Hello hello you fabulous runners 🙂The start of another week! How are you doing? How’s the running going? Or maybe it’s not at the minute ☹️ Tell us all about it.
As you’ve probably guessed by now, and like most of you here, I’m pretty passionate about my running. I can’t imagine life without it and I am just so happy when I’m doing it. But… hushed whisper … I do have another love 🙀 Before I became a runner, gardening was my number one priority. I was outside in all weathers, poured over gardening magazines and books, went regularly to garden shows and plant fairs and spent most of my free time in the borders. The result of my toil gave me a huge amount of pleasure. It still does.
Bit since I discovered running I’ve had to share my life between the two addictions. I don’t mind because I love them both for similar reasons. Both reward dedication and hard work, there is a “you get out of it what you put into it” truth, they provide great opportunities for reflection and are good for mental and physical health. They both feed my soul 😍 And sadly, as I’ve discovered, injury is a constant risk in both activities. I’ve had as many gardening injuries as running ones over the years☹️
But at the end of the day I always try to balance the two loves as one is as critical for me as the other.
However, at the minute I haven’t enough hours in the day! I’m on Week 5 of my HM plan and there is so much that needs to be done in the garden; tidying up, moving plants, cutting back…… but as a result the cross training I did diligently for Bristol hasn’t really taken off yet although I reckon I’m still getting a fair workout from the hours spent digging, planting and pruning 💪 Lots of squats are involved, that’s got to be good, right?
So, what about you? Do you have another passion or something that competes with your running time? How do you juggle your priorities? Tell us in the comments.
Get the coffee/tea going and pull up a chair with your news. We hope you’re having a good week.
The Marathon Team xxx
🥳 If you have an event coming up or would like to find out wha your VRBs are up to, take a look at the latest events post:
Aw, he’s very cute 😍 Looks very much at home there.
No I can’t imagine you have any free time RW! Good luck with the vegetarian life. I think about it every now and again but the smell of a bacon sandwich stops me from crossing the line 😋
Before lockdown I used to do a lot of Amateur Dramatics (and singing). That translated into some mini plays performed over Zoom (and then uploaded to YouTube).
During the brief window before Omicron came on the scene we performed a Murder Mystery evening in an upper room of a tennis club. (I wasn't the killer, but was caught red-handed every night.)
Just before lockdown I got into recreational lock picking. (My own locks, and never ones that are in use.)
Recreational lock picking?? Gosh, I had no idea there was such a thing. Aren’t new locks supposed to be “unpickable”? You never know, the skill might come in very handy one day…..
I’m sure AD and singing were great fun. I have a few friends who sing in a choir and they miss it terribly as numbers are drastically reduced and various dates keep getting cancelled.
Murder mystery sounds fab 🙀 I love a good murder 🪓🤣
You'd be surprised! Have a look on YouTube for LockPickingLawyer. He has lots of very short videos showing how many common locks are pretty awful for security.
You do need to get a feel for it through practice, though.
If you gave me a combination padlock (eg. gym locker type lock) I could open it blindfold in less than thirty seconds, and did once to the amazement of a kid in a gym, saying, "Can I borrow your lock for a second? [click] You really need to get yourself a lock with a key."
Most padlocks you might get in a supermarket or DIY warehouse would take about a minute with the most basic of tools. A determined thief would use bolt cutters anyway.
Not long after I started playing with locks I changed all the exterior locks on the house! I didn't trust the ones that had been fitted as standard.
But the rules of recreational lock picking are: the lock mustn't be in use and it must belong to you (or be lent to you to be picked). Once a lock has had an attempt at picking, it shouldn't be used again to secure something as the act of picking it leaves marks that might confuse a future police examination. Also, in picking a lock in use it's possible to get it in a state where it jams and the key doesn't work any more. Leave that sort of thing to proper locksmiths.
I could never have imagined there was lock picking as a recreation! I can see it would come in very useful sometimes tho. We have never had a lock on our house as the children slept in cabins in the garden as they got older and they needed easy access. eldest son, now 42, enjoys telling people he had to leave home aged 5 and sleep in a shed at the end of the garden!!! Needless to say it was a very upmarket Swedish timber cabin ( very common all over Sweden), which my husband, a Swede, built. The children were the envy of their school friends but I expect some of the parents thought it was awful....
Reminds me of a friend who had started a new murder mystery and she complained that nothing much was happening. Then the next day she told me they’d just found a head in the fridge 😱😂
In the past I used to have a serious passion for indoor climbing and bouldering. I was really passionate about it, my life almost evolved around it. I remember this one time when I was stuck on a particularly difficult bouldering route, that I actually took pictures of the wall to look at them at home and try to figure out how to tackle it. I was not very 'high' up yet, I had reached level 6A, which for me was already a LOT. Unfortunately I fell when I was only 30 centimeters high or so, because of which I didn't have time to pull my foot right and I sprained it hard. And there ended my climbing life. Mainly because I couldn't climb for 6 weeks and I lost a LOT of my muscle strength in that time. Plus I had no friends to climb with and sitting there on your own when you have to regain your muscle strength, it just was too daunting for me. I am still passionate about climbing and bouldering, but never restarted because it is not fun to be there alone. But by now I fear I have become a bit too old for it and can't get my strength up enough anymore.
Another passion I used to have was horse riding, or rather taking care of the horses in the manège. I had this favorite horse, Chanel. She was already old (for a horse) and she had her own ideas, but I really liked her. One time a stallion from somewhere else had broken out and had attacked her. I was allowed to care for her wounds and it was as if she really appreciated my doing that. After a while she got asthma and couldn't run anymore. She remained there though on a separate big field with 2 other horses. I visited her still (worked with a young horse then), but after a while it appeared as if she didn't want to know me anymore. And then I also stopped my horse riding adventures, mainly also because I did not really like riding inside and I preferred just brushing the horses and walking outside in the forests and on the beach, which could not be done often. And to top it off, I was actually scared when on a horse, afraid I would not be able to control them (had it happen 2 or 3 times). So...
Besides those 2 things, I don't really have any passions, or you have to count the love for my cats. I love reading, knitting, crochet, coloring, etc. But they are not passions. Running to be honest is not a passion either (yet). So I am passionless at the moment 😂
IrishprincessAdministratorHalf Marathon• in reply to
Ooh you are brave BS! I just have to look at a climber and I get scared 😱 I can’t honestly say it sounds like fun to me but then that’s the point of our various activities as we are all different.
Such a shame you got injured and had to stop. Does your ankle bother you when you run?
What a lovely name for a horse. I didn’t know horses could get asthma. I guess they are susceptible to most of our illnesses and diseases.
My step-daughter and her two children are all passionate about horses so when they come to stay with us we always seem to end up at some stables 🙂 They seem to be pretty high maintenance to me (the horses not the children…. on second thoughts 🤣)
By the way, I have a fear of heights 😉😂. That is also why I preferred bouldering over length climbing once I got to know it. Plus bouldering can be done alone. It is max 4 meters high, but you are not secured (so without ropes). There are very thick mats under you though, you can just let yourself fall. That takes a bit practise and daring in the beginning. I liked bouldering because it is very technical. You really have to think where and how to place your feet and hands. Ah... just talking about it...
The ankle doesn't bother me as far as I know. I was lucky it was only sprained. I heard a crack so first thought it was broken. Luckily that was not the case.
Horses are indeed high maintenance. I once thought about buying a horse, but it is very expensive. The horse itself ok, that is 1 time you pay. But what then? Do you rent a stable? With or without pasture? Can you go 2 times a day for feeding or watering? Or do you rent a stable with feeding and such inclusive? And that is the highest cost, not the horse itself, but the keeping of it.
IrishprincessAdministratorHalf Marathon• in reply to
Still scary but good for you for choosing this if you have a fear of heights. Feel the fear and do it anyway 😱
I only asked about your ankle because I sprained one of mine years ago and it’s only been in the last year or so that I haven’t had any bother with it 🤞I have done lots of exercises for ankles though and I’m sure that’s helped with a good recovery.
I have had fear on those walls. I also met up with strangers I found online to climb with (all indoor with other people there). And it was scary to literally put your life in their hands. They secure you and keep you safe when you fall or come down. Ofcourse it is the other way around too. But still, would not dare do that now I think...
I have been doing a bit of bouldering lately and I do enjoy it, though there's always a bit of fear of getting an injury and not being able to run! It is very satisfying now I'm starting to get to the problem-solving stage of bouldering, though I do get frustrated as there are a lot of problems which are extra difficult for someone as small as me and I don't yet have the skills to compensate for the lack of reach!
Assuming you do it indoor, some builders indeed make the routes a tad too difficult for smaller people. I think that most builders work from the idea of a regular length male. As a smaller person you often have to make leaps or sort of jumps to get to a next hold. Mostly it is possible, but it does take a bit more dare and risk than for a regular length male.
My other main passion, which doesn't infringe on my running, has become my guitar. I picked one up again over lockdown 1 (still the best one of all the lockdowns 😉) after a good ten years not playing and haven't looked back since.
Fortunately, the two don't get in each others way. I am an early morning runner - before work, or on the way to work midweek and 6-7am Sunday mornings (depending on distance training for). Neither of which times I would be forgiven for playing the guitar.
Like you though I find them both an important part of my life now and wouldn't want to chose one over the other.
I’m having a few issues with my replies today so apologies if I’ve already sent you this. I can’t seem to put paragraphs in! I think many people resurrected various interests and hobbies in the first lockdown. What sort of music do you play?
Anything really. If I like a tune I try to learn it. You tube makes things much more accessible than when I started years ago. Only thing yoh had was expensive sheet music from specialist shops.
Hi IP! I could use you in my wild garden! I’m chief lawn mower, but I don’t enjoy weeding.😩
Prior to running I had two horses and riding was my passion. I also worked on an equine veterinary yard. I was super fit, but in a whole other way to how I am now. When I lost them both (one caused by a snake bite (yep) and the other due to aged related arthritis), I soon took up yoga to at least do something apart from walk my dog. I grew to love it and I still practice most days. So that’s another passion - and I’m sure it helps keep me injury-free (touch wood!) 🧘♀️
My other non-running related one is singing. I belong to two choirs and it’s wonderful. Fortunately, apart from the occasional concert, it doesn’t affect my running at all, so I get the best of both worlds.
Running keeps me able to eat all the things I love, and it’s definitely number one! 🥰
Ooh another singer! Have you seen nowster ’s post? You could both start a C25K choir 🙂 Running must be so good for your singing as it’s great for your lungs.
Next time I see you I’ll ask you for a little tune 🎶
I remember you mentioning your love of horses in a post and saying you used to ride in my part of the world! This is very much horsey country as there are always riders on the roads and in the fields!
But the yoga is a great complement to running and is clearly playing a part n keeping you away from the old IC!
Sadly I'm out of practice at the moment. I haven't sung properly in about two years!
Just before lockdown hit, I'd done a four part harmony arrangement of a medley of various "Flower Power" pop songs for the choir. (Starting with Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and ending with Aquarius.) We never got to look at it.
Yes I used to ride in Dyrham Park and my friend and I would go off for hours, riding over to Badminton and the surrounding countryside. That was when there far less cars on the road though.
My riding days are over (I might get injured and not be able to run!), but yoga helps with my running and singing requires breath control, like both activities - so win win! 😀
Hi Irishprincess, as a regular on those forums I just wish you and everyone happy running for this year.I have had an interesting day this Monday, this morning I took a trip on the train to the place I ran run 3 of week 9, yes, my graduation run, however, today I only walked the route as I was wearing my walking boots, not my running shoes.
This afternoon after I got home and had lunch I took my neighbour's dog, Holly, her regular walk at 2 pm and guess what, I saw a man running then walking and he told me he was running run 1 of week 2 of C25K, I told him I graduated in June 2018 at the place I had visited this morning, I wished him luck with his runs, I might even meet him again, it would be nice if I could accompany him on the third run of week 5 and week 9.
Hi Al, happy running for the year ahead for you too 🙂
What a coincidence to meet that man! Did you tell him what you’ve achieved since graduating? If so, he must be pretty impressed! It would be nice if you met him again and give him encouragement.
I've not run for a week. I slipped, tripped and fell twice during one of my muddier, sillier (8.18km, 281m elevation gain) forest runs. Thought I was fine, but after too much time in front of computer I seized up and slipped again on our tiled floor. Right hip and lower back aren't happy so I'm out of action for the time being.
As for other passions? I sing soprano, dance and am president of a small choir, dance and music group that performs Renaissance music and dance, in period costume. We're very good at eating and drinking, and like going away for hiking and sightseeing weekends. Not that we've been able to do much of that since covid appeared on the scene!
Kind of fortuitous that I can't run right now as the group's AGM was last Saturday. Couldn't hold one in 2020 due to covid lockdown, and this year's was touch-and-go due to covid cases and contacts having to isolate. Took me days to organise stuff, not least because the secretary was one of those isolating, and the law and health protocols keep changing!
Oh no Cmoi ! That’s awful. To fall once is bad enough but twice 😱 Hope you’re not too bruised and it will all heal quickly. A tiled floor would be pretty hard too 😫
We have another singer! So far we have nowster and cheekychipmunks and now you! Definitely the beginning of a C25K choir there 🎶 And you’re president! It’s a no-brainer 😀
Singing and dancing in period costume sounds brilliant fun. Do you wear different costumes or wear the same one all the time?
As for costumes, none for rehearsals - we're weird but not that weird! Noble dress for concerts in churches and more formal settings, commoner costumes if it's a village fête sort of thing.
I've got one completed noble costume, another to finish (it's been hanging around years!) and two variations of commoner dress - same skirt and blouse, with different overskirts and bodices. Love my noble dress because it's so OTT - see photo.
It is, even if I say it myself. Need help getting dressed though as the bodice is boned and laces up at the back corset-style, and the inner sleeves are tied on to the outer ones. As for driving in it... 😱🤣
I bet the corset gives you great posture though! I’ve read about actresses who wear period costumes for a part and talk about how much their posture improves. Must make you sit completely upright.
Driving in such a costume must be a funny sight to other drivers 🤣 When I was younger we always had a fancy dress party at Halloween and one year my mum dressed as a nun and my dad was a bishop and they had to drive to my cousin’s house for the party. Bearing in mind this was Northern Ireland they did get some very amused/incredulous looks along the way 🤣
Oh for more counter(feit) tenors! There's so much we can't sing at present due to lack of voices, and it's an ageing group as well - I'm one of the younger ones. We need to recruit, but Renaissance is Marmite even in non-covid times.
I don’t get a lot of time for hobbies as work and family are crazy busy but other than running, my other passion is sewing. I’m on a mission to make my whole wardrobe. It’s going well but it’s going to take a long time as I just don’t get the time I would like. I love it because my job is so academic and involves a lot of computer time but sewing is so practical and no computers are involved. Over Christmas our activities were curtailed due to covid and I was thinking ‘Oh great I’ll be able to sit down and sew 😊’ I’ve just finished a Jean skirt from black cord and I’m just planning my next project which is a long sleeved shirt for the Spring. Some pics of some of my projects 🧵🪡⬇️
Good for you! Such talent. And that’s a great mission to be able to say that you made your whole wardrobe 👍 Good luck 🍀
Do you watch The Sewing Bee? I’ve only started watching it two years ago and now love it.
My mum was/is a great clothes maker and even made my (first) wedding dress. I have dallied and made cushions and small curtains but I haven’t got my mum’s talent and sewing is not a passion like running and gardening. But I do understand how it could be 🙂
It is 😊. I also love having clothes that fit in exactly the colour and style that I want, and I hate shopping 😂. I’d much rather sit at my machine with my music on for an afternoon than trudge through a busy shopping centre, get hot and come back with something that will have to do 🤯🥵. Happy sewing 🧵 🪡
Lovely rose there IP My dad was a grower and shower so I grew up surrounded by them I had lots of them at my last house but only a few here. I prefer growing food these days 🙂
I’ve well into my running plan now in preparation for my spring trail half. I did a 15k today and managed it well I’m relieved to say. I made a fresh batch of power bars at the weekend and I snaffled one today while waiting to cross the road 😋 nom nom. Home to homemade chicken curry. Life doesn’t get any better 🏃♀️😀
I remember you saying before that your dad grew and showed roses 😍 When we moved here I inherited a lot. My previous garden was sandy and acidic and roses didn't like it much but then it was like a rose party here because of the clay soil 🤗 I love them and there are still a few in bloom at the minute although the heavy frost is doing some damage ☹️ I need to get out and cut them all back soon.
Well done on the 15K! Power bars and chicken curry. Yum yum indeed 😋
When I stop on a run these days it’s always a question of what to do first - eat or blow my nose 🤣 I’ve tried doing both at the same time but that doesn’t work out too well 🤣
Well since taking up running I seem to be acquiring lots!
Working out, either with or without weights has become a big one and I've found that some of the simplest exercises really do have an effect if you just stick with them!
Originally the working out was just to do anything when I broke my toe to keep me sane but then I kept it up from time to time, now it's every day.
Now, since October; cold water swimming. I never, ever would have thought it was for me but I'm addicted! Constantly trying to find ways of working them into my days/ weeks, easily exceeding my original goal of 10 mins a week 🤣 i would happily do every day if I could!! 👍🏻
Only that I haven't run by the sea since and I only go in at the end of a run when I'm well warmed up! That last one I did I could only manage 45 strokes before I froze...I've very little body fat for insulation... So now I'm pool swimming and can stay in for an hour. All the lengths are great for core strength 💪! I will start the sea again round March probably.
Have you got water gloves and shoes? Definitely helps slow the cold. Yes I'm in the low insulation bracket too! It's probably one of the few pastimes that benefit from a bit of bulk! 🤣 I'm not a pool fan, chlorine gets to my eyes and throat.
I would think March is worse than Jan!! Still around 7 degrees at Worthing.
I should try with gloves as my fingers really freeze, and I do have the neoprene shoes which help. It was 7' in the sea in December, maybe it doesn't get colder. I need it to be warmer than the air temp which it is at the moment I think. Maybe I'll run down there on Sunday as I'll do a longer run then, and see if I'm inclined to get in! Meanwhile the pool and gym becoming addictive. There is much less chlorine in pools these days, my eyes used to end up totally bloodshot and they don't anymore. Good goggles too helps.
Definitely try the gloves! They really help. When getting redressed I pop a gel hand warmer in the front waistband of my cosy leggings I put on under my trousers and one at the back. Really helps rewarm the core faster. I also put 3 layers top and bottom (actually 3 coats 🤣) windy days it can feel colder but certainly Monday was no wind and it was just lovely in the sunshine. 👌🏻
Wow so much passion in our group! Running has become for me a true passion in the last number of years. Apart from that work and life have taken over most of my extra time, however I would like to paint and draw more often. It was something I did a lot of when I was younger in my art school days. I got on a good roll in 2020 with 52 drawings done but have not done much since then TBH. Something I’d like to get back to as life eases up again. This fellow is a Sea Turtle done in 2020 and my favourite one done that year.
Oh wow Decker! That’s brilliant. When I first looked at it I thought it was a photograph. You’re very talented and should definitely use it more when you can. I’m sure you could sell this if you wanted to 😍
Love that. Just bought a bunch of art stuff but I'm not very good at all and have little to no artistic instinct. Really wish I could find a way to put what I see/ feel on paper!!
Oh dear! Where do I start? I love my bees! I have 18 hives in two different locations... They take another of time from April - Sept... Even now I should be checking equipment for next season, making new frames up...but I'm not! Yet....too cold for my bee shed. I've played tennis for over 60 years...that still happens 3x a week, all year. Preferably on non running days. I have a big garden and grow veg....that takes time and, like IP, I should be tidying up from last summer, cutting back shrubs and planning the veggie beds....still too cold out there....I knit and sew as if my life depended on it, can't sit down empty handed. I'd have Bern one of those women at the guillotine,....knit one, pearl one, drop one,sever one.....I always have knitting wherever I go...like running it's portable. Time is fragmented....thank goodness I've retired... But then I didn't used to run!Happy running vrbs.
Gosh, lots going on with you Mormor! Bee keeping is quite labour intensive. A friend of mine was going to start a few years ago and then didn’t when she learned what she had to do! But it must be so satisfying. I love watching them in my garden 🐝
Knitting is quite therapeutic and hypnotic, a bit like running probably 🤣 and as you say you can do it anywhere.
Yes, the bees are very labour intensive during the swarm season in particular, hot work too in middle of summer, but soooo satisfying when I "read" the hive right.
Very true. The love of my life would help with the heavy stuff if needed, but he is slightly anxious round the girls and is much happier in his shed making something!
My other passion is hockey, and thankfully running and hockey compliment each other perfectly. 🏃♀️🏑
IrishprincessAdministratorHalf Marathon• in reply to
That’s a great combination! You must be super fit!
Count me in for the HU choir, I do love singing. We had our first choir concert in 2 years last December and it was really lovely to be back performing again, particularly as I had a solo to sing.
I like gardening too, particularly growing fruit and veg, but my garden has been a bit neglected of late, partly because it's huge and was getting out of control and it was just too depressing to start doing weeding because the task seemed impossible. But we've had gardeners in to try and get it under control and I'm feeling a lot more optimistic and keen to get the cleared ground planted up.
We’ve definitely got a choir now! I never realised that singing is so popular 🙂
It’s hard in the winter, when I look out the window and see the work needed to bring the garden back to life, but when the warmth brings colour and life to the borders all the hard graft and hours spent on my knees is so worth it 🌼🌷🌺🌸
There's nothing quite like biting into a homegrown tomato or strawberry that's warm from the sun. I confess I'm a great fan of perennials and bulbs because they do their own thing and don't require so much effort to get them going each year.
I combine my gardening and reading passions with running, by regularly running to my allotment, doing some weeding & running back, all with an audiobook on the headphones. The drawback is gardening in my running clothes, which are rather more form-fitting than I want my plot neighbours to see 😂 so I time these trips for very early mornings!
I always have a book or tv show I am only allowed to listen to/watch on a run or treadmill, and that helps me get my trainers on/run a little further.
That's a fab idea! You’ve got it all sussed 🙂 I’m sure your plot neighbours are impressed enough about your running not to be bothered one iota about what you’re wearing. They must look at you in awe 🤗
I wear some of my really old running kit in the garden and it all usually ends up looking the same anyway - mud coloured 🤣
This is a lovely post IP. Just had a great read through after a very busy week. Gardening used to be my number one passion, but gradually it has been edged out because I always gravitate to running or riding first, especially when I have the time and the weather is nice. The fact that gardening is also my job means that need does get satisfied elsewhere. Net result? my own garden is a shambles and reminds me I will never run out of things to do! Hoping this will be my last year of work though, so maybe 2023 can be the year of a great renaissance in my garden!!!
I imagine gardening for others is hard work, especially when difficult to please customers are involved! But I can understand how you don’t have the time, or maybe energy, to invest in your own garden.
I hope you’re excited about your “retirement” and have lots of lovely things planned. One of my biggest pleasures when I stopped work was having time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and have a second cuppa. When I worked breakfast was always a speedy standing-up affair 🙂
I sm SO looking forward to retiring IP! I've already cut down to about half my old level but I'm definitely ready to give up altogether - I will have no problem filling my days 😍
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
