Fetcheveryone Member of the Month
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Interview with LazyDaisy



What advice would you give to anyone starting running? xx
LazyDaisy says: Thanks Linds! I'd say, start gently and build up slowly and steadily. I started with the old 'Run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute and repeat' training advice from Race for Life. I used to long for the one minute walk and thought I'd never be able to run for more than 3 minutes but you do build up the stamina and the muscles - and I didn't get any injuries or niggles!

LazyDaisy says: Thanks Fleecy, and thank you for my alternative name of Latterly ;-). When I joined Fetch in 2010 our much loved Labrador Daisy had just died, aged 15. Much as I love Flossie, Daisy was what some people call my 'heart' dog and I wanted to acknowledge that. And I think I *am* an innately lazy person, but I try to fight against it as much as possible. Much as I'm a thin person cunningly concealed beneath layers of blubber



LazyDaisy says: Thanks Tulip! Hmm... I'm not massively keen on wild moors and mountains but ideally somewhere on the coast, with an interesting city to trot round, would be my ideal running destination. I love somewhere with a great view, or interesting architecture or just local quirkiness. We haven't been to Italy enough, so next Spring I'm thinking a city break somewhere like Florence would fit most of that bill - pity it's not on the coast but at least there's a river!

LazyDaisy says: Wow that's a really tough question! One type of food...something fishy/shellfishy - moules mariniere perhaps? I remember we had a fab turbot dish in France many years ago, it would be very nice to have that again. Not a plateau de fruits de mer though - pulling mussels from a shell is as far as I want to go, I don't like having to use nutcrackers and winkle-pickers to get at my food.
One book - years ago I'd have said Catcher in the Rye but I think I've outgrown it. 'I Capture the Castle' would keep me company until I was rescued (I *am* going to be rescued, aren't I?) or if it was going to be a long stay on this island, Great Expectations would fit the bill nicely.
One Fetchie - no, sorry, I can't do that!



LazyDaisy says: Thanks! Ah that's easy. Forest Plodder and I were at university together and lived in the same house (and shared the same mice under the floorboards!) She was already a marathon runner when I took up running, but it wasn't until she mentioned recording her training on Fetcheveryone that I heard about the website. Up until then I'd been recording my running in a book! Once *I* was a Fetchie, I think the first Fetchies I met were Bint and Pompey Paul - and Fleecy too I think? at the Great South Run. I did see RRR-CAZ at the GSR the year before but wasn't sure if it was him and was too shy to go up to a man I didn't know and say 'Are you a Fetchie?' I have no such qualms these days


LazyDaisy says: Thanks Pedro! Tricky - many people's 'dream' races are marathons or even ultras and that's more my idea of a nightmare. However, having loved Sydney when we visited years ago, the Sydney Half marathon would be fun! If I could be sure of staying injury free as well as having the time and money, I'd love to run (or run-walk, probably) the South West coast path, staying at comfortable hotels or B&B's en route, and with a good massage on hand when I needed it!

LazyDaisy says: Thanks Dio! That's a difficult question to answer because there have been quite a few. It could be something as simple as a club run along the Cotswold edge on a summer evening, when the views stretch for miles in all directions and it's just wonderful to be able to run in a group of friends and listen to larks singing and watch the sun set behind the Malvern Hills; or again, a run in the middle of winter with frost everywhere but I'm all warm and toasty. Races are generally not my 'best' experiences as I always think I could have done better. However doing a triathlon last year is one of my proudest memories. It was well out of my comfort zone but I did it, I finished strongly and I wasn't last!


LazyDaisy says: I honestly don't want to run what you might call a 'traditional' road marathon. I know I would have to train properly for that distance, but having done the odd 14 mile run in training for a Half, I know the boredom of grinding out the miles on the long runs would ruin the enjoyment of running for me. Having said that, crazy though it sounds, something like Beachy does appeal, because it's more like a day out with a bit of walking allowed and friends for company



LazyDaisy says: Thanks FML! I think it's probably 10 miles - far enough to be a challenge but without those annoying last three miles of a Half :-). The next best distance is 10k because I still harbour hopes of getting decent WAVA scores at that distance!

LazyDaisy says: Thanks Columba! I was about 50 and a bit bored - the children were disappearing off to university, OH was heavily into his cycling, my job involved a lot of driving or sitting at a desk and I was doing little physical beyond walking the dog. A weekly aerobics class wasn't enough. Race for Life was fairly new at the time and I thought I'd give it a go. I didn't know any runners so I just followed Cancer Research's training plan. I didn't really get the bug until I'd done two or three RfLs though - then I cracked 28 minutes for the 5k and decided I'd keep going. I nervously entered a race organised by a club, thought they seemed like a friendly bunch, joined the club and that was me hooked


LazyDaisy says: Well I have the Gt South Run coming up in October, and I would like to finish that feeling I've done a good job, so I need to get cracking on some longer runs! As you say, I've had to DNS quite a few races this year so this may be the first year for some years that I won't be getting an age-group trophy at the end-of-year club awards ... but there are still some races left in the series that I can enter and *should* be fit enough to do ok in, so I haven't given up on a 2017 trophy just yet! Next year I really would like to do another tri - OW - but that will be a huge mountain to climb!

LazyDaisy says: Stretch! I'm a big believer in the value of post-run stretching but always seem to forget the pre-run dynamic stretching, don't know why. Then it's a big glass of water.

LazyDaisy says: Thanks Som! Edith. Most unicorns I know, invisible or not, get a bit fed up with being called Princess Pinky-Linky or similar. I would feed *everyone* cake. It's hard to be stroppy when you're being fed cake.

LazyDaisy says: I wish I knew AL! I am very suggestible (?sp) and as a running friend had done it I thought it might be fun to try it out. Maybe I was an early adopter of FOMO


LazyDaisy says: Thanks Owlie! I think anything by Jane Austen (except Mansfield Park, Fanny is too wet) or Charles Dickens would fill my top ten. Austen is funny, clever and insightful, and Dickens creates such a vivid world. Mind you, I used to love the Famous Five stories and really enjoyed reading them again to my children when they were small, because they evoke a fantasy world where children can have exciting adventures, come out on top and still have cake for tea


LazyDaisy says: Thanks LG. Road, for sure. I'm a bit wimpy on trails as I'm always worried about twisting my ankle. Having said that I do love running along the top of the Cotswolds on the short grass the sheep graze on, because of the fabulous views. When I go out for a run by myself it's pretty rare that I'll chose a trail run even though we live within 100m of some great paths!

LazyDaisy says: Thanks, but I'm not sure how to answer that question Decorum! I don't think it would be my nemesis because I can multitask like a demon if need be. I do admit though that my BusyLizzie persona has taken a bit of a back seat since I gave up work - it's so true that when time is short you waste far less of it. I can spread my busyness over more hours or days now


LazyDaisy says: Thanks BBL! Not really, because Labs are not bred to run and run like some other breeds, though I know some people do run with their Labs and the dogs love it. Our first Lab developed quite bad arthritis, and we've tried to protect our subsequent dogs from going the same way by not over-exercising them as juvenile dogs. In addition to which, I'm not mad keen on trail running myself



LazyDaisy says: Thanks Carp! Great minds think alike - see my answer to AL above!


LazyDaisy says: Thanks Happy G! As I said above, start gently, but once you've got going, my very top tip would be to join a club. I wouldn't have run half as much, or had half as much fun doing so, as I have as a member of a good (ie, friendly and inclusive) club. In some ways now parkrun fulfils the role of a club in that it's both friendly and inclusive and you can get to know other runners, but there's so much more to running than 'just' a 5k on a Saturday morning. Enter a race or two, cheer on other runners, arrange some training runs with run buddies - can't beat it!

Wherefore Sidmouth?
LazyDaisy says: Thanks! We wanted somewhere within reasonable driving time - we love North Norfolk, and Cornwall, but getting to either on a Friday would take far too long and we felt we'd end up hardly using the house because of the time spent in the car. We also wanted somewhere that didn't completely die in the winter. We'd been to Sidmouth once many years ago and liked it so one dull December weekend we went and had a recce. Only 2 hours 10 minutes to get there - first box ticked; even on a miserable day there were plenty of people out and about (including a vintage cycling group which OH took as A Sign :-)), it wasn't just full of OAPs, there were interesting shops, a cinema, and a theatre. Second box ticked! Luckily the type of house we wanted was within our price range, unlike the ludicrous prices in South Devon. Oh, and finally, son2 lives in Exeter so we get to see more of him than we might have done otherwise. It's been a great choice, and we love spending time down there at any time of the year.

LazyDaisy says: Why thank you! Anywhere would be good and if there was a big Fetchie turnout that would be the icing on the cake! I'm planning on Poole parkrun on Saturday 29 July, and of course I'll be in Copenhagen in September. My core team mates are actively thinking about a road (+ferry) trip to Bere Island parkrun.ie which does sound pretty special!

LazyDaisy says: Thanks Westmoors. That's an interesting question, and it's a hard one to answer. By nature, I love meeting people - I will and do talk to anyone - and most people are interesting or intriguing or thought-provoking -or worrying! :-). I'd like to meet David Cameron to know if he manages to sleep at night having unnecessarily foisted the referendum and its consequences on us; conversely I'd like to meet the Dalai Lama as he seems such a thoroughly decent person and I'm sure I'd come away feeling positive and joyful


LazyDaisy says: My Fetch initials are LD. Not long after I started posting on the 700 thread I shared TMI with the lovely people on that thread about an unfortunate running incident courtesy of my cantankerous colon (tm V'rap). Fleecy, in that compassionate, kindly way she has


To my shame, I never read anything in French or German these days. I should, shouldn't I? I have plenty of books I could read - a whole trunkful of novels from university days. Maybe once I've finished my 'Read a book published in each year of your life' list I shall get that trunk open again. I know what book I'd start with - Celine, Voyage au Bout de la Nuit. I'm an optimist, not a pessimist, but I remember being really engrossed in that novel.