Nottingham triathlon .....so whats next?

So nottingham triathlon came and went..... considering my lack of time to train this year i did pretty well.... Well that is as long as you forget the fact i got a little lost in the swim!!! yes i know how can you get lost in the swim...

 Well its suprisingly easy in murky lake water when your goggles steam up and amazing how much extra distance you can add im pretty sure i swam an extra 400 meters... so my swim was slow but in total i only came in 2 minutes slower than last year... so had i not decided to swim away with the duckies i would actually have pulled off a faster time than last year which just goes to show that even if you dont feel trained enough its worth giving things a shot!!

so what next?

well i have 2 weeks left of term before things get quieter... than its time for some serious running training!
im hoping to run the london marathon with my partner next year in 2012... so this year running will take presidence over anything else...

Now my partner who had never run a step in her life before is  now trying to embrace the thought of running the marathon ... in fact she was the one who actually suggested running the london marathon ( rather stupidly she chose a family gathering to do this so now the whole family are waiting and expecting her to run so its a done deal!!!!)

After 3 weeks of training she is now running 4k by running for 7 minutes and walking for 3 and repeating this interval.... Now this is not to say we have done this without shedding a few tears, weve had a few dramas over some GIANT blisters (really they were huge!!! lol) and some tantrums running round the lake, but i am so proud of how far she has come in just 3 weeks..... the london marathon proffessonals better watch out we will be right on their heels.....
we will also be raising for cancer research so keep an eye out for a link in the next few months to a just for giving link.
so me the slow runner and my partner the never runner.... will be spending this next year running we will beat the 26 miles and we are going to enjoy every blistering step it takes us to get there..... some come on guys if you have ever thought about doing a marathon..... well just do it there is no time like the present....

watch this space for news on how we get on.

What a week

well this week i have started my new Personal Training job at david lloyds, moved house, and taught spinning at my local gym.... its been hectic to say the least especially when im still recovering from the previous weekends triathlons!

and what is this i have coming round the corner.... oh yeah thats right in my insanity i decided it would be a great idea to do the half marathon again! less than 2 weeks to go and i am still struggling with ITB, however it is far less severe, and i have been sent a sample of K-Active Tape which i am hoping will help keep the ITB at bay through the run.

However i have a plan.... i may not beat last years time with it, but hopefully i will get round without exacerbating the knee issues.... believe me i do not want to go back to the days of crawling upstairs and siding down them on my butt... comical yes ... pleasent NO!

where were we oh yes... sorry my master plan.... well today pinky we are going to take over the world .. lol sorry little joke there for my sis Mrs B who is also running with me...(also injured what a pair we make), and my lil bro who is also coming up to run it although he has been poorly so its going to be intresting for all of us i think but as long as we make it back over the line running, walking, crawling or crying we will all have done our best.

Anyway back to the plan, obviously im still getting some long runs in over the next 2 weeks, but when it comes to run day my plan is to run up to 10k (as long as i have no pain) then walk a k or 2, then run again for 5-8k litle rest then run the last K or 2..... simples.

Now this all depends on how my legs hold up, but i will be strapped to the nines, and also helped by some anti inflamms, and plenty of rest/ice the night before not to mention my million and one butt exercises that i have to do every day :-)

But the main aim is to run till i start to feel even the slightest twinge... walk till it goes, run again till i feel twinges etc etc

this could go well and i may be able to run all 13 miles.... or i could be walking most of it :-) but i will have done it and thats all that matters.

it will be a family affair, and after all these years and each of us having our own battle with the bulge.... all three injured or not will be crossing that finish line to show just how far we have come :-)

The Challenge Begins

Last year i conquered my first half marathon, now i loved it, (not at the time - i cried towards the end) BUT FINISHING WAS AMAZING.
now i did a none too shabby 2 hrs 33 mins, and for someone who was many stone heavier and hadnt run at all till 6 months earlier this wasnt bad.
well as some of you already know im doing the same half marathon again... hopefully a bit faster and with less tears :-)
Luckily for me i have been invited by Shape up Notts (see link at side) to be part of their marathon team, not only will they pay for it but i also get a load of free new balance running kit too woop woop. I am running with them as they found my story inspiring and hope that it will continue to inspire others just as i do.

so i got home from work and there was a parcel note for me ( i love getting parcels its so exciting)... off i went to collect and excitedly rushed home to try it all on.

i love it all matching capri's, t-shirt, running jacket and Trainers, and couldnt wait to use it... even the trainers match a lovely pair with pink trim. I have yet to run in them but as i have now had the go ahead from my physio today to start running again next week i am raring to go!

Look out robin hood half... here i come!

The Marathon saga

Well yesterday was marathon day, true to form my little brother got up got dressed in his running kit with no fear of the day ahead, and a chilled its just a marathon man! outlook. i think sarah and i were more nervous than he was... or he was just being cool and hiding it.
we waved him off at 7am to head down to the south of london where he would be starting, we then headed to central london to pick up my sister (Mrs B).
Once together we headed off to  greenwich and the cutty sark for the 6 mile point to see if we could catch a glimpse of william and cheer him on. soon we got a text message to say he had crossed the start line at 10.04 am... so with a little calculation we reckoned he would be with us just gone 11am. we had 40 mins, but this didnt stop us from balancing on our tip toes the whole time to make sure we didnt miss him... this was quite difficult as it seemed everyone taller than us decided the best spot to stand was right infront of us... much to the annoyment of the mere 5 foot 2 Mrs B. Soon we spotted an empty bench and quickly we invaded it giving us a far better non calf wrenching view of the marathon.... however this then distracted us from our searching for yellow bib white top ( the grament choice of my bro) which was actually suprisingly diffucult and a little stressful, as we constantly wondered if wed missed him, and the many false alarms that we had seen him!

But just as we started to chit chat there he was... running along behind a rhino! go will! he was having a breeze at this point which was great to see.
now we had to get to tower bridge for the half way point! we made our way through a see of people, actually correct that a mud of people to the station only to find they had closed that entrance and we had to make our way back again elbows out back to our oringinal point were a nice policeman told us about a free ferry...we thought why not the cue for the tube was just as insane.

 we started to get a little worried as we didnt think we would make it in time to see will, and this wasnt helped by the man who told us there was only 2 ferrys left and that we wouldnt make it! turned out he was wrong and not too long after we were heading across the water  to canary warf where we had decided to stay to see him at the 15 mile point.

We amazingly got a great view across a bridge but we knew we had to make sure not only that we saw him but that he saw us as this was the point at which he would be starting to hurt, and he would be a little dissapointed that he hadnt seen us at mile 13 where he expected to see us.

many a teagbag, girrafe, wombel and toilet passed below us, but we still hadnt seen will... then all of a sudden there he was still going strong we were so proud, and hollered at the top of our lungs till he looked up, we got a few pics then Mrs B and i ran comically at full pelt across the top of the round about to catch a glimpse of him again, despite nearly face planting into the road due to an extremly slippy marble step we made it incross in time to see him come out of the tunnel.
right time for us to headm for the finish line, get some food (watching a marathon is hungry work), and wait for will to finish. we headed to buckingham palace... the queen was not in, but it was a gorgeous day and we had will on the tracker, 24.2 miles..... then 25 miles.... 25.8 miles.. 26 miles he was so close we were so excited, soon there he was the smile on his face reaching from ear to ear.... and we were so proud!

5 months will has lost 9 stone, raised over £300 for the childrens trust and run a Marathon ! it just shows what can be achieved with a little bit of determination. 

(however be warned loosing weight this quickly must be monitored by your doctor, and the marathon can bring painful consequences... yu should have seen the blisters on wills feet... or should i say the feet on wills blisters!)