Maroccothon Woman Returns!

Hard Frost

2012-02-01T20:46:00.004+01:00

56 min
Start 16.45
Ran home from IJsselstein from behind the Shell station then a couple of circuits of the complex - one at 'full speed' in 11:30. I've noticed a vague feeling of use in my thigh muscles since I've started upping my effort a little. Not pain, just an awareness that they've worked harder than usual. Ground was hard, most of the smaller ditches are frozen solid and even the wider stretches of water are almost closed. Because there was no mud sucking at my shoes and there was a cold east wind behind me I made record time on the path behind the road

Month total 1236

2012-01-31T23:53:00.000+01:00

Better start to the year than last year when I got behind my target already in January in Marocco.

Utrecht

2012-01-31T19:01:00.003+01:00

35 min
Start 17.00

From Oudwijk to the centre of town where I had a waterstop at Karin's. Back along the canals.

White Out

2012-01-30T23:23:00.003+01:00

45 min
Start 13.00
Thinnest layer of powdery snow imaginable almost covering the ground as Joep and I did a couple of circuits. One of them was at an almost fast as possible pace as I want to see if I’m able to increase my normal plodding pace a bit by doing regular bouts of interval training.

Week total 150

2012-01-28T16:58:00.002+01:00

Well the (vague as usual) plan was 3 weeks 'on' followed by one week relative rest and I seem to have managed that, with still a couple of days left to make up my month total.

City Run with Sil

2012-01-28T16:44:00.004+01:00

70 min
Start 14.00

Meandering jaunt about Utrecht, collecting Sil to run part of the way with me as I was in her street.

Rained off

2012-01-26T18:53:00.000+01:00

12 min
Start 17.00
At the end of my first circuit the rain finally started with such a vengeance that I decided to stop. (Pathetic I know. I don't mind running home in the rain, but starting out from home in a downpour just seems too daft/depressing to contemplate.)

Shadow Circuits

2012-01-25T16:57:00.003+01:00

31 min
Start 13.00
Borrowed Shadow, the nearest neighbour's alsation to accompany me on my run about the complex.
"2 legs good, 6 legs better." (to misquote George Orwell)

Cold circuits

2012-01-23T16:59:00.003+01:00

37 min
Start 16.00
Few circuits of the grounds. One slightly faster one in the middle. Very cold feeling somehow, though according to the thermometer about 8 degrees. East wind?

Week Total 381

2012-01-21T21:43:00.002+01:00

Long run this afternoon brought me over the 300 limit easily. Which means I can/should have a relatively easy week for the end of the month. Most training schedules advise 1 week 'rest' after 3 weeks harder running. (But since when did I follow any schedule...?)

Dijk Training

2012-01-21T19:38:00.003+01:00

144 min
Start 14.00

Long run - first the plan was to run the whole circuit which I ran most of last week but half way I decided to cut across the fields to the dijk along the Lek so added a few more scenic kilometers to the route. Also did a handful of 'hill repeats' up and down the driveway from the dijk to the harbour.

Dog with a Log

2012-01-19T22:56:00.005+01:00

57 min
Start 13.00
.
First a circuit with Joep doing crosstraining with a sizeable log in his jaws. Then later out past the windturbines

Grey 70s Dawn

2012-01-18T14:23:00.003+01:00

32 min
Start 8.15
Joep and I were out in a grey dawn. Once the sun was over the horizon it managed to briefly make a red hole in the clouds. Lots of 70's music on the BluePod, Suzi Quatro, Mud, Blondie.

Joep in the frost

2012-01-16T15:24:00.009+01:00

64 min + 14 = 78
Start 12.30 + 17.30

Lunchtime run with the dog out along the tractor path which still had a white hoar frost on it in the shadowy bits.

Sunset run with ridiculously intense red/orange light.

Lopikerwaard

2012-01-15T18:13:00.009+01:00

70 min
Start 15.00

Got out the car in Lopikerwaard and ran home via Uitweg.

First few minutes were hardgoing but by the time I was back on known (to me) paths I was happily charging along to Queen's 'Don't stop me now cause I'm having such a good time' and all was well with the world.

Week total 320

2012-01-14T15:23:00.000+01:00

Reconnaissence Mission

2012-01-13T18:37:00.004+01:00

87 min
Start 15.30
Out past the Shell station to find out where to get on the road to Jaarsveld as I'm planning a longer circuit next week taking in this route. Came back via the industrial estate on the other side of the road and ended up in a dead end road to a carpark at one point so had to clamber over a weir to get back to the tractor path behind the main road I needed to reach for the home strait.

Two Runs?

2012-01-12T12:19:00.003+01:00

28 min + 63 = 91
Start 11.45 + 16.30
Hope to get out again later perhaps. Worked out that my new headphones work on the old iPod so I can actually hear the podcasts even if it's windy.
Caught up with the 2 latest RunRunLive programmes.

New Tunes

2012-01-10T12:08:00.004+01:00

54 min
Start 10.00
Great run with my new mp3 player round to Benschop. I bought a cheap one for 10 euros last month as I was getting fed up with not being able to hear my podcasts properly if there was a bit of wind or traffic and wanted to have something in reserve if it died completely. But hadn't got round to unpacking and installing it yet. However left mYpod in the workroom in Utrecht yesterday so last night decided to tackle the new one and put some stuff on it.
There were a few old podcasts on my laptop here and I have the external hard disc with all Rens' music on it. Working out how to transfer stuff from one to the other was remarkably easy and I really enjoyed pounding along this morning with Billy Idol and The Jam and Blue Oyster Cult (and more) as a soundtrack.

What with all that and an Actual Blue Sky it was one of my best runs in quite a while.

Library Play

2012-01-09T12:50:00.003+01:00

44 min
Start 10.00
Listened to an excellent Afternoon Play about a Kenyan researching Scottish library practices whilst running up and down the lanes of the complex. The wind has dropped to almost nothing now so I can hear the talk programmes on mYpod as well as the music ones.

Desert Island Shadow Run

2012-01-08T14:19:00.004+01:00

44 min
Start 12.30

Yet again didn't really feel like going out (oh dear, this is not a very enthusiastic start to the running year is it?) but ach, it's such a routine for me to pull on running clothes as easily as any other sort so went out for a meandering run about the paths whilst listening to Brian Cox on DID.
Even took a photo of my shadow at one point - something I feel I haven't seen for months due to general greyness of the skies.

Week total 305

2012-01-07T19:38:00.002+01:00

Have decided that this year the week ends on Saturday. The plan is to do 1200 minutes a month. So if I try to keep to 5 hours a week this should be possible.

Cold Wind

2012-01-07T19:31:00.003+01:00

44 min
Start 16.00
Really didn't feel like going out today but at the last minute forced myself to get out and make up my week's total. The first 15 minutes was running into a nasty thin cold wind that came a bit from the right (NW) and made it particularly hard going. Then along a route I hadn't yet followed (but noticed for the first time when out with Joep yesterday) through the field where the windturbines are. Climbed over a fence to get into the industrial estate and then back along the main road. With the wind pushing me homeward now and feeling much better than at the start.

Joep Tidies Up

2012-01-06T12:44:00.003+01:00

20 min + 41 min = 61
Start 12.00 and 16.00
Joep and I trotted round the lanes, Joep occasionally dragging fallen branches about in some vague attempt to pretend to be useful. Will probably go out again later.

Second run was out along the muddy path again before dark after going into Benschop with the car.

Fallen Tree

2012-01-05T15:54:00.003+01:00

40 min
Start 13.00
Ran about the complex again - spotted one large fallen tree in the middle of one of the forested areas which I'm fairly sure was upright yesterday. Wind still making mYpod practically unhearable.

After the Storm

2012-01-04T13:41:00.003+01:00

46 min
Start 11.00
After last night's extreme wind I had a run round all the paths of the complex to see what the damage was. No major trees had come down, just a fair number of loose branches and twigs strewn about the paths. Also found a dead buzzard in the grass up the back. Don't know if he was a storm victim or if he's been there for a few days already.

Muddy Sunset

2012-01-02T20:40:00.003+01:00

75 min
Start 15.30

Out along the grassy path to the water tower where I met someone on the path for the first time ever. 2 men with a quad and a huge trailer who'd been cutting trees. Lots of mud churned up by their tyre tracks. On the way out the going was a bit laboured but by the time I'd got my second wind on the return I felt I was running much easier and faster.

New Year's Beach Run

2012-01-01T20:57:00.004+01:00

39 min
Start 14.30
Whilst hundreds of people were gathering to run into the sea at Ter Heijde for the traditional new year's swim I headed off in the other direction for a run along the beach.

Month Total 961

2011-12-31T21:06:00.001+01:00

Which means that if all my calculations so far have been correct that I've ended the year with a total of 12,148 minutes of running time. Almost 202.5 hours, or almost 17 hours per month.

Week totaal 138

2011-12-30T22:47:00.001+01:00

Without really putting much effort in, still got out 4 times this week.

Deer at Dawn

2011-12-29T11:44:00.003+01:00

32 min
Start 8.00
Couple of wandering circuits of the complex with a very faint sunrise marbling through the clouds. Sproet spotted a small deer running along the perimeter fence at one point and gave chase. Came back after a few minutes looking well pleased with himself.

Bloeyendaal

2011-12-28T08:57:00.001+01:00

31 min
Start 8.00

Invisible Sunrise

2011-12-27T09:23:00.002+01:00

30 min
Start 8.00
It's been a grey Christmas and no change this morning. Sproet and I did a couple of circuits, stopping after the first one to snort some Ventolin as my lungs were squeaking pathetically.

Chicken Run

2011-12-25T15:54:00.002+01:00

45 min
Start 14.45
Few circuits round the complex with breaks to check the simmering temperature of the chicken.

Week total 258

2011-12-23T17:42:00.002+01:00

Have just worked out that I've now already completed my yearly running total of 12000 minutes. With 10 minutes to spare. So everything I do next week will just add to the surplus.

Sproet at Dusk

2011-12-23T17:40:00.003+01:00

22 min
Start 16.45
Picked Sproet up from his house and ran out to Bloeyendaal and back in the last of the light.

Chopped Up Run

2011-12-23T15:39:00.006+01:00

46 min
Start 16.00

Wandered about the complex listening to the latest ExtraMilePodcast. Break in the middle to ditch gloves and neckwarmer at the house. Did an extra circuit at the end to hear the end of the Christmas poem one listener had sent in which incorporatated a whole story with Kevin as Santa and a whole troupe of runners pulling his sleigh.

Go with the Flow

2011-12-20T21:45:00.003+01:00

47 min
Start 16.15
As often happens my run didn't go completely according to plan. Started off meaning to run the Intratuin circuit but after 18 minutes the threatening cloud started to let loose some sleety rain and the sky was getting too dark for it to be likely that I'd able to complete the circuit before total darkness so I wimped out and went back the way I'd come. Did do the home strait a bit quicker than my normal plod mode (combination of sleet + AC/DC helped) and when I got home there was still a bit of light. I felt much better than of late (having remembered to snort some Ventolin beforehand) and decided to try a 'fast circuit' for the first time in ages. 12 minutes 40 sec. Not a world record by any means but I was pleased that I'd at least felt capable of upping my speed a bit.

New Drugs

2011-12-19T17:30:00.004+01:00

49 min
Start 16.00
Finally got myself round to the chemist to pick up my repeat prescription of asthma drugs. I had more or less weaned myself off them but have noticed with the colder air that I do apparantly need them. Without, it takes me a good half hour to get my lungs to work properly without protesting. And since I've lost the last Ventolin (and it had only a few doses left in it) and had found the old prescription in a drawer (whilst looking for the inhalor) I decided it was time to get some new supplies. Almost turned round and went away again when I saw how busy it was as I didn't really fancy spending time in a crowded waiting area filled with probably sick folk, but ach, if I postponed it yet again the winter would probably be over before I got myself organised enough for a second visit so I joined the queue and glared at the couple of snotty toddlers to keep them well out of my breathing space. Luckily the wait wasn't too long and I was soon handed over my stash.

Of course, forgot to actually take them before I went out for my run so yet again the first half hour was a bit laboured but kept going for a slow but steady run to the Berekuil via Bloeyendaal and back via a few streets full of Christmassy lit living rooms I could nosey into as I ran past.

Shell Seeker

2011-12-18T14:09:00.005+01:00

94 min
Start 8.00

The plan was first to run out to the Shell garage and beyond along the grassy path but when I got out I decided to do the first bit via the Benschop detour as I didn't want to spend the whole run with wet shoes. So did the 3 sides of the square and then crossed the road to join the path.

Heavy going over the muddy tractor tyre tracks and then suddenly the path stopped as there was a ditch barring the way. Climbed over a fence and went through a very waterlogged field (seriously wet feet time). Managed to get onto a path behind the Shell place but it ended fairly shortly afterwards where a viaduct led the way under the main road. I could have gone back via IJsselstein but didn't want to make the run too long and I already had wet feet so just went back through the fields to join the path for the last bit home.

Week total 268

2011-12-16T17:25:00.001+01:00

The plan was to do this week's running in 4 sessions but because yesterday was cut short by the horizontal rain added another run this afternoon to get me up to (and beyond) total.

Twilight in Utrecht

2011-12-16T17:24:00.002+01:00

37 min
Start 16.00

Dane in the Rain

2011-12-15T16:59:00.004+01:00

13 min
Start 15.30
One of the frequent squally showers of today caught us half way round the first circuit and Joep, being as wimpy about rain as most Great Danes are, headed straight for home.

Clouds

2011-12-13T18:13:00.006+01:00

63 min
Start 15.30

Good run on the path out to IJsselstein. Went a bit further than my usual distance to the gate at the roundabout as the vegetation is now less impenetrable than it has been before.

Sunless Sunday Run

2011-12-11T17:55:00.005+01:00

85 min
Start 15.30
Good run out past the windturbines and then across the fields and back through Benschop. Slightly longer circuit than last week as I took a different path, slightly further away than the one through the Rozenboom campsite.
My breathing was much less laboured than yesterday as I remembered to inhale some Alvesco before I went out. (Can't find my Ventoline anywhere...) It seems I do need it when the air is cold and/or damp.

Domgrrl Run

2011-12-10T17:33:00.007+01:00

70 min
Start 15.30
Ran out to the outskirts of town to deliver a small parcel to a boekgrrl then went out on the path towards Groenekan. Back via Bloeyendaal and a last circuit of the Wilhelminapark where I met a woman who had also lived in Soest.

First half hour of running was heavy going. It wasn't particularly cold so am not sure why my lungs seemed to be making such heavy weather of it but it took me ages to get going properly.

9 day total 297

2011-12-09T18:50:00.002+01:00

Keeping to the schedule by the skin of my teeth this week. Lots of wind and rain but with Joep to at least make sure I got some short runs in I managed a perfect average of 33 minutes a day which is just over target for 1000 minutes in a month.

Car Wash Run

2011-12-08T16:51:00.001+01:00

32 min
Start 15.30
2 short runs about the complex with Joep. Washed the car in between them.

Figure of 8s

2011-12-07T11:52:00.003+01:00

35 min
Start 11.00

Round all the paths of the complex in various combinations of figures of 8. Joep looking at me at every corner with a big question mark hanging over his head.

Fluffy Clogs

2011-12-05T15:10:00.007+01:00

35 + 26 = 61 min
Start 12.00
Shortish meandering run about the complex between hail showers. The sun even came out briefly now and then.

On the way into Utrecht stopped at the Runners World shop to get a pair of the clog shaped Mizuno slippers that were on offer.

Later: Had another 25 minutes at 16.30 as Joep had to go out and it was just as easy to run as to walk.

Benschop Plus

2011-12-04T22:36:00.001+01:00

74 min
Start 15.30

Out past the windturbines then across the field through the Rozenboom camping, back through the village where the lights were just coming on.

After the Rain

2011-12-03T19:00:00.003+01:00

60 min
Start 13.00
The plan was to go for a walk with the forester this morning (something I signed up for on the market day in Benschop during the summer) in Lopikerwaard but because it rained heavily with a howling wind all morning this was postponed.
Eventually around 1 o'clock the sky looked as if it was clearing a bit so I went out for a circuit where I would pass a letterbox to post a card to Paula.
The last bit was Very Muddy.

Rush Hour in Utrecht

2011-12-01T17:38:00.003+01:00

35 min
Start 16.30
Out round Bloeyendaal and back via the Emmalaan and a few other streets. Still a surprising amount of leaves on the trees - this time last year I'd already had my first run in snow and now it's still very mild.

Month total 1059

2011-11-30T09:47:00.002+01:00

Which means I'm 187 minutes, more than 3 hours, ahead of schedule. Which might come in handy if December throws some really bad weather at us.

Rush Hour in Benschop

2011-11-30T09:39:00.002+01:00

60 min
Start 7.30

November is of course a particularly rubbish month for running somehow. Getting used to the shorter days. Trying to find the inspiration to run in the greyness. I've missed several early runs lately due to total inability to face going out in the dark. Did happily get out this morning when I saw the very first glimmer of lightness in the east when I peeked through the curtains. Yay, visible sunrise coming up! So ok there was also a light frosting on the grass when I was on the home strait alongside the cowfields but I don't mind having cold wet feet for the last bit when home is literally in sight.

Bare Trees

2011-11-28T17:40:00.001+01:00

32 min
Start 16.30Quick run round the complex before dark.

3 Bitches on the Beach

2011-11-26T23:55:00.002+01:00

62 min
Start 13.00
Picked up Dusty and then Minnie and we went for a run from 's Gravenzande to Hoek van Holland.

Week total 257

2011-11-25T09:26:00.000+01:00

Intratuin Circuit

2011-11-25T09:20:00.002+01:00

62 min
Start 7.30
Very brief, slight and high pink mackereling of the sky but not really worth stopping to take a photo of before the grey tone for the day was set. Still, glad I got out early anyway. I suspect it may rain later.

Out and about

2011-11-23T18:22:00.002+01:00

42 min
Start 12 & 16.45
26 minutes running about the complex and then later on the way back from Benschop parked at the last roundabout and had a last-of-the-light short run with Joep along past the 3 wind turbines.

Sunny Afternoon

2011-11-22T16:57:00.004+01:00

84 min
Start 15.00

After 2 days of impenetrable mist it was great to see the sky again this afternoon. Out to the watertower and back with Joep.

Mist, lots of mist

2011-11-20T20:47:00.003+01:00

29 min
Start 16.00
Whole day of such thick mist that I didn't make my planned trip to run elsewhere with Joep. We just had a meandering run round the complex, taking in all variations of the paths, including the newly tramped shortcut between the bunkers made by the uninvited visitors last week. No photos as the greyness wasn't very inspiring.

Fire at Sunset

2011-11-19T18:01:00.003+01:00

40 min
Start, various times
Few circuits of the complex today with Joep. Ended the afternoon burning some wood so took a photo of that before our last run.

Week total 252

2011-11-18T19:14:00.000+01:00

Despite missing a few days this week managed to catch up at the end.

Misty Cows

2011-11-18T18:58:00.004+01:00

79 min
Start 9.00 & 14.30
Joep arrived this morning so we had a run round the complex. He was fascinated by all the scents left behind by the 1000+ uninvited party people last weekend. You could almost see the speech bubbles hanging above his head with "What's been happening hEre since last week?"

At sundown we went for a run alongside the ditch where the mist was coming up over the cowfields.

Urban Running

2011-11-17T20:28:00.004+01:00

82 min
Start 16.30

Out to Bloeyendaal and then back through the city streets at dusk. I like running about in town when the lights are on but the curtains not yet closed. Nosey running.

Buzzard Rescue

2011-11-15T22:09:00.002+01:00

61 min
Start 16.15

Had only been out for a few minutes when I saw a buzzard flapping strangely some way ahead of me.

It disappeared into a ditch and when I caught up with it it was hanging on some thorns at the edge of the water. It didn't move off when I came closer and eventually let me pick it up. (Tip for handling injured, possibly aggressive animals, put your hand over their eyes to calm them down.) I had one hand holding its beak shut and in the other hand I had his claws. I walked back to the nearest house and rang the doorbell with my elbow. The man who answered the door was luckily totally unfazed by a madwummin in a yellow fluorescent vest clutching a bird of prey. He took the bird from me and said he'd put it in a box in the garage till the animal ambulance could pick it up.

Due to the birdrescueing interlude the run ended in the pitch dark along a busy main road instead of in the dusk back along the grassy path.

Sunset Shadow

2011-11-12T21:33:00.001+01:00

30 min
Start 17.00
After Joep left this afternoon went for a run with Shadow.

Week total 265

2011-11-11T22:01:00.003+01:00

Thought I wasn't going to get a run in today to bring me up to schedule but luckily I felt up to a quick run despite the snotty head cold that stopped me getting out yesterday.

Shadow at Dusk

2011-11-11T21:09:00.002+01:00

20 min
Start 17.30
(The dog's called Shadow.) Back from Belgium just in time to have a quick run round the complex with Shadow who's owner left for a weekend in Germany this afternoon. He's much too excitable to sit still long enough for a posed picture...

Sunrise

2011-11-09T14:15:00.005+01:00

41 min
Start 7.00

Good run out to IJsselstein along the (wet) grassy path. Sun had cleared a path for its appearance before it disappeared into the low-lying cloud again.

Koenstwerk

2011-11-08T22:17:00.004+01:00

45 min
Start 10.30 and 16.30
This morning a circuit round the complex. Strange monochrome sky with the sun occasionally just half showing through the cloudcover, looking more like a lost moon.

I discovered how to open one of the big bunkers and let Joep have a wee look inside.
Later out along the path to IJsselstein.

Grey Morning

2011-11-07T10:56:00.001+01:00

33 min
Start 7.30
Very dull plod around the complex but still felt good to be up before the sun.

Long Way Round Cabauw

2011-11-05T19:42:00.003+01:00

126 min
Start 15.00
So much for 'plan your run and run your plan'. I sometimes tend just to charge off like a toddler on a sugar rush and see how I feel on the way. So was it today, when I had a (vague) plan to run for a little over an hour. Starting at the watertower and then going west. Then south over the 'Kerkepad' to Cabauw.

And then... decision time... the plan being to go west again and then north through the fieldpath that would take me back to the path going back east to the water tower. Except I never found the fieldpath again and went the long way round, coming back via Polsbroek and getting back to the car with the very last of the light. (I stop to make photos along the way so am on the road for a bit longer than the 126 logged minutes.)
Great run though, despite it being a bit longer than originally planned. I've started thinking about how I'm going to do the 50 mile run on my birthday next year and keep hearing that the secret of ultrarunning is to take regular short walkbreaks to cut down muscle fatigue. (Listening to the Jeff Galloway Edition of the Extra Mile Podcast must be rubbing off on me at last...) So I've started taking short breaks every 5 minutes or so. Maybe only 20 seconds or so - just enough to take a drink. Sometimes the breaks come more often as I stop to take a photo of something and sometimes I forget them and by the time I look at my watch I see that 12 minutes has passed since the last one, but I am at least trying to incorporate them into my running routine.

4 day total 136

2011-11-04T12:30:00.000+01:00

Benschaap

2011-11-03T19:28:00.005+01:00

66 min
Start 16.45
Benschop circuit, on the way back came across a trailer loaded with sheep. Had mYpod on music instead of my usual podcasts because there was a lot of traffic and then I can hardly hear the speech podcasts.

Bloeyendaal + Berekuil

2011-11-02T11:18:00.001+01:00

70 min
Start 9.00

Month total 1132

2011-10-31T20:20:00.001+01:00

So if last month I was still 4 minutes behind schedule, that means I'm now a huge 128 minutes in credit. More than 2 full hours. And that without really making any great extra effort, just regularly getting short to averagely long runs in.

Halloween Run

2011-10-31T20:17:00.002+01:00

31 min
Start 17.00
Home on time for a quick run before dark.

Hanneke Cycles

2011-10-30T15:04:00.003+01:00

40 min
Start 9.00
(or was it 10.00, was it before or after I'd put the clocks back? Anyway...)
One and a half circuits before Hanneke got up and then later got almost to the end of the grounds when Janneke phoned that she was at the gate so Hanneke sped back on the bike and I ran back more slowly. (Forgot to take any photos this morning.)

Week total 215

2011-10-28T21:52:00.000+02:00

Tables at Sunset

2011-10-28T21:46:00.004+02:00

31 min
Start 18.00
Almost put my run off till tomorrow morning as I was busy with other stuff but decided just before it got too late to have a short run about the complex. Saw that someone has set out tresle tables and benches at the big bunkers at the end. Will have to go along sometime tomorrow to see what's going on there.

Rens on the Road

2011-10-27T22:34:00.001+02:00

54 min
Start 18.00
When I got home I saw I'd had a text from Rens asking why I hadn't waved when he tootered. He passed me on his way home from work. First half hour was hard work with my lungs objecting slightly to the cooling damp air but it seems that after a while they stop complaining and it feels as if they suddenly remember how to inflate properly after the initial cramping and I can breathe freely and run easier.

Sunrise

2011-10-26T22:53:00.001+02:00

60 min
Start 7.45

Meandering Monday

2011-10-24T21:15:00.003+02:00

36 min
Start 18.15
Wandered about in the nearby fields followed by a circuit of the grounds here to finish off in the last light.

Circle of Light

2011-10-22T23:21:00.000+02:00

34 min
Start various times
Last (very) short run with the dogs was to try out my headlamp for the first time this (dark) season. No photos but it was a bit spooky how the dogs' eyes reflected eerily in the circle of lamplight - oddly enough Sproet had glowing red eyes and Joep green (in daylight they're blue and brown).

Week total 308

2011-10-21T23:22:00.000+02:00

Lots of short runs with this week's 2 lodgerdogs all add up.

Short and Sunny

2011-10-21T22:24:00.002+02:00

32 min
Start 12 & 17.00
Another 2 short runs with the dogs in between doing other stuff.

Under the Windturbines

2011-10-20T20:57:00.004+02:00

36 min
Start 12 & 17.00

Circuit round the grounds at lunchtime then later on the way back from Benschop a brief run out and back along the path past the windturbines. Would have gone longer but there was a threat of rain which turned into a brief drizzly burst. Didn't want to have 2 wet dogs in the car going back so kept it short.

10 legs running

2011-10-19T21:55:00.003+02:00

30 min
Start 13 & 18.30

Twice round the grounds with Joep and Sproet together. (They'd both already had a separate morning walk before I'd collected Sproet in Utrecht.)

Field Run

2011-10-18T21:25:00.005+02:00

34 min
Start 18.30

Ran out the gate with no real plan other than to listen to the rest of the latest edition of the RunRunLive podcast whilst keeping an eye on the darkening skies and shifting cloud formations to the west. Saw that one of the grass fields by the roundabout had been mown so went and ran about there, eventually crossing a ditch by a plank bridge and heading upfield to Benschop. Came back via the road.

Twilight Zone

2011-10-17T21:24:00.004+02:00

42 min
Start 18.30

Shortish run out along the soggy path to IJsselstein. Grey day so no sunset entertainment.

Close Encounter of the Highland Kind

2011-10-16T11:33:00.008+02:00

80 min
Start 7.30

Out at first light along the water till the sun got over the horizon. Then back through the naturepark where the Highland bull was hanging around at the gate for a photo shoot. I'm almost sure he would have liked me to scratch between his ears as he was doing a lot of demonstrative scratching of his back with his horns but as there are warning signs not to approach closer than 20 meters (and I was already at about 2 meters) I decided not to take the risk of him me mowing me down with his huge bulk.

Back to the harbour where Klaas and Ed were fishing - got a rare picture of me in my new running outfit.

All acquired at the Lidl yesterday for about 32 euro in total. Wonderful winter running breeks with windproof front-of-thighs bit. Thermal undershirt and sleeveless running top in my favourite colour.

Saturday Sunrise

2011-10-15T19:28:00.000+02:00

54 min
Start 7.30

Ran up and down the open road to Benschop so that I could see the sky change colour as the earth turned towards the sun. My hands were freezing for the first 20 minutes or so, time to look out my glove collection...

Week total 281

2011-10-14T17:29:00.001+02:00

Sunset Ijsselstein

2011-10-13T22:16:00.006+02:00

64 min
Start 17.30

Heavy going sort of run, started off on the grassy path-with-nettles then back via the Intratuin. I've done this circuit before 5 minutes faster so not sure why I was so slow today.

Tempo Tuesday

2011-10-12T17:31:00.003+02:00

31 min
Start 7.30
First a slow circuit in the rain with Joep, then a faster one on my own. (Ach, wrong day in the title... ah well, never mind, Tuesday was a non-running day.)

Joep Online

2011-10-10T21:38:00.003+02:00

71 min
Start 17.30
Finally found the long lead I'd somehow lost for the past few weeks. I'd tidied it away in a drawer in a table that had since been placed somewhere else. This meant that I could run further with Joep safely attached to me. So we charged along to the next roundabout where the grassy path begins where he can be let off the lead.

Sheepish Sunday

2011-10-09T22:15:00.003+02:00

66 min
Start 13.00
First a quick circuit this morning before breakfast when Joep arrived then later out for a proper run out along the grassy path to Ijsselstein and back. Joep flushed out 2 pheasants along the way. The sheep watched from the other side of the ditch. Had my heaviest trailshoes on. The onset of proper autumn-type temperatures just made me feel like having warm and dry feet for a change. I've also been having some irritation in the ball of my right foot recently. I suspect it's similar to the heel 'plantar fasciitis' (no idea of the right spelling...) I've been hearing about on various running podcasts. Not pain exactly but a sensitivity which I feel the minimum shoes don't help any. For the time being I feel I need some more padding between me and the ground.

Saturday Sunset

2011-10-08T21:09:00.003+02:00

49 min
Start 18.30

Had been feeling irritated about various things all afternoon and realised it was probably because I hadn't been for a decent run for 2 days. (Yesterday's brief excursion was hardly worthy of the name run.) Decided just in time to get out before dark.