Month: February 2020

A slightly gloomy Monday

Dee Leave a comment

Today has certainly been as proactive as I hoped – the day job work is continuing to pile in, which is great, and I got a good if slightly too fast recovery run in this morning as well as another chunk of post-Christmas admin catchup done. However, I feel a bit glum this evening, and I think I’ve maybe been in the house by myself a bit too much lately. I’m really looking forward to the adventures and trips away planned for later in the year, but they seem a long way away right now.

On the bright side, my new mobile phone arrived this afternoon. Something new to set up and play with tonight!

Tomorrow is another fairly featureless day, but I do have a few exciting things coming up later in the week.

Basil plant
I’ve started a new habit today of doing one tiny ‘house sorting out’ job every day, as I really don’t have time for big sessions of house stuff at the moment. Today’s job was sorting out the corner of the kitchen windowsill where Basil the basil plant lives – it was taken up with a rusty metal box overflowing with clothes pegs that we don’t really use much since getting our tumble drier. Basil himself is a bit of a lopsided beast (half of his roots were already pretty much dead when I got him), but at least his corner looks nice now.

Today’s earworm playlist:

The ‘mild green Fairy Liquid’ jingle from back in the day
The Midnight – ‘Vampires’
Kylie Minogue – ‘Got To Be Certain’

And a bonus track that Geth was humming earlier:

Del Amitri – ‘Nothing Ever Happens’

Grey runs

Dee Leave a comment

I went for my long run this morning in the mizzly rain. Newcastle was super, super grey, and looked very wintery, and of course now that it’s February I’m getting a bit impatient for it NOT to be winter. Apparently most of the North American groundhogs predicted an early spring today, but I don’t think their forecasts apply to the British Isles. Not even mystical animal meteorologists can predict our weather.

The lake at Exhibition Park did look really beautiful, though, when I lapped it a few times to make up an extra mile. Lots of swans and ducks and geese all flapping away against the cold grey water. I might have appreciated it a little more in December, though, which is something to remember for later this year.

I’ve had a much-needed dozy afternoon and evening since the run. Hoping to be all refreshed and proactive tomorrow.

Window reflection
End of the OOTD: you’ve probably noticed that I’ve not been posting many OOTDs lately. This is partly because my 2018 target weight clothes shopping spree came to a natural end, and so I don’t have many new clothes to post about now. It’s also partly because as my running has become more of a focus over the last few months, I’ve tended towards comfy leggings/’80s jumper/no makeup days, and don’t really feel like posing for pictures. I’m hoping to remember to take more photos while I’m out on my runs over the next few weeks, as I feel the Newcastle scenery is a bit more interesting than my cosy post-run outfits right now!

Today’s earworm playlist:

Rei Kondoh – ‘Storm Clouds’
Bronski Beat – ‘Hit That Perfect Beat’
Duran Duran – ‘Falling Down’
Duran Duran – ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’
The Midnight – ‘Explorers’

Standing still

Dee Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I volunteered at parkrun, so it was good to get out and marshal at Jesmond Dene this morning, a parkrun course that I really enjoyed running during the autumn. I jogged there and back so as to get my run in, but made sure I had plenty layers on for the ninety minutes I was standing at my marshal point! There was a bitter wind blowing through the Dene today, so they were very much needed.

Geth is away at a Keyforge tournament so I’ve had a really relaxed afternoon reading. I’ve got another long run to do tomorrow and I’m hoping to be well rested.

Weekends are a bit of a write-off at the moment due to all the running, but that’s sort of the way it goes during marathon training.

parkrun volunteering
Sort of an OOTD: I was at the marshal point I’d always feared, the one where an out-of-control runner can knock you down the steps if you’re not careful! Thankfully it wasn’t as scary as I’d imagined…

Today’s earworm playlist:

Jackson Browne – ‘Rosie’
Vangelis – ‘Chariots Of Fire’
Soft Cell – ‘Where Did Our Love Go?’
Belinda Carlisle – ‘Leave A Light On’