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Tuesday 22 November 2011

An Unwanted Interruption

Normal service is now resumed. I woke up two Fridays ago with a horrible sore throat, which developed into chills, sweats and aches. I was pretty much better again by last Thursday, but decided to call the running week a write-off and start fresh at the weekend. I'm no stranger to over-training, so I thought it'd be best to rest properly before picking up the pace again. This all means I'm a week behind my schedule, but it was pretty flexible anyway so no great loss.

I switched the long run to Saturday this week, to accommodate other commitments, so I was out as dawn broke for a five miler - no link to that run, since both Nike+ and Runkeeper failed me (Nike+ stopped recording my time after I stopped at traffic lights, and Runkeeper thought I was doing 6 minute miles - chance would be a fine thing!). I quite liked the Saturday early run. It meat Izzy and her dad got a wee lie in, I got my run out of the way right at the start of the weekend, and it meant I still had the whole of Saturday ahead of me. I think I might switch my long run to Saturdays, or at least be flexible with it.

Today was another 2-miler, to and from the post-natal exercise class. It felt very quick and easy. Thursday is a 5 miler though, and I'm a bit apprehensive about having Izzy out in the Beast that long. I'm sure it'll be d
fine though - she certainly seemed to be happy to be going out today!


Thursday 10 November 2011

Rebel Yell

Izzy has discovered that screaming is fun! Sometimes she shrieks like she's being murdered. Sometimes she yelps like a dog. Sometimes she gargles at the top of her voice. Apparently these are all fine and acceptable methods of self expression. It's very, very funny, but I do feel for the neighbours.

She's generally quiet on our runs though, taking in her surroundings at speed, occasionally babbling up to me, but mainly giving her poor vocal cords a wee rest. Today we went on an adventure run, exploring streets we'd never been down and seeing where we'd end up. It was a nice run, and when I was flagging near the end I was cheered up and cheered on by the lady standing at her window watching us and giving us a round of applause! Perhaps a small taste of the supporters en route of the marathon? Just over 5 months to go...

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Pram Envy

I have to confess - I suffer terribly from pram envy. I was aghast, when pregnant, to find out that the 'cool' travel systems, your Bugaboos and your iCandies, cost more than I'd be prepared to pay for four (or possibly three) wheels and a baby-holder-bit. They're lovely, they really are - sleekly designed, light as a feather and smooth as silk on the pavement, but £500 for a buggy? Nope, couldn't do it.

So we bought a decent Graco travel system - the pram, the carseat that clips into the chassis, the cosytoes and the rain cover - for about half what one of the fancy prams cost and it's good. It's fine. No, really, it is.

But still, the pram envy. For months after Izzy was born every time I saw one of those matt silver bodied, lushly upholstered beauties, all stylish curves and chunky tyres, I felt the green-eyed monster rise from the pit of my stomach. Buggyfit was particularly bad for it - every buggy but mine, it seemed, was a designer dream. I bet they didn't have to WD40 their wheels every time it rained.

Then, though, I bought the Beast. The Baby Jogger Performance. What a machine! I bought it for purely practical reasons, needing to get out running, but boy, it's a smasher (and a bargain, being an eBay purchase). Wheels nearly the size of my car's, it tackles all terrain with ease and handles like a well tuned bike. I wheeled it into the exercise studio today for the post-natal class and heads turned. Other mums commented on it, asking how it handled and what it was like to run with. They crowded round, not to ooh and aah at poor Izzy (who was still strapped in) but to get a good look at the tyres, comment on the hand brake, and ask about its value for money. So, this was what it's like to be on the other end of the pram envy. You know what? It felt good! Now when I'm out with the regular pram, I don't feel quite so envious of the fancy-dan-prams - not when I know there's the Beast in the garage, just waiting for our next run.

Oh yes, and here's today's run. Just a short 2 miles, and a nice day for it.

Sunday 6 November 2011

Grumpy Sunday

Izzy, not me. She's a bit out of sorts, and has been for a few days. It's probably a combination of a wee cold and teething, and the poor wee thing just isn't happy. She spent most of her time at our friends' fireworks party yesterday grumbling, girning, and refusing to nap, and she spent the duration of my four mile run today driving her poor dad to distraction.

It was strange yesterday - I kept wanting to insist "she's usually not like this, really!", as if her discomfort were an indictment of my parenting ability. Luckily most of the people there had young children of their own, so they probably knew exactly how I was feeling (unless I actually am a terrible parent /paranoia).

She's currently asleep on me. She continued to yell at her dad while I had my bath, negating any hoped-for relaxation on my part. I tried feeding her as soon as I got out of the bath, and after putting up a bit of a fight she settled down to eat and fell asleep on my lap. She's still there. I'm wearing a towel, I'm cold, and I need to get ready to visit my parents-in-law in an hour, but for now I'll sit here with a peaceful baby while I can

As for the run, it was lovely. The longest so far in this training plan, but I felt I could have kept going. Jennifer and I had a lovely chat again, and the cold, bright weather was ideal. At least something's going well...

Thursday 3 November 2011

Sleep? What's that?

I woke up feeling refreshed this morning. I had actually had four hours in a row of sleep. I believe that's the first time since July that I've slept that long. (In July there was one blissful night when I had five and a half hours, but before that I hadn't slept through the night since I was about eight weeks pregnant.)

It was a bit sad really. I was feeling refreshed and happy because I'd had four hours sleep. Oh dear, this is what life has come to, when four hours feels like a victory.

Sleep or no sleep, today was a run day. So, after Izzy's morning nap, we got the Beast out of the garage, and went on a three mile run.

It was tough going. I was tired, and my legs were still aching from Buggyfit yesterday. I think I'll need to stop going to Buggyfit on a Wednesday, because I really, really need that rest day.

After a grumpy teething day yesterday, Izzy was in a fabulous mood all day today and had a lovely nap in the buggy when we were out for our run. We had a wee trip out to Silverburn this afternoon and Aunty Jen came over for a visit this evening.

The only problem is, Izzy went to bed an hour and a half ago, and she's still wriggling, giggling and making monkey noises in the cot. I think we're in for another long night - who needs sleep anyway?

Getting Sleepy

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Having a Giraffe

Week three of the pre-training training, and all's well. Tuesday's are a 2 mile easy run until after Christmas, so Izzy and I ran to the sports centre for my post-natal exercise class and back - that's dedication! Definitely felt like an easier run than last week, and I didn't walk up the hills like I did last week either.

There was an added bonus today. We were at the centre for the baby swimming class yesterday, and somewhere between the car and the pool I dropped Sophie the Giraffe. Now Sophie is one of those ubiquitous, slightly pretentious and very middle class toys that everyone (and I mean everyone) seems to have, but she's popular for a good reason. Despite resembling a very expensive dog toy, she's the best teething toy out there, and considering that Izzy has just in the past two days cut her first two teeth, this was not the best time for the giraffe to go walkabout. I asked if she had been handed in as we left, but no joy.

Imagine, then, how delighted I was to walk into the centre today to see Sophie in pride of place on a shelf behind the desk. I waited in the queue, and when the lady asked how she could help I told her I was there to rescue the giraffe. Izzy seemed unfazed by the reunion at the time, but she was having a good chew on poor Sophie when we got home, so I think she was happy to have her back.

Tomorrow we've got Buggyfit (if I can get out of bed this time) and then Thursday is a 3 mile run with Izzy. As long as we've got Sophie along with us I'm sure it'll be fine.

Sophie Safe at Home