Adventures and running

Ive done it again. I've managed to not update my blog for weeks (well days) on end.

however i am trying out a bluetooth keyboard and apart from some sticky keys every so often i am finding it abit easier to type on than the ipad screen. Definately easier to correct mistakes although it has just taken me about 5 mins to write the word definately.

So what have i been up to. Well the last two weekends have been race orientated. The  first was Amsterdam Marathon where i managed a respectable time of 4hrs 54 mins and 10 secs, wiping off 15mins off my London time. Considering I did less training for this one plus I started too fast (kept up with my friend Emily who runs faster than me and then second half i had to walk run) i was very happy. planning on putting a proper training plan together with cross training and making sure my nutirition is correct. Hoping to get my time under 4hrs 50. 

After the marathon Emily and I vegges and ate alot. We  did go round a lovwely museum the day before so it wasnt all running and eating.

How ever i did sustain a niggle in my foot which i hoped would go away by the following weekend. 

When I returned back to Bristol I spent alot of time sleeping (when not at work) and my friend Simon took me to Pieminster to celebrate my marathon. I probably ddiint enjoy it as much as I could have as I was faling asleep.

Saturay of the weekend just gone, i headed up to Leicester. To run a half marathon. I stayed at my friends Clare and Keiths and it was lovely to see them.Clare was getting ready to head to Morrocco in the early houra of the morning on a school trip so it was up to Keith to see me safely to the start of the race. Theniggle was still there but alot better so figured I would be ok running with it... big mistake.Mile 7th mile, the muscle on the underside of my left foot decided it had had enough and started to cause me a lot of grief. The only way to contimue was to hobble/run/walk. I went up onto my toes for a little while but that caused other muscles to protest. I eventually hobbled in but I waspleased i had finished. It  wasnt a wellorganised race. Not enough toilets and running along side traffic on busy roads. Still I got anice medal and bright orange t shirt.

My foot has been taped up and Keith didnt mind me lying around watching Tv on his sofa. Today at work my foot has been in constant acheyness and Ive alternated between having it up on a chair and not having it up on a chair. I wanted to get stuff done but I cant stand on it too much and i have to keep trying to rest it. Not running this week -prob not next week either but I have no races till February so its no biggy. just need to ease myself back in and then I can start booking the races in for 2015. My main race is the marathon I will be running in Toronto in May.

The other problem is that as I cant run, I really want to run. Tonight was really boring. Room needed tidying as I have been a whirlwind in and out of my room. As im busy every night now till next week this was my last chance to do it before next week. Ive unpacked from Leicester and started thinking about waht to pack for this weekend. The nxt two weekends after that I am in Bristol but already busy. Then off to Brum and Scotland for the end of November. December is starting to fill up and Im sure illstart  booking in visits to people for Jan. Feb-April I will have to be clever with my time, as t will be training, so prob wont be seeing people much and then I have my three weeks in Canada when I get to see my amazing family. Im sure ill have more adventures planned after May but for now Ill enjoy the next few months and live life to the full. The new year approcahes and it can only get more exciting.

Flying solo with no electricity

So I am here in Amsterdam with Emily. Ready to run a marathon in two days time. Well I'm kind of ready. I'm sure I'll make it round. 

We both headed from different airports.emily from Heathrow and myself from Bristol. For me it was my first time flying alone. I've flown before but usually with other people so this time was a tad exciting. I watched as people queued up for the bag drop that wasn't even opened yet (you've checked in, you'll get your seat) , got felt up in security (security lady touched up my ass) and watched people jousting for position to get on plane (again it's prebooked seats!). I decided to take Sals approach which was pretty laid back and moved only when I needed to. What was the rush people! Met Emily at the amsterdam airport and we use the metro to get to our apartment. We are staying in an apartment so we can cook pasta when we need to plus it's just easier to chill out in an apartment. We managed to navigate a supermarket to get a few supplies before settling in for the night. TV was amusing. Some guy cooking quiche (in Dutch) - he was no Jamie Oliver. And the bbc programme The Musketeers. Actually there are a lot of British programmes. One wonders why they can't make their own.

Friday morning had an interesting start to it when I plugged the kettle and tripped the flat. So no electricity. That meant no coffee for Emily. That was not good. So we got washed, headed out to the marathon expo to collect our numbers. The expo was alright but not as good as the London one. Plenty to see and buy but I didn't buy anything. We did get a free t shirt (decent one too) and wristband. We also took a photo of us by our numbers. As we had no electricity the mobile phones were for emergency use only. When we got back there still wasn't any electricity and we were deciding to go and ask the cafe up the rd if we could charge mobiles when the landladys friend turned up. We worked out it was the kettle that had cause the problem and we were swapped a new one. We have electricity. Operation charging stuff had begun. With that problem sorted we went out to the supermarket to get weekend supplies. After trying to work out what ingredients were in things we headed to the tills and one was card only. As we were paying with card that wasn't a problem. What was the problem was is that they only accepted maestro which neither Em or I have. Luckily there was an ATM in the shop which took Visa so I quickly got some cash but as that till only took card I asked em to take the new packed shopping to another queue and we would have to have rescanned. When I got back Em was in the queue for the card only till - I pointed out the error and she realised what she was doing and moved to a till that took cash. We had to move fast because the ice cream was already starting to melt so when we got back to the flat we threw it in the freezer. After that we decided a little walk would be a good idea and we went for a little jaunt. Amsterdam is very pretty. Now chilling before starting today's pasta fest. 

Catching up

So again I've forgotten the blog. Looking at the date if the last one I'm a little behind so I'll either have to write a massive long blog or just summarise... I'll summarise.

So two weekend ago I pass my motorbike theory test. The was almost violence as the guy next to me wouldn't stop humming. Luckily for him he stopped. Not that I would have done anything because I wanted to pass. How I passed I don't know. I was sure I failed but somehow I passed. I now have 2 years to do my test in. I'm thinking of doing a week intensive course, somehow I think it's easier. I'm hoping to look at doing spit next year but it is down to finances and what else I'm doing.

I also ran the Bristol half marathon in a time of 2hrs 10. Not an overall personal best but it was a pb for Bristol so please there. I'm running brighton half in feb and aiming for 2hrs at that one. But before that I have amsterdam marathon and Leicester half to run. Currently tapering in readiness for amsterdam. I'm currently fighting a cold off so today I'm doing nothing. I spent some time in the sunshine but sleeping seems to be on the agenda so I can run tomorrow. Aiming for about 12 miles. My problem at the moment seems to be eating enough. I'm just so tired all the time!

The last few weeks have been busy with seeing people in the evenings and chilling out. Been catching up with friends, running, watching great British bake off with my landlady. I saw my mate mo who I haven't seen in ages and I was finally able to give her my Yule present to her. Everyone is just so busy it's difficult to catch up.

I've also been doing my painting. Probably going to do a bit more later or tomorrow. I'm currently working on a sunset scene. Has oranges and yellows and reds. Needs some pink and then a silhouette of a tree against it. Well that's the plan. I've also got a few others in the pipeline which I need to jot down. Got a load of glass beads that I want to use and some crazy ideS for them. Hmmmm. Need to clear off my crafting table... Again lol

Oh and I have signed up for toronto marathon cos I didn't get into London marathon. Going to combine it with seeing family and having some adventures. So just need to get accomodation and flights sorted.wxcited about May 2015. 2015 I might also do a week in the sun, depending on my finances. It's all about how to juggle the finances. Lol