Monday, 31 December 2012
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
And so that was Christmas...
...and today is Boxing Day!!
After the madness of yesterday I'm having a quiet day today. Yesterday I was at Mum and Dad's with my sister, brother in law, nephews and grandmother. I stayed over and went out for a run this morning with some friends from running club. The others went home around lunch time so Mum Dad and I went for a walk and then I came on home. Tomorrow we will all be back at Mum and Dad's with the addition of my brother, sister in law and nieces. It's gonna be loud....!!!
After the madness of yesterday I'm having a quiet day today. Yesterday I was at Mum and Dad's with my sister, brother in law, nephews and grandmother. I stayed over and went out for a run this morning with some friends from running club. The others went home around lunch time so Mum Dad and I went for a walk and then I came on home. Tomorrow we will all be back at Mum and Dad's with the addition of my brother, sister in law and nieces. It's gonna be loud....!!!
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Weekends....
....They tend to be busy!!
With no-one but myself to worry about I can fill my weekends with whatever I like!
I recently went on a weekend away with the running club. It was quite a busy weekend with lots of exercise/training, but some down time too and plenty of socialising. It was great fun and good value for money as we stayed at a Youth Hostel and self catered.
I like to do some longer dog walks at weekends usually, and I do like to have a long lie in on at least one of the days. I like to get up at about 8am, feed the dog and let her out, then get my breakfast ready and take it back up to bed with me. I have breakfast in bed then either go back to sleep, read or surf the net on my phone. This can take me through to anywhere between 10am and lunch time... yes I know it's very lazy and some might say a waste of time, but in my book I am relaxed, warm, comfortable and doing something I enjoy so why not?
However, it's now Cross Country season and my running club takes part in a local league with other clubs. So, Sunday just gone saw me up early and out running through rather a lot of mud, although thankfully it wasn't raining or too cold for a change! It was about 6 miles and I completed it in 50m 40s by my watch, although the official times aren't out yet due to technical difficulties with the website. I think that's between 5-7 minutes quicker than I ran the same course last year but I can't check until the website is fixed. There are seven races in total between now and the end of January, I'm hoping to complete six of them. My club is hosting one so I will probably have to marshal that one instead of running it.
I have also entered the Reading Half Marathon which is in March next year.....
With no-one but myself to worry about I can fill my weekends with whatever I like!
I recently went on a weekend away with the running club. It was quite a busy weekend with lots of exercise/training, but some down time too and plenty of socialising. It was great fun and good value for money as we stayed at a Youth Hostel and self catered.
I like to do some longer dog walks at weekends usually, and I do like to have a long lie in on at least one of the days. I like to get up at about 8am, feed the dog and let her out, then get my breakfast ready and take it back up to bed with me. I have breakfast in bed then either go back to sleep, read or surf the net on my phone. This can take me through to anywhere between 10am and lunch time... yes I know it's very lazy and some might say a waste of time, but in my book I am relaxed, warm, comfortable and doing something I enjoy so why not?
However, it's now Cross Country season and my running club takes part in a local league with other clubs. So, Sunday just gone saw me up early and out running through rather a lot of mud, although thankfully it wasn't raining or too cold for a change! It was about 6 miles and I completed it in 50m 40s by my watch, although the official times aren't out yet due to technical difficulties with the website. I think that's between 5-7 minutes quicker than I ran the same course last year but I can't check until the website is fixed. There are seven races in total between now and the end of January, I'm hoping to complete six of them. My club is hosting one so I will probably have to marshal that one instead of running it.
I have also entered the Reading Half Marathon which is in March next year.....
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
I DID IT!!!!!
I completed the Great South Run!
Ten miles, no walking, no having to stop for road crossings, just ten miles of uninterrupted running.... apart from having to pick my way through the hoards of other runners on the course!
It was a good run though, I started off with no expectations regarding time although I think I'd have been disappointed to be over 1h 45m if I'm honest.
I set off at a speed of 9.25/mile which felt comfortable. I was aiming for ten minute miles so I was wary of setting off too fast and burning out, but it felt good so I went with it. By 5 miles I was down to an average time of 9.11/mile and still feeling comfortable. Then I started to think that maybe I had a chance of a sub 1h 30m total so I decided to speed up a little. Bit by bit my average speed dropped, at mile 8 my watch was showing 8.58/mile so I sped up a bit more to give myself a bit of a margin.... having done so much by then I'd have hated to have got 1h 30m 02s or something like that. As I crossed the line my watch said 8.48/mile, however it also said I'd done 10.16 miles so I'd obviously created some extra distance dodging in and out of people and swinging wide on the corners to keep out the crowds. My final official time in the end was:
Ten miles, no walking, no having to stop for road crossings, just ten miles of uninterrupted running.... apart from having to pick my way through the hoards of other runners on the course!
It was a good run though, I started off with no expectations regarding time although I think I'd have been disappointed to be over 1h 45m if I'm honest.
I set off at a speed of 9.25/mile which felt comfortable. I was aiming for ten minute miles so I was wary of setting off too fast and burning out, but it felt good so I went with it. By 5 miles I was down to an average time of 9.11/mile and still feeling comfortable. Then I started to think that maybe I had a chance of a sub 1h 30m total so I decided to speed up a little. Bit by bit my average speed dropped, at mile 8 my watch was showing 8.58/mile so I sped up a bit more to give myself a bit of a margin.... having done so much by then I'd have hated to have got 1h 30m 02s or something like that. As I crossed the line my watch said 8.48/mile, however it also said I'd done 10.16 miles so I'd obviously created some extra distance dodging in and out of people and swinging wide on the corners to keep out the crowds. My final official time in the end was:
1 hour 29 minutes 26 seconds!!!
So, I was very happy with that, and am now thinking I might go for a half marathon in the spring!
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Shameless plug for a friend...
Anna used to work with me many years ago. Since getting married and having children she has set up Crafty Cooks, a franchise teaching children to cook from a very young age. Learning about food and how to cook it helps young children to try new foods and to develop a more varied taste, hopefully preventing them from becoming fussy eaters. It can also help children who are already fussy eaters to be brave and try new things.
Crafty cooks runs a range of classes for children of varying ages. They also do one off sessions in school holidays and cookery parties for birthdays or any other occasion. There are even adult classes too!
And if you are interested in setting up a franchise of your own, please give Anna a call. I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear from you.
Check out Anna's website and blog, You can follow Crafty Cooks on Facebook and Twitter @craftycooks too!
http://craftycooks.wordpress.com/
http://www.craftycooks.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/craftycooks
Crafty cooks runs a range of classes for children of varying ages. They also do one off sessions in school holidays and cookery parties for birthdays or any other occasion. There are even adult classes too!
And if you are interested in setting up a franchise of your own, please give Anna a call. I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear from you.
Check out Anna's website and blog, You can follow Crafty Cooks on Facebook and Twitter @craftycooks too!
http://craftycooks.wordpress.com/
http://www.craftycooks.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/craftycooks
Friday, 19 October 2012
Updates:
My friend has moved on, I am alone again *sob*. Her house purchase went through as planned so she's now back in her own home. Whilst I enjoyed having her here, I do think we got on so well because we are both quite laid back and got on with our own thing, leaving the other alone to do their own thing too. I don't think it would be as good with any one else, especially a stranger, so I won't be looking for a lodger any time soon!
I'm running the Great South Run next weekend! It's ten miles, I have done ten miles twice now so I'm pretty confident about the distance. Time-wise I'm just going to see what feels comfortable on the day. I'd love to do the whole thing in ten minute miles but I'm not going to be upset if I don't. Having said that, I did seven miles in 9.03 minute miles on Thursday so who knows? Anything is possible, but I'm not going to push myself too hard, I want to enjoy the occasion and see the sights of Portsmouth as I gently jog past... Ten miles is my biggest distance so far, so I'm starting to think about aiming for a half marathon in the spring. It suddenly feels more achievable than it did before!
I'm running the Great South Run next weekend! It's ten miles, I have done ten miles twice now so I'm pretty confident about the distance. Time-wise I'm just going to see what feels comfortable on the day. I'd love to do the whole thing in ten minute miles but I'm not going to be upset if I don't. Having said that, I did seven miles in 9.03 minute miles on Thursday so who knows? Anything is possible, but I'm not going to push myself too hard, I want to enjoy the occasion and see the sights of Portsmouth as I gently jog past... Ten miles is my biggest distance so far, so I'm starting to think about aiming for a half marathon in the spring. It suddenly feels more achievable than it did before!
Friday, 21 September 2012
House sharing
Crikey, it's been ages since I last blogged!!
That's because nothing really blog-worthy has happened.... except, oh yeah, I got a housemate!!
A friend of mine from work is staying for a few weeks while she's between homes. Her flat sold but her new house purchase was a bit behind schedule, so rather than lose her buyer she asked if she could stop at mine for a few weeks.
Actually, it's great! She's very easy to live with and it's really nice having someone else in the house. We're similar in that neither of us feel the need to fill silence with chatter. If there's nothing to say then we don't say it, and we're both comfortable with silence. She doesn't talk through films or TV programmes which is great because that really annoys me.
After 16 years of living alone, I can honestly say my first foray into house sharing is a great success!
Not sure it would work quite so well with anyone else though....
That's because nothing really blog-worthy has happened.... except, oh yeah, I got a housemate!!
A friend of mine from work is staying for a few weeks while she's between homes. Her flat sold but her new house purchase was a bit behind schedule, so rather than lose her buyer she asked if she could stop at mine for a few weeks.
Actually, it's great! She's very easy to live with and it's really nice having someone else in the house. We're similar in that neither of us feel the need to fill silence with chatter. If there's nothing to say then we don't say it, and we're both comfortable with silence. She doesn't talk through films or TV programmes which is great because that really annoys me.
After 16 years of living alone, I can honestly say my first foray into house sharing is a great success!
Not sure it would work quite so well with anyone else though....
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