Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Catch-ups And Speed-ups

by Russell Turner - 19:56 on 11 December 2017

Saturday night I was back in action with City Limits, playing at an Elgin City FC Christmas do. A good night was had by all, including us, and there was enough turkey dinner and Christmas pud left for the band. Bonus! And the roads there and back were snow-free, apart from the return leg from the A9 through the Black Isle which had enjoyed another fall in my absence. That took some careful driving.

I didn’t reach bed until just short of 3am, so Sunday was a lazy day, the afternoon spent catching up on the Strictly semi-final. Next Sunday could be even lazier, as we play in Banff until 1am so it might be closer to 4am before my head hits the pillow. I’ll catch up again for the final. Matchgirl’s promised there’ll be no spoilers.

Today found me in my running gear, repeating the last session of the couch to 5k, this time with no hidden flu germs to slow me down. The good news was that (on a slightly different route) I finished it a minute faster and in much better shape than last time despite slush, ice and puddles. The bad news was a toe blister, I think caused by the design of the long socks. I may have to revert to the short ones and keep my fingers crossed that they’ll cover the gap between ankle and running tights for the whole run. Or even revert to shorts too, which would be a bold decision during the frosty weather.

I’ll have two or three opportunities to experiment, and strengthen my 5k style, before I begin the marathon programme (weather permitting) on December 19. It should be the 20th, but as we’ve been warned that the electricity will be off any time between 9am and 4pm I don’t fancy ending my run with a cold shower in a cold house.

This will be particularly bad news for cats, who’ve become instantly used to The Rural Retreat’s warmer interior, provided by the new boiler, and who since the snow began to fall are rarely to be found far from a radiator.

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