Well, I first need to make some excuses... until Thursday I hadn't run for about two weeks - since completing my January resolutino in fact. My only defence is that the last two weeks have been really quite hectic and stressful. I've had interviews at Warwick and Oxford (the second of which was dreadful), been to the docs (nothing to worry about), had Becca down to visit (a good thing), been to the opera (another good thing) and generally been stressing about my future and if anyone is going to give me a PhD place (still no word form America - bad thing...). So all in all things have been a bit hectic. Add on top of that major work stress over my dissertation and I haven't had a chance to go running. However, to some degree there is no excuse as since starting running again I've been on 3 runs in 4 days and feel so much better for them. I really like getting away from all the stress and just running - to nowhere in particular and for no reason other than simply to run. I never actively think about things while running (other than something along the lines of 'Oh my god, how the hell am I going to finish this...') but I think subconciously it helps clear things up in my head and I seem to make some of my most important decisions while running. So on Thursday I went running up to begbroke - I didn't have much of a choice as I had had to leave my bike there on Sunday when me and Becca had cycled up to Woodstock for lunch and got caught in the snow on the way back. It was about about 5 miles but I had to stop about a mile early as my shoulder started hurting but still a decent length of run. It's really nice up that way - lots of fields - and it felt good to 'escape' Oxford for a bit. Then yesterday I ran to college and back and today ran to Marston and back. I was really pleased today as normally I run to Marston and back with an average pace of around 5"40' whereas today I managed to do it with an average pace of 5"24' which I am really chuffed about. It was hard going by the end of it but I managed to power through... Anyways - back to the dissertation. I'm currently on 4615 words and nearly finished my main example. I had a really good meeting with my supervisor on Wednesday (a turn up for the books) and now have a much clearer view of where I'm heading with it - pretty good considering I have only 5 weeks left to finish it...argh! Later days...
Just a quick note to say that with the run today I have completed my January resolution of running 10 times this month! I'm pretty pleased - especially considering that my month didn't really start until getting back to uni 15 days ago... I've got a new T-Shirt to show off with and its on my Nike+ Mini... Looks like I'll have to make February harder...
Wow, its been ages since I last wrote on here and so much has happened! Firstly there was Christmas, as soon as about the 22nd of December came around I was pretty busy right through until I came back to Uni. Firstly, I met Becca a couple of days - firstly we went up to Thrunton Woods and gave each other our Christmas presents. We had decided (as we're both poor students) that we would make something for each other this year rather than buy it. I had made her a DVD of us as we've grown up and also with loads of her favourite pictures and music on and it went down really well. She had made me a really nice travel book covered in stuff about America, so I can fill it in next year when I'm jetsetting about. It was really thoughtful and I'll treasure it as I fill it up. Then we went to the local residential home and played for the residents. It was really nice to play again with Becca - it seems like years upon years since we last played and the residents all seemed to really enjoy it - one of the old men even got up and started dancing when we played Frosty the Snowman! Then it was full steam ahead for Christmas. This year was slightly weird as it was only me, mum and dad at ours for Christmas day. The past few years we've always had about 10 or 15 people over so it was a bit of a new experience for me. It was quite nice though as we had a very relaxing day - we went for a 2 hour walk in the morning, had starters at about 1pm, had a couple of hours sleep on the sofa, had our mains at about 4pm then didn't have dessert till at least 9! Then just after we had got sorted from Christmas, James and Sam arrived on the 27th so we had a second Christmas! It was really nice to see them and catch up. Again we only had a couple of days break then on the 30th we were off to Edinburgh for Hogmanay. Hogmanay was amazing! We shopped, sightsee-ed and relaxed. It was really nice to properly see Edinburgh - we only ever seem to be up there for half a day normally so it was nice to spend a bit longer. It was nice to have a holiday with all of us there as well - I can't think of the last time that happened. Although I didn't get a chance to run I did manage to play squash every day with James which was nice, and a way for us to spend time together just the two of us. Hogmanay was spectacular and there's a video I took:
After Hogmanay I had exactly one day at home before jetting off to Geneva for snowboarding! We stayed in a little Chalet in Gryon (www.gryon.com) and it was simply amazing. I had never been snowboarding before and really took to it. The views were amazing, the company was great and I just had an awesome time. I then came back from Switzerland to have one day to pack and get ready to come down to Uni.
Since coming back to uni things have been hectic to say the least. I have completed my applications for Oxford, Cambridge and Warwick. Oxford was a bit difficult as I ended up choosing to change colleges: it was a bit of a difficult choice mainly fuelled by funding and the need for a bit of a change. I decided to apply to Univ as my first choice and New as my second in the end. I've just found out I've got a Warwick open day/interview on Wednesday - an opportunity for them to meet me and me to meet potential supervisors. A bit scary but hopefully should be good!
Work is going really well and really badly at the same time. My problem sheets are going quite well - I got alpha's on both of my first sheets but then my dissertation is going pretty horrendously at the moment. My supervisor seems to expect too much from me and I find it hard to admit I can't do stuff. He's decided instead of copying out a worked example he wants me to work through a new one myself even though I am struggling with the concepts. OUSC is going well but a bit stressful trying to sort out stuff for the concert.
Finally, running! I have managed to ge ta bit of running in, even though I've been pretty busy all term so far... My best day by far though was last Tuesday. I managed to PB on a 10K! I completed it in 57'46" which I was really chuffed about. It was one of those runs where it just `worked'. I set off and kept my pace below the 6'00" per km marker and just kept running! I ended up running across to Godstow, up to the boathouse and then down into town and back up towards the flat. It was really sunny and just a fantastic run :-) I've now got a load of new goals on my Nike+ - all of them much harder than previously. My big one is running 100km in 8 weeks. I've added the challenge below so you can keep an eye on how I'm doing! I'm off to bed now as off running at 8.30 tomorrow with the girls.
Well since coming back home I've found it pretty hard to get some running in. Firstly I had a bit of the flu that made me feel a bit crap for the last week or so. I tried going to the gym a couple of times and found I didn't really have the energy. I also found that running on the treadmill doesn't give a very accurate result on the Nike+ while 'proper' running seems much more accurate. I therefore decided to try and do as much 'proper' running as I could and leave the gym for weights (if I can be bothered[!]) and swimming and sauna. The problem around me though is that there isn't much in the way of tarmacked footpaths next to roads and so I am left with the choice of either running in the fields (which at the moment are soaked and so consist of pretty much just mud) or on the road. I can do a loop around home that is about 3 and a half kilometres however is solely on the road and this isn't exactly ideal. I went today to Beadnell, a local fishing village a few miles down the coast from Bamburgh. After driving to the car park I set off through the village (on footpaths) and started running towards Seahouses another village. The great thing about this route is that it is completely tarmacked, and all the way you have lovely views of the sea. I only went as far as the first house outside of Beadnell and back- about a 3.5km round trip - but I reckon if I run from Beadnell to the far side of Seahouses and back (the furthest the footpath goes) it will be about 10km. I have tried to 'embed' the route in this blog, so fingers crossed it will have worked!
View Larger Map So even though I only did about 3.5km today I really enjoyd it. I might go for another short run tomorrow, have a rest day on Saturday and then try to get to Seahouses on Sunday... That's the plan at least!
Well after my 10K run I took a day off then went running on Thursday - except I hadn't warmed down after my 10K and didn't warm up before this run. Needless to say it was a bad idea... Ended up stopping after a couple of kilometres when my legs were killing. Since then I've been pretty hectic down at Oxford - Friday was last day of term then Saturday was a bit more chilled (read - recovering from hangover) then went to the Opera on Saturday night (Barber of Seville - amazing) with Jo, Simon and Steph. Then me and Steph went and met Will and Oliver and went to St Antony's bop. A rather large amount of alcohol was consumed meaning that my seven hour train journey back home on Sunday was accompanied by a rather large headache...not good! Since getting back home my usual post-term cold/flu thing has hit, meaning block noses, a bit of a cough and my head feeling approximately the size of the moon. This meant that yesterday I worked and didn't get a chance to go for a run. This morning everywhere is covered in ice and my head feels like it might explode so I'm planning on doing my first run tomorrow morning. On a more positive note, my mum and dad have contacted their gym and I can use it for free any time I want while I'm back. So hopefully I'll be going tonight and maybe do a 30min run on the treadmills as well as some weights and a bit of swimming. If I feel really keen I may even get on an erg again, but I wouldn't put any money on it :-P Mum has also put me on the car insurance meaning I can head over there whenever I want to (once they've taken me to show me where everything is). Anyways, time to get back to work on my dissertation - I have over 1000 words! :D
