Champagne Coma

The Marcothon - I'm out. 

Running in general - I'm out. 

Injured? No. Depressed? No. Some other reason to make me sound less pathetic, or weak, or a failure? No.

It would appear I am a drunk. Not without cause, though.

It all started on Day 15 - with me bailing out of the Marcothon, the result of one of the worst red wine induced hangovers I've ever had. The after effect of my work Christmas night out...well I had to do something to make a bunch of accountants' company enjoyable.

And basically my demise started there... I decided not to run the following day, or the day after that, then, when my laziness was no longer justifiable, I decided I would "take a break".  A break from what? I wasn't doing anything...so who knows...

Then, on Christmas morning, my stupid boyfriend proposed to me with a bobby dazzler... once my trachea reopened after a brief emotionally-triggered asthmatic anxiety attack I, of course, said yes :-).

I have been in a Champagne Coma ever since.  People have asked if I have started planning the wedding and the answer is I feel I would need to sober up before I could make any reliable decisions.

A Glee Club run on the 29th was also ditched for panto and champers on the 28th with friends. I took advantage of the impact the bubbles were having on my friends and recruited Kevin as a support runner for the WHW race.

So, to summarise my WHW training, we are now at the 30th of December and the only substantial run of the month was the WHW gangs run on 9th December.

My new years resolutions? To start running again, and plan a wedding. Simples.

What time is it? It's Marcothon time!

What time is it? It's (nearly) Christmas time...

What does that mean to us runners? Aside from our social calendars filling up quicker than me at the Pizza Hut buffet?!?!

It means...

Starbucks RED cup time...ohhh yes...Toffee Nut Lattes, Eggnog Lattes and best of all Gingerbread Lattes! Nom nom nom nom...

No! Only kidding, although the red cups are my cue to start ramping up the red wine consumption.

This year for me it means Marcothon! http://www.themarcothon.com/

Why? Why NOT is the question!

On a serious note the WHY? is because I have been accepted into the West Highland Way Race 2013! And how do you train for a 96 mile trail race? Well I like to think running is a good start, even if it is for 3 miles each day (or 25 minutes whichever comes quicker).

I'll admit, running on Christmas Day does seem strange to me. The thought of having to tear myself away from my newest cabbage patch doll seems unbearable.

But I have to give it try. God loves a trier.  But he loves me more.

WHW training run...with Spiderman!

In my continued attempt to establish a fitness base worthy of an entry into the West Highland Way race 2013, I signed up for a 43 mile training run on Sat 24th November, organised by Ian Minty.

Clearly I would not be able to complete the full 43 mile run, however I was aiming to complete the first 22ish miles from Tyndrum to the base of the Devil's Staircase.

So at 8am, four of us (Ross Lawrie, Paul Houston, Ian Minty and myself) met at the Green Welly Stop. Prepared for the four seasons of weather that Scotland can offer in any one day, our backpacks resembled those of the hill walkers setting off for a week long trek. Mine in particular was the heaviest - despite the fact I would be running the least distance.

And off we went. The initial climb out of Tyndrum set the tone of the run, my layers started to come off and Ross' camera came out.  Whilst I spent every hour removing one of my 40 layers of clothing, Ross resembled a superhero, climbing up rocks trying to get the best angle for his amazing photographs.

Later I found out that Ross' ninja/superhero poses were well practiced - he actually impersonates our favourite comic character - Spiderman, for charities such as Make a Wish foundation and Chas.  I was in the presence of a Legend.

Aside from Ross' ability to climb cars and bins, I'm sure you will all agree with me his photographic ability is amazing... check out some of the pictures from the run below (there are more on my picasa album if you're interested).

To summarise, I completed the full 22 miles and had a great day out. I don't like to give a step by step encounter, as it can be REALLY boring to read...so i'll let the photos tell the story of the run.

Climb out of Tyndrum:

Climb out of Bridge of Orchy (I am in the bottom right hand corner):

Snack stop on the Rannoch Moor - runner style - no hands!

I can also impersonate a childhood character Ross... Budgie the helicopter:

Descent into Glencoe. We met the boys brigade along with Colin Knox...no he isn't a member...he was chasing us... who were running behind him... yep, i'll let you figure that one out:

Climb out of Kingshouse:

Minty and I on the home straight (run to base of Devil's Staircase!)

And Finally... 

Random item of the post - "Dummies Dance South Africa"