+ive changes

Well, it's been a loooong time since I have blogged about anything, let alone running but I am back! Despite the best efforts of my legs to put me off running (injured back in March, just before Reading half marathon so I had to pull out), I have gone on to have a fantastic year and am happier than I have ever been! I have lost over 2.5 stone in weight (by eating clean & lean-ish! Well, most of the time!) and fallen in love with running, just for fun and also training to take part in a half marathon and 10 miler. I ran the British Heart Foundation half marathon at (a hilly!) Blenheim Palace on 7th October in a PB of 2:23:18 - which is almost 15 mins faster than my last half marathon over 5 years ago with little/no running in between. Super chuffed. And then three weeks later, I ran the Great South Run in a rainy, cold & windy Southampton in my target time of 1:40. Super chuffed yet again. 

It's been a welcome return to form for me as I have always loved running, but I don't think I have ever been in the right place mentally or physically to get the most of out it; it's been more of a token gesture to which I have never really truly applied myself but things have changed. I have found myself not having to force myself out of the door.....well, OK there has been the odd day when I can't muster the energy or enthusiasm and I need a lot of coaxing, but generally, I like the fact that I like running. It's a good head clearer when I can switch off from daily life and have some time to think, or not. I like the fact that it keeps me fit and healthy and I like the fact that I have a little endorphin rush after every run - something I never got in my 'half-hearted' days despite waiting for it to happen after reading it everywhere! I like the fact that after switching up some of my runs to hill reps or speed work that I ache a tad the next morning, a satisfying nod in my direction that it's doing me some good. And most of all, I love the fact that I have shaved over a minute off my mile time in the space of 3 months - and I have one of my closest friends to thank for that as she pushed me to run faster; it worked and has continued to work. Three months ago I was running an average of 10 mins 40 sec per mile, my average pace is now 9 mins 37 secs - thank you Sammy! - and this week I ran my fastest ever mile in 8  mins 21 secs! Super chuffed yet again. 

I've recognised that I need to have goals to aim for to keep me focused, on track and motivated so I have signed up for a 10k in Feb and Reading Half marathon in March. They are a way off at the moment but I still have parkrun every weekend (when I can make it) and I am 95% certain that I'll be entering Hellrunner Down South later in the year. I've also just signed up to 'Janathon' which is a bit commitment and one I tend to keep to. (Click on the link for further details)

All of these little achievements no, actually fairly big achievements, have made such a huge difference to me and many aspects of my life (sorry if that sounds a bit deep but you know what I mean!) and I am so glad - and proud - that I have made such positive changes to my life. And I fully intend to keep them up and continue to challenge myself. Life is too short not to. 

'til next time, 

Wonky Wanderer 

Every cloud

As followers of my blog will know, I’ve been struggling with a leg problem when running of late. Despite my determination to carry on regardless and ‘work though it’, things were just not getting any better. A cracking 7 miler, with just a little niggle, reinvigorated my enthusiasm and hope for continuing with training and thought I was back on track (I don’t want to spoil the ending, but I think you can guess where this is heading!)  but alas it was not to be. Several abandoned training runs only made things worse and a week of complete rest (and flat shoes.....oh dear, so not me!) didn’t help. Even a walk resulted in a bag of frozen peas being slapped my entire leg when I got home! So, it is with regret that I have decided not to take part in the Reading Half Marathon.  The decision made even more galling with the arrival of my run number and timing chip which will swiftly be returned to the lovely organisers. I’m starting to think that after completing two Great North Runs, an aborted attempt at the London Marathon, countless 5k & 10ks that I am not really made for running. So, I am taking a break from jogging/running for the time being but will be back; it’s something I enjoy which makes the enforced rest a bit of a bugger but there are other things I can do to help keep fit. And I’ll be visiting a sports therapist before donning the running shoes once again.

One of the positives is that I was only doing this for ‘fun’ and my withdrawal is not letting anyone else down, other than myself. No charities are losing out on much needed fund raising which is a huge relief. There is one other positive too though; now that I am not running, it means that I can join t’other two members of The Tandem Trio cheer on Cancer Research UK’s runners who are indeed fit & well enough to run the Reading Half Marathon! It has often been said that ‘enthusiasm, energy, gusto, passion and eagerness’ are not traits in which the Trio are lacking in so I hope the runners are prepared for a little bit of whooping and cheering along the course......because that’s what they are going to get!!

So, if you’re taking part in the Reading Half, whether for Cancer Research UK or not, let me know; we’ll look out for you and help you on your way!

And just because I am not running for the next few weeks, doesn’t mean no blog; oh no, I’ve still got tonnes of ramblings, stuff & gubbins to share with you all, and a little more time to do so.....you lucky people! Every cloud and all that ;o)

Adopting guerrilla tactics......

Running hasn’t been going so well lately and I have been forced to rest for just over a week due to my tight shin-splint-esque -calf pain. It’s an odd feeling when you know you should be putting in some miles but actually you can’t as you’ll only end up worse off in the long (or short) run.

The positive has been that I’ve been able to spend a little bit of time on the not running malarkey, although work has been slightly full on, so I really do mean a ‘little bit of time’.

I volunteered for my first parkrun at Abingdon on 18^th Feb and it was a great experience; really rewarding even though all I had to do was stand there with a high vis on and direct people! That said I hope that the runners benefitted from my cheering & clapping them on their way around the course. But one thing that I really liked was that people were thanking me for volunteering as they were running – how lovely! Now, I would like to thank people when I am running parkrun but if it’s a choice between breathing & actually speaking, I am sorry but the breath has to be taken!! Hopefully, my nod & smile is noted as gratitude, as it is sincerely meant. I’ll definitely be volunteering again and can’t wait to get back running parkrun again.

I mentioned a few posts ago about a little challenge my two besties – Sam & Lucy - and I have set ourselves; a skydive with the Red Devils (THE Red Devils, huzzah!) to raise funds & awareness for Cancer Research UK(CRUK). It’s been all systems go on this front since we signed up to take part and we have been meeting & planning, meeting & planning and meeting & planning to discuss how we are going to raise as much money as possible for this great event & cause. We’ve named our team (The Tandem Trio), had a meeting with the fundraising team at CRUK (thank you Rachel), had a mini photo shoot (FYI, my lip-gloss looked far better in the flesh than in the pic, the pitfalls of modelling, haha!), set up the fundraising page (www.justgiving.com/TheTandemTrio), put up the Facebook page and have set about contacting local companies for sponsorship and/or raffle prize donations for our forthcoming fundraising night (if you can support in any way, please let me know!) so the word is definitely being spread. However, we felt that it wasn’t enough to just share the news locally. No, we would take our good cause spreading further afield....to the big smoke, London! Admittedly, it did coincide with a pre-planned girls day out to see the Cecil Beaton exhibition at the V&A, which is well worth a visit, but us girls are multi-taskers dontcha know!

Our dedication to spreading the message is boundless......and almost got us into a little bit of trouble in the V&A but we were committed to letting people know what we are doing and how they can support us – especially as Sam is petrified of heights and doesn't like flying (do you want to tell her or shall I?!) This guerrilla marketing attack was thirsty work so we obviously rewarded ourselves with a beverage or two :o)

Whether the guerrilla marketing has paid off remains to be seen but all I know is that people’s generosity never fails to amaze me – less than one week since actively promoting our jump, we have reached a whopping £551 in sponsorship, which is 27% of our target. People truly are incredibly generous and we are all extremely grateful for your support so far.

The Tandem Trio Truly Thank You!!

Ice Ice Baby

Now I could be referring to many a different subject with a heading such as this……

The British love of talking about the weather; very on trend right now with the cold spell of weather across the country, particularly in the South where I can confirm it is freezing! The incessant referral on the news and social networks about the impending inches of snow that would greet us were a little unfounded as there was only as few centimetres (where I am) earlier this week and it soon disappeared with the rise in temperature – a balmy 0 degrees.  Positively tropical. It’s now just the ice to watch out for as the temperatures are set to reach as low as -12, brrrrr! By the way, is it just me who is a little bored of seeing images of everyone's iPhone weather forecasts/pictures of dashboards?!

Of course, I could be referring to the world famous mega smash hit tune by legendary singer that is Robert Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice. Admittedly if my name was RvW then I would definitely consider a more catchy name to get into the charts. And donning some seriously offensive shell suit attire with some rather dangerous dance moves. C'mon, we've all tried them a la running man. Oh, just me then?......oh right..........

Alas, sadly the weather nor Vanilla Ice are the reason for the blog but the need for ICE (Ice, Compression, Elevation) when I returned from a very disappointing run on Friday lunchtime. I will use the term 'run' loosely here as it was more of a pathetic trot with a finale of a slow limp home. The shame of walking home all kitted out, looking the part yet limp-walking; a bit like Cinderella, all dressed up and nowhere to go! I suffered the same pains last year when training for the Virgin London Marathon (refer to previous blogs for the disappointing outcome) but thought I had seen the last of them. They are like shin splints but on the sides of my calves instead (calf splints?). Lots of searching on line through forums & Twitter and they sound like shin splints so I am treating them as such and taking the advice given. Although resting so close to a half marathon doesn't feel remotely good in anyway but I know that it will be worth it in the long run (sorry!). So, my beloved frozen peas are making an appearance every day for 10-15 minutes and ice baths after a jog/run are back on the menu too (fashion & beverage advice courtesy of Laraine Wyn-Jones - thanks!). 

So, even if the weather warms up a touch, it will still be fairly frosty in my world for the next few weeks......ice ice baby! 

parkrun followed by crossed fingers & touching wood

In my last post I mentioned that I would be taking part in my first ever parkrun at Abingdon and was a little nervous about it. Well, I need not have been it was fab! I printed off my barcode and set out my clothes to wear the night before and headed off for an early night. Wow, how my Friday nights have changed.....no vino for a start and a slightly carb-biased dinner. All tucked up in bed before the 10pm news; I know, rock & roll, I am not! 

I hadn't given much thought to the pre-run fuelling aka breakfast! Due to not being a morning person, I tend to run in the evenings so wasn't really sure what to have. A slice of wholemeal with marmite and a slurp of coffee was all I had to hand so that had to do! I set off in the car way too early so hung around in the car for a bit, as the other runners did too, clinging onto the last bit of warmth in the car before the start. A welcoming bunch awaited me and I got chatting to a local runner who I soon realised was the person I had been emailing about joining the local running club on their social runs, small world indeed! The course volunteers were great and greeted the newbies with a round of applause; a great welcome. And before I knew it, we were off. A lovely route along the Thames then into the Meadows and around past the Thames again and then the home straight. See, it all sounds soooo easy but I didn't find it easy. Partly I think because I am used to running on road and I was quite nervous about going over on my ankle/tripping down a rabbit hole/falling in the Thames, and partly to being unfit. I did 'fast walk' twice but was spurred on by the other runners and as long as I could see the lady in the A.A.C running vest, I was doing OK. The run wouldn't break any world records but I was pleased to get round and get the ball rolling on my future parkrun events and goals. I came 85th out of 91 runners and my time was 35:43 and I was OVER THE MOON! I really, genuinely don't care about the position but I was very pleased with my time and I am determined to improve on it week on week. parkrun has a new fan and I was buoyed even more the following week when I came in at 35:03 (with thanks to Lee Harris for keeping me running when I wanted to stop!!). Week three was out for me due to cold - the virus, not the weather! - but this weekend I am looking forward to seeing if I can match or beat my time - and try not to stop. Fingers crossed. 

Speaking of which, I may just be back on track with the Reading Half Marathon training now that my cold has almost fully departed. Fingers crossed again! My legs, calves in particular, have been tight this week and I only managed half of my planned distance but at least I was out pounding the streets. Another slight negative on the week is that despite fingers crossed, I didn't get into the Great North Run but having run it twice before, I'll keep trying for third time lucky (lots of superstition in this entry - Steve Wonder would be loving it!) So I am considering the Great South Run & the British Heart Foundation 10k or Half in October; I need a goal to work towards otherwise my enthusiasm and focus rapidly departs me!

Oh, and the touching wood relates to a little challenge that I have signed up to with my two besties - Sam & Lucy; on the 7th June I will be jumping out of an airplane, strapped (blooming securely, I hope!) to a Red Devil to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Touch wood, fingers crossed etc etc that we a) raise the money needed for this great cause, b) are allocated a rather lovely attractive Red Devil each c) have parachutes that work and d) have a bloody great big glass of chilled champers waiting for us when we safely land!!!! 

So, fingers crossed that the snow holds off to allow me to get to and complete parkrun; that my tight legs loosen up for my Reading Half training to stay on track and that we can start to raise awareness & funds for our tandem jump. Watch this space!

Recommended blogs: 

The lovely ladies from Women's Running UK Project 262

Lazy Girl Running - and lazy she is not!

Phew! There you are!!

Well, how things have changed since my last post almost 9 months ago! I say changed but nothing too outstanding has happened really - Royal Weddings, Birthdays, fun nights out, a lot of work, Christmas etc etc - but a good few months have passed and, I am not proud to say, that it has taken me a long time to finally get around to a) get back on track with writing a blog and b) getting back to running. Sadly, since my aborted marathon attempt in April of last year, I had barely donned my running shoes more than maybe half a dozen times. I think I might have left my running mojo at the St John's Ambulance tent at the 8 mile mark (although I did come away with a lovely & shiny foil blanket!) There was just a mental block about actually getting out of the door and putting one foot in front of the other with some velocity, admittedly albeit a minor amount. My focus had gone and I needed something to give me a goal; apparently, trying to get and stay fit and lose a few pounds was not sufficient enough to focus the brain. Or to bring about any amount of drive or determination. All this compounded by the fact that I have always stated that I am "never any good at running but I just enjoy it" - by the way, what does constitute being 'good' at running? Is there a perfect stride? Perfect breathing technique? Optimum speed? Posture? Shoes? iPod track? Please don't feel obliged to answer, it was purely rhetorical and has just made me realise that I don't have to be 'good' at it as long as I am not damaging myself. Right, now that's out of the way, back to a little update on me! - So, in order to get my focus back I signed up to run the Reading Half Marathon on 1st April 2012. Dear Lord. 

With the dawn of the New Year of 2012, came the dawning realisation that I have a Half Marathon to train for so prepared a training plan. However, my body had other plans and succumbed to the glorious flu virus and put me back two weeks. I was actually quite surprised to find that I was genuinely a bit narked to have my plans put back but I did manage to bottle my enthusiasm to crack open when the cold had departed. 

So I am now underway with the training and enjoying it, so far, and long may it continue! I have sought and taken inspiration from the ladies taking part in the 26.2 Project from Womens Running Magazine, and fellow runners on Twitter. Although, I have a long way to go to reach their levels of fitness but it is great to feed off the enthusiasm and training tips! I am taking part in my first Park Run in Abingdon tomorrow morning; I am a little nervous about as I have not run with a club type thing before but I am assured that they are all lovely and its for all levels of ability (thank goodness for that!) and I am kinda looking forward to it. Although not as much as I am looking forward to my reward of a slice (or two) of cheesecake one of my besties has promised to provide for the girl's night in tomorrow night.......!

Now, where did I leave my self-control and diet discipline?? :o)