What a difference a day makes....

I’ve only recently heard this song by Jamie Cullum and love it.  His voice is like liquid velvet on my ears and it’s a beautiful love song. 

What a difference a day makes - Jamie Cullum

This weekend my training run was 10 miles, well it ended up being 9.18 miles (14.78k), a training run! This time last year I was training to run 10 miles in the Great South Run, and here I am, doing this distance as training (imagine confused face). I am in awe of myself running this far, not in an arrogant way, but more in a disbelief kinda way. There is a version of me that runs, and that version of me sometimes still feels that it’s not really me. I’m still surprised that a) I can run that far; b) that I’ve stayed committed to doing it, and; c) I can’t do without running in my life anymore. 

What a difference a year makes....

This year has been amazing in so many ways; I've started to write a book, I've got nine public speaking events to give, I've qualified as a Clinical Hypnotherapist, and lots more besides. So, some incredible highs and running has been my saviour in all this chaos, from stress, for my natural high, for giving me a sense of freedom, for boosting my self esteem and for giving me some nonsense to write about for pleasure.

When I started running just over a year ago my initial hopes were to become svelte and lithe, well that hasn't happened. My comedy size chest has stayed exactly the same size (queue Benny Hill music). I say comedy because I do not have, what you might consider to be a runners figure. Many women whom I've spoken to about running have lamented 'They couldn't possible run as their boobs are too big'.

Well let me 'out boob' that comment, if I can run 10 miles with a 32HH chest (I could basically wear a cup as a hat), then any woman can do it. Get the right bra, the right attitude and start to run.

Training plan on track, kinda....

With regards to whether my training plan is on track, I've missed two training runs. One due to illness and one due to life just being too damn busy and complicated at the moment. They were the short ones, the 6 milers, not the long runs, and I'm on track (no pun intended).

In six weeks time I will have completed my first half marathon and I imagine I will be feeling like the cat that got the cream, albeit a little tired. So another 5 weeks training to go and ramping up the training distance to 11 miles next weekend! Eek.

A Female Runner was Stabbed on Southampton Common

Not the most cheery title I'll admit, but true. A woman was running on Southampton Common and was stabbed by a man. She was running with her dog, at 9.45am. This information has come from the Southampton Echo so I cannot in any way vouch for it's validity.

Unusually for me, part of my running schedule for the Bournemouth Half Marathon I had one day without someone to run with and for 8 miles. And so in light of what happened I spent some time scouring the news for information, was it safe, should I carry some sort of 'weapon' with me; a nasty perfume that I could spray into an unsuspecting assailants eyes; or perhaps a tennis ball in one leg of a pair of tights that I could use to swing around their legs and trip them up while I make a run for it (only women of a certain age are likely to get the tennis ball in a leg of tights scenario); a rape alarm? I phoned the 24 hour police line (not the emergency one, of course) to be told to call back later they were busy. Questions running through my head; were the police worried, should women avoid the common at all costs? I didn't know, I couldn't find any helpful information.

I wasn't giving up my chosen run route without a fight
After a six mile run mid week, the eight mile run was part of my training plan, and was not something that I could, or wanted to miss. Nor did I want to restrict my eight miles solely to suburbia, roads, and traffic. My route took me through the Southampton Sports Centre, The Golf Club, the parts of the edge of the common in Highfield and down through the bottom of the common, Cemetery Road (to the locals known as Doggers Alley).

I also wanted to run with my outdated, classic, cheesey, hardcore, garage etc, etc dance music ringing in my ears. There is something in the rhythm of dance music like white noise to my mind and switches everything else off and allows my mind to open and let the thoughts flow.

Stubborn as...
I refused to let one incident affect what I now loved doing (well most of the time anyway), or let it affect my choices with regards to a route which I knew I would enjoy more. I was defiant against a potential risk. I would not let one person scare me from what I wanted to do, no matter what the perceived risk was. Now don't get me wrong if there was a very serious problem and multiple attacks had been made my choice would have been different. I was also aware that you have to take the media with a pinch of salt, how much of the reporting was 'exaggerated'?

And so I ran my route, the one I wanted to, part of it away from suburbia.

The first four miles were pretty much uphill culminating in Golf Course (add expletive) Road. It's very steep and it was at then end of the first half uphill route. At the top of Golf Course Road the route was much more pleasant. Part of which was running through the trees.

It was bright and sunny on Sunday morning and running through the shade and sunlight was like natures own strobe lighting, beautiful and perfect and cool.

As I ran, ignoring any sensible advice I'd been given I thought about the man who stabbed the woman in the park. What was, had been, his life experiences to lead him to do such a violent act? Did he have a mental illness, a mental breakdown, why would he do that? A random act of violence cannot come from a person who is happy.

With every step that I take on my training runs, getting ready for the half marathon it will result in raising some money for Mind, the mental health charity. Mind help those who need support and advice on a whole variety of issues; from anxiety and panic attacks, abuse, bereavement, phobias, depression, self esteem, the list goes on. My new burgeoning career is about helping people with a whole variety of issues and it's close to my heart. I wondered whether if that man, who stabbed the woman, knew about Mind and went to them for support before, then maybe he wouldn't have done what he did, something I'll never know.

So every step that I took in the woods, in the trees in the wonderful strobe lighting of nature, I knew that I'd done the right thing. I knew that any money I raise might help someone in need.

I say do what you love, take some risks, live life, help those that need it wherever you can.

I'll continue running all the while that I can, even though it's a love hate relationship. I took a risk when I started running, feeling like an idiot for even trying and here I am, planning a 9 mile run for tomorrow morning. Who'd have thought it.

The Good Hair Guide to Avoiding 'Monica' Hair in this Heat

Oh I Wish
There is no way around it. I have big hair. And in this mini heatwave running with big hair is akin to running with a king size electric blanket wrapped around my head turned  up to scorchio.

So after planning my half marathon training to coincide with the first mini heatwave in since 2006 (when I used to wonder why runners didn't just use their cars) I started with a small seven miles to kick it all off.

Sat 13th July
I hadn't actually mapped the route but was guessing the distance based on similar previous routes I'd run. My running partner Gem hadn't completed a long run since the Great South in Oct last year, so combining that with the heatwave it could prove to be a tough one. But that's OK, we'll just leave early in the morning, how about 8am. I must admit to being quite excited by the prospect of starting my half marathon training as it was a weekend of sorting, life laundering, getting my proverbial 'stuff' together.

It felt difficult, I felt like The Wicked Witch of the East completely drying out, my eyes were stinging as the sweat from my electric blanket heated head poured from me. But as I've found, once you've mentally passed the barrier of 'not stopping', it's almost impossible to do so, you also start to automatically replace the negative self talk, which is basically 'I can't do this' with 'I can do this', 'I've done it before', and start to think about how chuffed and smug you'll be when you've finished the route.

And we did, we completed the route, yes were melting, and exhausted but we finished it.

Question is, will a baseball cap to run in serve to help keep the heat off my head or just act as a couple of pings of the microwave to super heat my head. I don't have the answer to that just yet but must Google it.

Mapping the run showed an impressive 7.43 mile route. Excuse me while I high five myself.

Bearing in mind the heat, I was very aware that I must stay hydrated and drank copious amounts. What I didn't do was eat, well not until the early afternoon as I was still completing my 'missions' and it wasn't until I was feeling a bit wan, early afternoon, that I ate, well scoffed a sandwich would be a better description. And mid afternoon the tell tale signs of migraine started to creep in. I'm well stocked with pain killers for such events and still wouldn't slow down and it continued into Sunday with the 'swimming through glue' and nausea that sometimes accompanies these blasted headaches. So lesson learned, eat and drink!

Thursday 18th July
We still have a heatwave. There is still plenty of rush hour traffic. I still have a half marathon to train for. Cold beers and BBQ appear much more inviting but in the absence of any invite to such an event the trainers were first choice. Following a hectic week, lack of sleep, yet again I hadn't mapped a route but out we trotted in the insane heat. Although it wasn't the six miles planned it was 4.3 miles and in this heat I'm still pleased with that.

Saturday 20th July
The heatwave continues, apparently we are at  level 3 - 'heatwave action' which almost sounds like a great name for an adult movie! The sun beating down on me pulling water out of me like the taxman pulling cash out of my salary.

In a bid to perhaps run a little cooler our escapade started at about 7.45 with our 8 mile route mapped out. Down to the seafront, up through the old town, around the park up, yadda, yadda, yadda. Some parts harder to run than others. Some parts in full sun, between the buildings, no shade, no wind. Some parts, long slow inclines, with no shade.

And then, eventually, we were at that point on the route, sanctuary.  The terrain was flat, followed by a slow decline to the end of the route. The surroundings were wooded, providing some longed for shade and we were homeward bound. And arrived, still standing, just. We just ran 8.3 miles in a heatwave.

And after this run, I drank loads of water, and I ate. Not a migraine in site just plenty of endorphins.

I can only hope that as I push myself to run in the heat, that come the Bournemouth half marathon it will be a piece of cake, as surely running in autumn will be like heaven compared to running in a heatwave.

And to avoid the electric blanket heating effect of my hair I think I've found the solution.

Here's to the predicted thunderstorms and noisey hair!

For Goodness Sake, Shut the Fluff up and Get On With It

Yey..... running 13.2 miles....what was I thinking. Like c'mon? You're a busty girl, keeping running like this you're going to be using those as a scarf for the winter of 2013, no need to worry about the rising cost of heating bills!

Torn (Que song in your head by Natalie Imbroglio)
Some of my future goals include running a half marathon (jeez!), setting up my hypnotherapy practice, writing a book on self esteem, getting back to my artistic roots and becoming a super heroine and saving the world, of course (doesn't everyone?).

Sometimes though, I am dogged by the rebel in me, who is hellbent of undoing all the good work I have done this last year. I am ashamed to admit that I have been partaking of the odd cigarette, especially when there is a glass of Prosecco to accompany it, the lascivious part of my nature taking full control, which is in complete opposition to the goals I really want. After all my study, there is a certain feeling of freedom and a willingness to go wild but I have to remind myself that I am no whippersnapper any more.

So enough now of the self indulgence and my wild side, a bit of self hypnosis to get myself right back on the righteous track I have less than three months to get half marathon fit. Expletive. Ooookaaaay. So goodbye to the bad old ways and hello new invigorated healthy me.

It is common to lapse on whatever course we take in life but it is just as important to admit to yourself that you are infallible, that you can fall down but what's most important is being able to pick yourself back up, and get right back on that proverbial horse.

So now I have a training plan, I have had many, but this was devised with my running partner, this very evening, helping each other along. Giving up boozy nights before a big run and getting ourselves into a good running form. So the half marathon running plan looks like this:

13/07 - 7 miles
16/07 - 6 miles
20/07 - 8 miles
25/07 - 6 miles
28/07 - 8 miles
31/07 - 6 miles
02/08 - 9 miles
07/08 - 6 miles
10/08 - 9 miles
14/08 - 6 miles
17/08 - 10 miles
21/08 - 6 miles
25/08 - 10 miles
28/08 - 6 miles
31/08 - 11 miles
04/09 - 6 miles
07/09 - 11 miles
11/09 - 5 miles
14/09 - 12 miles
15/09 - 5 miles
21/09 - 12 miles
28/09 - 6 miles

Two reasonable runs a week. I'm considering hiring a personal trainer for more exercise to work on building core strength, glutes and anything else that could do with some work (most of it I'm sure). And I may even learn how to use that blasted Garmin watch. Time to quit talking about it and bloody well get on with it.

And for those of you that don't know Torn, here it is, but a more entertaining version.
Torn - Mimed

Horror Film extra and an Impromptu Shower

The Great British Weather

As anyone who lives in, or has visited the UK, one thing they will know for sure is the changeability of the weather. It can change on a sixpence: flip flops, linen trousers and vest tops for the am, sou'wester, Wellingtons and jumpers for the afternoon. Wednesday wasn't quite so changeable, it was generally dull, overcast and wet....all day. Which after the glorious sunshine we'd had over the weekend didn't do much to lighten ones mood.

And so, after agreeing the previous week to run the Copythorne 10k Fun Run (now there's an oxymoron if ever I heard one) after work the thought of doing it did not fill me with any joy at all. Traffic was horrendous, everyone was in their car to avoid the rain and was crawling the 20 miles to the venue.  Team that with torrential rain and my first 10k since Marwell. My cup was overflowing with joy. Think Grumpy Cat and you have a good depiction of my anticipation.  Thoughts of a cancelled run were running rife through my mind (no pun intended) but alas it wasn't to be.

The Copythorne 10k Start
So there I was on a damp June evening, hanging about in a field with my running chum, whom I have to say has longer legs than me and is much faster than me, contemplating whether we could actually duck out at 5k? Hmmm, now there's an idea.

It was a fun run, the atmosphere was excited, the field was muddy, the rain was still going for it and we discussed what time we wanted to make. I'm always slightly apprehensive that I'll hold someone back and slow them down and stop them getting their own PB. I wanted to knock 1 minute 30 seconds of my best 10k, and then we discussed it a bit more and decided that why not go for it and knock off 6 and half minutes of my PB? Yeah, why not, piece of cake....surely. I laughed at myself and my foolhardiness at such an extravagant aim. But in for a penny, in for a pound as they say.

And Then We Were Off
After some poor lad had been publicly humiliated for wearing some kind of Mankini affair to run in (there were more shorts to this version) the air horn blasted and we were off, I would say like a bullet from a gun but that would be a blatant lie. Round the field, avoiding the big mud hole and out onto the road, with 10k before us. My running buddy keeping track of our time against our laps all the way round.

She encouraged and pushed (not literally), and cajoled me all the way round. I pushed myself harder than I've done before, and I panted, and ran and never stopped. My breathing was laboured, fitting for a part in a horror film extra either as pursuer or pursued.

The race was two laps of 5k, so once you'd done one lap, you knew exactly what was coming and on our first lap I'd already smashed my parkrun PB. Holy cow. And I still had to do it all again <add expletives here>. That mental internal battle was raging,' it doesn't matter if you don't make it', 'it doesn't matter if you walk some of it', against, 'just relax', 'lengthen your stride and consider this the most relaxing exercise in the world', 'striding along without a care in the world#.

The Copythorne residents were amazing. In the rubbish weather they were in their drives cheering us on and handing out water, a wonderful sense of community. When I'm running and trying to drink water from a cup, it's basically like throwing it my face and hoping some lands in my mouth. Luckily with all the rain it didn't show my poor aim.

The Last Stretch
Up the last hill and round the corner and we would be there. My running bud still encouraging me, telling me a woman behind was gaining on us and we weren't going to be overtaken by her. I was pulling everything out of the bag that I had. My lungs felt like they were going to turn inside out, my legs felt like they'd gained two stone in weight each and then the finish line was in site. My running chum, grabbed my hand and we ran as fast as we could to the finish line. And we got our time.

I had smashed my PB by 7 minutes and 29 seconds. I'm sorry, by how much. I was ever so slightly gobsmacked, and ecstatic, amazed, surprised, proud, happy...

And in my exhaustion and happiness and surprise put my arms up to hold on to the roof of the small gazebo. Enter... the even wetter T-Shirt competition. An evenings water cascaded down giving me an even bigger impromptu shower than I had been expecting!

My running antics still surprise me, I still don't really feel like a 'runner' and yet my body and mind still surprise me with their amazing capabilities to overcome some limiting beliefs.

A huge thanks to Emma O'Brien who, without her I wouldn't have achieved such a huge PB. There were no medals or T-Shirts for this 10k but my smile is medal enough.

My Running Mojo was like a Shadow

It's been well over a month since my last post. Naughty me.

I have been running.... although, not as much. The running took a bit of a back seat as studying became my priority to achieve a qualification as a Clinical Hypnotherapist. And here I am in a rather cheesey shot, holding my certificate with Adam Eason (the chap who runs the school!).

So now, there's no excuse not to ramp up my running in preparation for the13.2 miles hurtling toward me on October 6th. But I haven't been completely ensconced in my study with the lamp light burning until the early hours studying, there have been a few notably races.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My
My running mojo made a vigorous reappearance with the sunshine. And so a little jaunt with the ladies on a hot Thursday evening saw what was going to be a 9k meander around the countryside turn into an 11k trek. Through the countryside, round lakes, past horses being broken in, cute dogs being walked, being overtaken by faster runners, being bitten to buggery, getting lost in the woods was all part of that evenings entertainment.

Soon after this was the Marwell 10k. The infamous Marwell 10k. You start in the zoo and you finish in the zoo and in-between are lots of hills for about the first 5k. It was warm, the hills were long and hard but before you know it you can here the announcers as runners make it through the finish line. When you can hear that sound it's a pretty good incentive to pick up your pace and get a shufty on.  Unfortunately the lions, tigers and bears were all safe in their enclosures otherwise I would surely have got a PB by quite some margin. I'd have to make do with another medal instead.

10k and some New Forest Ponies
This was shortly followed by 10k run with a friend in the New Forest. This was a beautiful run, through some beautiful scenery and even a baby Shetland pony. Baby Shetland ponies are cute as! This was a tough run for me as a migraine hit half way round, which means that my vision goes somewhat, lots of flashing lights  like running through a disco. Luckily for me though I was able to run through it, and avoided the nausea and skull crushing headaches that usually accompany the disco effect.

And Then the Trainers Got Dusty
My running mojo had basically done one. Skulked off, was hiding, my running mojo felt like a shadow.  Very close to me, never quite connecting and just whispering quietly in my ear, 'just go for a little run', 'set the alarm early, go before work', 'I miss you, you know you'll feel better if you run'. And so the voice went on, quietly, not berating, just there.

Studying had to come first and as I got more and more desk bound, running became less and less attractive, even though I knew it would lift my mood and improve my day. The thought of running then became a feeling of guilt, filled with lots of 'shoulds', 'coulds' and 'musts', but no action.

Two weeks and no foot pounding action to be seen. Until today. Today I just had to run. Not running, leaves me feeling down, and then I find myself in a cycle of feeling bad, not wanting to go running, and knowing that it will make me feel better. So this morning I just ran. I had no route planned I just had to get out and run and run. Running first thing (well 9 ish) is wonderful, it's quiet, it's cool and there's hardly any traffic on the roads. The common is beautiful, dappled sun through the trees, a few people walking their dogs, a few runners and a sense of inordinate calm.

I ran just over four miles this morning and it feels good to be back out there, still not fully connected to my running shadow, but hopefully soon it will be reattached permanently just like Peter Pan and his.

Has anyone seen my running mojo

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Well my version anyway, wind, rain, dark and cold. Oh my God (or should I just say OMG?) I was getting sick and tired of the cold, the wind, or the driving rain, or just feeling constantly in the dark, almost to the point where I just didn't want to run anymore. Was this a nuclear Winter? Its felt endless, it had gone on for far, far too long in my book. I wanted to feel the sun on my face, feel a warm glow before I'd run 3k.

I was fed up of getting in from running, sitting in the bath for an hour to warm my body from ice sculpture back to human. Dressing in as many layers as possible to keep warm and going to bed early with the electric blanket on temperature setting 'Lava'.

My first Wednesday night training session with the Lordshill Road Runners Club was in the driving rain and cold, doing hill training. I can tell you for a fact there is no need to pay for expensive micro dermabrasion, some good old British driving rain will do the job for you just fine.

The Unidentified Object in the Sky
And there it was. It shyly started to poke it's head through the clouds and bless us with it's warmth. The sun was finally making an appearance, and boy did it feel good. The flouro yellow running gloves, the orange beany hat all now relegated the cupboard under the stairs Harry Potter style. At last running would become a more pleasurable experience and not a battle of wills against hypothermia.

A Social Life
So with the wind, rain, cold and dark taking its toll on my running prowess so too has my social life. The last few months have been hectic. And I no longer have a large capacity for alcohol it seems. With my studies, running and various other projects on the go herbal tea has taken preference as my drink of choice.  So much so that a couple of large glasses of red can render me sofa bound for a morning trying to recover. And so the social life has taken it's toll on the Saturday morning 'parkrun', as the slightly jaded, unwell feeling made the bed seem decidedly more inviting than a pair of trainers and fresh air for 5k round the common.

But the crazy social life is starting to calm down and I'll be finalising my studies, starting new projects and upping the running to get half marathon fit, and who knows maybe the London Marathon next year?

So goodbye to the horsemen, hello Summertime, hello mojo.

The Boston Marathon
I feel saddened that any human being wants to maim and kill others. I hope that this act of violence will not deter any runners from running in large races.  I'm sure it won't, I'm not a professional but if anything I want to run more, raise more money for charity and take part in these wonderful team events. My condolences to all those who were affected, I do hope this never happens again. x