Evening run

Always thought that running in the evening in Tbilisi is dirty and dangerous, but after not being able to drag myself out of bed this morning despite being awake at the right time, and it being a nice day and all, decided to do my morning tour at 6 pm, when it was still day light.

Actually, it was all right - most of the roads were as deserted as always, one road was full of traffic stuck in a jam, and I sailed past it (helpfully downhill, though while I looked around rather gloatingly, I overlooked a downhill step and came to my senses with a jolt). The main roads were a bit busy, but it was ok and manageable.
And that ratty little dog that always tries to chase me and get altogether too close was told off by someone, making its particular corner a bit more pleasant.

And now I'm done till Istanbul - where it'll also be very interesting and hilly - and nice and mild.

First Tbilisi run this year

Wow, it was hard work! After more than two months of running on the flat, or short distances in the gym, one or two ascents were a little bit beyond me. At least the ice had gone in most places, apart from one or two little stretches which I could only gingerly step across....Managed to do all the tricky corners of 'my' route, though I had forgotten about one dog which always yaps too damn close behind me in one place of the route.

Slight disappointment in the supermarket (though tinged with relief) - it no longer had my favourite liquorice-flavoured sweets, which are the reward for the Saturday run. Instead I bought some others which looked like liquorice torpedoes, but they are not....It'll save future calorie
overdoses. Then again, the shop goes through phases - I see it's still in its Kellogg's cornflakes phase - so maybe they'll return after a while.

Pounding the treadmill

Delighted to see rivers of water pour down the streets this evening; at least some sign of thawing. Though the weather forecast suggests that it'll be very cold over the next few nights, like minus 10 or so.

Have had to pound treadmills instead in the Marriott Hotel near my flat. At least I don't have to go far, and it's probably cheaper than the posh sports club far away. Also the Marriott is nice (I used to stay in the Yerevan Marriott - it's very luxurious and I used to have to remove endless pillows from the bed every night, but just sinking in to them, and the solidity of the furniture and fittings - the sameness of the furniture and fittings everywhere.....). At the fitness centre you get free water, lovely Marriott towels (I don't know how they control whether these towels 'take a walk' or not...); which is more than you get at the Impuls sports club in Vilnius for much the same price. You also have a nice view from this Marriott, and in the evening you can admire your svelte figure (or otherwise) in the reflection...

Not very busy - I was almost alone on Saturday morning; this evening I was surrounded by young Georgian men, though some of them exercising only their mobile phone arms (street shoes are such a give-away!). It's nice to know that my running speed, on a flat treadmill, is considerably higher than it used to be. I remember how proud I was to do 3 km in 24 minutes; today I did the same distance in 17 minutes. Probably could not keep that up for a half marathon, though....but practice makes perfect?

Now I can polish my halo a little...but on the other hand, it's only 10 weeks and a bit to the half marathon, and I need to crank up my distances. Please make that ice go away!

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...and still no running....

Here I am, on Saturday morning, sat in front of my computer all dressed to go out for my first Tbilisi run this year - and it has snowed overnight! 'eck!! Not that that would worry me, but it would be impossible to see the ice under the snow, and going for a run in those conditions is impossible. The other night, taking a little lane on the way home, I nearly got stranded on a clean little island in a sea of ice. At least tomorrow we'll go together for our hash, which in a crowd is a bit safer.

Vienna (half...) Marathon on 27 April - I'd hate to work out how many weeks are left until then. Lost a fortnight of training in January, and now almost again - the only gym nearby is in the Marriott hotel and I really don't want to pay for that (though it may be cheaper than a broken bone....).

If I break my neck, arm or leg...

...in the next few weeks it may not just be due to the ice which does not shift at all (yesterday and today my contribution to removing ice in Tbilisi was a total of 20 square centimetres each time), but also to the three gorgeous little pups living downstairs from me.

They are little Alsatians, covered in fluffy fur, what with being forced to sleep outside at the tender age of 2 months, and every time I come in or go out they race along to meet me (or anyone else). Consider that there are stairs into their garden, and bits of the stairs are covered in ice. But you can't put salt in a place used by delicate little puppy feet.

There are clear personalities, with always the same one standing back and surveying the situation a bit while the others just hurtle towards me. They are maternally deprived - not sure when their, rather mad and dangerous, mother left. There is another dog whose hut they sometimes invade (she does not encourage them, and being tied up it's difficult for her to play) but generally they are quite people focused.

It made me think about dog training. Here it's not done to lift dogs to your face, so they stay on the ground and I smile down at them. A long way down! Maybe that'll never give them the idea to jump up? (There's a message to be stored, should I ever get another dog.....) Often if I stand still, they will just sit around my feet and look up expectantly. Perfect opportunity to slip in a casual bit of 'sit' training, while they are so little. But they are not my dogs, so I should not try to educate them.....

I wonder if they will get vaccinated?

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Frosch washing liquid, new mix?

This blog is rapidly becoming hypochondriac's anonymous; was not meant to be....

Has Frosch, the nice environmentally friendly company which makes all the cleaning materials that I have used for the last 7 years, changed their washing liquid mix? Suddenly I am getting allergic reactions to some of my clothes, but recently I've been collecting allergies like smarties. Is there a different mix in Georgia compared to Lithuania - she asks having slipped out of a freshly washed bed and pyjamas this morning with interesting red blotches?

It's not quite what you would expect from an environmentally friendly company.....

You think of everything

....post hernia op, including arranging for someone to help with the luggage, and then you sit in a plane and the safety belt goes right across the scar! Not perfect - glad it was not a long journey.