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Race Recap: Bacchus Half Marathon
A unicorn, 2 tumbles and whole lotta wine
Date/Time: Sunday 14th September 2014
Location: Denbies Wine Estate
Distance: 13.1 miles
Before I knew my incredible friends from TNR I used to read their blog posts and always enjoyed hearing about the crazy races they were involved in. One in particular stood out, Laura‘s post about the Bacchus Half Marathon! Fancy dress, wine stops, all the food and in glorious countryside. This year there was no way I wasn’t going to get involved.
So firstly the fancy dress, after a few ideas inspiration came … I was going to run like this ….
To get to the race venue it was a quick journey to Waterloo and then onto a 50 minute train to Dorking which as the stops went by slowly filled up with people in fancy dress … and trainers! Off the train and a little 10 minute walk to the “vineyard” we were quickly surrounded by where’s wallys, brides, soldiers, wedding presents (?!), bumble bees, cheer leaders, minions … I could go on. The sun was shining, the music was pumping and everyone was in such good spirits!
After a super quick bag drop and registration (NO QUEUES and smiling helpers) we had a quick group shot
And then headed over to the start line…
This race was SURREAL! I would say about 90% of people were dressed up, varying levels of effort but still everyone was a little different and after about a mile and a half of running through beautiful rows of grapes we came to the first wine stop ….
These “fuelling” stations were incredible! A shot glass of wine, roast chicken crisps, haribo, raisins, dried apricots, jaffa cakes, borbon biscuits, fig rolls, nice biscuits, digestives, oranges, bananas, water, squash and energy gels. It was really hard not to just grab everything, in fact we are sure someone people had little bags so they could stock up for later!
So after enjoying the first stop we then carried on to the next, through a little village which is where I took my first of two tumbles…. I tripped on the pavement … no idea why … I’m a light weight but there is no way a shot of wine would do that! Anyway I picked myself up and carried on to the next stop where we came across a group of farmyard animals (in trainers) singing “wine wine dehlia”, again this race really was surreal. Stop two was also where a very kind first Aider dressed my knee, after a had to rip my tights off … apparently things had got a little bloody …
Through stop three and onto stop four we tried some glorious wine, I particularly enjoyed the rose, and the continued on a relaxed run through fields, among cows, horses, up woodland tracks, past beautiful country houses and on what would certainly make glorious Sunday walking routes.
At stop four we were greeted by bagpipers which actually seemed to be particularly fitting and after enjoying a very nice red wine Jen and I decided to carry on … Unbeknown to us, up a LONG hill!!
We were about half way through by this point and though it had been an extremely relaxed run I found the stopping and starting hard, plus I don’t really drink or eat whilst running so this was a totally different experience for me! So as the hill continued up and up this was definitely a test for the legs but of course I wanted to see if I could run the whole thing, just because I am crazy like that. I managed it but at the top I couldn’t see a wine stop (surely there should have been one by now) I was by myself and well, shattered, so I decided to walk for a little bit but of course as I ventured round the corner there it was, the wine stop! Typical ha!
This stop was one of my favourites! The volunteers were fantastic, dressed in Hawaiian gear, there were sweets all over the place, a steel band playing in the background and well the views were pretty incredible too!
From here it was back through the woods and onto my SECOND TUMBLE! Yes I fell again and this time really shredded my leg! I still cannot believe I fell…twice! Anyway, I dusted myself off and carried on through the beautiful woodland where I heard someone shout “love the unicorn costume” where I responded “it’s not a costume… Oh wait STEPH!” My incredible, crazy, friend was actually running the race as a marathon! Yes if you wanted to (?!) you could run the Bacchus Marathon and she was! Looking so incredible strong and going at a great pace it was absolutely amazing to run a couple of miles with my dear friend and I was extremely pleased to wave her off at the penultimate wine stop looking so fresh!
By this point we were onto a very dry white wine which was perfect for me as I really didn’t like it so didn’t feel too guilty at not finishing my shot glass. Seriously all the liquid and food isn’t easy to run with! The final stop had promised fizz so you imagine our absolute dismay to find out that by the time we got there it had all gone!!!!
The last two miles were, as Steph promised, down hill and gave us the most incredible views! And coming back onto the estate smiles were all around!!!!
On crossing the finish line I had Steph screaming my name and then proceeded to cry in her arms upon hearing she had absolutely smashed her marathon times! SERIOUSLY PROUD FRIEND MOMENT!
From here things got really exciting, the medal was a beast! And around the corner … ALL THE CAKE, chocolate tray cake, lemon cake, chocolate Swiss roll, vanilla Swiss roll and my favourite fruit cake with a marzipan layer! They also had loads of yummy fruit laid out too! These organisers know how to make a runner happy! This was then followed by what we had all been looking forward to! The hog roast! So as we all came across the finish line we sat and enjoyed our free HUGE hog bap in the sunshine and of course a glass of complimentary wine ;D …. I may have found the self serve ice cream too ….
All in all Bacchus Half Marathon is a fantastically fun race. Personally for me I’m not great at stopping and starting as my legs get a little achy but this race is definitely one to be experienced and enjoyed! BOOK YOUR PLACE FOR 2015 NOW…
…whilst I sit in unicorn socks icing my knee ;D
Race Recap: Spitfire Scramble
Date/Time: Saturday 30th – Sunday 31st August
Location: Hornchurch Country Park
Distance: As many 10km laps as possible in 24hours
When Leah asked whether anyone would be interested in entering a competition to win a place in a 24 hour race weekend I, of course, jumped at the chance and put my name down and then forgot about it. Then a couple of weeks ago we got an extremely surprising email confirming that we had won! Team Naturally Run would be the VIP team at the first Spitfire Scramble, 2014!
The Spitfire Scramble is a multi-terrain race where, as a team or as a solo runner (!?), you attempt to complete as many (roughly 10km) laps as possible over 24-hours! So on what started out as a very rainy Saturday morning (thankfully the weather got a lot better the further East we went) Jen, Leah, Katy, Becs, Becki, Emma Nikki and I made our way, along with roughly 200 other runners, to Hornchurch, Essex to set up camp!
Kitted out in predominately BLACK (personally the brighter the better for me when it comes to kit), BUT extremely comfortable Crewroom kit we had a quick photo shoot (and a costume change) and then got down to business deciding the order in which we would run … roughly thinking that each lap would be around an hour …
First out was Becs, a tactical move as she is easily one of the fastest women I know and so would put us in a good place for the race!
Following Becs, Nikki headed out and then before I knew it I was being called up!
When my first lap came around I have to admit I was pretty nervous. Hearing that I was going to have to climb over things was definitely going to be a new experience for me during a run, and well this obviously wasn’t your typical race, start – run – finish and then go out for celebratory food, but I wanted to do well for my team so I set off and settled into a relatively steady pace.
The route took you through various terrains, uneven field track, gravel paths, muddy paths, around lovely lakes and then my favourite, woodland paths!
I was loving the off road route! It was definitely a little different for my legs who had a few wobbles, but it was just so much fun, though having to stop to climb over things and then start running again is not the easiest! On seeing the finish line I sprinted to the finish, passing on the illumious slapband! Yes a slapband! Checking my watch I was over the moon and ridiculously surprised, my first lap was sub 50!!! Literally beaming!
Whilst all the other girls one by one went out for their laps the rest of us just chilled out around our tents, eating, catching up, eating more and just enjoying spending some time together.
We were extremely lucky to have some of the other TNR girls pop by for support too. A huge thank you to Lucy and Glen who made this gorgeous sign …
The lovely Laura who brought homemade cheese straws! Err amazing! And then of course …. LISSY!!!! The most amazing friend in the world for bringing my favourite thing ever, her DARK CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD (if you want to make someone’s day head to her site for the recipe! (Seriously it’s a game changer)
My second lap came at 21:30. At this point I was nervous, it was dark, and I mean reallydark. I am super conscious about walking alone at night due to boring events when I first same to London and now I was about to run for 6miles by myself with just a headtorch through fields, parkland and woods!!!!! WTF! This is where I have to give a HUGE mention Lissy (again) and the RDC team who gave me an amazing pep talk and assured me all would be fine!
With my amazingly strong headtorch (courtesy of LED Lenser) switched on, blinding everyone in the process, I plugged my headphones in and got going. It was dark, the route was empty and my headtorch was my only source of light but this my friends was one of the most amazing running experiences I have EVER had. There is something quite incredible about being alone in the countryside with just a headtorch and the stars, plus running in the dark meant that the hills, and there were a few sneaky ones along the route, were over before you knew it! I loved it, I absolutely loved it and I obviously had so much fun even the Marshall’s were laughing about how much of a runners high I was on as I bounded across the finish line!
My third lap however was tough. Orignally due to happen around 3:30 ish by about midnight I settled into my tent for a few hours sleep but at 1:30 I was woken up to hear the sad news that Jen was out due to a poorly leg and asked whether I could run sooner than planned … in 30 minutes! Now this race was all about the team and well there was no way I was going to let the team down so I quickly got dressed and joined Emma at the change over point and then with very little sleep and fuelled by half a Mars Bar – thank you so much Emma I still owe you for that – I ran from roughly 2:15-3:15 and I definitely felt my legs falling asleep whilst going down the hills!
When I got back Beki was there ready to go and explained that if I could would I be able to go again when she got back as both Jen and Leah were now officially out due to injury 😦 and Emma and Bex were catching up on some seriously well deserved zzz. I figured as I was up why not and it would mean I could get a solid couple of hours once I was done so I headed to the food tent for some slightly better post run / pre race fuelling, a Nuun and my Bounce Ball whilst enjoying late night ramblings with some of the other runners!
The fourth lap was a bit of a blur to be honest, somewhere around 4:30, the sun was definitely on it’s way and once again it was just me, my headtorch and Ronnie Herel’s old skool mix. I was pleased to see I got through it quicker than my third lap but by the time I crossed the line I was ready for sleep and so after a very sorry looking little bowl of oats and raisins I tucked myself in for a snooze.
Now originally we had all planned to do 3 – 4 laps each but due to some of the team being injured plans had gone a little awry. When I woke up after a couple of hours sleep the team incredibly were still running but had said that there was no pressure to so anymore. We had all gone way above expectations and we had all done each other proud but well … I wondered if my legs could do any more….
Doing a fifth lap would mean doing just shy of 30 miles, the furthest I have never run, it would mean getting another lap in for the team, and it would mean I could eat even more food! My team were incredible and without hesitation told me if my legs were up for it I could do it! So I did.
It was tough, I was tired, I was smelly, it was hot and the hills felt steeper in the daylight (hence the worn out face) BUT I did it and well I felt AMAZING! I would not have got through that lap without knowing I had my teams’ support so thank you so so much ladies!
Incredibly Nikki was there at the finish line ready to go! It was 11am ish and we had achieved our 24 laps but determined to get a 25th in Nikki set off to walk the final lap alongside Emma who on realising what she was up to ran to catch her up. (It’s worth noting here as long as you cross the start line before 12 the lap would count.)
On seeing the girls coming round the corner towards the finish line we of course joined them to cross the final line as a team …
This race was such an amazing experience for me. It was the Spitfire Scramble’s first year and I will definitely be signing up for next year! It attracted a really lovely mix of people and the atmosphere throughout was extremely supportive and friendly! The marshals along the route were smiley and the organiser himself, Danny, was extremely personable and made you feel very welcome! A word of warning the catering wasn’t exactly ideal (unless you love salty bacon (which will repeat on you whilst running) and jacket potatoes for every meal over 24 hours) but fueling for this sort of thing was always going to be tricky! Overall however it was fantastic and an experience I am so grateful to have shared with 7 other incredible running ladies :D. We even came in the top 50% out of all the teams that took part!
Oh and it’s worth mentioning that we actually came first in our division “All female team of 8”! That’s right we won trophies as well as medals!!!
So of course we used these to drink our celebratory fizz out of on the way home ;D!
A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED IN SPITFIRE SCRAMBLE! Us TNR ladies had a truly fantastic 24 hours!
Rain, raving and racing!
… “Run, eat, rave, repeat” …
Monday
So staying over at Lissy’s meant I had the pleasure of doing my circuits over looking the beautiful canals around Wapping so it all started well – 3 rounds of full body circuits. This, if you read my previous work outs, is usually followed by a run however, if you can remember the weather on Bank Holiday it was awful and I mean AWFUL! But because Lissy and I are crazy and had originally planned to be in Shoreditch for around 3pm we decided to brave it, Lissy on the bike (so she could enjoy shouting abuse at me to run harder) and me, well I was the idiot in shorts and my Games Maker jacket. This run was hilarious, we got absolutely soaked, couldn’t hear each other to talk to as I had my hood up and Lissy had her helmet on, and by the time we got to Shoreditch we were so unbelievably drench thanks to a car purposefully driving quickly through a puddle we just went home. Still we got a run in ;D
Tuesday
A killer 6.5mile run with the crew! I actually think this was one of the most epic runs yet! Led by the machine that is Chris we straight away hit an awesome pace tearing our way through the streets of London headed for Trafalgar Square. Once at Trafalgar Square we of course stopped for a few photos and met up with the rest of the crew. From there we headed down to the river and then RAN … and ran and ran all the way until the path stopped and it was time to head back North towards 1948. It was a long, hard slog but the sense of achievement at the end of it was IMMENSE. I know I say this every week but I LOVE Tuesdays!
Wednesday
Morning Gloryville RAVE!!!
Bouncing about for 2 and half hours definitely counts as a work out!!! Kicking off a 06:30 in the morning Lissy, Steph and I made our way across to East London to be welcomed into a space full of leotards, glitter and killer leggings!!! With live DJs at the decks playing some killer tunes we bounced, giggled and sung along from 06:30am – 08:45am having the time of our lives … and then quietly made our way to work.
LITERALLY THE BEST WAY TO START YOUR DAY!
Thursday
Bring on those 10 x 1 repeats and of course the double helping of granola!!!! This week a bizarre thing happened … I started my sprints and don”t get me wrong they were hard, but not as hard as last week. In fact I managed to go further in each minute! Keeping in mind consistency rather than killing my legs (and myself) and well it worked! I hit my targets every single lap, even managed to go a few strides further on my last couple of sets … I think this is what you call “winning” at sprint sets. As you can imagine my celebratory portion of granola was pretty EPIC!
Friday
Oh hello rest day … all the protein and GBBO …
Saturday & Sunday
A casual 30 mile run, in a team, during the afternoon, just after midnight, in the dark hours and in a glorious, sunny morning! I got scrambled …to be continued… #spitfirescramble
New routes, oats and CARNIVAL vibes!
So it’s been another week of training this time with a few familiar faces!
Monday
3 rounds of full body circuits followed by a lovely 30 minute RUNcommute to work … looking oh so cool in my commuter gear
PS notice I was still wearing shorts at this point! Summer had not completely finished!
Tuesday
All about the cross training ready for sprints (and of course celebratory granola) the next morning. So it was 20 minutes on the x trainer and 15 minutes on the bike. Both at a steady pace .
Wednesday
Morning – Second attempt at pretending that I can maintain a fast pace doing 10 x 1 minute repeats. Started with a 10 minute super slow jog to warm up and then got to it. The first four went really well, fast (or at least fast for me) and I managed to get further in the minute than last week but then 5 hit … from the 5th repeat my legs were getting tired so I think it’s fair to say that I need to work on consistency!
Evening – An absolutely gorgeous Yin Yoga session with Cal from Yoga In The Big Smoke over in Fulham Broadway with a few familiar faces …
I really enjoy Yin Yoga because, like many runners I know, I get impatient holding stretches for too long so probably don’t do each one for long enough. Yin yoga makes you hold every position for at least 2 minutes a go so no escaping!!! Ouch ;D!
Thursday
Due to the location of Yin the incredible hostess that is Steph very kindly offered me a bed for the night and even better she offered to do my morning workout with me! So after a late night of chatter our alarm sounded at 06:30 and together we got through 3 rounds of my full body circuits and then she took me on a tour of her local 5km route. It was so so lovely to be running with Steph and in totally new surroundings. Exploring, running and chat is just a perfect way to start a morning… oh and then throw in a packed, homemade breakfast and well honestly there is NOTHING better!
NUTELLA CINNAMON BUN with my name on!
Friday
Oh hello rest day … and cocktails with these beauties …
Saturday
After learning some serious lessons last week with my first attempt at 6x1km repeats I got my game face on, starting with breakfast! I had very kindly been given oats by The Chia Co in a goody bag and well we all know oats make a good pre run breakfast so …
All you need to do is empty the sachet, add water and stick it in the microwave for a minute or two and BOOM! Super quick, super easy, yummy pre-run fuelling DONE!
So after a very slow warm up to Highbury Fields (VERY SLOW) I got myself ready focusing on the fact that yes each 1km needed to be an effort but they also needed to be consistent. I had a time in mind, based on my average last week, and so set off trying to keep a relatively steady pace. My first loop I came in 10 seconds slower than the time I had in mind so on the second I picked up a little and then the following 4 laps I managed within 4/5 seconds of each other! I was absolutely exhausted and my legs hated me but at the same time I felt so so much better than last week and was a little smug about not completely collapsing by the 6th lap!!!!!
Sunday
Another opportunity to run in new territory! I am very lucky to have amazing friends who will put me up for the night and then come running in the morning! Lissy and I had an AWESOME 50 minute run in the sunshine around the canals onto Mile End. 50 minutes of slow and steady running followed by an epic breakfast of granola and french toast.
Oh and then we hit Notting Hill Carnvial for hours and hours of bouncing with friends!
Circuits, running, diving and cinnamon rolls …
So it’s been another week of training with a few random elements thrown in for good measure of course ;D!
Monday
Had the pleasure of working from home so kicked the day off with 3 rounds of full body circuits, did some work, went for a steady 30 minute run in the sunshine, came back and did more work, went to a casting and then came home to build my new bed with an extremely handy friend. You know, just another normal day ;D!
Tuesday
20 minutes on the x trainer and 15 minutes on the bike. Both at a steady pace ready for tomorrow! (No RunDem run as had an event in the evening)
Wednesday
My first real attempt of channeling Bolt in a run. I think he still might beat me. So Wednesday was all about 10 x 1 minute repeats, but not only did they need to be at full effort they also needed to be consistent. So using a quiet path which I found whilst doing my warm up I used a tree as my starting point and ran at full effort for a minute which roughly took me to a bin at the end of the path. With 1 minute recovery in between I then ran back at full pace in attempt to get back to my starting point! By the end of it I definitely felt like the bin and the tree had grown legs and were moving about to tease me … either that or I was just getting tired ;D!
In the evening, well it was just another normal evening catching up with Charlie … a normal evening where you get a personal diving lesson with the Tom Daley Diving Academy! Spogo kindly invited us down to the London Aquatics Centre and well we couldn’t say no! More details will be up on the blog in a couple of days but for now here’s a couple of pictures ;D!
Thursday
Three rounds of full body circuits and a gorgeous 30 minute RUNcommute to work! I forgot how convenient it can be to run to work, easily the most efficient way to get to the office!
Friday
Oh hello rest day! I generally find rest days quite tricky as I am not very good at sitting still but this rest day was seriously appreciated … my legs are definitely feeling the speed work so instead I had an early night and cooked some of my favourite things 🙂
Saturday
Disgusting 1km repeats. And when I say disgusting I mean disgusting! Who knew that Highbury Fields had a few sneaky inclines! And where on earth did that wind come from?! So once again speed and consistency were key for this so after an extremely slow, almost horizontal, run to Highbury Fields (about 1.4 miles) I set off on my first of six 1km laps around Highbury Fields. My first three laps were relatively similar, my fourth was WAYYYY OUT and then I brought the fifth and sixth back to a similar time to my third lap. This was hard, really hard, particularly as my double helping of granola before this apparently wasn’t the best fuelling! Lots of lessons learnt on this run, no granola before speed work and definitely need to slow it down on my first lap to keep the consistency up!
Sunday
So after missing out on Stephanie Muzzal’s infamous homemade cinnamon buns on Saturday due to over fuelling and late running I knew I would somehow have to get across London to get my hands on one! I had a 45 minute run on the plan and it had to be super slow (holding back on my “super slow” runs is something that I am struggling with at the moment but I know they will help when it comes to speed work so I am just gritting my teeth and getting on with it) so figured why not jog on down to Waterloo Station and jump on a train to meet her after her incredible 20 mile run?! So that is exactly what I did! Apart from having to remind myself to go slow this run was lovely, I knew the route so could hide my phone away and instead I just enjoyed the sights and sounds whilst running down through central London. It has to be said that the amount of “walk of shames” I past was INCREDIBLE and extremely entertaining! Once I got to Putney the moment came … those cinnamon buns are like no other! Yes Steph it was hugely impressive that you ran 20 miles today but personally nothing tops how incredible your baking is. Cinnamon buns like no other!!!
Race Recap: The British 10km London
Date/Time: Sunday 13th July / 09:35
Location: Central London
Distance: 10 km chip-timed race
Now the British 10km is a pretty amazing route if you want to see some of the iconic landmarks of London but if like me you have spent many a weekend taking full advantage of being able to run throughout the city paying £50 for the pleasure does seem a little steep.
HOWEVER, me and a few of my buddies were lucky enough to win a place in the Tiger Balm #BorntoRun team. Only finding out a few days before I wasn’t sure what to expect but there were rumours of full tiger suits…I was a little excited! Ha!
Arriving at Whitehall we were greeted by the awesome Tiger Balm Team. I cannot say thanks enough to these guys they were brilliant! Super friendly, helpful and all appeared to be genuinely pleased to have us there! We quickly got given our race number and of course our FLUFFY tiger suits!
So, these suits were definitely were not made of the technical racing fabric we were all used to ;). Almost instantly you could feel the heat rising but we decided to play along, with our Run Dem tops underneath, we would wear the suits for at least the first 3 miles. So, after a few photos with Born Free Ambassador Michaela Strachan, who was lovely by the way, we wandered to the start line!
It had to be said that walking to the start line felt like doing a 10km distance, it just seemed to go on forever?! The only thing that distracted us was the amount of attention our suits were giving us, it appeared that everyone loves a tiger. Everyone was in high spirits but all looked a little baffled about how far we were walking!
Once at the start (35 mins before we needed to be there) we got a few more quality photos in!
And worked out de- tiger suit strategy … seriously these suits had no ventilation … whatsoever!
Once the race finally kicked off we soon realised we actually needed to loop round … we were still quite a good distance away from the start!?! But when we finally got running (starting off past The Ritz) the amount of tiger calls and shouts of support we received was AWESOME! Now I have freely admitted before that as a runner I thrive off crowd support and this was brilliant, 6 tigers running together definitely got people’s attention. By mile 1 however the hoods came off and the temperature was rising, quickly!!!
Coming down along Victoria Embankment it was great to see so many people out to support the race. The crowds were seriously noisy spurring us all on with various banners and instruments which definitely kept us all going and the tiger love never seemed to stop.
However, going into the tunnel just before mile 4 things started to get a little tougher. Firstly it’s always disheartening when a race route loops back on itself as you see what’s waiting for you, an incline, and then secondly this was a tunnel. Imagine 1000s of hot runners, no air and oh and you are wearing a fluffy all in one tiger suit…
Even though there was just a tiny breeze when we came out the otherside it was ridiculously appreciated!!!
By mile 4 the boys had sped off and Harry and I pushed on still in the suits to try and finish in a reasonable time enjoying a different type of race. The crowds were still going strong and by this point I had committed to finishing in my suit … sprint finish with my hood up!
Coming up to the finish we passed Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey. Our sprint finish took us past Downing Street and the Cenotaph and yes I zipped my suit up hood and powered all the way to the end! Now no PB for me but a solid race and once again a fun one with friends. Once past the line cheery volunteers handed out water and we headed over to the special Tiger Balm tent to collect our bags & “race goodies”.
Now this is where things got interesting. Your medals were at the bag drop and if I’m going to be honest the bag drop was a shambles! Supposedly the bags had been placed in some sort of order however, the girls behind the barriers looked completely overwhelmed and well, it was painful to say the least! After playing what seemed like a crystal maze game, to the left, back a bit, no a little right, down, down there, back, back back … etc we finally found our bags and then your medal was handed to you with some GB coloured laces…mmmm.
Now it was an absolute pleasure to run for Tiger Balm and support the BorntoRun campaign! I cannot say thank you enough to the team for looking after us but the British 10km itself. The support along the route was fantastic, the runners were a good bunch and the sights along the route pretty wonderful. BUT for someone who loves running around London and is lucky enough to do this for free most weekends I think £50 is an awful lot for a 10km race … an awful lot!
BUT the post race celebrations after were pretty awesome ;D
Mixed Bag of Workouts
So it’s been another week of random workouts … I am sure at some point I will get into a routine!!
Monday
Rest, rest and more rest after the sweaty session that was Run Hackney Half Marathon!
Tuesday
Morning – all about the upper body! After an awesome session whilst at at the Nürburgring I was keen to try out things on my own … including pull ups! Yep, I busted out out an assisted pull up or 30 😉 plus some skull crushers (!?), renegade rows, shoulder presses and tricep dips!
Evening – Run Dem Crew – since stepping up two pace groups this is definitely now my speed session. 4.3miles around London … phew!
Wednesday
Morning – Leg day. So, I haven’t fine tuned my workout plan yet and well now I know not to do leg day after RDC, aka the speed session, but it still felt good to get those squats and lunges in!
Evening – Xen Do taster session – Laureen, Charlie and I got to experience a short kick boxing taster session which was brilliant!! We kicked and boxed as hard as we could, whilst learning some great self defense moves! The class was led by Rafael Nieto who took the time to explain the theory behind the moves and then got us working…hard! Really hope to go back for another session soon, I loved it!!!
Thursday
4mile steady run. Awful, like I said my workouts need tweaking slightly but hey it’s all a learning curve!
Friday
I joined Zoe, Charlie and Lissy to test out my new Sweaty Betty swimming costume at the Oasis Outdoor Pool in Covent Garden. Sadly the outdoor pool was closed (which I was a little bit glad about as I am such a whimp in the cold) but this also meant that the indoor was manic and I definitely got splashed a lot more than I wanted to! However, this was a lovely excuse to catch up with the ladies and I managed to swim a nice and relaxed 30 lengths in 25 minutes, so not all bad :D!
Saturday
Fulham Palace parkrun with Lissy, Leah and Steph, introducing Leah to the world of parkruns! This was a great route, 3 laps around the beautiful Bishop’s Park taking you through the park and along the river! I love parkruns! Free, timed 5km runs where all involved are super friendly, runners and volunteers, and all in a relaxed atmosphere (with the option to push if you really want :D!) This was a great run and Steph and I definitely helped pace each other for a great sub 26 minute 5km time!
Sunday
Roga! Roga! Roga!
The awesome Lululemon Islington every so often (I am hoping they will become more frequent!) throw a ROGA event… Run + Yoga = ROGA! Led by the awesome Becs (after a nice warm up 2mile run to the studio / Lissy joined me via bike – proof below) we did a gorgeous 6 mile route along the canal to Victoria Park enjoying the sunshine and then headed back to the studio to stretch out with an hours yoga session in a near by park. Honestly I cannot recommend this enough! The run definitely makes yoga a little bit more intense and don’t be surprised if you find yourself falling asleep in the end of the class but it is just such a good way to spend a Sunday! Keep your eyes posted for the next one!
Race Recap: Run Hackney Half Marathon
Date/Time: Sunday 22nd June / 09:00 (!?!)
Location: Hackney, London
Distance: 13.1 miles
Building up to this race I have to be honest I wasn’t feeling strong. 4 weekends of travelling and my job being MANIC had meant that my long runs hadn’t really happened. I had been doing all sorts of training but I wasn’t feeling my strongest and well my lower back wasn’t the happiest.
After umming and arrhing about whether I race or cheer my lovely lady Harriet offered to run nice and slow with me and well any excuse to spend some time with her, plus Lissy would be ready and waiting at mile 10 to join us if I needed the support soooo…..
My journey was super easy, with a fellow RDC’er we grabbed the bus and arrived at the event village around 8am in the glorious sunshine (it was glorious at this point) there were lots of toilets (so it seemed) and a well organised bag drop! As time went on more and more people filled in. I was running in my RDC tee and with over 100 of the crew running plus loads of international crews it was awesome seeing people everywhere to say hey to and definitely helped me get in the mood!
Bag successfully dropped I headed to the toilets where of course the queues had now started. 20 minutes (?!?) later I was running to the start pens faced with the impossible task of finding Harry! There was no way I was running this by myself, my heart wasn’t in it, so I had to find her and luckily after many phone calls and jumping and waving I did!!
Before we even kicked off and my RDC vest was tucked into my sports bra … it was gonna be a hot one! Crossing the line it was great to see so many supporters out and the amount of people shouting out “Run Dem” was ridiculously encouraging – I absolutely LOVE being part of this family!!!!!!
The first 3 miles rolled on by, offering some sneaky little inclines and not much shade. My back was a little achey but luckily Harry and I hadn’t seen too much of each other that week so there was a lot of life gossip to catch up on offering a great distraction from any aches and pains ;D
It was refreshing to have so much space along the route, compared to other city races and bearing how many runners were apparently on the course, it never felt over crowded or slow moving! That being said by mile 5 it was clear that this was NOT going to be a PB race, the sun was beating down on us, our legs were heavy and neither of us felt strong. I am notorious for not drinking enough during races, my pink bottle rarely gets emptied, however I had already finished all that was in my trusty race companion and had taken one of the squeezy water pouches (more on them later!) But we kept on pushing knowing that a fellow lovely TNR lady Laura was marshaling and would be stationed around mile 6. True to what we thought round a small corner there she was screaming and shouting just as we were at her!
I know I say it all the time but for me supporters make my race! Hearing people cheering and encouraging you on gives you a huge boost even when you are dying inside!!! I know at this point both Harry and I were having a bit of a moment, not even half way and already tired and seeing Laura looking so positive definitely made a huge difference so we pushed on knowing that in a few miles time we would reach the all mighty CHEERDEM!
The sun was relentless and for the first time in my life I was becoming a shade hunter. However, this also meant that my back was no longer a issue as I so focused on getting through the run! Along the route we met more and more of our crew and so the small boosts and smiles just kept coming but sadly I couldn’t tell you much about the scenery, or the route itself as to be honest it was a bit of a blurrrrrrr.
By mile 9 poor Harry was really having to push to keep going but we just kept reminding ourselves that Lissy and CheerDem were round the corner … we just had to make it there and then we were on the home stretch… and then this happened …
With Charlie Dark heading up Cheer Dem the atmosphere was, as always, electric and nothing could wipe the smile off my face seeing Lissy shouting at the top of her voice to Harry and I!
I LOVED running through there with my tee on it was a HUGE boost and then just along from there we spotted Harry’s awesome fiancé who continued to shout out our names and offered, thankfully, another bottle of water!
At this point water was a huge necessity. There is always a lot of chat about how water is given at races. I have seen bottles, plastic cups, paper cups (?!) but luckily Hackney had chosen the squeezy pouches. These pouches are great to grab, carry and drink from … if you know what you are doing! Now I don’t know if it was because it was so hot and it was sending everyone a little crazy but people over all the place were struggling with these things. It appeared that you had to rip the top off and then just squeeze to get water out. On my first attempt I managed to squeeze it and hit the back of my throat causing a coughing fit. Harry managed to open it the wrong way and squeeze it onto her foot and we saw plenty of people either not being able to get the water out or if they did only get a get a drip when trying to pour it over their heads!
Back to the race itself and the final 3 miles were hard! In theory running around the Olympic Park should have been really exciting however more sneaky inclines and no shade whatsoever made it pretty darn tough! Harry and I battled through, did the loop bringing us back to the crew and all the excitement that came it and then pushed on to the bitter end.
Coming up to the finish line we pushed, no “sprint” finish but definitely a slightly faster pace and I cannot tell you the relief we felt to have crossed that line ….
Yes this was a pretty horrendous race and yes Harry and I definitely didn’t get any PBs to shout of but that being said this was also an awesome race! It was great running through Hackney, seeing all the local support. It was amazing to run alongside so many crew members and experience cheerdem in full force. But what was truly awesome was to see how runners were helping fellow runners out! Everyone seem to struggle along this route at some point, whether this was due to the sun, lack of water, sneaky hills or all of the above and you really got the feeling that people were there to support one another. For me this is what running is all about, yep I love running to clear my head, catch up on music and generally keep fit but I also love seeing others run, encouraging others to push on and achieve their goals and once again this race gave me the fantastic opportunity to run with one incredible lady and see her get yet another half marathon under her belt!
HACKEY HALF you were sweaty but it didn’t beat us and YES we will be coming back next year!
Home Sweet Home – The place where cake dreams come true
Address: Edge Street, NQ, Manchester
Website: http://cheeseburgertoastie.co.uk/ but for pictures … https://twitter.com/HomeSweetHomeNQ
Good for: Just look at the pictures on their twitter profile! CAKE!!!
So you may have gathered by now I am a huge cake lover! Yes, I love most sweet things but cake is where my true love lies! Whilst on instagram one morning I came across this image …
.. I knew that one day I would have to visit this magical place!! Obviously fate was on my side as this place happened to be in Manchester … and what better way to “hopefully” be celebrating a marathon than visiting a place where the cake counter looks like this …
When we arrived at Home Sweet Home everything looked GOOD. You are greeted by some seriously well dressed smily staff, directed to the bar where some amazing looking milkshakes where being made … including one named “CHARLIE BROWN!” and then the cakes … THE CAKES!
We were looked after by a lovely young lady who, after explaining that I had been dreaming about these cakes whilst running 26.2 miles, took us straight to the cake counter so we could reserve our slices! These cakes are made daily and almost every single day they SELL OUT!!!
Now of course this place also does savory food, the menu can be found here. We kicked off with plate of loaded nachos and when they arrived we were not disappointed. The plate was full of nachos, stacked high with guac and salsa and an extremely generous amount of melted cheese – perfect for a tired and hungry runner and warn out supporters!
Next to the mains. Typically my brother ordered the burger which looked proper meaty and apparently it tasted pretty darn good too! High praise indeed from my bro, who if I am a cake connoisseur he is definitely the burger equivalent! Harriet enjoyed the falafel halloumi wrap. It took her a little while to find the halloumi but once she got there she was more than happy with her choice! I opted for the squash and goats cheese salad (I got a little carried away with the nachos – we ordered them before we even got to the table so when I had to decide on my main all I could think of was cake and so a lighter meal was needed) This was yummy! The warm butternut squash tasted gorgeous with the honey drizzled over it and the amount of goats cheese given would make any cheese lover happy and all of this topped with crunchy yummy almonds. It was thumbs up all round!
But now to the cake! Now I had seen online a rainbow cake topped with marshmallows … oh hello! And well when I entered the door I already knew this was me!
The cake was awesome!! It had a bubblegum flavoured sponge with a ridiculous amount of buttercream in the middle and around the outside. I WAS IN SUGAR HEAVEN!!!
Harriet chose a very decadent looking piece of rocky road…
…which of course I nibbled on. This piece of chocolately heaven included sneaky bits of marshmallow, biscuit, smarties, dolly mixtures, haribo cherries, strawbs and sprinkles … just to name a few of the ingredients!!!!
Ceri went for the “Choco Mint Cake of Life” (apologies for the shakey camera work but it was just so exciting)
This cake was literally like eating a spongey after eight! I just love how to town they go on the buttercream on this place, honestly it is truly incredible!
All in all our experience of Home Sweet Home was brilliant. The staff were really patient with us as we were quite a big group (in a busy restaurant where you can’t book) and even though we all arrived at different times they got us seated and settled in quickly. The food came fast, but not so fast that we were suspicious and everyone was happy with their choices. But for me the true highlight was the cake. They are just BRILLIANT. Not only do they taste incredible but there is a lot of creative thinking and talent that obviously goes into making these amazing pieces of what I like to call #cakeporn!
If you ever find yourself in Manchester please please please go to Home Sweet Home you will not be disappointed!!
Or if you ever find yourself just wanting to look at amazing cakes follow their twitter account (detailed above) or Charlotte O’Toole who is their head pastry chef! Cake porn at it’s best!
Look at all those happy faces, now only if they would deliver a piece to my office … now that would be AMAZING!!!
Run Round Town 
