Running Bows: Tutorial

Posted on 20 March, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

Remember these? The perfect accessories for your running shoes.

I think I need to rename them my “Speed Bows” or “Go faster Bows”- essential accessorizing for the sewster that runs. Or the sewster’s nieces’ lace ups or the sewster’s daughter’s Mary Janes perhaps? However, these are official Badger Race Day wear that maybe thousands of fellow racers have been coveting from afar & wished they too could sport colour & quirk at pavement level. I wear them & feel girly, (but that does not prevent me taking it seriously, in case you wondered. It is possible to feel girly & competitive, I assure you.)

This post will eliminate any scratching of head or mental gymnastics you may have started to make your own. They are too simple for words, which is why writing a tutorial for them will be easy peasy.

1. Cutting your fabric

Start with some rectangles of your chosen fabric. Scraps of craft cotton, dress making poly/ cotton, even Liberty lawn would produce some exceptional bows & if you were feeling glam I could also imagine some in raw silk …anything really that’s hanging around & is not too drapey.

Each bow is made up of a larger rectangle for the bow & a smaller piece for the knot. I’ve cut many different sized bows, these are on the larger size & my bow piece is approx 14cm x 13cm and the knot is 8cm x 8cm.

2. Sewing the bow

I generally took say .75cm seam allowances, but it really is no great shakes what you take. I just decided there was no need to sew the usual 1.5cm & then trim.

Fold each bow in half right sides together along the length & sew leaving a gap in the middle for turning. (I would reinforce this part of the seam by the centre as it will be under strain when you do turn it- whatever you normally do at the start/ end of a straight seam)

Squish the tube that you have just sewn, still inside out so that the seam you have just sewn is central then flatten each end & sew across each end. Clip the corners & turn right side out poking the corners with a turner so that they are nice & sharp. Press. You don’t need to sew up the gap that you used to turn it through, honest!

3. Sew the knot

Right sides together sew one edge of each knot & turn right sides out & press.

Now this is the nifty bit. These bows have buttonholes to thread your shoe laces through so they stay where you want them! The buttonholes will sit underneath the bow when the knot is wrapped around the bow, so make two tiny buttonholes with a good 1.5cm distance to the closest unsewn edge as you’ll need some seam allowance left there when you come to fix the knot around the bow. Cut through the buttonholes now so that they are ready to be used.

4. Assembling the bows

Back to the bow pieces – using some doubled thread & a needle sew a smallish running stitch along the centre of the bow & pull it to gather the bow. You might want to play around with the gathers to distribute them to make them pleasing to your eye. Wrap the thread, knot it, etc to secure this new “waist” in your bow.

Take your knot & wrap it around the centre of your bow, folding the exposed raw edge under & then sewing it by hand.

Ta na! All you need now is to thread them onto your laces.

Here’s my older pair- slightly smaller in scale.

Now if you are anything like me, these bows will stay put on said running shoes, weathering all the conditions that you impose, mud, rain, snow even, until the shoes are not even good enough for gardening.

Have fun making them! Let me know how they go & whether they become your speed bows, won’t you?

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These crazy legs got serious

Posted on 4 March, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

I must apologise for being a tad disconnected the last week – I have been in a “pre race relax week” which translated for me as “try to go to bed early, keep a calm head, don’t over do it & ‘oh, let’s make the work week as busy as possible’ the latter was not intended as pre-race preparation”.

You see yesterday was the Bath Half Marathon, the race I had been training for with a scary personal goal. A goal I have to say that I thought almost unachievable when it was conceived last July. It was a goal to run it in under 2 hours which meant hacking 17 minutes off my personal best (2011) & almost 25 minutes off last year’s time. When it was conceived I was almost too scared to dream that I could achieve it, since that would elevate me (in my mind) to being a different kind of runner – one that chases a time as opposed to a survivor, enduring the 13.2 miles (or is it 13.1 miles – I get confused), getting round in as few pieces as possible (this has been my previous experience!). I knew though that I would be so proud to get in under 2 hours. And so it became my target & I became a driven obsessive: elevating races & runs at weekends above the opportunity to socialise; worrying about the impact of the Christmas break on my training; cutting out booze after Christmas except for birthdays (yes- it’s true!!)

I have never been so nervous in the lead up to a race. In some ways a busy work week helped distract me, because every time it was mentioned, I got huge wobbles in the pit of my stomach. Even though my training gave me every indication that I was on track, I had not ran further than 11 miles at my “target” speed. And at the end of the 11 miles I was wasted. Could I pull out the stops on the day? Would adrenaline, crowds & atmosphere pull me through? I just didn’t know.

My confidence waned. I’d found due to the finish time I predicted when I entered (pre July, not realising I would improve so much) I could not start in the same pen & run with my buddies I’d been training with & I’d have to run on my own. So many mental challenges that I had to overcome (& that’s a big part of running for me, my head)

But I did it! I came in at 1:58:42! I was so emotional when I finished I was on the verge of a blub.

So what was my secret? (I write this in case it can help anyone else, if anyone recognises themselves & any scrap of my experience can give them a lift)

I invested in a personal trainer (twice a week) – one that focused on the mechanics of running & gave me exercises to strengthen key muscle groups, identify my imbalances & work on them, core strength & balance being key. He has never seen me run. He is the one that set my sub 2 hour goal with me in July. He was/ is as committed to my goal as I was myself. I reorganised my expenditure & habits to be able to afford it.
Having invested financially in a personal trainer & having such a motivational goal really lined up my commitment. It was a case of just how good can I be? And all the things I did fell in behind that.
For my longer runs I trained with faster people that ran at the pace I wanted to run at – sounds obvious, but training with people slightly faster than you helps get you faster!
This being a local race, our long training runs often incorporated the last mile and a half – it’s a notorious energy sapper, slightly uphill & always that bit farther than you think. It became more familiar to us & therefore decreased its negativity.
I entered races as part of my training – helped me to get faster, because oddly (or not ;-s ) there’s something about the atmosphere at a race, no matter how small, that raises your own personal game. Entering a 10 mile race three weeks before the Half was a great test of whether I was on track.

You can probably tell that all of this helped me to get my head sorted out & take it seriously, however for the race itself, since I had done it three times before & knew the route & where it is I would be challenged I created an awesome playlist. (This year we were allowed music with one headphone, previous years it had not been allowed). I spent Saturday working through how long tracks lasted, where I wanted to listen to them, where I needed certain tracks. I had tracks to prepare myself while I waited for the start (Skyfall by Adele was most effective at creating a goosebumpy expectation if you’re curious). I ran up the last mile to “Gonna Fly Now” (theme from Rocky) & “More” by Bobby Darin was playing as I reached the finish line. (Tracks can be found on my running page)

There. By writing about this I feel a sense of completion. What will be my next goal? Not sure yet. I have another Half (a place in the Great North Run no less – excitement or what?) In September, & a number of local 10ks to enter. Today is a day off. I shall now head to the sewing room. I’m sorry I have got behind with some of my intended posts – they exist in my mind, & I have lots to catch up on – a few new garments to show & some desert island sewing – but this might explain where my head has been.

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Birthday goodies & my latest running top, a Kirsten Kimono Tee

Posted on 3 February, 2013 by scruffybadgertime

So today is my birthday & I knew you’d appreciate the sewing treats I’ve been festooned with (I am sooooo lucky!!). I thought you’d also like to see yesterday’s make ….this will be a picture heavy post, drool away & imagine my inner joy, the perfect men I have to say responsible for many of them…and can I mention the huge amount of chuffedness to be wished happy birthday first in Danish & then in Portuguese – what a surprise & just what is so wonderful about our on-line sewing community!!

Now hope you enjoy these pics of awesome sewing pressies – I just know you’ll understand just how excited I was. Look at this box of super goodies, an array of threads, buttons, lace & gadgets ..

Then in partnership with Susan from Sewbox look what I received:

Yes, that is a gift wrapped in genuine Liberty fabric …

Inside ..

Two lengths of bonafide Liberty lawn (I haven’t ever bought any of this for myself – what a treat!!) & two patterns I have been desperately hankering for – the Elisalex dress (I think I might have to break my one dress a month rule, or bring a month forward as I am frantic to make this) & the Pussy Galore blouse by Eliza M (my next make, oh yes!). Clearly I shall try to use the fabric to make these patterns if possible …(a pink summer Elisalex dress – hmmmm yes please!). Now I also got some money & shall use it to buy the Anise jacket pattern, it’s no good, too many gorgeous versions out there, the most recent temptation brought to us by Sonja at Ginger Makes.

But what about this genius present:

Html & CSS by Jon Duckett – even I can understand this! You know I might actually feel comfortable with a little bit of web tinkering (I have to admit to being a total scared neo-dinosaur with respect to html at the moment!) How insightful !

So today not only did I have many wonderful sewing related gifts, I also elected to spend my birthday running in the Longleat 10k (which came before pressie opening just to prolong the special day!) What was fun? I got Gary to join me ! Hehehehe! Now Gary is actually a naturally fit man & could become a very good runner (“for his age” he would like me to add), however circumstances usually conspire against him as soon as he starts to get any kind of running routine.

However, for those of you who don’t know, Longleat is in Wiltshire & its business operates as a safari park & stately home. It is set in a wonderful estate, hosts a Center Parcs leisure complex but is most famous for its lions! However, you will be disappointed I expect, to realise that the 10k did not feature any outrunning of carnivorous beasts, marvelling at giraffes or evading the notorious monkeys. For anyone interested it was tough: 3 hills (not undulations), but with the ups at least there were downs…, and it was less than an hour of challenge. We were both pleased with our times & the ensuing license such exercise gave us to feast ourselves on a slap up Sunday dinner.

Here I am with the impressive Longleat House (side view only) in the background. I am modelling my latest running top: a Kirsten Kimono Tee from Maria Denmark made out of technical “wicking” fabric. Check out my awesome leggings – a Christmas pressie – I made the top to match them. I’m pleased with my latest attempt at sewing a running top. It is royal blue with cerise pink bindings to the neck, sleeves & hem. The hem actually involves a little bit of a drawstring & bow (mainly because the differences between the pink & blue fabrics meant that the pink misbehaved & needed drawing in to line! But I like the bow …)

Here it is on Barbarella. Looking forward to wearing it on show as opposed to it being underneath a warmer running top …See the medal – it features a Longleat lion!

Next post will be the next installment of “Desert Island Sewing” …oooh! So many exciting sewing thoughts to think about!!!! Happy Sunday everyone

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Seaside Christmas Cracker

Posted on 9 December, 2012 by scruffybadgertime

So my blog commenting problem is still not fixed & I am loathe to publish a post showing my version of two lovely patterns without being able to interact with you … it is a weird experience, I am feeling a bit cut off…come on guys, I know you can fix it – big thanks!! Anyway, some photos of today’s sewing outing – the in-action shots of my sacrificed tacky Christmas dress that became my first “running fancy dress”.

Here is the dress before I took the scissors & overlocker to it.

You can tell it didn’t get worn much! I mean, strapless, figure hugging – moi? Any attempt to allure over the Christmas dinner would be immediately dampened by mismatching woolly cardigan – it is just not warm enough in December to wear such nonsense! However, as a source of raw materials it was a gem. Red velour, white beardy fluff – magic.

So you saw what I did – hacked off the skirt, added a thick elastic waistband & then somehow managed to get a hat out of the bodice (could this be my first attempt at “draping” – I had no pattern! )And remember the shoe rosettes

So on the top I didn’t have a plan, but LinB did give me other suggestions for using my rosettes – but attaching them? And in such cold & vigorous wind? I don’t think so! I ended up keeping to a red theme with some pink thermals to support a rosy illusion.

Anyway, here are some shots of the event itself, the Weston Super Mare Christmas Cracker. Weston Super Mare is a wonderful English seaside town with its own pier, stretches of dull sand & a tide that when it’s out takes hours to reach- via not always very safe sandy mud. It was the closest beach to where we lived as children & I think the local nickname was, wait for it, “Weston Super Mud” (so clever aren’t we ). But the sea is always a grey brown, the sand never golden, but great for sandcastles & getting into sandwiches.

Here’s the pre-race mingling – I’d say the usual dominant colour for races tends to be white with black leggings/ shorts. Not so this time! There was a sea of red, & fancy dress is encouraged with a prize for the best….

Just after the start. That’s me at the right hand side of the picture. We had a dry but cold day – the wind blowing across the sand was strong, particularly on the last mile and a half to the finish line (why does the wind always seem to be against you? I think there was only one small part of the course that it actually felt to be helping us from behind, yet the route took various directions!)

But what I loved was fancy dress spotting! Being part of a sea of red really got me feeling Christmassy- with Christmas hats & tinsel being sported by almost everyone – unless they were more extreme. I saw gnomes, reindeer, christmas bunnies (? ??), Snow White whose long skirt & blue cloak was ripped around by the wind, catch it wrong & she’d have been strangled. A team of Christmas themed onesie-wearers. The picture above was taken just feet before the finishing line, & as I got closer I heard “Come on gorilla” from amongst the supportive crowd and then the tannoy announcing “And the gorilla just about to cross the finish line is xxxx from yyy”. Great stuff! But this snowman & his carrot is genius

O, some of you have dirty minds! We all loved the men in their head to toe body suits – very brave men (nowhere to hide …their keys….!) And to run with your face covered up we thought must have been horrid! This snowman was friends with these guys who I caught in shot at the end ..

I had a great race. I managed to knock 5 mins off my personal best,despite the best efforts of the wind. I am elated. It was a really well organised race, with timing chips, plenty of friendly encouraging stewards. We got a nice long sleeve tee at the end & my first mince pie in 2012! The course was pretty flat, & it was super fun running along the sand for a good half of it. Yes, my trainers got wet & I should have brought spare shoes & socks for the journey home. I ran with three other of my running buddies and we had two lovely friends taking pictures that have turned out really well – I wouldn’t have been a running tourist on this particular race! Recommended post course indulgence? A slap-up roast dinner carvery – well deserved!

And the outfit? It worked like a dream – the skirt was not too tight anywhere so I didn’t notice that I was wearing it. It also doubled up as a very useful tool (akin to the home-made “towel tubes”) for getting changed out of my leggings afterwards in the car park without flashing my cold bits to all & sundry. The hat was also draped to fit perfectly – it did not get blown off in the wind, did not itch or irritate & kept me warm enough all the way through. Success I’d say. In fact, this race had us all thinking about what our team fancy dress could be next time …..what fun!

So until comments are back on dear friends, try communicating with me psychically? Channel some thoughts & see if they reach me….Meanwhile dear tech support can you please get my blog fixed I’d be so happy

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Sneaky peek at Sunday ‘s race day fancy dress

Posted on 5 December, 2012 by scruffybadgertime

I'm afraid it seems comments are still busted, I'm sorry!! The web hosting guys are hopefully making progress…so rather than show you some recent proper clothes I've made, worn and absolutely love, here's a taster for this week's sewing priority: Christmas themed running fancy dress. My running buddies tell me you can get away with a bit of tinsel and Christmas tree earrings. But I didn't even have a Christmas hat! I was all for thinking about ordering some red fabric to whip something up when I remembered a tacky velour mother Christmas dress I'd foolishly bought in an attempt to bring a bit of tat to Christmas. Ill show the original photo on Sunday as it's on my other camera, but here are a few glimpses…..strapless clingy velour with fluff trimmed dress transforms into…

An equally clingy bum hugging tacky skirt ( to be worn over leggings I hasten to add) and enough to make a festive gnome-like hat. Hurrah. But the best bit?

My trainers have a make over!! I was set to make bows, but thought opportunities for fluff were limited. So I conjured up a couple of Pom poms ( using a cd as a template)

Originally I made buttonholes in what would be the back of the Pom poms to house shoe laces, but trying to optimise fluff on top of the Pom Pom didn't work so ….

I made fringes out of the fluff ( much like those camp golf shoes I thought) stitched Pom Pom with button to the fringe, then finished off by hand stitching some ribbon on the back to capture laces.

I'd love to know what you think, but at the moment it seems futile asking. I shall engineer an in-use photo though and tell you whether the skirt fell down, and if so how many times. Hope you are all having a great week, I now need to get back to gift making…..I'd also say”how's your gift making and preparations for Christmas going?” So consider me interested, but at the whim of technology…

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Being a running tourist

Posted on 25 November, 2012 by scruffybadgertime

I've come to love exploring areas I visit with the excuse that I'm “training”. This time I took pictures along my route, which must be one of my favorite places to run. catching all the beaches plus an estuary at low tide meant that I maxed out in beach running and awesome views. Hope you don't mind me sharing them with you, for a change.

Newquay, Cornwall. The town beaches.

Of course with lots of stops along the way it could hardly be described as 'training'. This is the first set of beaches, only possible to run along the length when the tide is out.

My phone camera is as useless as the person trying to use it….this is a self portrait…me in running gear with the glorious waves behind!!

There was a bit of rock pool negotiation at times…not my fastest run!

The weather this weekend in the West Country continues to be big. Last night there was tremendous volumes of rain thrown down and 69mph winds. So many places that are usually unaffected by flooding washed out, with loads of flood warnings. Maybe I'll get stranded down here….

So anyway, I found a dry spell that coincided with low tide to run along the beaches and up to the harbour. That's technically 4 beaches so far…

Look that's me! I'm wearing my dayglo running top underneath you know.

This is my fifth beach- fistral. There's people in the water, surfing, even in November. We walked here yesterday in the rain along the squelchy coastal path and became soaked to the skin. Today though it was heavenly, but running into the wind slightly, I was in fear of losing my hat. I knew to leave the coastal path alone today.

Firstral again from the other end. being a running tourist involves a bit of stop starting.

From fistral it's possible to get over to the estuary, the gannel. This has to be yet another of my fave places to run, really off roading with rocks, shingle and pools to dance around. On a Sunday morning I think of it as dog tv too: you can stay still and observe so many dogs going bonkers for water, balls and open space, and even chasing sea birds. Who needs cable?!

And my final stretch took me through Trenance gardens where there is a boating lake frequented by enthusiasts every Sunday that I've found myself here.

I reckon that running's given me more energy and enthusiasm to go out and explore. My parents have totally accepted that i go for runs when i visit, and don't think I'm nuts, even if they don't necessarily understand! Whenever I visit new places I think I've said before I ask myself the question ' but could I enjoy running here?'. I'm also thinking of twisting this concept further and entering races in other places to visit them as part of a running tourist trail….hoping to get into the great north run next year and that will be worthy of more of an explore.

What about any of you runners out there? Do you ever find yourself looking at views and stopping for picture? Do you run when away from home or is it a welcome break to leave your shoes behind? What do you think of the concept of running tourism?

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Coach yourself

Posted on 25 September, 2012 by scruffybadgertime

(A little aside before I launch into this post) I have been most confused. My latest blog post on my summer hit parade of sewing makes has not been showing but I’d been getting comments on it. And when I looked on more than just my PC & encountered the same conundrum I really was puzzled. However, for those of you on WordPress I think this is what has happened. I started to draft it at the end of August, & WordPress has therefore published it in the midst of other posts I was writing at that time. People who commented have been seeing it as a new subscription. There you go. That’s one to remember! Anyway where was I?

Ok peeps! Hold tight! I’m going running in this post! Every now again I splash a dash of the stern stuff into the fabric swaddled cocktail that is this blog. It usually comes after a period of self doubt, lack of morale & a fair amount of self loathing for being in a running rut. “My running” is my companion. Sometimes we are friends & it lives beside me as my gazelle-like vision, frequently it is like a pack on my back filled with rocks. Every now & then I have epiphanies that invariably lead to a period of motivation & the gazelle is unleashed.

Click on picture for source

During these moments of madness I’m interested in sharing the running love, if I can tempt anyone else out there to kick start their motivation, then writing a bit about my latest formula for combatting my psychology is worth it. And what never fails to surprise me is when I write the odd running post, there a number of comments by sewers who run, or who are like me & want to run…but….so here goes.

Be your own running coach

For me it helps to understand why I want to run, why is it important to me? What kind of goal do I need to motivate me? During my day job we come across coaching models & I always apply them to “me & my running”. This has really helped me to get to the bottom of why I keep persevering at something I never did as a child, am not particularly good at & somehow perversely want to succeed at. By asking myself “why is running important to me” & writing my first gut responses onto pieces of paper I started to uncover the inner secret. You need to persist & get at least 10 things down. No particular order at first. But once you have them you then look at the list & do some serious prioritisation until you end up with a ranked list of 10 reasons running is important to you with at the top, the holy grail, the truth. Now this is as it is now, & could change as circumstances change. But looking at my list are you interested to know that at the top is “Being outside” with “Fit & healthy” second? Near the bottom is “races are fun” (well we all know that’s a lie, don’t we….but the idea of them is fun!) From this I can see that I don’t enter races to motivate me, but now at the forefront of my mind is that getting out running is my way to get outside when I have a sedentary office job & sewing as an obsession. I now know how important it is to me when actually it was ticking away in my subconscious in a place that I hadn’t accessed. You could try this for yourself & see what you come up with, but I tell you, once you know, it makes you enjoy your run more when you do get out there.

But how do you get out there?

Top tip for “just getting out there”

Know the minimum you would need to run to be satisfied that you have “been for a run”, whether it’s time or distance. Find a route that starts from your front door (or from your place of work if that’s when you plan to run) that satisfies this criteria. For me it is a 3 mile loop with hills, but in the past it has been a lap of the playing field. This is your non negotiable default run. No thinking required, just put on your gear, get out there & do it. You can expand it, do it twice or three times if you want to, but be clear that once is enough. This is what I run in my lunch time when working at home. I don’t dither, it gets done, I get outside. I always feel good at the end of it!

Things can happen for a reason

To fuel this feel good week of running, serendipity struck (that feels like an oxymoron). That same day, when I dug deep & looked at “my running” a work newsletter announced a work’s team being formed to train together for next March’s Half marathon (for which I already entered). The joy & excitement that brought me (despite “running with others” being in the bottom half of my 10) was pretty cool! Not only could I start to train for the Half way in advance of my usual post Christmas grin-&-bear it, I mean this will be nearly 6 month’s worth of training….might I actually enjoy it more? Might I actually be stronger, fitter & find that “races are fun”?! Also might it mean that I am less anonymous & could I even set myself a time target? Hmmmm. Interesting that one. How competitive will I be? And with the snowball effect, in that spirit of knowing how much I want to be outdoors I also did something incredibly fool hardy. I signed up for a series of 10k trail runs. Insanity really has taken me over, never having done any trail running these are run over the winter, one a month & you can only begin to imagine the mud, the slips, the slopes, the rain, the wind, the tree roots & ups & downs, the mud. Hey, I think I’m revisiting some misspent youth when getting dirty wasn’t allowed! I promise to get REALLY dirty & take pictures.

So since this I have looked at “my running” with new eyes. I’ve a rough plan for when I go running: Tuesdays (evenings with a ladies group), Thursdays lunch run (or which ever day I work from home) and Sundays at the moment. Once the work training launches next month I will reappraise my plan.

So, how’s your running going? Do you know why it’s important to you? If you try this approach I’d love to know whether it helps you get out of a running rut. I’m starting another page here [Run Badger Run] to collect my running thoughts on, races I’m committing to and also including my running music. No idea why anyone should be interested, but if you’re anything like me, much thought goes into discovering music to run to. Getting the order right so that your faves get most air time with some pick me ups placed for moments of flagging might spread some new ideas. We could share!

(Why all the pics of beaches? My favorite places to run ….)

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A Renfrew for Spring, and that’s really saying something

Posted on 11 April, 2012 by scruffybadgertime

First things first, I, Scruffy Badger of scruffybadgertime, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’12. I endeavour to wear only clothes made by me each day for the duration of May 2012 (with the exception of undies & sportswear). I shall up my game this time by pursuing better pictures and will try to take two thirds outside the safety of my own home ….

I have been feeling like a really bad blogger, I have a heap of blogs to catch up on, but everything has been so busy. I hope you all had a great Easter.

So, back to business. It’s been a busy weekend for everyone, and what better way to celebrate return to my sewing machine than by rustling up a Renfrew using my now near perfectly adjusted pattern.

Remember this is a franken pattern using my Built By Wendy Home Stretch basic tee for the upper body whilst retaining the shaping of necklines, sleeve lengths & side shaping of the Renfrew. Had I been more patient I could have tried Vicki Kate’s FBA for the Renfrew as that is what I think I really needed. Check it out – it’s a very clear description of how to adjust for a full bust where there are no bust darts – ideal for a knit like this.

Okey dokey, so here it is. I LOVE this fabric, it was from Ditto and when I clapped eyes on it I just had to click “Add to basket”. Not only does it have the most adorable pattern, it also has the most beautiful drape. If I remember rightly it is some kind of poly viscose (but NICE!) feels more like a bamboo knit.

Keep it simple, let the pattern do the talking I thought. No flourishes or gimmicks. Squeezed as much out of 1m as I could. Not a snowball’s chance of eeking out for the cowl neck, but ¾ sleeves were in the bag. Tell you what though – there were pathetic scraps of fabric left. Remnants? Only pieces large enough to fulfil the role of a rather colourful gusset in a pair of knickers.

I can imagine wearing this with red, with blue, with black even. At the moment it’s a denim companion.

With these over sized jeans I kind of went all Bananarama …

But clearly without the back-combing & shaggy hair

Or dungarees….

And as a final catch up, just to offer a glimmer into some of what’s been keeping me away, our Easter took us down to Cornwall. We stayed with my parents and we got to spend some time with my dog nieces (who I adore…) And on Easter Sunday guess where I ran?

You got it. This is Perranporth, a 2 mile stretch of golden sand. It wasn’t quite such a nice day for my run, but wow, to trot alongside the waves for 4 miles. No music necessary. Just me & the elements. Still not fast.

I don’t know about you, (any runners maybe?) I admit I am a bit weird, but whenever we go somewhere I always assess the “runability” of somewhere. Could I run here? Would I want to? I tell you the days when my running shoes are packed for a holiday but never get to see daylight are decreasing! (Oh, the number of holidays with “great intentions” that I never delivered !)

I think this “could I run here” is something to do with my older age - I like to be inspired physically by my environment. However, maybe all I really need is a dog.

If we moved house, wherever we end up living, this will be one of my considerations. Gosh, that is “middle aged” isn’t it?!

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Crazy stupid running and me

Posted on 14 March, 2012 by scruffybadgertime

Hello every lovely person, this is a short update just to satisfy any curiosity out there & tomorrow I’ve got a post about my next Clover trousers ….

First of all thank you to everyone who wished me well in the race ….it was my second fastest half marathon (but still slow!) & these my running tips for races and the lessons I learnt (the hard way):

Don’t expect to run faster than ever before over such a crazy long distance in unseasonal hot weather when having trained in the winter if you have trained for the *bare minimum* – be thankful to survive (yes, 7 days after training in hailstones we had to run in 14 degree sunshine!)
Although listening to a variety of music including minimalist piano music is wonderful when running scenic country routes for pleasure, make a cheerful motivating playlist for an arduous race (otherwise desired effect is not achieved, believe me!)
The type of training for getting faster is different from training to enable you to survive the distance (an obvious lightbulb I know, just two weeks before the race)
Bringing your own style to your race is a boost – some dress as bananas, cavemen, Wally, or super heros. Girlie bows & cute running skirts work for me.
You always run against yourself for yourself – that is the paradox. I hated a great deal of the heat, became dehydrated & even allowed myself a loo stop (not a Paula, I hasten to add, a welcome portaloo). I thought “this is silly, not doing this again, no way” (actually these words are rather more tame than those I really thought) , yet all it took was the pain to die away to be replaced with strategies for beating my time next time. NEXT TIME??!?!? Then the marathon photos were published & I’ve almost accepted the fate that is mine. I am more than likely to inflict this on myself next year. Here I am coming in to the finish …

Yes that is relief on my face & I also knew there would be cameras here & had an iota of energy left to overcome my gurning & grimacing for the next twenty paces …..

And I felt very close to tears as I performed my very welcome stretches on my poor ol’ legs. It was really over!

And final lesson, crowds and supporters are the business! There is nothing quite like someone cheering you on to force a smile & try to look as if you are managing & enjoying it!

See you tomorrow xx

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