Can it be real.....?

Just so you know I'm not slacking off. Managed week 5 #1 run tonight. 3 minutes run, 1 minute walk, 9 times! So I was running 75% of the time!!!! Ner-ner ner ner-ner!

The other possibility is that I am actually collapsed on some countryside verge awaiting the assistance of Hampshire ambulance and this is all a dream...........

The other fantastic thing is that I am noticing just how much the evenings are getting lighter. It is dark now when I am getting home from the run, rather than as I am leaving the house. And a beautiful sunset over West Heath tonight too.

Renee is a recovering couch potato

This week is "Recovery Week" - I started it off by deciding to pick a random direction and run till I found something interesting.

I discovered a new neighbourhood, a big hill and that I can run 6 minutes straight without running out of steam (downhill). I didn't really follow a routine today, I just started running and stopped whenever it felt right. In all, I still did 6 run-walk sessions, but this time I ran 70% of the time! (net: 4.3 km on some grade for a change, max. heart rate 160).

Catch me if you can!

Week 3, abbrev.

Bee-utiful day for a run! Renee didn't feel motivated when she woke up, but once the sun broke through the clouds and shone through the window, she was rarin' to go. It is 11°C and everyone (and their dog) is out for a jog along the river.

Today's run: warm-up 5 min. (running up and down stairs to get radio), 7x (run 3, walk 2), except I over-ran the mark just about every time! This is definitely getting easier. I made it to the 3rd bridge toward France at Ostspange (and over it). I was feeling so good, I ran 5 min at the end. Net 5.1 km - we're over the half-way mark!

I didn't miss a session this week and I think I'm caught up, having just completed the hardest run of Week 3 and then some! Good timing - Week 4 is a "recovery" week, so I just have to keep up the pace.

This Week's Revelation #1: My portable radio really blocks out the traffic noise and adds some bounce to my step. BUT - it also makes it difficult for passers'-by to tell me I've dropped my keys :-) leading to ...

This Week's Revelation #2: Always zip pockets shut!

The Reward: The Max Ophüls Preis Filmfestival ends today. I'm going to see Zu Fuß nach Santiago de Compostela (On foot to Santiago) - at least I have a hope of understanding the subject matter ;-)

New Territory

Aaaaaaahhhhhh! What's that? (deep inhalation) Yes, the smell of fresh country air!!
Motivated by the ability to step out of the front door on to a public footpath through the hampshire countryside (above left) I am up to run 2, week 3!!!
Admittedly, I am returning home significantly muddier, but my runs now take me past trees instead of Budgens, which is vastly more enjoyable.

Week 2 is in the bag!

Kathleen is offline in her new place, but text messages confirm that she has indeed comleted week 2! This week's schedule was up to 7x(2 min. running, 1 min. walking). I only managed similar to week 1 again, but still managed 3 sessions in spite of a pulled muscle, and it's feeling good now.

Next week will be a bit tougher, 3 min. running segments, but we're up for it! And in less than 4 weeks, we'll be on our first mini-break of 2008 to celebrate in Barcelona, which is at 41°N latitude! Compared with 51 for Tadley or 49 for Saarbrücken, this should represent a noticeable change in climate.

Mini-Break 1: The Quest for Gaudi - coming soon to a blog near you!

Renee is back on track

I made it through run#3 tonight. The schedule: warm-up 5 min. stretch, then 7x (run 1 min, walk 2) and cool-down. Only got up to 120bpm tonight (compared to 140 the other 2 runs) - slow going.

I walked to work so I could jog back downtown. I also "ran" a few errands at the end, including the tourist office (for bike route maps), the bank and the grocer for some kind of green cauliflower that looked like a living Mandelbrot fractal pattern - couldn't resist.
Only problem is, I seem to have lost my competitor ... or did she leave me in her dust?

arrrggh! Medic!

Renee gets the first injury of the year - dang it! I did a good 10-minute brisk walk to warm-up today, then the instant I started to run, I pulled something. First snake - well maybe a half snake - I did go for about an hour walk instead.

At least I made a couple other New Year's goals this week - didn't eat out once, not even a pide. And I succeeded in my quest to find parsnips. Tonight's dinner: boiled new potatoes and onion, fresh baked baguette and parsnips. Although my recipe pales in comparison to my mentor ... forgot to remove the cores, boiled 5 minutes, then baked about 20 min. Would you believe there's a blog devoted to parsnips?

Renee learns moral of the day: stretching is important.

Try again tomorrow...

Last Hook Run Round

That bright light you can see behind me on the left is my halo, which doesn't fit under my hat, and so I have to hang it up whilst I go out for my JOG #2!!!!!!

New pedometer tells me I was out for 28 minutes, burned 112.4 Kcal (felt like much more), travelled 2.1 km or 1.3 miles and had an average speed of 15 steps/minute. However that only seems to add up to 420 paces, which seems bizarrely low considering how much I feel I need a long hot bath now!



Run #2 will have been my last run round Hook - yay! On to pastures new and, most likely, some very muddy running shoes.

Primary results

Run#2 in the bag! I see Kathleen has finished her jog
while building her first blog

entangled with a dog.

Now that deserves some nog!

Today I made it out before dark. Just like run#1 but in the sleet - a bit shorter (6x instead of 8) so I skipped the Bahnhof this time. At least I was well-prepared with my new earmuffs!

I chose red primarily so I won't lose them, or maybe because they go so well with my blue beret and my yellow housecoat :-D

(Gold stars are available on the interweb of course! Just copy the image location into the "add image" dialogue box and Bob's your uncle. Well my uncle, actually 2 of them...)

By george, she did it!

..and indeed I did!



Vital statistics are 1.9 miles without requiring help from passers-by. Sirin and I took a victory lap together to finish.

Where's my star?

P.S. To Renee - If you can read this, then a small miracle has occurred on my path to increasing computer literacy!

Renee survives run 1!

The Schedule: warm-up 5 min., (run 1 min., walk 2) 8 times, cool-off 5 min.

Route notes: Discovered stairs leading down to river route - made a great warm-up repeated for ~150 steps.
Ended exploring new train station and found grocer open on holiday in the Bahnhof - sanctimoniously selected fruit buttermilk.

(note: I find google's code for loading the route is too slow in the blog, but you can see where I went if you click on the "Route notes.")

The Victor?