Adventure #BEDM

Last night I was trying to decide if I could run 12 miles, some LFR Club members were getting on a train to a local village and running back down the canal.  I carb-loaded last night just incase (well that's the excuse I gave myself for eating a lot of pizza).
I woke up this morning at 6:20am!!!! I don't even get up that early on a work day!  I quickly convinced myself that 8 to 12 miles was way too big of a jump especially after not being 100% over a hamstring pull a few weeks ago, but seeing as I was up I decided to hit MK parkrun, 5k seemed a lot more achievable!

To say I am very pleased with myself is an understatement! After thinking I might collapse 2k in I only went and got myself a PB, woo hoo!   To top it off I smashed my goal of finishing a 5k in under half an hour by getting 29:16!!!

For me this morning was quite an adventure!

Distance run this year: 161km/100miles

Introduce Yourself #BEDM

I'm going to give this blogging daily a go,  I estimate I might manage half of these days ha ha!

So some random facts about me...

1. I am slightly obsessed with Converse.  My most reason pair are the All Star Low Black Mono in canvas.  Think I'm up to about 6 pairs now.
2. I love tea, especially Yorkshire Tea.  
3. I'm a bit crafty and have a dedicated room full of paper, glue, fabric, yarn and more.  I can't actually get in this room to do anything as its so full, oops!  I currently have a patchwork quilt, a dress, a crochet blanket, a bag and a shadow box waiting to be finished. 
4. I have Oral Food Syndrome and have to carry an epi-pen eek!!!!
5. I work for the NHS, I recently applied for a new job.  Applications close Monday, wish me luck!
6. The furthest I have run is 8 miles and I have my first Half booked in November.  So far I have 12 races lined up, whoever said running is cheap does not enjoy the bling!
7. I have flown to South Africa, New Zealand and Thailand all on my own.
8. I love salt and vinegar crisps.
9. I've got a bit of an obsession with mountains, I think this started when I was in New Zealand as you can't go far without seeing one. 
10. I can make mean cookies.
11. I love a cold beer. 
12. I can stand up on a surfboard. In fact I love the sea, a perfect day would be sat on a beach in the sun eating sarnies. 
13. I love the outdoors... Walks in the woods, camping, running, bike rides, sat in a pub garden... You get the idea. 
14. I have a varied taste in music... Punk, Ska, Reggea, Rock, Alternative, Indie, Dance!
15. If it's not a Beer I enjoy Gin, Vodka, Disorano and Wine!!!
16. I have never used my bath ha ha! I do shower every day. 
17. I love cats and dogs. 
18. I live in jeans and t-shirts. 
19. I have owned 3 Mini's and would love one to have for a Sunday drive. I drive a Honda Civic lol!
20. One day I will own a Camper Van. 

My Running Kit

One of the things that put me off when I was running last year was that may feet used to go numb and this would make me miserable and then I wouldn't want to run anymore.  
To anyone starting out I would say do not make the same mistake as me and buy any old trainer, instead do what I eventually did and visit the lovely people at The Sweat Shop to get yourselves some proper running shoes fitted. After checking out my stance, foot type and gait they recommended a supportive trainer, I also have high arches so I was very tempted by the fitted insoles but the minute I tried on these Brooks I couldn't even tell which shoe had the insole in.

They feels like slippers and touch wood I have had no discomfort or blisters yet.  They are a bit grubby as I did end up with the worst possible colour but it was all about the fit!

The only other item I splashed out on was a jacket.  You do warm up pretty quick but I really hate wind and being wet.  I had a gift voucher for Nike and decided on a UR Fly Windrunner.

The lighting is terrible in my house but you get the idea.  Amazingly I not been caught in the rain yet but this jacket is fab for stopping the wind.  It has also been great for carrying my phone, keys and the many tissues needed during a run.  I am finding it a bit too warm to wear this jacket during a day run now but I sure I'll be keeping it on for the club night runs for a bit longer.

I've been through a few different pairs of socks and some have dug in my little toe and others have slipped down when running.  The Nike Dri-FIT Non-Cushion No-Show Socks which are fab but I recently brought new socks for Jazzercise (you can never have enough pairs of socks!) and went for the Nike Womens Dri-FIT Cushion No-Show Tab Socks and that tab make a huge difference.

No tab (I could not get the camera to focus)... 

Tab...

I feels some more socks might be landing in my sock draw very soon.

When it comes to tops and leggings I have loads.  I teach an Aquanatal class at work as well as the Jazzercise and running so I need a fair few so I don't have to put the washing machine on every night!  I have just been running in a base layer and my jacket and then in the day swapping the jacket for a short sleeved T-Shirt over the base.  I don't think any of my tops have been full price as there are such good deals in the sales.  My leggings have also been a bargain, I picked up a pair of Karrimor tights for £7.50 a few weeks ago and they are so comfortable.  I have yet to find decent sports bra's yet so if anyone out there is reading this, recommendations are needed.

With the weather during the day improving I did get myself a Flip Belt this week.

I don't go far enough to carry water and wanted something that could accommodate my phone, keys, some dosh and tissues.  I have been looking at belts for a while and have been really disappointed with what are available.  Some were so tiny even my phone on its own wouldn't fit, others really big and bulky.  I did have a great phone belt for your arm that was just a band of lycra but my house has eaten it so I was after something similar that could hold a bit more.  I had seen these at last years London Marathon Expo when I went with a friend to collect his pack but had forgotten about them.  They are a bit pricey but I found a discount code and they do offer free postage.  I went out on a 10k run this morning with it on and although it took a bit of adjusting to get it to sit where it didn't rid up, once in place I didn't even know I was wearing it.  My phone felt secure, there is a little clip for your keys so they don't go anywhere and it was easy to access the 4 tissues I stashed in there during the run.  Very happy customer.  I recommend watching the video to find out how this bad boy works.  Will be great when the jacket is hung up for Summer.

Last thing to mention is these Event Clips

These worked really well at securing my race number to my Club T-Shirt with no risk of pulling from the pins.  The club I run with have a branded set but sadly as I was ill the night we had the merch available I ordered a normal set.  They came in 2 days which was fab.  I will be getting myself some club ones before my next race so I am feeling generous and will be giving these away to anyone that might read this.  Just comment below with info on what runs you have coming up this year and they will be on there way to a new home.

Nothing is inspiring me for my next post yet so check back in soon.

From Sick Bed to 10k

I have always been fairly active and love the outdoors.  I am lucky enough to have a beautiful country park only 10 minutes away.  For years I have had gym membership on and off but beyond swimming and Pilates or Yoga classes I just couldn't motivate myself to go and the class times didn't really fit in well with the rest of my day.  Then about a year ago I started going out for short runs in the morning at weekends using to a Zombie version of a Couch to 5k app and although not a runner and having hated cross-county at school I found being out in the fresh air appealing.  After a few weeks I was surprised to find I was starting to loose weight and I was not walking as much so decided to take up the suggestion of giving a local Park Run a go. I had never hit 5k up to this point so was a little nervous but I made it round in 34:09 which I was quite pleased with.  Unfortunately lack of motivation to go out alone kicked in and my runs started to reduce.

By the end of last year my gym membership was seriously being under used so i decided to cancel it.  By now I was attending a pole fitness class twice a week and was just coming to the end of a Groupon for Jazzercise.  I was loosing the love for pole and had decided to carry on with the Jazz but felt I needed something else to do fitness wise.  

The local running club were starting a couch to 5k in the new year so I though that would be a really sociable thing to do but typically the group clashed with the Jazzercise so I tapped the club up to find out how hard their regular club runs would be for someone who hadn't run for 6 months. The timing was prefect as the Couch 2 5k graduates from the last group were working towards 10k and I was reassured that there were all abilities.  So after sunning myself in Thailand over Christmas and New Year I took myself to join the runners and did a whooping 6.5k on my first run.  I was hooked on being outside and having people to run with and only 5 week in I was signed up to take part in a 10k at Milton Keynes Festival of Running eek!!!

Fast forward to the Monday before the big day and I was in bed by 8.30pm with a stinking headache and no energy at all.  The following day I didn't get out of bed and slept pretty much straight through to the following morning, missing the club run and my last chance to hit a distance of 10k!  By Wednesday I still felt lousy and was starting to think I would have to pay off all the sponsors I had received.  Turning to a fellow club runner for advise I was promptly given another sponsor by her and so I decided I just have to run regardless.  In order to prepare I proceeded to buy every superfood, supplement and herbal remedy there was to get myself well for the big run on Sunday.

The morning of the race I had my head over a big bowl of steaming eucalyptus desperately trying to clear some congestion before heading out to run.  With a finishing time of 1:09:45 and a whole pack of tissues (and snot) lighter I managed to completed my first ever race and my first 10k without stopping once.  I really can't believed I managed to get round!  I had fantastic support from another club runner who I stayed with the whole route and the supporters along the way did a fab job at keeping us going.  I am so proud and thankfully none the worse for running with the lurgy.  I now have a shinny medal and a nice little donation for Macmillan for my effort.  Roll on the next race coming up in June and fingers crossed my legs work for the club run!

Distance Run this Year: 73km

Next Blog... My Running Kit

Waking Up My Blog

I've decided to wake up my blog and start ranting to myself again. 

Lots of changes since my last post. Here is a quick breakdown:

Time spent no longer living alone

For nearly 2 1/2 wonderful years I had a man in my life and for 1 of those I was no longer living alone. I can honestly say I was the happiest I had ever been and although being single didn't leave me feeling like there was a huge gaping hole in my life I did feel complete being in a relationship. Sadly things didn't work out as planned and we went our separate ways about a year ago. I have some great memories including a holiday of a lifetime to New Zealand and experiencing the Aurora Borealis in Iceland, I learnt to surf and take a pretty good photo and also discovered I can live with someone.

Queenstown, NZ

Franz Josef Glacier, NZ

Mount John Observatory, NZ

Aurora Borealis, Iceland

RIP Millie 

I sadly lost my beautiful cat 18 months ago. Having become an over protective cat owner after loosing another cat in the past Millie was never allowed to be unseen for very long before I'd be out looking for her.  One night my ex came in from putting the bin out to ask if Millie was in. She wasn't and he went back out to discover my worst fear, she had been hit by a car crossing a road I never dreamed she would even cross and although still alive I had to make the huge decision the following day to say good by to my baby. I still haven't got it in me to have another cat. So for now I am very much living the single life. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her.

Lost 2 Stone

I'll go into a bit more detail in my next blog but I am back to being the size I have always been after gaining weight over a few years. I feel like me again. It wasn't a drastic change and I was never over weight but it just didn't feel right and photos of myself made me cringe. Now I feel much more confidence and I have less aches and pains!!!!  Buying clothes that fit is still stressful, I always have and now accept I always will be in between sizes. 

So that's a brief update. Loads of other exciting stuff has gone on that I'll come back to no doubt but that will do for now.

Look out for my up and coming blog post about how I went from spending a day in bed with the lurgy to running 10k for charity in 5 days....

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When your sick

The worst thing about living alone is when you are sick.

I am very independent and very happy being on my own most of the time, but when your feeling under the weather there is nothing that better than having someone to nurse you back to health. Even silly things like refreshing your glass of water can be an exhausting when your room is spinning every time you lift your head off the pillow. I have quickly learnt that the best thing to do when ill is set up camp of the sofa as trips to the bathroom are fewer than trips to the kitchen (for food, drink, hot-water bottle replenish) and gives you easier access to DVD player, book shelf etc etc.

I have meal times down to a "t" now. After years of practice I have learnt that as long as you have cereal and soup you can survive for a good few days.

The worst thing is having to dry your own hair. Not being one for laying around unclean for days on end, no matter how unwell I feel I like to have a shower, but your hair takes a considerable amount of energy (especially with the amount I have) and often means a few hours of sleep to recover.

Food Shopping

Shopping presents to me the greatest problem when it comes to being single and living alone. Living alone tends to mean small house, small kitchen, small fridge and freezer. Buying just two carrots or two potatoes etc etc is either impossible or means you have to pay twice as much and so my fridge is either empty, from the refusal to go shopping, or full of half rotten food from my inability to eat it all in time, which leaves me feeling very guilty for throwing out what was once good food.

I have tried many things over the years:
1. Bulk cooking from fresh - results in no more room in the freezer or eating the same thing for 4 days, this soon becomes very boring
2. Only eating frozen foods - gained about half a stone and felt hungry more often than not
3. Take away night every night - as 2. and a very dry bank account
4. Eating round a different friends house every night - worked well for a while, until they started catching on
5. Ready meals - buy far the easiest option until people like Jamie Oliver make you feel guilty and also expensive
6. Not eating at all - this lasted about 4 hours

I am waiting for one of these do gooder chefs to make a programme that might actually help me eat well, save money and not waste so much food.