Who Cares?

The more observant of you may have noticed that a new just giving widget has appeared to the right! We have all been set the task of climbing the combined height of Mount Everest (using fire service ladders) during week 10 of the course (on the Thursday I think!) We chose the charity Who Cares? Scotland who work with kids in care giving them the help and support that we all take for granted. Please help out with this one, as not only is it a great cause...we also have to raise more than the other 9 squads! Picture of Bravo Squad (and the new hair do)to follow!

Fire Fire!

Fire Behaviour week. What a fab week this was. It has just flown by.

Ending our 3 weeks in the ba block brings me to the half way point of the whole course! The last three weeks have been so good. Being introduced to the real thing this week puts all the other stuff learnt in it's place.

As a kid we had a coal fire and I admit that I did used to sit staring into the flames rather than the t.v. A couple of the exercises involved sitting in a room with flames for quite a while, although the flames are gas induced at the college, they are just as mesmerising and hypnotic as they were when I was small.

Next week I'm onto FPOS (First Person On Scene.) A pretty intense week (aren't they all) this time in the class room. That's all for now though as I have to go and get changed for the Tea-party my daughter Lucie has organised. ciao

Running catch up.

Before I start rambling on about Gullane I thought I had better put a bit in about running. I have been managing to get out most evenings for the ususal short run with Lynn which is just enough to keep legs in! On Wed 18th Lynn was away and it was such a beautiful day I skipped the refectory dash at 17:30 and headed out on a route one of the instructors recommended. Basically a right hand route...right at every turn out of the college. it is a pretty flat route but the freedom of running in the daylight was great. it turned out to be 4.6m so I headed out across the dunes 0.8m to the beach, ran along the beach and back adding on another couple of miles. As if that isn't reward enough I then headed out to the much praised chippy...Gullane Super Fry for tea.To my delight I discovered they serve with 'salt and sauce' which I thought was specific to Edinburgh...treats!

This week I did circuits on Mon, a couple of wee evening runs with Lynn and the 4.6loop on Thursday, this time with Lynn. The sky was blue but the wind was unbelievable.....making it a real resistance run..and one to certainly blow away the cobwebs!

5/12

I began the week with a walk along Gullane beach. The weather on the east coast is so lovely compared to the west and the beach is beautiful! Here's some pictures...






The second week of 'ba' and loving it. We also had 3 tests this week which I am relieved to say I passed.

We had a pleasant surprise this week. The girl
I told you about, Donna, who was sent home with a broken arm was in so much pain last weekend she took herself down to the hospital in Glasgow. They dutifully removed her cast and re-xrayed it and guess what? It's not broken AND they set it dislocated!!!!
She's returning on Monday alas not into our phase as she will need to do ba with the other half of the course while we do wierd and wonderful things with cars.

Meanwhile we hafve all been deemed 'safe' to move onto 'Fire behaviour' next week. Will let you know next week if I get scorched.

My friend Karen, (who's also a fab hairdresser) answered my distress call yesterday; I've been having a nightmare with my hair. So now I've got a radical new hair do too....first time it's been short for years but I have enough to think about without worrying about getting balled out about my hair every time I remove my lid!....maybe a picture will follow later;-)

Waterworks 6

I was very short of time today as the boys had a hockey match at 10am. Managed out for 6.3m before they had to scoot off! Ran from the house up round the waterworks via the West of Scotland Rugby club-Esporta then back through Milngavie over Craigduh hill. Ran with Robert. At least I have broken my 3-4mile habit of late and I keep telling myself not to worry about the speed thing!

6.3-56mins

Dams to Darnley

Well no running today but we do go out for a very windy walk in new territory, we investigated to Dams to Darnley! Here's some pictures from our very fresh walk!

The Good the Bad and the Lack of running.

This week has been a mixed week.

The fourth week of the course, one third of the way through. The good part is the course itself, now into BA it has been a brilliant week, learning all about the apparatus and ending the week participating in search and rescue exercises in synthetic smoke.

The bad part was that one of my squad members broke her hand on Wednesday and is now off the course. It was a bizarre accident, directly after our first ba wear which was pretty strenuous...., she sat down and thought she had staved her thumb....turned out to be much worse, dislocating, fracturing AND breaking her hand! So Bravo squad is feeling the gap, it's amazing how quickly you bond as a group. On the up side, once her hand is healed she will get a place on the next course and will ultimately make a brilliant firefighter, so all is not lost.

And so to running. Having not run on Sunday I only managed the usual wee runs although I did throw in 3 hill reps on Wednesday.

Sat: 4m
Monday:Circuits
Tuesday. 3.25
Wednesday: 4.5m (including hill reps)
Friday:3.1m 26mins

Pumps, Ladders and Football!

Gullane Scottish Fire Services College.Week 3 is complete and I am only slightly less knackered than I was last week.
This was a really fun week combining both ladder and pump drills, I won't say that there weren't times in the week when I wasn't sure I had the stamina to get to Friday but one day at a time the week flew in! While the lads in the squad make the ladders look light I have seriously sore muscles from the lifting and pitching the 13.5m ladder- although as the week progressed I think they were getting lighter!? (I managed a couple of cold showers Davie!) 13.5m ladder

Next week my squad is onto BA...Breathing Ap, can't wait!

And so another weekend reminding the kids who I am. And hopefully a more substantial run to follow tomorrow!



Can't have been too bad though as I made it to circuits session on Monday night, ran Tuesday and Wednesday 3.25m each evening..(well I used to call it a warm up/recovery jog but hey ho) and get this...I played five aside on Thursday with the rest of my squad. I wasn't as absolutely hopeless as I thought I might be and I have a new insight into what my two boys like about kicking a ball around a field for now! Life is one big learning experience.

Tired 8

Ran 8 miles with Karen and Robert along the old railway from Strathblane towards Kirky and back. Just missed the rain. Felt tired. No stats as didn't take my garmin but I was pretty slow!

8m
week total 14.5m