Out of the mouths (eyes) of babes

I could truly see myself as viewed from a different standpoint last night when I collected the babysitter and prepared to hand over £12 to her in return for an hour of hard torture in the drizzle 22 miles away in Lochgilphead. Despite my jokes her pity was obvious that I should feel the need to do this (she was far too polite to even give away the thought "at your age")...I had the same thoughts myself on the 4th 400m sprint along the dark lochside at Ardrisaig where the pavement obviously doubles as a road for those uninhibited by the road edges. There were plenty of muddy tyre marks clipping and mounting the pavement in a worrying way,there was very little else to focus on apart from the sign that marked the 400m finish line, then turn and jog/stagger back. For light relief we ran back through the town, luckily the drizzle had diminished a bit by then. It must have been a harder workout than intended as once back at base I had the need to sit and contemplate the ground until my heart resumed the more usual rhythm. We like the beat..beat..beat..beat..beat better than the beat..beat..beat........beatbeat. Maybe the babysitter has a point.

Back to running

All quiet on the B and B front this week so I am a lady who lunches today with my friend Lyndsay...always good food at her gaff.Nice to have time to relax if only I could stave off the guilty demons that lurk around me at this time of year. I can justify the downtime in my head but somehow the message stays in there mired in a pit of anguish.
Attending jogscotland last night turned out to better than expected as we set of in a splatter of rain and hailstones combined with a pitch black night. The aforementioned guilt kicks into touch here in a positive way at the thought letting others down, being a wimp at not turning up, setting a bad example and worse of all the fear of others getting a rung higher on the training ladder as no way was last night a good night for training...or was it? The rain cleared just before Lochgilphead and jackets and gloves shed on the 10k run down Loch Fyne through Ardrisaig. Roughly 53 minutes...okay for a stiff under exercised Momma.

Big Day for Rosie (and her Mum!)

Rosie started "big school" yesterday and survived with a smile. The last minute decision to allow Garret to accompany her down to the bus was tempered with a request that he stay out of sight...the same was applied to Freya and me at the tail end of the day.We duly complied and all was well. Lack of photo is due to operator error (forgot to put the battery on charge) and the stress of trying to say goodbye on this big day and make sure that the correct guests got the correct breakfast. I may be able to sneak one later when she has forgotten about me and my camera...and when I have charged up the battery again. Off to rescue banana bread out of the oven now and watch the Olympics....as I write I have cringed over the mens 4 by 100m relay DQ. Oh that reminds me. Obviously now the children are back at school I will attempt to right the ravages of making beds and no exercise in a couple of days...no pressure as we officially entered the triathlon yesterday (caught by Steven, the organiser who has kindly saved us a couple of places so no getting out of it now). So Garret and I cycled a soggy 3.5miles to the pool, attempted to time our swim whilst frankly terrifying the legitimately holidaying folk of Loch Fyne Hotel. We did manage to leave about 3" water actually in the pool and damply cycled home. Jogscotland has recommenced and so a 4 miles along the canal in 32 mins (dragged along in Garret's long legged wake). We are half crippled today. Ooops, forgot the banana bread.....

Girly night for jogscotland..plus Garret.

Great night out with the girls from jogscotland with their clothes on....going out clothes that is...not a spot of lycra or a woolly hat in sight. The Indian restaurant in Lochgilphead did us proud and maybe, just maybe the waiter has recovered this morning from the onslaught. Much to his obvious confusion he was being hailed as "Gregor" all night ( someone had told Maria that he was changing his name)...eventually he got it, easier really to just go along with the idea. It is the tiniest restaurant and the 8 of us filled it up nicely with room for a couple of tables for two to squeeze in around us to enjoy the conversation. i just wish that I knew half the people that were being talked about. It was like the early days of moving to Inveraray...took me years to match the gossip to the faces. No photos I am afraid, I took a few with my phone but I would definitely be "no Friends Fee" if I published them on the www...nothing indiscreet just blurry. Today I alternated between mother/ B and B lady and regular job as taxi driver for the under 14s.We are all at last back under the same roof and the girls at least are down but probably not out. Early start tomorrow to deliver Rosie to a meet with Grandma at Moffat.....Zzzz Zzzz

Quickie run with Toby today...2.8 miles