Running Amok (and Just Running!)

I can't believe I haven't updated since we moved! I'm seriously falling behind!

So classes have started up again, and I'm afraid I haven't really posted about it because I'm not as excited about it as I was last year. It's not to say that I don't find the individual lectures interesting - for example the other day we learned about all sorts of cool and gross diseases in cattle. The problem is simply that I don't want to work with these animals. Last year was so exciting and even when things got tough I knew that each and every thing I learned was somehow relevant to my future career. This year it's not the same. The only motivating force I have is just to get through the year. I know this is not the best attitude to go into it with, but it's difficult knowing that the things I learned last year which are so relevant to me personally are slowly slipping out of my head while I fill it with stuff that I will likely never use again. I guess it's just like college in that way. There are the things you want to study, and then the things you just aren't interested in, but have to do them anyway. And just like college, I'll get through it. And then I'll be one year closer to never having to stick my arm up a cow's bum again :P

Anyway, so on to fun things! A few weekends ago, Andrew and I went to his friends' sixth annual 'Forest Lodge,' where they all gather in some part of the country and have a weekend of fun and reunion! So Andrew and I left Friday (after classes!) and drove to the west of Scotland to Argyll. We found our amazing house, which was HUGE! It had rooms for 24 people, 3 floors, a giant kitchen, 2 dining rooms, a bar, and it was all ours for the weekend. The rooms were all done up in antique style, so were really pretty (one of the rooms had an old-fashioned 4-poster bed, which was beautiful!).

*

Our awesome mansion - Balinakill Country House!

*

We mostly just hung out, played card games together, and played one giant, epic game of Sardines that was made all the more awesome by the myriad of rooms and spaces in which to hide. We also went on a walk up a nearby hill, atop which were the ruins of an old fort of some kind. A Cairn marked the spot, which we all sat on and took in the views before coming back down.

*

Beginning our walk

*

Making our way up the hill

*

At the top!

*

The Cairn

*

Can you spot Andrew?
*

You can't really tell from those pictures, but it was WINDY at the top. I actually was physically blown over a few times. The views were gorgeous though, so it was completely worth it.

On the way home, Andrew and I stopped in Luss, a little town on Loch Lomond, and found a little cafe for lunch. I had a delicious Toasted Marshmallow Cappuccino (genious!), and a tomato soup. It was delicious, and very filling. Andrew had a Banoffee latte, which was also good, but the banana flavouring was a bit much. I was happy with my toasted marshmallow :)

*
Loch Lomond from the pier at Luss

*

Andrew was having fun with my new camera.

*

The following weekend we had a 4-day weekend (due to us being at the favourable end of the alphabet for practical timetabling!), Jen, Kate, Anik and I went to a different part of Scotland. We went to Loch Ness, because Anik hadn't been, and saw some of the sights around there. I'd been there before, so I don't have too many pictures of the Loch itself, but along the way we stopped at the Highland Wildlife Park. We had a lot of fun looking at all the animals and just hanging out with each other. I also had a lot of fun playing with my new camera and figuring out all the new settings!

*

I found Hedwig!

*

Rawr!

*

Monkeys always pose for the best pictures.

*
So adorable!

*
A Scottish Wildcat, which may look like a cute kitteh, but is actually a fierce predator!

*
Whoooo me?

*

Anik, Me, Kate and Jen!

*

After the Wildlife Park, we continued up to our little cottage on Loch Ness. It had fanstastic views of the loch, especially from the upstairs bathroom window. It was a gorgeous view to wake up to while brushing my teeth in the morning. We got there on Friday early evening, and Andrew drove up after work and arrived that night. It was so relaxing to play cards by the fireplace, or just 'giggle and squeak' as my mother would have called it, with the girls (and Andrew). Jen and I had decided that this trip was going to be dedicated to our mothers' memory, as Friday was the anniversary of her mother's death, from a similar-ish situation to my own. It was nice to remember them in such a beautiful place.

*

Anik emerging from the cottage

*

The view from outside our front door

*

Kate and I playing Cribbage

*

Saturday morning we woke up *fairly* early (as in, before 10) and hit the road for some exploration. I had been particularly excited about seeing a particular castle, Eilean Donan, which is reckoned to be the most beautiful castle in Scotland (it also appears in numerous films, such as Maid of Honor and the Highlander). I fell in love as soon as I saw the castle, and could have stayed there just taking pictures for hours. I've already decided this is where I'm getting married. Seriously, that's how much I love this place. The castle is situated at the meeting point of 3 sea-lochs, and so there are fantastic views on all sides. I wish we could have been there at sunset, it would have been beautiful! This is one place I am definitely going to visit again.

*

It was a very scenic and beautiful drive along the route to the Isle of Skye (which I still have yet to visit - it's at the top of my list)

*
Our first views of the gorgeous Eilean Donan

*

<3

*
Us girls :)

*
I seriously cannot get over how beautiful it is

*
The courtyard

*

The view from Eilean Donan - beautiful

*

Seriously, I could have taken pictures for hours!

*

After Eilean Donan we headed over to the Black Isle Brewery, which is a small brewery in the middle of nowhere. We got a quick tour of the facilities, then got to taste a selection of their beers! We all got a few to bring back and have with dinner, and I also got a pint glass for fun! We then drove about for awhile, taking in the sights before heading back to our cottage for the night.

*

A beautiful, still loch we stopped at for a photo-op on our way to the Brewery.

*

The small, but awesome, Black Isle Brewery!

*

The next morning we got up slightly earlier to make a start. Andrew went off to an orienteering event near Inverness while we explored Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. I'd already been there, twice in fact (once with Jessica and once with Andrew), but it's always nice to go with different people, as it's a completely different experience.

*

Jen and Kate (and a random) climbing up the staircase to the 2nd level of the castle!

*

Anik and I at Urquhart!

*

Sadly there were no Nessie sightings, although to be honest, it was so windy that the water was choppy enough to hide anything that might have been there, but we did go to the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre, which had a pretty cool exhibit on the Loch Ness Monster sightings and hoaxes.

We then set out to go to Moniack Castle, which is renowned for its wines and mead, which Anik was particularly interested in. Sadly it turned out to be closed on Sundays, and so we didn't get to see it. Oh well. Gives us another reason to come back!

After Loch Ness we headed back to the cottage for a few more games of cards and some relaxing by the fireplace. Then Andrew, Anik and I took off for home. Kate and Jen stayed another night, but Andrew had to be back for work on Monday, and I wanted to at least get a little bit of studying done.

Anyway, so all in all, my last few weekends have been amazing.

The only other real news I have is that I have gotten back into my running again! I should mention that my friend Kaitlin is my main inspiration, because she recently ran a 10K. Now, if you knew Kaitlin and I back in middle school, we were very similar on the fitness abilities level. We were the kids that balked at the Presidential Physical Fitness Test (which, to be fair, most people look back on in horror), and walked the '15-minute mile.' Yes, we were those kids. I did ballet and gymnastics and ice skating and things, but all of these to me were more about the art than the fitness. I never saw myself as being able to run, so I didn't. So to see Kaitlin becoming a self-proclaimed runner, and seeing her loving it, and especially seeing the confidence it's given her in the other aspects of her life (not to mention the fact that she looks amazing), made me really want to try. I've tried previously, especially with the extra motivation of Andrew and the orienteering adventures, but now I have a goal to work towards, instead of just a vague "I want to run". If Kaitlin can do a 10K after walking the 15-minute mile with me all those years ago (god that just made me feel old), I am going to give it a go as well. So that is my goal. This spring I will run a 10K. After that, who knows? Maybe I'll set my sights on a marathon! ;)

Anyway, so Andrew took me to his favourite running store and I got a pair of running tights, which I don't look nearly as awful in as I'd imagined, and a proper running shirt, sports bra and sports socks. Best purchases ever. My shorts, though fantastic in the summer, were not keeping my legs warm at all, and I hear this is not good for working muscles. I may need to get a warmer pair when the winter sets in, but I'll see how these go. So far my legs haven't gotten cold at all despite the frost on my car in the mornings, and my socks are new and cushy, which means my feet are happier.

My preferred place to run is a convenient bike path that goes from right by my flat all the way out to Dalkeith. It actually then connects to a path to Musselburgh, which connects to another walkway going right the way to Arthur's Seat in the city (a few blocks from where I lived last year), so it goes a long way. Anyway, it's something like 9 miles to Dalkeith, and it goes through Roslin, where there are side paths to the chapel. I've gotten all the way out to where the side path breaks off, but so far haven't felt like stopping my workout in the middle to stay and have a look around (also I'm not sure they want my sweaty mid-run self in their chapel, and I'd want my camera anyway). The path is nice and well maintained, which is awesome. There's no vehicular traffic on the majority of the run - or at least the part I've done so far (and the only real road I've encountered leads only to a water-treatment plant, and I have only ever seen one car going down it), so I don't have to worry about getting run over, or dodging buses - only the occasional excitable dog or bicyclist. It's also very scenic. The first bit runs through Valleyfield, a stones through away from my front door, and around the back of the town bythe River Esk, which used to power the mills that our section of town and the neighbouring ones were built around. Then it unites with an old railway line which follows the river some more, and goes through some old tunnels until the river curves away. The path continues through some horse pastures and out to Roslin and beyond. It's a very pretty and calming atmosphere, especially when the sun shines through the trees. Plus, it's QUIET. You can barely hear cars or machinery of any kind, except when the path goes under the road bridges, and you can hear birds and if it's raining you can hear the raindrops on the leaves and the sounds of the river. It's a great way to get me-time and be healthy at the same time. Honestly why anyone would run on a treadmill staring at a wall when there are places like this (especially when the weather is nice) is just beyond me.

I don't have a set time to run (which is probably good from a safety point of view), but it's either right after getting home from classes if we have an early day, or I sometimes come home during our longer lunch breaks. I've been doing the Couch to 10K program on my iPhone, which is amazing. I find the structure of it helpful, and the way it alters the programme day to day makes it easy and achievable. Also it conveniently tells you when you're halfway through the workout, so you can turn around (a tiny but immensely important detail that most programmes forget), and I can listen to my music at the same time. Basically it starts out the first week as running 0:30, walking 4:30, 7 times, and then slowly builds up from there (although to be honest I skipped the first 3 weeks, because they were ridiculously easy, so I started with running 2:00, walking 3:00, which was just hard enough that I had to push myself). I'm currently on week 7 - running 4:00, walking 2:00.

The first run this week was my hardest yet - I did the run/walk 10 times, and went a total of 9.5 km. While I didn't feel like the run itself was that hard (in fact I was pleasantly surprised at how well I was doing), I felt really ill afterwards. I'm not sure why this is, but I suspect something to do with dehydration and hunger combined with running endorphines, as I put off my lunch until after my run even though I was hungry beforehand, because I hate running with food in my stomach (I get a horrible side stitch on my left side if I've eaten anything! I'm told this is because the spleen squeezes out more blood cells during exercise, but it only ever happens when I've eaten recently). So instead I ran solely on the yogurt, apple and coffee I'd had for breakfast that morning, at least 5 hours previously. Stupid! I literally felt nauseous and on the verge of being sick all night. So I suppose I'll have to only put off my meal only if I'm NOT hungry to start. I don't mind getting hungry in the middle of a run - it gives me more motivation to keep up the workout until I get back - but otherwise I'll just have to either eat and wait a few hours or find something I can eat that wont upset my stomach. Also, I think I have to stop drinking coffee in the morning before running. The amount of times I've had to pee in the woods despite going directly before setting off is alarming (sorry, overshare, I know). Any runners out there have any ideas for me (on pre-run eating- not peeing!)

I was feeling back to normal the next day, but decided not to push it, so I took a day off, and meant to run yesterday, but it ended up pouring rain (and the bike path, though wonderful, was not designed with drainage in mind. Since I usually end up stepping in puddles and soaking my trainers and socks on the dry days, I decided to save my feet the blisters and wait another day). So instead I worked on my Halloween costume, and vowed to run this morning, which I think was a good decision because it was gorgeous out today. Brilliant sunshine and almost no puddles (I did manage to step in the few that did exist, and soaked my right trainer straight through, but oh well, such is life). This morning's run was also 4:00 running, 2:00 walking, but only 9 times today. I didn't have the nausea problem, but I suspect that it's more because I didn't push myself quite as hard, because I still waited until after to have breakfast (I tend not to be as hungry first thing in the morning anyway).

I am pleasantly surprised and happy that I'm actually enjoying my runs. I no longer have the aching in my legs (except on occasion), and I usually don't even feel sore or horribly knackered afterward. I don't get out of breath as easily, and I more and more feel that I will be capable of running a 10K in the spring! It's still a bit of a moan to get myself out on the path, especially if the weather is not gorgeous like it was today (though a light drizzle no longer bothers me), and I worry a little about what's going to happen when the snow and ice hits this winter, but once I'm out it's mostly enjoyable. There are a couple rough patches where I get tired or want to just walk the rest of the way, especially on the first workout of each week, which is designed to be the most strenuous, but for the most part once I settle into the rhythm it's great! I've even had a couple moments where my program beeps and says, 'Walk now,' and I realise that I don't have to walk, that I could keep going, at least for a little bit longer. I still follow the programme though, because I know that it's still a long way to running a 10K without stopping for walking intervals, and I need to build up my stamina before going all out.

Anyway, so enough about running! Tonight is Jessica and Lindzie's Halloween party, and I hope to take lots of pictures to show you all my brilliant costume (seriously, I'm very proud of it), and then tomorrow is Emma's (Poon and Pookish's roommate) 21st birthday party, so we're going to a comedy club for lunch to celebrate! Sadly Andrew's away this weekend, or I'd have forced him to dress up in another ridiculous costume like last year. There's always next year I guess :P

Hopefully I will update again during this week - seriously I wish I had the motivation and the time to update as much as my dear friend KaitlinWithHoney, who puts me to shame with her 2, sometimes 3 times a day updating, but oh well, I do what I can. :)