The week before last I ran a marathon. 26.2 miles. Ok, maybe I should come clean. I didn’t run that marathon. Not the London one. And actually I didn’t run the whole thing. I walked some of it. And I also didn’t do it all in one go. It was spread out over the whole week. But, despite all that, I still completed a marathon last week. Something which before I would have doubted I could do. And if I’m really, really honest, half way through the week I was still doubting I could do it. But do it I did, and actually I’m pretty damn proud of myself as it happens. I’ve been rather quite about all ... read more
January – all the things I’d forgotten I’d done
Did I fall asleep or something? Where on earth did January go? It seems like only two minutes since Christmas and New Year, but then at the same time they also feel like a lifetime ago. So, what exactly have I been up to in January. Sitting here now it seems a bit hard to work out exactly what I've been up to for the whole month, but I'm sure I'll work it out. The biggest thing has probably been that January has been the month in which I started running again. Here I am on the 29th of the month and I'm delighted to say that I've clocked up a whole 70km in January (so far!) and am ... read more
If you can’t beat them, join them
When I told Mr C that Betfair had asked me to write about being a sports widow he laughed. Or more accurately, he laughed, told me I wasn't a sports widow and then put on his trainers and then headed out for a 10km run! In the nearly 12 years that I've known Mr C he's always been quite sporty. When we first met he ran regularly, had competed in a 10km race, played regular badminton and tennis with work colleagues and also a fair bit of football. It's running that is his main focus now though. When I was younger I used to be incredibly sporty. I played lacrosse regularly, as well as lots ... read more
Challenge Complete
I did it! The weather was hot, hot, hot. The sun relentless and the hills bigger and harder than I remembered them being. But I managed it. 5km round Verulamium Park, only breaking into a walk for a few seconds when the people in front of me slowed down at a narrowing in the path. I crossed the finishing line though and had a medal placed round my neck. Challenge complete. The route looped round this large park and zig-zagged up the hills towards the highest point in the park. The terrain varied from short grass, to hard paths, to long grass and even mud through the wooded areas. A large ... read more
The Color Run London 2014
The start may have been slow - 75 minutes after the published start time we finally crossed the start line! - but we did it and we had a ball. The Color Run London 2014 can most definitely be classed as well and truly done on life's list. Five km round the streets of Wembley in north London on a very hot Sunday afternoon, and every kilometre marker we passed resulted in another colour of paint being thrown at us. In the colour zones it all went a bit mad. Not only were there official paint throwers, but runners were scooping up handfuls of paint from the road and throwing it around. ... read more
Remembering why I’m running
I promised no more running talk until The Color Run is over, and I'm going to keep to that. However seeing as it is TOMORROW (argh!) I do just want to take a few moments to reflect on exactly why I agreed to this challenge. As I said when I took this all on, the Save the Children Bloggers conference back in February really inspired me to try to help people less fortunate than myself. Hearing of the work that Save the Children do all around the world is both shocking and fantastic in equal measure. Just this last week they have published their latest report, A Fair Start for Ever Child, ... read more
Couch to 5k – so nearly there!
Yesterday's post brought two exciting packages. First my race number, and t-shirt for The Color Run which is happening THIS SUNDAY and then also my race number for the main 5km race that I'm doing in St Albans just one week later. Suddenly this is all feeling very, very real! The good news is that all my training seems to be on track. On Saturday I finished the Couch to 5k training programme with a 30 minute run (sandwiched between two 5 minute walks) at the National Trust's Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire. It was my first time running there and in away it felt strange not going ... read more
Couch to 5k – week 8 in review
The only problem I'm having with progressing in the Couch to 5k running programme is that each week the training runs are getting longer and so you have less time to squeeze other things into your week - like blogging about it! But, on the flip side I'm finding myself really looking forward to my runs more and more and even going as far as wondering if I can squeeze in extra ones. I never thought I would have been saying that nine weeks ago! So, week 8 of the couch to 5k programme is quite simple. Each of the three runs is a 5 minute warm up walk, 28 minute job and then a 5 minute cool ... read more
Doubling my Save the Children Challenge
There are just three weeks to go until my 5km run for Save the Children. The training (so far) is going well. Sponsors have been supportive and I'm thrilled by how much I've raised so far. All is on plan. But I didn't count on one thing. That pesky running bug has caught me good and proper! I'm enjoying running. I'm enjoying my training runs. On the days I do evening runs I find myself looking forward to getting out and having some time on my own to mentally refresh whilst pounding the streets. I'm actually looking forward to my race and loving this challenge that I've taken on. Loving it ... read more
Week 7 of the Couch to 5k for Save the Children
When I sat down last week and wrote about my Couch to 5k experiences so far and first asked people to sponsor me I wasn't quite expecting the response I've received from friends and family. Not only have you all helped me to smash my initial sponsorship target for Save the Children (thank you, thank you, thank you!), but there have also been loads of supportive message. Not only from people I see daily on the school run, but old friends that I've not properly caught up with in years, but also online friends that I've not yet had the pleasure of meeting in person. You've all been amazing - ... read more