Golf and running, actually mostly golf with a tiny bit of running

It's been a great month of sport for me, despite having sprained my ankle whilst out walking the dogs at the end of last month.  I've missed a few games of golf, and my running has been right off the boil, but it was nice to get out and play.

 Many thanks to my playing partners in the various teams I've been part of over the season. Including Linda, Pat, Cath, Sue, Claire, Karen, Lesley, Anne, Janis, Sally, Yvonne, Lesley & Valda (Houghton), and Joan (Hobson).

Had a great day out today at Bedlingtonshire GC too with Pat & Linda, despite torrential rain on the 16th, really enjoyed the course.

I also had the pleasure of watching a load of North East athletes pick up British Masters medals in the BMAF 10000m championships at Monkton yesterday (same day as the NECAA/NEMAA Pentathlon), many grats to the winners, who battled through bouts of rain and wind.  Wish I could have ran but my ankle wasn't strong enough yet, so I was happy to run about and shout at people running!

Results from the NEMAA 5k & BMAF 10k Championships
Results from the NEMAA Pentathlon

Golfing update

I've got running, and my other passion: Golf.  It's a game for masochists. It's competitive, frustrating and enjoyable all at the same time.  It's like snooker on crack, it is all about angles, so you have to think about what you'd like to achieve with a shot, but tiny little variations make a huge difference to the outcome; if anyone wanted a study for Chaos Theory, then golf is the sport.

Saying all that, the better you get the more sensible you can be with your expectations, and the easier it is to try and work out what the wind is going to do, or the direction the ball may bounce when it hits the ground.  That's not to say it won't hit a stone or sprinkler head and shoot off in a random direction mind you, so it's still pretty random.

Since 2012 I've come down from 34 to 14 in handicap (the number of shots over par I'm expected to go round in).  It should be the best I'm able to play to, and I have got round on handicap a few times this year, provided I don't get myself in a right pickle or go for daft shots that Seve would be proud of.

Really enjoying playing mixed with Mr T, opens with the girls, and the team matches for Tyneside: have actually played more matches than I've played singles comps this year!

Running update

Running, so how's it been going since 2012?

I'm now v45 category which helps the Jarrow vets team in so much as I don't drag Heather and Elaine down to the v35s.  I've managed an 800m pb, and some decent times on the track in the 10000m and 3000m, but still nowhere near cracking the 21:00 for 5k.  In fact I doubt I'll ever get anywhere near it, ran 21:48 earlier this year and felt like I was going to vomit, so it's doubtful I'll manage to find 15 seconds a mile.  Full po10 profile is here.

 I do still love cross country, and it's my aim to try and compete at most of them this year.  We now have chip timing for the league so my workload on raceday is dramatically reduced.  There's no excuse for me not to compete other than being totally unfit.

5 year break

 I'd totally forgot about my blog, it was just one of those things I didn't remember I had, a bit like finding a nice coat at the back of a wardrobe.  I needed to set up an easy update news thing for the Harrier League and this was the quick option.  So here I am back after a five year break!

What's happened, well, nothing dramatic, playing golf still, running still (albeit slower), still getting out to scuba dive occasionally.  Still Ladies Secretary for the NEHL, still running cross country, still working.

Major changes: nothing apart from us losing our wonderful dog Murphy aged 13, and the addition of two crazy spaniel puppies.  They are completely nuts, but adorable.