another day another medal – Santa 5K

Yesterday I ran a Santa Fun Run in aid of a local charity which raises funds for carefully chosen projects where children are in distress through whatever life has thrown at them, war/disaster zones, poverty, sickness, homeless and on larger scales children that are orphaned.  A brilliant charity I’m sure you’ll agree.

Check out my Christmas socks. They go so well with my Nikes don’t you think?  I knew it was going to be cold so i layered these over my running tights and my normal running socks.  I wore a fetching Santa jacket and hat to go with this hip ensemble.  Vogue should be on the phone any minute…

The race was a 5K although my trusty Garmin informed me it was actually about 3.75 miles which i reckon to be 6K.  Who’s counting though?  The weather was horrendous – we suffered a hailstorm halfway through (in between the gusting winds) which was fun,  and i promise i wasn’t grumpy at all (ahem!). I managed to warm myself up with this delight afterwards…

You can always trust Mr Marks & Mr Spencer to make you a good soup – and one that’s Christmas dinner in a bowl to boot!  Yes purlease!!

We got this little trinket for our troubles and I hung it on the Christmas Tree:

And finally, in case you were concerned i’d gone all normal cat lady on you let me just cement my crazy cat lady status by showing you this cutey:

You didn’t know Amazon delivered adorable little cats now did you?

Did anyone else take part in a Santa Fun Run this weekend?  I hope the weather was nicer to you.

running the Great South Run

Don’t ever say i don’t give you timely posts on all my sporting achievements!!! Haha!

Last month John and I ran the Bupa Great South Run (thanks for running with me hubby!).  The GSR is one of a series of running events Bupa sponsors in the UK.  It’s 10 miles on a fast flat course, 25,000 people run it including elites, and it takes place in the lovely city of Portsmouth.

Here’s my proud little face shortly after finishing…

Oh yeah – bringing back the bumbag single handedly baby!! I am so cool and it was so cold!  It’s not the world’s most attractive pic of me but its what you get when i’m shouting at John to take a pic of me on my phone for the blog before i seize up in the freezing cold while trying to smile.

Regular readers of my blog will know that i tore the ACL in my knee back in May which hampered my training quite a bit but with the help of an awesome physiotherapist and about a gazillion squats I finished in 2 hours 13 minutes with no pain.  Well…no pain in my knee anyway!

I’d only run a maximum distance of 7 miles in training hoping that the atmosphere of the day would pull me through.  It was such an amazing atmosphere – so well supported – but around about mile 8 i gotta say i got a bit emotional.  Tell me this happens to other people but even when i’m training sometimes i’m known to tear up – even on a 4 miler!  Just me that’s a pansy then huh?  So when they gave out handfuls of jelly babies around mile 8.5 it was like the best moment of my life.  Ever!  I ran around the women offering smears of vaseline though.  That’s just weird.

We got a fab goodie bag at the end which looked like this…

Thanks Bupa!!  Pretty much all food related items were consumed on the train ride to the airport.

The best part is i got to raise more than £800 for my local cancer treatment unit.  Yay!

So now my medal collection since August looks like this…

I’m not entirely sure i’d do this race again – i’m thinking maybe a 10K might be more my style.  I’ve got no more races planned apart from a charity 5K Santa Dash in December.  I’m hoping this is enough to keep my motivation up during these wet and windy winter evenings.  I might have to start plotting for next year now.

Happy Thanksgiving to all American readers (and to everyone else).  I’m thankful that i’m healthy enough to do stuff like this and thankful that people actually read the rubbish I write.

Until next time…

 

 

cycling with Victoria Pendleton

I did it!!!!  Last Sunday i took park in Cycletta at Tatton Park in Cheshire.  Cycletta is a series of cycling events round the country designed to get women on their bikes “for fitness and for fun”.  You have the choice of doing a 40k or 50k distance.  As I’d never done a cycling event before i chose the 40k distance which took us through lots of beautiful Cheshire countryside.

the start line, that’s me in the middle

The event itself was really well organised but it was super cold to start off with which i wasn’t prepared for.  All sorts of levels and cyclists take part (I even spied a woman on an electric bike – gotta say i was jealous!).  I of course took my beautiful new(ish) road bike.  Victoria Pendleton (the Olympic Gold medal cyclist) took part and at the end we all got the chance to meet her. She was very patient and lovely given the huge amount of women that queued up for the chance to have a pic taken with her.  I actually got ridiculously excited before meeting her…i’m pretty much a super fan.  She looks so pleased to be meeting me huh?!?  I got my bib signed by her too.

I need to master helmet hair!!

By the way it’s pretty much impossible to look good next to her so i didn’t even try.  Don’t judge me!

I cycled the race with a friend who i hadn’t seen or caught up with in ages so we took the course at a fairly leisurely rate and chatted most of the way, filling our pockets with sweets at the feed stations (that’s what you’re supposed to do right?).  I broke away for about the last three miles and raced them which was sooooo much fun.

The goodie bag we all got at the end was amazing.  It included a cloth rucksack, lots of free samples, two magazines and a loaf of bread (not pictured below).  There were also free massages, manicures and helmet hair rescue stations for all participants.

That evening we stayed in Liverpool at a place called Base2Stay.  Base2Stay is a hybrid hotel/apartment.  I’m definitely a fan of renting an apartment rather than staying in a hotel when i’m staying in cities.  The staff at Base2Stay were super accommodating and housed our bikes for us.  The bathroom in our room was so massive i had to get a photo.  I mean there were two sinks!!  What the?!?!?!

this picture does not do it justice – there’s a huge rainforest type shower hidden in the corner

And yes i am that easily pleased.

So i know i’ve said this in like, thirteen other posts but i’ve soooo got the cycling bug now.  It’s so much more fun than running (although still doing that a bit due to impending Great South Run in two and a half weeks!).  I even own a little collection of padded lycra shorts that i would never have dreamed of owning (let alone admitted to owning) just six months ago.

Roll on more cycling events!!!  There’s one more Cycletta event left this year so if you’re interested check out the Cycletta website.  I would if i could but i’ll definitely be signing up for 2013.

let’s catch up (or my cycle tour of Devon)

i know i don’t write or call as often as i should.  I am a bad blogger.  I wish i was sorry but there is such a good reason.  Basically i have a new love.  Don’t worry the hubby needn’t be jealous for my new love has two wheels…

Yes i am the proud owner of a beautiful road bike (and i don’t cut my hedges often enough).  Isn’t she lovely?  Not sure whether it was the Tour de France or the Olympics that got me but either way i have been totally seduced by cycling!

Both John and i have been cycling lots, not least because in three weeks time i’m taking part in Cycletta in Cheshire to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.  This is a 40K cycle ride so i need all the training i can get.  Did i mention Victoria Pendleton will be there also?  Eeek, very excited!

Recently John and i spent a week in a cottage in Devon for our holidays. It was absolute bliss, gorgeous sunshine and totally surrounded by nature.  What’s not to love.  The view from our cottage:

We cycled the Tarka Trail and the Granite Way, both great traffic free trails suitable for road bikes and for our third ride we did a 20 mile round trip to a lake.  Although it is VERY hilly it’s wonderful country to be cycling round (did i mention it’s hilly?  Oh yeah, it’s hilly).  The lanes are very quiet.  You’re more likely to meet a tractor or a horse than a car.  Plus there are plenty of establishments selling wonderful local cider and cream teas (the essential cycling nutrition combo).  We were extremely lucky with the weather – if it had rained all week it may have been a different story but if you are lucky enough to spend a week in Devon in the sunshine i would totally recommend getting on two wheels.

In other news…I also recently ran the Guernsey Marathon as part of a relay team.

Yes this is the best picture my hubby could take of me.  I think i was running faster than the speed of light!!  I shall do a proper recap of this race in a separate post (although don’t hold your breath with my current track record) but it’s safe to say my leg of the race was fairly unpleasant.  I tore my ACL back in May and although my rehab is going well my knee is still fairly unstable and i couldn’t get in as much training as i’d like to have done.  The leg was 4.2 miles of hills (up and down).  It has taken my knee nearly two weeks to recover.  The team part was awesome though and i would do it again in a heartbeat!

Until next time X

 

 

 

 

sitting on the sidelines

Tonight i watched my touch rugby team play in our local league.  Unfortunately we lost again, haven’t won a game yet but still plenty of time.  It’s pretty depressing having to stand on the sidelines once again as i’m still injured but hopefully next week i might get some practice in and see how i go.  I have this massive, ridic unsexy knee support that i plan to wear.  If nothing else it will get me some sympathy (or raise a laugh)!!!

My exercise this week has mostly been out walking (in the rain) looking for this gorgeous little dude…

OK he doesn’t look that gorgeous in the photo, i mean what cat sleeps like that?!?  Coco that’s who.  He’s been gone 10 days now and is very, very much missed.  Hopefully he’s just off on some exciting adventure and will saunter back through the door very soon.  He’s microchipped so should he turn up at a vets or a shelter we would get a call.  Cross your fingers for us.

Plans for the weekend – got to step it up a bit on the fitness front.  My marathon (as part of a relay … stop choking on your coffee) is coming up fast so i really need to get past this injury.  In short that means i am going for a run this weekend although it maybe a short one it will be a run!  I am also planning on starting Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred.  I will be sporting the knee brace for that one too!

What are your plans for the weekend?  Inspire me!

enforced rest…grrr

Just a quick post today.  I had a little accident at my first ever Touch Rugby League game last night.  I’d literally been playing for about three minutes when i sprinted in for a tackle/touch and wrenched my knee.  Cue a lot of dramatic screaming and hyperventilating (kinda embarrassed about this…) and a trip to A&E.  Followed by a minor fainting session when i tried to walk on it this morning.

Had an hours physio this afternoon and although she couldn’t give me a firm diagnosis it looks like i’ve strained my popliteus muscle.  It’s not the worst thing i could have done and if it is that i could possibly be up and running again within a month.  I think the physio was getting pretty annoyed with all my “so will i be able to run 5k next week?”, “can i play rugby on Sunday?”, “when will i be fixed?” type questions but it was a pretty emphatic NO on the Race for Life 5k which i am super gutted about.  This is what i have been training for for about 9 weeks now and only had two more of my C25K sessions to go.  I’ll still be cheering all my girlys on and sponsoring them all as its such a fab charity (Cancer Research UK).

So i’m feeling very, very sorry for myself now but will be doing every exercise the physio gave me, to the letter, and i will have the fastest healing muscles in the land.  On the plus side i was classed as “very healthy”, my knees are “solid as rocks” (in a good way) and my leg muscles are very strong.  So at least i know the training was working up until now.  I might be getting some super pumped arms from walking on crutches too.  Every cloud must have a silver lining….

Anyone got any words of wisdom for me?  Have you had this injury before?  If so how long did it take you to heal (and don’t tell me if it was forever please).

Hope everyone else is fit and well.

sweat it out Saturday

as promised last Saturday, every Saturday i’m going to try and post my workouts for the week so i can track my training for my upcoming races and as a way of making myself accountable.  Read – i’m totally l-a-z-y and if i don’t blog about it i probably won’t do it!!

Stephanie started Sweat it out Saturday at her blog the New Healthy. Check it out its awesome.  Full of loads of healthy tips, inspiration and recipes.

So here is what i have been mostly doing this week:

Sunday – 3 mile run and leisurely bike ride with my hubby

Monday – looooonnngggg cliff walk.  Don’t know why but i found this workout (if you can call it that) the hardest of them all and i swear my gluteus maximus is still punishing me for this one.

Tuesday – 3 mile run and 3 mile walk home (may have been weaving a little on this last walk making it possibly twice as long thanks to some celebratory beers – oops).

Wednesday – rest

Thursday – 7 mile cycle ride plus touch rugby training.  We trained in the wind and rain (oh yes i’m hardcore) and i have never been so muddy!

Friday – 7 mile cycle ride followed by some throwing practice for an hour on the beach with my lovely hubby.

Saturday – 3.2 mile run (see told you i was going to get a longer run in this week) followed by a very leisurely cycle ride to get an ice cream!  It’s all about balance my friends.

We are just firing up the BBQ for dinner then going into town to meet some friends.  I think i’m going to need an espresso if i’m going to stay awake for that!

What has your week been like?  Hope its been a good one.  Tell me about your workouts.

The rain has finally cleared for some sunshine.  Huzzah – at last.

sweat it out Saturday

This week i think i’ve done so well on my working out, training and signing up for races that i’m finally going to join Stephanie at The New Healthy for Sweat it out Saturday.

This is an amazing forum for bloggers to share in their sweat (although not literally of course – that would be icky) and motivate each other.  The rules are that your post has to make you sweat, motivate you to sweat, or accompany you in your sweatiness.  I’m going to try and do it each Saturday as a way of making myself accountable and getting some inspiration from all you lot out there. If i don’t workout i’ll have nothing to post about and my blog will be even more boring than usual!!

So my week looked like this:

Sunday – 3 mile run with my slow sister

Monday – First touch rugby training (not too energetic though – mostly just me trying to not look too confused while running through drills then watching a real game!)

Tuesday – 7 mile cycle and 3 mile run

Wednesday – 7 mile cycle

Thursday – yoga class followed by touch rugby training (very energetic and sooo much fun)

Friday – 7 mile cycle (was supposed to run afterwards but the weather was so nasty i just got my slippers on and vegged out)

Saturday – rest day

Next week i want to get in some longer runs and some bodyrock workouts as i’m really missing my strength training – i’m a bit of a cardio queen at the moment!

I’m all signed up and registered for the following races now:

Race for Life 5K (this month – eek)

Guernsey Marathon in August (as part of a 5 girl relay team)

Cycletta 40k cycle in October

BUPA Great South Run 10 miles in October

And finally check out these beautiful flowers my husbands folks sent us to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.  I can’t believe such an awesome man has put up with me for a whole 366 days as a wife!  Yay!

What have you been up to this week?

BUPA Great South Run here i come…

Yes that’s right everyone, I’ve signed up to run the BUPA Great South Run on 28 October.  It’s 10 miles.  I think i’m crazy.  Let’s put that in perspective for all of you who run 10 miles before breakfast … i’ve only ever run about 7k consecutively in my whole entire life.  At school i would do pretty much anything to get out of PE lessons and here i am voluntarily strapping on trainers and pounding the pavements for 10 whole miles!  Eeek!

I decided i’m going to run in aid of a local cancer charity.  Read this post to see why.  I took this ‘hilarious’ picture of myself in my brightest work out gear (I promise i don’t go out like this everyday…yet) to go on my donations page.

I really needed a challenge and maybe it was because it was my birthday week or maybe it was being inspired by Skinny Runner running a gazillion miles in 9 days (seriously the girl is nuts but you so need to check out her blog to read about her man-up week if you haven’t already) but for one reason or another i decided to go for it.

But it doesn’t stop there – i am also putting together a relay team to run a Marathon in August with some colleagues from work (there’s no truth in the rumour i’m having it written into their annual appraisal objectives – for some reason that’s frowned upon at my work).  A friend and I are really hoping to take part in Cycletta later in the year in aid of Macmillan Cancer.  Cycletta is a women only cycling event for all abilities – there are a number of 40k rides up and down the UK.  I’m also participating in the 5K Race for Life next month for Cancer Research UK.  I’ll keep you updated on all of these and if anyone else is doing any of these then let me know.

I can only think its writing this blog and reading so many amazing other blogs by people like me that has given me the inspiration to find and sign up to these events.

The best bit is my wonderful, amazing husband bought me the Garmin Forerunner 305 for my birthday!!  Aaaahhhhhhhhh!  The eagle eyed of you will have spotted it in the photo above.  So he either listens to my constant “i wants” or he reads my blog!

Oh hello beautiful….

It’s already done two outings with me and i am in love with my husband my Garmin.

And finally…look how much Coco gives a monkey about my blog.  Apparently laps are for cats not for laptops.

Anyone else doing the Great South Run?  Anyone got an awesome 10 mile training plan they want to share?