Taking the Roller Coaster to Fort William.

Last year I attempted to do my first marathon but failed due to falling and breaking my wrist which was more than slightly annoying. I obviously had to sign up for another and hope that nothing untoward would happen a second time around.

So at the start of this year I signed up for the first Fort William marathon, then twisted Beth's arm to come join in the fun, which makes a change because it's normally the other way round!

The months soon passed and I had to make my 16 week training plan. I did some research about the best way to train for a marathon and eventually found a formula that I hoped would suit me. I knew that I would not be able to cope with a purely running orientated plan as I firstly didn't think my body would cope and secondly I would find it really dull and boring. I decided to make a plan around 3 runs a week (1 x speed, 1 x tempo, 1 x distance) and cycle my bike at least 2 or 3 times a week too.

This plan worked well for the first 4 and a half weeks and I was finding it fairly enjoyable and I think I was getting faster. Then one day when just out for a walk with the dog I stumbled on a tree root and felt a very sharp pain in my glutes. Had to come straight home, couldn't even walk it off! Although panicking about it, I still had plenty of time to get it fixed.

A few trips to the physio later and I was back, still a little sore and very cautious. I had tweaked old, almost chronic injuries, a tight piriformis muscle in my butt and slight tendonitis at the insertion of my hamstring into glute. Happy days!

So my plan was changed accordingly to suit my injuries. I cut out the speed sessions as going fast was out of the question. I upped the miles on the bike and reduced the miles on the trails for a few weeks, then as I improved I upped the running miles again.

I was training on the fantastic trails round and about Innerleithen so they were quite tough miles, quite a lot of elevation on fire roads and single track. However a combination of new trainers and the hills possibly contributed to me getting sore achilles, mostly the left one.

To say I was getting a bit depressed about the whole thing is an understatement, a few tears and tantrums were had but I wanted so desperately to complete this challenge. I hate to fail.

I soldiered on, ice baths for my feet, topical ibuprofen, anti inflammatories and pain killers became my friends.

The training went on though and the date was looming large. My positivity was growing, I can achieve this, I will achieve this.

Then 12 days before race day I woke up with a slightly stiff back, nothing unusual really but this one decided not to disappear and steadily became tighter as the day wore on. Panicking I texted the wonderful Gillian (friend and physio) for help and guidance. I was thinking the worst scenario, as my back has gone before and taken months to recover fully. She assured me that this may not be the case and not to give up hope just yet.

After some intensive physio sessions, more stretching exercises and 8 whole days of no exercise I tested my body on a 3.5 mile run 2 days before race day. I managed, it felt terrible and parts of me hurt but I was certainly going to go and give it the best shot that I could.

The roller coaster of Fort William did not stop there though, more bumps were to come.

It was initially planned that my parents would come and dog sit for us so Alistair could be our cycle support on the route, but like my training plan it also had to be changed. My Mum had taken ill and so therefore could not make it down. The hotel we were staying in was not pet friendly so what would we do? The only way was if we took Bdog and one of us would sleep in the car with him over night.

Upon arrival at the hotel I mentioned the situation to the hotel reception just to check that they wouldn't mind a guest sleeping in their car park. The gentleman was most helpful and with a whispered voice said that we could sneak him in after the owner had gone home for the day. Phew! Happy days for Bdog and Alistair.

Sunday race day was on me it was now or never. Beth and I were both fairly anxious at the start, it was my first and Beth's second marathon. The route on paper looked good but not really knowing the lay of the land that well, it was more of a "will just have to wait and see" kind of route. The weather might play a big part in the enjoyability of it. As it turned out the weather was near perfect conditions for running and unusually for Scotland this Summer, it stayed dry.

The route started at Nevis range and for the first 12ish miles followed a mix of fire roads, single track and roads. The scenery was spectacular and had to remind myself to lift my head and look around. The next 6 miles took us along the side of the Caledonian canal, again very scenic but this for me was the hardest point. The terrain was flat and seemed endless and because the small field of competitors had now been spread quite wide it was fairly lonely.

Having only run in training up to 20 miles the last 6 was going to be an unknown quantity, but apart from my legs starting to seize up, I felt ok. Every time I passed a mile marker I let out a little cheer, and said to myself "not far to go now". I plodded on trying to keep my legs going at a steady rate, but the last 4 miles was uphill so had to dig in hard.

Entering back into the Nevis range and following part of the X-country bike path I could feel myself getting quite emotional, all the blood, sweat and tears was eventually going to pay off. Not long after the 26 mile marker I rounded a corner and saw Alistair cheering me on. I smiled and cried at the same time, he was a very welcoming and lovely sight to see.

Crossing the finish line I have never felt so much relief and joy all at the same time. I had made it, Fort William had been conquered. In fact it felt like some of the best running I had done in a while.

With my medal round my neck I waited to cheer Beth over the line and shed a few more tears when I saw her round the corner and head toward the finish line. Another challenge completed.

As the title of this post suggests I found this a difficult challenge as my body was fairly uncooperative at times. As ever I am thankful to the people and dog in my life who help make things possible.

The day was topped off perfectly with a stop at Tyndrum for gluten free haddock and chips and a few glasses of champagne when safely tucked up back home in the comfort of my jammies.

 Bdog going on a road trip.

Car selfies.

Near Glen Etive.

Mmm never been here before.

Dinner outside in sunshine.

A calm and beautiful day at Fort Bill.

We can rebuild her!

Anxious.

More anxious.

Tears of joy.

The last few metres.

The red mat of joy.

Go Beth. 

I love you. 

All that for a tee shirt.

And a medal.

Boot party.

Where's my Mum?

That'll do.

Cheers. x

As always big love to all the Galls who make any weekend a great one, to Alistair chief photographer and supporter, Bdog for licking away all my salty sweat and Gillan for her amazing magic physio hands. 

Peace x

All photographs copyright to A. Dow and C. Gall.

7350 Days Later.

It's been a while since I last posted which I apologise for but I've a good excuse. 

I moved house!

There are times when I can procrastinate over small or even trivial decisions that may or may not make difference to my life, but when it comes to making big decisions I am fairly brutal and they are often quick and instantaneous. 

Giving up a career, taking time to travel, moving house away from my city and my friends. Yup lets do it, go, go, go!

As the title suggests, I had been the owner and resident (minus 1 year) of my flat in Edinburgh for a substantial amount of time and when I started to think about that I was beginning to find it quite depressing. The history of me and the flat goes back to when I was a child bride :-). Oh the hopes and dreams! Well maybe not, but it didn't stay a marital home for too long and soon the flat became my home. Some may say that this was an ominous beginning but hey you got to live somewhere and it wasn't the flats fault I married a twat.

Anyway we grew together and decorated quite a few times in those 7350 days. The TV programme Changing Rooms had much to answer to in a few of those years. Suffice to say there were quite a few ups and downs at number 42.

History is history though and it was time to move on and make some new memories. For many years I didn't know where I would actually want to move to. The only thing I could afford within Edinburgh would be smaller than I had already and even I am not old enough to downsize just yet. East and West lothian I've never really fancied for various reasons. So where, that was the big question.

Having taken up mountain biking a year or so ago and making frequent trips down to Glentress and the Innerleithen trails, I started to think about living in either Peebles or Inners. After research I decided that Innerleithen would be a good bet. It is a busy little town with lots of local amenities, walking and biking trails and actually not too far from Burgh either. Could I have found my Location, Location, Location?

That was it decision made, and so 12 weeks of madness began.

The sign went up and I was on the market, so to speak!

Preparing for my first weekend of viewing was taken up with much frantic cleaning and tidying up of all the things they tell you to hide to create space etc. No one came. Oh well next week. I think it was the 3rd weekend before anyone showed, just one lady, but she seemed to like it. I was giving my "this flat is great, area is great, neighbours are great" speech and had my fingers crossed that my sales pitch was working. It must have as she came back the next day with her sister for a second look.

Short story of the next sequence goes something like this; offer in, offer accepted, offer reduced due to her solicitors incompetence, I asked for cheeky in-between price, accepted, woop woop.

In the midst of these few days my downstairs neighbour complained my balcony was letting water seep through to his living room ceiling. Crap timing to say the least, 20 years and relatively few neighbour dramas. To say I was unamused was putting it mildly. Something else to fix before I leave.

Now I had to find somewhere to buy, luckily I had been trawling the net and had made pro and con lists for various houses. I made an appointment to see the one I thought had the best potential as my new life partner and low and behold it was love at first sight. Boom. Cheeky offer in, offer refused, reasonable offer in, offer accepted. Boom Boom.

To cut short the whole very stressful event, there were varying degrees of nonsense from all parties building warrants etc but eventually it all came together and the day before my moving date my solicitor phoned with the news that "missives were concluded". Those are by far the sweetest 3 words anyone has ever said to me in a very long time and I think I gave out a squeal of delight and maybe danced around a little. Nobody was looking!

Emptying my loft  took about 5 weekends and endless trips to the dump.

Tiles removed from balcony. I had them replaced obviously.

My spare room or box room as it came to be known.

Game on. OMG I'm actually moving.

And so it was on August 8th 2014, 7350 days after I moved in, I packed my goods and shackles and departed for the countryside.

I was beyond excited. 

It is a strange phenomenon that we, or at least I, spend hours reading reviews etc about the latest gadget, trainer, bike etc that i will spend my hard earned cash on, but when it comes to spending thousands, 2 look rounds and Bobs your Uncle you've bought a house.

Thankfully my new house has lived up to my expectations so far. The interior is slightly more "50 Shades of Beige" than I would like but I already have the colour charts at the ready for a more primary colour makeover.

One of my new views. A good weather window.

View towards Caddon Bank, bike trails R US.

A gift from my favourite wee boys.

View from top of hill of doom.

Mmm that's not good.

Ah yeah, it be broken then.

However, it has not all been smooth sailing since moving in to my new abode. In my keenness to get out and explore the new trails and paths, 4 days after moving in, I fell coming down a hill whilst out for a run and broke my wrist. I couldn't believe it, not only have I never broken a bone before I was actually in the midst of telling myself "now be careful as these rocks will be slippy" when Bam, my feet disappeared from under me. I landed at first on my backside, thankful my keys in my back pocket protected my fall. Not! Then as if that wasn't painful enough I then flipped sideways and went face first into the hillside and rocks. I smacked my chin and put my tooth through my lip, but my left hand took most of the force.

I got up in that, did anyone see me fall manner, and gave myself a check over. Blood, yes. Limbs broken, no. Anyone around, no. Ok good to go. I jogged slowly back down the hill wiping my lip as I went. Eventually I stopped to check my hand as it was throbbing and saw that it was not quite the shape it should be. Oopsy. Thankfully I found a fiver on the way up the hill, so went to the Scotmid to buy the obligatory frozen peas, only cost £1, still 4 quid up, hoorah.

After a few phone calls to my Mum and various friends, I iced my hand then went to bed. Another long story short I had to go to the hospital and they told me I had a fracture on my radius and put me in a stookie.

This may not sound like a funny story but it really is. My two very good friends and running companions have also fallen whilst out running recently. Beth was the first, badly bruised ribs and a smashed watch amongst her injuries. Heather was second, she fell and got stitches in her chin and messed up her hands and knees. I am hopefully the 3rd and last of this tripping up disease that seems to have befallen us all.

To make matters funnier, it was Heather that drove me to the A&E, she was still fairly heavily bandaged from her injuries. To say we looked like a "right pair" is a bit of an understatement.

The downside of injuring myself does mean that all the events i have been training for and were upcoming have all and to be abandoned. There is always next year.

I have a garden though.

One handed art work to tell people I've moved.

Phew can still hold a glass.

Oh Yes!

I have an apple tree.

The pointy hill is where I fell.

I have since done a couple of exploratory walks and found some great routes for when I can actually run again.

Top of Pirn Hill.

All things considered I love my new house and look forward to new and exciting times ahead. I even have a new coffee machine, so you can get a decent cuppa if you are passing my door.

Peace x 

All photos by Caroline Harvey

The Super Sisters.

Today was Edinburgh marathon day, when approx 30, 000 people descend upon the city and it's coastline to run in varying lengths of races.

Beth was so inspired by watching her sister last year that she signed up early on to run this 26.2 mile course.

Lesley, having run an amazing first marathon time last year got invited to do the London marathon in April, which she completed in and unbelievable 3hrs 20 something.

Both ladies had done all the training required and this morning I met them in town to see them off at their start points.  The weather was not great but it was better than the very hot day we had on Wednesday, which def would have been a killer for these fair skinned gorgeous ladies.

Sisterly love.

I was on bike support so once I had left them at the start I headed out to the 10 mile marker which was out past Musselburgh. I found a good spot next to a very chatty and friendly volunteer marshall.

Lesley came through first and was looking strong and cheery as ever, then came Beth also making light work of the course.

Now for those that don't now the course, it is one of the fastest courses in the world because there are relatively no hills, but don't let this fool you in to thinking that it is easy. Personally i think it must be hard as it is one long straight line for 18 miles then you turn around and come back! This also means that you see all the people ahead of you heading home as you may still be going out. To me this is mental torture, so extra, extra kudos to anyone who completes this marathon.

I was wanting to head to the 18 mile turn point, but it was too difficult to get along the road at any fast pace as the whole road is used by the runners. In the end I waited at around the 22/23 mile mark at Cockenzie. 

Some how I sadly managed not to see Lesley the 2nd time, because I think I may have been in the ladies room behind a wall.

I did see Beth however and another friend Becky. Both said they were feeling slightly weary but they looked in good health. I scooted off back to the finish to try and see everyone.

The finish was very busy but all were found and and in relatively good spirits.

Both ladies finished in highly respectable times. Lesley 3:31 ish and Beth 4:22.

I am so proud of both of them. They also raised £700 towards Macmillan cancer. 

Also a big shout out to Kathleen who finished her first marathon and raised £800 for Alzheimer Scotland.

The Elite athletes coming through the 10 miles in 51 mins!

So fast.

Cockenzie.

So many people.

Storm clouds over Edinburgh.

Yeah Beth almost at the end.

Peace x

Keep on Running.

Way back in January I was needing to find an event to enter to give me a target and keep me motivated over the Winter months. Normally I leave this task to my lovely friend Beth, who has  roped me into various cycling, running events over the years, but this time I thought I would have a look myself to see if anything took my fancy.

I decided on a running event as it is hard to do many road cycling miles in the winter unless you have a turbo trainer, which I don't. There were so many to choose from, 10k's, half marathons and of course the full marathon, what to do?

I plumped for the half marathon as it was more of a challenge than a 10k but required a lot less training than a full one. Rather than go for a city pavement run I chose the Loch Katrine half, which although was still on hard tarmac had the added bonus of some stunning scenery.

The race was last Sunday, which thankfully was a clear blue sky day, slightly cold with a bit of a breeze but no rain or snow.

We arrived in plenty time (Beth ran too, she is in marathon training) which was great as it gave us plenty time to register and settle our nerves and get a good warm up done. The event is relatively small in size, approx 300, but includes a 10k, half and full marathon.

The marathon runners set off first and their course would take them the 13 miles down the loch and back, our route was obviously half that distance down and back.

It is a very popular walking and cycling route but I have never done it before so the route was unknown to me, which I actually quite like, although I do usually prefer circular routes, but you can't have everything.

We set off and not having run with other people around me in a very long time I was slightly concerned that I might be tempted to run too fast etc so I just focused on a pace that I thought I would be able to sustain for the 13.1 miles.

The route was quite undulating and so tried to keep as similar a pace as I could on the ups and if my legs allowed make the most of the downs.

As I approached the half way mark I was feeling quite good as I and done quite a few 6 milers, but hadn't really done too many over the 10 mile mark, so my thoughts at this point were "can I keep this pace going for the same miles back?"

I knew I was going fairly well as I could check the time on my watch and I was under an hour at the turning point. I tried to keep fellow competitors in sight and where possible try to catch up or at least match pace.

My legs were feeling pretty good and my calf muscles which have been acting up recently were also feeling ok. Basically it was head down and try and continue the same pace. As I approached the 11 mile mark I was feeling quite tired and possibly a little dehydrated but I could hear feet pounding behind me and tried hard not to let anyone past. At 12 miles the feet were closer and I looked over my shoulder and there was a lady just on my shoulder. She spurred me on by telling me that I had been the best pacemaker for the last 6 miles and I should dig in and give my best to get to the finish in a good time. This comment really spurred me on and I eventually crossed the finish line in 1:54:38.

Under the 2 hours, I was very pleased.

The race was an extremely well organised event and the route although out and back was in some of the most stunning Scottish scenery. It was also a very friendly race with competitors give encouragement to each other as they pass. The winner of the marathon even gave encouragement as he passed me!! He ran a full marathon in 2:49:35. Impressive to say the least.

Sadly I was unable to stop and take photos, which was a shame as the day was beautiful, so this is one from the start line.

Peace x 

Lovin' it.

The first full working week is over, thank goodness. It's always a thought knuckling back down to the dull repetition of work but in order to enjoy your free time, you got to make some bucks somehow!

The great thing about the end of the week is of course the weekend and this weekend was made all the better as the weather was fabulous. Cold, but fabulous.

Of course when the weather is good it makes the thought of going out and exercising so much easier and enjoyable. When the winter mornings are still dark and the urge to hibernate under the duvet is strong,  it is amazing to see a beautiful  blue sky take hold of the day. Even if there is no blue sky if it's dry and not blowing a gale, you've got to jump at the chance to get out and enjoy the few hours before darkness comes in again.

Saturday morning was one of those cold and very crisp mornings and having not run since the beginning of the week it was a great opportunity to head off the pavements and into the hills, or at least closer to them. The small amount of pavement and roads that i did go on were incredibly slippy with black ice, but thankfully I did not become a cropper. No speed records were made, but a successful 8ish miles were completed.

Sunday was mountain biking day. Yippee! Although the blue skies had been swapped for clouds it was dry, but still very cold and frosty.

The decision to head to Glentress and tackle the black route was made. I was especially looking forward to this trip as I recently treated myself to a drop seat (Rock Shock Reverb). This is a fancy seat post that you can lower and raise with the push of a button. This may seem a slightly pointless gadget to some people, but to me it is absolutely amazing. I like a high seat for climbing the hills but like it quite low for the downhills and on a varied trail this can be quite tedious and time consuming to do manually, but with this gadget you can do it on the move. It made me so happy it was beyond ridiculous.

Getting to the top of the black route is quite a leg and lung buster and is broken up with some technical downhills, but all the puffing and panting is worth it, not only for the views but for the great downhill at the end. To come down, we took the direct route that followed mostly red and then blue trail markers, and apart from having a few frozen gear problems it was a great run.

To top off a rather splendid January weekend, we stopped in at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Innerleithen. They have a gluten free menu that delights an especially hungry and slightly chilly me. A bowl of chips, a piece of carrot cake and a latte, blissful.

Now that, in my book, is a great weekend.

Morning run.

Morning bike ride.

Peace x

All photos by Caroline Harvey.

A Pictorial Catch Up.

The last few weekends have been very busy with fun stuff, so have not had a chance to catch up with the old blog. Here is a less words, more photos, kind of post.


Edinburgh Festival is back again, which means traffic, traffic traffic, and some very grumpy hours having to drive through town. The traffic management system of this fair city is beyond horrific!

Jams.

Although I find the whole festival thing quite tedious these days, a good girlie night out was had at "Forth on the Fringe".

 Gin a necessary accompaniment to a good night out.

Gin in Tins.

2nd row seats.

Illustrations from a book in the pub.

Thick ankles?

A walk up Ben A'an made for a lovely day out, even though we got a bit wet in the rain. A short and steep walk that is well worth it for the views at the top.

Not sure if he was hungry, but definitely a caterpillar.

Loch Katrine.

Ben A'an.

Day out, home cooked dinner, drinks and a rainbow. What else does a girl need?

Lunch at my Tay spot.

Harbour at Granton.

A day trip west to Culzean Castle. The drive through is quite far but well worth it for a walk along the beach and then up to the very picturesque castle and gardens.

A bonus for the day was seeing an adder soaking up some warmth on a piece of rock, before it slithered off into the grass.

Pretty.

Sun dial head.

Red flower.

White flower.

This weekend has been busy with running and mountain biking and more rainbows. 

Happy? I think so.

Pentlands.

Peace x

All photographs by Caroline Harvey.