Ten miles!!!

Ten miles. Yes - ten miles of interval running today with DD!! After a difficult 45 minute interval run on Thursday, as she still recovered from her trek up Snowdon, we just about managed ten miles today. What an achievement! And after doing our 5k Parkrun yesterday too! Yesterday's run was good, with both of us beating our times from the previous week, so we're both really pleased. 

I'd had a couple of days off work last week too, so managed to get some whittling done at last. It gets a bit messy though ......

However, I've managed to make a letter opener (picture to follow), wax the bird I made back in April, and start another spoon and another letter opener. And I now have a sore hand from holding the knife for so long! It's been good though, and I've really enjoyed it. 

And today, after the ten mile run, and tomorrow are all about chillin. Finally. After charging round for days and being busy crafting, cleaning, ironing, walking the dog, cooking, sorting the cats out, and running with DD, it's time for us to chill in the great outdoors. A night away in the van. And, hopefully, a gentle walk tomorrow. We've driven a lovely road in the North Pennines and seen some fabulous views ....  

.....followed by a quick stop in Brough where we saw this....

.....and now time to chill.......

A week later.....

I can't believe it's a week since I last blogged! Just shows how busy (and tired) I've been. 

Any spare time before Sunday was spent getting some new shapes ready for the craft fair. Lots of painting, sanding, more painting, and finishing touches. 

I even started some Christmas shapes (it's never too early to start making snowmen ......!). 

Basically any spare minute I had was trying to get these shapes ready. Apart from Thursday night and Saturday morning. They were our running times. DD sets the time, and off we go. Thursday was supposed to be 45 minutes interval running. But it turned in to an hour and a half as we battled an overgrown path and had to start again, and then ended up with an impromptu chat with her friend as we were running through the local sports arena grounds to get to the canal! It was a good run though. 

And then Saturday morning was our Parkrun 5k.  A much better run for us this time, knocking 2 1/2 minutes off our last time!! Yay! 

And then back to crafting for me....and more new shapes finished ....

Sunday was a long day. We were up early as DD was heading to North Wales with a friend of hers and a few others to walk up Snowdon. The weather forecast wasn't particularly good for most of the day, so she set off with my raincoat and rucksack (which has a built in rain cover), sandwiches, snacks, drinks, gloves, waterproof trousers and extra clothes. 

While she was making her way up Snowdon, I was setting up my stall for our local RSPCA summer fair. Not as well supported as their spring fair, but a good day overall. 

With no word from DD for hours I was starting to wonder a) if they'd even managed to make some attempt, b) made the summit and were on their way back or c) there'd been an accident and hadn't been able to contact us. Thankfully it was b) - they made it to the summit, eventually, and stayed dry on the way up. Unfortunately they hadn't stayed dry on the way down. The rain had started as they made their way from the summit, and they got drenched on their way back to the car. Thankfully they all made it safely and DD finally arrived home at about 8.30pm, very tired, but glad she's done it. I'm very proud of her.

And yesterday I went out for my next run on my C25K plan, after taking Oscar for a walk. A bit tougher now, but I'm getting there. I think DD needs a bit longer to recover before heading out on any training this week.....

Losing track

Is it really Tuesday night already?! I think I'm losing track of time. This is what happens when you try and fit too much into a weekend! 

After a long day at work on Thursday, I set off with DD to do our 45 minutes interval running. It seemed quite tough for both of us (me sat down at my desk all day, and DD stood up all day at work), but we managed it. No training on Friday - a day off to rest and time for me to get the shopping done and a bit of crafting. 

Then, when DH got home from work we packed the van and headed north for a sneaky night away. We headed for a spot we've used before - nice and quiet. 

We had a bit of company with the sheep,but otherwise it was very peaceful. 

We took Oscar for a short walk after we'd eaten, heading back as the rain started. 

We must have been very tired, even Oscar, because it was mid morning before we got up. Oscar had stayed under the bed, in his den, and hadn't even bothered about going out. So, a bit of a late start for us, and a chance to go wandering in a new area. 

We headed out past the Howgill fells and took a turning for Mallerstang, along a lovely single track road......

 

....with some lovely views ....

......and then we parked up and went on a short walk to Pendragon Castle ruins....

The weather was beautiful, so when we got back to the van we carried on walking in a different direction to take advantage of the nice day. 

It was a fairly easy walk along a very good track. 

We stopped for a drink and then headed back to the van. 

We set off and parked up just outside Nateby, where we made a cup of tea and had lunch. And then time to head home after a lovely mooching day. 

Sunday I was at a craft fair, so up early to get out to the venue at Scorton to get set up. It was a bit of a quiet day overall, but I sold a few things and got quite a few nice comments. 

When I got home I had to do a quick change ready to go running with DD. Her training plan was to do a 7 mile run. As time was not on our side to drive out anywhere, we set off from the front door and ran to my mums! It was very tough to start with for me. But, neither of us gave up - we stuck to the intervals and arrived at my mums 1 1/2 hours later for refreshments!  And DH came to pick us up so we didn't have to run home (thankfully). 

DD saw parts of the area she didn't know about, and it was lovely to know that we'd managed the distance and achieved our goal for the day. Hard work, but worth it, even it meant a late night for all of us by the time we'd eaten when we got home. 

Yesterday I took Oscar out on a fairly warm walk .....

....and again today, before going out for a run on my C25K training. I didn't do very well today - my legs felt very tired and I nearly gave up. I'm thinking I'll have to make sure I eat differently before heading out on a run to make sure I have enough energy. 

And as DD is on the early shift this week it means I'm also up early to get things done before work. Things like getting new wooden shapes ready for my next craft fair at the local RSPCA centre on Sunday. 

And now? Now I think it's time I got some sleep so I can survive tomorrow, and the rest of the weeks walking, running and crafting! 

Heading for the weekend

Wednesday over with again. Or very soon at least. Heading towards another weekend. And it's not that I'm wishing my life away - it's just that there's so much to look forward to! 

I had a rest from any strenuous exercise on Monday after everything I'd done over the weekend. A nice two mile stroll with Oscar was enough!

 And then back to the C25K training yesterday. And time to increase the length of each running interval. It wasn't as tough as I thought it would be, but tough enough. I did a slightly different route and ended up by the canal and then along a lovely path at the side of a field. 

I've also managed to get a little bit of crafting done this week. A bit of painting and a bit of whittling. Not much. But enough to be getting on with new things.

Tomorrow is another training day for DD, and a day for me to join her - to increase the running time over a 45 minute session. I think we're both wondering if we're ready for it, but we'll give it our best shot. 

We just need to decide where we're going to do our 7 mile run on Sunday ......

#running #crafts #walking 

Exercise overload!

I think I may have overdone the exercising this weekend.......

We had our usual dog walk on Friday night, by the canal, and walked 3 miles. A lovely evening walk with lots of wildlife about. 

Then Saturday morning was my first Parkrun with DD. 5k (approx 3 miles) in our local park. Three laps round the park starting at 9am. The atmosphere was really good, with over 200 people joining in! 

DD's friend came along too. And then when we'd finished DD spotted a lady who used to teach music to her at High School!! So we stood chatting for a while, having a quick catch up. 

When we got home DH had made sandwiches ready for us to go out walking. Not too far and not too difficult. So we headed for Silverdale and a walk up to Arnside Knot. A lovely walk with fabulous weather. 

I hadn't really planned on any climbing but we made it to the top eventually. I'm glad we did as the views were lovely. 

And after a quick lunch stop we headed back to the van along the same path, with a quick stop at a lovely little tearoom serving cakes, drinks and icecream. I hadn't taken any money with me, and DH didn't have much, but we had just enough to share a scone with jam and cream - delicious!

And today I took DD out for a 6 mile run in the Lake District. She'd found a trail route by the side of Ullswater, a path that we've walked before. After a bit of a late start we got parked up and started the run. Unfortunately it didn't go as well as previous runs as we were both tired and found the uphill sections a bit too tough to run up. So we did 4 miles on the path, then another 2 miles by the road. 

It wasn't all bad. I enjoyed some sections of the run, and encouraged DD to keep going on the way back to the van - lunch and a cup of tea waiting! 

So, a weekend of running and walking - running with DD and walking with DH. 

This might just become a bit of a habit .......

 

Another one of those weeks!

It's been another one of those weeks so far, and that's with having Monday off work and it's not even weekend yet! 

I tried to get some whittling done on Monday, something I've missed doing for a while. I managed to get some work done on a second small spoon that I'd started, but didn't quite finish it. 

Then back to work on Tuesday with a run after work for my C25k plan. After managing 5 miles with DD on Sunday it wasn't too bad just doing 30 mins! 

And then more whittling last night. And sanding to get a good finish. I just need to seal them now to get a really good finish. I have to say I'm quite pleased with them. 

So I've now got two small spoons and a larger one to seal. 

The kittens are still doing well. Although we don't seem to be making much progress on integrating everyone. But I guess two out of the four older cats with the kittens is better than none. And it's still early days. 

And for the rest of the week it's taken up with shopping, running, more running, possibly walking, housework and crafting! (And maybe a bit of reading when I get chance........).