( 2009 Macau Grand Prix - Race Results  )

( 2009 Macau Grand Prix - Race Report )

( 2009 Macau Grand Prix - Qualifying Race Results )

( 2009 Macau Grand Prix - Qualifying Race Report )

( 2009 Macau Grand Prix - Qualifying Results )

( 2009 Macau Grand Prix - Qualifying Report )

Our lodger, that is... Luis moved into the spare room 6 weeks ago and so far has managed to break a variety of things (including our washing frame, which took some doing), and to say he's a BIT odd is putting it mildly. He used to work at CERN on the LHC, but is now working up the road at the research centre at Caswell, and seems to live in the lab (he goes off to work around 8am each morning and usually comes back around 10pm). When he is home he lives on ready-made sandwiches from Waitrose and pizzas, which he microwaves instead of bakes. Anyway, to return to his general clumsiness, he is, by his own admission, a terrible driver. That being so, what possessed him to do what he did last night? Apparently, doing around 60mph on a straight though narrow country road, on a wet, greasy, cold autumnn night, he decided to test the brakes by slamming them on... and ended up in a ditch!

I despair frankly. Brain the size of a planet allied to the common sense of a lemming, it seems (and yes, I know lemmings are not actually suicidal - perhaps that should be the common sense of a goldfish or something)...

Well, I've just re-qualified as a first aider today, so if anyone feels the need to have a heart attack/cut themselves/fall unconscious and need dragging to the recovery position... I'm your woman! Still can't tie a very good supporting sling though...

I can understand some people complaining about noise if suddenly there's a race circuit on their doorstep, but in this case Spa-Francorchamps has been there for decades - it's not as if it only recently started to operate - and, as the people who have set up this petition point out, as well as having a long and glorious history, it's also a major employer in the area, and a source of income for many who are only peripherally involved with it.

The petition is to be found here.

( Wednesday )

There are more photos of the Palacio and its gardens here.

There are more photos of the hoopoe here.

There are more photos of Faro here.

There are more photos of Faro Cathedral here.

There are more photos of Faro Museum here.

There are more photos of VTerra here.

( Tuesday )

There are more photos of Estoi here.

There are more photos of Milreu here.

There are more photos of Sao Bras do Alportel here.

There are more photos of Alte here.

There are more photos of Faz Gostos and the food here.

( Monday )

There are more photos of Silves Castle here.

Of Silves town here.

Of the Café Ingles here.

And of the restaurant at the Pousada do Palacio do Estoi here.

( Saturday )

( Sunday )

The riot in the pool photos are here.

The racing photos are here.

Photos of Portimao are here.

Happy Birthday, tamaranth!

Having survived the 10k on Sunday, and - despite my serious doubts - completed it in under 70 minutes, I shall post my training schedule (as stolen from several other sites/blogs) in here in case I need it again in future. Despite my initial scepticism, it worked pretty well, and I only really ran out of steam in the final quarter, with the worst of it being the last kilometre.

13 Week Learn to Run Program

Always walk 5 minutes slow and easy to warm up before each session and again to cool down after each session (this is included in the session times).

Week 1
Session 1 - 34 min. Run 1 minute. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 8 times.
Session 2 - 28 min. Run 1 minute. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 6 times.
Session 3 - 31 min. Run 1 minute. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 7 times.

Week 2
Session 1 - 38 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 7 times.
Session 2 - 31 min. Run 1 minute. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 7 times.
Session 3 - 34 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 6 times.

Week 3
Session 1 - 45 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 7 times.
Session 2 - 34 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 6 times.
Session 3 - 40 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 6 times.

Week 4 - EASY RECOVERY WEEK
Session 1 - 40 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 6 times.
Session 2 - 30 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 5 times.
Session 3 - 40 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 3 minutes. Do this 6 times.

Week 5
Session 1 - 46 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 9 times.
Session 2 - 34 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 8 times.
Session 3 - 42 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 8 times.

Week 6
Session 1 - 52 min. Run 5 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 7 times.
Session 2 - 38 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 7 times.
Session 3 - 50 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 10 times.

Week 7
Session 1 - 54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.
Session 2 - 40 min. Run 4 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 6 times.
Session 3 - 52 min. Run 5 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 7 times.

Week 8 *EASY RECOVERY WEEK
Session 1 - 54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.
Session 2 - 38 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 7 times.
Session 3 - 46 min. Run 5 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 6 times.

Week 9
Session 1 - 68 min. Run 10 minutes/walk 1 minute; Run 15 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 20 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.
Session 2 - 46 min. Run 5 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 6 times.
Session 3 - 54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.

Week 10
Session 1 - 72 min. Run 10 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 20 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 30 minutes.
Session 2 - 54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.
Session 3 - 57 min. Run 20 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 15 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.

Week 11
Session 1 - 71 min. Run 40 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 20 minutes.
Session 2 - 54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.
Session 3 - 57 min. Run 20 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 15 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.

Week 12 *EASY VOLUME WEEK
Session 1 - 60 min. Run 50 minutes.
Session 2 - 43 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 3 times.
Session 3 - 52 min. Run 15 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 15 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.

Week 13
Session 1 - 50 min. Run 40 minutes.
Session 2 - 43 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 3 times.
Session 3 Event Day 10K. Have fun, and take care not to start out too quickly.

I've been really bad about writing about our travels this year, but then I've been really bad about writing about anything. Whether that will change or not, I can't really say, but let's try and get on top of things at last. I want to bore you all with words and pictures about Portugal right now.

( Thursday )

( Friday )

There are more photos of Portimao here.

And from the race track here.

I've now posted 37,460 photos on my Flickr pages...

Late as ever, but best wishes to djelibeybi_meg! Hope you've had a great day so far!

There's a sign on the A1081 near Harpenden warning of road closures while the workmen replace bridge "parapits"! WTF?!

The last two weeks have been completely nuts, what with one thing and another. Just to recap, Thursday 10th we flew out to Portugal for an F3 round at the new Circuit of the Algarve near Portimao, arriving late that night. There followed three days of race meeting work, then a brief holiday, and we flew back on Thursday. Flight delays meant that by the time we got in to Birmingham it was 2am on Friday so bed was finally achieved at 3.30am.

Got up at 8 and went to work for the day, then spent Saturday and Sunday at Brands Hatch.

Sunday night got caught in a) Eid celebration traffic in London and b) the tailback caused by the M1 being closed and got home after midnight, only to have to get up at 4.30am to get to Heathrow in time to fly to Dusseldorf for three days of meetings/discussions.

Made it home around 9pm on Wednesday and spent most of yesterday working from home or asleep.

This weekend I plan on switching the phone off and pretending to be dead...