Toni's Blog

2012-01-02T10:35:00.000Z

2011 Christmas week in the Algarve, Portugal.

A great break from the dark and dreary rain in London. Despite the Easyjet ordeal, Ali, Billy and I we're happy to find that the RCI swap resort was a nice one, and our two-bedroom unit perched on a cliff overlooked the sea. With internet access (if you sat in one chair only?)!

On Christmas morning we found a church service ongoing in the Ilbuferia old town, but realised that it didn't mean much to us in Portuguese. But the atmosphere and people-watching were great. Billy and Ali enjoyed the Cataplana served in a copper lidded pod with clams and pork, while I revelled in the carb offerings ( a glorious week off my diet!)

By the time Nick arrived (after spending Christmas with Kat's family) we were ready to venture out in our tiny Panda car and Billy found us two great walks in the mountains. The weather was perfect, cool and sunny and we couldn't understand why most of the holiday units were closed up - but appreciated the lack of crowds!

The only liability of walking in the mountains of Portugal is the dogs! We were barked at from every house, and the packs in the villages scared Ali who remembered the risk of rabies in India. But we came to the rescue of a puppy that wanted to follow us, and had to re-enforce the owner's gate with plywood taken from a neighbour's shed... I wonder what they'll think?

And we made it home in time to hear the New Years Eve fireworks snug in our very own bed!

2012-01-02T10:10:00.000Z

3 December 2011 - Santa Run

An incredibly patient and brave Clews family (and Billy) saw us off on a private Santa Run (the weekend before the official Lincoln Santa run) which ended up at Petra and Adam's house for fantastic blueberry scones.
It was great to catch up with Colin, Steve and Gary (definitely a pun as I stood little chance to catch up so they waited... and waited). THANKS Guys! Inspiration to take this running thing more seriously, if only so I can hang out with such great people.

2011-09-11T15:56:00.002Z

Mom's birthday Amazon certificate went to buy a fantastic bread Book - Tartine. And we've had great success baking it in my pottery kiln. But its agony now as I'm trying to limit carbs to keep control of my eating... How I miss bread!

End of the Road Festival

2011-09-11T15:53:00.000Z

Aptly named this year as it will be the last time we go. While the bands, setting and comedy was great, there are just too many people now. Add to that the disco music after the live music ended at midnight to 3am was just unbearable in the campervan. By Sunday the sleep deprivation was caught me sleeping on the grass at midday!

But, it was a great way to spend the weekend with Nick and Ali - meeting up at random times; Ali and me for massages at the Healing Retreat, and Nick's guiding us through the sea of tents to tour his huge teepee. We could enjoy Nick's friends, then wander off to see something else and meet up again. Texting though the days to rendez-vous at favorite band's performances and relaxing in the sunshine saving a good place before the next show. I missed a few bands I'd planned to see because I couldn't drag myself away from the comedy. Some real surprises - I liked "Midlake", and disappointments - "She Keeps Bees" were loud and we ran away when they started.

When the rain came in as Ali left on Sunday, we braved it out for a while and felt blessed that it had held off as long as it had. Nat and Abbey looked miserable in their flip flops and windbreakers while I sat cosy in my down parka.

So next year we're going to try a different music festival - maybe WOMAD?

2011-07-04T14:58:00.000Z

My amazing brother transcribed old 8mm videotapes and sent them to me - Here's one clip-

2011-06-07T20:28:00.002Z

How hard can a family photo for Grandpa on Father's day be???? This must be the most unphotogenic family ever... OK, with bits in our teeth after Nick's slow roasted ribs, we were challenged.

Somehow I don' think these will be portraits they will treasure...

2011-05-28T14:48:00.000Z

The Swift Half 2011

Here we are standing in the toilet queue.. I think Petra was cold not desparate. My worst time yet on a half marathon, but it was a lovely day out and great to see old friends (Nigel, Steve, Petra and Gary) and new (Brad and Simon).

Strange that a few hours of exercise can make one feel positively virtuous about eating hot dogs, beer, ice cream, then fish and chips for dinner. I'll do it again just for the excuse to eat anything I want!

2011-05-17T19:52:00.001Z

Finally the empty nest is within view... Nick's offer on a flat was accepted today! A vicarious thrill to go through the process with him. Probably not the most shrewd investment - we should have put Billy to work on a fixer-upper, but this place was bright and well-cared-for with its own nice little garden. It just seemed to fit Nick just right. And the current owner is immigrating to Australia, so Nick might even get a good deal on some of the furniture. Happy day!

2011-05-01T18:34:00.000Z

Ali and I watched the Royal Wedding at Millennium Square in Bristol. It was a great day out with our naff commemorative flags giving commentary to Japanese tourists. And then we watched the police remove squatters after the anti-Tesco riot near her house. What a different world!

2011-04-26T10:18:00.000Z

At the VW fair

Surely they lost a letter?

Easter Anglesey Campervan Trip

Lunch break!

The coastal path

We started the holiday week at at VW fair - way too many stickers and tatoos on sale, but pretty cool to look at the old VWs. We need to get some beads to hang from the rear view mirror!
The weather held for 6 perfect days walking around the coast of Anglesey. Despite the half term week and my fear of crowds we rarely saw anyone and found a couple of wild campsites.

Wild camp at RSPB site

Dinner preparations

Both of us struggled with rotten colds, so we only walked 3 hrs a day, then read in the garden in glorious sun at country pubs, or in grassy meadows. Rain arrived before our last planned section by Beaumaris, but I'm glad we'll have a chance to go back again

2011-04-24T13:48:00.001Z

Work work work...

My running has been dismal. Arriving at the office by 7:30 and dark evenings, its only just the last month that I've been running again. And without a base, my achilles is slowing me down (as is the extra weight).

But with both kids signed up for the Swift Half in May, I want to run too!

2011-03-04T20:43:00.003Z

A-Z Things about me: (idea copied from Petra, but it is fun)

A~Age: 54, whew not possible. I was sure that by this time I'd have had the makeup and high heel things sorted.

B~ Bed Size: Tiny to fit antique 4 poster... that squeaks ...TMI?? :-)

C~Chore you hate: Hoovering - dealing with the tangled cord, dog hair that is impossible to pick up, and so noisy I can't listen to my ipod.

D~Dogs: Nelly, sweetheart GSD

E~Essential Start your Day Item: Cafe Latte - worth getting up 10 min early to fuss with the machine.

F~Favorite Color: That's so hard to answer - the green of newly leafed-out beech trees, the turquoise of tropical seas, frosty greys and blues of the mountains.... depends!

G~Gold or Silver: Gold, but can't afford to replace the gold earring I lost, so I wear silver.

H~Height: 5'2" - and I refuse to measure myself because my Mom says she has shrunk... horrors, NO!

I~Instruments you play: cello once, expertise long forgotten. Some days I wonder at all the stuff I once knew...

J~Job Title: Sr Geoscientist, little do they know. Should be "enthusiastic amateur".

K~Kids: Ali is 24 and Nick is 26, again not possible, how could this happen so fast!

L~Live: Commuter faux village outside London, but the train ride to Westminster is not too bad.

M~Mom’s name: Eleanor, but I don't blame her for going by Ellie

N~Nemesis: Glazing. I can throw beautiful pots but continually destroy them with incredibly ugly glazes and cracks from smoking naked raku.

O~Outlook: optimist, definitely.
P~Pet Peeve: Television noise, particularly when there's no even anyone watching it!

Q~Quote from a Movie: Dune - Litany against fear
"I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing......Only I will remain."

R~Right or Left Handed: Right, boring I know.
S~Siblings: Three, all younger and wiser, Linnie, Missi and Miller
T~Time you wake up: 5:20 and rush for 6:10 train.
U~Underwear:Daydream about vampy sexy stuff, but alway reach for comfy.

V~Vegetable you Dislike: beets, and the way they can contaminate a whole plate of food!
W~What Makes You Late: looking for stuff, keys, ipod, wallet, blackberry, train pass...
X~Xenophobia : fear of confident people with perfect hair, polished nails and expensive suits.
Y~Yummy Food you Make: can't claim any but cinnamon toast.
Z~Zoo Animal Favorite: Always the big cats.

2010-12-17T20:18:00.004Z

Stingray at Isla Contoy
Originally uploaded by platinumprints

A glorious week in Mexico, walking on the beach, riding bikes around Isla Mujeres. Short by a day with Gatwick snow cancelling our flight, but we truly felt we deserved margaritas on the beach when we finally made it to the island. Fantastic food from breakfast cassula (baked eggs and beans) and cuban roasted plantain and grilled chicken. And more margaritas!

We enjoyed a day trip out snorkeling and visiting a bird sanctuary where we saw fantastic frigate birds and had achiote roasted fish on a barbecue under a palapa on the beach.

But by the end of the week we had tired of the cheesy seasonal soundtrack that played all day at the resort and we'd seen all the sights and walked all the beaches on the little island.... so we looked forward to the return to the frozen north.

And we just made it home before the next storm hit!

2010-10-11T10:01:00.002Z

WWFOR Lincolnshire Lollop 9 October 2010

Billy, Nick and I went to Lincolnshire to run the 5th annual WWFOR at Petra and Adam's farm in 1.4 mile loops. I ran 10k and Nick ran a MARATHON! Billy rescued the sausages from the kids cooking (take off the cling-film before inserting in oven!) and scouted for wood for his lathe. Adam and Petra's house is absolutely incredible and they made us feel so welcome. The very best campsite we've ever found overlooking their grounds! Click on the photo below for a short video of the event.

2010-09-06T18:19:00.028Z

Bristol Half Marathon 5 September 2010

It just started to rain as Ali, Nick and I started for the race village. Waiting until the last possible minute to leave our raincoats at the bag drop, we took our places at the back of the pen, as the skies opened on us. Nick and a friend of Ali's (named Nick too), started off fast, and got faster. The rain stopped, and we even had some sunshine under the bridge, about the time we saw the Nicks, headed the other way on their way back into town. They finished in 1:45!

Ali and I planned to run 10 min miles and then walk 0.1 mile at each mile marker. We pretty much stuck to it until about mile 9, then Ali started having pain in her hip so we walked a couple more times each mile. But she was smiling throughout. We finished together in 2:20 - two minutes faster than the Bath half we ran together in the spring. Not bad as Ali really hadn't trained during her summer break. A short video follows:

Next on to the WWFOR 10K at Petra's Lincolnshire farm!

2010-08-23T18:51:00.103Z

A long drive to the north coast of Scotland, but worth it! Here was one of our campsites - our campervan was the only vehicle by evening. We woke early to hear the fishermen heading out, but the crush of August holidaymakers did not travel far enough north to crowd us. We had a rainy day on the drive up to Inverness, so decided to visit the Culloden visitor centre. I'd first learned about the battle of Culloden in 1746 in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series so I had a fantastically romantic idea about it before seeing the battlefield.

Culloden Battlefield (photo by curtis_welsh)

I had to leave the multi-sided cinema dramatisation - the horror of war in the 18th Century was too much for me - flintlock guns, swords and incredible bravery of hand to hand combat. The exhausted, starving Scottish Jacobites in tartans fighting the professional English redcoat soldiers. The computer simulation of the battle was fascinating. I wish we had walked out to the clan stones on the field, but the rain was tipping down by then. We also visited the site of Rossal, where crofters were evicted during the subsequent Highland Clearance - an early version of 'ethnic cleansing'. The Clearances stemmed in part from the attempt by the British establishment to destroy, once and for all Clan System, which had facilitated the Jacobite uprising - and combined with Culloden, destroyed the culture and sent my ancestors to immigrate. I can imagine that the scenes are even more emotive for a Scot!

The midges drove us to the coast where the breeze would take them away. NASTY little beasts that are too small to see until they bite and then itch for days! When we had campsites in the woods, we had to close ourselves up tight, dashing out only to make very hurried toilet stops. Not much of a wilderness experience locked inside a closed vehicle! But the coast was magical - while Billy took a wood turning class for a day I took Nelly for a long run and then went to watch the seals and knit by the sea.

There really isn't a well defined coastal path, like in Cornwall or Pembrokshire - I guess they just don't have the traffic, so it was occasionally a bit scary, not knowing how close you should walk to the cliff and collapse scarps appeared when you were not paying attention and the fog descended.

All in all a great adventure!

2010-08-05T16:44:00.000Z

So, I've bailed out of being the RRT scheduler/coordinator. After almost 100 episodes, I just realised that I was spending too much time WORRYING about getting it right and getting frustrated when thing went wrong at the last minute despite my best efforts. So I told everyone I was burned out and asked for help. And the funny thing is that I should have done it a long time ago.

It seems that people wanted to do more, but didn't want to step on my toes. And that my holding all the potential co-hosts confidential meant that only I could match up interests. So now with a Runners Round Table Googlegroup and Googlecalendar - it can all happen "in the cloud". I'm so relieved that I didn't have to hand it all off to someone else... its been my baby for two years!

And the timing is great! Billy and I leave next week for a campervan trip to the very northern tip of Scotland (John O'Groats ) for a fortnight. We'll stay a couple of nights with a wood-turner Billly's keen to meet, and then wander west into the Scottish Highlands.

I'll need to keep at my running schedule, with the Bristol Half Maraton only a month away, but I think that will be pretty easy with no other committments for two weeks!

2010-07-07T19:26:00.002Z

I won a pair of yurbuds from Yurtopia on RunnerDude's blog! Wow, thrilled, I never win ANYTHING. Thanks Runnerdude!
And I really had high hopes. I don't like the noise-isolating type headphones for running or commuting - they just don't seem safe. And I like regular Apple ear buds, but they sometimes fall out when I'm running. And I'd read so many reviews that said how great these were!

I sent of a photo of my ear (yes, that's what yurbuds needs to fit them) and very quickly my new pair arrived. The sound quality is great and the silicone bits just rotate into your ear, no problem. BUT... I just can't seem to get my ears broken in... they just ache after about 20 min. I keep trying, but today I just finally decided they really don't work for me. Bummer! I feel a bit bad that someone with better shaped ears didn't win the contest!

But I just looked at RunnerDude's blog again and he suggested that someone else with trouble contact them to see about getting a different size... so I will! So I'm hopeful again that these yrubuds may be the solution for me.

2010-06-10T16:10:00.002Z

Swift Half Marathon 2010

I was confident talking about the race the night before with Gary Wall and Steve Chopper at the campground - the weather was improving, we'd had a great time last year and what could go wrong?

Saturday morning was lovely and we had no inkling over coffee in the campervan that the heat would skyrocket during the day to almost 28 degrees C or 82 degrees F! after a week of freezing rain. (photo left to right, Nigel, Iain, Mark, me, Gary, Steve, Petra and Adam with Nelly in front)

And I wasn't prepared. Work had been frantic and I'd not put in the long runs I should have. Looking back over my BuckeyeOutdoors calendar - I had run less than before the Bath Half in March, when Ali and I ran/walked in 2:20. How could I expect to match the 1:59 PR I'd set at the Swift half the year before? Its not like riding a bicycle! Nelly was hot and miserable so I left her with Billy at the first water stop, while I trudged on and on in the hot sun. Drank some nasty orange drink at the second waterstop, threw up a bit later and generally felt AWFUL! Finally I caught up to Adam and Petra. Petra was coaching Adam's first half marathon, urging him to keep running that last flat mile that I would have walked! So, I fell in behind them and listened to Petra's meditative counting of steps... and finally we were at the finish line. Phew!!

The next day my hips were so sore I struggled to walk the river path with Billy and Nelly and resolved to TRAIN for the Bristol Half that Ali and I are running on 5 September!

2010-04-26T19:43:00.002Z

Still adjusting to life back at full speed after a glorious week living SLOW on N Captiva Island (off Mt Meyers FL). And we just made it back before the volcanic ash shut down the UK airspace - a week in Miami waiting for a flight would have cancelled out all the relaxation!

I put together a photo album together for the grandparents (click here to see it) with LOTS more photos.

North Captiva is hard to get to - at least from London - a 30 min boat ride after a 3 hr drive after a 9 hr flight to Miami. But once there, the only transport is golf buggies and bikes. Its quiet and pretty uneventful - the greatest challenge of each day was figuring out how to cook for 7 people for with only few utensils and warped pots.

A week of beach walks, playing scrabble with the kids and Billy's parents, running on sandy trails, spotting huge birds, turtles and dolphins. Kids went fishing, but I couldn't justify the outrageous expense - certainly the most expensive dinner we had!

We were without the internet most of the week, but finally pirated wifi from someone - but I still managed to call in to Runners Round Table from the observation platform on the roof, watching the sun set over the osprey nest with two fledglings right next to the house - fantastic.

The last day Ali and I ran along the beach - and a pod of dolphins swam just offshore making the fish jump into the air. They followed along the beach with us for almost a mile, then we ran back to the house to toss them the rest of the raw fish the kids had caught and they took it! It was exhilarating to be a part of their world!

2010-03-16T21:20:00.000Z

Ali and I ran the Bath Half Marathon! Click to view 1 minute video. OK, no actual running in the video, because I needed the ipod nano for tunes during the race... but shots before and after.

A glorious break in the dark, dank and dreary winter we've been having.

Next time I'll turn the ipod the other way, so the video is wide not tall (dummy!)

Ali had a such a good time, she asked me to sign us up for the Bristol Half. So FOUR half marathons for me this year! Good inspiration to keep the training up!

2010-02-25T20:12:00.002Z

Mom's 80th Birthday bash. Ali and I met up with the rest of the family for a week in Seattle, where we had a three day party- teasing each other, eating restaurant decadent food, playing cards, shopping and catching up on all the news. Culinary highlight was the biggest cinnamon bun I'd ever seen we shared at Little Johns' that was absolutely scrumptious! The butter cream frosting was to die for!

My brother Miller, from the Oregon border, my sister Linnie from LA and sister Missi, from Idaho, and I all contributed to fantastic photo album that Miller's wife Stormi created. Missi and I made early morning runs to the gym, trying in vain to offset all the excess. And our uncle Lymie and aunt Liz joined us for a Mexican meal. Two of Ali's cousins, Blake and Sam helped her regress from a stressed teacher to a laughing child sitting at the kids table - it was good to see.

2010-01-01T09:58:00.009Z

The road ahead? OK, I can't resist the temptation for New Year's resolutions...sucker. So here they are:

- Get enough sleep so that I wake up refreshed and energized.

- Plan ahead so I'm never ravenously hungry, which leads to stupid food choices.

- Eat consciously, with no mindless "what happened to my sandwich?" moments.

- Find motivation by participating in the online community and challenges.

- Appreciate the strength of my body at the gym, biking and running.

- Spend a part of each day enjoying the outdoors - and bring the dog when I can.

- Be genuine and try to enhance other people's self esteem.

- Driven and committed are good, but frantic and frazzled are not!

- Seek balance and nurture positive beliefs, relationships and actions.

I'm part of a lose 10 lbs in 10 weeks challenge, will journal food on FitDay and I've signed up for a squat/sit-up/lunge challenge. All very virtuous!

2009-12-29T04:40:00.028Z

For the Christmas week we stayed in stayed in a small hotel in a Berber village in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and explored the nearby mountains. The view from Dar Tassa is truly spectacular and we felt very welcome in the colorful cushioned living area, catching up on books and knitting. Our host, Mohamed, played mother hen, ensuring that there was enough heat in the lounge, coffee or mint tea, hot water for showers, taxis for walk shuttles, and even hot water bottles in our beds at night! He presented us with a fantastic chocolate cake on Christmas eve to make it a memorable event.

We struggled with the language barrier at the 13th century Tinmal mosque and nearby markets, and the feeling that we were being taken as tourists. Only Ali really felt comfortable negotiating with the traders for lower prices.

It was windy and rained a few times, but we walked about 10-15 miles a day in the mountains (a good thing, with the lavish breakfasts and fantastic tagines, bread and lovely desserts for dinners!). On cultural tour days, I ran on the path winding above the lodge - exhausting on the steep trail up, but exhilarating on the decline!

People mostly smiled at us as we guessed our way through unmarked mud streets in Berber villages, but the toughest part was cross-country route-finding! Our Spanish topo map had trails marked that we never found and we often had to just bushwhack on compass trend... which was fine until we came upon deep ravines and once a rocky cliff! We were continually traversing unstable slopes, and all ended up with spiky spines in our hands... Ali and I spent a fun day shopping in Marrakesh while the guys met up with a tour guide and had lunch in a Berber household.

The last night, after we laughed ourselves silly about the strange beet dessert, Mohamed arranged for the guests to dress in Berber garb and the lovely staff girls (we'd only seen briefly before) joined us for tea and put henna on our hands while we listened to Berber music.

The week was a great way to avoid a commercial Christmas and it was my first time without email in a few years! We played games, laughed together and the physical challenge left us falling into bed at too early an hour to get bored. A 3 minute video (shot with my ipod nano!) follows; click on the box to start.

2009-12-04T13:09:00.001Z

Last night was the Stitch and Bitch (Knit club) Christmas party. Will and PoshTater cooked us an AMAZING vegetarian feast!

We all went home with Secret Santa wool and a challenge to show our resultant creations at the next mtg in the new Year.

Really a fun group, left to right - Nicola, Mary, Sue, Niki, me, Danielle, Lauren, Zarich, Will and Elizabeth.

Oh yeah, and Parsnip the dog!

2009-11-20T15:47:00.006Z

Running with wolves! New Moon fever has hit London and I admit I've been delving into the paranormal/vampire/werewolf genre for the first time since my SISTER, Linnie got me interested in reading Twilight. We were sharing a room while visiting my Mom and she wouldn't stop reading and turn out the light! So hundreds of hours later after consuming vapid but best escapism reading and audiobooks, I'm really excited to see New Moon. Billy ridicules my shallow literary taste, but agreed to a make a fantasy photo. Only daughter Ali will go see the film with me. Sunday 5pm.. counting down...

2009-11-09T16:40:00.004Z

Today was the first really cool day and until the wind takes the leaves away - the woods are absolutely spectacular.

But I need to pick a spring race, something to motivate me to push. I find myself walking, almost absentmindedly, when out with the dog without a training plan to follow. I guess its OK to have a bit of down time, but I don't want lose my hard-earned fitness base.

Had Ali home on a whirlwind tour last week during her half-term break from teaching. She was exhausted, but is enjoying teaching - at least most classes. I don't know how she gets through the day - I'm just not that patient.

Ali and Boo carved pumpkins, but we had no Halloween trick-or-treaters on our dark lane. Just as well, as I'd have had to give them granola bars since I resisted buying candy.

2009-10-20T15:29:00.004Z

'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, What a Ride.'

Well, with no firm race plans in sight, I've slipped a bit in the diet and fitness motivation... running really doesn't sound that great after a pub lunch. What did Bruno say, "I'm committing carbicide!" Yep, pancakes for breakfast with the kids today, ice cream on the menu after dinner. I'm giving myself until Monday morning to enjoy the ride - then I'll agonizingly try to lose the weight I can gain with astounding speed. Cheers!

2009-10-14T22:13:00.004Z

It was a dark and stormy night, no make that day...

As the 10k runners waited in the pouring rain for the half marathoners to get to us, we wondered what we'd gotten ourselves into.... That cosy pub just opposite the lock was looking pretty good.

But after "wrong-way" Chopper found his way back on the tow-path after the closed section, they finally arrived (with an extra mile in the clock!). Fuelled with bananas and cereal bars, they were ready to set off again.Phil from Runcast.tv made a great video of the run.

Tactical error, as I was cold waiting, but neglected to leave my two coats with husband Bill before we started, so I had to carry them as soon as I warmed up (you'd think I'd never run before!) Nelly the dog was ready to go, and son Nick stopped grumbling...

It was more of a group run than a race, with cameramen moving through the group while most of us were chatting and waiting for stragglers every couple of miles - and Steve provided tourist commentary when we got into the historic Oxford colleges. (and made us run two loops around the treacherous cobblestone "camera" for filming video!)

Then we made the last stretch into the Stadium where Roger Bannister ran the first under 4 minute mile. It was my first time running on a track! I didn't make in anywhere near 4 minutes, but the race metals that Steve passed out made us all feel like winners! Thanks Steve!

Walking around Oxford in the afternoon we finally got that beer and sunshine... ahh!

2009-09-26T17:49:00.003Z

I totalled Billy's Honda today. Pretty shaken up, thank God I was wearing a seat belt. It just happened so fast - probably my fault, but I really can't explain the lapse. Mostly I'm just incredibly thankful that no one was injured in the car I rear-ended!

The Honda's locked in the recovery yard now, we'll probably never see it again. It isn't as bad as this photo, but I'm sure our insurance will say that it's not worth repairing all the damage.

The little to-do tasks and niggling worries that were churning in my brain (& probably contributed to my lack of concentration) vaporised with the shock of impact and the horror of what-ifs after the accident. I'm not sure I trust myself to get behind a wheel again, yet I don't know if I could bear the lack of independence. Could I really just walk or run or ride my bike, beg rides or take public transport from now on? Whew... need to think about it.

2009-09-05T14:27:00.011Z

Chalfont St Giles 10k
Nick, Nelly and I ran in our little village fair 10k today. It was sunny and pretty hot (65 degrees) for Nelly in her fur coat, but I carried a bottle of water just for her. Nick ran with me (and kept me running up the hills) for the first 5K and then blasted off on his own for the second. I improved my time from two years ago by 8 minutes! (58:04 on my garmin which I stopped for the water stop as Nelly needed a break)
There was a pretty good set of hills in the first half, but the second was a nice easy drop along the Misbourne river. Nick whined (" I hate running!"),as usual, on the way down to the start and about his late night and dehydration, but admitted after the run that he enjoyed it and was now looking forward to the Oxford Spires 10k we're running in 5 weeks for the World Wide Festival of Races. And I promised to vacuum all the dog fur out of the back of his car.

2009-08-16T18:07:00.014Z

Just back from a great Barefoot Running class run by John Woodward and Janet Dutton. The highlight of the class was a beautiful run across the sands and tidal channels of the Duddon Estuary. It was Nelly's first time swimming! Tom Urry filmed us all running on pavement in running shoes and barefoot on the grass. (clearly the photo's not of me, but a better runner!)

A great group of people attended the class and we debated the conspiracy theories re shoe design, Vibram 5-fingers and the book "Born to Run" by Chris McDougall. Tales of incredible ultra-marathons from "Loony" Tom. In lectures, proto-bondage sessions with neoprene cuffs and bungee cords, we all practiced the movements that should have resulted in the perfect stride - with arched toes, landing softly on the forefoot, stroking the ground....Ahh, I know what I should do now... just have to do it!

The comparison of my normal heel strike with tense shoulders to the upright fluid form I had running barefoot. Click on the box and then triangle to see a 3 sec video.

I'm not sure I'm ready to throw away my trainers for my run on concrete across London every day, but I will work to try to land on my forefoot instead of my heels and hopefully avoid the Achilles pain that has been troubling me.

Billy, Nelly and I went on to have a glorious week walking in the Lake District despite occasional rain (a great excuse to explore new pubs...)

2009-08-04T11:09:00.004Z

Tutorial - How to upload a route to a Garmin 405 to use it for navigation.

This is pretty straightforward in the USA where topo maps are easily viewed in google maps and all the web-based applications that use them (e.g. MapMyRun.com).

But here in the UK, the Ordnance Survey topo maps are not accessible in Googlemaps. See the map on the left is the googlemap and the image in the middle is the OS topo map, and the right is the satellite image for the same area. Clearly, its hopeless to try to find a route to run on just the Googlemap or satellite maps - you need the right-of-way footpath info that is only found on the Ordnance Survey maps. The two images on the right are taken from a fantastic free (but donations accepted) web application Where's the path?

In this web accessed application, you just click on the little icon in the bottom left (next to the route length) and a route is marked on BOTH the OS topo and the sattellite image. When you're done just click on the import/export button and export the route GPX > File. Then you have to open another free site, GPSies Tracks for Vagabonds, and convert the GPX file to a Garmin Training Center TCX file format.

Once you have this file, you upload it on the Garmin Training Center program (which you have to download to your computer) and then you can then push the upload button to sync it to your 405. Its pretty useless that you can't upload routes to the web-based Garmin Connect site, but you can't. You can take a route that you or someone else has already run and do "send to device" to load it as a route, but not one from a map.

Once you've synced, on the Garmin 405, go to Menu/Training/Courses and select the one you uploaded and then "Do Course". Page through the displays until it has "to Course" and a compass rose on the screen and it will point the way to the start. Once you start, its a good idea to navigate back to this compass rose and lock the bezel. Then as you go along, it will show "dist to finish" when you're on course, and "dist to course" when you've strayed off - just follow the arrow (when you're moving). If you go seriously off course there's an alarm, and another beep when you find it again, and when you finish the course.

It really works! Here's the result of my navigating a path I picked to run between train stations near home seen in Garmin Connect and you can see under the "Map" tag, that I started going in the wrong direction, but backtracked until I found the route again. So for the continually lost-in-the-woods sort of person, this is a godsend!

2009-07-20T08:10:00.004Z

100 Thing Challenge

"Stuff starts to overwhelm you," says Dave Bruno, 37, an online entrepreneur who looked around his San Diego home one day last summer and realized how much his family's belongings were weighing him down. Thus began what he calls the 100 Thing Challenge. (Apparently, Bruno is so averse to excess he can't refer to 100 things in the plural.) Bruno's online musings about his slow and steady purge have developed something of a cult following online, inspiring others to launch their own countdown to clutter-free living.

Well, I passed the time in a boring meeting by starting a list, topped my by ipod and Garmin405, but as I got farther down the list, I realized it was just stuff - all replaceable for a bit of cash, and I quit the list.

Then started the "what do I take from burning building?" list - kid's photos, some family jewelry, an old diary. OK , a favorite bathrobe maybe. But that's it - really. As long as the family and pets are safe, I'm fine and that realization was like a breath of fresh air.

So a bit of cheat. I've avoided throwing away any of the stuff or even really examining how much of it I'd need to replace to maintain my consumptive lifestyle. But I know now its just that - stuff.

2009-07-05T12:49:00.009Z

(Swiss wood stack)
AA Gill, the columnist for the Sunday Times, is a guy I love to hate. He's just too smug to live, but I have to admit that he's often funny and clever, and Billy reads his restaurant review before anything else in the Sunday papers. This week he wrote:

"I've often thought that Europe is a allegory for the ages of man. You're born Italian. They're relentlessly infantile and mother-obsessed. In childhood, we're English; chronically shy, tongue-tied, cliquey, and only happy kicking balls, pulling the legs off things, or sending someone to Coventry. Teenagers are French: pretentiously philosophical, embarrassingly vain, ridiculously romantic and insincere. Then, in middle age, we become either Swiss or Irish. Old age is German: ponderous, pompous and pedantic. What Germans have instead of sex and laughter are word games and complaining about grammar. Then finally we regress into being Belgian with no idea who we are at all."

OK, I'm not ready to be anything more than middle aged - but he didn't really describe the Swiss or Irish psyche. I don't want to be my stereotype Swiss (compulsively tidy and xenophobic), but I can't fit into my Irish stereotype either (care-free and engaging, but slurring my words).

So, I'll try to be the best of both - disciplined (15 weeks of half marathon training to go!) and friendly (making people smile and feel good about themselves).

With my navigating Garmin back (THANKS TO GLENN!!!), I'm exploring the trails again, and I paid up for another 3 mo at the gym, so now I can focus on the path ahead to the WWFOR Half Marathon in October, and enjoy the journey.

2009-05-31T17:43:00.009Z

Meeting up with virtual friends for the White Peak Swift half was great and a bit surprising. Somehow my pre-conceived notions really didn't hold up to the brush with reality. From the podcast of his epic Hadrian's wall run, I envisioned Gary Wall as an ascetic hardcore runner - and I discovered that he was funny, genuine and a natural story-teller, really not the ultra-marathon purist I expected. Steve Chopper has such a magisterial voice on his podcasts, I expected him to be commanding... but I was surprised at how engaging and sincere he is. He's still an natural spokesman, but he's also a really good listener. Phil's un-likeness of a twitter photo and the intensity with which he talked about Runcast TV on the Runners Round Table made me expect some sort of tech-nerd, and I was surprised to meet up a gentle bear of a man, with self-deprecating modesty and a bubbly sort of warmth and laughter. It was also great to meet Mark Wheeton who I'd only exchanged emails with. Petra I'd met at the London Expo and it felt like we were old friends. She insisted on buying me a bacon sandwich (a "cobb" in Derbyshire-speak) after the race which was heavenly, and will henceforth be my gold standard of bacon sandwiches... or maybe I was just REALLY hungry.

I was really pleased with the race time 1:58:59, five minutes faster than I ran it two years ago. But nothing great compared to Boo's 14th place at 1:27!! Ali and Billy really made the logistics easy for us, and their cheers and hugs at the finish made us feel like stars. Thanks guys!!!

For the week following the race, Billy and I scouted for wild campsites as we made our way through the Peak District, to the N Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland, stopping at National Trust properties when the days were rainy. We had a memorable night in a farmers field watching lambs prance like kittens - while we worried that we'd have to be towed out after the rain. The coastal path between Ravenscar and Robin Hood's Bay claimed my new GPS watch, and the badgers must have taken it, because it was gone when we retraced our steps... oh well.

Finally Ali flew up and met us in Edinburgh and I flew home to work while she and Billy walked in the Highlands before Boo came up to run the Marathon on Sunday (in an amazing 3:20!).

I guess I feel a bit deflated now with no clear running goals until October WWFOR half. I need to practice the paper I'm giving at a conference in Amsterdam on June 8th... so I still have something to worry about!

I guess its time to re-focus on resistance training so that I can be stronger in the next cycle of training in a couple of months. I'll still keep running the 3 mi across London in the mornings - I love that!

Finally, a video Phil edited of the race! Check it out here.

2009-04-28T19:44:00.009Z

Meeting Petra at the FLM expo was the highlight of the week, but then I missed her fantastic race as my husband bought a band-saw on ebay and we had to go to Norwich to get it.

But it turned out to be a spectacular weekend and I got my 11-miler in running from our campsite to Wells Next The Sea and back. That's really what is says on the maps... don't they know they are missing the preposition??

Three weeks till the White Peak Swift Half....I feel like I'm ready, I just have to get t-shirts printed with the WWFOR logos!

2009-04-10T12:25:00.006Z

Nelly and I hopped on the train and took it up to the next town, Chesham, and then began exploring a new route as the rain started. The little scrap of map in my pocket started to fall apart in the rain, but finally we made it home and I was feelinq quite smug until I uploaded my track and discovered that somewhere I'd gone around in a circle and didn't even notice!!! Oh well..

9 miles in 2 hrs was not good but it was hilly and I did stop at every branching trail or stile and try to figure where I was. Billy and I will have to walk it with his Garmin or iphone and try to see where I went around twice!

6 weeks till the Swift half. I've booked camping at the Grouse & Claret campsite outside Matlock near Rowsley at Phil's recommendation - phone 01629 733233

I've lost 3 or 4 lbs since starting the Fast Weight Loss diet, but I'm ready to kill for oatmeal or bran flakes... I really miss breakfasts. Cottage cheese just doesn't do it for me, even with blueberries. And facing more salads with grilled chicken or tunafish, I keep repeating the mantra..... ONE MORE WEEK!

2009-03-28T11:18:00.007Z

We explored Suffolk last weekend, camping in the remarkably attractive shadow of Sizewell nuclear power plant. We searched for raw oysters in Aldeburgh and I got my 8 mile run in beside the beach. Nice weekend and the weather cooperated for once.

This week I signed up again at Educogym - resistance training coaching for a gut-wrenching amount of money... I've just got to shift my spare tyre! Perhaps with 2 mo before the half marathon, I should not be dieting, but there's always a good excuse and this period of low travel and a clear goal seemed better than most. They took "before" photos and I just wanted to get the scissors out (Chest up - fine, hips down - fine) and just cut out the middle! I wish it was so easy!

Researching an expert for a RRT diet expert, I came upon Lyle McDonald and his Rapid Fatloss Handbook which happens to fit almost exactly with the one the gym gave me. I'm so much more motivated reading the rationale and science behind a diet, rather than just being given a printed sheet and being told..do it. So, I have high hopes that in a couple of weeks I'll be relatively tyre free! He does say that "the crash diet should be used several weeks prior to the endurance event, to drop a few pounds of fat such that normal hydration can be retained before the competition." Right so I've got 4 weeks only to lose!

2009-03-08T17:31:00.004Z

Had a brilliant run today with Ali and her boyfriend, Boo. Boo is training for the Edinburgh marathon and he's fast, so he pushed us for the first 2 miles when we sent him off on a longer 8 mi loop and the two of us carried on with Nelly (the dog) for only 6 mi. There is something about running with someone that removes the barriers (calls on her mobile phone with Ali!) and you really have a chance to have sort of a stream-of-consciousness discussion. She's headed back to Uni now, but I had a wonderful time with her - and unlike after some whirlwind visits, I felt like we really got a chance to talk to each other!

2009-03-05T19:54:00.005Z

11 weeks to go until the Swift Half. I'm finally back on track with my BuckeyeOutdoors training plan after my holidays... well, except the length of the long run every week. But if I run a 6 mile long run this week, I can increment it up one mile every weekend and I'll stand a good chance to hit my 2:00 target.

I'm staying with the PFA online diet and working in the strength training at least 3 days a week. I learned through my marathon training last year that I'll replace every calorie I burn running if I don't follow a plan. This diet plan is good, cycling through calorie restrictions on different days of the week, so I can plan my longer runs on the days when I can eat more. And I can eat plenty of carbs on those days, but change to higher % protein and fewer calories on the lower mileage days. Its not so much that I want to lose weight, I just want to shift that spare tire into some upper body muscle. And I am a goal oriented sort of person - it just makes me happy when I know I'm on track.

I'm getting to know lots of new people through the Runners Round Table, and I'm really enjoying it, but still find it a bit difficult to not be totally intimidated by some of the more committed, faster, or tri and ultra runners. I try to tell myself that they're just testing their own boundaries, same as me, but whew, I can't imagine where they find the time and commitment!
But it has inspired me to get serious again about my training again... feeble is it seems by comparison.

2009-02-21T13:07:00.012Z

One of those magical harmonic convergences - an unusually warm and fair meterological system coincided with my visit to northern Idaho to visit family and my first time downhill skiing in 10 years - It was amazing! And being with my two sisters and Missi's family was really fun. I'm the oldest, and Linnie, the social one, now writes charity grants to support women with a church in LA, and Missi, the driven one, is now an English and Economics teacher in Sandpoint Idaho.

We grew up in a ski area, Breckenridge, Colorado. My husband and I met and fell in love skiing. It used to be a passion - I was on one ski team or another team through university. And then we had kids and moved away from Colorado, and it got so expensive and the kids went on trips with their friends instead of us...

I just forgot how amazing it feels, the thrill and the laughs.

When we stopped for lunch mid-afternoon, my legs were tired and my feet hurt. (Whoever designs ski boots is a sadistic bastard!) Limping to our table in the sunshine on the lodge deck, we knew we weren't kids anymore, but we'd forgotten it that morning.

2009-02-04T20:13:00.007Z

Snow Day

London came to a standstill yesterday after about 6 in of snow fell - the most in 18 years! When trains were working again today, I made my way into work, running through Hyde, Green and St James parks to work. VERY slippery underfoot where it had been packed down and refrozen, so I ran in the deep stuff... well relatively.

There was more snow on the south side of London, and colleague from work sent me photos of Ashford Station, where he waited for a train that never arrived. Even today, there were very few people in the office!

2009-01-31T01:50:00.011Z

Puerto Vallarta

There was an unsettling Wall-E feeling at the Westin time-share in Puerto Vallarta. I was the only person running on the treadmills - everyone else was walking. And most of the cheerful Americans lay by the pools ordering super-sized bland meals from English-speaking waiters, listening to new-age pan pipe music. Much as there was twisted satisfaction in being slim and fit by comparison - it isn't real... I'm still an over-the-hill chubby back-of-the-packer. And the "Rhythm of the Night" show we saw was such a smaltzy tourist fabrication - we hated it. Outside of the security gate, the people hawking timeshares and tourist tat were obnoxious. This isn't Mexico! So we ran away.

We found an idyllic small town, Yelapa, at the head of a small river, on a grainy beach, about an hour's water taxi ride away from Puerto Vallarta. The Lagunita Hotel was perfect, with individual palapas on the beach, and a nice little restaurant. It just had a genuine Mexican beach resort feel - friendly and relaxed. I wish we could have spent the whole week here instead of in the timeshare!

Billy walked up the river while I had a massage. OK, the sound of the surf was a bit loud for sleeping but the feel of the place was just right, and we loved it.Rising early, we explored the village—a maze of adobe walls and red-tile roofs criss-crossed by cobblestone lanes climbing impossibly steeply. There are no cars or motorcycles in Yelapa - just mules, water taxis and lots of dogs. Everyone greeted us with Buenos Dias, and left us alone on the beach. It was hard to leave to go back to PV!

But it is time to go back to work. OK, one last stop at the Cheeky Monkey for cheap Margaritas!

2009-01-26T17:22:00.016Z

Cuajimoloyas to Lachatao, Mexico

We need to take 3rd-world travel lessons from our kids! How we've been spoiled by the English-speaking taxi drivers and guides. With a only a little slip of directions from the booking office in Oaxaca we struggled to find the 2nd class bus terminal and after finally buying tickets and boarding our bus, we ignorantly sat in the wrong seats, wedged in between bags of garlic and crockery for 2 hours then got off at the wrong stop....ARG! Billy heroically flagged down a lorry loaded with chickens in crates and we clambered on top to ride the last few kilometres to Cuajimoloyas where our mountain guide was to meet us. As we were late, the tourist office for "Pueblos Mancomunados" set us off with a lovely young girl, Daniella (hugging a tree in the photo), to try to catch up with our official guide, Javier. So we raced along the trail at altitude of 3200 metres, far away from the noise and stress of the city. It was fantastic!

We caught Javier and a French woman tourist, Sandra, at their lunch stop. Javier's enthusiasm was infectious as he described medicinal plants and history, but he spoke no English and our Spanish is very basic, so sometimes we just nodded agreement - without understanding what he had said. Sandra's was not much better but her English was much better than our French! The landscape was spectacular with huge agave plants between familiar pine trees, festooned with beautiful bromeliads.

The cabanas were almost-new dormitory-style cabins, with an ensuite toilet. The open fireplace was very welcome as the temperature drops below freezing at night, (yet raises to almost 90 degrees at midday!). We met up with an English couple, Kate and Adam who had been mountain-biking, and watched the sunset before a simple but delicious dinner in a local woman's small comida (dining room off her kitchen). There seems to be a critical lack of change in the mountain villages, but incredible trust. The shopkeeper would not accept payment for beer but was willing to give it to us, along with lending us a bottle opener, with the understanding that we would bring the empty bottles back the next day when they would be able give us change for the 100 pesos. 7 beers, 2 bananas, a bottle of water and nuts cost less than 5 GBP! Billy and I decided to try a single bed for warmth, but regretted it by the middle of the night... but coffee and hot milk from a bowl as the sun rose was glorious.
The walk along the canyon between Latuvi and Lachatao was beautiful and eerie where the moss hanging from the pine trees swayed in the wind, the aptly-named ghost forest. We were glad that we carried 2 ltrs of water as the temperature rose along with the steepness of the trail.
Got to run now.. but want to tell anyone traveling to the Oaxaca area to book a trip with this eco-tourism project. It is a great chance to see the un-spoilt mountain villages and gives them a fighting chance for survival!

2009-01-23T22:54:00.006Z

Oaxaca Mexico

Jet-lagged early rising walks, sampling mole and chocolate. We signed up for a couple of tours to outlying villages in the central valley with a rich crafting heritage. Our guide, Jose Maria Brena Morales was fantastic, managing to avoid the tour buses and providing his Zapotec heritage insight at archaeological sites and Mezcal tastings. The yarn in the photo was all hand spun and the amazing palate the result of all natural dyes in Teotilan. We succumbed to the sales pitch and bought a beautiful rug - now we've got to carry another bag! At the Dona Rosa pottery, we watched a demonstration of an interesting hand-building technique on two saucers that was way over-hyped... perhaps I'm just a cynic, but burnishing pots was not "invented" in 1952, nor is smoke fired raku so revolutionary... But the old guy did put on a well-rehearsed show.

Oaxaca's markets and central square, the Zocalo, are incredibly vibrant and facinating, but we're ready to get away from all the people and traffic, so are heading north tomorrow to the Pueblos Mancommunados, where eight remote villages in the Sierra Norte mountians have an eco-tourism project, Expediciones Sierra Norte, where we'll be walking "between villages and sleeping in dormitory cabanas, along the pre-Hispanic track that follows the Latuvi-Lachatao canyon trail through cloud forests festooned with bromeliads and hanging mosses". Sounds pretty cool!

2008-12-31T13:00:00.008Z

2009 New Year's Resolutions
(back from a FREEZING night sleeping in the campervan in the Peak District)

I can't resist. Not sure why - I rarely keep to them for more than a few weeks. But there is something irresistible about that clean slate to write on - a fresh new year. A chance to do things right.

1. Stop shopping! (go for the shabby-chic retro look).
2. Follow my running training plan on Buckeyeoutdoors to be prepared for the White Peak Swift Half Marathon in May and the Mendip Muddle 20K in October.
3. I found a quote I really like: Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away. Make sure that I'm not too busy to notice them.

2008-12-16T09:06:00.007Z

I sent in my forms for the White Peak "Swift" Half Marathon 0n 16 May 2009, and paid for my kids' entries for Christmas... hmm... isn't that really a gift for me? Oh well.

Join us! The sign-up is limited to the first 200 people and opens on 1 Jan 2009 - it usually fills up by April. Here's the link to the entry form:

Its a great race; soft underfoot on an abandoned railway line with fantastic scenery and a 800 ft downhill cruise for the second half - really fun!

There's a video of Nick and my Swift Half run in 2009 which can be found at this link on Runcast.tv . Petra and Snowshadow Phil also talked about running it this year!

2008-12-07T16:37:00.009Z

Recovered from my bug, I really enjoyed the run on the beach this morning - what a great break from dank, dark and dreary London! A colleague and I extended the business trip a couple of days to see a bit of Ghana. I had my doubts as we said goodbye to our driver and his lovely air conditioned vehicle, and moved pretty down-market in hotels, but it was great to see a bit of the country. It would have been a pity to go home only having seen the beach, a conference room, our western style hotel and the drive between!

Well, it was great except for the 3 hr drive to Cape Coast in a taxi with no AC, in horrible traffic (both ways!!) What a miserable journey, choking down petrol fumes and sweating! I guess one really needs to travel very early or very late to avoid the Accra congestion. Sometime we didn't move for 10 minutes, as people came up to the car trying to sell us everything from drinks to a dictionary (really!) But the music on the radio was reggae or West African highlife music which I'm going to search out at home!

But as we began climbing up into the rainforest at the Kukum National Park, I knew it was all worth it. The canopy walk, a roped bridge 40 m up in the trees was the Ghanian equivalent of an amusement park for masses of school kids, but it was fantastic all the same. We were dripping sweat as we waited our turn on the forest floor, it felt like 100% humidity! But high in the trees there was a breeze and what a view!

Then we visited the British forts at Cape Coast and Elmina - sobering and horrific reminders of the slave trade. I’ll never forget standing in a lightless, airless stone cell that held women in incredibly overcrowded and inhumane conditions for months before they were boarded on ships never to see their loved ones again.

I wandered around the market at Elmina by myself for an hour and chatted with women at the Kente cloth stalls, and explored the noisy fish market. I really wish Billy had been with me to photograph the impossibly ordered chaos!

Home now with lots of souveniers of Ghana, necklaces, paintings, cloth and other suprises that will re-appear on Christmas morning. I do hope I get to go back to Ghana again!

2008-12-06T15:18:00.012Z

Its been an interesting week in Ghana, meeting with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and our counterparts at the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. We’ve been treated like visiting dignitaries, chauffeured around by a driver in a lovely Air Conditioned car and addressed with undeserved respect. The Ghanaians are incredibly warm and friendly people; they laugh alot.

We’ve spent all of the time in one conference room, reviewing documents, except for two hours a day driving from the hotel to the office and back. The stretch along which we are we are driven, from the capital, Accra to Tema, the container shipping port, is far off the tourist track and the inhabitants seem to live a pretty hard life. The women walk along the road balancing their wares on top of their heads (bags of water or fried plantains) and the shops are open shacks and most wares are set out in front on sides of road.

I most wanted to buy one of these coffins! To set out on that last journey in a giant duck or a model cruise ship would certainly lighten the mood at a funeral. I shudder to think how much it would cost to ship one to England!

I managed an beautiful early run on the beach a couple of mornings, but then caught a nasty food bug, and I didn’t want to stray too far from a toilet for a couple of days... But I’m feeling better now and we’ve a tourist day tomorrow visiting Cape Coast and the Kukum rainforest. It will be great to see a different stretch of road and some green space before heading home.

I saw this scary ad for a herbal AIDS treatment.... I hope they don't have many customers.

2008-11-22T20:29:00.008Z

Santa Belly Challenge to lose 10 lbs between 20 Nov and Christmas

With swimsuit time threatening on the horizon (a trip to Mexico in January) it is time to make another dedicated effort to slim down. Join my online challenge at Buckeyeoutdoors!

I'm a bit ashamed to admit to admit that I'm back to low-carb, as Atkins is anathema to the running community. But I know it works. It's really the only way I've been successful in losing a significant amount of weight. And I'm not doing any serious running training, just the commute run 3-4 miles across London, and weekend dog runs and I seem to have enough energy for those. I'm not doing any speed work, hill climbs or long runs until after Christmas.

So far its gone well and I managed to get through the first week without the headaches I sometime get when my body goes into ketosis. I did read that people that travelled with the Alaskan Inuit and ate their blubber-based diet, found that it took a couple of weeks for their bodies to adapt to burning fat instead of glucose. But then they claim that their endurance came back- and they were dragging heavy sledges across the ice with ease. Hmm, I just have to drag myself to work in the morning or keep up with the dog.

2008-11-13T20:05:00.006Z

Weekend in Paris 6-11 Nov 2008

My boss asked me if I'd go to a meeting for her... well if I have to...in Paris. Yeah! So I added another meeting with my French Govt counterpart on Monday and voila, a weekend in Paris! Billy joined me on the Eurostar, through the Channel Tunnel.

So far so good, but I brought nice clothes and decided I wanted to feel like a Parisian, instead of a gawking tourist, as I have on previous trips.... big mistake! My trendy street shoes were incredibly painful as Billy and I walked ALL over Paris.

Whatever was I thinking??? No one I knew saw me! Why didn't I just wear comfy running shoes!! After abandoning Billy during two days of meetings, I knew we'd want to explore together on the weekend, so I decided to skip running kit.

So my favorite places were the ones where we stopped walking!! Little out of the way restaurants, the Picasso Museum and an eclectic exhibit, "Academia" at l'Ecole des beaux-arts.

Paris is so cool and Parisians know it. Definite advantage in collaborating with the Germans in WWI, they didn't bomb it like the Blitz in London and Napoleon III's architect, Baron Haussmann, demolished most of Paris' medieval narrow streets, replacing them with grand monuments and parks with 12 avenues leading out from the Arc de Triomphe.

We walked from sunrise to sunset - far more than my 30 min requirement on Kelownagirl challenge.

But I was barely shuffling by the time we got back to the Eurostar and I had to take most of the week off running as my feet still ache!

2008-11-05T12:18:00.005Z

The Yorkshire Dales 19-25th October 2008

The Dales Way is an 84 mile long-distance footpath which follows the lovely Wharfedale valley through the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park all the way to the Lake District. With only a week we knew it would be a challenge - of logistics at least, with a campervan to move along with us, as well as the dog. Fortunately the forcast was rain and everyone else stayed home -we saw very few people, some days no-one!

We wanted to find hideaway spots (hidden away outside of commercial campsites) but the first commercial campsite we happened to look at was so deserted, we felt like it was ours alone and there is no delying that a warm toilet, shower and dish washup area are a plus.

The outcrop is predominantly Carboniferous Limestone and the "Yoredale Series" of layered limestones interspersed with shales and sandstones, capped on the higher fells by Millstone Grit. The first day we walked along a stream valley,Troller's Ghyll near Appletreewick, and sometimes the flow totally disappeared into caverns and then later the dry valley would suddenly have a river emerging from a spring.

The second day we raced down the dirt lane and just manage to catch the local bus to the ruins of Bouton Priory (that training paid off!) and walked back to Appletreewick. Then the next day we bussed up to Grassington and walked back. The autumn colours were beautiful and both days the rain held off almost until we made it back - just in time to head for the pub!

When the limestone was at the surface, we walked across an other-worldly "limestone pavement". Nelly didn't like jumping between the blocks!

Finding a place to camp in Barden was harder, and we finally negociated a spot snuggled up against a stone barn with some privacy out of the weather.

Then we headed up into the deserted upper Wharfdale valley where Billy chatted with this stonewall-mending air-guitar player. The rain settled in, so we drove the loop to the north of the national park, stopping off at the Wensleydale Cheese factory where we saw the most walkers in the whole trip!

National Parks are different in the UK than the US. People live in the parks and own the land here. Wilderness is hard to find, but the picturesque stone-cottage villages are really inhabited with craft workshops, antique and other speciality shops, hotels, pubs, restaurants and cafés. Some tourist tat, but not alot.

The best day out was the last when we made a 12 mile loop up Flintergill and around the village of Dent. I liked the history of Dent which was at one time a veritable power-house of hand-knitting, the profits from which provided an often essential addition to their meagre farming income. The "terrible knitters of Dent" would knit during church (shock!) and until the early 19th century the men, women and children would knit by holding one of the needles protruding from a belt, and with the other in the right hand, the left hand was free to do another job, such as churning the butter or wrapping the cheeses.. Cool, I'll have to try it for knitting and walking!

2008-10-12T15:24:00.007Z

World Wide Half 2008

Our plans to run the Mendip Muddle fell apart today when Nick brought the car home sounding like a tractor. It apparently needs a new muffler/silencer, so we decided to RUN LOCAL! We printed out our WWH race bibs and set off with Nelly (the dog).

This is the second year we've pulled out of the Mendip Muddle at the last minute. NEXT YEAR we're REALLY going to do it!

We chose a route along the Grand Union Canal from Chorleywood. Using my Garmin we ran north for 6.6 mi and then retraced our steps along the tow path. It was a foggy morning and very quiet as we padded past the longboats moored along the canal.

It is impossible to resist peaking into the longboats - some are elegant and others are pretty rough. Many in this stretch are on long-term moorings and it feels a bit voyeuristic running a few feet away from someone's private home!

As the miles and heat increased, Nick began suffering the effects of little running training and a late night partying the night before. Ah, the recklessness of youth! He thought that running a little half with Mom would be easy! I resisted smug rightousness (early to bed last night, and being better trained for running despite being 52!) when he dropped out with a pulled groin muscle about mile 10. To his credit, he is incredibly supportive to agree to run with me as he's far more interested in rock climbing and bike riding!

They say that pride comes before a fall... well I was humbled by a tumble on a tree root which resulted in a skinned knee and a tweeked ankle. But I limped on, ignoring the funny looks at the blood dripping down my leg. If I take out the time I spent rolling around in the ditch and brushing myself off, I figure I finished in 2:14. Not a PR, but at least I finished the WWH this year!

Then I shuffled back up the canal path very slowly to meet Nick and buy us ice cream. (Which tasted the best ever!)

2008-10-02T20:17:00.004Z

There's a sucker born every minute... (and I'm a sucker for any fitness kit)

My friend Liz suggested I check out these shoes, and I think they will really help me (and are just, so ooh cool new shoes!!) They are designed to simulate barefoot walking on uneven ground, like the Masai tribesmen of East Africa, the idea being that this will activate muscles that atrophy when we walk on hard, even surfaces wearing conventional shoes. Hence the name BMT (Barefoot Massai Techology).

Struggling as I do with tight calf muscles which result in plantar fasciitis, anything that lengthens those muscles and tendons has got to help - and the second benefit is better posture. I've found that if I slouch, I tip over forward!

I went shopping with my sister, fully intending to buy a pair of street shoes and, well, the trainers were on sale... and she encouraged me... so I bought two pairs!! (in photos) I did manage to resist the private lessons to learn to run in the trainers...

Well, the street shoes are not obviously strange looking, and once I got over falling forward all the time, I like them. They sort of feel like the Earth shoes I wore back in the 70's, with the heel lower than the foot. However, running in the trainers is pretty odd, but for my cross-London 3 mi commute run, really OK. I don't think I'd recommend them for fast or long runs, because they are heavy and you really can't lean forward in them to push off. But, hey I'm having fun.

2008-09-15T12:39:00.006Z

Oh, the shame of it! I'm going to have to resign from the Bad Girls of Running. I disgraced the sisterhood.

I really aspired to be "Bad", one tough Mama that people would think twice about messing with - Hey, my sister's got her black belt and drives a Harley!! I had a role model! (that's Linnie in the photo) I run with a big German Shepherd!

I set off this morning to run a usual 6 mi route, one I've run dozens of times before. It crosses through a London Underground Station, and the station staff just wave me through and open the gate. My station is one stop short of the farthest away from London you can ride on the underground, and its a quiet commuter stop, usually deserted mid-day.

Today when I waved at the guy in the ticket booth, this big mean bouncer-type-guy (with a Station Manager name tag), came out the back and told me I could not come though the station without a ticket! I made feeble objections along the line of "but I always do" and "but this is a public footpath", which did not convince him. Looping around the station means running under a narrow busy underpass and perhaps an additional 0.25 mile... but my sense of injustice was in the withdrawal of my entitlement!

That's when things went horribly wrong. I just said "Oh, all right", moaned... and went around. Why didn't I have the presence of mind to:
1) take his picture and send it with a brilliantly critical letter to the local paper
2) teach Nelly to knock down bad guys so I could race by him
3) at least have some clever, cutting and very Bad come-back to his parting snicker of "you're doing this to get more exercise, aren't you?"

I failed, miserably. Maybe I just needed the right T-shirt... Can I have another chance to be Bad?

2008-09-06T15:59:00.004Z

Nelly and me at the dog training club demonstration at the village fair. It poured during our practice session Friday night, so a break in the rain on Saturday was welcome. But the common was a muddy mess!

Ali's down on the Isle of Wight for a music festival, Bestival - what a nightmare that must be with all this rain!

2008-09-01T09:34:00.004Z

(This is a very short, 4 second video. Click on the black box, and then the right triangle to play)

Does this look like a good day to run a 10k? I was really lucky that I ran my Nike+ Human Race at 7am, because by noon, the lane in front of my house looked like this! The people that ran the "official race" from Wembly later in the day must have been soaked!

But I could use the mileage for the Bad Girls in the Bad Girls of Running vs Bad Bad Boys of Running Challenge on Runnerplus

2008-08-28T10:32:00.003Z

I got to meet a podcasting star!

Nigel, the host of the Running from the Reaper podcast, was taking a class near Heathrow and agreed to come and meet me for a run from home. What should have been a 20 min drive here was over an hour with an accident on the M25! I'm sure he was tempted to turn around and go back to his hotel. But he finally made it and we took a few snaps of the historic event (for me!) and we were off on a 7 mile run in the Chiltern hills.

It took me a minute to re-sync my recognition - merging the complete stranger at my door with the very familiar voice I know from his podcast. I can't quite define difference between the Nigel I expected versus the reality, but perhaps he laughed more than the meditative thinker I expected. It didn't take long for me to feel very comfortable with the genuine article!

In fading light we padded along soft trails, chatting about our training, web of friends online, Nigel's recovery from surgery, Staffordshire vs Buckinghamshire - the time flew. Over dinner my husband Billy enjoyed talking to a kindred soul, sharing conspiracy theories, and sock preferences as they are both pretty picky about what they put on their feet!

2008-08-27T07:55:00.003Z

Missi and Zach are in London! We've done the tourist thing, and we meet Nick tonight to do the cool Camden Finsbury Park Islington tour. Missi and I recorded this greeting for our sibs, Linnie and Miller.

2008-08-22T07:37:00.005Z

It was spitting rain when I rode my bike to the station and took the train to London. Getting out at Marylebone it started to rain and I considered taking the underground to work instead of running, but I'd been listening to QN "Sage goes to the Dentist" on the train ( a great episode) and I was in a mood for rain. Maybe it was the coffee, or the podcast or just the quiet London streets, but I felt unreasonably happy. They were setting up the tents in Hyde Park for the Olympic handoff to the London 2012 games and I somehow felt a part of it running past. The only place I had to wait for a light was at Wellington Arch behind Buckingham Palace, and as the rain poured down two other runners joined me, waiting for the light to change. They also had their earbuds in. We stomped around together for a minute and then shared an incredibly warm grin. Crazy people, out running in the rain at 7am - but loving it! (photo from my office on Victoria Street looking at New Scotland Yard)

2008-08-17T10:06:00.005Z

RRT and Sunday run August 17 2008

The Runner's round table last night was fun and I think with Dr Monte's addition, it had real substance instead of just chatter. I listened to the whole thing on my long run this morning and although my additions made me cringe, it was interesting all in all. It was a brilliant morning for a run. Nelly and I kept to the trees to stay cool, and the 6 miles was almost over too soon.

2008-08-16T15:13:00.007Z

Oslo Conference 10-14 August 2008

IGC Conference was huge! And covered a vast breath of geologic topics. I thought my talk went well, but looking a the photo, I should have stood on a box! There were only about 30 people that came to my session, but at least I got a question I could answer. I usually just get to oil and gas industry conferences. This one was more academic but fascinating.

Geoheritage & society

Geoscience information

Geothermal energy

Glaciology & glacial geology

History of geosciences

Marine geoscience & paleoceanography

Metamorphic petrology

Mineral deposits

Prices were unbelievable. Here's a relatively cheap restaurant menu - burrito for 139 Kroners or 13 pounds or 25 dollars! And a small beer was 60 Kronors (6 pounds, 11 dollars!) Strange fish mixtures were offered for breakfast, but I chickened out and went for yogurt and muesli.

I did manage to get a couple of good runs in and Billy had the good sense to send me out with the garmin satnav we use in the campervan. The Nuvi worked great to help me navigate back to the hotel, and its not much bigger than a mobile phone. I'm sure I would have been lost without it. We explored Oslo the last day and saw the maritime museum and the sturdy Fram ship that Admundsen used for his dog sled trip to the North Pole.

2008-08-06T18:04:00.002Z

9 Weeks till the Mendip Muddle 6 August 2008

Thanks to Nigel, Nick's trendy fixed gear city bike has a WWH sticker. But he's not had any luck in challenges to his buff climber friends to join us. Once he says he's running with his mother.... oh well.

I've built up my base and only occasionally feel the plantar fasciitis tweek, so now it is time to start on the weekly long runs again.

This weekend Billy and I are off to Olso, where I'm giving a paper at the 33rd International Geological Congress. I've never been to Norway, so it will be an adventure.
I've looked at mapmyrun for some ideas of where to fit in a 5-6 mile run before the conference start. I'll get a better idea of the terrain in GoogleEarth but I've not yet had the time to check it.
Worrying more about what to wear... typical. I should be worrying about my talk!

2008-07-29T20:48:00.003Z

A new plan for training! 29 July 2008

I've been struggling recently to get lunchtime runs in between meetings. And it has been hot in London the last few weeks. So starting tomorrow, I'm going to dress in my running kit and take my usual train ride at 6:30 am, half an hour to London Marylebone... but this is the new part... I'm going to run to work instead of taking the three tube rides I take normally. I bet I can get there in about the same time! OK, I'll have to add a bit of time to shower and change into work clothes, but it just might solve my run/work.life balance problem.
My "body sculpting for women" is not producing the outstanding results promised by the book of that name, either. Probably the same root cause, I'm just not getting the workouts done. I've noticed a woman the last two nights going home on the train who is not young, but looks fit and one can't help but notice that she has arm muscles. Not the super-obvious, Madonna-like "I workout in the gym 4 hrs a day" kind, but just nice "I take care of my body" ones. So, I'm inspired to keep working at lifting, too.

2008-07-20T17:03:00.007Z

19-20 July Weekend walking around Withering and Thorney Island

Work has been crazy busy! I have 70 meetings scheduled in June and July (ARG!), so getting the lunchtime run in has been impossible and I just don't have the self discipline to do it after I get off the train .

But I finally got a Friday of and after a late start, we drove to the south coast and stopped at Arundel Castle to stretch our legs. Too expensive to go in...but we bought a great chocolate mint ice cream to share. Strolling about with no time constraints was glorious!

It seems that our National Trust membership does not seem to be of much use in southeast England.

We walked 13 miles around the coast and woods near Withern and then stayed in a noisy campground. The next day we walked almost 10 mi around Thorney Island after giving our names at the military barracks. Windy but mostly sunny and we were tired but happy to get outside.

Back to the grind on Monday

2008-06-18T20:17:00.008Z

20 weeks before the WWH Mendip Muddle

Photos from Cornwall and a week long trip Billy and I took walking the coastal path in May. It was great and I got a couple of days in a throwing class from a master, Joanna Howell. Joanna is a great teacher and I finally have learned how to properly wedge and knead clay - and the secret to throwing with porcelain - use thick slip not water!!!

But now it is 20 weeks to the Phedippidations Half Marathon - so enough of the life of leisure, its time to get back to training. I've enjoyed this week putting my training plan back on buckeyeoutdoors and planning how to be stronger this year, so that I won't be injured in hill training, like I was last year.

I bought Liz's suggestion for the "Body Sculpting Bible" (and have been the victim of vicious teasing at home). Neera helping me to work out a lifting routine to do at work... I'm going to approach training differently this year. One day running alternated with one day lifting.

And the diet in the book looks reasonable too. I can have oatmeal and protein powder for breakfast, a big salad with tuna and lentils for lunch, and lean meats/fish and veg for dinner.
After 10 weeks on Nigel's 10 in 10 Challenge, I only lost two pounds... but the timing just wasn't right with holidays, travelling and the a really busy spell at work. Now that my goal race is in view, I really think that staying focused (and skipping the ice cream and sweets) will just make that spare tyre melt away. Well, that's the plan anyway.

2008-04-14T14:11:00.011Z

2008 Flora London Marathon

04:51:27 was not quite the 4:45 I had targeted, still under 5 hrs, and I honestly feel like I gave it my all. Mary and Graham gave me the benefit of their experience at the Expo, but didn't tell me how hard it would be!

The marathon started out great above Greenwich, sunny and happy with kids lining the streets wanting us to touch their hands, bands playing - it felt like a Carnival. I wished I had made an effort with a costume, but not the heavy dog one guide dogs offered! I ran too fast and did not take walk breaks in this first section, it just felt so easy and fun. I realised I was way ahead of schedule and needed to make a bathroom stop - but the queue was horrible, so I lost any advantage. Then again, I really did not have much choice - it must have been the excitement and Lucozade I drank before the start, but fortunately that was my last bio break.

And I learned another marathon fact - the ambulance people who are holding out their hands, are not looking to shake yours - they have Vaseline on their hands! (for chaffing I guess). I inadvertently got a handful I had to try to get rid of - Yeach! And the first Lucozade stop was an unexpected experience - my shoes stuck to the ground!

Then the rain hit about mile 10 and the people lining the streets looked a bit grim, just trying to pick out their loved ones. I really felt sorry for the runners who didn't have a jacket! I saw one guy in a g-string with a chain around his neck that looked miserable! Fortunately, I had tied a light jumper around my waist - but I almost didn't (for fashion reasons!) because it was so nice at the start. I started walking through some of the water stops about this time, but I was surprised how few people were taking walk breaks. My frugal nature did not help me either - I really struggled to throw the bottle of water away after a few sips. So I carried one bottle through 3 water stops until I decided that was just a stupid waste of energy. But such a waste of all those plastic bottles!

I tried to text Billy to check where he was while I was running and I dropped the phone - ARG! People were remarkably nice as I took a dive for the phone in their path! After the sun came back out , I spotted my husband and daughter, which perked me up and they were able to open up the packets of shot blocks I carried that I couldn't open because my hands were too cold, and help me mix up Hammer "Sustained Energy" to avoid Lucozade. Shortly afterwards I had to give up on using my Garmin for pacing as the GPS signal was lost in the tall buildings of Canary Wharf, so I just ran on and on, not knowing how fast. Strange limbo feeling - I checked my pace on my Nike+ a couple of times, and it was about 11:00 or so, but I always struggle with calibration so I don't really trust it.

Then somewhere out in the endless Isle of Dogs the rain and hail came back. Putting on that wet jumper was not pleasant, but I wasn't as frozen as most of the runners in just little vests and shorts. The headwind wind and hail were brutal!

High points were the cheers across Tower Bridge which were deafening and coming up from the underpass under the Embankment was great, with the London Eye and Big Ben in view. I never felt like I "hit the wall", but those 2 last miles seemed to take forever. I really did not want to run anymore, but knew that the only way to stop was to finish, so I just put my head down and pushed ahead, but it was tough going, weaving through all the runners who were now walking.

I was so relieved to finish, but no one warned me how painful it is when you stop running!! I was so glad to see Billy when I got out of the secure area and he'd found a friend who offered us a ride home in their car. Bliss. I felt so sad for people who finished without anyone to greet them who had to struggle home on trains. I didn't have dry socks or a dry shirt in my bag (idiot!) but my down parka felt great.

It was great to be part of such a big event and the fanfare even if running a marathon was a lot harder than I had anticipated. I'll stick to nice fun half marathons in the future, and buy stock in ibuprofen. Never again, but I guess I said that about childbirth too.

I looked at my Garmin split times and they are junk, because of the poor reception, but the 5k splits from the chip times show the following pace 09:56, 12:16, 10:47, 10:35, 11:25, 11:22, 11:25 and 11:05. First too fast, then too slow with bio break, then slowing in the hail and rain and finally settling in to an 11 min pace for the end.

What an experience!

2008-04-06T15:32:00.010Z

One week to go. (aarg!!)

Back in London after a glorious beach week in Marathon(!!?) Florida with the in-laws. A pretty lazy holiday - beach, pool, fishing, eating out, reading and messing about with laptops, with day trips to Key West and the Turtle Hospital. I can't imagine how people run during the day in Florida - it is so hot and humid... even fishing and diving seem strenuous. We did all our running before 8am!

It is hard to re-focus on the big day. I feel like a slacker cutting back on mileage as I taper.

I'm having some pain in my Achilles after runs so I've been icing and I taped down the heel tabs on my shoes. I hope it does not become a serious problem on race day.

But all in all, I feel like I'm ready! I've had great emails from Tory, Mary and John Ellis regarding race strategy and my plan now is to run my own race, ignoring the pacing groups and run a 10:40 pace on my Garmin. I'm going to try to skip the walk breaks which I've used in my long training runs, but may resort to using them if it gets really tough. I understand it snowed last weekend in London while we were away... I hope next weekend is not too cold, but that's better than too hot, I guess!

2008-03-29T15:47:00.004Z

2 weeks to go till the marathon, 2 days before we leave for Florida.

I got in my last 11 miles along the canal, wondering if I'll ever do this again... never say never?
The dreary rain rolled in just as I got home, so my timing was good.

Starting to pack for Florida... shorts? swimsuit? sunscreen??? huh. Where is all that stuff?

The place Billy parents booked looks like heaven, "Tranquility Bay" near Marathon (!!) FL at the end of the Florida Keys. And we're stopping on the way south from Miami to buy me an early birthday present... a cool new Apple Air laptop. I'm so excited!

I need to make sure I don't gain 5 pounds next week, but othewise, I'm going to enjoy every minute.

2008-03-20T17:04:00.008Z

Three Weeks to go
With an Easter storm promised I ran my 19.45 mile last long run on Thursday. But honestly, I feel like I could have kept on going... until I sat in the car and my legs started cramping up. Probably not a very safe drive home! 3 hr 40 min 11:17 ave pace, which included a stop at the Rickmansworth Sailing Club toilets. So now I'm in taper mode! Nelly kept me company and we managed to do most of the run before the rain hit, but Nelly was still a mess from puddles along the canal.

Ali and I ran a 10K race in the sleet and snow today (Saturday). It was ridiculous, really, we should have stayed home, but we feel pretty smug now that its over. Ali didn't wear the gloves or hat I gave her, so she really froze! Ali finished in 58:44 and I followed at 59:20. The winning woman, Liz Hartney ran in 37:38

Hmm.. a bit faster!

Nike + was useless!! I had the sensor in my trail shoes linked with the sensor, and only remembered to link it with my other shoes once we were waiting for the start. The receiver couldn't link to my shoes because there were too many other nike+ sensors about!!! So 6 miles I can't count in Nike+ challenges

Easter Sunday is a well deserved rest day! Bring on the chocolate!

2008-03-12T21:59:00.007Z

One month to go...

I visited the Guide Dog training centre in Leaminton Spa last Friday and heard lots of heartwarming success stories about dogs that had changed people's lives. What a great cause.

The training is going much better than I had feared a month ago. I managed 17 miles last weekend, my longest ever (run a mile, walk a minute from Kings Langley to Denham and back to Maple Cross on the Grand Union Canal). Ali, my 21-yr old daughter, ran with me for the first 8 miles and then swapped out with Nick, my 23-yr old son, for the second 9. I really felt honoured that they wanted to support me. I limped around with new aches and pains early this week and only got back over a 5 mile run on Friday! But if I run 5 again today I'll be back to 35 miles for the week.

So this Sunday is only 10-12 miles before I press ahead for my max 20 mile run next weekend (three weeks before the FLM)..... Arg only a month to go! I've got new podcast episodes hoarded for the run tomorrow, so I'll brave it by myself.

My new Nike Pegasus feel great but I'm trying to wean myself from using them now so that the newness is not gone for the marathon. I've put in just over 100 miles on them now with no sign of blisters.

I started looking at the London Marathon course yesterday and thought I might try some long runs along the course - but it follows busy streets. There's no way I'll suck in all that exhaust and noise! I'll just have to keep running London parks, the Grand Union Canal and trails near home and wait for the Sunday they close the roads for the Marathon and be surprised.

The marathon seems to have taken over my life but maybe that's the same for everyone the first time.

2008-03-02T17:06:00.003Z

Mothers Day Run - 6 weeks to go

OK I admit, I did have to offer to pay him £50, and he's a super-broke postgrad student, but think that Nick did enjoy our 16 mile run today. (UK Mother's day is not the same as USA). He did mention that most his friends just had to endure a long Sunday lunch....

Beautiful day running along the canal. Nick was not keen on the run/walk method and found it hard to get into the rhythm after walking a minute each mile. But he offered to run another training run if we could run it. I'll give it a try!

I brought him some AirAide back from the states on Marci's suggestion, as he suffers from allergies/asthma, and he thinks it helped, so THANKS Marci! With the FFT tape on my foot, the plantar fasciitis is not a really problem anymore, which is a huge relief!

A good start to the week, and I hope to get in a few more 6-8 mile long runs this week before moving up to an 18 mile target for next weekend's long run.

2008-02-28T19:50:00.008Z

Trip to Seattle 18-25th February 2008

The view of the Cascades was spectacular once the morning fog cleared over Bellevue, Washington where my Mom lives. Suffering from jet lag meant I had no trouble fitting in early morning runs before meeting up with family for breakfast, but I really struggled to find places that were relatively flat. The best I found was a loop around Mercer Slough, which was beautiful as the sun just came up. I managed to run 37 miles the week I was there - back on track for the London Marathon! The FFT taping of my arch is really working great. I'm running pain-free and with a bit of icing after runs, I'm keeping the plantar fasciitis at bay.

The first day Mom and I drove down to Camas WA (near Portland, Oregon) so I could finally meet my brother's partner, Stormi. What a genuine, friendly and cool woman. My brother is very lucky to have found her! They have made a warm and happy home with their 5 kids from previous marriages. My sister Linnie and her son were already there, after flying in from LA, and I watched in amazement as the kids demonstrated their prowess at the "Rock Band" video game... amazing. And we watched the video clips from Linnie's Black Belt exam which she passed this year at age 50... truly awesome!

Back to Bellevue where my other sister, Missi, arrived from Idaho - a long 8 hr drive away. We began our marathon shopping expeditions - mostly for shoes, but I got in a visit to REI too. Shoe shopping is serious sister bonding, so we laughed at the stilettos that Linnie only narrowly escaped buying as we made our way through about 10 shoe stores. I escaped with only new Nike Pegasus trainers and loafers, but they were not so lucky....

My brother and Stormi brought Blake back at the end of the week and we had a celebration dinner for my Mom's birthday, then everyone but me headed home. Missi called back from home to say that I'd left my passport in the computer bag I'd given her ! ARG! and FedEx was not open on Sunday!!! So heroically, Missi offered to meet us half way. Mom and I had a lovely drive up through the Cascade mountains and finally got a chance to talk, but poor Missi had to spend a second 8 hr day driving with only her cute little dog for company! Missi, I'm forever in your debt!

I still managed to meet up with Tory (or msteechur on the Pdip board) and we ran 14 lovely flat miles along the Sammamish River park. Tory programmed a run .5mi/ walk .1mi alarm into her garmin which was my first experience with the Galloway run/walk method and it was great! (OK, I admit I do walk sometimes, but just when I'm exhausted.) I really did not feel all that tired after 14 miles - nothing like running a half marathon! I'm going to try a run/walk again! It was great to chat with Tory and ask her questions about the 9 marathons she's run. Many thanks to her noble husband Roy, who did all the driving and ran their dogs while we did our loop.

It was a great week to share with family and I wish I didn't live so far away!

2008-02-17T18:56:00.010Z

Back on the roads with only 8 weeks to go! Its been a tough week, the most depressing in my training. The sore heel after the Watford half just did not improve and I had to turn back on two runs after a few miles because of the pain. I worried a lot and really felt like a failure. But then Sue Stoker (thank you!) mentioned a technique she had heard about in her physio training - FFT. It was difficult to find someone who knew the techniques in the London area, but finally I found a brilliant physio, Robert Hawkins, in Enfield who could fit me in on Thursday.

Later that day, I ran 4 miles almost pain free, then 6 on Friday, 4 again of Saturday and Billy dropped me off 8 miles from home today, bringing my weekly total up to 30 miles. The taping I can do myself now and although my foot is less flexible, it feels almost like someone is holding my instep. Now I've got the confidence to step soundly as the pain is gone. I was doing this horrible shuffle gait trying to avoid the pain, even just walking up to the train.

Functional Fascial Taping - http://www.fft.net.au/ was developed by an Austrialian physio working with ballet dancers, and he developed this technique for taping to support the foot so that dancers with plantar fasciitis could continue training - and it really works! I'm not even taking ibuprofen anymore.

Tomorrow I fly to Seattle Washington to visit my Mom for a week. Both my sisters are also arriving and we're visiting my brother and his new partner, so I will feel a bit guilty asking them to plan their day's around my running schedule, but hopefully I can take advantage of the jet lag the first few days and get some long runs in before anyone wakes up. I hope to meet up with Tory (msteeshur from the PDIP board) next Sunday for a run before I fly home.

I was so sad today to hear that Petra has had to pull out of the FLM due to an injury - my heart goes out to her! But this would be her 6th, so she knows that she'll run a marathon again, once she gets the problem sorted.

2008-02-11T08:27:00.000Z

9 Weeks to go...

Still struggling with plantar fasciitis pain after the hills of Watford.

But I managed to find a VERY flat section along the Grand Union Canal near Rickmansworth which is a big improvement on the Chiltern Hills where I usually run. So Sunday's 6 miles felt pretty good. This week my plan is MODERATE AND CONSISTENT - 5 or 6 miles every day avoiding hills. I'll get my 35 miles in this week without a long run.

Looking at new shoes and may upset my brother-in-law and get some Nike shoes when I'm in the states next week. Described as "State of the art cushioning, the Nike Air Zoom Vomero+2 Running Shoe features a breathable mesh upper with an external, anatomically shaped heel counter and dynamic-fit technology to help with bunion problems. A women's specific radiused crash pad provides premium support and cushioning, while a women's fitsole sockliner delivers a supreme fit. A Nike+ sensor pocket located in the arch area holds the sensor for your Apple iPod™ nano tightly". At the 2$/1£ exchange rate, they're not totally outrageously priced......temping

2008-02-03T19:20:00.000Z

10 weeks to go and the Watford Half Marathon

OK it was early and cold and Nick got in late the night before, but here we are before setting off for the Watford Half Marathon. Nick felt better once we lined up at the back of the pack and started running. We laughted and ran together for the first half, before he sped off to beat me by 9 minutes overall. His split times must have been impressive! Mine improved too as I tried to try to catch up, but my chip time was 2:09.

The course was much more hilly than I anticipated and I'm ashamed to admit that I did walk three times when the grade was daunting (the three drops in BPM). I also have to admit that I was very happy to see the finish line! I know I've got 10 more weeks and lots of long runs before the FLM, but I just can't get my head around running TWICE as far as today!

My HR was pretty high throughout, and over what I calculate as 85% after 6 miles, then I worked even harder for the last 2 miles (above 90%). I could not have run any faster or farther but did not feel woozy when I crossed the finish... just totally exhausted!

I need to do more long runs now at a very slow pace now so that I can run longer than 13 miles. But I'm happy with the result of this race and feel like my TEAM ELLIS plan is working just fine.

Some trouble with blisters... ugly big ones (look away now if you're squeemish!) I hope with ice and elevation tonight, the swelling will go down. I did run in shoes that I don't usually use, thinking that my goretex trail shoes would be too stiff and hot, and my road shoes were at work. I don't think I'll do that again.

Tomorrow is my first yoga class. I fear that the teacher will not be impressed with her new student, limping in - old and stiff. Oh well.

2008-01-28T08:36:00.000Z

11 weeks 'till the London Marathon!

Here's Nelly and me after Sunday's 9 mi run (note the snowdrops just to the right of Nelly!) It was a beautiful weekend, and without the rain, the birds are chirping and it feels like Spring!

I made it above 30 miles last week and although 26 miles still seems impossible, feel like I'm ready for the Watford Half Marathon that Nick and I are running next Sunday.

I lost my Blackberry while running on Sunday - what a bummer! It would be one thing if it was mine, but its from work! I went back with a flashlight to try to find it on the trail, calling occasionally in open spaces when I could not remember exactly where I ran. It rang the first few times, and then I got the message that this mobile phone has been switched off. So someone found it... now the question is whether it is someone who will call the reward number on the back or sell it on ebay. I guess I'm just carrying to much stuff - Nano, Garmin, dog poop bags, buscuits, lead, and now the Iriver too. I wish had had not just put it on the belt, but zipped it into a pocket! And I MISS IT!!! (very sad)

2008-01-19T14:22:00.000Z

12 weeks and counting... my third trimester of sorts

I worried that my goretex Solomon shoes were a mistake - too hot and not cushioning enough, but I can't imagine running on trails this month without them! Here the toe is washed off in the puddles (more like ponds) in the road near home, but the confidence that my feet stay dry when running in deep scloochy mud is great!

Nelly's off running this week as she had to have surgery for a sebaceous cyst, so the cleanup is alot easier - you can't just toss the muddy dog in the washing machine! I've almost run 30 miles this week, but my longest is just 8 miles so the Watford Half Marathon in two weeks will be a bit of a stretch, but I think I'll be OK.

I'm still waiting for my iRiver to be delivered from Ebay. I've contacted a blind couple through a friend at work that have agreed to let me interview them about their experiences with Guide Dogs, but I need the recorder!

I've got to learn to not over-dress! The pile sweater and rain jacket that feel cosy when I step out the door are really a hassle tied around my waist for the rest of a long run. It is warming up. I need to get an exterior thermometer to check so I take the right gear. I'll have three days working from home this week, so I've got no excuses to not get my mileage up over 30 next week.

2008-01-13T17:12:00.001Z

Cold and wet 13 weeks to go...

I'm been good about sticking to the John Ellis-advised moderate and consistant plan, running an hour or so every day, but very slowly. But the trails around home are incredibly muddy! Nelly is such a mess after our rund. I feel mean hosing her off with the cold garden hose, but her legs and belly are covered in mud!

I ran one day inside on the treadmill at work last week, but that was just too boring to bear. I'm really looking forward to more sunlight! (photo shows a bad post run hair day!)

I bought an iRiver on ebay so I hope to have an audio contribution for the brilliant Extra Mile Podcast very soon... well as soon as it arrives!

2008-01-07T18:27:00.000Z

14 weeks to go.

I've been following John Ellis' advise - running 5 days a week for an hour or an hour and a half, keeping to an easy pace and avoiding hills to avoid inflaming my plantar fascia... so far so good. However, finding flat trails has been hard - there seems to be a road anywhere through valleys. Nelly is good on roads, but we both enjoy trails through woods and fields where its softer underfoot and crazy drivers are not a problem.

But this weekend I had to test it, so after my morning run, we we took to the hills of Surrey... yes, that leafy green, mostly very EXPENSIVE suburb of London. We found two great walks up Leith Hill and Box hill (the next day), both about 7 miles long and at least for brisk walking, I was fine. I was amazed that they felt remote - you really would not know that they were so close to London except for the jet noise from Gatwick (solved that with ipod!).The only problem we enountered was mud, particularly when the footpath merged with bridlepaths. We found a remote National Trust Car park that cleared out by 5pm, so we had a very quiet night in the campervan listening to the wind and rain in the trees. It felt pretty strange to be sleeping in the campervan less than an hour from home!

I've been very thankful of the help I've received on the fundraising front and am collecting childhood photos of all my colleages at work and plan to have some sort of event/contest where people get to try to identify who is who. And I had some of those moo minicards http://http://www.moo.com/products/minicards.php made with my just giving site address on the back. I plan to pass them out at dog training class tonight.... .. I'm still not very comfortable asking for money!!

2007-12-28T16:18:00.000Z

Christmas 2007 in Pembrokeshire, Wales

In an attempt to escape from the commercialised hectic modern Christmas we rented a cottage near the Druidstone Inn on the rugged Pembrokshire coast... and got a bit more of a historic experience than we anticipated. It was damp and cold and we only had a coal burning antique Rayburn stove for heat! So we arranged our days and nights around feeding the fire and learned strategies for using paper, kindling, soft "house" coal and hard anthracite coal to master the beast! Here's Billy, our fire Master, at work, next to the rack of wet running kit that never really dried out.

But we did enjoy ourselves - knitting, playing scrabble, hearts and valiantly running in the rain. Nick fit right in with the hearty locals, running in a t-shirt and shorts in sleeting rain, while Ali and I opted for full winter gear.

We had two dark but dry days, one when we walked around St David's point, along dramatic volcanic cliffs spotting seals and sea birds.

And on Christmas day, the skys cleared and Ali and I had a spectacular run around the Marloes penninsula meeting Nick and Billy taking photos at the beach. Ali held my ipod Nano while Nelly and I had a run...and dropped it in a tidepool!

One very dead Nano... oh well. But I'll never be able to log the 25 miles I ran on the PDIP Nike+ challenge!!!

It was a memorable trip and the shared adversity made us laugh together and find simpler ways to amuse ourselves without the telly and computers. And we did learn how to knit gloves!

2007-12-16T20:53:00.000Z

Countdown 17 weeks to the marathon

I'm on track with the CoolRunning.com plan that I loaded on buckeyeoutdoors.com. Listening to John Ellis' PDIP126 Base Running" today while I ran my 7 miles, I took it really slowly and vowed to dig out my Garmin from the bottom of the hall chest and start paying attention to my heart rate again.

I plotted up the remaining 17 week program on a calendar this weekend and discovered that there are a bunch of 20+ mi days scheduled ahead. I'm reading Hal Higdon's "Marathon" and his advice for newbys is keep the runs under 20 mi to reduce the risk of injury...... I think I'm going to follow that particular advice.

Nick and I are now signed up for the Watford Half Marathon on Feb 3rd 2008. Strange that I would have felt it was a pretty big deal to commit to a half marathon in only 7 weeks time, but now it is just part of the FLM training plan... no big deal. I think my mindest is already changing as I'm on my way to being a marathoner!

And the heel feels pretty good. I notice it, and have still been icing, but there is no pain.

We take off next Friday for Christmas week at the Druidstone Inn in Pembrokshire. I'm planning to do my running on the coastal trails but hope that the weather holds. Getting the miles in under sleeting horizontal rain would be pretty miserable! But I've got the gear, all I need is the motivation.

2007-12-05T19:26:00.001Z

I've a place in 2008 London Marathon!

After the disappointment on Saturday of receiving my copy of Marathon News (and second time failed ballot letter), yesterday brought a very welcome email from Guide Dogs who gave me one of their Gold Bond places. Yeah!!

So now I need to get really serious about following my Buckeye Outdoor Beginner training schedule... and start thinking about fundraising.

I struggle a bit asking friends and family to contibute, I mean, I'm the one that gets to do the fun part - be in the race. So, I should just come up with the £1500 pledge money? But guide dogs for the blind really is a good cause, and fundraising seems to be an acceptable thing to do. (And I don't have £1500!!) What do I do about business contacts? Is it fair game to put something about fundraising at the end of my email signature... or is that taboo (they don't care about my personal life?). I'm not sure I want to let them know about it anyway.... they might ask what my time was!!

So I've added a widget to my blog. I wonder if I can do the same with facebook. I wish I had paid better attention to the efforts of other runner bloggers. I'm way down on the learning curve.

But the great part is I'M GOING TO RUN MY FIRST MARATHON! I know I can do it.

2007-11-21T20:00:00.000Z

BAM, I'm Tagged!

Thanks to Petra , I've been challenged to share some random facts according to the Tagging rules. So, here are the Rules:

• Link to your tagger, and post these rules on your blog.

• Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

• Tag 5 people at the end of your post by their names and links to their blogs.

• Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

Hmm. 5 facts

1. My family moved around a lot when I was a kid, and although I enjoyed "re-inventing" myself with each move, I never really bonded with a comfortable group of friends. I went to 3 high schools! Here's one of the few photos I have - I'm at the back right holding the school ID card, trying desperately to be cool in this poser group.

2. I had great aunts who were HUGE called Clover Blossom and Ruby Pearl, so I'm genetically related to giants (or cows?)

3. I made the cover of a Japanese Ski Magazine in 1972. Famous for 5 minutes and I could not even read the article! I did not pay much attention to a group of Japanese people at ski racing camp, had no idea that a photo of me in a starting gate was snapped, but by a random chance, a friend of the family spotted it in Japan. He just sent us the cover!

4. Both our kids go by their middle names, which challenges their form-filling, causes confusion at schools and generally befuddles bureaucracy.

5. I can't imagine how people work 5 days a week. I get up very early, but after spending time with my family, travelling, gardening, playing with toys (gadgets), running, making raku pots, dog training club, library volunteering, and very minimal cleaning chores.... there just is not enough time to work every day!

I have not found my 5 victims yet....

2007-11-09T09:13:00.000Z

Radical new haircut reflects my new resolutions I'm feeling energised! (note before and after photos!)

After running break in October, I'm back and heel pain is pretty much gone. As long as I keep a slow and steady increase in mileage, I think the plantar fasciitis problem is behind me.

1) I need to keep to the training plan on Buckeye outdoors for 24-week London Marathon training (FLM cashed my check - does that mean I have a place? Or do I need to get a charity place from Guide Dogs still?)

2) And I'm following Petra's lead and joining the P.O.M's Holiday Weightsloss Challenge with a goal of dropping from 128 to 120 lbs by Feb 1st 2008.

Here are my rules (which I shamelessly canibalised from POM):
1. Breakfast: oatmeal, yogurt/muesli or eggs (no toast!)
2. Salad or veg for lunch, but cccasional whole grain bread if a sandwich is the only option.
3. Protein and veg ONLY for dinner
4. Wine - only once a week
5. No white bread. Ever.
6. No chocolate. No ice cream.
7. Weigh self once a week only.
8. Don't be psycho by talking about it all the time. Only blog about it. (I don' t think anyone reads this but me anyway!)

2007-10-28T15:55:00.000Z

Hadrian's wall 22-27 October 2007

Roman emperor Hadrian ordered this 73 mile long, 10 ft wide wall to built across northern Britain more than 18 centuries ago (122-130AD) at the decline of the Roman empire. In hilly places it is remarkably well preserved, with linking forts and milecastles along the wall. In the valleys, the stones have migrated into farm building foundations and the only trace is a grassy lump. We enjoyed a glorious autumn day exploring after a sleepless night in a farm courtyard (right next to the dog's kennel, we discovered, who barked at a badger on the prowl all night).

The early morning mist burned off slowly as we made our way along the wall, carrying far too many warm clothes!

The next night we moved north of the tourist trail into the Northumberland National Park to the north and found a lovely campsite with a wind turbine powered hot bath - and we were the only campers there! Working out a circular walk for the next day on the computer, we printed out a map in black and white as an aide memoire, anticipating that the trails would be as well-marked as they were near Hadrian's wall.
However, the trail dissapeared in "Black Bog" and was not to be found even as we located ourselves with GPS on the suposed trail numerous times - finally we just gave up and bush-whacked on a 60 degree compass heading for miles, through bog, spongy mossy woods and recently harvested (destroyed!) forests finally coming to intersect the Pennine Way regional trail. Hard work for not much mileage - and then we still had the 5 miles to walk back to camp. We slept late the next morning in the gloriously quiet site with soft rain on the roof.

As the weather was changing, we decided to head south toward the Yorkshire Dales, which we've not yet explored, and stopped at Fountains Abbey, which has recently been made a World Heritage site. The Georgian grounds with lakes, canals, temples and formal gardens are huge and there is a spectacular ruin of a 13-century Cistercian (Benedictine offshoot) abbey, which was raided for sandstone to build the Elizabethan Fountains Hall. During the Second World War, the Hall and other estate buildings were used to house evacuee children, but, after the war, fell estate into a state of serious dilapidation and has only recently been restored.

To our suprise, dogs were allowed! We cut back to the car park skirting the deer park and watched as two magnificent stags faced off in the meadow - making really loud threatening noises at each other. One finally backed up and made his way away from the rest of the deer, complaining loudly.

My heel injury is much better and I'm back running again. Hurrah! Nick is enjoying bragging about his 10 mile runs when I'm back to cautious 2 mile runs, but slow and steady I'll be back running 10 again... someday.

2007-10-09T19:58:00.000Z

Ali is back from her adventure in India, and I'm sleeping easier... I worried with her so far away! She was teaching English a Catholic university in Trichy, India called Holy Cross. She found the position through our friend from Bhimtal, Tagore, who's sister, Shanti, works there. Shanti proved to be a remarkable woman, surprisingly unconventional considering her professional success and inspiring in her commitment to her students and improving the lives of the orphans at Hope Home where she donates so much of her time and energy. Her frank and caring counsel was invaluable to Ali in making the cultural adjustments she needed to make to adapt to life in Trichy. (Restina, Shanti and Ali left to right). Ali helped Restina in the language lab. At first the girls were too shy to talk to her, but she lured them in with encouraging smiles and soon had a gaggle of girls who wanted to talk her all the time! The dress code was strict and Ali could not wear western clothes, (a likely excuse for an exotic new wardrobe!) so she learned how to wear a sari or traditional Indian trousers and a tunic. One of the highlights of her trip was an invitation to a wedding.

Ali stayed in a hostel with post-grad students from Holy Cross, and shared a room with a woman from Assam, Debbie, and one from Tibet, Namshey. Although the accommodation and food were very basic by western standards, Ali said it did not take long before she felt comfortable with the different way of life. The three became very close and Ali loved travelling with Debbie, the teachers and some of the younger students to Kerala. Debbie is an accomplished dancer and henna painted Ali's hands and feet.

Just before she returned home, Ali and Namshey travelled to visit a Tibetan settlement and monastery in Bylakuppee.

She really had an experience she will treasure, and I don't think this will be the last time she visits Trichy.

Sadly, heel pain has stopped me from training for the Mendip Muddle and Nick has to go on a field trip to Transylvania on Sunday, so we won't be racing the Phedippidation World Wide Half Marathon this weekend. But we're looking at races in November, hoping that my plantar fasciitis situation improves. I'm sad to miss the virtual race, though. Best of luck to everyone running!!

2007-08-26T07:29:00.000Z

Countdown 7 weeks to go for the WWH and Mendip Muddle. Gulp. I'm right on track with training, so I'm not that worried about 20K, but the 420m of climb has me pretty intimidated. I need to start adding more hill climbs into my training...and that means not WALKING them!

Trip to Snodonia was a bit of a wash-out. All the trees and boulders in the woods are covered with moss - a pretty good indication that it rains mostly all the time. Jep, it rained mostly all the time when we were there too, and I never did see Snowdon (the highest mountain in England and Wales) for the fog.

2007-07-28T15:16:00.000Z

Italy, Switzerland and France -

6-24th July 2007

Arriving for a visit just weeks before Ali leaves for India, Arvind was brilliant at answering all our questions about Trichy, where Ali will be teaching this summer, and about Indian life and philosophy. He cooked a fantastic aubergine curry for us with homemade chipatis (with flour all over the kitchen!) and he and Nick stayed up late discussing academia, climate change and generally sharing stories. Billy and I only got to spend a day with Arvind before our channel tunnel departure to drive to the Italian Dolomites.

Why the socks? Well, Billy still has not let me drive the relatively new campervan... I'm a bit of a menace parking. So I had a good bit of free time on the French motorways, and finally finished these socks that I started with my Mom in Seattle three years ago! But they were cosy and appreciated at night before climbing up to into bed.

We made our way through France, first camping "wild" (not in a commercial campsite) beside this lighthouse at Cap Gris Nez and then at a campsite next to a lake, Lac de Marcenay, south of Troyes. I really enjoyed the run along the coastal path the first day and then an early jog around the lake on the second - but the shower afterwards was icy!

We took a detour to see stunning Lake Garda, but we were way too scruffy to fit in with the designer set. The first night in Italy, Billy was successful in broken French/Italian (with hand signals) to convince the hotel owner where we had dinner to let us stay the night in their car park after a walk up to a mountain lake.

The Italian Dolomites are spectacular, and we were able to take a gondola up 500m to start our first walk from Possa de Fasse ...cheating, I know, but breathtaking. After a long descent into the valley, we stopped at a tiny cafe and Billy made the mistake of having a nice cool huge beer, which he regretted in the 200m climb back up to the gondola.

After a day exploring the mountain passes, (with lunatics driving racing motorcycles!) we moved on to Campitello, and feeling a bit sheepish about taking the cable-car down on the previous walk, we decided to walk the whole way down. The descent along the mountain ridge was beautiful but clomping down the last of the 13 miles on a hot road in heavy boots was exhausting! Looking for more level terrain, the next day we started from the top of the Valparola pass and walked around the dramatic Settsas platform with 400m-thick Triassic carbonate sediments which were identified by Baron Von Richthofen as a reef in 1860, but I didn't find any coral or fossil evidence. And as we baked in the brutal heat of the day in this desert-like environment, I gave up looking. Nelly was miserable without any streams to drink from and I felt sorry for her carrying around a fur coat in the sweltering heat!

We hid in the shade in the heat of the day the next day, and Nelly even overheated when I took her for a run along the river at 8am. Later that afternoon Nick called to say that Ali's bag with her passport, money, mobile phone, and Billy's camera had been stolen in Serbia. We wired money to Nick to send her and tried to stay within mobile phone range so we could find out if she could get a replacement passport in time to make her flight home. Tired of the heat, we decided to head for Switzerland and higher elevations.

Driving through Liechtenstein we made a lucky back-roads detour around a nasty accident that could have meant a day in a traffic jam, and arrived late into a delightfully shady campsite in Lauterbrunnen where a awesome thunderstorm with hail cleared the air that night.

Walking down from Murren to the campsite the next day was beautiful, past swiss chalets with tidy gardens and woodpiles, waterfalls and cascades in the river- it was cool, green and peaceful.

Every town had fantastic watch shops so Billy shopped for watch to replace the one he lost (how lucky is that that?) and then we moved on to explore Grindlewald with a spectacular backdrop of the Eiger and other peaks. Expensive place - the cablecar up and the bus ride back 20k to town fom the end of our walk was 100 swiss francs (£20 or $40!). After more time in internet cafes talking to Nick and wiring more money home, we found a beautiful campsite overlooking the valley and perfect sauerbraten at the Hotel Aspen that night.

Making our way back to the English Channel was a bit of a chore - with a long drive and a busy municipal campsite in Chalons-en-Champagne, but it was fine compared with the horrible place we ended up in the next night in Rang du Fliers. The campsite we were assigned looked perfect on the little artist's rendition map they handed out at the office, but once we got inside we discovered how tight all the campsites were, and every one was full of what I can only describe as "white trash", with unsupervised kids and scary packs of teenagers prowling about. We tried to convince ourselves it would be OK for a night but when we discovered at 11pm that they had to keep two security guards on duty at the toilet block to break up fights and stop abuse we decided to make a run for it.... but they wouldn't open the gates! Finally Billy found a manager who would let us out. Sleeping in the car park of a nearby grocery store felt so much better!

We booked into a hotel in Wimereux the next night for the village fete des moules (Mussel festival and parade!) and enjoyed the fluffy towels and restaurant - a huge luxury after the nasty feeling of that campsite. After seeing the local vet for Nelly's pet passport, we explored the huge deserted beach at the Bay d'Authie and visited a WWII museum to wait out the rain. Scouting wild camping locations along the coast, we finally we found a perfect, isolated trailhead at Le Bois d'Harringzelles near Audingham and enjoyed a glorious walk on the beach the next day before heading home - and Ali had made it home, too! (Just in time to leave for India).

2007-07-02T18:19:00.000Z

Mostly naked raku pots

We leave on Saturday for a three weeks holiday, driving through France in the camperan to the Italian Dolomites with Nelly to walk in the mountains. I'm taking my running shoes!

Last weekend Billy had set up a backdrop to do some macro photos and I convinced him to take photos of some of the pots I've made. I keep meaning to do it before I ship them out as gifts.

Some of the raku pots I won't give away, like the pumpkin pot (above) that won the craft show at work. They don't get many potters, so I was in the category with jam and dolls. How can they possibly judge a pot versus jam? But but to my suprise, I won the whole show and there were some really nice paintings and photos. Won a £10 book token and a rosette like a prize cow.

And here's the raku pot that Nick decorated - its pretty cool. I carved the geologic time scale in this stoneware bowl with cobalt slip for Nick.

I'm quite pleased with my very first teapot that I'm sending to Jewell for her birthday. The shape is perfect, I think, but it is pretty heavy stoneware, but it doesn't drip! And the little jar that Ali made (and I made a lid for) is the only thing she's ever thrown on the wheel.

These are both quite large t-material raku pots. The naked one one left has a lovely reddish stain from mahogany sawdust smoke.

These are little pencil jars out of porcelain that surived the thermal shock of raku.

I have to admit that I have not done much pottery since we got the campervan. I need to get back to it again this summer when it is warm to raku fire outside!

2007-06-19T19:39:00.000Z

Cheddar Gorge, Sommerset 15-16 June 2007

Despite the dire weather prediction, we decided to head out to see the Mendips. We stayed the first night at a campground off the M5 that was nicely deserted, but as the background noise died down at night, we figured out why... the road noise was unbearable. Sleeping with the ipod on was the only recourse.

The next day we did a 10 mile walk looping around Cheddar Gorge. We managed to miss most of the rain sheltered under trees, but an ice cream/beer stop at the end was perfectly timed to poke around in the touristy shops in town while it rained. Scouting sites to camp wild up the canyon we chanced on a National Trust dead end property- perfect- rolling hills and quiet with only a few dog walkers for company.

I think this is the area where the Mendip Muddle is run in October, but the club website does not give a map. So the second day of the trip we tried to scout where Nick and I will run the World Wide Half - even if we don't know exactly where we will run. I assume it will be somewhere along the Mendip Way walking path? The last night we found a great place to stay - it felt like we had a secluded site on a golf course.

We'll come back here with Nick. Then we walked on the beach south of Weston-Sur- Mare before trying to have lunch with Ali for Father's day. A bit of a fiasco. We got to her place at 10am as planned, but no one answered the door. Finally Billy climbed in the window and spoke with one of her roommates who said she did not come home! Finally we located her and had lunch but she looked worse for wear after the Bristol end of year ball the night before... ah foolish youth - to plan to meet your parents the morning after a planned big night out!

2007-06-08T19:18:00.000Z

Running with Cherie

Wednesdays at 1:30 Cherie and try to meet and run around Battersea Park, but as often as not I get buried at work and have to call up at the last minute to catch her and send her on her way alone... but today we arranged for a Friday run, which is much better because so many people are out on Fridays that the brushfires are less likely.

She's switching job contracts next month and I do hope her next one will still be in SW London so we can still meet up. She's a much better conversationalist than Nelly!

OK, I should have an action shot... but we would have just been a blur! (Too much stuff strapped to my belt to run too fast)

Here's a snapshot from Buckeyeoutdoor.com with my route highlighted. I've got a mile from my office until I meet her, picking my way through back streets from Whitehall down to Buckingham Palace Road. Then together we run across Chelsea Bridge, which Queen Victoria opened in 1858, and around the park. There's a running track in the park, but we've yet to have the nerve to ask if we can run on it.

As we've been running after lunchtime, we don't see as many runners as I usually see (as they pass me) in Hyde Park, and there are little passageways through the trees to explore around the fringe of the park.

The Albert Bridge on the west side of the park is spectacular baby blue and I think is the most beautiful of London's bridges. Along the river is the Japanese Peace Pagoda, a gift to London in 1985. I mean someday to stop and really look at it, but we just race by, chatting away.

Then back across the bridge and back to her office. I walk the last mile back to mine - to cool down avoiding humiliation for my tomato-red face back at my desk. Here's a snapshot of the RunningBuddy log of the Nike+ info from the run (see http://runningbuddy.info/ but remember to un-hide hidden files to run it). Better than a pizza for lunch!

2007-06-03T20:23:00.000Z

June 1st 07 Trip to Norfolk

A three-day weekend challenge - how far can you get away from home without spending too much time travelling? Norfolk was a great solution. Leaving home at 9am on Friday we made it to our campground in Holt by lunchtime. Here's Billy geared up for a walk, with the ipod and headphones, gps and camera. OK, so I'm just as bad with ipod, blackberry and camera, but I lack the nifty pockets and hide my stuff in my backback .

We ate our sandwiches in the campground and started a circular walk but I pulled a muscle in my leg climbing down a sandy slope, and it really bothered me on the second half of the 10 miles we walked. Back in the campervan that night, I crashed by 8pm, but fortunately woke the next day feeling fine.

Saturday we headed up to Holkham Bay and tried to find a place to camp away from the heaving crowds at Wells-next-to-the-sea. Finally, we spotted a little field with a few tents on a back road and Billy managed to convince the grumpy owner to let us stay. We planned a long circular walk around the Holkham Estate, looping out to the sea and back. One of those days where you're always packing and un-packing, pulling the jumper back on away from shelter from the wind. But the sun was glorious and we finally emerged on to the salt marsh, where Nelly and I had a bit of a run.

Then we crossed the dunes onto the beach and encountered thick fog, a bit spooky listening to shrieking children in the distance and occasionally glimpsed horseback riders cantering along near the surf. Billy dropped his GPS and I was sure it was gone for good, but we circled back and he found it! Nelly loves to run on the beach, there is something about the sea breeze and soft sand underfoot that makes her prance about,tossing up bits of seaweed.

A fancy dinner at the Lord Nelson Pub was a treat. Back to work and commuting tomorrow!

2007-05-20T17:37:00.000Z

White Peak Half Marathon 19 May 2007 Matlock

OK, I look nervous... its raining. I've dragged Billy and Nick up here to the Peak District to run this half marathon and the rain is lashing the windscreen of the campervan! The start is about a half a mile from where we parked and everyone is miserably cold. Nick and I started at the very back as everyone looked like pretty serious runners. Finally, we notice that the crowd is moving forward... I guess that's it then, we're off. Its about 2 minutes shuffling ahead until we get back to the starting line, I think.

By the time we get back to Billy and Nelly at the campervan, the sun is out and the gloom has lifted. We toss Billy our jackets and he cheers us on with Nelly pulling on the lead - she wants to run too, she's done all the training with me!

Nick is fit from climbing but hasn't run for a month because of hay fever. But he's pretty confident he can keep up with me, as he cruised easily through the last half marathon and only really gave it his best when he left me in the last few miles, and beat me by 4 minutes! But I've been running at least 3 times a week and doing long runs on the weekends up to 11 miles long. I feel like I'm ready for this one!

The race was described as "swift" and promised downhills, but we only found uphill runs and flats in the first 8 miles. Every time I got to a crest, I thought to myself, "OK, its sure to be downhill now" but there were dozens of false summits. Finally, the abandoned railway grade did steepen at High Top and we enjoyed a good long downhill which much have been a scary ride for a steam train filled with iron ore or coal! I followed the advise to lean forward and just relax and my pace picked up considerably! But then we were back into the low hills until the next roller coaster ride down to the river 800 feet below. I lost Nick racing down the hills, but I couldn't run but one speed downhill... and just hope I wouldn't fall down. That last mile stretch along the river was really tough, because my legs were used to the incline - they just felt dead. But I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and finally rounded the bend to find Billy and Nelly waiting for me before the finish line. My time was 2hr 05 min 35 sec (compared to the wining time of 1hr 11 min 38sec!) but I figure I can take off the two minutes it took me to get to the starting line - so 2hr 03 it is! A PR for me.

Nick came in a few minutes later. His thighs had really suffered in the decent as he hadn't been training. I think I'd better enjoy this win - its likely to be the only one I'll get! He's sure to be back in winning form by the Phidippidations World Wide Half in October!

Here's a short video of the race (click triange bottom left on screen below).

2007-05-07T18:05:00.000Z

Field trip and family trip to the American West (21 April -4 May)

As the DTI supports Imperial College geology research into Transgressive Reservoirs, three spots on a fieldtrip were offered and I was one of the lucky winners. Despite five long days in the field and total submersion in the arcane jargon of sedimentology, it was fantastic... as if days walking through remote river-eroded canyons looking at cliff faces could ever be bad? The other corporate sponsors of the research came from New Zealand (!), Germany, Houston, California and the UK - really interesting people, all expert sedimentologists, who were patient with answering questions. Despite snow one morning, a bit of sunburn (and windburn) was the worst hardship we faced, and we managed to fit in a bit of culture as well as rocks.

We had a tour through the Pueblo Bonito ruins in Chaco Canyon, the centre of native American Indian trade and worship from 850-1200AD. Archaeologists have only theories about the use of the many kivas (round rooms) and other tiny rooms in the 5 story palace. We then moved on to examine the cliffs near Mesa Verde and wondered at the agility of the people that lived in the cliff houses perched high on ledges (wave ravinement surfaces, actually) in the sandstone.

Jet lag made early morning runs easy, so I explored the back streets of Albuquerque and Gallup, New Mexico before leaving for the field. Farmington was a bit too industrial for a run, but the last hotel in Cortez CO backed on to the mountains and I surprised a herd of elk, who joined my run for a few incredible moments. With only a few weeks before the half-marathon, I'm glad I could keep to the training schedule while travelling.

Then I flew to Pueblo Colorado to see my step-mother, Jewell and meet up with my sister Linnie, who was just out of surgery for her shoulder. We ate fantastic Mexican food with Jewell's sister, brother and his wife. Jewell put me to work in her garden, reminding me how I was neglecting the one at home! Her house is lovely and its good to see her settled in with family nearby. Jewell is working too hard as the Admin Mgr for a Charity for the Homeless, but finds helping people, particularly children, makes her feel it is worth all the stress and long hours.

Then back to Denver to meet up with Billy, his parents and niece, Lindsay. Bill and Sally bought a house near Washington Park where we met to walk, roller-blade and walk the dog... simultaneously! Curt's friend, Wendy had just returned from Washington DC where she testified at a congressional hearing on the care of cancer patients. She's a very cool lady!

We also got to see Quang Ho's Studio and he and Nancy, his wife, took us out to a trendy restaurant with fantastic wine. Bill and Sally treated me to a decadent massage and facial for my birthday - shopping, spa, lunch, more shopping - what an indulgent day!

So finally, back home for the Spring Bank Holiday and I managed a 10 mi run along the Chess Valley.

The trip was great, but its nice to be home! Nick, Ali, Tanya and I are planning a weekend in Matlock for the White Peak Half Marathon, with Billy as photographer - 19 May 2007.

2007-04-11T19:46:00.000Z

Off to the beautiful Lake District for Easter. An early start got us to the National Trust campground in Great Langdale by 1pm and we climbed up to Stickle Tarn, soaking in the sunshine and scenery. With a prediction of Easter crowds arriving on Good Friday we pressed deeper into the mountains to the Wastdale Head NT site.

Nelly and I set out to run around the lake and discovered that the "screes" labeled on the map were not just loose talus, but gradually increased to car-sized boulders, at which point we finally gave up and retraced our steps back to camp. 4.2 miles in 90 min - ARG! Not exactly an aerobic pace... but my heart was beating fast and Nelly was spooked trying to pick her way through the boulders. I worried about her breaking a leg!

Billy had made good use of the time, taking photos around the lake. The nearby pub offered a selection of local brews, so we enjoyed sitting beside the stream soaking up the sunshine.

The next day we climbed up to Black Sail Pass and had a picnic lunch in the soft dry grass, then began the long decent. Why is it always so much easier to climb then decend? Or does that just come with age? Over all only about 8 miles, but over 4000 feet relief.... not sure how to equate that to running miles in my log.

Finally Nelly and I got our chance to run and we followed the road along Wastwater and into the woods at the south end of the lake.
Then for a change of scene we headed to the coast the next day and walked on the beach at St Bees before scouting a field with just a few campers, where we stayed the night outside of Santon. Finally the last day the weather changed and we took an 8 mi walk through fog and rain from Eskdale up to the Hardnott Roman ruin and back, before the long drive home.

2007-03-29T15:20:00.000Z

The South Downs and Brighton were the sort of places you'd like to visit... if it was just a little warmer. Under an ominous sky, we were turned back on a planned walk along the South Down Way near the Jack and Jill windmills by horizontal rain.
OK, we should have just turned around and put on rain gear, but we decided to go to the pub instead... as you do.

And a lovely pub it was - the Dog and Shepherd. Geoff, the publican said we could stay in the car park, next to the garden with a stream gurgling all night.

The 6 mi walk the next morning up onto the Downs was a bit of a trudge with limited visibility and a cold wind, so we headed into Brighton to explore. Out on Brighton pier, the Brits proved to be a sturdy lot. The cold wind did not deter families and packs of teenagers from having a fun day out. We arrived back in the Nat Park at the remote Devils Dyke car park at dusk.

The walkers cars left one by one, and we popped the top to settle in for the night. Then the strange visits began... cars would drive in, stay only for a minute and leave. We began to recognise some - a flash BMW and a big brown van. All men and they sat in their cars and did not greet each other. So we went to bed, and listened to the comings and goings until midnight when Billy climbed down to try to figure out what was going on. He was pretty spooked when he looked out the window and saw a huge man looking in.... and then another man at the other window! He described zombie like men all milling around the car... ARG! "Toni hand me my clothes!" So we got out of there in a hurry. Not sure what we were witness to, but it was not a cool place to camp wild. We were both pretty shaken and didn't get much sleep when we found a safe pub carpark. Sorry, no photos of the scene, but I'm not sure we would have gotten out alive had we taken their pictures!

I enjoyed telling Adam Tinkoff all about it as we ran together again (without Nigel, again!) around Hyde Park, where Adam seems quite at home.

2007-03-17T17:29:00.000Z

I'm finally back to running again after the chest cold that wiped me out when I visited Mom in Seattle. My sister came too. Linnie had a shoulder injury from karate, so the two of us lounged around and had Mom take care of us. We loved every minute of it! I forgot the camera at home, so sadly no photos. It was great to see both of them.

Met up with Adam Tinkoff and a fellow Burning Twenty listener, Duncan, for another run around Hyde Park. What a character Adam is! He truly wanted Duncan to follow his dream and write... breaking free of perceived barriers. And he gave us a summary of Chi running. I'm not sure I really get it, but it proved a great distraction to the running and we carried on until after dark.

The next day Billy and I headed off for a long weekend in Exmoor on the north Devon coast. Beautiful area, if a bit blustery. It was hard to sleep at night with gale force winds buffeting the campervan. Finally the second night we moved at dawn down into the public carpark in Lynmouth, popped the top and crawled back into bed to sleep...just in time for noisy cranes to arrive to move sailboats!

How to I equate hiking miles to running? We took a beautiful walk along the coastal path and into the National Trust Watersmeet river basin one day and the next we started near Cloud Farm, the site that inspired J.D. Blackmoor to write Lorna Doone, which led to at least ten movies and miniseries, and the biscuits (I didn't remember the book, but I did remember the cookie!). We got lost up on the moors... everything looks the same!

Anyway, I've translated my walking miles on buckeyeoutdoors.com as 50% running miles? Surely one can't be expected to run after a 10 mile hike up and down the moors! The last day we started at at a great pub, Hunter's Inn, and walked the coastal path down to Woody Bay. We're going to have to come back when its warmer!

After a night in a monstrosity of trailer park in Brean (but blissfully quiet!), we walked on the beach and out to the National Trust point. We took Ali out for lunch on the way home in Bristol. She's broke, smashed up the Polo, but is happy. So back to work again and a resolution to run further and faster!

2007-02-08T16:31:00.000Z

Travels with Emily (the GPS navigator's voice)

We've lived in the UK 15 years now and we've never seen Hadrian's wall or the Eden Project or even Blackpool! So that's all to change now when we start exploring on alternate weekends in the new campervan. Here she is on a frosty morning where we spent the night in a Forestry Commission carpark near Battle(as in ..of Hastings) after walking through the low hills where in 1066 the sound of clashing arms rang out as Norman and English soldiers met in battle to decide the fate of England. Billy's supposed ancestor, William the Conqueror, and his Norman invaders killed King Harold (as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry), and now we live near Chesham Bois.

The weekend before we found ourselves in 40mph horizontal freezing rain in the carpark of the Brecon Beacons National Park visitor centre in Wales (seen in the clump of trees in the back of the photo) trying to get the training miles in. My feet were totally soaked! And the campervan smelled like a wet dog all weekend. Fool hardy? Perhaps a mite bit...

The weather is not looking good for the planned walk in the Cotswolds this weekend... we've had over 6 inches of snow, which is the most that Billy and I can remember ever having! It was pretty chilly working in the studio while Billy wandered over to Roughwood Lane to see the farm. I'm lucky I had planned to work from home today, commuting into London would have been a nightmare! Nick and I went out to feed the horses some parsnips (well. we were out of carrots...I hope that parsnips are OK for horses?) and they were as excited as we were about playing in the snow.