Planning...

We've had our EEEEEK meeting at the parlour with just a week to go. It's a great place to have an EEEEEK meeting - not only is there lovely scenery, but also ice cream, chocolate flake, cappuccino, hot chocolate and malt cake with creamy butter. Obviously it counts as 'training' as we were planning tactics (or 'how to get round' as we like to call it)... And we discussed our start time as the organisers have sent out details as follows:-

11.00 Wave 1 - Runners who can confidently run 10km in under 50 minutes (OMG - people can actually DO that??)

11.05 Wave 2 - Runners who can confidently run 10km in under 52 minutes

11.10 Wave 3 - Runners who can confidently run 10km in under 55 minutes (these are very accurate timings - we tend to go by the hour)

11.15 Wave 4 - Runners who can confidently run 10km in under 57 minutes

11.20 Wave 5 - Runners who can confidently run 10km in under 1hr (hooray, look - an hour!)

11.25 Wave 6 - Runners who can confidently run 10km in under 1hr 5 minutes

11.30 Wave 7 - Just happy to get round and complete the course. (YAY! We've found our wave at last!)

Then Fit Mark points out that there isn't a wave for us.... he reckons there should be another one:

11.35 Wave 8 - Lucky to get to the start.

What a wag, eh? Still, on the plus side, on his 'proper running' yesterday apparently he ran smack into a low branch which knocked him off his feet, Keystone Kops style, and put him on his back. And we missed it! Bummer... That'll teach him to go off 'proper running' on his own...

So we think we're all set. Obviously, being the Team Leader (actually, I'm not, that really has to be Fit Mark as he's the only one who has even the vaguest clue what we're doing) so, um, being the One Who Had The Idea Of Being a Team In The First Place (good, a snappy title, loving it) I made up team packs for my team mates...

Ice Cream Sian's bag had a team vest (I hope it fits), a big towelly thing to get dry and changed in afterwards (apparently we're going to get wet or muddy or something), a rubber car mat (to stand on when changing in big towelly thing), wet wipes (to get clean with), Lucozade sport (for energy), Jelly Babies (for more energy) and a bubble wand and party poppers for the party afterwards.

Fit Mark's bag had less in it because he's smart enough to already have a big towelly thing and a rubber car mat to stand on. So he got the team vest (which he says he'll try out tomorrow), wet wipes (also to get clean with), Jelly Babies (he doesn't need energy but it wouldn't have been fair not to give him some), beer (which he says he'll drink on the way round) and a bubble wand and party poppers for the party afterwards. Or on the way round, it depends how much time he has hanging around waiting for us to catch up once he's finished the beer...

So that's the Mud Runner sorted, apart from the running bit. And I've also been planning for the Bristol 10k on 15th May... I'm running with my nephew Charly who will be dressed as a crocodile. He rang today so we also discussed start times and run times. The line was bad but when I told him my expected time I could have sworn he said something about 'very slow' and 'run on ahead' and 'see you at the finish' but I probably misheard him. All I will say is that, Charly, if you abandon me, think carefully about 'Christmas' and 'presents' and 'Aunty Sarah'...

I promised I would find a suitable outfit to accompany a nephew dressed as a crocodile and I think I've got it sorted with this:

Don't worry about the sheep. It's a red herring...