A tiny weeny update...

Hello Blogisphere!

How are you?

I haven’t blogged in a while; so I thought I would give my lovely readers a bit of an update.

My knee still hurts…a lot, so I didn’t end up taken part in the Oxford Half Marathon; because walking up the stairs at work is painful on the knee, 13.1 miles may have killed it. As Sunday came around I felt a bit of a failure, I had my heart, soul and blog poured into that one race that I couldn’t take part in. I felt I had disappointed so many people, including myself, but most importantly my Dad – who I knew was my biggest running fan. But don’t worry Dad, we’re going to get this knee fixed and then look for the next physical challenge.

So what have I been doing instead of running? Mainly eating…it’s getting colder, so naturally we’re more inclined to build up the extra layers of fat to protect us for the winter; and doesn’t my body love doing that (& I don’t even realise I’m doing it). However, as I’m an avid My Fitness Pal-er I log everything that passes my lips, so as I tell it that I’ve stuffed in four oreo’s and a chocolate bar, it works out that I need to run an do 60 minutes on the cross trainer, to work it off and carry on losing.

As well as eating, I’ve been spending a lot more time in the gym (to fight the winter fat); 5 days a week in fact, for 90 minutes +  at a time. I’ve become the ‘gym girl’ I hate, I hog the cardio machine for 90 minutes, then I play about with some weight machines, till I realise that the cardio session has tired my out too much to lift anything.  

It’s dark now, so there is not much to do at home except for 101 things that are boring, paper work or cleaning related. However I’d rather be fit and trim, spending evenings at the gym than and live in a mess, than fat and live in a tidy organised home (partly due to the fact, that if it wasn’t the gym, there would be 101 others excuses I would use to not clean the house). It's funny; as I just read this sentence back to me and I realised the old me would much rather have a cleaner house, and big bum! 

Mum – if you are reading this I’m not going to get a cleaner, as then I’d be trim, fit, and broke!

So what to blog about now?

My  knee rehabilitation programme (that I’ve not really started because of work being crazy and NHS GP’s having a waiting list as long as the Ganges for appointments that don’t clash with my working day (though I do <3 the NHS), I’ve not seen the physio yet. I’m also kind of putting it off till I come back from holiday, so I can go hiking through the Greek mountains blissfully unaware of the damage it’s doing to my knee).

About my views on the new Aussie Immigration (or lack of) policy.

The new Tina Fey Audio book that’s providing my gym soundtrack

New Walking Dead

My awesome Halloween Outfit (that I hope arrives on time)

Or the fact that the four main broadcasters in UK are thinking of getting that awful Nigel Farage to partake in the Live TV Debates next year?

And that’s exactly what is going to happen (maybe not those exact topics) – I’m joining forces with another blogger to create a joint lifestyle blog, more to come on that soon;  so watch this space!

XXX

Moving the goal post…

The last seven days have been an emotional roller coaster and not just in regards to running…but for today we’ll focus on running.

Because I’m a good little runner, after work on Friday I donned my trainers and running gear and headed off to the gym. Friday evenings at the gym are awesome as it’s fairly quiet, plus being a Friday I have that smug (and slightly sad) feeling of being at the gym instead of the pub and earning my gin and tonics before I’ve drunk them. However this Friday didn’t go so well; I got on the treadmill and started running, trying out some new ‘running’ songs to see how they transfer from solo car karaoke, to motivational move my feet soundtrack. 

Friday Nights have changed...#icedknee

I think I may have got into the music too much, and I had a little stumble on the treadmill, which kind of shook me up a little, so I lowered the speed and just started brisk walking to compose myself for 30 seconds or so. As I started to increase the speed and running again I felt a twinge in my knee, almost like the bones were rubbing against each other – I’ve spent enough time on running blogs to know that as soon as you feel a pain like that you stop. So I stopped and went off to talk to the trainer at the gym, who made me stretch it out and move it in all kind of funny motions, then told me to go home, ice it and stay off running, the treadmill and any high impact sports. So I headed home, put me feet up, iced my knee, held back the tears and felt like my world had fallen apart.

So now I’m one of those stupid crazy people who cry about exercising (or lack off). I feel like I’ve worked so hard to reach my half marathon goal and just as that goal is becoming reachable I’m hit by a massive road block. On Friday I felt determined that I’ll rest it on Saturday and that by Sunday I’ll be back to running,  but when I woke up on Sunday it still hurt, so instead of running I stuck to the low impact machine that is the cross trainer. It’s Thursday today and it does not feel much better….I’ve missed out on 3 runs now and my average weekly mileage is decreasing dramatically. The finish line of the Oxford Half is looking the furthest away it’s ever been.

HOWEVER…because I’m not giving up, I am becoming a runner, and I have not let all these months of training go to waste, I have made myself a contingency plan. Half Marathons happen all the time, so if I’m not able to make Oxford, I’ll just run the Reading Half Marathon instead, which is in March. It means these months of falling in and out of running have not gone to waste, I’ll still run 13.1 miles, I’ll carry on training, I’ll be able to run off Christmas Pudding and I’ll still get a shiny medal at the end of it. So it looks like the goal post is going to be moved from October 12^th to March 22^nd, with some knee rehabilitation and extra training thrown in.

So as this blog url is thejourneyisme – my running journey has hit a little block in the road, but that doesn’t mean the road stops there. As the saying goes ‘the road goes on forever and the party never ends’.

This also means I’m now going to keep blogging (ranting / complaining / moaning) till March at least, you lucky readers!

Pre-Race Stress has started already....

This week’s runs have been hard (and I’m only 2 runs in), I’ve had a dramatic turn in events and now hate running again….so I’m giving up, not doing the half marathon and never running again!

Just kidding… I've invested too much time to give up now, plus I can’t give up this easily, and my running trainers are so damn cute I can't not wear them.

I need to carry on plodding (also known as ‘running’) along and get as close to 13.1 miles ready as I can in this time. But I’m absolutely stressing out about it, and it’s pretty much all I think off at the moment, it’s become my new unhealthy obsession. I’m spending more time on the runners world website than I am on BBC news (apparently something is going on in Scotland – or should I say not going on?). I’m going through, writing and re-writing training plans for the next 3 weeks. I’m working out all my potential times (which is complete guess work as who knows what I’ll be like on the day?) and the worse thing about all this stressing is that its interfering with my sleep. I keep dreaming that I can’t make the first mile – wake up at 4:00am, and then can’t get back to sleep. 

ARGHHHHHHHHH – who knew it would be this stressful? I’m a crumbling, sweaty mess – I’m not very good with stress.

So for the moment, I’m going to stop thinking about the end goal – and just focus on training for me, because I want to be able to run these lovely long distances, without the pressure of anyone timing me or watching me; just me in the park with my trainers and ipod, enjoying the fresh air, greenery and thinking off all the calories I’m burning off, so I can eat cheesecake.

This weekend’s runs are looking like this (there has been a slight change due to bad runs this week):

Friday – 10K

Saturday – Gym session; some cross-trainer and treadmill time (90 mins in total)

Sunday – the plan was to get to the pool, but it’s closed for a gala – so I’m going to enjoy the last of the warm weather and head out trekking around Oxford, in order to stretch my legs for a nice long run on Monday.

The Countdown Begins, 4 weeks to go!

Oh my, the real countdown begins! It is just under four weeks till the half marathon, and I’m absolutely bricking it. I have never really run in my life and I’m about to embark on running 13.1 miles…I’m absolutely mental and it's bloody hard work, but I love it.

Due to my training schedule over the next four weeks I will hopefully see myself at the healthiest I have ever been. I’ll be covering between 30 – 40K a week, fine tuning my diet, keeping very hydrated and bouncing around off the endorphin's.

My evenings this week are going to look like this:

Monday – 10K

Tuesday – REST DAY (house cleaning day)

Wednesday – Cross Training for increased stamina / fitness; 2 hours 30 mins on the Cross Trainer

Thursday – REST DAY (hot bath, paint nails)

Friday – 14K

Saturday – 8K

Sunday – 40 minute swim (to stretch out the other muscles)

To fuel those days, and typical ‘eating’ day for me looks like this;

Breakfast – Porridge (made with water) and a yoghurt stirred in.

Lunch – Chunky Chicken and Veggie soup

Snack – 2 boiled eggs & an apple or orange

Dinner – Roasted Chicken with Salad, humus and a whole meal pitta bread

Drinks – 1 coffee, 3-4 herbal teas, 6 pints of water ( lots of trips to the toilets).

I’m also trying to listen to all my favourite albums to work out which tracks I want to accompany me around the route. If you have any song suggestions please let me know.

In addition to this all, I’m fighting off  the sniffles, which is making it a tad harder to breath whilst running when I start, but once I’ve warmed up it tends to settle.

So wish me luck for this week, I’ll be updating the blog a little more frequently as the race gets closer :-). 

Slowly starting to love...

Hello – a little side note before I get into my ramblings. Sorry for the lack of posts, work has been busy and we’ve had a very very busy (& super fun!) summer, which is only just dying down. Now we've reached September and back into the swing of routine that September provides (even though no one in my immediate family runs on an academic calendar, I think it’s just programmed into our head from when we were children).

In a complete contrast to my post on the 7^th August, claiming I AM NOT A RUNNER – the last four weeks has seen a sudden turn of events in my running status. With just under 5 weeks to go to the half marathon I’ve only gone and fallen in love with the sport. My PE teacher would be so proud, gone are the days from ‘forgetting my sports bag’ to get out of exercise, to choosing on my own will to run 3-4 times a week.

I think (though I still don’t quiet feel like it) I AM A RUNNER – I’ve put it in a small font, as I’m just whispering about it at the moment, as some of the ‘real’ runners out may think I don’t quiet qualify.

I’m not a very good “runner”; the runs are slow, sweaty and hard – but I’m enjoying them and as soon as I’m finished with one run I’m planning the next one. I never ever thought I’d see the day that I look forward to exercise and plan my schedule around it, but the time has come. I  am embracing, loving and enjoying running.

I am also immensely enjoying the benefits of running;

• I’ve lost weight pretty effortlessly, which probably makes the runs easier and dieting is one less thing to worry about (unfortunately in today’s society it's every females unwanted hobby). 
• My skin is looking pretty good at the moment because I’m sweating out all the rubbish out of it.
• I’m toning up and finally the ‘blob’ that was my body is producing some kind of shape – though because of the legs tonning up quicker than any other part, it’s a little lollipop-ed shaped at the moment, though any shape is a step up from ‘blob’.
• I CAN EAT CARBS AND NOT FEEL GUILTY – this is probably the BEST benefit ever. I said previously that after the half marathon I’m going to give up running, but now that I’m liking running and I can eat carbs and not feel guilty about it I may just carry on. Life is so much better with pasta and potatoes.
• I feel SO ALIVE at the end of runs, not matter how long or short - I feel like I can face anything and take on the world (this feeling doesn't last too long, as usually when I get home I face a pile of never-ending laundry, that doesn't ever seem to be conquered).
• A combination of all the above and the endorphin's means I'm less stressed. I'm getting my 'me' time whilst running and it gives me times to think about things in life that I don't usually have time too, and also come to peace with a lot of internal conflicts. 

So happy running for now :-)

Dear Mr Williams

I don’t tend to get emotional when someone famous dies, but this morning, as I was driving to work and I heard the sad sad news of Robin Williams passing, I had tears streaming down my eyes. So in memory of the wonderfully great Mr Williams, I thought I’d write him a letter.

Dear Mr Williams,

My first memory of you on my tv screen was channel 4’s re-runs on Mork and Mindy in the early 90s, I was very young and don’t really remember much of the show that well, but I was fascinated and envious that you could drink through your finger. This was one trait I wish I would develop as I grew up. I also felt a special connection with you from then, and my brother (Mark) said that our parents named us after you and Mindy, but changed a few letters (Mark and Mandy). My mother denies this, but she’s a secret sc-fi comedy geek, so I think it was on her subconscious mind.

From there your familiar face turned up in my favourite childhood movies throughout my life, your voice was a calming effect on children across the land, and your silliness created laughter throughout our household.

It didn’t phase me that you played a boy as Peter Pan  in Hook, even though you’re a good bit older than my Dad, you encapsulated the character of a boy so well. When we heard you as the Genie in Aladdin, we instantly fell in love with the Genie, that calming yet cheeky voice of a big blue man who lived in a lamp with the ultimate gifts – every childs (and adults) dream.  

Then you made my favourite movie EVER – Mrs. Doubtfire, I was 4/5 years old when this movie was released. Mum and Dad brought me the video and I would watch it every day after school, the video was knackered within a few months. However I'd still keep playing it, especially the scene where your dancing with the broomstick to "Dude looks like a lady." - this was the movie that made me fall in love with the comedy genre.

You continued to be part of the on-screen presents in my life, taking me through a world of emotions as I grew up. Crying in Jack,  jumping out my seat in Jumanji, covering the TV in green goo in Flubber, laughing in Patch Adams. You were there putting a smile on my face and others across the world through out.

I'm sad that your gone, though we never met and you never knew who I was, I always found comfort in you. I won't dwell on your details of your passing, as that was your own demons to battle.

Thank you for being part of the 'fun' of my childhood. You'll never be forgotten, and I'm going to make sure my future offspring definitely have you and your many characters as part of their childhood too.

I hope heaven is as magical as Never Never Land, as fun as Flubber, thrilling as Jumanji and that you do find a friend like Mindy there.

Nanu Nanu.

A big fan and admirer of your work.

I AM NOT A RUNNER!

I signed up for this half marathon in hope that it would get me out running frequently, moving more, losing weight, becoming the healthiest version of me. Plus a full marathon was lurking on my bucket list (emphasis on the word was). However last night, whilst running 5K around Florence Park in the sunshine I realised something.

 I AM NOT A RUNNER!

Many people could have told you that, from my PE primary school teacher, to my boyfriend and if you’re reading this and you know me, you probably knew that already.

Now 'rumming' a half marathon
is more my kind of thing

It took me until yesterday to realise this (better late than never), but I don’t particularly enjoy running. I want too, I always thought it would be cool to be a runner – I’ve always admire runners for various reasons. They’ve got a great physique, they can eat loads of carbs, they seem to easily run distances that I struggle to walk, plus they always seem so switched on and determined in life. So being a runner to me seemed to be the ultimate picture of health.  I’m not saying I don’t like exercise, I’m very happy in exercise classes or on the cross-trainer.

However what I do like about running is I am slowly improving and seeing progress, and that I have a challenge to work towards (have I mentioned that I’m running the Oxford half marathon?). I was hoping that along my journey that I would fall in love with running, and that by now I would be at the stage where running was just something I do 3-4 times a week and don’t even think about it, but I’m not there. I'm still pep talking myself into running on my drive home from work, finding excuses of why I shouldn't go, then reasons why I should. So far I've been good with getting out there and putting my left foot in front of my right with a bounce in my step. Though,with less than 10 weeks to go, I feel like I'm never going to get there to the 13.1 mile stage, but I'm determined, even if I have to walk / crawl across the finish line, I'll make it. 

I’m also running for the Williams Syndrome Foundation, a cause that is extremely close to my heart. Williams Syndrome does not get enough exposure or research into it, so the more we can do the better. Yesterday after completing my fourth kilometer and sweating buckets, wanting to give up, this is what got me through; the fact I’m doing this for the Williams Syndrome Foundation and for everyone and their families who are affected by it.

So whilst I’m not a runner, I’ll still keep running for the next 10 weeks and I will  run 13.1miles around Oxford (and collapse in a big heap at the end). If you would like to sponsor me and my team you can do by clicking here. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far.

Machofest 2014

Saturday 26^th July 2014, saw the 5^th annual Machofest. For people who don’t quite know what Machofest is, or have never been I thought I’d give a brief explanation / FAQs

What is it?

It’s a big house (garden) party, that’s a little like a festival as we have live bands preforming.

Why is it called Machofest?

My family name is Machado, and its hosted by us Machado’s – Machafest doesn’t have the same ring to it, so we named is Machofest.

What kind of Bands preform there?

Any really – this year we had an urban rapper / singer - Mr Rootsy, Ben from Phats and Small and Du Bellows -a rock/indie band. We usually have a 60s / Beatles cover band, who really know how to get the party started, but they we’re having a Machofest break this year.

Is there a bar?
No – we ask everyone to bring a bottle, and we just put everything together, make some punch and drink till we can’t remember our names.

What about food?
My Mum and her brothers are the world’s greatest cook, so they make a tonne of awesome food for everyone.

Can we camp?

You can stay over (as in find a place to crash in the house) but we don’t let people put tents up, mainly because the garden isn’t that big.

Are your parents going to be there?

Yes, of course, it’s there house and our family party. Dad is the shot man and Mum is the feeder of chicken. Without them there would be no Machofest.

Sounds a bit crazy? Well it is, and new friends who come to it every year still can’t quite believe that we do it, but we do and we love it.

This year was amazing, the weather was glorious, and even though my google weather app said they're might be a 50% chance of rain, we didn't feel one drop. Surrounded by lovely family and friends, it was a good place to catch up with everyone who we don't get to see very often. The booze flowed, the punch was sweet and strong (that's what 64% rum does), the moves on the dance floor where questionable and the music was great. We had some of the best new acts popping up on the scene right now, and a little rewind to the old school with Phats and Small. We worked hard to put it all together, but we also partied hard and enjoyed it. 

I'd like to thank Mr Rootsy, for kicking off the party with a great session. Mr Rootsy preformed his new song Boyfriend, which I instantly fell in love with, having that sense of a new urban rap, with the familiar undertones of a slightly cheesy love song. Check it out on youtube - the video is awesome; click HERE for the link to his youtube channel.

Big shout out to Ben from Phats and Small for generally caring about all of us and asking 'what's wrong with you?' and waking the neighbours up. 

Thanks to DuBellows for rounding up the live acts with their calm, beatiful indie beats.

Without you all it would just be a house party entertained with my awful spotify list and bad DJ-ing skills, not a festival.

As I spent most of the night fairly intoxicated...I shall leave you with an array of photos of the night, to get a real feel of how the Machofest went.

Our youngest Machofest-goer, got caught with a bottle of Rum

Mark's two 'bosses' Mum and Vanessa

Family Oscars-Style Shots Selfie

PHOTO BOMB from Mr Rootsy

My Dad's proudest moment of me - SHOT GIRL!

Mum and Ben (Phats and Small) audition for a dental advert

Lots of Glamour

Even more Glamour here...

And then it was a little downhill from here....

Before Kraken....

'We've drunk so much Kraken, we can't feel our face'

Curly Girls

The Morning After

Secret Weekend Away: Part 1 - dating like we're sixteen again

The title of this blog is called ‘Have Love, Will Travel’ – I write about all the love I have around me fairly often (I do have a lot of it!), but I’m yet to write about Travel. Though to be fair the theme of the blog is not about love or travel, in fact I’m not too sure exactly what the ‘theme’ is – the blog and I are still at our ‘finding feet’ stage.

I digress…so back to Traveling (& love too), I was recently whisked away for a surprise weekend. It was my birthday present from Kyle, but it was a complete surprise – all I was told prior to the trip is the following:

• Take the Friday off work
• Pack light
• Take shoes comfortable enough to walk in
• Take something ‘pretty’ to wear
•  Liquids over 100ml are acceptable

Upon hearing that I immediately thought we were going to Scotland; did a little Scottish Jig and started picturing us walking up the hill to Edinburgh Castle.  However when Friday came around, we got onto the M4, then south on the M25; my next immediate thoughts were ‘we must be going to France, we’re heading to Dover’. But no…we started driving to the North of Kent and ended up in the beautiful seaside town on Whitstable on the hottest day of the year so far.  

The colourful beach huts at Whitstable

I was pretty happy with  Whitstable, the beach was beautiful, the seaside smelt fresh, the town was quaint and picturesque, also ‘stay-cations’ are so in right now. So we parked up, walked along the harbour front, got an ice cream, mooched around a bit, enjoying the scenery and beautiful town, then I was put back into the car. I assumed we’d head to a nice little B&B, but as we were driving through some of Kent’s finest Country Roads I slowly worked out that we kept heading towards Ashford.

Now I've never really been to Ashford before, nor is it famous for anything particularly touristy; however it does play host to an ‘international train station’ – the last stop on the Eurostar before France. Excitingly I thought we’d be heading straight for the station….but no, Kyle had other plans and we pulled in at the Ashford International Hotel. We checked in, went to our rooms, and then straight out again; this time to the local bowling alley (I kid you not). I know ‘dates’ get less adventurous the longer you've been together – but bowling? Really? Are we 15 again?.

I knew (hoped) things would get better for the rest of the weekend, so I went along with it and really enjoyed it. It was only two of us, so our turns came around really quickly. Usually I hate bowling, because you’re in large groups, and by the time your turn comes around you’ve lost interest (especially if your losing). However it was just the two of us, so every second go was mine – and I spent most of the time winning (even with the sides down). I felt like I was 16 again, hanging out with a boy – but this time I wasn’t worried about how cool I was or if my make-up still looked fresh, I was having a loads of fun with my boy. We played another game (which Kyle won, but only by one point), and then followed it up with a game of air hockey (which Kyle won, I had to let him win that one, his ego was bruised from losing to me so badly from the first game of bowling).

By this point, our bellies were rumbling, so where is the best place to take someone after bowling (remember Kyle was in 16 year old mind set today) – Nandos!

Nothings says 'I Love You' like Peri-Peri

Belly full of chicken, tired from a day at the beach and bowling, we headed to the hotel bar to enjoy the sunset over a few glasses of pimms, and then it was strict instructions to head to bed early for Part 2....coming soon.

Family and FitBit

I count myself very lucky, I have a big, wonderfully, loving family – the kind who you would choose to be your friends. There are six  special members, who are outside of my immediate family are one of my biggest supporters in everything I wish to do (except for when I ran away from home when I was younger - they sent me back). They are my beloved Uncle Stephen, Aunt Mariam, Chris, Jess, Mylie and Humphrey (the dog).

The Old Couple

Their little terrors

Uncle Stephen has been spoiling me since I can remember – he’d buy me expensive French dresses, porcelain dolls, sweets, teddy bears, toys etc. there was definitely some favouritism going on (though he still claims to love us all equally).  He has been spoiling me ever since, and my lovely Aunt Mariam carried on the tradition when they met and married, which was a huge relief, as I feared he might forget about me (though now I have to share the ‘spoiling’ with their three apples of their eyes).

My FitBit - and loom band that Mylie
and Jess made me for my birthday

So just like the last 24  years, this year for my birthday I was spoilt by them too; they got me a FitBit Flex. I’ve been wanting one for a while, and suspected that I might open one up on my birthday, but if I didn’t I was going to treat myself to one. The FitBit Flex is a device you wear on your wrist (like a bracelet or watch), which tracks your movement 24 hours a day; including sleep patterns. It has a display of 5 LED lights, each light indicates 20% of a goal you want to reach for the day. The default setting is 10,000 steps a day (which is just under 5 miles), and when gentle tapped the lights indicate how far you’ve got towards your goal for the day e.g. 4,500 steps – 2 lights (and the 3^rd one flashes, to show that you’re working towards lighting up the next 20% of your goal). It’s waterproof; so you can wear it in the shower – so it really doesn’t need to be taken off at all, except for when it needs charging – the battery lasts around 6 days, and takes a couple of hours to charge.

I particularly wanted the Fit Bit as it works with My Fitness Pal – as I;m a Monday – Friday calorie counter,  it helps me work out how many calories have gone in (taking data from MFP), and then works out how many calories have gone out. So each day you are left with your deficit for the day – great if your losing weight, as it keeps you on track. It also syncs with your smart phone via Bluetooth, so at any time of the day or night you can open up the app and see exactly how many steps you’ve taken, how many calories burnt, how many active minutes you’d had etc…

I’ve been wearing the FitBit Flex for just over a week now, and I’ve realised that pre-fitbit I was bloody lazy. I wasn’t lazy when I was running or at the gym obviously, but my day-to-day activities were very sedentary.

Getting the lights to shine adds a sense of game-ification (except you are the only one in the game – though you can challenge other friends who have one - I’m yet to know a friend of mine who has one).  You also earn badges along the way, so you get one for the first 5,000 steps you do (that’s an easy one), then for the first 10,00 steps you do in one day, then for the first time you do 15,000 steps in one day etc. You also get badges for the number of miles you walk in total, and last week I earned my 50 mile badge – yes I walked / jog / ran 50 miles in one week (I’d like to thank a weekend in Paris for that). If you’ve read my earlier post you’ll know I like goals, so these badges work as little goals for me to set for myself. These badges work as a great motivator for me, actually just having the flex on my wrist works as a great motivator; as every time I look at my wrist it’s a little reminder that I need to move some more.

The online dashboard is helpful & fun too – as it tracks you every day, and puts things into nice little pie and bar charts. As I’m a bit of a Geek I love seeing all my stats laid out there.  You can set all sorts of different goals, and check in every day to see how close you are to them, and get a weekly view too (I actually think I walked more on Sunday than any other day, but the battery died half way through the day).

As I was planning on buying one myself, I read a lot of reviews on the FitBit Flex and it’s other competitors that are currently in the market place. Most reviewers complained it wasn’t accurate enough, but that seemed to be their complaint about all of them – complaining that it can be too sensitive and tracks brushing your teeth or typing as steps, (due to the wrist movement). Unless they strap something to your legs, you’re probably not going to get much more accurate that this for now, plus just like the calories I count on My Fitness Pal, it’s a rough estimation, which is fine with me.

If you are using one and want to get become my 'fitbit' friend; let me know so we can challenge each other. 

The first four...

If  you follow me on Twitter you would have known that from Monday 14^th July 2014 things got serious – serious in the sense that it’s just over 12 weeks to the half marathon. 12 weeks seems like ages right? That’s a whole 3 months, a quarter of the year, plenty of time to build up to 13.1 miles. But a big lesson I've learnt about turning a year older, is that time flies by…like literally you blink and it’s the next month (what happened to June?).

So it's time to step up the training, form a routine training plan and give up alcohol (except for my four scheduled alcohol-allowed events; this weekend, Machofest, Kyle’s birthday and Carnival), the rest of the time I shall be T-Total (and probably quiet grumpy and boring on weekends now).

The Training Plan:

I’m using a mix of training plans I've found online and fitting them in between my body pump classes (as we've got to keep the muscles strong and lean right?). As it’s just over 12 weeks, and I’m away this weekend (it’s a surprise trip, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to go for a run whilst I’m away, hence the '?' in my plan) I shall be repeating week 1 twice – it will also help build  the plan into my routine that I have to stick to for 12 weeks. I’m notoriously bad at sticking to things, so hopefully shouting out about this on my blog means that it’s making me accountable for it, and I have to do it, plus its for charity and I’m running with a team, and I've told loads of people, and spent a lot of money on running shoes etc, etc.

Monday's are the toughest day, and I originally had the 30 minute easy run on a Tuesday, but trying to move the day after a Body Pump session can be tough (I barely make it up the stairs at work), so I've put my two rest days the days after body pump. It's also an easy run on the Monday (as legs are still recovering from Sunday's long run), so I can do it just before my body pump class on the treadmill, in the comfort of an air conditioned gym.

As I have created the plan, and I’m not a fitness expert I shall be changing and adapting it as I see fit (with the 13.1 mile goal in mind). I should probably run this past someone who knows what they are doing; so if you are an experienced runner/athlete/personal trainer who is reading this and can see massive flaws in the plan – give me  a shout.

I’m not going to bore you with the full 12 week plan so far (partly because it scares me a little to look at the full 12 weeks at once), so I’m just going to post the first four weeks on here.

Want to join me? I mainly run just after work around 6:30 / 7pm in East Oxford - so drop me an email / comment / tweet and we can meet up :).

Birthdays, Cake, Loved ones and Sunshine

Birthday Lemon Drizzle Cheesecake - 100 times better than Birthday Cake

On Saturday I turned 25, and like all good birthdays it consisted of lots of cake, loved ones and sunshine. July is popular in my Mums family, as 5 of us celebrate our birthday within 7 days of each other, so on Saturday evening we celebrated an 18th, a 21st, a 25th and a 55th birthday...we were hoping it would be joined by celebrating a new arrival in the family, but she seems to want to stay put for now.

For the last two years I have dreaded my birthday, blaming a wonderful childhood of excellent birthdays parties and being thoroughly spoilt by family, making slightly 'older' birthdays a bit of an anticlimax. However this year I was looking forward to spending a day with my family, and partying with the extended family in the evening, and it lived up to every expectation of feeling absolutely loved and appreciated. The 100+ messages, phone calls, emails, tweets and texts helped too - I really do have a great bunch of people around me.

As was the plan, I didn't start my 25th year on earth with a 10K around Dorney Lake, with a busy day planned a head, and not wanting to wake up any earlier than I normally do on a Saturday, I relished the extra time in bed and substituted 10K for a lie in. Though I will make up my miles this week :).

More post to follow this week on my new FitBit & my 3 month training plan...so watch this space.

I'm still Standing, well running....

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, and I’m going to use the lame excuse of not having enough time,  which I hate as an excuse. Everyone has the same amount of hours in the day, choosing how you spend them is what makes it matter. With that in mind, I have been choosing how to spend my hours not updating my blog, as I thought generally no one really cared about, but lately a lot of people have been asking ‘what happened?’, ‘are you still running the half marathon?’, ‘how’s the training going?’. So I thought I’d give you an little update with what is going on.

I genuinely thought no one read my blog, or cared that I was pounding the pavements, eating healthy and generally improving my well-being; aren’t we all trying to achieve that? – so I thought this ole’ blogging malarkey was fairly boring to the reader. But then I realised that it’s a bit like a newsletter (or extra-long facebook status) for your family and friends, to inform them of what exactly you are getting up too; especially the ones who are a little far afield and we don’t have that much time to catch up with.

So, YES – I am still running a half marathon, I have signed up, I have told people, I've even encouraged a whole team of 8 of us in the office to run with me for charity, there seems to be no turning back, I’m in this for the long run (pun intended).

The Beautifully Flat Dorney Lake

Training is happening, though the schedule at the moment is not very structured - and with the crazy amounts of pollen this year, training shifted to the treadmill for a while. But thanks to Boots and a new anti-hestamine I am back in the great outdoors. With 3 months to go I’m having to devise a more structured (but not too boring) training plan that will get me to the finish line. So from this Saturday we are in full time half marathon training mode (FTHMTM). FTHMTM starts with a 10K jog on Saturday morning, around Dorney Lake, which is twice around the lake, it’s a nice flat, scenic route and a great way to start a birthday weekend.

How are you kicking off your weekend?