Tag Archives: running

Ten Little Stars and Half-Marathon Recovery

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This week, I’m…

Recovering from the Glasgow half-marathon

Ladies and gents, I did it. It wasn’t fast, and it certainly wasn’t pretty, but yours truly stumbled across the finishing line two hours and fourteen minutes after setting off.

Glasgow’s half-marathon is popular as the course is flat (ish, not quite as my rose-tinted ten years ago experience recalled) and many people achieve personal bests. I was thankful for its flatness, but speed wasn’t coming into it. Glasgow joggers run the gamut of weather types in late September, and the day was no exception – overcast and cloudy at first, then bright sunshine, heavy rain half-way through and repeat.

The crowds turned out to cheer us on. Little kids high-fived as many runners as were willing (me, every time), witty signs read Good Luck Random Stranger! This is great practice for the zombie apocalypse, and someone who’d drawn the poo emoji and asked if anyone needed one yet…

Grateful thanks to my support crew—my husband, my mum and her partner Neil, who cheered me on at the start and the end.

Eating pasta

A race always means a reward meal—I opted for a protein, carb and fat overload in the form of Beef and Mac ‘n’ Cheese. You can buy this, but have you ever eaten a shop-bought mac ‘n’ cheese that made you sigh in contentment? No, I thought not. Most manufactured versions stint on the best bit, when the dish should be more a case of, would you like some pasta with your cheese?

To continue the celebration theme, I washed the lot down with a decent helping of pink Cava.

Writing short stories

Ten Little Stars by Emma BairdIn an attempt to the ‘game’ the Amazon system, I’m putting out a book of short stories a mere thirty days after publishing the last book…

I’m not sure what this achieves, except that I’ve seen it written about in ‘places’. My search history* is too vast to revisit anything unless I remember to do so an hour later, so heaven alone knows where I read that or if it’s even viable. But I have read it a few times so here goes!

Book marketing experts also bang on about the importance of the mailing list—*sighs*—and this book might end up being my freebie incentive. Sign up to my mailing list** and you too could be the proud owner of this free book, kind of thing.

I’ve served up a mix of vampire tales, modern love dilemmas and a bit of historical fiction. The book is available for pre-order here and here.

Making spicy stuff

This year’s chili crop will outlast us. Good people, we grew a lot of chilies this year as you can see. And I’ve already made the rookie mistake—gosh, aren’t they small, better put a few of them in YEOWCH—so it’s one or two per recipe max. Thankfully, they freeze. Our house is about to become Curry Central.

Dieting the cat

Cat emotional manipulation expertise 1. Emma determined to hold out on number of feeding intervals 0.

Freddie’s vet visit and vaccination beckons, and I’d like to escape the annual lecture on the size of him. He’s bordering on moggie obese. So, a few weeks of strict portion control, no treats and definitely no sly helpings of ham.

Yeah, good luck with that one.

 

*And VERY confusing for Google.

**Which will of course be 100 percent GDPR compliant.

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Book Covers, Fish and Chips and More…

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This week in pictures…

Three runners cross the start line at the Paisley 10k

Put your hands in the air just like you just don’t care… (I’m on the right).

Completed the Paisley 10k. With a slower time than I did for the 10k I ran at the start of June (1.03 as opposed to 1 hour 58 seconds), HOW, HOW, HOW? (#Emails organisers to double check they measured the route right#) Weirdly, I felt much more comfortable than I did back in June as the day was a lot cooler and the course flatter. Hey ho!

And still a feeling at the end of it akin to “Feck! For the half-marathon next month, I’ll have to do all this again and then some…”

fish and chips McMAte fish and chips to celebrate. Well, battered fish and mushy peas, anyway. My Fitbit told me the run used up 590 calories. Usually, I’m a low-carb gal, but my glycogen-starved muscles shrieked carbs loudly by the end of my run. And battered fish expertly cooked and doused in salt and malt vinegar is a glorious thing. McMonagles claims to be the world’s first sail-thru fish and chip restaurant.

AT VERSIONSSorted out the cover for Artists Town, my forthcoming book. It’s beautiful, hmm? Jennifer Underwood did the cover for me. Now, to decide on a release date and hope it recoups its costs. And persuades people to buy some of my other books.

fruit and nutBought some fruit and nut. Not that I’m going to eat it…* This week marked the eighth anniversary of my dad’s death and one of his favourite things to eat was Cadbury’s fruit and nut.

As food is often one of the things that brings us together – as family, as couples, as friends, as neighbours – it has always seemed appropriate for my family and I to mark the occasion this way. My sister and her kids did it with sausages, beans and mash.

a ginger and white cat sitting on a window sill Welcomed a new part-time resident. Meet Mr Biggles, whose ‘home’ if you can ever call one place a cat’s home, is two doors up from us. Of late, he’s taken to spending increasing amounts of time Chez Baird-Birnie.

His official residence contains two adults, one other cat, three kids and a dog, so perhaps he likes the peace and quiet of our house?

How’s your week been? And where the best place for fish and chips near you?

 

*Well, a weak moment might happen at some point later next week…

 

Builder Etiquette, Mini-Eggs and Stupid Things You Do In January

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This week, I’m…

Admiring my cat’s ability to get comfortable everywhere. We’ve got the builders in and the house is covered in scaffolding. A nice sunny day and a bird’s eye view over the surrounding gardens? I’ll take that, he said.

Pondering builder etiquette. How many cups of teas and coffees do I offer? One in the morning, one in the afternoon? Should the tea be dead strong, as builder mythology suggests? And biscuits? Do Marks & Spencer’s salted caramel teacakes spur them on to finish more quickly than a bog standard Rich Tea?

And what, in the name of everything, is acceptable re the loo? I don’t know where they’re going to the toilet. This haunts me. Do I offer ours? You know what I’m going to say next. “Chaps! Please, use our toilet. But not, you know, for a number two…”

Watching The Frankenstein Chronicles. Seriously creepy, but seriously good! I do love finding a series to watch twelve nights in a row.

Wishing I hadn’t impulsively entered the Glasgow half-marathon. Seemed like a cool idea in January. When it was eight months away. February and StormEmma happened. Then I got a bad cold and ended up in hospital. The regular as clockwork runs stopped.

Plus, running for two hours?! I don’t mind pounding the pavements for half an hour or so. After that, not so much. Ah well. I can always walk it.

Persuading my pelvis to tilt back and forth. I do love a Pilates class or two, but isolating your pelvis is a tricky move. Seriously. You try it. Bodes well for my old lady future, tho’.

Gearing up for a family gathering. We’ll be marking Easter at my sister’s home in Edinburgh. EB and other half, siblings one and two, their husbands and kids, my mum, her partner and his daughter. A big roast* and a tonne of chocolate will feature. There’ll be a mini-eggs hunt post-lunch. And I’m warning you kids. I will win this. You don’t get concessions just because you’re young and wee**.

Googling things to do in Crete. At some point, hopefully soon, I’ll go outside and be warm. In the meantime, I fast-forward myself to October and imagine cloud-free blue skies, turquoise waters and the sun shimmering above me.

 

 

*Fingers crossed for lamb! But buying lamb to feed fifteen would bankrupt you.

**Actually, all but two of them are now bigger than me.