Vacation in England

In Lincoln

This Summer we vacationed for a week in England and another in Scotland. I posted the pictures I took in England on picasa. Anika took some very nice ones. You can see them here.
Not much really happened. We drove around quite a bit to visit various towns and mansions. In most of the latter it would have been difficult to take pictures inside, but it was usually not allowed anyway. It was relaxing.

I like the interplay of the evening light with the tree leaves on the colorful facades.

We had exchanged our timeshare week for a condo next to a golf course in Beltonwood near Grantham. It was very nice but a bit out of the way. Most of the tourists here seemed to be British people. Certainly not the usual Disney World crowd. (I guess a subset would be the proper term.)
I tried to keep up my running as much as possible, but it was not always possible to find the time, energy, or suitable routes. I'm back on a more regular schedule now and managed to finish my 20-miler on Sunday properly, although I was still a little bit slow.

We visited some cool, ancient pubs.

I got a blister on that run and thought maybe it is time to get new running shoes, especially since I did a steep hike and walked ankle deep through a Scottish moor in them (see next blog post ;-) After 300 to 400 miles the midsole starts wearing out, which can lead to painful runs and injuries. I looked through my training log. I have run 270 miles since the Achill half marathon. Another 250 since the start of my training program for the Dublin marathon in May, and another 125 miles at the beginning of the year. I have another 335 miles to go before Dublin, so by the end of the year I should be well past the 1,000 mile mark!
Until I had added all this up I felt like a slacker. Now I don't feel so bad anymore. Math is great! At the moment my short and easy runs are 10 or 11 miles. I do two of those per week, a technical run (tempo, sprints, or hills) midweek, and a long run on Sundays. I guess it adds up.

I took the ferry from Ireland to Great Britain to meet up with everyone else.

I remember only a few years ago dreading 8-mile runs. Now I worry about my 20s, but 8 is really no problem anymore (unless they are tempo runs. I hate those.) On the other hand, it is not that long ago that I started running. Only six years ago Bart talked me into doing the Socorro triathlon. I couldn't run and even a half mile caused severe side stitches and coughing. Now its a love/hate relationship. I still don't particularly like running, but I do like the great feeling a day or two afterward.
And just yesterday I read this article that says that people who become active in their middle age still reap enormous benefits. You may not live that much longer, but the onset of serious or chronic conditions is delayed until much later in live. Of course, they didn't subtract all those long hours you are in pain on your runs, but the math probably still comes out in favor of exercise.