A slow Sunday

Both Geth and I needed all the sleep this morning so we weren’t awake until after 10am and not out on our long runs until noon. As a result, it doesn’t feel like there’s been much ‘rest of the day’, but that’s fine as I’m quite keen to get back to sleep. Day off tomorrow and I’m hoping to be more awake for it.

parkrunday: Jesmond Dene #69

I was in two minds this morning about whether to push the speed a bit in my magic shoes at Jesmond Dene. It was a real struggle even to get out of bed as it’s been a slightly tiring week, so I was tempted to wear ploddy shoes instead and take it really easy. However, I did want to see what the shoes could do on a slower and hillier course, and it was great once I got going. I was only 16 seconds slower than my Jesmond Dene PB in the end, and that was set nearly three years ago. I feel like there’s a lot of room for improvement if I go about it the right way this autumn.

During parkrun
Balancing a downhill. Photo from the Jesmond Dene parkrun Facebook page.

Further afield again next week.

Bit of a medical admin day

A few issues with meant-to-be-regular medication at the moment so I spent some time this morning on the phone to various admin staff. Hopefully I’ll have managed to get everything joined up and in place by next week… fingers crossed!

I then went to a physio appointment (not my regular physio, it was one booked by the hospital for spondylitis purposes). She didn’t have many exercises to add to my routine as I do so many already, but she did come up with a couple for improving my side flexion (the only major stiffness issue that hasn’t been improved by my recent medication). Telephone appointment next time, though, which is great as that clinic is a bit of a pain to get to.

Looking forward to the weekend now.

Getting started

After work today I was able to get my new game file started – there have been a few false starts but I’m finally happy with this initial idea and am excited to get the game made! – and have also done a few more small things around the house. I’ll be trying to balance the two projects (along with running) over the next few months. If I focus on one thing (which is my natural tendency), I get a bit obsessive about it and then sometimes burn out on it. I feel like I need a bit more variety for the second half of the year.

Feeling really happy about plans in general.

Back for a bit

Back in Newcastle this evening, but we’ll have another trip to Dumfries and Galloway later in the summer. Hoping for drier weather next time.

In the meantime, I’ve got a new game idea that I’ll be starting to play around with this week, and a few house things to start tinkering with. Both of these are the beginning of projects that will culminate in the autumn, which is quite exciting. It means autumn isn’t a million miles away!

Whithorn Roundhouse

We visited this replica Iron Age roundhouse today.

Whithorn Roundhouse
Photo (c) John Cooke 2022.

Geth loves archaeological stuff so we try and visit these things when we have the opportunity. It’s based on the remains of a real Iron Age roundhouse that were found nearby in the area – it’s got some fascinating stuff inside. A couple of great museum exhibitions in the nearby buildings too, and we found a roundhouse art postcard to frame for our wall (well-timed now that I’m doing house stuff again).

We’ve got year-long tickets so we may well be back to visit it again before too long.

A bit of rain

Okay, quite a lot of rain where we are this weekend. But it’s been fine as we’ve had a much-needed quiet couple of days, and we’ve been able to get out and about a couple of times, which has been nice.

Looking forward to a runexplore tomorrow morning and hopefully a drier afternoon.

parkrunday: Agnew #60

It was another glorious morning in Newcastle upon Tyne today! …according to my Ring video doorbell.

We were not in Newcastle upon Tyne. We were parkrunning in Stranraer at Agnew parkrun, one of the wettest parkruns we have ever done.

Post-parkrun
The excellent post-parkrun snack offering trend in this area of Scotland continues to impress. Following complimentary tablet at Girvan Prom last summer, we had complimentary Irn-Bru and a Tunnock’s teacake at Agnew today! Photo (c) John Cooke 2022.

It was also hands-down the flattest parkrun we’ve ever done, and I got another post-hiatus PB in my magic shoes – over a minute off my 32:20 result at Town Moor three weeks ago. My watch today said 31:17, my official result 30:21 – there have been some problems with the results apparently so I’ll go with the watch for now!

I’ll be trying out the last of the three parkruns in the area (Crichton in Dumfries) next time we’re here, but after that I expect we’ll stick to Agnew. Beautifully fast and I can’t wait to come back on a day with better weather!