I think I definitely put in some effort this morning because now I’m struggling to raise myself from my position of repose this afternoon. Race five in the Borders League series, was in sunny Capenhurst, in Cheshire. When I searched for the village on Google maps, it put a red boundary line around what looks… Continue reading HM Training – Week 8 of 9 (Borders Race)
Author: theleadlesspencil
Track Training
Note to self: don’t eat a big plate of pasta two and a half hours before my track session. It had been a while since I’d done any track work, so I’d forgotten that there is a big difference in the stomach, between pootling along and pumping my arms and legs. Next time, I’ll try… Continue reading Track Training
HM Training – Week 7 of 9
What do two women in their fifties who are steadily grinding their way through the ten-mile training run on a Sunday morning talk about? Needing to find a suitable spot for another wild wee (naturally); the orange dictator (invariably); Lord Lever’s philanthropic concerns (we were in that locality); whether we’ve got enough suncream on (it… Continue reading HM Training – Week 7 of 9
HM Training – Weeks 5 and 6 of 9
I attempted a handicap run with the club last night for the first time in ages. The run is supposed to work like this: based on previous attempts or your own knowledge of your pace, you work out how long it will take you to run the five or seven-mile handicap routes. the slower runners… Continue reading HM Training – Weeks 5 and 6 of 9
RSC: Hamlet – Back in Stratford
I know I shouldn’t, what with the crumbs and all, but I’m eating a pain au chocolat on the bed with a glass of red to wash it down. It’s a moment of decadence that I can enjoy while we relax, before watching our second play in two nights. And luckily, it’s not my bed. … Continue reading RSC: Hamlet – Back in Stratford
HM Training – Week 4 of 9
Every four weeks or so in any training plan, there should be a cut-back week. Perhaps not quite as cut back as I had this week, but it’s supposed to help your body consolidate all the training it has had in the previous few weeks, so you can go again the following week. I’m writing… Continue reading HM Training – Week 4 of 9
HM Training – Week 3 of 9
Clean before the race Every time I pull the laces tight, I wonder how I’m going to run in these shoes. The thin leather has just five millimetres of cushioning around the back heel, and there is even less between the rest of my foot and the muddy ground. I’d bought them, secondhand from ebay,… Continue reading HM Training – Week 3 of 9
Rebecca F. Kuang – Yellowface
I’m fifty-one years old and I have just finished Yellowface. My age is critical here: one, because the book was bought for me in 2023, and it’s only now that I’ve got to the end. two, because my age might have something to do with not liking any of the characters. It hasn’t taken all… Continue reading Rebecca F. Kuang – Yellowface
HM Training – Week 2 of 9
A late blog for week two. That doesn’t bode well. At least I, kind of, managed all my planned sessions during that week. I’m only on Tuesday of week three and I feel like I’m in a bit of a tizz already about fitting everything in this week. And breathe. I managed that breath by… Continue reading HM Training – Week 2 of 9
HM Training – Week 1 of 9
Good things I managed just over twenty-seven miles this week, and as I haven’t done that since the second week of November last year, I’m quite pleased. By virtue of two races – alright Parkrun isn’t a race, but you know what I mean – I managed two quite decent threshold runs. There was an… Continue reading HM Training – Week 1 of 9