marathonmummy

How lovely, on a horrible rainy day, to receive a Sunshine Award for my blog. It’s from my friend Paula and it’s just what I needed on a day like today. Bring Me Sunshine is a song that Dad used to sing to us when we were little, so it’s brought back some lovely memories after a difficult day yesterday.

In other news, well, there isn’t much really. It’s half term, the treadmill is my only option, and on Tuesday night I did a horrible interval training session, which was one of those runs. I ended up thinking I’d be better off taking up knitting instead (and anyone who has seen the only jumper I ever made knows that’s a bad idea).

Talking of music, I’ve been creating the ultimate running playlist, which is only really suitable for the plodders of this world. I think proper runners like music at about 160bpm. Mine is, er, not.

Zoe and I had a theory that lots of songs with meaning to us would get us round the marathon. Some people might think training would be more helpful, but we’ll gloss over that little detail.

Rod Stewart – Baby Jane and Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? (my dad used to sing these with the windows down in the car, usually in the middle of town, and we would die of embarrassment)
Placebo – Every You, Every Me (reminds me of being pregnant, hence reminds me of birth, which will make running seem like a walk in the park. That’s a bad metaphor. My running speed already IS a walk in the park.)
Pretenders – Back on the Chain Gang
Dirty Pretty Things – Bang Bang You’re Dead
Toni Basil – Mickey (I have no shame)
Come Dancing – Ray Davies (you’ve got it in your head now, haven’t you?)
Killers – Mr Brightside
Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, my legs are on fire)
Scissor Sisters – Take Your Mama Out
Supergrass – Richard III
Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters
Idlewild – American English
The Automatic – Monster (what’s that coming over the hill? is it a monster…oh no, it’s Rachael, running)
Snow Patrol – Run (haha!)
Foo Fighters – This is a Call
Marilyn Manson – Rock is Dead (and so will I be after 26.2 miles)
Longpigs – She Said
My Chemical Romance – Welcome to the Black Parade
Radiohead – Street Spirit
The Stranglers – No More Heroes
The Go-Gos – We Got the Beat
Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People (not me after running, I look like a beetroot)
The Knack – My Sharona (RIP Doug Fieger)
The House of Love – Shine On (reminds me of school)
The Fray – How to Save a Life (will make me cry, but that’s okay)

Any suggestions, anyone? I’ve already had a few: how I could I forget Don’t Stop Me Now and Keep On Running, as well as the Glee soundtrack? Thanks C and G!

I started this post this afternoon in a half term grump, but I’m finishing it on an endorphin high after 50 minutes on the treadmill. It was just a plod, but every mile counts. Every boring mile on the treadmill, and every boring mile on my own on featureless country roads will be worth it.

2 months, 6 days, 14 hours, 8 minutes, and counting. London, here I come.

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.

We swam in the Atlantic

Hair blew in the sea breeze

We went to Disneyland Paris

We ate fish and chips by a pier in Kent

And we looked out to sea and spotted cross channel ferries…

No running was done, but lots of fun was had! Back to reality this week though – the children went back to school today, so now it’s time to start running in earnest, once I get rid of this cold which one of them has been kind enough to share with me.