Mega-March

I thought it was about time I posted another sky photo. This beautiful sunset was about 5:30 this evening.

I'm starting this post on 29th February having consumed 2 glasses of a very nice red wine. This is the last alcohol to pass my lips until after the London marathon as I am really going to put every effort I can into achieving my goals.

My diet is vegan for the duration of Lent and although I already eat a healthy vegetarian diet I always find I have lots more energy when I manage to cut out all animal products (basically just dairy and eggs). By the time Lent is over though I am yearning for a chunk of cheese!

Today I ran one of the sessions JJ has given me. 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles @ 9 min miling then 1 mile cool down. Then I did my core work and stretches (my ITB is a bit tight again so I might need a trip to see Mary Massage Lady - ouch!). Rather than making me feel weary, the session had the effect of energising me for the whole day which was brilliant. Tomorrow will just be a 3 mile trot across the fields to loosen everything up.

Mike's scarf is finished and blocked, modelled here by me as he was being a diva and refused to model for me!

At least he took the photo so I can't complain too much.

I like the way the wool stripes and it feel really warm. Even better, it looks decidedly manly so hopefully Mike will wear it.

He's very pleased with it anyway.

The other thing I like is that the pattern looks good on the back as well as the front.

So many single thickness scarves look fab on the front but horrid on the back and it's always difficult to get a scarf to stay the way you want it to so you end up displaying the back as well.



This is how the sunset had developed at about 5:40 this evening.

Tunbridge Wells - the return

I can hardly believe that the Tunbridge Wells 1/2 came around so quickly. I've been training so hard for my marathons that it just sort of sneaked up on me. Last year I ran my worst time ever for a 1/2 marathon there and I really didn't want to repeat that experience!

Before the start I was chatting to Mimi Anderson an amazing ultra runner whose progress I followed avidly when she completed a run from John O'Groats to Lands End gaining a Guinness World Record for the fastest time. As we chatted she marvelled at my own GWR for knitting whilst running the london marathon and it made me chuckle when she took a photo of me for her blog!

It was a glorious day; sunny and bright but not too hot and with no wind. Perfect running weather. I felt good at the start and settled into my pace well. I was aiming for an average of 9.5 minute miling which meant that on flat bits I had to run something beginning with a 9, on the downhills it was something beginning with an 8 so that on the uphills I could just dig in and plod up them.

I reached mile 6 in 57 minutes which was spot on with my pacing. Then came Spring Hill which is just a long slow upward drag for 1.5 miles. I probably must have lost a few more minutes there than I expected and didn't recover them because by the time I hit 10 miles my pace had slowed to 10 minute miling. How annoying. Then my mind started playing silly beggars with me and I failed to increase my pace so I decided to treat the last 3 miles as a marathon pace tester and not worry too much about it.

About that time I passed Tiger and Snoop Dog and Tiger shouted that they were just trotting around slowly. I grunted something about their 'trot' was my sprint and said we'd meet up at the finish.

I finished in 2:10:54 which again was slow but at least it was 2 minutes faster than last year. I did manage to sprint the last 100m as a woman came alongside me as if to overtake and I thought "no way lady" and just took off with a big smile on my face.

Now being a slower runner I am quite used to the crowd having dwindled at the finish and the 'celebrity' having disappeared so it was a lovely surprise to have a good crowd cheering me home and then as I crossed the finish line to be greeted by the warm and friendly smile of a nice young man whose face I recognised but couldn't put a name to straightaway.

He beamed at me and said "well done" and put the medal around my neck, then he said "no, really well done" and shook my hand. His warmth and generous praise made me feel so special that I completely forgot that actually I was quite cross to only have knocked 2 minutes off my time rather than the 4 minutes I'd planned.

I toddled off wondering who he was and just happened to turn round and on looking back I saw he was a double amputee, wearing racing blades - it was Richard Whitehead an amazing and inspirational athlete!

The most interesting thing about that encounter for me was that I simply didn't notice that he didn't have lower legs. All I saw was a warm and friendly face who was genuinely pleased at my own personal achievement.

On his website he says "My aim is to use London 2012 as platform to inspire people from all walks of life. This includes not only disabled athletes, but able-bodied ones too – anyone who may want to get out there and run. I am living proof, that with enough desire and determination, any obstacle can be overcome." He truly is a great ambassador for the sport and I hope he achieves great things at the Olympics, though sadly I believe he won't be allowed to take part in the marathon.

Why am I making so much of this encounter? Well, it's because I understand his frustration at being referred to as 'disabled' rather than as the athlete that he clearly is. He does not feel less able-bodied and he has proved time and time again what a tremendous athlete he is. In my own little world I am a 'fun runner' because I run marathons for charity. My frustration with this soubriquet, which is used to define anyone other than the speedier runners, is that it does not give any credit to the amount of training that we slower runners do and seems to denigrate our achievements. Do we not also complete the 26.2 miles of the marathon? Yes, we jolly well do. Rant over!

Thank you Richard, you will inspire me to achieve my goals this year.

I also saw the wonderful Johnny J who I chat to on the Runner's World forum and who gives me lots of advice. When I told him that I was disappointed with my time and really wanted a pb at Paddock Wood in 5 weeks he went home and wrote me a schedule that I could incorporate into my marathon plan. He also said that if he decided to run it that he will pace me for part of the way. Thanks JJ.

Snow, Tiles & Training

The weather forecasters said that it wouldn't snow on Saturday night/Sunday morning.

They said it wouldn't freeze.

I believed them.

Wrong!

No sooner had I put the horses feed outside on Sunday morning than it started to snow and I had to dash out and move it into their shelters. As for it not freezing, well I had to stand on their water butt and jump as the ice was so thick!

This also meant that a run along the lanes was impossible and Mike wasn't happy at the thought of me going across the fields and so I ended up doing my 15 mile run on the treadmill. I'd already done 7 miles on it the day before as the lanes had been too slippery so it was really hard to make myself keep on with it; but I did. At least I have the option so I mustn't complain too much about it being boring (but it is!!!).

As a break from weaving in ends on Oregon I decided to make Mike a scarf using some Rowan Tapestry yarn in shades of grey.

I knew he wouldn't like anything too fancy so I searched through my stitch library and found this simple tile pattern which met with his approval.

I'm using the yarn double to make it nice and warm and I'm pleased with the way it's coming on. I'm now about 18" inches into it and have just done 4 rows garter stitch to start and added a row of garter stitches at each side to give it definition. It's looking quite manly so I think he'll like it.


Later on Sunday the snow stopped and the sun came out and I noticed how beautiful this succulent looked in the porch.

It's a Rhipsalis pilocarpa and I love its growth habit and the way its stems are covered in hairs.


At this time of year it has the added bonus of these pretty little flowers.

Oregon at last

At last, the knitting part of Oregon is finished.

Hoorah!

I've just trimmed one side of the steek along the front band. I know Alice Starmore says to trim it to 2 stitches but I'm not that brave and have opted for 3 stitches.

The beauty of steeking is that there aren't any ends to weave in afterwards. Just imagine if this had been knitted flat; there would have been 6 lots of ends to weave in on the body alone (2 x either side of the 2 front pieces and then 2 for the back) plus those for the sleeves but this way the ends get cut off and all you have to do is stitch the steeks flat.

However, there are still plenty of ends to weave in on the sleeves so I shall do them gradually over the next few days.

My long-suffering horses waiting for their feed last night.

Kizzy's saying "I do wish she'd just feed us and forget the photos!"








"I shall paw the ground to attract her attention and show my dismay at this disgraceful treatment".









I loved the colour of the setting sun on these trees last night. What a beautiful glow.












Mike took this for me this morning on the way back from his walk across the land.

It's looking towards the house from the bottom of Holm field.

Very arty!


I'm just off out for my run now. 7 miles at marathon pace. I was going to head across the fields but the snow is still very thick and there was a heavy frost last night so I'm opting for the lanes instead.

I've got 15 to do tomorrow too - the high mileage weeks are starting to kick in!

Frippery?

Well not if you're 7 years old!

I crocheted this twirly-whirly scarf for Emma, Mike's niece who will be 7 this week, modelled here by Lady V, my trusty dressform.

When you're that age you love anything pink and girly so I think it fits the bill perfectly as an extra birthday prezzie. It's a mixture of several novelty yarns I had tucked away for this very purpose.

Here we have a gratuitous photo of Cornus 'Midwinter Fire'.

Still very small but managing to live up to its name and glowing in the sun, showing up nicely against the snow.

More snowy happenings

OK, OK, so the snow looks lovely and the icicles glisten as they melt in the sun but I still can't run outside!

Why not, you might ask?

Because it's hilly in these parts and the snow that melted yesterday and ran down the lanes, zigzagging its way ever downwards, froze overnight creating massive rivers of ice.

I did try to run down the lane around lunchtime because I really couldn't face the treadmill again. I thought the sun would have made the lanes passable but I only got about 200m from home and I realised that I was picking my way around these ice waterfalls rather than running which was not good at all.

So inside I went and 2 miles into the boredom that is treadmill running my brain said "NO!" and that was that. I'd lost my focus and let the gremlins inside my head. Undeterred I took myself off for a good 3 mile trek across the fields instead, wearing my sensible walking boots, and counted it as a cross-training day. When I got home I did some core strengthening exercises so felt quite virtuous in the end!

If it's like this again tomorrow I shall have to adopt a run/walk strategy and go along the lanes a bit and then cut across the fields wearing my cross-country running shoes.

Icy patterns edging the horses water trough.










A wintry sunrise through the trees.

The mounds covered in snow are piles of horse poo which are rotting down. After 2 years they turn into an amazing soil conditioner.






Some of the ducks sat patiently beneath the bird feeding tree whilst they waited for me to throw them some grain. The ponds are all still completely frozen and covered in snow so I put some water in an old trough for them to play around in.

Snow and other happenings

Last night they forecast snow to start at 10pm and so it did!

It carried on throughout the night and when we got up on Sunday morning it was a complete white-out with everywhere looking beautiful.

Looking back towards the garden from the horses field.

The oak tree looks magnificent covered in snow.








Here's Mike's footprint next to another.

Any ideas?

It's actually a rabbit track, not some gigantic clawed beastie!

When you see them hop they put their 2 front paws down almost together followed by their 2 back paws.




At the edge of the woods.













Esther all wrapped up in her snuggy rug.

Not surprisingly, the pair of them hardly ventured out all day except for a quick roll in the snow first thing.







Part of the pond all covered in a mixture of snow and ice.

The ducks have been skating!








I love seeing the snow on the wrought iron gates.











On the knitting front I am onto the button band of my Oregon cardigan so the end is in sight at last. I also started a scarf to use up some odd balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze.

I thought it would be a good project for the long train journey to Cambridge the other day when I went to talk to some of the ARUK staff.

The colours look great with my seahorse mittens but I hated the pinkness of the pink en-masse so have ripped it back and will take a different approach using the pink as a highlight colour.

The really dark purple is a beautiful colour in real life and is flecked with silver sparkly bits.

Running today was on the treadmill for obvious reasons!

'Defeating Dementia' Report Launch

Oh my, what a week this has been!

Wednesday saw the official launch of a report entitled 'Defeating Dementia' which was commissioned by Alzheimer's Research UK. Mike and I had been invited to attend the launch in Westminster and had planned another trip to the British Museum for the morning followed by the launch in the afternoon to maximise our time in London. Anyone wanting to read the full report can download form the ARUK website.

Obviously ARUK wanted to get as much publicity for the event as possible and so there were numerous press releases issued, one of which focussed on my region and so my name was included as one of their Champions who would be attending. There were 6 other Champions there, all in different regions so lots of publicity there too. As a result of this the phone hardly stopped ringing on Tuesday!

As there was an embargo on the release until launch day, I did a pre-recorded interview with Danny Pike from BBC Sussex and Surrey, who I've spoken to several times before and he asked me for a follow-up interview the day after the launch too. Thanks Danny. Then there was Arrow fm with Lorraine White and there were arrangements to be made for an interview with Meridian, our local TV station on launch day itself. Phew!

In the midst of all this there came another call and this was totally unexpected!

It was Sue from ARUK to say that Sir Terry Pratchett's office had called to say that he might not be able to come to the launch. He was going to be part of the panel of experts and I was disappointed when I heard this as I'd been looking forward to speaking with him. Then she threw in "I know this is a lot to ask but........." they wondered if I would consider filling his time slot. It wasn't definite and they still hoped he'd be able to come but they needed a contingency plan and they thought that my mum's story would give an extra dimension to procedings, which were largely about research and lack of funding.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

After I'd finished laughing at the concept of me speaking in place of TP I said that of course I wouldn't mind as I don't mind speaking to a large group. At that time I had completely blanked from my mind the fact that 150 people had accepted their invitations and the audience would include 50 of the leading research scientists specialising in dementia, MPs and representatives from age-related research and charities. Anyway, it was only a contingency plan. Later that day I received another call to say that they had confirmation that he was going to come so I could stand easy but could I please still be prepared just in case.

As we got on the train on Wednesday morning I was looking forward to the day ahead. I had to leave the phone on just in case ARUK called about the interview with Meridian TV which was originally planned for the morning but was done at the venue in the end. The full story is here and includes footage of Jamie, who suffers form early-onset Alzheimer's, and Vicki Graham with a few words from me later on - Defeating Dementia launch. The actual interview took 10 minutes so they only used a snippet but it was a good overview.

I was sitting on the train doing a crossword puzzle when the phone rang. It was Sue. TP couldn't make it after all and would I still be able to speak in his slot? Gulp! Yes, of course I would. Gulp!

I'll have to write about our trip to the British Museum another time as I took loads of photos and it was wonderful. After lunch we headed off to Westminster and were glad we'd arrived early when we saw the size of the queue. You have to go through strict security to get in, for obvious reasons, and it's both nerve-wracking and comforting to see Police officers with guns on guard.

They'd reserved a seat for Mike on the front row so I could see him, which was nice. The napkins came home with us with some scrummy cakes wrapped inside which we ate on the train as we had to leave promptly after the event.

I looked at the table at the front of the room and there was my name 'Susie Hewer, ARUK Champion' sitting next to Prof Alistair Burns (National Clinical Director for Dementia, National Health), Rebecca Wood (Chief Executive ARUK), Prof Julie Williams (Prof of Neuropsychological Genetics, Cardiff University - Among her most important work is the discovery of susceptibility genes for Alzheimer’s disease – findings highlighted by Time Magazine as among the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2009). Gulp again!

The panel was chaired by Shelagh Fogarty of BBC Radio 5 Live.

As I watched the room fill up I read through the guest list and then stopped because there were so many influential people in the audience and they were going to be listening to me. It wasn't talking in front of a crowd that troubled me; it was that when I tell mum's story I have to delve into the depths of the memories that I keep buried because they are too painful to remember. Sometimes something bubbles up to the surface when I'm speaking and catches me unawares so I have learnt to take a deep breath when that happens.

With a time limit of 10 minutes max for my speech, I'd been thinking about tailoring it to suit the audience and including some of mum's strange behaviour and the psychotic incidents and thankfully I managed to get through them without incident; although I did have to take a long pause when I recalled her saying the we should take her out and shoot her or put her in a home because she was getting more and more muddled. I didn't dare look at my fellow Champions as I knew that they would be reliving their own stories as I spoke.

From the look on Alistair's face, I must have been saying something serious when this was taken. I see that I was using my hands to illustrate a point which is something I always have to try and control.

What finally got me was when I was talking about mum's last few months spent in the nursing home and when I sat down I really struggled to hold back the tears. Mike said that my speech was really good and very powerful and that my genuine grief at the end really brought the issue home.

Several people commented afterwards that they were very moved and ARUK said that others felt it had given the report context and brought the event to life. The lady who is talking to me here made a point of coming over to thank me. She said she'd heard me speak before and that she works in geriatric care and appreciated what I'd said because sometimes she finds it hard to deal with the very challenging behaviour exhibited by some of the patients.

So from now on I wish to be known as Susie Hewer, understudy for Sir TP! Can you imagine how disappointed the audience must have been though, thinking they'd be listening to him and then ending up with me?!!!!!

In this line-up we have Rebecca, Julie, Julian Huppert (MP for Cambridge), me and Shelagh Fogarty. She did a brilliant job of chairing the meeting and made a big fuss of my marathoning and fund-raising antics when she introduced me, which of course got a few laughs! We had a long chat afterwards and she took down my details for future use on her radio show which was excellent. We also discovered that she is originally from Liverpool and was born only a stones throw from where Mike grew up. Small world.

Seahorse mittens

Oh my goodness it's been a busy start to the year and I've been remiss in updating my blog as usual!

The Hippocampus mittens were finished weeks ago and they are gorgeous. They match my jacket perfectly too.

There's so much to write about but I'm too tired now and it will have to wait until tomorrow when I'm feeling fresher.

Afterthought thumb (and a sky)

There were 2 options for the thumb given with the pattern, one slightly longer than the other which is this one that I tried first.

Although it looked lovely, I felt it was just that bit too long so I decided to rip back and knit the other version.

The lower motif is the same in both versions so at least there wasn't too much to undo.

I took this photo to show how I undo stitches when doing colourwork - by inserting a needle through the row of stitches I want to rip back to.

It's quick and easy and the only thing you have to worry about is getting your stitches onto the needle the right way round.

So here's the finished version.

It's a perfect fit and I'm really pleased with it.

Now all I've got to do is knit the second mitten.







OK, OK, so I said no more skies unless there was something special about them.

Well this one is so moody I just had to show it.

I love the dark outline of the bare trees against those gorgeous colours.

One year ends and another begins

Doesn't time seem to go much quicker the older one is!

I've decided not to upload all my sky photos and just to be selective as they are really slowing down my page. So, although I will still be taking photos and squirreling them away in true geeky fashion, I won't be clogging up my blog with any (unless they are really special or as in this one are on a significant date).

This one was taken on 31/12/11 and 1/01/2012 was so dark, dreary and wet that I didn't even bother snapping it!

I did, however, go out for a lovely run first thing before the weather really worsened. 7 hilly miles with few people around; no doubt nursing hangovers. I also made sure that I ran on the last day of 2011 just for completeness and so I felt as if I'd earned my large glass of Macallan and ice

My serious training for 2012 starts tomorrow.

On Boxing Day I joined the Hippocampus Mittens KAL over on Ravelry.

I've never made mittens before as I haven't worn them since I was a small child but the pattern looked so gorgeous that I just had to have a go as I adore seahorses.

The yarn is Fleece Artist 'Trail Socks' which has been lying around for a couple of years so it was about time I used it. The colours are glorious shades of mauve and turquoise but sadly it doesn't show up very well in the photos. It will go beautifully with one of my favourite winter jackets.

There was only one bit of consternation when I didn't read the chart properly and made a sticky-out thumb gusset instead of the afterthought thumb gusset marked here by the 2 needles.

Thankfully I only had to rip back a few rows.

In other news, we had a trip into London to see the exhibition entitled 'The tomb of the unknown craftsman' curated by Grayson Perry at the British museum. It was an excellent exhibition and his pottery is stunning.

What a treat. Grayson Perry has a dark, satirical humour and it is well worth a visit if you are in London. The piece de resistance is a ship built out of cast iron and decorated with artefacts from the museum. The centrepiece is a tomb containing a flint, representing the tool used by the first craftsman on earth.

Some are put off by his cross-dressing transvesticism (sp?) and his overtly sexual imagery but if you can get past that then his craftsmanship is superb. I love the way he has forged his own path in the world of modern art as a lot of people are really dismissive of crafts such as pottery. The thing that must really irk him is even though he won the Turner prize and is now well established, the thing that people often focus upon is his alter ego, named Claire, rather than the work he has produced.

After the exhibition we trotted off to one of our favourite Indian restaurants - Veeraswamy. If you click on the link you'll see bits of the interior which was revamped a few years ago.

It was a successul visit on 3 counts:

i) The food, as always, was sublime!
ii) I loved these motifs on the stair carpet leading up to the toilets as I think it could be a good starting image for a rag rug for our front door. Using different colours though.
iii) Mike took some lovely photos of the dining room and has been inspired to paint a scene of the restaurant in oils!

He hasn't been painting in oils for very long (about 18 months I think) but he's obviously a natural as he has a really good eye.

Here's a painting, based on a Gauguin, he was working on before Christmas. I'm not usually a fan of Gauguin but I do love this painting.

Xmas Pudding Dash & skies 116 - 122

Well, once again I have blithely wrapped and delivered/sent some knitted gifts without taking photos of them.

Hey ho, suffice to say that knitted handwarmers, aka fingerless mitts or gloves, are always well received especially when the recipient suffers from arthritis and the gloves are knit in light-as-air mohair which is warm but not too heavy for sore hands.

Saturday was the annual Christmas Pudding Dash in the beautiful grounds of Ashburnham Place. This was the 6th running of the event and I've done it 4 times now and each time in fancy dress to get into the festive spirit.

Here's the before picture (notice the slippers!). Sorry but I can't get it to flip the right way up for some reason.









Here's the after photo, taken back at home.

I don't know what my time was as I didn't bother with my Garmin - sometimes races are just for fun!







The medal is in the shape of a Christmas tree and I love it. Last year it was a snowflake.











Now for some more skies:

12th December
















13th December

















14th December

















15th December

















16th December

















17th December

















18th December