She's home!!

Youngest daughter is home after a great week away in Northumberland..tired and crumbled but happy to be home! The day seemed quite short as I stayed on in Inveraray after running up THAT hill again with Kerry. She shamed me totally by beating me down after managing to walk up almost as fast as I ran. Still she is a whippersnapper in her 30s so I shall comfort myself with that! The knee held up fine I just felt a little nervous at the steep down but not too badly.



Total total... 103.69 weekly total....21.24

Of Mice and...um...seeds??

No funny little map today, a small amount of stiffness round the knee area meant a day of rest and relaxation......well, it meant that I used a soft squidgy thing to kneel on when on poly tunnel detail. It looks great after all garret's hard work and is so much easier to get around. I have been in planting mode today and so peas, carrots, spinach, spring onions, lettuce, beans, turnip seeds and some others that I now can't remember are shivering in the ground denuded of their comfortable packets as I type.....some seedlings are paying the price for sprouting a bit fast in the warm house and so are out in the comparative cool of the poly tunnel now. The Little Nippers traps are patrolling the tunnel for us after losing so much last year to the mice....as of this morning Mice 0 Us 7 so fingers crossed for those poor vulnerable seedlings. The biggest challenge is keeping the tunnel cool enough but secure from birds getting in and finding the traps. Netted doors seems to be the answer and so that is what we have. The other event of the day was Toby's first exam...English. Not a favourite subject but essential to pursue at higher level for any of his many considered degrees/career plans. He was happy to find a question which involved a short story written on a theme featured in last nights reading. Just hope the examiner has not read it too!

The Fall of the Year

Poly tunnel day today as Garret worked on to sort out the tired over-large raised beds and dirty plastic over sheet ...and he has worked miracles. I now have a manageable space to work in with purpose made strawberry beds and a see through cover. I drifted in and out between taking Toby to an interview at school re his Highers and pinning him down to revision...English today.
Setting off early to js I managed a very slow two miles before meeting the rest of the group for a pleasant 3 miles at Port Ann followed by 100m strides times 6...This was fine until I caught my foot on a rough hit by a drainage pipe and went down like the proverbial sack of spuds. Dragged up with both hands bleeding by an off duty policeman I hoped the other group had not noticed. I am sure that they thought my curious lop sided run was just a training ploy.......



Total total... 98.69 weekly total....16.24

A good night for a run...

Actually a dreary night to turn out for a run and I did wonder as I pulled up at the meeting place tonight whether the other jogscotland girls would think it was just too dreary! But I have trained them well and a very respectable nine dedicated runners turned out for a 5 mile run along to the Caravan Park. I was so impressed with all back safe and sound (and smiling) in under 54 minutes which is a great achievement. With Liz to chat to and chase (fresh legs...boot camp just about finished me off last night with the bleep test followed by fitness tests...NEVER try to do the plank after skipping for two minutes) we managed it in 42.23 which is an 8.44 minute mile (give or take....). Home to a "all revised out" Toby (First exam Thursday...English) and a Rosie who has inexplicably forgotten how to tell the time (for lights out). Ah well...to bed to bed to see what tomorrow will bring.



Total total... 92.45 weekly total....10

Bye Freya...have fun!

Freya is off and Northumberland bound with the rest of the Primary upper school for four nights, I hope that the wellies I found by the door when I got back from dropping her off are the only thing that she forgot.
After the day off yesterday to watch others compete which let me tell you is quite exhauting in itself but did I get any sympathy....well, I shall leave you to guess the answer to that one. So, back on with the trainers this morning, at least they had had a chance to dry out. After a huge amount of prevarication which included doing yesterdays blog, choosing Euro millions numbers and chatting I finally got under way for a "Slow 2m Fast 1m Slow 2M" as dictated by my increasingly tough programme. This roughly translates to force tired calf muscles to do a very slow 2 miles...move into a lolloping, painful half trot for 1/2 mile...turn and lollop back to find that the timer didnt start so I have no idea how fast (!) I went although know really that the digital display would have read "Not very"....I collapsed gratefully into my 2 miles slow. No thought of not doing this bit absolutely accuratley and as prescribed.



Total total... 87.45 weekly total....5

Bute Triathlon

No room here for all the pictures but for anyone interested they can be seeh here
The day started with a realisation from Garret that yet again he had not trained and was not really looking forward to the race. This had to have a lid kept on it so as to not infect the other competitors in the car. The event is like the Mid Argyll race..smallish and friendly with loads of locals giving it a go. There were quite a few from the MATCC which was great especially for Rosie in her first event. Her nerves kicked in with 15 minutes to go before she and Toby had to go and get ready to get in the pool. They both swam really well, Toby battling his way through and Rosie just steady away. Toby was off and out third and set off strongly on his cycle. Rosie soon followed with a good transition. The cycle was 5k with some strenuous hills but Toby was soon back and troubled by a rouge shoe lace. Freya and I re-positioned ourselves to get Rosie coming in from her cycle but a hand grabbed me as a frantic Toby sought the car keys to get a change of shoe having had to turn back on the run when the lace broke. He completed strongly and crossly having lost too much time to win. Rosie soon came in from her bike leg and with grim determination set out on a good stong run...she managed an excellent sprint finish and was soon recovered to finally get some luch at 3.30! oh...Garret did good too!!

Written in haste....

Yesterday Freya and I took on the night of Dun na Cuiche a)to prove to her that she can do it if needed as a Junior female on the 9th and b) to set the km marker positions. The day was cool and fresh as we set off from the Jail running comfortably together. This did not last long as at the first incline her fresh young legs laughed mockingly at my tired old ones and took off up the hill. She beat me up by a few minutes and then beat me to the finish line too ...ahh well, nice whilst it lasted! Rest Day for the old legs today I think!


Off to be support team for Toby and Rosie in the Bute Novice tri and Garret in the Sprint...pictures WILL be posted later.

Total total... 82.45 weekly total....28.97