply walking through them, since we were soaked anyway.

There followed an exciting drive along a twisty, snowy road to Glasgow - luckily I was following the landrover so, I comforted myself, if I did end up in a ditch I'd have someone to pull me out. Actually, it wasn't bad because it wasn't icy, just wet.

Thence to the divine Hotel du Vin - blog readers yet to experience this joy, start drooling in anticipation now! A row of five Georgian houses knocked together, we were greeted by staff in tartan trews with drams of whisky. A swim in the bath later and we enjoyed, devoured, digested and discussed a truly amazing meal. It was the first time Fi and Ailsa had eaten there since discovering the place and they were worried that it had all been a delicious dream...but no, it was really something else. What I really liked was that all courses and everyone's choices (we all had something different) were of similar quality. There was no chance of the desserts letting down the rest, or of them producing only one or two good dishes and some mediocre ones. It was all superb. I had a boiled egg with caviar toast, a main course of potted duck shepard's pie (actually a fairy-light potato foam rather than mash, and with a velvety soft kidney hidden in the middle) and almond macaroon with pistachio ice cream. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

On Sunday we had a delightful wander round the Kelvingrove. This reminded me of a Bill Bryson book in which he laments the segmentation of the Smithsonian so that everything is given its own museum - so that if you want to see a plane, for example, you got to the Air and Space Museum. He felt it had lost the air of discovery it had when he was a child. Well, he should try the Kelvingrove, which is a happy rag bag of bits and pieces. There was a taste of everything: expressionist paintings, Italian and Dutch art, Egyptian mummies, dinosaur bones and fossils and shiny armour and swords and Glasgow-style furniture. All mixed up with random stuffed animals everywhere. It was everything you'd expect; almost a parody of a museum.

Plus! They had the Kylie exhibition, with all of her amazingly teeny sparky outfits and an exhibition of Quentin Blake illustrations. I love Quentin Blake, who illustrated many of my favourite childhood books - Roald Dahl and Michael Rosen - and here were familiar pictures from The Twits and Matilda and the utterly devastating Michael Rosen's Sad Book. I would love one day to own an original Quentin Blake drawing.

So, back to work. My last week at work - eek! And back to boring gym blogs, until the weekend, I fear.

PS - Hilary has started her own musings at Tea and Verbosity. Enjoy!

Why, when I've only worked a three day week, am I still glad it's Friday?

These blogs are getting really boring, aren't they? I sense I'm in danger of losing both my readers. But that's what happens when training kicks in - I cease to have the time to have a life. Luckily tomorrow will be spent up a hill in the trossachs (sounds a bit rude doesn't it? 'She kicked him right in the trossachs'.) before heading to Glasgow for a night of luxury, courtesy of the generous Fi, who is treating the cheeseboard, in two lots, to dinner.

So hopefully we will get lost or fall down a ravine or something and I will have something interesting to write about on my return.

In the meantime, I did yet another enthralling lunchtime session:

• 1km cross trainer, level 10, staying above 10kmph
• 3km treadmill, 2% incline, 10.1 kmph (Gasp! So speedy!)
• 2km treadmill, random setting 10 (= inclines between 1.5 and 7%), 9.1kmph
• automatic 5 min cool down (about 0.4 km)
• 3 x 12 reps shoulder press at 15kg (Ha! Back up to 12!)
• 3 x 12 reps chest press at 15kg
• 3 x 12 reps pull down at 32.5kg
• 10 mins bike, hill setting 10, staying above 80rpm

10.1kmph didn't seem that fast after yesterday's hideous Yassos, which I already know I'm going to dread. Will try and up it by 0.1kmph a week until I'm at at least 11kmph, which is marathon pace. Also, first session next week will see me up the levels of cross trainer and bike to 11. Hopefully.

No more snow. It's sitting on the hill and the crags, making the latter look particularly awesome and, well, craggy. Week after next I've found a lovely little cottage for me and Al to hole up, run, visit Clackmannanshire and hopefully do some hill walking. Which reminds me, I need to buy a map and some waterproof spray for my boots for tomorrow.

Snow

Lots of snow today, though not much has settled in town. Pretty on the hill though.

Lunch time gym session went well: really felt as though I was pushing it for the first time. Also the first session to go over an hour thanks to my two extra kms (even though I knocked 5 mins off the bike as a reward). I managed one and a half Yasso 800s. Whew! I'm at the point now that normally I would be a month ago, due to ankle recovery time, which is frustrating.

Did:

• 1km level 10 on the cross trainer, staying above 10kmph
• 3km on the treadmill, 2% incline, 10 kmph
• 200m walking followed by 800m at 12.8 kmph
• 200m walking followed by 400m at 12.8 kmph
• final 400m jogging
• 10 x 3 reps shoulder press at 15kg
• 12 x 3 reps chest press at 15 kg
• 12 x 3 pull down at 30 kg
• 10 mins bike, level 10 hill setting, staying above 80 rpm

I need to ramp all of this up a bit to meet my targets. Will try for two full Yassos next week and 7-8 km per session by the end of the month.