speed
Race Report: Mo’Run 2015
Date/Time: Saturday 29th November
Location: Greenwich Park
Distance: 10km … and all the hills!
Last year I did this event and I loved it as a race, this year I did it again and I stick by my initial thoughts – this is a great event!
MoRunning happens all around the country proudly supporting Movember and their fundraising for Men’s Health and in particular Prostate Cancer UK. Plenty of people attack this race as a serious course but there are also plenty of people in fantastic (?!) fancy dress outfits, donning impressive “mo”s running just to enjoy the day.
Turning up at this race I was excited, with an incredible 167 people from Run Dem Crew running I imagined spotting “Run Dem” tshirts all along the route and the noise through CheerDem was going to be insanely loud! (I wasn’t wrong!)
One of the many things I love about this race is the simple start. It certainly helped having our race numbers all in one area – big up to Glenn for sorting that. But there was no huge queue at bag drop, before or after! There were toilets all over the place, no queuing there either and we didn’t have to queue up hours before the start!
I sort of wanted to see if I could get a solid PB of sub 50 on this 10km knowing full well that with hills this would be very presumptuous but why the heck not try. Plus I was lucky enough to have Steph pacing me so off we went. Now the course follows the many pathways around the beautiful area that is Greenwich Park but unfortunately these are not made for 100s of runners so the first 1km or so was all about weaving in and out with a little bit of trail running in between ;D. Once out of the bulk of people started the hills. Downhill first, which was lovely as it was the start of passing so many Run Dem tshirts and a whole load of hi-fives. I adore being apart of this family as it is just super supportive. Regardless of how well you know each member the support and encouragement is there and that is priceless!
As well as spotting a lot of familiar faces it is worth mentioning the absolutely incredible marshals along the route. It was like these guys were sent to a special training school about how to be incredibly helpful whilst being super supportive! Every single marshal I passed was either dancing, singing, shouting words of encouragement or well just being flippin’ brilliant and it made my day! So thank you guys!
It should be said that yes most the race was spent with the goofy smile on my face, once I had removed the tash (which at the time felt like I inhaled everytime I breathed in) but those hills were no joke. In a 10km you really want to push. It’s a “shorter” distance when you compare it to a half marathon / marathon but trying to push and trying to overcome long, steep hills is no smiling matter. As Steph kept reminding me “it’s all about the arms” and well if nothing else it has reminded me how important hill training is! OUCH!
Passing Crew Dem at the top of the hill, heading down the atmosphere was electric and definitely helped add speed to the legs, however what goes down must come up. Cheer Dem had positioned themselves at the top of what I felt was the steepest hill along on the route. Getting to the bottom after flying down and having to turn back around was definitely a shock to the system as you now had to battle back up the hill and then of course put your game face on passing back through Cheer Dem. The hill was hard, it was steep, it was at the end of the lap (or at the finish if you were on your second lap) and well did I mention it was steep? Knowing that at the top was the CheerDem family it gave you that extra boost and you just gritted your teeth and got on with it! So thank you to all the Run Dem Cheer family for giving all us runners that extra boost when we needed it most!
Crossing the finish line I discovered I was just off grabbing that PB but to be honest I was ecstatic to have gotten so close, particularly when my PB was achieved on a super flat course! As we finished we were handed a pot of Wheyhey Banoffee Protein Ice Cream, which I pretty much inhaled, a bag of popchips and a bottle of water. Then of course the medal ….
This race really does have a fantastic medal!
All in all I would definitely recommend this race! It is just a truly lovely atmosphere, with fantastic volunteers and in an extremely beautiful setting. Bring on next year!
PS Greenwich Market does supply some incredible post race cakes ;D!
Race Report: NYC Marathon
Date/Time: Sunday 2nd November 2014
Location: New York
Distance: 26.2 miles
So I had always hoped for a “Marathon Miracle”. I had taken the expression #YOLO on board and randomly booked my flights to New York so why not see if I could try and get a spot in one of the (in my mind) greatest road marathons in the world as I was going to be there for it! Well the day before the New York City Marathon my spot was confirmed and I was about to set off and run my second ever marathon!
I would usually do a full race recap but if I am completely honest the whole thing is still a little bit of a blur and I am still in shock that I actually did it so instead I thought I would share with you what I learnt during my second marathon…
Remember this is what you do
When my space was confirmed I spoke to my parents to ask if I could really do this. My first and only other marathon I took extremely seriously, followed my training plan to the letter, looked at what I was eating, stopping drinking, got super stressed/nervous etc etc etc. The only other person I spoke to about whether or not it was a stupid decision to run this last minute marathon was my roomie in New York, a fellow runner and someone I trust to say it like it is. His response “I will not be impressed if you run the marathon, you should be able to run this distance, you train, you run, this should not be difficult for you”. Now this was quite hard to hear, I know what he was trying to say but to me a marathon is, and always will be, a HUGE DEAL. However, he was right. Week in, week out I am always training. I LOVE to run, whether it be with my crew, by myself, to work, on the track, I adore running, there is something about it that just gives me a super goofy smile. I am also loving my strength training, my muscles are growing and I doing my best to feed them to help make my body grow from strength to strength. Yes 26.2 miles is a lot further than I have ran in a long time but I train hard, so in theory I should be able to do this…right?
Just another weekend run
The night before the marathon instead of hyper ventilating, checking my kit 101 times I just reminded myself this is just another weekend run. Every single weekend I run with friends, granted sometimes it is just a 5km parkrun but it’s a run just the same, and well this was a weekend and I was going to be running with friends … nearly 50,000 other friends. During the marathon I just reminded myself this is what I look forward to and do every weekend, I run and at the end there will be food … and a marathon means there will be all sorts of food. Plus I am in NEW YORK, the food will be insane!
Never think of it as 26.2 miles
This marathon has a marker every single mile, great to know where you are but extremely tempting to count down from 26 miles! DONT! During my last marathon I started by counting down “parkruns”. A marathon is roughly 8 parkruns, nice, fun parkruns. Once you get to 8 miles it’s just two more of those and a bit. By mile 16 you have 10 miles to go and you can definitely start counting down. There were a few times during the run that I got a little overwhelmed about what I was doing, I was actually attempting to run 26.2 without “official” training what was I thinking, and then I would remind myself to think of it in short sections and just keep going.
Let the crowds help you
The crowds for the New York City Marathon are just amazing, and I mean AMAZING! I honestly don’t know if I would have got round the course if it wasn’t for the incredible people of New York cheering like they were. I know a lot of people listen to music whilst they are running and I definitely had my headphones with me just in case but during the full 26.2 miles I instead took in the sights and sounds around me, never actually using my music. There was no way I was going to give up with all that support surrounding me, I imagine that is what London feels like, it’s just incredible to see so many people and have them wishing you well every step you take, just incredible!
When I crossed the finish line of the New York City Marathon believe me I was just as in shock as everyone of my gorgeous friends when they saw my finishing line picture! But I did it, I actually did it and I am extremely (shocked) pleased to say that I was fine the next day. Now I am not saying that marathons should not be taken seriously, they definitely should, it is an extremely long distance and not one to be tried off the cuff. But this race for me was never going to be about time, in fact I didn’t even have my watch, this was about taking part in something amazing, exploring a new city and doing something I love to do every single weekend. Now my next planned marathon is in Barcelona and I plan to follow a training plan and try my best to achieve a quicker time but for me the New York City Marathon was an absolutely incredible, once in a life time experience and taught me that the body really is an incredible thing!
Race Report: Spartan Race UK “The Beast”
Date/Time: Saturday 11th October
Location: Pippingford Park, East Sussex
Distance: 20km+
It’s pretty common knowledge that I love a challenge, particularly one that involves running and being part of a team so when my work asked if I would fancy doing a “Spartan Race” I was definitely interested. HOWEVER, when I discovered that they were referring to “The Beast”, the hardest course out of all the Spartan Races, I will happily admit that I was extremely nervous. But with lots of support from my gorgeous friends and family I finally said yes.
5 weeks leading up to the race I changed my training routine (partly because of my stupid tumble during Bacchus meant I couldn’t run properly) and decided to seriously up my strength training sessions. I did all the (assisted) pull ups you could think of, slowly but surely upped all the weights I was lifting and jumped at the opportunity to try as many rope climbs as possible! It was actually quite exciting seeing my self named “Mr tickle/snowman twig” arms grow and even show a little bit of muscle! But I knew that I was still definitely going to be relying on guys to throw me over the walls during the race!
So race day! Now the weather forecast was horrendous! Black cloud and TWO rain drops on the BBC app! However, when we turned up at the station I am pleased to say the sun was shining and well, the surroundings were pretty beautiful! Don’t get me wrong it was still COLD but at least the sun was out!
Race number, aka our headband (which I love and will keep forever as proof!), collected my team of four guys and one other girl headed to the start line.
The first wave of nerves came before the race had even started! To get to the start line you had to climb over a 6ft wall! I felt a little sick after this, this wasn’t even part of the race! After a pep talk from a man in a spartan suit, with one seriously impressive 6 pack, we were off into the woods to battle!
The scenery was absolutely beautiful but the track itself, to a road runner, was SCARY! It was just so muddy and I don’t mean a little muddy field “muddy” I mean lose your shoe muddy! If you didn’t have trail shoes this race was going to be horrendous! In fact ten minutes in we sadly passed a spartan on the ground with his ankle strapped! This muddy track led us onto the first obstacle, down a seriously steep, muddy hill. I chose like many others to slide down on my bum trying not to pick up too much pace so not to fall in the water at the bottom! Then of course you had to cross the water and climb back up another muddy hill…not easy! This was to be the first of many downhill, uphill, muddy, climbs!
The track then looped round back towards the starting area, where were all the spectators were, and towards an “A” climbing frame which I really enjoyed, it was like being a kid again! Quick tip here climb up normally, but when you climb over go down on your back like a crab, it makes it quicker to get off at the bottom and get running again.
From here it was back into the woods and it was the start of the water and I don’t mean puddles! The first water crossing was up to your knees, cold but bareable. But for the (I think) 6/7 water crossings we did they varied from knee height to a short swim, barely being able to touch the floor! This is where the first of the thank yous start. At the end of a water crossing there were no convenient stairs out, it was wet and muddy and you had just been in freezing cold and seriously smelly water. Safe to say it was exhausting and I really struggled to get out each time but my team were INCREDIBLE, the guys literally just pulled me out of the water and plonked me on the ground (I have the bruises to prove it!!!)
Whilst looping back again we jumped over wooden hurdles and climbed through small gaps in walls bringing us to a seriously long set of monkey bars. These of course had muddy water below. I knew there was no way I would make it the full way across but you had to try and well I managed to get half way before dropping (apparently my grip strength was better than I thought) so off I went to do the first of 3 sets of burpees! The next two sets came during the rope climb and the rotating pull up bar?!? But I did manage to lift a heavy weight which was attached to a rope. You had to lift it all the way to the top and I used the pull and sit down method learnt watching YouTube videos!
From here it was uphill … Oh and when I say uphill I mean uphill for a LONG time on your hands and knees trying to avoid the barbed wire above you! This was quite ridiculous, every time you thought you were done it just kept going!! And what followed was a serious amount of lifting – logs, sandbags and a tire (which we had to carry for a mile!) of course up hill, down hill over extremely uneven, boggy ground! Then it was onto the smelliest of obstacles the muddy hurdles (and when I say muddy I mean up to my thigh muddy!) We were faced with three hills to climb up and down with pools of water in between! It stunk and it was super exhausting!
More muddy running, lots of sliding and more wall climbs later it was time for “the swim”. Now we knew they were going to be a swim as the organisers had pre-warned us. I knew I could swim, I’m not the best, but I can swim. HOWEVER, this was a lake, it was a good distance and well I had NEVER done anything like it before. Safe to say I had a little moment but surprisingly I just got in. It was cold but that wasn’t bothering me, what bothered me more was the open water, trying not to swallow it and also working out the most effective, I mean quickest, way of getting across.
Here comes another thank you, there were two guys on canoes in the water and I think they must have seen that I wasn’t looking thrilled about this part and so they stuck with me talking absolute rubbish the whole time! They got me through this, there is no way I would have been as calm without them! Coming out of the water I sort of wanted to cry a little (probably because I was tired, we were 2hours30mins in at this point) but also because I had just done yet another thing I really didn’t know if I could do!
Free banana (so so grateful for the organizers planning the one and only food stop here!) inhaled and a quick tire pull around a tree we were back to the running, muddy climbing, crawling under walls, tire flipping and water crossings. I swear every time you got dry they planned more water!
The final carry was a big bucket full of water around a small course which included a stupidly muddy hill of course, and then a water crossing. Plus point – the bucket floated in the water, bad point the water had huge logs in so you had to tread so so carefully and getting out wasn’t that fun either!
More high climbs, thanks to a man dressed as the hulk for literally throwing me over, and it was onto the spear throw! The Third set of burpees was here!
And now the finish! There was another A frame, but not a fun climbing frame, a wet, slippery surface with a rope to pull yourself up and over. We had been on the course for nearly 3 and half hours I was wet, muddy and well maybe a little exhausted but you had to do it, I could see the finish line! I started off strong quickly pulling myself up but it was high, really high and well I think I just panicked, I sincerely thought I was going to fall backwards – and that would have done serious damage! Luckily a guy in front saw this and literally grabbed me … more bruises to prove it and he helped me over! THANK GOD FOR HIM!
A climb down, a serious pep talk and then it was a little hop, skip and a jump over a FIRE PIT! YES A FIRE PIT! Then across the finish line! WE DID IT, we actually did it!!!!!
Grabbing our medals and all the freebies, thank you Whey Ice Cream for all those extra pots ;D we collected our bags, changed and ate everything in sight!
I sincerely thought there was a huge chance I would not complete this race. I knew I could run the distance but the obstacles. This is my final thank you – my team were incredible! We all had very different strengths and weaknesses and decided that we would tackle the whole thing together! It was an awesome experience with these guys and I could not have done it without them … we might be looking at another OCR next year ;D
If you are thinking of trying a Spartan Race here are my top tips!
1. Tri suit – You are going to get wet and cold almost immediately. I don’t know if all my nerves kept me warm or whether all the carb loading the night before helped but I was lucky enough to not get too cold during this race and I swear a lot of that was done to wearing a tri suit offered by the lovely Jen Slater!
2. Listen to as much advice as possible – Act as a sponge, logging any hints, tips and tricks about how to tackle various obstacles. Watch videos of previous races and ask for help from previous Spartans!
3. Wear long trousers – I wore 3/4 length trousers and safe to say my legs, two weeks on, are still a HUGE mess! Scratches, bruises and all sorts of marks all over the place!
4. Do it with a team – I could not have done this without my team. They got me through it, with chat, encouragement and of course physical strength! As mentioned at points they literally pulled me out of the river!
5. SHOES – Invest in proper trail shoes!!! This course is always going to be muddy and if you have no grip on your shoes you are asking for trouble! I had incredible trail shoes on from Helly Hansen which were amazing but they even at points struggled with all the mud!
6. Train outside – Get used to the cold, the wind, the rain! I love the outdoors but even I have to admit that if it is chucking down outside I am tempted by the gym. When in Spartan training embrace the weather! It will mean you are used to dealing with the elements!
The Spartan Beast IS NOT EASY! However it is a fantastic thing to achieve (in my mind anyway)! If you have any further questions please free feel to drop me note :D! I know I spoke to 100s of people pre race so I would be happy to pass on everything I have learnt!
GOOD LUCK!
Race Report: Beauty and the Beast
The Helly Hansen Beauty and The Beast
Date/Time: Saturday 20th September 2014
Location: West Wycombe Park
Distance: 26.2 miles (completed in a team of 6)
I love that my friends ask me out for food as much as they ask me to join race teams…
Held in the stunning West Wycombe park Helly Hansen’s Beauty and the Beast is tagged as the “UK’s toughest multi lap marathon” and when we arrived I could see why…
Staying at Charlie’s the night before we obviously took our race prep seriously, fuelling appropriately at Outsider Tart (GO, GO THERE NOW!)
Then early on Saturday morning myself, Charlie and Leah made our roller coaster experience of a drive over to West Wycombe to attempt the race as a team of 6, with fellow lovely ladies Jen, Josie and Emma, each doing one lap of the course. When we got to the race area we were firstly distracted by the start and the small mountain that seemed to follow directly after it! Next came the second mountain which we had to drive up to get to the start – we spent a good few minutes stuck in the mud, like I said it was a roller coaster of a journey!
Parked up, hand break definitely on, we wandered over to the Helly Hansen tent as they had kindly provided us with the bibs and kit for the race. The tent was a life saver, huge comfy red bean bags, shelter from the cold, as it was a little chilly out, and ALL the food which appeared to just kept coming!!!! Picking up our race pack was far too easy and I was extremely grateful to be handed a cliff bar with my race number (this was to be the first of many cliff bars much to my excitement)! So back to the tent for a quick sample of all the cakes – muffins, flapjacks and some of the best tiffin I have ever had and then it was time to wave our first runner off!
Charlie set off amongst other relay teams, individuals doing half marathons (3 laps) and people doing the full 6 laps!
Whilst waiting I got into my awesome Helly Hansen leggings and laced up my trainers. Now usually I wouldn’t advise wearing brand new trainers for a race but it was wet and muddy and after last weeks falls I felt that trail shoes were a lot more sensible and I was only going for 4.5 miles!
We saw Charlie coming in so I stripped off my layers got the ankle tag and then headed off … up that hill!
Filled with motivational quotes the whole way you just knew you were in for a treat of a race.
But luckily what goes up must come down and straight away we did.
I think I had been running for 5 minutes and already I had spoken to various people en route. I am starting to learn that trail runners are just awesome, they are a very relaxed crowd who just enjoy running and getting muddy!
First hill done and it was into the woods! WOOHOO!
Ever since the Spitfire Scramble I have realised that I love running through the woods and this was great! Making more friends along the route and high fiving the fantastic Marshall’s I steadily made my way through woodland and parkland and fields.
And then it was time for the second of three mini mountains!
This one came out of no where and was crazy steep so a power walk it was. I was told that it was always better to walk up hills, conserve energy ready for the flat and the downhill. Mountain done, around a corner and down hill for a quick water stop then it was up up and up all over again but at least the top provided gorgeous views of the surrounding area and led onto more woodland path!
View from the top
I had heard rumours of a river and en route I bumped into a couple of runners I had met earlier in the day who confirmed this and then continued to explain that the only way to cross was straight through the middle ….
So, after a little pause, a photo and a pep talk I went for it! Ha! It was awesome and after a only a few squelchy strides my new Helly Hansen shoes were clean and dry! AMAZING!
Once away from the water we got to explore the gorgeous grounds of the Wycombe estate, past gardens and a lovely large pond, a little mini hill, which was far more tough than it should have been (I blame the fact that I had been nattering none stop with one of my new buddies) and it was round the corner to the finish line!
This route was fantastic, if it wasn’t for my knee after last weeks tumble I would have definitely gone for another round and have no doubt that I will be doing this next year.
Once finished I swapped over with Leah and proceeded the make use of the VIP space, eating yet more cake and of course getting involved in a little legs up a wall, no wait legs up a deck chair, action whilst catching up with the rest of my awesome team and eating more cake.
One by one the girls came in beaming from their laps and when we spotted Josie, our final runner on the course, coming round the corner we ran together to cross the finish line as a team!
Finishing in under 5 hours in total we were pretty pleased with ourselves as we had just set out to enjoy the course rather than focus on a time. Our medals were given to us on a podium which, in my mind, had one of the greatest tag lines above it …
I loved this race. I loved the route, I loved the various terrain, I loved the views and I loved the atmosphere!
Thank you Helly Hansen for a such a brilliant event, the cake was fantastic and I shall definitely be seeing you next year … for the half ;D!
Getting into a routine …
So I think I am finally getting into a nice little routine … almost … nearly
Monday
Bit of ab work but otherwise “cool down” after the seriously sweaty race that was “The British 10km”
Tuesday
Morning – Upper body stuff, kicking off with interval rowing! This was then followed by pull ups, skull crushers, curls and presses. As mentioned last week I went with my list of moves and also started to note down the weight I use so I can monitor my progress!
Evening – RUN DEM aka speed session! This week I decided to go to the next level after figuring that I really need to start pushing myself and so I opted for #CheetahElites but somehow got asked to lead! It was an AWESOME 5 mile run and absolutely amazing to have the opportunity to lead such strong crew of people! Down to City Hall, across to Blackfriars and along past St Paul’s this SPEEDY run left me buzzing for days!!!
Wednesday
A great 7 mile run to an awesome soundtrack. During all my races now I chose to go without music and just enjoy the sights and sounds around me but when I am running on my own I love being able to catch up with musics/mixes! It’s awesome running to some serious tunes and I would definitely recommend listening back to MistaJam’s show at 7pm on 1xtra, it’s a great mixed bag of beats!!
Thursday
BOOM Cycle and London Duathlon BRICK Training Event
On Thursday I was lucky enough to be invited to an intensive one hour BRICK training alongside London Duathlon 2014 ambassadors, ITUDuathlon Champion, Ryan Ostler and Junior Team GB silver medallist, Charlotte Harris, in a 30 minute spin class mimicking the hills of Richmond Park followed by a 5k run. It definitely provided that “jelly leg” feeling but I actually really enjoying pairing the two disciplines! So much so that I would definitely have signed up for the London Duathlon on 14th September but sadly I am already taking part in another event! However, if you fancy getting involved you can find out lots more on their website – http://www.londonduathlon.com
Friday
LEG DAY – I know I keep saying it but I am loving my strengthening sessions at the moment, I just love the idea of making my body stronger! During this session I tried something a little different. After a gentle warm up I did 3 minute bursts on the sweat inducing stepper machine following by squats, lunges and kick backs. I did this little sequence 4 times … and then collapsed! It was AWESOME!
Saturday
Gardening … lots of gardening! I volunteered through work to help a fix up a school as part of a surprise for the pupils. It was a great thing to be a part of and I definitely think it counted as a full body workout! Even just carrying the wheelbarrow was tough haha!
Sunday
An absolutely glorious 10 mile run in the sun and when I say glorious I 110% mean glorious! I went with my music, after sourcing a great mix by Kaytranada, and just ran, not for time, not for distance but just to run and it felt amazing!!!! Now I know I am shortly going to start working on my speed which means shorter, more intense runs but this confirmed I just love a long run! I love the feeling of racking up the miles and the glorious satisfaction of that. I could have carried on for hours but I had a brunch to get to…of course ;D
So there we are! Do you prefer a long, chilled run or are you the type that likes short bursts of intensive running?
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
Variety is the spice of life …
Yep you got it another mixed bag last week … but I think I am building up a rough routine …
Monday
Rest day after ROGA!
Tuesday
Morning – Really looked forward to my upper body work out, starting to feel a lot more relaxed using the weights. Tip here: go prepared! I always write down the four moves I am going to do and how many reps and sets I plan to do giving me the look of confidence whilst surrounded by big, grunting, muscly men!
Evening – RUN DEM aka speed session! 5.5 miles averaging between 7.5 / 8 minute miles! Now granted there were a few traffic light stops but I am still seriously buzzing about those times!
Wednesday
A glorious 7 mile run. After some forward planning, making sure I ate a good meal straight after Run Dem, I woke up feeling fresh and ready to go! However the last mile may have been a little tough….!
Thursday
BOOM! Love a good Boom class with Lissy! I LOVE that I can get a good work out whilst catching up with friends…very lucky to be able to do both! Nice and sweaty 45 minute spin class busting my ass to the likes of Usher, Prince and Britney!
Friday
NTC Abs work out … ouch!
Saturday
Does shopping along oxford street count? Followed by a huge wardrobe clear out?
The weight sessions are really becoming something I look forward to, though it is definitely getting to the point where more moves, advice would be seriously appreciated! If you want any info on the stuff I am doing at the moment just pop me an email or leave a comment! I am happy to share :D!
Run Round Town 