Run | Number 33

On Tuesday I was so tempted to sack off running, alot of things have been happening in my personal life and all I wanted to do was eat and curl up on the sofa under a big blanket. I quickly snapped myself out of it and went along anyway, knowing the fresh air would do me good and it's always best to keep yourself occupided in times like this.

No-one I normally run with was there which left me panicking as to how fast I would have to run. Thankfully Val came in, she started running about a month after I did and seems to be increasing at the same rate I am. We decided to run together, she told me last week she had managed 3.5 miles and was really chuffed with herself but didn't think she would ever be able to go further. We set out and I told her we were going to aim for 4, if she had to walk we would walk it was fine. I actually knew the route we were going was 4.5 miles but I didn't tell her as I wanted her to know she could push herself further then she imagined.

We did it. At a really comfortable pace, actually slightly faster then I usually run, managing 12.22 minute miles as an average pace.

Afterwards I felt really proud that I had managed to help someone get that little bit further round. It's funny to think that last month that was me and now I'm able to set the pace and couch someone to do something they didn't think they could do.

Run | Number 32

I was meant to have a race yesterday morning, but due to the annoying weather this was cancelled on the day. I was really looking forward to it and gutted it was cancelled, but I decided I would still get out there by myself. I managed 6.55 miles, and was quite impressed I managed that in the snow. You really don't realise how much more effort it takes to run in the snow and not fall over.

I'm glad I still went out and did something, who would of thought 3 months ago that I would ever get out of bed early on a sunday morning to run 6 miles in the freezing cold and snow. As you can see I wrapped up warm.

Run | Number 31

I RAN 7.2 FREAKING MILES WITHOUT STOPPING...

Sorry for the capitals I'm just very excited. On Thursday I went out with Gary with the intention of doing 7 miles. When we set off I really didn't think I would be able to complete this, I hadn't eaten much during the day and I set off feeling so hungry and lathargic. But I powered through by the 3rd mile I was feeling ok, and pretty strong if I'm honest. At about the 4th mile we ran past Gary's house and he decided to stop to pop to the loo. I had to keep going, I knew if I stopped there would be no way I could keep going, so off I went. I managed a whole mile and a half before he caught me up. We past the pub and I could see my friends waiting for me, depressing to know I still had at least 30 minutes of running until I would be able to sit down there. By mile 6 I was feeling strong, but looking at Gary's GPS watch, to see we had only covered 6.2 miles and we thought we were .5 of a mile away from Bushfield. Gary had already said if we didn't reach 7 we would be doing a lap of Bushfield until his watch ticked over.

As we approached Bushfield I found some inner strenght and managed a sprint finish as we made our way down the straight Gary read off his watch... 6.8, 6.9 and finally 7. I felt so happy.

We ran this is 1 hour 34 minutes and my average pace was 12.59 which the fastest I have been. My first mile was 11:28 but as show I really cannot keep that up.

Run | Number 30

On Tuesday night off I went to Bushfield as usual. Today wasn't really a normal day though, my Gran has been ill and was taken into hospital so I needed to get off early to visit her. So just a short 3.19 miles. I never thought I would of said 3 miles was short a couple of weeks ago, it's nice to improve.

I went out with Gary so he could push my pace a little more than normal. I managed to shave 2 minutes off my previous best time for this route so I was pretty pleased with myself. Today will be the last run before my 2nd race on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it as I'm hoping I won't be feeling as nervous as last time, but then I remember 10k is a long way to go.

Eat | Clean Eating by Terry Walters

I have ordered myself Clean Food by Terry Walters as I really need to kickstart my diet, as I mentioned before I am trying to cut gluten and diary out of my diet and I am finding it really hard. I am lacking the knowledge in where gluten comes from and how many different foods it is housed in (peskly gluten). Therefore I thought I would order this and see if I can really and I mean 100% give this a go instead of a half hearted effort.

Wish me luck.

If you want to have a look you can buy the book here

Run | Number 29

On friday night I had a choice, one which I have to make every week. Do I run saturday or sunday morning? Normally it's a resounding saturday. But this week was different, I had a hair appt at 9am, meaning if I wanted to get 6 miles in before this, including shower and breakfast I would need to be out the door at 7am. Now as a beginner this screams dedication to me, and it also makes me think I might be crazy if I would even consider getting up at 6:45am on a Saturday (earlier then on a weekday may I add) just to get those miles in.

But you know what I did it and it felt great. I headed out at 7am, it was slightly spitting with rain but nice and warm and I just ran and I managed to keep going. I took a few walk breaks as I normally do when I am on my own as I lack motivation. I cut my run slightly shorter then last weeks 7.4 miles as I knew I wouldn't be able to complete it in time, so I managed 6.22 miles and it took me roughly 1:25 minutes. My app had a glitch and says it took me 1:8 minutes (I freaking wish I was that fast).

I rushed in, jumped into the shower, eat a banana and gulped down some dairy free chocolate milk, got dressed and headed out the door in 10 minutes flat.

My Saturday was overly busy and when I saw a friend at 3pm and she asked what I had done that morning it was a nice feeling to state I had ran 6 miles, had a hair cut, had breakfast in town with my parents, had my eyebrows threaded, cleaned my flat from top to bottom oh and made it to Leicster for an afternoon of shopping and tasty food phewwww.

It's a strange feeling when you realise that you start to put running over other priorities in life and get enjoyment from hopping dragging yourself out of bed in the morning to get out there and run.

Run | Number 28

Hello everyone. I just had to share this as quickly as I could. Last night I went out with Bushfield with the intention of doing an easy 3 miler (I'm not sure if I ever thought I would be able to say easy 3 miler when I first started), but this changed pretty rapidly. With my first 10k race coming up and having managed to walk/run 7.4 miles at the weekend, Gary decided it was time we upped my game and attempted another 7 miles. I was confident I could cover the distance, but was worried about having to stop and walk, Gary is a great trainer and I love going out running with him as he pushes me further than I think I can go, but he doesn't like walking.

But off we went, we settled into a fairly good pace, slightly quicker then I would normally run but it felt good and I knew I could keep up until mile 2 and 3, I really started to flake fairly quickly and I knew we had so much further to go, I had the route mapped out in my head and I was just telling myself to get to the next part and then I could walk. But I didn't surprisingly I just managed to keep going. There were 4 of us running and I think it really helped to just have a chat and listen to what the others were saying to take my mind off of the distance. This route even included two hills (well inclines, but they felt like mountains).

Looking at the milage splits I'm pretty impressed with myself, I've never been so consistant and holy crap I never thought I could run 3 miles sub 13 minutes. I know that is painfully slow to most people but to me thats a great achievement and I'm really happy about it. It's nice to see that my endurance and my speed is starting to increase, and I'm pleased to know I can run a 10k distance.

So pretty pleased to say I'm freaking proud of myself.

Review | Karrimor X Lite Long Sleeved Top

I purchased this new shirt on a whim the other week, I had a spontaneous race impending on the Sunday and knew I needed to wear my horrendously tight Bushfield Joggers vest (the most unflattering item of clothing I have ever purchased). I wanted something long sleeved to keep me warm as I knew it was going to be cold. This is possibly the best £12.99 I have ever spent. The vest is designed to support your body with perforated mesh panels around the underarms and back of neck, the two places I seem to sweat from the most.  Made of sweat wicking polyester fabric this top will ensure you stay dry and cool, unlike other tops this one emits the sweat meaning it doesn't seem to stay on your skin, leaving your skin to breath. The fabric is lovely and soft on the skin and does not rub anywhere. I love the design and colour of this top, I'm not one for anything so bright, so the black with flashes of purple really works for me, there are also a few reflective strips to keep you seen in dull conditions. There is even a small zipped pocket on the left arm for holding small change or maybe a small ipod.

Overall I'm really glad I made this purchase and I've worn it every single run since (I promise I wash it every time).

You can purchase this item here

Run | Number 27

On Tuesday I took myself off to Bushfield as usual. After Saturday's run I've been feeling really confident in my running abilities, which is something I never thought I would be able to say. Something feels really different this time, last year when I was running on my own, I spent about 4 months running on a regular basis last year (on average 3 times a week) and I could still only managed 5k. This never felt comfortable and on the majority of occasions I needed to walk, so basically I made no progress. I found that by really slowly myself down I can push myself much further.

Back to the point, I'm good at digressing. Aunty my usual running partner had returned from running the Cyprus half with a medal and a trophy, she came second in her age group, wasn't really feeling up to doing too much (understandably). So we set off on our usual route about 3.3 miles, another member of the club joined us, she is returing back from injury and has only recently managed 2 miles but wan't too give herself a push. We set of at a nice easy pace, chatting along too each other, we made it about .75 of a mile before Aunty and Marianne needed to walk. I was for once feeling really good and decided to keep plodding on, I knew they would catch me up eventually. But they didn't I just kept going, and I even managed to sustain a slightly quicker pace. There is a bit on the route which is in complete darkness and runs adjacent to the woods, when I got to this point I decided to stop and wait for them both as I really didn't want to run down there on my own. We set off again at a slow pace, nice and easy but gradually I upped my pace and went on ahead.

It was a really nice feeling to see my speed and endurance increase, as I've really been struggling with going ridiculously slowly. I think I might stick to shorter runs during the week, building up to longer runs at the weekend.

This month so far I am up to 24.33 miles total milage. I need to push past 50 miles this month as last month I was gutted I was just short.

Run | Number 26

 

 

On Saturday morning I decided to give myself a real challenge. I set out with 7 miles in my head and a route kind of mapped out, not sure if I would be able to achieve it. I felt good the whole way round, I stuck to a run/walk schedule and this really helped. Around mile 4 I nearly got attacked by a dog, not sure if he wanted to play or was thinking about ripping my face off, but at least that made me run faster.

 

In my head I thought 7 miles may have been near my parents house, so I decided if I had managed it I would end my run there and have lots of water. Oh how wrong I am, I really need to learn how long a mile is. At the bottom of my parents road I was only on mile 5.2. By this point I was knackered and was so close to giving up. But I pushed myself on back to my place. Still only at 6.5 (this was still a great achievement but I knew I needed to do more) I kept myself going further past my flat (a sad moment when all I wanted to do was collapse on the sofa). But I bloody made it. All 7.4 miles of it.

 

Next weekend I aim to do this again and try to run for longer to beat this time. I'm so freaking proud of myself. 

Run | Number 25

My usual training partner Aunty was away in Cyrpus this week running another half marathon, she is amazing. I still went along to training which was a little daunting as it's the first time I've been without her. I stuck with Jenny who I have run with a few times and George tagged along. George is such an inspiration, he is 80 this year and runs every day in shorts and vest (regardless of the weather). In his time he has ran 100 full marathons and countless halves. It was really nice to have him chatting along and telling me all about his upcoming holidays.

Jenny & George run slightly faster then my usual pace so it was a nice challenge to push myself but be able to keep up with them (I even made it up the hill without wanting to die). I'm so proud that I managed to make it the whole way round and keep up.

We did 3.21 miles at a nice easy pace.

Although I only started running again in January I can't believe how much my general fitness and stamina has improved. I felt really good after running on Thursday and I really felt like I could of kept going.

Run | Number 24

Hello. I spent most of Sunday evening and Monday trying to recover from my first race on Sunday. I decided to take a slow and gentle jog over to Asda on Monday evening. I was desperately craving fajitas and had forgotten to take any chicken out of the freezer. I ran easy and it felt good to be out getting some fresh air and giving my legs a good stretch.

Big mistake...fast forward to Tuesday evening, I arrive at Bushfield ready and raring to go. We also have a little talk upstairs before we run about previous and up coming races. Everyone was really supportive of my first race and it helped to put a big smile on my face.

Running didn't got to plan. We decided to stick to a smallish 3.3 mile route, I set off well at a strong pace for the first mile but I started to really struggle, my legs cramped up and really hurt. So I tried to take it easier. My legs don't feel injured but they felt really tight and weak and I really didn't want to risk an injury. I got home and had a nice long bath and spent the rest of the evening with my legs covered in ice packs.

I'm going to take it easy tonight and hopefuly be able to bang out a few more miles on Thursday. I really feel like I now need to try and increase my distance. I feel stuck at the 4/5 mile mark.

Run | My first race

Today I passed another milestone in my running journey. I ran my first race, 5.3 miles in the Frostbite league. It's a league put on by the clubs in Hants & Cambs. 

Well what can I say, it was freaking hard, I'm not going to lie. The first part of the course was uphill (something I'm not used to) which really tired me out and I set off too quickly as I was running with a different partner. I'm so thankful to have him around I seriously wouldn't have been able to finish without him. 

We ran the entire way around with the sweeper and I came last (well technically 2nd from last as Gary came in behind me) but do you know what I don't even care. I thought I would but by this point I was just glad I had managed to get myself around with falling over and collapsing. 

The course itself was a hard one, having never ran cross country before (well since I was 16) and I found it difficult to keep my balance and not fall flat on my face. At the time I hated it but looking back I'm really glad I faced my fears and ran my first race. Here's to many more. 

Run | Number 23

Thursday nights run went really well, we were joined by Gary who is just coming back from an injury and needed some slower people to run with. It was really great to have someone else there to push us a little further. 

Not a lot to report really, we ran the same route as the previous few runs, my stupid Map my Run app was a different milage again, it's so annoying. But oh well. At least I'm getting out there and running for just over an hour at a time which is a great improvement on the beginning of the year. 

Februarys monthly milage was 49.87 miles... How annoying I couldn't quite break 50 miles. Oh well another great milestone reached.