London, BABY!!!

I'm London bound and oh so excited!! I'll have a full weekend and race recap next week.

You can follow my race here
(Surname: Mahan; Bib# 45744; start time 10:00GMT)


And you can still donate here



Have a great weekend!!!

Pray for Boston

As I make my final preparations for the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday the events of yesterday's Boston Marathon weigh heavy on my heart. Please keep everyone affected by yesterday's tragic events in your thoughts and prayers. My friend, Sarah, who I ran the Great Wall of China Marathon with was there cheering on her BFF, Laurie. They, along with Laurie's family, are okay but it definitely makes things hit a little closer to home. Not only did these events affect the running community that I am proud to call myself a part of but having someone you know in the vicinity of the events really hits hard.

I watched an interview today with the runner, Billy Iffrig, pictured here. The police helped him up and made sure he crossed the finish line. He is 78 years old and finished 2nd in his age group.

Great blog post here

Taper Time and Snowy Bennachie

So, it's taper time, my least favorite part of marathon training. Why would I hate running less miles you ask? Because at this point, I'm ready for the race, I've put in the miles and just want the race to be over and done with at this point. It's been a long 3 months of training in the snow, ice and freezing temps! However, tapering is essential to the training and I had a successful 12 mile run Sunday morning. I usually do my long runs on Saturdays but things kept getting in the way on Saturday.  I had a hiking commitment with Falene on Sunday so I knew I would get up and get it done before the hike because there was no way I was doing it after.

Falene and I, along with our labs, headed out to Bennachie. Falene is training for the Caledonian Challenge, a 54 mile hike that takes place in a 24 hour period, and the doggies needed a good long hike! We knew Bennachie had the potential for snow on the ground since we've had such a snowy winter/early spring and it snowed a little in Aberdeen the night before but I don't think we expected quite what we got.

Most of the hike we were trudging through several inches of snow and at one point we went off piste (trail) in which we were trudging through knee deep snow. Needless to say, we were tired and my legs felt like dead weight especially after a 12 mile run that morning.

We rewarded our 6 mile snowy hike with some yummy hot chocolate and a brownie from Gadies at Touched by Scotland, one of my favorite places in Aberdeenshire!

And this is what Angus and I did the rest of the day :-)

Running is Better with a Friend

Saturday, I had a 23 miler on my marathon training schedule. As most of you that read this blog know, Ryan had a ski accident about a month ago in which he broke his leg and our daily routines have had to adjust accordingly. Needless to say, my running has been inconsistent because I much rather be at home taking care of my hubby (that is not sarcasm) and not to mention the less than par weather we've been having (2 weeks of snow) so, to say I was getting worried about the marathon is a bit of an understatement. Physically I knew I could probably pull it off one way or the other, to date my longest run had been 20 miles but for me running is a lot more mental. Mentally I needed a solid 21-23 mile run to give me the confidence to successfully run the London Marathon and achieve my goal time.

I set out early Saturday morning (with sunshine!!) to run a big 'ol loop from my house to the beach and back again stopping by Countesswells Woods, Hazelhead Park and the Dee Line. My dear friend, Debbie, I think sensed that I might have been little worried about my run and agreed to meet me and run the last miles with me. She was my saving grace. I got through the first 15 miles knowing that Debbie was meeting me and she trudged throught the last 8 miles at my turtle speed and I am truly thankful for that. Running is so much better with a friend. Even if you don't talk just having a companion makes a world of a difference. So Debbie, thank you so much again for slowing waaay down for me and helping me push through the last 8 miles. You're the best and I owe you one!

So, 20 days til the marathon and I now feel mentally and physially prepared. I just have to make it through these last few weeks, fitting in as many quality runs as I can. Luckily, hubby is on the mend and spring seems to be coming which I hope means our lives are returning to normal and no more running in the snow! 

A pic I captured along the beach. Look at those blue skies! If you live in the UK, you know how exciting those are ;-)

 

Also, thank you to everyone who has already supported my marathon efforts by donating to Relate West Surrey. It truly means a lot to me!

An Almost Perfect Day Turned Perfect

Yesterday, Debbie, Laine, Nary and I headed out to check a few things off of Debbie's "Must Do Before We Move to London" list. First thing up was to hike Clachnaben. You may remember, I did this hike with the AWA back in November. This time we 'just' did the 6ish mile out and back route to make sure we had time for the other things on our list for the day.


The hike is more or less a steady climb from the minute you step foot on the trail. (We climbed over 1500ft!)

We took a breather or two to enjoy the view.

Because this rock was our goal....

 And it took climbing these steep steps to get you there.

 But it was all worth it to see these breath taking views.

Angus taking a moment to take it all in...

Debbie, Nary and I climbed to the top of the rocks where we were actually blocked from the wind (despite what Debbie's hair may tell you) but it was much colder at the summit!

After enjoying the views and taking so quick pics, we quickly made our way down to warmer ground because our tummies were growling and we were ready to embark on the next item of the day, food. However, when we got to the car and everyone was making sure they had everything, Nary noticed her phone was missing. She and Laine headed back to the trail in search for it, thinking it fell out of her jacket pocket when she took her jacket off towards the end of our hike. They back tracked about a mile with no luck. This put a huge damper in our day but we knew it wasn't the end of the world and nothing we could do about it at the time.

We set forth to Stonehaven to enjoy the best fish and chips in the UK at Bay Fish and Chips and  some yummy ice cream for dessert at Aunty Betty's.

Perfect crispiness without the greasiness

They weren't lyin...Best fish and chips I've had!

Yummy, coconut chocolate chip ice cream!

So, up to this point it had been a pretty perfect day...hanging out with my best girls, hiking in beautiful Scotland and enjoying some yummy food along the harbor. The only thing that was keeping it from being perfect was Nary's lost iPhone. When she got home she tracked her phone with the brilliant 'track my phone' app. At first it was saying the phone was off line so it wasn't picking up any signal but then, she got an alert and the phone was moving!! Either a sheep had picked it up or a human being had found it! Luckily for her, it was the latter and she immediately called the phone in which someone picked up. She arranged to collect later that day (yay for good people!!) and that's how our almost perfect day turned perfect.

Half Way There

This past weekend marked the 1/2 way point in my London Marathon training. 8 weeks down, 8 weeks to go. And I marked that milestone with a 16 mile run, my longest so far and my first one done completely outside. The Scotland winter weather has not been so kind to my training nor have the short days. I've had to do must of my long runs (to this point) split between the treadmill and outside. Ten miles is about my limit on the treadmill so if my run was supposed to be longer than that, I finished it outside (in which I will probably come home covered in mud).

I ran 12 miles in that mess above....ice, snow, slush and mud. Most mentally challenging run yet. My feet were soaked within 5 minutes.

However, I am hoping this weekend was a turning point in the weather (come on Spring!!) and my training. I needed a really good run to get me over the 1/2 way hump and I think I did just that. It's amazing what a good run with no mud or ice will do for you.

I am hoping to get in a 18-20 miler this weekend before we head to the French Alps for a week of skiing! Can not wait to hit the slopes....it's been 7 years!!

And don't forget I'm running the Virgin London Marathon with Relate West Surrey (read about them here or here) so in addition to my training, I'm raising money to support a great organization! Thank you in advance....every little bit counts!!

Windy Bennachie

If one things for sure, it's that Bennachie is ALWAYS windy and I confirmed that (again) last Thursday. I offered to lead the Explorers hike since Lisa was out of town and decided on Bennachie because it's not that far away and it's a really great hike. I knew it would be windy but I really had no idea it could be as windy as it was. There was one point I could not ascent any further for fear of being blown away. And on this day it was icy in spots as well so that really tests your footing and balance. But despite the wind and the ice, it was still a great hike with two lovely ladies (small group thanks to International School holidays) and two of my favorite pups.

And because our hands were so cold and there was no way we were stopping to eat lunch along the way, we got down the mountain and stopped at one my favorite lunch spots, Gadie's, at Touched by Scotland. A warm bowl of vegetable soup and green tea warmed me right up!