Hydration, hydration, hydration

Hydrate! I must hydrate!
I feel like I need a little drill Sergeant sitting on my shoulder shouting "Drink more water!"

My run on Monday was fantastic but yesterday's run was a complete polar opposite. As previously blogged, I am one of nature's foul weather runners but with the paths so over growth I was getting hit by wet Triffids who's idea of a laugh was to test the water carrying capacity of my jogging bottoms.
About a mile in to the run I had to stop and, I kid you not, wring out the bottom of my trousers - I got a good cup of water out of each leg.
I also had to tie my joggers up at the waist to stop the extra weight pulling them down, a disadvantage of losing weight is the added chance of losing your dignity!

The irony of this run was that whilst outwardly I was soaking, inside I was dehydrated and as a consequence I got the stitch from hell; a gift from the Daemon Sloth, patron dark lord of couch potatoes and fast food outlets.
I know some people still argue about what causes a stitch but for me they always happen when I have not drunk enough, so there's no mystery for this FraidyKat.
Feel free to experiment and find out what your trigger is, but from now on my little drill Sergeant will stop me from getting it wrong as I do my best to escape from the springtime Triffids and their plans to soak the world.



Spring is a dangerous time in the country and not just because of over protective ewes and curious lambs. Spring is when the plants grow, the Triffids multiply, the brambles migrate and the trees burst into bright mesmerising bloom - and the less said about flowers spreading their seed the better, they are the world's ultimate doggers, they don't care who see's them and beastiality is one of their favourite things, eew. Save us from nature.

FraidyKat Runs - away from Triffids

A nice long soak

There's nothing quite like escaping from it all with a nice long soak, it's a pity there's no wine and there's certainly no bubble bath. Not this time.
This nice long soak was a little on the fresh side.
FraidyKat learned today that "squelch" can be an annoying noise on a run, and all the more so when it's the noise from your trainers every time they hit the path!
I had to run today, I wanted to and I needed to, so I did. Never mind the constant rain that contributed to the squelch, that is a necessary evil and only really a semi evil at that (quasi evil, the diet coke of evil, just one calorie, not evil enough - Austin Powers).

But today I did a 3 mile run with just two 1 minute walks in the middle. At the end of march I could just about manage 1minute running before I had to drop it to a walk for 90seconds. Now two months later it's 12minutes running and only 1walking. That's a huge difference.
I'm also 3kg lighter. I've got a long way to go but it's step in the right direction.



Going in the wrong direction is my weather app Accuweather. It's been producing some really fun temperatures recently.
Today I checked it just before heading out and according to Accuweather it was 54C. Yes, 54 degrees Celsius. I hit refresh and it went down to 12C.
This is the best one I've had so far:

Temperature Oops

That's a serious heatwave.
The highest recorded temperature before this was 56.7C, in Death Valley, but according to Accuweather that's nothing. Dear Partner's phone even fleetingly showed 73C yesterday. Now that's global warming!



Or is it a terraforming exercise being run by extraterrestrials?
As far as conspiracy theories go it's no worse than many of the others out there.
Why shouldn't little green men, or greys, want to create a slightly warmer holiday spot for themselves? They must need time to unwind too, after all that cattle mutilation and those military base fly bys they just want to hang up their ray guns and relax by the mercury swimming pool.


FraidyKat Runs - for a nice long soak

Rain and temporal showers

Okay,  cold showers are good.

FraidyKat might be crazy but my run this evening was nice because it was raining. It made it cool so I didn't get hot and sticky. 
I'm finally starting to feel my stride again. It's taken two long months and lots of vigilance (who wants a vampire sneaking up on them mid run? Not me - in case you missed the memo, runners are vampire hunters who use themselves as bait; there's a perfectĺy rational explanation, honest) but I now feel like I'm making progress. It's just a case of slowly building stamina rather than relearning how to run.

The only real oddity today was the techno-flu that seems to have suddenly infected my phone.
The S Health app I use (it was pre-installed on the Samsung) has thus far been great. Throw on gps, set your goal and go for a run. It tracks your route, elevation changes, speed - it gives you a chart like a lorry tachograph, although of course much slower - it'll even track your heart rate is you have a monitor it can pair with. It also takes your weight and calculates your calories. Up until now this has been fine, 200 to 400 calories seems about average for now, so why today was it insisting I had burned over 3000 calories?!

I can only conclude that either there was a glitch in the app or I got stuck in a time loop somewhere on the run. Come to think of it, that last run did feel like it took an awfully long time to climb. Hmm...

Just like British voters, evil creatures don't care for the rain. It makes for peaceful runs but temporal phenomena seem attracted to storms, why else would rainy days during the holidays go so slowly?

FraidyKat runs - away from timeloops
FraidyKat runs - away from timeloops
FraidyKat runs - away from timeloops
FraidyKat runs - away from timeloops
FraidyKat runs - away from timeloops
FraidyKat runs - away from, oh you get the idea

Muscles Fairies & Nutrition

Where did my muscles go?
Something stole them in the night and gave them to a body builder in need.

Perhaps that's what happens to unused muscles - it would explain why lack of use makes them disappear.
Tiny muscle fairies undertake regular spot audits, checking your muscles blackboxes for usage information. If they are under utilised they are labelled surplus to requirement and sent to a holding yard ready to be transferred to someone who's muscles are being overloaded with work.
To get new muscles therefore, you need to have consistent over usage to make the muscle fairies put you on their transfer list.

I am going to get myself to the top of the muscle waiting list.
My legs are not too bad for muscle but my upper body is shockingly bad and so much in need of new muscle it's embarrassing . I'm going to have to over haul my training plan and return to doing the circuit training.



After that it's some major nutritional research.
I don't know how it is for everyone else, but there's a lot going on in the FraidyKat mythical critter factory and it's really picky about it's fuel.

Nutrition needs to fulfill the following:

• Facilitate fat loss
• Promote muscle growth
• Encourage muscle recovery between workouts
• Give energy for those workouts
• And most importantly - Produce quality milk for the youngest Chaos agent (FraidyKat is a five star fuel refinery and distribution centre)

All those needs are more than just a calories in-out calculation.
Compound them with gallstones (low fat diet only while on the NHS snail paced waiting list) and occasional bouts of IBS and you have a calculation worthy of the mysteries of the universe (42!).

Until I win the lottery (I can dream) and get my full time chef, nutritionist and personal trainer, I suppose I'll just have to keeping taking the supplements - pregnacare, expensive but I trust them - and keep on basic low fat foods while trying avoid the trap of the 'low fat' labelled foods that reduce their fat by ramping up their sugar.
When did eating become so complicated?


Little Mogs has suddenly stopped bringing home little squeaky offerings and begun spending her time hiding in the bedroom. Either the giant rats have migrated from the towns or a mousegod has moved into the long grass next to the Paddock and his guarding his kin.
I'll let you know when the plague of mice begins and when the cheese offerings are needed.


FraidyKat Runs - for Fairy Auditors

Foul weather runner

It's official, FraidyKat doesn't like heat.

Apart from having a supernatural ability to burn on overcast days (factor 50 is how this Kat rolls), I really don't react weĺl to hot weather.
A few weeks ago I wussed out of a run because it was raining and my old running jacket still doesn't fit.

*Sigh* still working on the weight loss - 14kg since December but still the same to go again, it's a long journey.

Now I realise that I would have felt happier getting soaked than getting baked. I must be one of a very few number of people praying for a mild summer.


In any case, the hydration bladder is fantastic and very needed in this melting weather.
I drink a lot while running but the weight of the 2litres of drink I compulsively carry  is evenly distributed on my back instead of lumped in awkward bottles and I don't really feel it.
Yes,  I acknowledge a lot of people carry bottles in their hands and I see an astonishing number of people who apparently run without any liquids (how??? I would collapse before the need of the road without drink).
I simply can't join with the drinkless, it's not for me. To this end I have come up with the following advice - don't buy the cheap random unbranded bladders on ebay. You might get a good one but the chances are you'll get a suspect one and wind up with a soggy back (bitter experience of a bargain hunter).
Only once have I stumped up the cash for a genuine Camelbak and if they weren't so expensive I would stick with them, for both seal of the bladder and quality of bite valve.
Currently, I have a bladder from Mountain Warehouse in my bag. I only went with it because they had a BOGOF in the store but I haven't been disappointed. No leaks (the important thing) but the lever on the bite valve is a little too stiff for easy use on the go. I'm hoping it loosens up with use.

Apparently, I have spent too long watching Doctor Who recently. Statues make me suspicious, I watch them carefully in case they move. It's okay at the moment but if I ever see one blink I'm out of there!

FraidyKat Runs - from hot Summers

Story Time 1.8 - Heir Hunt

WARNING: The following is not edited and there will be spelling and grammar mistakes. Sorry.
Please read forgivingly (and if you have the time corrections are welcomed).

The Colonel was right about the door, no one came to get him before he heard the shooting start outside. After the going over they treated him to they obviously did not expect him to be able to withstand another session too quickly, they had forgotten they were dealing with a combat veteran. They were not the first people to hold him prisoner and this time more than any other he had a very good reason to force himself up and moving. The next few minutes would be extremely painful, there was no way to avoid the burns the striped down rifle would give him, but he would gladly take the injuries to protect his young charges.

He was so proud of his cadets when he opened the door to their cell. The eldest ones were up and defending the youngsters, ready to fight whoever came at them. Of course they were scared but they were doing their best not to show it.

There was the inevitable moment of shock when they saw him, he had not seen himself in a mirror but he could guess he was a awful state to behold. “We've got reinforcements outside. Let's go.”

Hesitation evaporated with the order to move. They were good cadets.

It was a blood bath, there was no way it could have been anything else, but as Chase crouched at Jona's side, closing his blank eyes, he wished he could have thought of a better way. He had already lost so many men, letting another one go was hard, but at least it had been a clean shot, a heavy rifle shot to the chest had killed him instantly.

The blast of the Colonel's rifle scythed through the cave and added further madness to an already chaotic battle and a blackened apparition appeared at the head of a dozen young warriors.

“Captain Chase, I presume.” the apparition spoke

Chase looked up at the figure. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. I think now is a good time to leave, don't you.”

“Retreat, all squad, retreat, by the numbers, we have what we came for.” Chase knew a hint when he heard it and their objective was now achieved. “Is this all of you?”

“Yes.”

Chase nodded and led the way, seeing out of the corner of his eye the teenage boy who knelt briefly at Jona’s body and retrieved the rifle and comm-unit. He froze when he realised what he was seeing but he forced himself to move again, Jona no longer needed the equipment and if the boy was anything like Se-se he would be able to make good use of it.

Somehow the retreat was orderly, and they returned to the outside of the caves to find not one of the false aliens in sight, they had all been dealt with in short order when the attack began.

As a final parting shot, Castleman discharged the last of the energy of his heavy rifle into the cave entrance. There were a few short screams from inside and then nothing.

Unceremoniously, he then dropped the remains of the heavy rifle and was offered an M82 rifle by a boy at his side. He looked at it and raised a hand to take it but cancelled the gesture as he covered a grimace. “You keep it, Dosser, the Captain's going to lend me his pistol.”

Chase opened his mouth to object but stopped himself when he realised the Colonel had turned down the weapon most likely because he would have struggled to hold it. The burns from the cut down heavy rifle were masked by black charring but would be enough to make shouldering a rifle all but impossible. Feeling for the older man as his own injury left him finding the use of his rifle getting steadily harder, Chase unclipped the holster at his side and handed over his father's pistol, the weapon he had been gifted with when he completed officer training. He had never let anyone else handle it, giving it to the Colonel was an honour the man would not understand.

“Thank you,” Castleman automatically checked the magazine and chamber before subjecting this younger officer to a searching look. “Where’s my Sergeant?”

“In the forest, I was hardly going to bring her into this.”

“Good. Lead the way.”

But before they had even reached the edge of the trees there was the blast of a heavy rifle and a short, high pitched scream.

“Babel!” Castleman roared, and then shouted a series of words in a language Chase had never heard before.

The teenagers around the Colonel suddenly disappeared into the forest.

“Colonel what-?” Chase questioned, running to keep up with the elder officer who was making an impressive turn of speed for someone obviously so injured.

“They know what they’re doing, Captain.”

Crashing through the forest without any pretence at quiet, they arrived at the glade moments behind Babel squad.

A young boy stood beside the body of Bateman, the fallen man’s rifle already in his hands.

Castleman looked at the lad. “Lin.” he prompted.

“Single shot to the head, sir, no other signs of injury. And no sign of the Sergeant.”

A tall girl emerged from the trees. “Three people came in, four left, one being carried. It’s an easy trail to follow, they weren’t being subtle.”

Castleman nodded and turned to Chase. “How many men have you got?”

Chase winced. “There are-” his jaw clenched and he tried not to look as an injured Leeson was carefully sat down by Felton and Shaw. “There are four of us.”

“My squad need any spare comms and weapons you have.” There was a sympathetic look from the Colonel. “You need all the help you can get.”

As Castleman spoke one of the older teenage boys from Babel disengaged himself from the rest of the group and made a beeline for Leeson, talking quietly and reassuringly as he made expert use of the triage kit Lin liberated from Bateman's body and threw to him.

All of the other remaining supplies were divvied out, but there was not enough for everyone. Even so, none of the children complained, instead they waited patiently for the Colonel to address them.

Castleman waited until they were kitted out and the marines who were able were on watch around them before he took a long breath and spoke. He hated himself for using the children like this but it had to be done. “We have one priority now, to retrieve Sergeant Elisia.”

There was a nod from his young Corporal. “Retrieval with extreme prejudice as per last summer’s exercises, sir?”

“Well remembered, Mike. This time we’re not fully equipped so pair up if you’re lacking. Jayne, you’re on point, show us the way. Joe, you missed the exercise so you hang back with me, you’re good on your feet so if we need a runner it’s you. No getting cocky, no heroics, this is not an exercise, this is real.” Castleman looked from face to face. They all looked back with sombre expressions, there was fear in their eyes but also determination. They would make him proud. “Find them, surround them, pick your targets and wait. Nothing happens until I give a go. Any questions?”

Babel squad were silent.

“Good. Go.”

Within seconds, the children were gone, melting into a forest they knew well.

Chase turned to the Colonel then. “I have a question. What do we do?”

“You’re back up.” Castleman shook his head. “If you had a full team I’d have sent you ahead, but you’re battle scarred and Babel do know what they’re doing. Whether they realise it or not, they’ve been training for this all their lives, I just didn’t expect them to be needed so soon.”

“You expected trouble?” Chase frowned, wondering if he had missed something.

“The Empire isn’t without enemies. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. If nothing else, I was hoping all the training would help them in the future. They’re good kids.” Castleman turned to where Leeson was still being dealt with. “Jay, how are you getting on? Can he be moved?”

There was a moment of hesitation from the teenager. “I need longer and I'll need an extra pair of hands to get him up but we won't be quick.”

“Do the best you can. You've got an extra pair of hands right there, I'm sure he won't leave his buddy behind.” Castleman indicated to Shaw as he hovered worried beside his badly injured friend.

“No, sir,” Shaw confirmed. “I won't.”

“Follow us as soon as you can and do your best to keep up, I hope we won't need you but,” the sentence was left unfinished.

“Understood, sir.” Jay did not need the full sentence, he had heard Se-se's scream and knew there was little chance of finding her uninjured from the way it had cut off so sharply.

Joe looked up expectantly at the Colonel. He was new to Babel, only recently having joined their ranks from the much simpler club that was Nova, and he wanted to understand what the Colonel was talking about but he did not want to let the squad down and look like a complainer.

Castleman looked down at the gangly lad. “Let’s move.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Chapter 5

Moving silently, watching for any changes in the trail, Jayne led the squad. They were out of sight behind her, but she knew they were there. She was used to being on point, her parents were the colony hunters and they had taught her tracking from a very young age until she could almost see the quarry from the trail they left. It was a source of pride for Jayne that the Colonel thought so highly of her skills and asked advice from her at times on tracking techniques.

The main worry on Jayne’s mind as she followed was that Se-se was obviously being carried and whilst there was no blood, there was no way of knowing what condition Se-se was in. She had to concentrate, to settle into the hunt and treat it like one of the many exercises the Colonel had set up for them in the past. That was all it was, another exercise that would end in a little party around a fire with well done sweets and the usual fun. If only she could believe it the situation would be so much easier. She narrowed her eyes and stopped, crouching. “New trail.” She stared at the tracks in the dawn gloom, daring them to give up their secrets. “Four more people joining the quarry, moving fast but heavy. They did not stop here.”

“Acknowledged,” came the response from Castleman. “Continue.”

At the back beside the Colonel, Chase frowned at the noise greeting his ear, he did not understand a word of it. He looked across at Castleman for an explanation.

“Babel, no one listening in can understand it.”

“Including me.” Chase grumbled. He was feeling strangely detached and confused. They had found the Colonel and rescued the children at such a high price only for those children to be behaving in like well trained soldiers and taking it all in their strides with nearly superhuman calm.

Castleman relented, the Captain had done his best to help and for it had just lost a lot of his men. They both had their own issues to overcome. He gave the required translation.

FraidyKat Runs - from Pain Pixies

Grin!

Here's why FraidyKat is grinning:

That's my first grade for Defence Lab.
It's the easy one, just the very basic stuff we all learned in the last three months.
Before the Chaos Agents arrived FraidyKat studied Kung Fu and reached Purple Sash (that's the sixth grade - three more would have got me to Black), so technically I guess I shouldn't be too chuffed yet, I've got a long way to go to equal that standard, but it's always good to learn something new.


When in doubt, learn something new or do something that scares you. Every day.
Live life like the adventure it is - enjoy it because no one ever gets out alive!



What is it with the weather right now?
A very British question, I must say, but apt.
For the last couple of days it's been brilliant sunshine one minute and lashing down with rain the next. I have the distinct impression that a run tonight will inevitably lead to a soaking.
I have nothing against showers, I would rather be FraidyKat than SmellyKat, but for preference hot beats cold. Dear partner accuses me of liking the shower scolding hot and complains that it's always too hot when he climbs in (wuss), personally I don't see the problem.
I'm just testing the speed of running like a scolded Kat!


So, the reservoirs are full, the water table is high and the rivers are running well. Poseidon is laughing at the metoffice and toying with environmentalists and their predictions of watery disaster.
The old Gods are rising once again. They have tolerated the power hungry monotheistic beliefs while they have slumbered but now they begin to awaken once more and they are letting their presence be felt.
Sharpen those sickles and polish the sacrificial altars, if they decide to wake up fully we'll be in trouble if we're unprepared.
Watch out for vengeful lightening and avoiding wearing metal armour!


FraidyKat Runs - for Adventure