Crunch time! ONLY 1,000 entries to go!

On Monday I have a Committee Meeting as we build up towards our Summer Show at the end of July.

Tuesday I have dog training while L goes to Running Club. She has an Agility, Balance and Coordination Session. So it sounds like the Lad and her are doing pretty much the same workout.

I have an enquiry from a Borderdoodle to join the club, well from its owner. L immediately says she wants one. Which is pretty much the standard response to any puppy photo. They are, however, a lot of money for a mongrel and it’ll only jump the dog gate to eat the post. I’d also expect a tail for that sort of money. 

Subject to what some might say, I have actually forgiven the Lad for not having a tail (sort of). I’m not sure that L has yet forgiven him for not being a spaniel. She does say she has but I'm not allowed to tell him.

I cycle to work on Wednesday. L meanwhile is in London for work. Some have called her a workaholic. In her rush to get to the free biscuits in First Class she seems to have failed to put up the barricade to dog proof the dog gate. I don’t find any postal damage when I get home but I assume the Lad spent the day upstairs.

Thursday is tennis for both L and me. She joins in our warm up before heading off to her own session.

The Brighton Marathon emails to say it’s ‘Crunch time! ONLY 1,000 entries to go!’. I’m keen to do it but I’m waiting for the girls to make up their minds. L’s sister appears to be panicking that L might be serious about entering.  
 

L then tells me ‘If you're entering, I'm entering’. That’s fighting talk. I suppose whether L enters or not is down to whether I click on the clink that is current open in my browser.

She says to ‘Go ahead and click’. So I do. Cue ‘Wow! OMG! Panic! I shall just tell my sister’. Seconds later they are both in. Now ONLY 997 entries to go

Now as she says she just got to get off her bum and train for it. Not that she’s ever sat on her bum. Slumped on her side asleep in the evenings perhaps but on her bum, never. She’s always walking, running, gyming, swimming, tennis-ing somewhere etc etc.

(Thursday 20^th June)

Useful For The Female In Your Life

On Monday morning the park is still locked when we get there. The boys and I walk aimlessly up and down the street for fifteen minutes but no one turns up to unlock it. It’s Half Term, the world goes mad.

L sends me shopping for mincemeat and I am laughed out of Sainsbury’s because it’s February. So, you can buy hot crossed buns all year round but apparently you can only buy mincemeat in December.

L and Daughter go to running club for a spot of intimidation. L has seen that they’ve been putting stuff on Facebook about running nine minute miles tonight and thinks they will try to lose them. I tell her not to be so pessimistic but she turns out to be right, they get dumped. I’m not sure they’ll be going back again.

Thankfully on Tuesday the park in open as usual. So, the boys are relieved. I get to cycle to work in the quiet half term traffic while L looks after the carpet fitters who are doing our back room. In the evening it’s dogging and L also heads over to Derby to see her folks but on the bus. Naturally the three of us don’t think she’s avoiding us.

On Wednesday, my colleague and I take advantage of the usual ‘Wednesday Wow’ at the Yard (2 for 1 pizzas) but find out they have revamped the menu. There’s now a lot more choice but there are also way too many random vegetables chucked into the mix for no good reason. Do artichokes, aubergine, avocado, spinach etc really go well on a pizza?

Derby have a game on Wednesday evening but lose a dire match 1-0 to Millwall. Meanwhile L and Daughter attempt a dog run but abort it when the Lad legs Daughter down. It’s not been a very good running week for them.

Thursday is my long run day and I run home from work again. I have been looking at getting a new Garmin but I’ve not made a decision yet. By the time I’ve decided what I want my marathon will be done and dusted. I do see they now do a watch that tells you how stressed you are... very useful for the female in your life. 

 

After our various activities, L is again at tennis, we crack open a few cans of Guinness Mid-Strength. At 2.8% ABV the 660ml cans work out at 1.8 alcohol units each. So hardly alcohol free but actually rather pleasant. Perhaps a slight upgrade on the Mackeson, which is also 2.8%.

(Thursday 21^st February)

Andrex Puppy

On Monday, I have a dog club committee meeting and L has her running club.

Tuesday, my running club of one meets and I run from work. I have learnt from the horse manure debacle and now run the Long Eaton route which has street lighting. I complete 14.7k and then get Indigo bus home.

Wednesday, is dog training and the Lad has an absolute blast.

On Thursday, I bike to work but dally too long on the park with the boys and I arrive late, having completely forgotten that the whole company is in a meeting about pensions. They all have to wait for me to get changed and to join them before they can start.

I also have squash and afterwards I have to stall for time, by drinking beer in the Dispensary, while I wait for L. She isn’t at tennis this week but has instead gone to a book thing at Waterstones featuring Barbara Kingsolver.

Friday... L asks if I’m doing anything fitness wise. No, nothing. My body is past any more exercise this week. Instead I get bus to work.

L frogmarches the Lad to meet me off the bus so that he can tell me in his own words what he’s done today. Oh. That doesn’t sound good. Turns out he’s had a stab at being the Andrex puppy and it’s not quite worked out for him. Rather then lovingly draping the toilet roll around the house and himself, he’s completely shredded it. It looks like we have our own snow machine. Cute it isn’t.

(Friday 16^th November)

Research Purposes

Monday is a bank holiday and with us heading off to the Faroe Islands on Thursday this means it’s just a two day working week for us.

L heads over to Mickleover on Tuesday to try out their running club and to visit her folks. They apparently have her down to do ‘Slower Snake Intervals’ which sounds like some sort of speed session for the speed phobic. I’m sure she’ll enlighten me later.

I do my speed session on my bike to work on Thursday, as I’m running late, again.

Once at work, it’s time for a Huel bar. They have been giving away free samples of these as a ‘work perk’ but I think they’re having problems finding someone who can stomach them. Even L’s chucked one in the bin and she claims to be the human version of the Lad. Her company has a whole box of them and she ‘kindly’ donated one to me but she says the texture is a bit like soil, which isn't really selling it to me. I may give it a go for research purposes... but not today

(Wednesday 29^th August)

I Go To A Running Club

On Monday, I go to a running club. Now there’s a first, I think. This is a Portland Leisure Centre and normally they meet too early for me but today is a Bank Holiday, so getting back from work isn’t an issue. Would I go again? I don’t know. It was very competitive.

I get home on Tuesday to realise we forgot to hide the peg bag. Note to self: Buy more pegs as we’re now running a bit low thanks to the Lad.

On Wednesday I’m on the bike and get caught in a brief shower which isn’t brief enough. It’s also looks like it might come back for a second go at me when I cycle home but it holds off. Which is a good job as I get stranded after suffering a puncture.

I only got as far as Spondon and I suspect it was caused by a wooden splinter from the ‘It’s a Knockout’ obstacle that’s currently masquerading as the footbridge over the A52. I change the tube but my pump won’t inflate it, probably because the pump is full of this morning’s brief shower. I make plans to stash my bike at a local shop and get the bus home but then L offers to ride out to rescue me which means I can make it on time to dog training.

Therefore on Thursday I’m on my best bike which is like a pair of comfy old slippers and by that I don’t mean they’ve been well chewed by a puppy.

It’s also tennis and my opponent advises I bring a baseball hat, just in case. I’m not sure if that’s just in case it’s sunny again because we both struggled with the sun last week or whether he’s expecting rain. I guess the hat will be dual purpose.

L meanwhile goes over to visit her folks in Mickleover on the bus which can be quite a long arduous journey. I tell her I’ll have a large one waiting for her when she gets home. 

(Thursday 31^st May)