marathonmummy

I go out of the country and they splash me all over page 2 of the local paper. Fame at last!

I’m back from a week of skiing in Bulgaria with my lovely mum. I have to confess that I told Zoe I was doing lots of running on the treadmill, because she was virtuously trundling away following our training plan to the letter. I lied: I actually managed 15 minutes one day, which just about killed me. 6 hours of skiing a day was enough – we were so tired that one night we ready for bed at 8pm.

I had a brainwave yesterday – take the dog out running with me! I’ll be safe, she’ll get a good walk, everyone’s happy. Slight problem:

She’s now been sacked as a training partner – halfway round she stopped dead and refused to move. I could sympathise, having been there myself, but having spent the last half of the run encouraging her to keep going I now know how Katie feels when she runs with me. But the good news is that a week of skiing has made me superfit! For the first time yesterday I actually realised there was a chance I might run the whole 26.2 miles, instead of run walking.

More later. Eek, it’s the end of term. Going to have to lock the children in the shed whilst I go running next week.

I have been tagged by carpeviam, the inspirational goddess of marathon running and all round funny person, to list 10 things that make me happy. 1. Family – here we are this Christmas. Please note I have managed to avoid being in the photograph. I’m crafty like that.

2. Friends – this picture shows a small but very lovely selection. Yes, we had been drinking wine.

3. Tea. Kettle must be freshly boiled, tea must be decaf, milk must be put in afterwards and semi skimmed or whole, never skimmed (ugh). Yes, I really am quite fussy. You noticed.

4. Bookshops – until our lovely Borders closed, I was to be found hiding there as often as possible, drinking coffee and reading books, hidden in a corner. These are our kittens, Edward and Bella, who have inherited my love of books. Or maybe just small spaces.

5. My garden. Don’t be fooled by those hens. They might look cute, but they ate all 100 of my tulips last year, and they crap everywhere. They do lay lovely (occasionally tulip flavoured) eggs, though.

6. Skiing – I keep hoping my running experiences will end up like my skiing ones. My learning curve was very steep. In my first week, I went from lying in a foetal position on a nursery slope, weeping that I was scared I’d fall off the side of the mountain, to a red run. Now it’s my favourite thing in the world. Unfortunately I’ve yet to feel the same love of running that I have for skiing. That’s why you should all be impressed by me running a marathon, because there are about a million other things I’d rather be doing.

For instance, having

7. Baths – with a magazine, a glass of something lovely (Laphroaig will do nicely) and no interruptions from small people needing to go to the loo.

8. Wine – I know, I’m training for a marathon, my body should be a temple, etc, but a glass or two of red wine is good for the heart. Isn’t it? Oh, don’t tell me otherwise, I don’t want to know.

9. The wonderful world of the internet – for an arch-procrastinator like me, it’s a blessing and a curse. I spend far too much time reading the Runner’s World website for tips, when I could be doing something boring but constructive, like work. Or housework. Or running, instead of reading about it. Ugh.

10. Sleep. When you have children who get up at 5am sleep makes you very happy. In fact it’s the holy grail of the parenting world. Talking of which, I might have a little snooze before school pick up time.

Tomorrow: more about running. Today I realised I’m getting fitter. Hooray.