Rosedawn Ramblings

I'm sitting on the balcony watching the world go by, the bottle kilns my ever-present backdrop.  It's early on Sunday morning. The sun is shining, there is a refreshing breeze. Every now and then, the sound of traffic replaces bird song to interrupt the peace and quiet. A couple walking their dog pass by on the bank opposite. The same man who runs by everyday has just appeared. Someone is fishing up by the bridge. A child is feeding the ducks. The coffee tastes good.  I've got a new book to read. It's my happy place ; my place to reflect and re-set. In the nearly 12 months since my last blog post, my new job has continued to be just what I needed, we've had some mini-adventures and lots of fun-filled days. There have been a few bumps in the road, especially when it comes to blogging and running, but I've been doing my best to live up to the intention to  start again . First there was Tailenders Live, which definitely brought the laughter back... Then...

It might sound like a reference to a children's book by Enid Blyton but.... About three years ago, when our work and other commitments would permit, my running buddy Liz and I would meet up on a Friday during the day and go for a run.... we usually ran about five miles and so it became known as the Friday Five . There wasn't anything particularly special about these five miles from a training sense; we weren't doing speed work or setting ourselves a particular running goal. We had a couple of regular routes - along the canal to Birches Head, or along the canal towards Trentham. Sometimes we would throw in a bit of variety and the occasional hill. In winter, we stuck to main roads and tried to avoided ice. A couple of times we went a bit further afield or ran a bit further. Friday Five on Tour... Getting lost in Hope But it was never really about the run or the route... the Friday Five was an opportunity to meet, chat, catch-up on our weeks and the five m...

When I started my blogging challenge in January, I was looking for a new challenge ; something to motivate and inspire me, something outside my comfort zone, something that brings me joy, makes me smile and is worth all the effort. It sounded like a big ask, but over the last few days, I've been reminded that every run (or walk) can have a wow factor, something special and unexpected; I just need to be looking for it and appreciate it when it happens. I don't need to wait for the big race days or special events; I just ned to run with my eyes open. We are in Guernsey for a few days and the sun has been shining almost ever since we arrived on Thursday. The first 'wow' came when we arrived at our hotel. After climbing 105 steps to the front door and another 44 steps to our room... this was the view that greeted us: Looking out on St Peter Port from the Ziggurat Hotel Wow! On Friday morning, there was something magical and mysterious about watching t...

This week has mostly been about rest and recovery.... After pushing myself on race day last Sunday, I've taken a few days to live life at a slower pace this week: a leisurely lunch on Monday, skipping this week's early morning run and having a bath instead, completing all my runs at a slower pace and finally finishing a book that's been half-read for a good few months, the final chapter in Sue Grafton's alphabet series, Y is for Yesterday . Farewell to Kinsey Millhone I've been running for almost 8 years now and it's very easy to spend time looking back, especially in a week where I've been in recovery mode with a bit more time on my hands. I have lots of great running-related memories: my favourite race finish on the track in the Olympic Stadium ; taking part in the iconic London Marathon , picking up my group winner prize at the North Staffs Road Runners Awards in 2014; completeing 53 miles on one day at Race to the King ; running in the dark...