Cheery's buttling diary: tea in one hand, plant pot in the other, running shoes on

Cheery_Daff

To be honest I'm not that alarmed about the chimney. I never even noticed until a roofer (who has since been proved to be both annoying and slightly disreputable) said it was dangerous, and it is leaning at a rather alarming angle... However, he said it would fall off 'any minute' in November, and it hasn't budged in all this weather we've had, so...

Triathlon is the Stratford one - 400m swim, 23k bike and 5k run. I did it a few years ago, ever such fun! Had to have swimming lessons and the swim (16 lengths of a 25m pool) took me over 25 minutes... I've put an estimated time of 20 mins this time, and hoping to get a tiny bit faster

Just popped to the shops, really aware of not spending my alloted Cheerful Fund :rotfl: :rotfl: Going to keep track properly rather than having to go back and add it all up (like I'm going to do for Feb)

Today's spends:

£51 triathlon
£1.20 book in charity shop
99p posh soap
=£53.19

So £200-£53.19 = £146.81 left :eek: It's not even March yet! :rotfl: :rotfl:

Local scrap place didn't ring back quickly enough and I wanted to go out, so I cancelled. Driver rang me anyway later but it was too late - already missed the deadline for reclaiming March's tax anyway, so I've gone with the other company who offered more

(however, I then missed *their* phone call too :rotfl: )

Pizza for tea two for £3 :money:

starnac

16 lengths? Wow. Don't know if I could manage 2!!

Oops to missing the scrap people though

Cheery_Daff

I've only ever done 16 lengths once - in the last triathlon :rotfl: :rotfl: Never managed it before or since I rather envy those people who can just swim up and down all day like fish. I guess it's like anything else, takes time and effort to build fitness. I just feel like a right wally sitting at the end of the swimming pool catching my breath for 10 minutes at the end of every length, and it's quite hard to vary your swimming speed!

That is, however, what I have been doing these last few weeks - doing a length, having a rest, doing a length, having a rest... I started off by going to an aquarobics class, watching all the old ladies to see how to use the lockers and showers etc then staying after the class (which was hilarious ) to do two lengths. Just two

Now I have gym membership, most times I go to a spin class I take swimming costume too, and get in to do just a few lengths. I'm getting better - did nearly 300m the other week! :j :j :j (That took me a good 20 minutes, but hey...)

I'll get there eventually Quite glad I have gym membership though, don't think I'd go to the effort of paying £4 just for swimming a couple of lengths...

How's your running going then Starnac? Must be doing well if you're thinking of entering the half!

starnac

And there was me thinking you were a really good swimmer then! What's the cut off time for the swim in the triathlon? Or do you get as long as it takes?

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

How's your running going then Starnac? Must be doing well if you're thinking of entering the half!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:I just like unrealistic challenges!!:cool: actually I have surprised myself recently. I ran a 10k in November and it pretty much nearly finished me off. I really struggled. But I hadn't really trained for it either since then I have been running more regularly and I very often run 5k as a training run. Before 5k was a massive achievement. Now, not really as much as I know I can do it. I've been knocking minutes off my PB quite often lately. I'm still not fast at just under 35 minutes but I know I can run all the way without stopping.

I've got a 10k in may already booked and am looking at another one in June. In November my aim was just to finish. This time I am aiming for under an hour. Knocking 19minutes off my November time. I walked a lot of the November one so if I run the whole way then I should manage it.

Then I saw the half advertised and thought "ooh that looks good" :cool:

Greying_Pilgrim

Phew! Greying pops in for a sit down.......

All this talk of running and swimming is exhausting

Bravo to you both though for doing these races. I've only seen triathlons on TV. I suspect it really helps to be at the front during the swimming. I seem to remember the Brownlee brothers saying the same during the Olympics

Hope your run went well this morning Cheery - and that the fog lifted - can't be much fun running in fog

Greying

Cheery_Daff

I am absolutely NOT a good swimmer starnac!! :rotfl: :rotfl: Never have been. Proper head-out-of-the-water, coughing and spluttering and making the lifeguards look concerned :rotfl:

Not sure there's a cut off for the tri. They tend to start the slower swimmers first so last time there were still loads of people going when I finished - even though when you looked at the list of finishing times, I was absolutely LAST :rotfl: Feels nice not to be left behind on the day, and means they're not waiting around for a few stragglers

Ooh, exciting 10k goals there! :j I do love an unrealistic running challenge My first 10k was 1 hr 45 :eek: Then I surprised myself by doing 1 hr 21, then 1.09 with no training. Pulled my finger hour to see just how fast I could go - after 6 weeks of 'training' I did 1.01.35 - so close! :rotfl: :rotfl: Don't have another 10k planned - I'm trying to get under 30 mins for the parkrun first, current PB is 30.11 - again, so close!

Hoping for 2 hrs 20 in the half I've done three now - 3.04, 3.06, and, er, 4 hours 50 for a mad uphill muddy fiasco that lasted all day and was the best fun But I didn't actually train for any of them so I'm hopefully I should be able to knock, er, 45 minutes off

I have no idea whether it helps being at the front greying - I misjudged my time last time and found it quite distressing to be overtaken by loads of people (not in a psychological way, I can handle that, but in a practical arms-flailing-water-in-my-face kind of way ). In a big open water swim I'd drown at the front, everyone would be swimming right over the top of me! :eek: Best to be right at the back out of the way

Do you know, I had a marvellous time running in the fog, oddly enough Woods were quiet and still, and out on the hill tops there was no view at all, it was all really quite calm and still and peaceful. After I got out of the woods (which were full of dogs) I saw hardly anyone for miles. Really enjoyed myself!

Visiting family today. Going to top the car right up to the top so if we can see if it lives up to its better-than-the-old-one mpg promises...

Karmacat

Wow! I can understand why running in the fog feels good - a sense of other worldliness, almost? Very special

And wow to those times! I remember some of the running thing, but the triathlon is another wow as well I watch it on Sunday morning tv sometimes, when I can't sleep - really amazing.

Have a lovely visit today

DedicatedDFW

Have a good weekend Cheery

I am misisng my running with all the talk on here - i've promised myself i'll get back into it after uni - in fact going for a run is my reward to myself after the exam - i know i'm just so rock and roll! :cool:

Karmacat

<waves at Cheery>

You okay, Cheery one?

Pippilongstocking

Lobs a pancake in......



How did that pesky half marathon go?