Run.....

 A little trip round Loch Glashan last night...the longest I have run in a wee while and boy did I feel it halfway round...tired legs and feet yes but a lowering of spirits too as this distance was well in my normal schedule a while ago...never mind I did it and finished smiling and with all toe mails still so three cheers!! Liz pulled me along and helped me stay sane....Lovely guests again this week, two German Doctors who were very quiet and polite and appreciative...it all helps!

Asparagus Fest!!

At last there is starting to be a tiny sliver of gardening opportunity as the gap between jobs to do in the house and lack of energy begins to widen. So...filled with zeal and enthusiasm I remembered a chiding from last year at leaving teh asparagus fronds for too long in the poly tunnel...I have duly cut back and fed them to ecstatic pigs (Poppy not so sure) only to learn that this year I was too early.... The scenery is overlooking Crinan on a staggeringly lovely night when we ran the 7 miles from there to Tayvallich...This is taken after a 397ft climb from sea level in 0.9 mile. I found the whole run tough but manageable so Come on energy give the legs a boost!!

Speedy update!!

The blog is back up and running which means the schools must be back. Toby is now a 6th year with highers behind him and the BIG decision on how to earn enough money to keep him in well imagined luxury for the rest of his life...tough call!! Rosie has a big week ahead full of talks from teachers about the seriousness of this year and Freya....well, Freya is still enjoying the freedom of second year...for now!! An eventful time is now hopefully behind us all and I am back in full bloom again, I can appreciate from first hand experience what a jolly useful family and group of friends I have!! A nice treat this week was the wedding of our old German friend Thorsten (one of our very first guests 17 years ago...) and our new German friend Petra. We were incredibly honoured when they chose to get married in Inveraray and we were their witnesses...it was very intimate, just us and Rosie but very special and informal. A beautiful backdrop for the photos both on the Front green and in The George.
On the B and B front a lovely French family stayed last week and have changed my image of a humble little insect that might be encountered around and about occasionally in Scotland when I was asked what a "Mudge" was...had me puzzled I can tell you for a little while! A Lewis Carroll moment.
Tri Training is carrying on at a more gentle pace than usual but is nevertheless being done...so far!!
The following is my first road cycle in a long time and went surprisingly well!

Tri training

And so the triathlon traing starts again!! Rosie and I went out cycling the night before last to try her out on the big bad road. Wobbly legs for both of us as I have not been out on a bike for many a week/month either. Last night was then end of session run with the running group which was fabulous with almost everyone attending and then a great meal afterwards. The below workout was the beginning of brick training..urgh, so called because it would be slightly better to run with a brick tied on each leg....or because it feels as though your thighs have seized up and become as intractable as a couple of bricks after a hard cycle when you try quite illogically to force those muscles into running. The dogs had a great time as we ran out all at slightly different rates after the cycle and so they just turned constantly and ran with whoever was still heading out whenever we passed each other. Ahhh.. and now the tennis, thankfully watching not playing.

Despite a rather disjointed time in the poly tunnel  this year(Lets not mention the mayhem a stormy couple of days wreaked on the outside patch...only the potatoes survive...) we have managed get our best ever harvest of strawberries...they enjoy the new system introduced last year of being suspended above the main beds in drainage pipes allowing the growing fruit to dangle free of the soil and damp. In a different kind of hothouse last night (the amazingly stuffy school hall) we watched Toby receive his deputy head boy badge and Freya certificates in Geography and History. Rosie, frolicking in the land of the Nordic people missed out on collecting her Chemistry prize but we applauded her dutifully anyway. She returns tomorrow, the incidence of texts revealing the level of home sickness...i.e. lots to start off with, then a lull and then an increase today when she remembered about us again. I have mucked out her's and Freya's room (Freya sleeping over in the wilds of Tayviallich tonight) so there is every chance that they both keel over in shock and horror tomorrow at being able to see the floor. Running continues at my new steadier pace with the beginners group keeping me going again this week, we had a great run out on Tuesday too....but soooooo wet!

A very proud moment indeed

What an amazingly bunch of people I met yesterday...volunteers from all over Argyll and Bute were recognised yesterday by the council from youngsters to the more mature in all realms of support and giving.The lunch was pretty good too!! I was lucky enough to be nominated by my lovely jogscotland girls for the Sports Volunteer of the Year and was so very proud and not a little emotional to receive it despite the disgusting picture cribbed from Facebook and then some how squashed by the computer to portray a very pained looking squat fee at the end of the Dun na Quaiche run. Mind you I felt like I lost inches on that particular challenge!....Here's the pics!

 

Back down to earth in the evening with Toby off to help at the high school formal and Freya to karate. Rosie was all done with her packing for Norway and plugged into Harry Potter 7 by mid evening. She was up and about at 5.45 ready for a 6.30 pick up. I also was awake as the cockerel that I obviously failed to lock up last night was proclaiming his delight in the new day by 5.30. Will do better next time!

A small hiatus...

..caused by a visit to hospital but I am back now and ready to resume blogging duties. These are some pictures from the Bute Tri...Garret in the sprint, Rosie in her second Novice and Freya in her first. Rosie did really well especially in the swim and Freya pulled off a blinding performance coming 5th overall in 42.30 only 15s behind the first senior woman. My own sporting challenges have been on hold but I am planning to compete my tri of events by completing the Mid Argyll triathlon on its tenth anniversary in September....legs willing!