New frontiers, camping and racing cows

It's Friday again, and for the first time this week, I'm not traveling with my bike. Walking to the station takes so much longer, and I'm actually wearing civilized clothes.

Been a busy week, too much paperwork and computerwork to be had and due to the camping trip last weekend, we got our long run out of the way on Friday evening.

A new route to the new place. Sad discovery that instead of a minute away from the Thames like now, it will be 30 mins and not on level ground! A plus (maybe) will be some rural roads (with no pavements) near farms etc.

Running in the evening is tiring especially after a day of brain draining, although we didn't worry too much about nutrition due to dinner afterwards. And we stopped and explored, eventually taking 3 hours to do 15 miles and arriving home before 9pm in almost darkness.

Times spent on the bike were more enjoyable esp an canal exploration near banbury in oxfordshire! After a hike there a day earlier it is heaps faster on the bike though, the narrow paths were slightly tricky and overgrowth isn't too nice on my skin!

Monday morning I went for a morning run towards Oxford side of canal. Decided to take a detour back on civilized roads back to the campsite at kings sutton, and got mooed by a herd of cows across the fence!

The whole herd followed me as I ran on the driveway along their fence to the gates. Was scared! This is not Pamplona! I slowed and walked for a bit, and they slowed too. Eventually I tried detouring and then made a beeline for the gates , lucky it was unlocked on my side for me to escape!



Price paid for bringing home pics of raging dairy cows!

Happy to be camping, that could be it for the year as summer ends :(




Lack of sleep - so, saving time via using the bike has been my main exercise this week so far!
I've been enjoying it, and getting to the station with time to spare for moments like this has been priceless :)



Legs have been itching for a run but just can't afford it - hopefully the runny nose will stop and I will be in better shape by Sunday for another 3 hr +!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mare et Monti - From the Mountain to the Sea

[name inspired by a dish on the menu of a lovely Italian restaurant in Leith last Friday]

Can't believe its been a week already! I'm still recovering from my weekend in Edinburgh, catching up with our friend Liam who's moved up there and offered us options for our saturday long run which ended up in this 11.72 miles scenic tour of Edinburgh!

Edinburgh was a lot hillier than I'd expect (having spent previous trips mainly on the Royal Mile and Princes street environs) and running with 2 boys meant that I was struggling to keep up (on uphills!) and subsequently made up the time by utilising the power of gravity when we went downhill. It is a lovely place for hiking and hill running - each base loop is roughly 3miles + long but we just weren't in the mood to just go round and round. (Or rather, the 'hike' to St Anthony's chapel - a ruin in a steep location with sweeping views of the Castle and towards the bay, killed my energies). There was a slight drizzle too - which slowed our decision as to where to go next..





After Holyrood Park we ran to Calton Hill for some more panoramic views. Great sense of achievement to be so high up above the city!





The sun was starting to shine through and after checking out the funky bike racks at the Scottish Parliament, the Dynamic Earth, we were on our way to the beach! Took a less busy road through quieter suburban roads through to Portobello West Beach - it's been a while (since end of June at Poole) since I have been near the sea, oh so excited!

some milkshakes and cakes at the Beach House (this so reminds me of sundays at Balmoral Beach in Sydney!) and then we were back home, on the bus, and off for a busy weekend of experiencing the Edinburgh Fringe! There were so many choices, and when I get the time, I shall update on my travel blog...

Training this week so far has only been 1 run (4 miler as my new shoes were yelling to be broken in!) and a few bike rides which is eventuating to a big financial decision (!) Other than that, been sneezing and with too much going on - i have been feeling run down. Hopefully the weather stays up for a reasonable long run before the long weekend starts!

Chicken run and melting 'Mo'-ments

The Olympics are finally over. Leaving a void as there's not always something inspirational on TV.
I've really enjoyed spectating at Olympic events and especially last Wednesday, a full day off just for London 2012 starting with Hockey in Riverbank Arena, spending a good part of the rest of the day lying on the grass watching the big screens, feeling the BMX cycling nearby and finishing off with watching USA play against AUS in Basketball Quarter Finals. Still yet to fix up my pics but a screenshot of our time on TV at the badminton finals (me to the left in the red top)

Training has not been too bad this week, though still under 30 miles total. Due to a few appointments from lunchtime and a relatively late start (8:30am) - I've done my first 3-hour run (17miles) to a new diversion on the Thames path near weybridge and back.
Had the company of the usual ducks, dogs but had a chicken joining me out of a gate for a short while in shepparton!

I worried about its safety luckily no car ran over it. Chicken decide to turn back home after 50metres? Hope it manage to find its way back okay.

Need to retune my iPhone holder as Voice control kept on coming on and messing my music. Also my nutrition needs to be fine tuned as our ginsting gels are running out!
Glad to spend rest of weekend putting feet up and watching another Mo-ment in the 5000m the marathon start and finish. I now use his 10,000m final 6 laps as an imagery for winning the race in the final moments. Sure enough, this has worked when I overtook a guy who was right ahead of me in my morning run, on my last mile home.
7ish weeks to go til Brussels Marathon. I've booked our flights and hotel, and checked the course map and nutrition stops. Reviews say its not a PB race. Scenic but undulating. Hmmm.
Only 'consolation' is 2 hilly long runs coming up that might prepare me for this.
And then there's Palace to Palace bike ride. Training guide came out - saying 30 miles on the bike weekly.
How will I ever find the time? I'm not full timers like this lot...



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Celebrating 1000 miles logged on Runkeeper!

and a fantastic night of GB Athletics at the Olympic Stadium!

A late start on Saturday's 16 miler, avoiding a dump of rain and missing some, being overtaken by hubby early in the course and then later at 3/4 of the way, was glad to have received this milestone update from Runkeeper - the gps app on the iPhone tracking mileage on running, cycling and a little on the treadmill.

So, how far is 1,000 miles?
4,000 laps around a track
14,664 football field lengths
32,180 Olympic pool lengths


decided to tally my old Nike+ app that was another 909 miles since July 2008 before I ever signed up for anything more than 14km (Sydney city to surf)


So that's at least 1900 miles invested over 4 years, prepping for 4 marathons, and other races in between. Mileage completed in the UK, Europe, USA, Hong Kong, Australia :)
and counting, because the training is not over yet and I'm under my weekly mileage!

The Olympics have been inspirational so far. Good to see China keeping on top of the list since hosting their games at home. Team GB have had an amazing performance in the last few days so I'm feeling happy again, since comparing to the top of the charts Team AUS achieved in the first days in the pool in Sudney 2000, their success came later. Disappointing results for AUS this time, and media reports have been pouring in as to why. In fact, reading how different countries report on their countries athletes performance has been very good reading.

2 great moments to share:
Women's Kieren Track Cycling, HKG's Lee Wai Sze takes bronze, a 3rd medal for the SAR in history! And on TV too in such a high profile race!
Inspirational to the the people of Hong Kong to get out there and cycle ( in the countryside) I hope!
Love the flags, last seen in 1997..


The other one that captures me is seeing Mo Farah take gold in the 10,000m in the Olympic Stadium.
The last 6 laps saw him take up speed and go right past his opponents and leading a good distance away into the finish. Determination was in his face. His training mate from the USA took silver - truly good to have people who push each other to the top.

Read Mo's page on London 2012 website, inspirational quotes:

"No pain, no gain. Train hard. The harder you train, the less likely you are to lose." (telegraph.co.uk, 12 Mar 2007)



Sporting philosophy / motto
"I'll do whatever it takes to get close to a medal, to become Olympic champion. You have no choice. If you want to be the best you have to do that. There aren't any mornings when you wake up and think, 'I don't feel like going for a run today'." (bbc.co.uk, 26 Jan 2012)

"If you train with them [Kenyan athletes], mentally you think, 'I can compete with these guys, I know how they do what they do'. It makes you feel stronger. It's like if you're in a football team and you've played with someone before - you know what that player is capable of. They've shown over the years that they're the best in the world by far, but we can compete against them. The mentality is changing now. We can do what they do." (bbc.co.uk, 26 Jan 2012)

Now, as the gun goes on the Women's Marathon at the Mall, I'm off to Wembley arena to see the Badminton Finals, will I sing 起來? Or would I see Malaysia take their first Gold Medal in history?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

London 2012 - a duathlon/marathon over 2 days, and more.

Sounds crazy, but true ;) stayed in London this weekend and did 22 miles on foot and a bit more on the Boris Bike!

It's Day 5 of the Olympics and hubby's already put his Games Maker outfit in the wash after 3 days of exciting Road Cycling Marshalling...which got me the accommodation for the nights before in London, near Old St. Reliving the Shoreditch Dreams  (this probably a sentimental post on my last night there).

The days that he have been working, I've used the location to my great advantage - hence the distance covered over the weekend, and a little bit this morning before heading to work in the office by CS7!

Saturday -after the amazing Opening Ceremony in Stratford the night before, London was strangely quiet. I met up with some girl friends who were training for late Oct/ Nov marathons at 9am at Tower Bridge, but not a soul was to be seen about, apart from a 'National Nine News' reporter (jet lagged from Oz?) and a few people in sports gear. It was a very nice run when we got to it - me being no stranger to the Thames Path except for Saturday mornings. Heaps to take pictures of (Olympic ring 'island' at tower hill had moved to Waterloo bridge) and as we turned into Birdcage Walk more and more people started to gather.

Our run came to a standstill around the Mall and Buckingham Palace because...they were all after the best spots to watch the start of the Men's Road Cycling! Eventually we left SW1A, continued along south side of Hyde Park and decided to call into Giraffe for a morning drink (my mates carried no water bottles). The sun was shining and it wasn't even lunchtime yet! Feeling under my mileage, I tried my luck with the Barclays Bike, had some glitches with the credit card...so decided to take the tube east.

Got off at Chancery lane and ran the last 2 miles back, revisiting yet another of my old workplaces' - through Smithfields, Barbican, Whitecross Markets, Old Street...and all this, for a Banh Mi (Vietnamese Baguette) 'lunch' .....

Saturday morning run: L-R Thames Path to Hyde Park; Chancery Lane to Old St;

Tower Bridge; Waterloo Bridge; Outside Buckingham Palace; metres from the Cycling Finish at the mall; Banh Mi shop and the pate, pickled vege and slightly spicy baguette

before setting off for my accupuncture 'fix' in Chinatown. I was determined to ensure the Barclays (Boris) Bike hire scheme worked on me...so spent a bit of time walking around, trying to find a dock, and bikes in good condition. I had to walk 3 stations before I found a bike, which squeaked and was a pain to ride. My last and only ride was in May last year (thats why my credit card didnt work as they didnt take the money off me !) and I had forgotten how heavy these things were. I was able to thankfully found a few relatively quiet roads (yes, Smithfield markets again) and eventually gave up near Somerset House (the back light flew off as a farewell - ref the picture). At that point, helicopters were over our heads and I know ... the Road Cycling were about to finish. Took another bike out quickly and had a lady saying 'sxxt' instead of using the bell, and eventually (after another 3 blocked docks and queues), docked in Pall Mall East. via Waterloo Place...stood 5 deep...only to hear, from the radio...it wasn't Cavendish first across the line...
oh well. I know it takes 7 mins to walk from Admiralty Arch to Chinatown....so just got to the needles in time. Ouch! the pains of training!

Saturday bike routes from Old St- Somerset House - Pall Mall east; some Cycling Finishers at the Mall (as far as I can zoom!)

Sunday morning - I wasnt going to let a sunny day go to waste. Downloaded the new Barclays Bike app (!) but it said 45 mins to Regent's Park and I couldn't, couldn't avoid busy Kings cross. so I gave up and adapted part of the Serpentine's 16 mile canal route to the following loop around the east bit of the Grand Union Canal.



Lovely day, but got too excited running through the quiet square mile and taking bit detours along London and Tower Bridges, so by the time I got to Limehouse where the canal starts, it was already almost an hour. This eastern part of the canal (which I ran last year on a wet morning) is quite busy on weekends and very narrow at times under bridges. There was a canalside market near Victoria Park, selling pizzas and all sorts of sandwiches - but I wasnt to be tempted (after going offtrack to view a sculpture that resembled sausages and poached eggs - near the lily pond on the top right hand picture below).

My legs were tired and I knew it. left the canal after viewing a funky canalside cafe at the top of De Beauvoir town, and headed south back to the hotel and for a shower...before heading to my first ticketed event. Table Tennis at the Excel, supporting Team GB and also Team Hong Kong!

L-R from Top - Tower Bridge; before Mile End; Lilies near Victoria Park; Canal markets near Victoria Park (all except bottom left); bottom left: Canal and funky alfresco breakfast cafe with Thai massage from De Beauvoir Town, north of Hoxton

Wednesday morning - after a night at home and then tuesday night back in Old Street - this really was my last chance taking the 46 south to London Bridge and having a <30minute commute within Zone 1! I took an early start and it being a sunny day. I was ambitious and thought I would cover the northern bit of the canal route (after all, back in 2008, I'd do morning 5kms from Finchley Road via Primrose Hill/Regent's park and take the tube back home before starting the day...). The annoying bit really was, heading back to the canal from the hotel took a precious mile, and after reaching Angel, there were the busy Upper Street to cross, and also a few other meandering streets before I was to see the canal again (this includes non-flat roads through 'residential' areas ). I almost gave up and was going to turn back, lucky that I didn't!

Managed to find the signs to London Canal Museum...rejoined the canal near King's Place (funky arts venue near the Guardian's HQ) and followed the canal to Camden Town...with 'Thames at Limehouse 6 miles' to the left, and 'Little Venice 2 1/2 miles' to the right...if only I'd started earlier!  This also meant that I have covered (over the years) this canal from limehouse all the way to paddington :D

Had to take the Northern line back. wasn't very pleasant at all. oh well.

L-R from top: Old St - Camden Town route; Camden Town Tube; signs at Camden Lock; boat at Camden Lock (sign to liverpool!); view of St Pancras station clock tower from the canal

Enjoyed my time in the city, but the price to pay was a heavy luggage with all my gear, and very heavy legs. It wasn't quite the same doing my usual route this evening along the quieter stretch of the Thames, but life must go on...and the miles must build from now.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone