jockturner.com

I guess it’s time for another round up since my last post nearly a month ago! Well I was thinking about upgrading to a decent pair of trail running shoes and after much deliberation and research I finally plumped for the Salomon-XA Pro 3D Ultra Shoes-UK9.5-Quick/Alm/Pewter and I have to say they, so far, have been lovely! I’ve run about 4 or 5 times in them over various terrain and have not slipped or suffered any kind of sore feet/blisters at all. They are so comfortable It’s easy to forget you are wearing them sometimes (yes a bit cliche, but true!).

What else, oh yes, Mike has set up a shared site dedicated to our raining efforts for the Mountain Marathon – did I mention we have officially entered the race and will find out at the end of July if we have got in – anyway, yes the site shows a training calendar, training runs, kit lists, links to interesting sites etc and a countdown timer. As of today there are 138 days to the race! OK, that’s quite a few months away but I’m going to need all the training and map reading practice I can get. Plus it gives me plenty of time to build up the gaps in my kit list which will start to get quite expensive by the time I’ve added some technical waterproof jacket and trousers, plus a decent sleeping bag and possibly another tent. Not sure about that yet. It weighs 2.6 kg which is OK but there are a lot lighter out there and I need to get the kit down to bare, but comfortable minimum if I’ve any chance of keeping up with the racing snake, yes I’m talking about you Mike if you’re reading this!

So what else? Yes, I’ve ordered a few goodies for the MM – a mid layer fleece: Montane Men’s Oryx and a front attached water bottle with holder for the rucksack. I’ll let you know more about these when they arrive later this week.

Oh yes, I’ve finally traded in the old Mondeo, well not exactly traded in but sold and upgraded to a Renault Scenic. Not my first choice but was offered at a good price by Jo and Steve as they upgraded to a 7 seater so, being a pretty good all round family car, I went for it. Must say, I’m pretty impressed so far – economic, nippy, comfortable and enough room in the back for luggage, shopping or frisky dog(s). At least I can now share some of the car journeys that myself and Mike are making over the next few months. Also, it means we can use it to drive up country to see Juliette which I hadn’t planned for but now I have the new car it seems an obvious choice for a break at the end of June.

Anything else of note…yes, the central heating is 90% finished and just waiting for the electric pumps, room stat, timer and water cylinder wiring to be completed and then it’s all systems go. Shame it’s going to be hitting the warm summer months when it’s finished but winter will soon roll round again. Also I decided to install the beams in the dining room after much thought and consternation. I think I’ve made the right decision although it’s been a lot of physical work sourcing, transporting, stripping, cutting and mounting the beams into the wall. Not to mention a tidy amount of dust…again! Just waiting for Aaron to wire up some wall lights and I can get the false ceiling up to complete the look. I might post a photy once it’s all finished.

Phoebe’s got a boyfriend and has taken up residence in her bedroom on MSN (I think?), Zach has decided he wants to learn the drums now and has started off with some sticks. Could be a big mistake!!

Anyway, I’m off, catch up again in a week or so.