The Wanderer

Hi everyone,

I hope all is well and you're not all super-stressed with Christmas planning and organisation. I am actually much more organised for the festive season than I have ever been at the moment but I think that will change. It's the calm before the storm! Actually, so many previous Christmases have been hijacked by sad events and family dramas that I have forgotten what 'normal' Decembers are like. I hope I haven't jinxed it by stating it so categorically.

So, back to what this blog is supposed to be about....exercise. This week there isn't a lot to report after last weekend's 10k. My knee has not been terrible but I have been aware that it's not happy with me for making it work so hard ;-)  My hamstrings have been oh, so sore. It has taken the best part of a week for the aching to fade. However, I am still elated with the fact that I actually completed the 10 k at all.

On Tuesday I got to half way through the day when it suddenly struck me that I was supposed to have gone to yoga. I have no idea how I managed to forget about it but forget about it I did. It may have been for the best as so many bits of me were still stiff after the 10k but I did feel guilty for a while. I intend to go tomorrow morning instead. Lets hope I remember!

I have done lots of walking over the past week and making sure that Harvey and I walk 3 miles every other day is proving beneficial to us both. He gets lots of exercise and sniffing time and I get to clear my head and walk as fast as I like safe in the knowledge that he's not going to wander too far away from me, especially if there happen to be treats about. I aim to gradually increase my mileage over the coming weeks and I do have a training plan which is printed out and has pride of place among the magnets and photographs that are on my fridge. I am well aware that the festive season is likely to knock the plan out of sync for a while but I hope that the hard work that I have done up to now will stand me in good stead for a little time down time without too much damage being done.

We haven't signed up for any more runs/walks/events at the moment. There was a local Santa Dash that took place at the weekend but I was working and couldn't take part. Even more of a shame when you realise that the gorgeous Roger Black was also taking part! The Santa Dash really appeals to me so maybe next year I will be able to enter although with will be a Santa Stroll rather than a Dash in my case.

All of the poignant anniversaries that I mentioned in my last blog have been and gone. I took flowers to the crematorium for Mum and met Charlotte for coffee where we raised a cup to Jonathan and Nick before going on the the cemetery to put some flowers down for both boys. I cannot believe that a year has passed so quickly.

Of course, this week saw the passing of one of the icons of our time, the great Nelson Mandela. He was an inspirational figure to many and the tributes to him have been very moving. To me, in my usual basic way of thinking, he seemed like a lovely man, a man who did so much good. Whenever I saw images of him in his latter years he looked so gentle and serene and I always thought that he'd be a lovely grandad. The fact that he had such an impact on the world seems less important than the fact that he seemed lovely. Typical me!!

Finally, I thought I would leave you with a few photos (with Charlotte's permission) of Jonathan and Nick as a gentle reminder to everyone of the reason we are doing this. We hope you boys are having fun up there!

Have a good week.

A x