Tag: Motivation

Winchester half

24 September 2017

Feeling rather unwelcome in the churchyard, I took a few random photos and left. Back out on the road with the race parading by me I stood in front of a rather ornate wooden bus stop and watched the runners stream past the Hursley chimneys. The road had been partly closed for the race and an unfortunate marshal had the job of holding up a stop go board to let cars trickle through when there was a safe gap between runners. It wasn’t a job I envied. Some of the drivers were less than patient despite the road closures being widely publicised weeks in advance of the race. Continue reading Winchester half

September miles

My virtual September began on the beach on the outskirts of Valencia. The coastline is dotted with holiday villas and small, purpose built holiday villages. The first I passed through was Port sa Platja, seven miles into the week. It’s a pretty little place filled with boats and handy places to stay, away from the hubbub of the big city. Continue reading September miles

Wet, muddy and probably hallucinating

23 July 2017

The rain just kept on falling. There were a few slight lulls when Commando prepared for his first night lap. Each time he pinned on his race number, checked out his head torch and pulled on his trainers it pelted down again though. Rob went out with Kim on her evening lap because he was so worried about the conditions and two torches are better than one. The gloom, the rain and most of all the mud meant it took a ridiculously long time. The woods were especially bad, tree roots hidden under water and slippery mud. After a conflab everyone agreed it was just too dangerous, not worth the risk of a broken ankle or worse.  Continue reading Wet, muddy and probably hallucinating

The legendary Solo Dave

22 July 2017

When I got back to the tent Mark was already back and Tamsyn had set off on the next team lap. So far neither Rob or Commando had run along the final part of the course in front of our tents so I settled down in my garden chair to watch and wait. Runners were coming past all the time. My eyes were firmly fixed on the race numbers as they approached, white numbers were team runners red were solo. We cheered everyone who passed but the red numbers got the loudest cheers. A pair of solo runners dressed as a bride and groom came past together. Maybe they’d just got married? If so it seemed an odd kind of honeymoon.  Continue reading The legendary Solo Dave

The last post – first published 1 October 2014

Little did I know this post about my walk on 1 October 2014 would be the last I ever wrote on my old blog. My original plan for the day had been a bus ride followed by an exploration of Hamble Marina and a nice walk along Southampton Water. The weather forecast was good, I’d checked out all the bus routes and times, job done. Unfortunately, when I got up it was raining, that horrible steady drizzle that soaks through everything. Unbeknownst to me the weather was the least of my worries. Within twenty four hours my blog would be hacked and everything I’d written would be lost, at least for a while. It has taken me almost three years to salvage what I could and this is the very last post. Continue reading The last post – first published 1 October 2014

Rattling, and running the Lordshill 10k

25 June 2017

Commando took the first of his drugs on Friday. Six little methotrexate tablets, two doxycycline and one hydroxychloroquine. He ran parkrun on Saturday although he felt slightly nauseous, probably from the methotrexate. Those running nearby may have wondered what all the rattling was. Today he took the first of the folic acid tablets, along with the daily doxy and hydroxy (we are even beginning to give them pet names). Tomorrow he is going back to work. The wisdom of running a 10k today was always questionable but he promised he would just pootle round. I didn’t believe him but he never listens to me anyway so all I could do was go along.  Continue reading Rattling, and running the Lordshill 10k

The courage to finish

23 April 2017

With my large latte in hand I went back to Guildhall Square to cheer along with the amazing Spitfire cheer squad. Sammy Saint, AKA Matthew, was there, still in his costume dancing around as if he hadn’t just run 10k in the swealtering heat. I kept looking at his feet in their oversized boots and imagined him taking them off later and pouring out a few pints of accumulated sweat. What a legend! Continue reading The courage to finish

The marathon returns to Southampton

23 April 2017

At quarter to eight this morning Commando and I were standing on The Avenue opposite The Common shivering a little and looking at the mist swirling across the city. Obviously it was a race day and this time no ducks of any kind were involved. For once I was the one wearing the race shirt with a number a timing chip pinned to it.  Continue reading The marathon returns to Southampton

March, not as many miles as I’d hoped…

My ambitious plan to walk, virtually, across Europe to Morocco hasn’t gone quite as well as planned so far this year, what with bad weather, mud and an unfortunate injury in February. Progress has been made though and Normandy, Versailles and Paris are now behind me. With spring ahead I hoped to make up some miles in March, walking across unchartered territory, at least for me, across central France. How did I’d do? Read on… Continue reading March, not as many miles as I’d hoped…

Care For a Walk – Totton to Matley, ponies dogs and a deer

18 March 2017

Care For a Walk day has come round again and, with it, the joy of a walk in the New Forest with zero chance of getting lost or ending up somewhere other than where I meant to. The annual spring walk for Macmillan Cancer Support is planned by Pete and Mike, experts on all the trails and paths because they are lucky enough to live in the forest. This means I don’t have to worry about anything other than putting one foot in front of the other and enjoying the scenery. Actually, this time, I did have to worry about not losing CJ, who has discovered he loves a walk too and wanted to come along.  Continue reading Care For a Walk – Totton to Matley, ponies dogs and a deer