Holiday!!

My wife and I have just come back from a great 10-days holiday where we did lots of 'non-running' related stuff and really had a great time away (lots of eating, drinking, relaxing, etc etc).  I did manage to get a few runs in too, so I'm pleased that I manage to keep things ticking over.  My plan purposefully didn't show any sessions whilst away, so I'm happy to have got 5 sessions in totalling around 30 miles.

We travelled down to Annecy on the train from Paris and stayed at the same hotel as the last time we were in Annecy, so settled straight in with the first of many tartiflettes and glasses of wine.

For those that may not know, Annecy is in the Alps and is on a lake that shares the same name. The lake is fantastic and very clean (it is the cleanest lake in Europe).  There is stunning and inspiring scenery and I got three runs in (two 7-milers and one 5-miler), including one with my wife which was great! The photos don't really do it justice, but here are a couple, with the first with me proudly wearing my Trotters shirt!

On another day, we took a walk up into the mountains which was great. There were a handful of runners up there too, but it's not something I'd contemplate as the paths are very steep and narrow!  There were some great views on the way up though, and my Garmin shows that we peaked at over 2200ft which wasn't too bad.

Whilst in Annecy, I took the opportunity to read Chrissie Wellington's 'A life without limits'. Chrissie is a British Ironman competitor and turned professional fairly late (late 20s). It's a great read and charts her progress to various world titles and records in that gruelling sport.

We caught the train back from Annecy to London and headed to York for a few days, again by train. York is a great city with lots of things to do, and the food and beer at very good! I got two runs in along the River Ouze (a 6 and 5-miler) which I enjoyed.  So although I haven't been doing massive mileage I am pleased to have kept things ticking over, and I always enjoy running in new places to keep things fresh.

On the way back from York I started reading the  Brownlees' 'Swim, Bike, Run: Our Triathlon Story'.  I haven't finished it yet, but it's good so far.

I'm still on holiday from work for the rest of this week, and have a few plans but the full training won't resume until next week.  I need to kick start things for Dartmoor Vale in October.  Logistically it's going to be a bit tough for a week or so as we're getting our bathroom done and we don't have a second loo/shower, so that may prove interesting!

A great holiday!

My wife and I got back from a great holiday yesterday, where we packed a fair bit in but also got some time to relax and forget about work for a few days.  We went to a comedy show on the Friday (Jack Dee), a wedding reception on the Saturday evening and went so see Muse in London on the Sunday.  On the Monday we went to York for three nights, before travelling to Birmingham for one night and then travelled home yesterday.


For the first time ever whilst away on holiday I did some running!  I got a 6-miler in on a loop around the River Ouze in York and then a 6-miler along some canal paths in Birmingham in the morning.  So not massive mileage, but I feel I've kept things ticking over which is nice.  I'm pleased to say that although I enjoyed my holiday and ate/drank what I wanted to I only put a couple of pounds on.

The run along the canal in Birmingham was particularly good.  It's great having all those waterways within a stone's throw of the city centre.  York is very nice too....so much so that I'm considering the York Marathon next year, if I can get a place.  It sold out very quicly this year.

If you do ever find yourself in York, I can highly recommend a place called Betty's Tearooms.  It was my wedding anniversary whilst in York and we went to Betty's for an Afternoon Tea (we splashed out on champagne as well), and it was fantastic!  http://www.bettys.co.uk/bettys_york.aspx  I must admit I hadn't heard of Betty's before, but I do believe it is quite famous.  They were certainly doing a roaring trade with a queue out the door for most of the days we were there and the quality of the food and service etc was second-to-none.  As well as that, I sampled a good few York ales at various pubs around the city and there are some great places to eat and drink, as well as lots of stuff to do whilst there.

Also, this morning I marshalled at my first ever event.  My running club (Teignbridge Trotters) hold several races a year and this morning was the club's flagship event.  It's known as the Dartmoor Discovery and is a 32-mile event around the roads of Dartmoor.  The event itself is quite tough, with a few big hills to content with.

Having never marshalled before I was a bit nervous and my station was in the town of Ashburton.  Ashburton isn't what you'd call a busy town, but my station was on a road junction with a car park so I was pretty active ensuring cars stopped to let the runners through.  It all went off with no issues, and the organisers provided all marshals with a packed lunch which was great.  I was also able to keep an eye out for my fellow club members who were running the event and cheered them all on.