Autumn is passing me by and it's looking less and less likely I'll manage another Munro trip this year. Never say never, but I can't see it happening. My target of getting to 50 this year starting slipping in July, when our car got written off. Shortly after that we started a new business and the focus has very much been on that. There have been ups and downs on the road to self-employment, but the ups have sadly not come from heading to the hills.
We did manage to find the time to go on honeymoon thankfully, just a year later than the actual wedding! Iceland has been top of our 'must visit' list for ages, so to actually get there - and find it even more incredible than everyone said it would be - was something very special.
I took a couple of weeks off from any real exercise whilst we were away, although we did do a fair bit of walking (8 miles one day just exploring Reykjavik, and hunting the Northern Lights - success!!). As a result I struggled to get back into Zumba and Parkrun, particularly after catching a cold from one of three planes we took on our long journey home.
Having attempted Parkrun whilst not feeling 100%, and feeling so much worse for it, I decided to volunteer for the next couple of weeks. Parkrun of course relies on volunteers, so it felt nice to give something back. It was great to see it from a different perspective - I'll appreciate the words of encouragement from the marshals even more having been a marshal myself.
However this wasn't the ideal preparation for Sunday 29th October, which was the day of the Jedburgh Running Festival 10k...I'd signed up for this back in August after the Dog Jog and my first Parkrun, perhaps over-optimistically...!
Thankfully Ross signed up too, and he was invaluable on the day. The nerves really got to me as I hadn't run 6 miles since 2008 and really didn't know if I was able to. I felt sick with nerves prior to the race but Ross, and Dave (official support team), kept me distracted yet focused at the same time.
Ross and I ran the first three miles together, at a nice steady pace. I think I would have been tempted to go faster, which would have been a mistake. It eased me in gently, and I was able to enjoy the route and the beautiful surroundings.
At the 5k mark Ross set off at a more realistic pace for his abilities, and disappeared into the distance. I kept my steady pace going, but around the 7k mark began to go a bit faster. I probably anticipated the finish a bit earlier than I should have - I knew I still had 3k to go, but I should've kept it a bit steadier and slower to make that 3k a bit less painful!
It was an incredible feeling to cross the finish line under an hour, 55.09 to be exact. I had had no idea whether this was possible or not, having not trained to this distance. I think the adrenaline of the event really got me there, and I enjoyed the run far more than I have enjoyed training runs in Stow at half the distance. There was great support from locals and other runners.
Inspired by this leap out of my comfort zone, I've signed up to exhibit at a Christmas Craft Fayre in Galashiels on the 25th and 26th November. I'll be selling handmade photo cards of Scotland, and paper flower decorations. This is something that I have never done before and it is so far out my comfort zone I feel sick just thinking about it...! But that's how I felt before the 10k and I managed that...so fingers crossed I can manage this too. I'm not really giving myself a choice!
