Fascinating fascinata

I've finally managed to do it. I have left my keys at home. And I am not at home. Luckily I am round a friends house so I can take up space on their sofa whilst they potter. My landlady is out so can't even ring the bell and hope to be let back in. So I'm updating my blog. If the wii fii worked outside then I would be sat in the sunshine. Ouch just manged to cut my finger on my fingernail. They are lethal!

So yesterday I had a lie in, till about 9 in the morning and then I vegged. I had a geeky morning watching Justice League cartoons whilst thinking about if I can get a Harley Quinn costume sorted for Halloween. I did eventually venture out cos it was a gorgeous day and I can spend a whole morning watching TV which can be a tad watesful of a gorgeous day. That should be left for cold rainy days. 

I needed to go out because I needed a hat or fascinata for a wedding coming up. My friend Simon needs educating on what a hat for wedding looks like. Fell back on a reliable Debenhams where the shop assistant asked me what type of hat I was looking for (there are different hats for different things). Managed to find a fascinata and a new bag so win. Now just need to work out accessories and what make up. Do need some new foundation but it's not pressing. 

Finally been to see Guardians of the Galaxy and I highly recommend it. It was fantastic. Funny,emotional and lots of action.  Perfect combination in my book. 

Followed by meal at Coal. We had Yo Sushi before movie plus sweeties (pick n mix) so we stuck to starters for our meal as wee a tad full. Plus cocktails. Yummy cocktails. Love cocktails. 

Have now caught up with the new doctor who. Verdicts still out on that one. 

Need to plan my training and social life and fun stuff so signing out. I'm sure I'll write again tonight but right now I want to sit in sunshine

And relax...

I love coming home and dinner has been cooked for me. My land lady's daughter cooked dinner tonight. Chicken pie which was very welcome on a cold windy evening such as tonight. 

Today has been a busy one as I've been interviewing all day with my manager. I forgot how exhausting interviewing can bel you have to stay focused for everyone and try not to look bored or tired. Plus you have to write and listen (ooo multitasking). I did get caught out looking at the clock but I pretended I had something in my eye. No idea if I got away with it or if the guy we were interviewing thought I was a weirdo. Possibly the latter. 

I have caught up with an old friend as well so that was nice. Brief but was good to hear they were doing ok. Hopefully I'll hear from them again but probably won't be for another few months. This was all done by text message so I'm assuming it was them and that their phone wasn't high jacked by purple aliens. Or any other colour alien for that matter.

The chatter has been about GBBO. Who would have thought cakes could cause so much controversy. Baking at dawn. Count your paces and draw French baguettes. I'm sure it will die down eventually but considering so much going on it is amusing that people get so het up about baking and sabotage. Village shows will never be the same again.

This weekend I need to get my act together and run 16 miles at least. I've postponed it till Sunday because I really want a lie in tomorrow and I'm busy Saturday daytime. I know I'm a real bundle of fun having a lie in at the weekend. The rest of the week will involves running, core workout and gym this week I reckon. Not huge amounts if fantastic fun but needs doing, although is May get distracted and do other stuff. My training has taken a back seat though and I do need to step it up a notch. I keep telling myself that after the races I can do other things in the evening and weekend until training starts back up again in  January. :)

Slowly climbing

So I've walked up mountains so the next logical thing is to try climbing. I had the choice of bouldering or climbing in the deals but I went with climbing first. Harness included - sounds good. 90 minutes taster session. Maybe bouldering another time. The only thing for me is I worry about falling and that's what has stopped me in the past. But no more. Conquering fears now. No more excuses. If I haven't tried it at least once then I can't cry and say I didn't  like it. I'm hoping that not wanting to look like a wuss will mean ill man up and get on with. I still regret not getting in the trapeze harness when I did circus skills. I will go back and do it. But first things first - conquer my fear of falling. So In a week and a bit ill be probably holding onto the wall for dear life trying not to look like a wuss. Or having the time of my life and wondering when I can go again. I'm hoping it will be the later. 

Just desserts - and my brain hurts

I remember when I used to get stressed out watching Formula One. Screaming at the TV for Ferrari to stop being crap and win. Today I was shouting at the TV about desserts. The Great British Bake Off is flipping stressful. And was it sabotage? Who knows? I won't spoil it in case there are people reading this who haven't watched it yet but I swear my blood pressure has gone up. Who would have thought it would be so stressful watching people cook.

Shouting at the TV isnt all I have been doing. I made a nice stir fry from what I could find in the cupboards. Kidney beans, chicken and apple were all thrown into the mix. Apple in stirfry tastes quite nice and I think I'll try that again. I also unpacked from the weekend and the floor has appeared again. My room needs tidying again but that's something for Sunday if it's not nice enough to be outside.

I also was checking out stuff I can do in 2015. 2014 still has 2 half marathons and a marathon to go so have decided that November and December will be left free to to do non running, walking, cycling things. Well might go cycling if not too wet. January I start up training again for a half marathon and a marathon so looking forward to the end of this year. Planning on relaxing. But I do want to do a triathlon next year so I will need to do swimming lessons and at some point sort out a road bike. And I want to do a long distance ride like Bristol to London. Possibly an event so support is there or I could try an advenure and just get out there and do it. So plenty to think about toward the summer next year. Plus I'm hoping to do three weeks in Canada, learn to ride a motorbike and do my bike test. 

I've emailed the climbing wall people to book my taster slot and if I enjoy that then that is something else I might take up. Although that will be just for doing, not going to suddenly develop a taste for actual rock climbing and start climbing large scale cliffs any time soon. At least I don't think so.....

The Ben - the end of an epic adventure

Wow what an epic weekend. Sian, James and I walked up Ben Nevis. It was a fitting end of our three peaks challenge. It was hard going but worth it in the end. There was no view but there was snow.

Friday 

Sian and I travelled up on train to Glasgow where we were met by James and we drove onto Fort William. We arrived at a lovely little campsite and set the tent up and proceeded with our usual meal of couscous and grated cheese. It was a relaxed evening and not as cold as we first thought.

Saturday 

So today was the day. We were walking up Ben Nevis. We packed our food and drink, put our layers on (it was a little chilly) and started for the Tourist path. We decided to go the steeper first path. It was a nice walk up, hard on the knees and we did need to lose some layers cos it got a tad warm. The day was warm but windy and the view was gorgeous. Many waterfalls. Lots of people walking. I was very thankful for my walking poles cos some of the path was a bit rocky and the poles came in useful. In fact we did see the path being fixed. We stopped by a stunning waterfall and we filled a water bottle. The water tasted lush. The climb continued. The weather started to get a little colder and then we came across a patch of snow. Thee was no snow falling, just a patch of snow surrounded by rocks and grass. Thee was also a gully where a large ball of snow hung between two cliff points. For me it was an achievement to stand quite close to the edge and have a look at it. I'm not a huge fan of heights. When we got to the top I had put on my ski googles. It was bloody freezing. I lost the feeling in my fingers so the hot chocolate we had brought was gratefully received. As we sat eating our lunch watching the cloud hide the view, it started to snow. It was beautiful a real sense of calm but as it got harder we decided to descend. It was hard going down as some of the steps were long drops. However it did make me smile seeing the strange looks on peoples faces as we walked down - I still had my ski googles on even thoug it was sunny.

We got back and celebrated with sparkling wine and a very yummy chilli cooked by Jay.

Sunday

Legs sore and aching but still a sense of achievement running through our veins. We wandered to the Ben Nevis tourist shop to buy tat. I bought a t shirt and a medal. Sian tried Irn Bru. I also saw something about a race. 

http://www.bennevisrace.co.uk/about/. Maybe one for the future. I can put it on my bucket list. Along with all the other stuff. 

We also asked if there was anywhere we could go swimming outdoors and we were told of somewhere the locals go. We found a nice section of river. Sian just got in, James got in, got back out and then manned up and got back in. They swam. I got in up to my knees. And then got back out again. Wuss. But it was a good start. I did swim in the sea years ago but never really swam in a river yet. It's one for the bucket list and will be achieved. I'm facing my fears. 

Rest of Sunday was chilling. Sian fell asleep and James and I chatted round the BBQ that refused to light. That BBQ was a bugger. We put wax on it, a whole thing of firelighters and some cardboard. Eventually it played it ball and we were able to cook food on it. I say cook. I burnt the Quorn sausages. The kebabs fared better. 

Monday 

The end of the trip. The tent was down and the car packed up. We were still buzzing. It was awesome.

I have enjoyed this walk, this climb more than the other two. I felt a real sense of freedom. There was a lot on my mind and the walk allowed me to sort a few things out in my head. To realise what I want to do for myself and what I need to leave behind in order to move forward. A sense of calmness 

Climb every mountain ... And you'll be a tad tired

It's been a funny old week so far. The scooter is in the scooter hospital aka the garage and it's lucky I took it in. Tyre pressure a tad on the low side and perished tyre valves (which could have led to a blown tyre) so they are now being fixed plus my rear light was out so all in all not a bad thing. One bad thing was I have had real problems with my train tickets. I bought some online but when I went to pick them up I had no booking reference and when I rang customer services they had no record. That wouldn't be a problem but the credit card has been charged and I'm a bit miffed so I've emailed first great western and they are looking into it.

Currently I'm sat round my mate Sian's house as tomorrow we are heading up to sunny Scotland well it be rainy Scotland but that doesnt have the same ring to it. Cos we and our friend James are walking up Ben Nevis. Forecast is showing as cold but not snowing but I've brought my ski googles anyway. There may be snow at the top. Its going to be exciting cos it's the last of the peaks. We have done Snowdon, we have done Scarfell pike and now we are finishing with Ben Nevis. It's going to be awesome. Next year we might try the Irish peaks. We also might try swimming in a loch. I say try. I've brought a bikini but it might be a tad cold for swimming. But if not then I'm game and I'll give it a go. Be a good laugh. I do hope we do more camping and walking up mountains. I'm a bit gutted I haven't managed to go camping with the scooter. I've kinda run out of weekends now as the weekends I'm not busy I should be running. Unless I go camping and do a run then. Which is a possibility. If so there are one or two weekends which are possible but I'll need to buy a dry bag first. Or maybe catch a bus or train somewhere. It's a possibility. After my October runs my weekends free up for a little but. It might be a bit cold for camping but I may try some cycling if not too icy. Definitely don't want to gall into a mid winter slump. I'm sure there is plenty to keep me busy in the colder months :)

Next update will probably be next week. Hopefully have plenty of stories from the weekend.

Going somewhere and somewhere and somewhere

Well from going nowhere to going somewhere. I've booked my flights to Amsterdam :). Accomodation is all sorted so all I need to do is train and turn up. Getting excited. First European marathon and then maybe a international marathon in May. Now that might be fun. 

Amsterdam trip won't be loads of sightseeing as need to rest up but we might head over to Dusseldorf for a day trip. Saturday will be expo and sitting eating pasta and drinking coffee. Or tea in my case. It's my first trip flying on my own. Will be preparation for my first international flight alone next year. Canada will be fun. Need to look at what I want to do there - besides run a marathon and see my family.

Done Niagara Falls and Toronto already so need to find new stuff to do. Plenty of time to save up and sort out as it's not till May :). Before that I have leceister half marathon and Brighton Half marathon. Plus gonna fly up to Scotland to go see friends hopefully before the end of this year.

So plenty to keep me busy

Before all that I need to pack for Ben Nevis so that's what I'll be doing tomorrow night. Conflicting weather reports but I reckon it'll be a tad chilly so packing warm clothes for this one. Don't think there will be any sunbathing this time round.

Going nowhere

Well my plans for the weekend got a little bit jinxed. I wanted to go for a bike ride but needed to change my inner tube first. Should have been an easiesh task. My friend was coming to help as it was the back wheel and I haven't changed anything on the bike wheel without help before. The chain makes it. Little tricker so I thought it beat to ask for assistance. We didn't even get as far as getting the wheel off because the valve was the wrong one. My pump wouldn't fit it so I wouldn't have been able to pump it up. So back to the shop and doing a swap. I took my pump with me so I could double check (I'm not flipping going back again) . So hopefully the inner tube operation is booked for Tuesday. Weather permitting and as long as the valve gets through the hole in the wheel. At least the cover is on the bike now.

Saying that the chances of me actually going on a bike ride were pretty slim after I had run 14 miles. My marathin training has been pretty sporadic so it has been good to get out thee and the gym has help as well. Once the training is out of the way I can think about swimming lessons as well. Thoughts of doing a triathlon are still lingering.

Need to pack this week as off up Ben Nevis on the weekend. One forecast currently showing snow. Best take my goggles then! 

Sleeping beauty in the exercise bike

Only a short blog tonight as it's passed my bedtime and the last two days I've not woken up to my alarm which implies that I need sleep. 

Went to the gym and did 30 mins on the exercise bike. Would have done more but my landlady was cooking dinner for us all and I liked the idea of a meal I wasn't cooking so had to get back. I'm enjoying the gym. It's a nice way to get back into running and I get to watch TV at the same time. Watched Fake Britain tonight. Thought I'd stretched enough but I haven't so that's the last thing I'll be doing before bed. In the dark cos I can't be bothered to turn the light on. 

I didn't get any painting done so that's booked in for Friday. My landlady has a mate over so we've been sat drinking wine, discussing men and generally just being rude.  A very chilled evening which was nice. Dinner with a friend tomorrow and so Friday will be getting my inner tube sorted and doing some painting. Maybe going for a drink but as I've been a bit splash with the cash I best rein it in.

Till next time

I'm sure I wasn't this busy when I was younger

Well today I moved like a streak of wee when the alarm DIDNT go off. Checked the time and saw it was 6.50. Was washed, dressed, fed and out the door by 7.25. A flipping miracle. Hoping it doesn't do that again cos I do like a leisurely wake up in the morning.

My list of stuff to do keeps growing. Today I bought a voucher for a rock climbing taster session. Think it's 1 to 1 and it's 90 min so not too bad. Hopefully it means that when I meet up with my climbing friends I'll have a rough idea of what I'm doing. Hopefully. I've seen other stuff that I may consider but it is down to time and money cos I am trying to jam lots in.

- running (training for marathons and half marathons)

- walking up mountains

- painting 

- motorbike licence

- learning to swim (need to book this)

- triathlon or duathalon (depending on how the swimming lessons go)

- cycling

- potentially climbing

I'm exhausted just reading the list!

Got a tad wet going into work so I need to invest into some new motorbike gear. My stuff is 4 years old so it's a good innings but I really want stuff that keeps me dry or or least doesn't get me wet after 10 mins. So that's another thing to add to the list.

Went to the gym yesterday and my legs are a tad painful. Was great being on the cross trainer so going to do it again tomorrow. Although hip is seizing a little so may have to take a little care.

Had a lovely catch up with my dear friend Nakes. We chat a lot about running, other stuff and running. Hadn't seen her in a while so was awesome to see her. Hopefully she will feel better soon so we can go on a bike ride. 

Busy busy busy

And for some reason I cannot stop smiling :)

Live is like a giant closet - you can fit it all in, you just have to shove real hard, and shut the door quick

Just did a gym session. I haven't been to the gym in ages. Since London in fact which is bad cos I paid for a yearly subscription so I better go a lot of times so I make my money worth.

Today I did 20min on the cross trainer, 10 mins on the other trainer which name escapes me (like running on air) and then a fast run on the treadmill for 15 mins. Sweating loads, heart pumping, muscles aching - so a very good session. Wanted to do some thing different, mix it up a bit. I love running but it can get a bit samey so it is nice to do something different. I came back feeling very refreshed although I think my muscles might complain in the morning so might look up some yoga on YouTube tomorrow morning. I also have some core workout exercises I want to do as my core needs alots of work.

I tidied my room on Sunday. Was ruthless and chucked stuff out, moved stuff round and now it feels less cluttered (although I still have a lot of stuff) and I have zones. My chilling zone which is my bed/sofa, my creative zone which is my table with my easel and my paints near by, my dressing zone where all my shoes and clothes are, my beauty zone which is my dressing table and my altar which is my spiritual zone. I feel much more at ease in my room, less busy and I've burnt some incense and it feels like home. Need to get some canvasses because I have some ideas, plus a board as I want to try collage. Had inspiration at Glastonbury tor And I came across my sketches. I have a couple of small canvasses but I prefer to work on larger ones. Not sure why, I think I like using the space. Only problem is I have limited wall space. I need to start sketchingr again but I tend to be a 'straight to canvas' kind of gal.

So much I want to do, and buy. Still need new trainers and if it's not too cold or miserable I may be trying swimming in a Scottish lake. Which I think might be a first I can't remember. I also want to try making a pie or cake a week. I need to make cakes for next Monday for my clubs charity run. I want to go on a bike ride and I need to do a long run. My brain is bursting with stuff I want to do. Then I say I don't have enough time and then the other voice says - make time. You can always make time for stuff. I have always had an empty mind, in the sense I can never think of things to do or run oute of time. Maybe if I organise my mind a bit more I might fit it all in. 

Like motorbike training. Eek I can't believe I've booked my motorbike theory test and I've emailed to find out about practical test. I'm still not 100% sure but I think oh well. The worst that can happen is I end up having an automatic licence. But I'm not giving up just yet.

Oh and I might be booking swimming lessons in the next few weeks and I must remember to buy an inner tube on the way to meeting a friend for dinner.

Now that makes sense

Bus blogging again today. Not feeling great so letting the bus do the work. Haven't blogged for a bit, three days but that is too long. Another gorgeous day so a bit gutted I'm not on the scooter. But feeling sick and helmets are not a great combination. 

Tuesday I ran 7.6 miles. Was a good run but hard work which I found a bit worrying considering I'm supposed to be able to run marathon distance. I did interval sessions, so running hard for a couple of mins and jogging for recovery. Mixing up your speed is supposed to help. Staying on the running theme I finished work early on Thursday and decided to do my 16 mile long run needed as part of my training. Managed 5 miles. Was gutted but can put it down to these factors - running after full day at work and also body run down. Not a good combination at all so although I'm not happy about it at least there are fairly good reasons. Need to mix up my running with some cross training because that helps. 

Just thought I saw a gut wearing shorts over his motorbike trousers. Think I mis saw but interesting. And there are loads of balloons in the sky :)

Nailed it

Well today I retook my CBT which I do every two years so I can ride my lovely scooter. And today I nailed it. I have always been a bit nervous, bit wobbly. I worry that I don't hold my line, that I don't do my checks quickly enough but today i was told I was a good rider and that made me happy. The instructor thanked me and the other guy because we did everything right so it was a pleasure to ride with us. 

The morning was the manoeuvres. Normally when I do the slalom I go wide or I miss cones, I went a little wide once, but otherwise tight up and no cones missed. I did a nice figure of eight, again only wide once and didn't put my foot down. No foot down on the u turns at all (at one point I stuck my leg out to counterbalance but it didn't out it down! and my emergency stop wasn't bad (although I did catch my throttle once and so sped up at same time). When we went out on the road I made good use of my signals, did them in plenty of time, did my lifesavers. I had to lead through the city and I must admit I was a tad nervous. The only bricking it time was when I had to cross three lanes of traffic to get right and found it hard to find a safe time to do it. A van got very close but then my instructor basically cleared the way for us. Could do with someone doing that for me on a regular basis. I must admit joining busy traffic and getting across lanes I still find tricky but I still passed. The instructor reckoned we could start thinking about our test. I would need to trial a geared bike first to see if I could actually  get on with them but if I couldn't I can always look at doing an automatic test. The options are all there.

I really must change my driving licence address. Hadn't noticed I hadn't changed it! So I'll get that dine this week. 

 I also marshalled for our club event. I just stand there and clap people on and direct them. So doesn't take a lot but it's nice to give my time doing it. I ran it last year and I may try and run it next year. I got. a cheeky bottle of wine as there were one or two let over so I managed to get one. Bonus. Running tomorrow with my mate Carol to make up for the fact we were marshalling rather than running. 

Bedtime me thinks. Used all my petrol on the CBT so need to pop to the garage before I head to work

10k and cider

Yesterday was a jammed packed day.

Early start due to me running a 10k at Blaise castle estate. The weather forecast was supposed to be rain and although it did pour down in the morning, it was dry for the actual race. Due to the earlier rain, it was very muddy and very slippery so caution had to be taken for uphill and downhill so flats were when a burst of speed was required to make time up. I pretendend to be an airplane on one the downhill slopes  I almost twisted my knee or one of the downhills so walked for a bit to make sure I hadn't hurt it and then finished with a sprint and a leap over the finish. Was knackered but did it in 1:04:45 which beat last years time by  9 mins. Gives me hope that I can shave 9 mins off my marathin time and 6 mins off my half marathon time. I've decided not to do an ultra but to focus on getting faster which means looking at my nutrition and working on my interval training to help my body become more efficient. I have also decided to try a triathlon. I really need to get my swimming back in order to swimming lessons will need to be procured and I will need a new bicycle at some point. But for now it's just a new inner tube and a cover for it -which I must sort out. Gotta love online shopping :). I'll probably order some more gels as well.

After a lovely shower and dozing I awaited the imminent arrival of my mate Emily. Spent a couple of hours catching up before heading out for dinner at the lovely Tinto lounge where the cider drinking started. We then miss the bus, wandered down glos rd and then caught another bus. Em pointed out she always ends up doing long walks with me. Not that it was that long at all. We headed to the passenger shed at Temple Meads station where a cider fesitval was occurring. We drank plenty of cider, danced the Mangled Wurzels and were well posh with a cheese board in a takeaway box. Some guy did nick my sunglasses but he returned them eventually. We then headed to The Apple so Em could say hi to James (mutual friend) and drink more cider. Although I did throw mine on the floor. Accidentally I hasten to add. I don't like to waste cider. Even the Boxing Dog (cider at the festival) which I didn't like. Taxi home and then to bed. This morning - no hangover - well not much of one.