I am still processing yesterday’s marathon and have so much to say about it. However, I am still fairly tired at the moment (especially after travelling back to Newcastle today), so I will leave the race review for at least one more day.
At least I have the energy to post a picture tonight…
Geth found me this pumpkin biscuit in the Costa at King’s Cross this morning. Hallowe’en is coming!
I have not been allowing myself to get truly excited about Hallowe’en until after the marathon (though I did give a nod to it during the race by wearing my new spiderweb Locket leggings), because Hallowe’en generally involves being cosy on the sofa, watching scary films, eating sweets and doing a lot of other sedentary things that aren’t running. The marathon is done now, and so it’s time to curl up and get spooky. Lots of guilt-free sofa time this week while I recover!
While it feels like everything has been leading to the marathon for the last few months, there is a whole big chunk of October after the 3rd that I am very excited about and getting everything organised for already!
October is all about Hallowe’en for me – my favourite time of the year. I’m making a Hallowe’en game (already planned out), getting my decorations sorted early (need to order some more polystyrene pumpkins) and wearing lots of Hallowe’en leggings for both running and general life (already arrived!).
Spooky season sort of starts in London for me (and not just because the marathon’s scary). I will be wearing all the seasonal gear and looking out for more Hallowe’en sweeties for post-marathon munching!
I do need to spend at least part of this week prepping logistics as well as prepping spiderweb leggings…
Packing my kitbag, for instance! I need to drop this off at the marathon expo…
The first half of September has been almost back to pre-pandemic levels of Being Out And About! Weddings, races, gigs… it’s been a busy time, but so joyful to be able to see people and do normal things again. I even finally got to see Duran Duran this week! They announced a couple of short-notice gigs about a fortnight ago and I jumped at the chance… especially seeing as I already had a ticket for Andy Taylor on the Wednesday and so it was set to be the best coming-out-of-the-pandemic return to gig-going week I could have hoped for!
I’ll review the gigs in depth here eventually but I’ve also written pieces on them for a couple of fansites/publications so I want to wait until those are out first.
Anyway, the second half of September, in contrast, is empty, and I plan to make the most of that. I will only be leaving the house to do parkrun and an occasional long-ish run (my short daily runs are now all being done on the treadmill to reduce my risk of injury in the lead-up to the marathon) until I leave for London, with the one exception being the day I’ll be helping Geth unpack boxes in his new office. I am guarding that time very carefully as I want as much physical and mental rest as possible over the next sixteen days!
I am also getting organised for Hallowe’en so that I’m not rushing around with that in October. Some exciting things coming in the post soon…
T-shirt collection well stocked up this week! Love both of these 🙂
Saturday
The Wombles – ‘The Wombling Song’ Duran Duran – ‘Come Undone’
Sunday
Mika – ‘Grace Kelly’
Monday
Mark Knopfler – ‘Local Hero’ The Running Channel – ‘Run With Me’
Tuesday
Meat Loaf – ‘Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through’ Duran Duran – ‘Invisible’
Wednesday
Duran Duran – ‘Tonight United’ Andy Taylor – ‘Bringing Me Down’ Gloria Gaynor – ‘I Will Survive’ Duran Duran – ‘Friends Of Mine’
Thursday
Duran Duran – ‘What Happens Tomorrow’
Friday
Tom Jones – ‘Delilah’ Duran Duran – ‘Ordinary World’
The next week or so is quite busy with running events and gigs. I’m excited for all of it! And also for next weekend when I will return to my regularly scheduled dozing. The return to near-normality is nice but it can feel a little overwhelming to be suddenly doing All The Things.
The strange brief heatwave that made its way through the UK this week only showed its face in Newcastle on Wednesday, and that was quite enough for me. I’m done with hot weather now! Looking forward to cooler conditions for autumn running. It’s meant to be 13°C and cloudy on Sunday for the GNR and I really hope the forecast is right.
I made a decision earlier this week that I wouldn’t do the 22-mile run I’d scheduled for this week and would instead treat my 18-miler from a couple of weeks ago as my longest long run for the marathon. My body is telling me very loudly that a five-week taper is more likely to get me to the start line in one piece than a three-week taper, so I’m going to listen to it. I’ve got the GNR (13.1 miles) on Sunday, will do either eight or six miles next Thursday depending on how I’m feeling post-race, and six the week after, then a nice ten-day period of only doing mile-and-a-half streak savers and slow gentle parkruns leading up to the marathon. Fingers crossed it will all go according to plan.
This time next week I am hoping to report back on a slow but enjoyable GNR completion, two very long-awaited concerts, and the bulk of a game coded!
Last week’s photo of next door’s cat. He sneaked in as usual while our groceries were being delivered and looked so comfy I let him stay for an hour or so!
This week’s earworm playlists:
Saturday
Republica – ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’
Sunday
The Beatles – ‘Hey Jude’ Tom Jones – ‘Delilah’
Monday
Koichi Sugiyama – ‘Town’
Tuesday
Koichi Sugiyama – ‘Town’
Wednesday
Boston – ‘More Than A Feeling’ Soft Cell – ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’
Today is one of my favourite days of the year. It’s the start of meteorological autumn and the very first day of the glorious four months ending with -ber. It is officially now The Very Best Time Of The Year right up until the point when I have to take the Christmas decorations down on the 6th of January! (At which point begins The Very Worst Time Of The Year, but let’s not dwell on that just now.)
The length of the daylight is feeling more natural to me again now and I’m sleeping better. The weather has cooled down, and I hope it stays cooled down now, because it’s so much better for running.
NEXT MONTH IS HALLOWE’EN, which means I can start making decorations and watching Hallowe’en TV and horror films. It’s my favourite celebration and very much worth extending for two whole months!
I am also crossing everything that the pandemic doesn’t take another vicious turn and that we can all enjoy a normal Christmas at the end of this season. It will feel extra special doing all the things we didn’t get to do last year. I am really looking forward to an autumn that isn’t spent constantly worrying about the extent to which Christmas is going to be cancelled!
Candles and hot chocolate at the ready tonight. This autumn is going to be amazing.
Last year’s leaves. This year’s are already on the turn but I’ve not started taking pictures yet. A task for tomorrow’s long run!
…for me these days is the grey mizzle we have here in Newcastle today! I went out in it for a twenty-minute run and that was quite enough, thank you very much. I’m going to be spending the rest of the day on the sofa, both playing and making games 🙂
Cool, damp weather also makes me very excited for autumn. Two days to go!
Another picture from last Thursday’s run! This is the now-traditional ‘bracken at the side of the path’ picture that I take at the turning point of all my out-and-back long runs.
Just a quick blog admin note to say that Gamebook Wednesday will be back in October after I have done the London Marathon. I’ve been reading/playing (it’s a sort of hybrid action) lots of gamebooks and really enjoying them, but I don’t have the energy to do the reviews justice at the moment. It’ll be a nice project for the autumn!
Somehow, and in some ways unnoticed, my life seems to have become a lot more ‘back to normal’ recently. On Monday evening Geth and I went for a drink in the pub; yesterday we went into his workplace and packed up his office ready for a forthcoming building move; this afternoon I’m going to the hair salon. There have been many long stretches over the past year and a half where none of that stuff would have been possible or legal, and I got so used to my routine of only ever leaving the house for my daily run that I didn’t think it would be possible to revert to old habits so quickly. This autumn, however, looks almost normal on paper, with trips away and races and gigs and a full-length Strictly series to watch on the TV (so excited!). I don’t think I’ll believe it till after it’s happened, but I am very optimistic for the next few months.
An ‘autumn leaves’ picture from last year. I can’t wait to see them again 🙂
Twelve days to go until meteorological autumn begins. I am very excited.
Things have been quite well timed this week. Geth and I returned home from the last of our summer trips away on Tuesday, and I finished the last items for the last of my big summer work projects on Wednesday. Work has been very busy over the spring and summer, which has been great, but it’s starting to quieten down again now. I’ll be taking the opportunity over the next few weeks to get a new game made and to have some downtime with my much-neglected videogame collection. I’m also in the sharp end of marathon training now, so I need to get some rest and relaxation in when I’m not running!
I’m finding it hard to get out of the ‘I should be doing something work-related right now’ guilt and letting myself relax, but that’s sort of understandable after so many months. I hope I’ll feel a bit more settled in a week’s time.
So many pictures from our last trip! This is another one from the Mull of Galloway.
This week’s earworm playlists:
Saturday
S-Express – ‘Theme From S-Express’
Sunday
Grant Lee Buffalo – ‘The Whole Shebang’ Shoji Meguro – ‘Heretic Mansion’ Duran Duran and Chai – ‘More Joy’
Monday
Duran Duran – ‘Reach Up For The Sunrise’
Tuesday
The Crüxshadows – ‘Return’ Fleetwood Mac – ‘Don’t Stop’ Duran Duran and Chai – ‘More Joy’ The Corries – ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’
Wednesday
Peter Gabriel – ‘Games Without Frontiers’
Thursday
Duran Duran – ‘What Happens Tomorrow’ Duran Duran – ‘Invisible’
Geth and I are back in Newcastle after a few days spent at Mum and Dad’s holiday caravan in Dumfries and Galloway. It’s been lovely making the most of Geth’s summer leave to go zipping around visiting places for a few weeks, but I’m ready to settle down into the autumn routine at home now. I have lots of games to make (and play) and the final stages of a marathon training plan to complete.
Blog posts will gradually return to the normal schedule as a result!
So many photos from the last few days! This one is the view of Ailsa Craig from Girvan beach on Saturday. It was cloudy but atmospheric.
(Including the Tuesday pesto posts. From next week!)
