Lots to say

What a busy few days I've had. Sunday was the Plymouth Half Marathon. We were up really late as next door decided 9:30pm was a great time to set fire to a vast pile of cardboard, and were still burning it at nearly midnight! Managed to get some sleep and set off in tme for the race. It was incredibly hot, warmest day of the year so far, so my plans of walking the drink stations and run-walking the hills looked to be a good one. What I'd not banked on was a) needing so much water at the stations that my walk lasted longer than I'd anticipated b) the later stations running out of water completely and c) just taking so much longer because of the heat. Still I finished it, so that's my first Half since my operations done. Next one is 21st June in Torbay.

About 4 miles



Relaxing in the Athletes' Village



No blisters anywhere, my worst problem seems to be a really sore toe nail, feels like it's been bashed against the end of my running shoe. So after the race, the next day was Bank Holiday, and I'd decided to bake!!

Apricot and Almond Cake:



Not much left of it now, except the plate!

My finish for this week's quilting was the ballet raffle quilt. I'd had a major crisis of confidence and ended up sitting in front of my machine for ages just gazing at it and not having any clue how I was going to quilt this one. This in spite of planing it weeks ago in my head. For some reason what I'd planned just wouldn't come through. Eventually, I did a small bit of FMQ on some scrap fabric, weeded and pruned the flowerbed, hoovered (I know that's how desperate I was!) and about 2 hours later made a very tentative start. I like how it's turned out, but I hated feeling so helpless in my sewing. Anyway, FMQ-ed in lop-de-loop with frequent heart meanders throughout the top, in a sugar pink thread. I bought the binding fabric from Janet a month or so ago, and I have to admit I love the way the bias stripes have worked. I'd have preferred more pink/white, but this pink/multi gives a definite "end" to the quilt and makes quite a statement. The corners I cut using a side plate for the curves!

Why I've not blogged recently

I've been getting the bathroom and kitchen refitted and it's all just been too, too traumatic!



Bathroom before



Bathroom after



Kitchen before



Kitchen after.

The sharper eyed amongst you may have spotted the floor in the kitchen isn't down yet and there's no oven. Despite ordering it in January, it's still not arrived. Guess how thrilled I am about that? Should be here tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. We're off on holiday soon, so no floor until we're back.

I've also done a race. Teignbridge 10 (miles) which even though I've not been training fully, I managed to take 6 minutes off my previous best time for the distance. Luckily no photographic evidence of this as I went up with a workmate. No medal but a handy T shirt which will double as a tent should we decide to camp while we're away!

Back racing!

Sunday was my first race since having my thyroidectomy. I've been training half heartedly throughout all the treatment, but was finding it really difficult to be enthusiastic about it. I'd booked in for two other races before now, the first one should have been on January 4th, but this was the day before I had the radio iodine, so I'd been off all medication for 2 weeks, and was sleeping for nearly 18 hours every day. Not the best conditions for running a 10K race! The second was even worse timing...the morning after the Christmas party from work. I still maintain I wasn't hungover, I was just tired, but either way, we didn't make it to the race.

No excuses for this time however, it started less than 3 miles from home. I'd planned to jog round and just enjoy being racing again. It was a glorious spring morning so I was more enthusiastic than I'd expected, and I trotted round in 1:12. Not my fastest time, but not my slowest either.



I've got a 10 miler in 2 weeks!

Baby quilt news...I've finished one and only have hand sewing left to do on the other one. I'm thrilled with how they're looking. I've enjoyed doing the prairie point finish on the border. I think this is one I'll be using again.

Sorted!!

After we'd got back from Bath, I realised I had far too much fabric to fit into my boxes. I sent DH to the local homestore to buy a couple more, then set to sorting all my fabric out. I tried banning everyone from the lounge while I did it, but they kept creeping in anyway!! (Usually when the stash was looking its worst)

I threw out a carrier bag full of tiny pieces. I mean seriously small...less than 1" square, or 1/2" wide strips. The rest was re-sorted into boxes.

1. Pre-cut strips. This is in a panettone box from Christmas a few years ago
2. Paper piecing sized pieces. In an old hat box that was stuffed with baby gifts from when DS was born.
3. Large scraps, less than FQ size. In a plastic tub
4. Fat quarters. In 2 specialised FQ storage bags
5. Small yardage. Pieces bigger than FQ size but not full yards. In a plastic box
6. Large yardage. Pieces bigger than 1yd. In a big plastic box.
7. Orphan blocks, sample pieces, pre-cut squares and WIPs. In another plastic box.

I've been out running twice in the last week as well, must be feeling better!! My blood results came back with the T4 slightly high but the TSH at .5 which the consultant seemed happy with. I'm booked to do two races by the end of March, but DH has just been diagnosed with a detached retina so I've no idea if he'll be able to drive me there!

December bag challenge complete

I really enjoyed making this one. The fabric was a piece of Designer's Guild glazed cotton that Pat gave me a couple of years ago. I liked it but wasn't sure where I was going to use it. When this bag pattern came up, I knew I could use the Baboushka fabric. I started it, then checked with H that she liked it...she loved it, so looks like she'll be claiming it for her own! Another great pattern from the BQL bag challenge, and once I've got it posted on the thread there, I can get a bonus pattern for having finished it before December 21st.

I had my 4 week post TT check up yesterday. They found two small primary tumours in my thyroid, and another secondary in one of the lymph nodes the surgeon removed. This doesn't affect the course of treatment at all, and I'm all set for the RAI in January as planned. Back to work on Thursday. I mentioned to the surgeon that I was planning on running a full marathon next year, which he supports, and when I said it was at St Austell, Eden Project, he may well do the same one himself. It sure helps to have a surgeon who's a runner!! He might see me on the start line, but by the time I finish, he'll have finished, showered, changed and driven back to Plymouth!

Birthday, mud and cakes!

Backdate this one to the 8th/9th November.

We'd decided to race the Sodbury Slog way, way back in February. We'd heard it's a great race and a big gathering for people from the running forum we're both members of. The race itself is around 9 1/2 miles, but the key word in the title is SLOG. There's only about 1 mile on tarmac, the rest is through ploughed fields, rivers and slurry. Now I know it's strange, but I really enjoy doing off road races, the muddier the better. I think it's because I reason to myself that the faster runners are slowed down by the conditions, but being a plodder, they won't affect me!

We got to our pub in Yate, a mile from Chipping Sodbury, and settled in, then walked into CS to recce the race HQ and pubs. Back to our pub for a couple of pints, then back to town to meet up with TP and ST. Lots of girly gossip, and then met with JW who helps organise the race, and some of his mates. All to a steakhouse, then pub until chucking out time. I was so busy having a good time, I forgot about running with a thick head the next day.

TP and ST presented me with a tiara to wear as a Mudhoney, and they both raced in stripy fingerless gloves! The race starts after a short service of Remembrance and all the runners are asked to wear poppies. The first mud bath came after about 2 miles, a short queue and plunge in up to our knees. There was a group ahead of me searching for a lost shoe already! There were hay bales to scramble over, a stile, one of the steepest downhills I've run and more mud than I really care to remember.

My favourite bit has to be approaching the final river (not river crossing, we had to run through the river). There were crowds on the banks, so I stopped and told them I'd only go on once they'd sung happy birthday to me. As they got to the name part, I turned to show them KWILTER on my vest and as I turned back, I lost my balance as my feet were buried in mud, and I was up to my knees in fast flowing water. You can see the result for yourselves!

I've no idea how long it took, somewhere close to my half marathon time I think but it was such great fun. We've already booked the hotel for next year!

Once I'd got back and showered we went to the local Italian restaurant that JW had booked and ate roughly our own bodyweight in pasta. Even B was defeated...although to be fair, he did eat half of H's pizza as well as his own pasta. M had brought cake for me, which after we'd cut it into 40 portions gave 3 crumbs each.


Great weekend, great friends and can't wait to do it all again next year

working hard...

...on that quilt. Today I've gone almost all the way round the outisde of the main part of the cable design. Just one inverted V to do. Then I've got to go round the inside of it all, and do the short Vs and shorter straight cables to close each square. All going very well so far.

Yesterday I spent the day at the Truro record office, looking for ancestors hiding in the paperwork. I manage to locate around 20 baptisms of people I had in census returns, so more gaps filled in there. Tomorrow we're all off to Camborne parish church to see if we can find any memorial stones...hope it's in better trim than Illoga's was last year.

I did my hill session on Monday, it was a lot more gentle than I'd expected, a 3 hill loop done twice. The hills were more slopes than big hills, so very much a confidence building exercise for me...even if I was last to finish, I didn't take any walk breaks, and got all the way up each hill without too much of a struggle.

Busy weekend behind me.

Yesterday was the Plymouth Half marathon which me and DH were both running in. I wasn't sure how my achilles would stand up to the 13.1 miles, but knew I could always walk if I needed to. Weather forecast was for heavy rain and high winds, great! In the end we had a brief shower at 8am, and sunshine for the rest of the day.

We got to the Hoe, met DS and sorted ourselvs out with baggage drops and meeting the various groups we needed to say hello to. Group photo for the running club great...around 50 of us. I managed to get on the back line, saying I felt more at home at the back ;-)

By the time I'd left the loo queue, I lined up facing the wrong way I was so far back. Nearly 5 minutes before I crossed the line, and I was off. Felt nice and easy, and I hit the first mile point at 10 minutes.

No major traumas and I was feeling great at Saltram. I'd planned to walk the hill there and at Haye rd, and that was exactly what I did. As I got more comfortable and further round the course, I began to target people in my vision to over take. One woman took me over a mile to get past, but she didn't come back after me. I was definitely passing more than were passing me. The other club runner finally got away form me on Billacombe rd, which despite being downhill I struggled with.

Another clubbie supporting boosted me by running with me for a few yards, and I gave him my gel belt in exchange for a couple of wine gums. 10 miles down and still bang on time for 11 minute miles

I kept plodding on overtaking people until I got to the Barbican. Dashed into Jacka's to yell HI to Marge, then walked up the hill. Less than a mile to go and the PB was looking dodgy, but I caried on regardless. As I got to the final turn, I glanced at my watch...my course best was smashed and the PB was still on. I passed a guy with Cooky on his T shirt on the Hoe (last 50 yards) and stopped my watch with 11 minute 11 seconds off my PB (rounded on the official time to 1m 10s off)




yes it was as painful as it looks! Best bit about Plymouth is the runner's exclusion zone with as much food as you can eat, an excellent goody bag, stuffed with freebies. I also got a medal, t shirt, mini mars bars, water & apple juice thrust at me as I crossed the line.



As if that wasn't enough for a bank holiday weekend, I've been quilting as well. Dear Jane is just about finished!!! All the machine quilting is done on the main body of the quilt and the triangle borders. I've just got to darn the ends in and put the binding on. That will be my task for tonight, to bind it.





I'm still doubtful as to whether it might need more quilting, but if I decide it does, I can do it once it's been bound.

So another UFO finished (nearly), another quilt ticked off for the exhibiton in August, another PB. DH got a PB as well, 10 minutes off his Bath time! No blisters and all my toe nails look intact.