No 10 miles today

Bit annoyed because today was going to be *the day* and now tomorrow will have to be *the day*. Various events conspired to stopping me from running, including the fact it got dark and cold and after leaving a warm pub and by colleagues having drinks I couldn't convince myself to run more than 3 miles.

*sigh*

Anyway. Today's Monday weigh in is 189lbs.

And this week's rainbow plan looks like this:

Monday - 2 miles run (walk 2 miles home because I've forgotten oyster card, great)

Tuesday - 10 miles

Wednesday - rest 

Thursday - 5 miles

Friday - rest (I'm counting money for a work event)

Saturday - rest or cross

Sunday - 10 miles...one week to HALF MARATHON

I love London (sometimes)

I was thinking about not getting my five miles in today. Stomach still hurt from yesterday, blister hadn't gone down completely, but I knew I had to run so I did what I always do when I'm in that mood.

I put on my running clothes.

Because once the clothes and trainers are on you're basically so plagued with guilt that you have to leave the house...well, that's what I find.

And I am SO glad I went out. The Southbank put on its best face - glorious landmarks, happy friends and tourists wondering about, the air filled with buskers' songs and the crisp chill of Autumn. The five sub-10 minute miles! (miracle!)

a rubbish shot of a bridge, it's really all like BAM! I'M A BEAUTIFUL LANDMARK

Until recently I was having a bad patch with London, we weren't really speaking. I was beating up it's streets and London was steadfastly ignoring my efforts.

I think I didn't want to accept that it was autumn when there hadn't been a proper glorious London summer. And on top of that feeling, my brain recently acknowledged that the summer where I met an American boy, and the summer when he left town, was over. I can't say I was madly in love or he was "the one" or any of that crap but he made me laugh, and also made me think. He was just one of those special people that maybe it's only better to know for a short time so they always remain unique and amazing in your mind.

But I feel with Autumn properly making its mark now, London has returned to being my London, and not the slightly whirlwind London that I shared with him for a bit. And I always did like my London.

New shoes and the treadmill

So I've recovered from my disappointing race and realised it wasn't so disappointing because it's still a personal best at 1:04:46. (I reckon I could have made it at least 1:02:00 without toilet urges but oh well).

Before my race on Sunday I set out to replace my 2.5 year old, seven 10k running asics, which I (shock, horror!) bought on ebay for £25.

old friends

False assumptions I made before buying shoes last time:

- no one makes shoes in size 9 - not true of running shoes apparently (though still true of most pretty shoes :( )

- people in running shops will somehow mock me for not being a skinny runner

- people in running shops will mock me for not being a "proper" runner ("only" training for a half)

new beauties with my 10k medal

Dear bowels

I hate you. Today I had a 60 minute 10km race within my grasp...then you attacked.

It is very hard to run when you need the loo that bad. Thus my time is looking to be the same as 10ks earlier this year (1:04), to be confirmed by chip time tomorrow.

Sorry for the overshare internet. Apart from the above it was a fantastic race. My 5k time was about 32 minutes I think which is awesome considering the 5k marker sits proudly atop two massive hills (which I ran all the way up unlike some fitter and skinnier looking people!)

The dream of a 60 minute 10k remains I guess. Better start researching bowel issue-control for my half marathon!

A good Wednesday

Free enchiladas for lunch.

Free lemon torte in the afternoon.

Winning softball.

Pint with a friend.

Running home.

It all makes,for a good Wednesday!

Numbers going down

Weighed myself this morning and saw the magical number of 196lbs!!

Where has this magic come from I asked? Then my body groaned, it's from the bloody street dance class you did, followed by the couch to 5k week 6 day 2 run. Oh yes, that'll be it, I thought, as I slowly dragged myself out of the house.

Zero pains = Zero gains.

Beyonce, beyonce

So, everyone loves Beyonce. Accept it.

Even people like myself who went through that "omg I am totally rock and do not listen to pop music like ever" stage love Beyonce.

So today's exercises mainly consisted of me and a friend drunkenly dancing to a Beyonce Live dvd. We are the best.

But first!.....this was not the only exercise I did. Oh no no no. I went for a little run, Couch to 5k week 6, day 1, to be precise. I actually ran to the library because I needed to get some printing done, and I own zero printing machines. Shout out to my local library.

I also went to the shop opposite the library to get ingredients for delicious cookies. These were much appreciated by my friend, her boyfriend and me (especially after tiring beyonce dancing - not by the boyfriend). I used a basic but delicious recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies that a friend gave to me a while back. As copied below:

Ingredients: (makes about 20-25 cookies)
150g chocolate chips
250g butter
250g plain flour 
100g granulated sugar
50g light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C and grease up a baking tray.
Mix together the butter, granulated and brown sugar, followed by the egg.
Then add the flour, baking powder and salt (the mix should then be quite gloopy and smooth).
Follow these with the chocolate chips
Dollop large tablespoons of the mix onto the tray, keeping them about 8cm apart to avoid them spreading into each other (this may have to be done in batches).
Bake in the oven for around 10 minutes until golden brown - keep an eye on them though as they tend to spread themselves out!

Yum. Also love that my friend uses the word gloopy in her instructions!

Feeling the benefits

There are some days when you just go "oh, that's why I'm doing this!". And today/last night was definitely one of them.

So what are the benefits:

Housemates saying how good you are looking recently and how the running must be paying off.

Old friends texting you after drinks too say how great you looked.

Being able to run in the heat and still feeling strong and like your fitness is really improving.

Getting to run along the Thames and watch the sun set behind Tower Bridge (ok, that's a rather London-centric benefit ;) )

Generally feeling like a strong person who is in control of their life and can achieve their goals, weight loss or otherwise.

Hope that wasn't too cheesy for you :p. Happy Friday goat fans!

Pulling up my bootstraps

So after a week of eating too much, doing no exercise (unless you count softball), and general feeling ill and rubbish, yesterday I decided to get of my bum and do something about it.

The first something involved tidying my room, oh the joys. But I did get the joy of clean sheets afterwards mmmm. So then I felt a bit less shit about living in a pig sty!

Next up I whacked on Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred dvd. I can only describe this as PAIN IN A BOX.

Look at her smug demon face!

But, as we know, with great pain comes great reward and my reward was waddling round like a penguin with painful thighs for two days running really well today!

On Sunday I stretched out my painful thighs (I know you love hearing about my thighs ;) ) with a little walk in Southwark Park. And by a little walk I mean throwing on a sexy bright yellow plastic jacket and pointing some runners the right way round a 5k. I love Southwark Park, it's near my flat and somewhere I frequent when running, so I quite enjoyed just being outside and enjoying the greenery. I had very green views for a couple of hours which was very "rejuvenating" and other cheesy adjectives.

Guarding my post with my life

Green to the max

To finish off my weekend I made an amazing recipe for enchiladas that I got from one of my favourite health blogs. T'was om nom noms, though it did take a lot of soaking and a few hours simmering - definitely a Sunday afternoon dish!

Finally today I did my food run (pret sandwiches to the strand for homeless peeps). And then did a run run, home from Charing Cross, along Southbank. The river which was great, and not-too-touristy on a Monday....so I took on the role of the snap happy tourist instead.

Running all over the world Globe

I am great at softball

Yes, I would like to announce that I am awesome at softball and scored two runs (out of two batting turns) and caught two people out on Tuesday.
Sadly this did not help my work team to win our first "London charity softball league" match, but it was really fun anyway. I think it's quite hard to get into team sports after leaving school or uni (maybe just for girls, I know plenty of guys who play rugby or football!) so it's really cool to get involved in this.
And then after the softball I utilised the only non-rainy day we've had all week to run home, couch to 5k week 4 plus an extra 5 mins fyi.
I ran through lovely parks, along the river and passed all the sights (bucky palace, big ben, london eye, tower bridge) because I live in the middle of the best city in the world (obviously ;) )

Apparently blogger doesn't want this picture to be the right way round - I advise held tilting.

Boy break

Never thought I'd be saying this, but for the purposes of focusing on my weight loss and fitness regime (ha! as if I have a "regime") I need a break from boys.

Or specifically I need to stop a) texting 'C' instead of doing anything else b) being addicted to okcupid c) going on dates with other boys on top of a) and as a result of b). Note: me and C are openly un-serious hence c) not making me a cheat in light of a).

So the above probably explains some of the tiredness I was complaining about in my last post (no just dating and texting not lots of getting jiggy in the small hours, or not too much anyway). However, it also contributes to the destruction of my goals in other ways. Here is how having boys around tricks me into not achieving my goals:
  
"Some boys like me, I must be thin enough...I'm going to eat chocolate!" - I am not losing weight just to get boys (that's only a small part of it ;) ).

"If I run today I will be too tired to see this boy tonight/tomorrow/in 4 days" - 'Hos before bros girlfriend, and by 'hos I mean myself, le goat girl, and by bros and I mean whatever boy I am talking about. If I'm too tired for them, eff them.

"Getting jiggy burns calories anyway" - How often have you got jiggy lately compared to going to the gym hmmm? What's that? You've not really got jiggy at all but have still not gone to the gym? I suspected as much.

In conclusion it's time to focus on doing the dirty, as in working up a sweat, as in going to the gym...what did you think I meant, you perverts?! :P

p.s. Yes I did use the term "getting jiggy" several times above. Deal with it.

p.p.s. I went for a run today, it was awesome, I'm going for another one tomorrow. I will let you know all the hot and sweaty details tomorrow - far more itneresting than my "love life" I'm sure!

Nemesis

Coming soon to a cinema near you...The Devil Wears Chocolate.

That street ain't got the qualities I'm lookin' for.

Yes, I ate all the chocolates, it was me, I goated them down like a big fat goat.

Excercise plan:

• Monday - Went swimming - 30 lengths in 30 mins
• Tuesday - Couch to 5k, week 4, day 1 (morning run of doom because of comedy night with friend)
• Wednesday  - Rest day/dinner at friend's flat
• Thursday - Shopping (counts as excercise right???) erm ok Couch to 5k, week 4, day 2
• Friday - Rest day/work leaving drinks :(
• Saturday - Couch to 5k, week 4, day 3
• Sunday - Swimming/try not to panic about new job on Tuesday

Last week at my current job!!

Couch to 5k, week 3 - done!

I was so tempted not to go out for a run tonight but the thought of not being being able to write that title finally got me out the door. That and the fact that after a week of doing a fair amount of exercise I was actually itching to get out the door (once I'd recovered from Christmas/clothes for new job shopping).

Although I only managed 4/7 days exercise this week (not the 7 planned!) I'm still fairly proud of myself and looking forward to keep up the good work next week. I've also kicked off my aubergine obsession this week with an amazing aubergine bake (new favourite) and an aubergine curry I've made tonight from my new cookbook:

Love it when books match my bed cover ;)

After the success of last week I think tomorrow I'll plan a (maybe more realistic) exercise plan, as well as an eating plan. Also I want to make sure I work around my planned social events this week so I will try and incorporate them in to my plannings.

Couch to 5k, week 3, run 2

Weighed in today at 207.6, a 0.8 lb gain which I possibly deserved for gloating about skinny jeans yesterday. I REGRET NOTHING! :P Can't lie, I'm quite tempted to keep the label with "super skinny jeans" on, haha.

So to make up for a couple of lazy days I ran to the swimming pool this evening. I was considering running back but wet hair plus coldness put me off. Although I did manage to get the clothing/warmth levels right on the way there which I never do - not freezing to detah or overheating was an added bonus for the night!


Also the guy on reception at the pool complimented my running gloves. I say complimented, he was possible being slightly sarcastic as they look like this....

Ain't nothing wrong about furry, fluorescent-yellow, children's gloves from the pound shop!

Ok, so some snazzy running gloves and matching hat are definitely on my Christmas list! I'm also thinking about getting a foam roller for my IT band issues, maybe not for Christmas (bit of a random/boring Christmas pressie really). Just watching foam roller videos makes my legs feel better!

Post-thanksgiving trot

Good to my word I've been out for a run tonight. Couch to 5k week 3 continues (two weeks down the line!) Really good run, and this will be the week I finish week 3!

I weighed in today at 208.4lbs, so if I want to reach my Christmas goal I'm aiming for about 2lbs a week until then.

So this week's exercise plan is:

• Monday - Couch to 5k , week 3.
• Tuesday - swimming, I'll be trying out the new "swimfit" plan I happened upon today.
• Wednesday - Couch to 5k, week 3.
• Thursday - swimming, I'll see how this swimfit malarkey goes and then do lengths if it's not great.
• Friday - Couch to 5k, week 3.
• Saturday - Pilates (hopefully I can book in to the class at the local leisure centre).
• Sunday - Swim and/or bike ride.

My current thin-spiration is Bendoeslife with his "A weigh a day". I'm toying with the idea of doing a four week count down to Christmas.....we'll see.

Burn baby burn

Argh the cold and my lungs do NOT agree. Although possibly pushing my first interval really hard contributed to the burn too.

I wanted to try out my new armband holder for my phone with the adidas mi coach app but my phone's battery had other ideas! Luckily my beloved shuffle was there for me with couch 2 5k week 3 all ready and loaded.

Although I've progressed from couch 2 5k before, I'm hoping that by steadily building back up through the programme I can strengthen my legs, improve my race times and eventually build to a magical half marathon. A good plan I think?

This is a running blog about running

A post about running (finally)!!

So today I went for a run, it wasn't the world's greatest run but it wasn't the worst either. I've gone back to Week 3 of Couch to 5k because of knee worries (and laziness, let's be honest), but it felt gooooooooooooood. And I did a major streching session beforehand which, I can't lie, was almost orgasmically good.

Trust me, stretching is extra good when there's a whole 6 foot of you to stretch. My back clicks a lot (lack of core/back strength maybe?) and so always feels incredible to stretch, but glute stretches are a close second (possibly because I sit on my bum too much). Touching my toes also makes me feel superior as I have two friends (much fitter than me) who can't touch theirs - small victories ;)

So as I was running I realised I have no light/reflective running clothes, dangerous now that it's winter, so maybe some sexy new running clothes can be purchased with the pay rise from my NEW JOB! :D

Yep, this time next month I will be starting in a wonderfully science-geeky job at a breast cancer charity (hence the pink writing yesterday). As well as being the exact role I want to be doing right now it's also quite a big pay rise so I'm thinking of a few treats I can buy myself (although mostly I'm thinking "woo I can pay off my student overdraft!"). Running-wise I think I might get 1 x running tights, 1 x bright/reflective long sleeve top, and new trainers! My old asics are feeling a bit less comfy after four 10ks and all the training between so I'm looking forward to having a proper gait analysis at a running shop (I bought the last pair off ebay coz I'm a massive cheapskate).

In other news my weight today was 209 lbs so I only put on 1 pound on holiday! Good news all round!

So what part of you do you like to stretch most? ;) ;) (ok innuendo yes, but serious question)

Oh and any suggestions for running clothes and shoes are more than welcome :)

Science, partying and birds

Oh look at me, managing to post more than once a week, or not, whoops!

So lets get down to business goat lovers, my weight this morning was....
209.8 lbs

Little bit over a pound lost in a week, I'll take that.

Here's a whirlwind trip of how I managed that this week:
London Science Festival - aka too busy geeking to get busy eating.

Running - couch to 5k week numero 4 continues.

Walking up hills - and walking extra fast to prove how much fitter you are than your parents. If you ever want to go for a walk just a short train/car ride out of London I recommend The Chiltern Hills, they are one of my favourite places in the world.

Eating well - apart from partying and being ridiculously hungover so not eating at the weekend I actually burnt more calories than I ate every single day this week, even the days I didn't exercise, good times!

PARTAY - or rather get so drunk you are unable to eat much the next 2 days (a sensible weight loss strategy? No. A fun strategy? Very much so). But yes, I do not condone this lifestyle - alcohol has calories too, sadly.

Also when I was in the Chilterns on Sunday I saw five Red Kites up close, they are absolutely stunning birds that were successfully reintroduced to the Chilterns in the 1990s...

Image from ahisgett on Flickr

This week I have equal amounts of science geekery with less partying planned, so hopefully more running. Next week I will also be in beautiful surroundings in Egypt.

So where's your favourite natural beauty spot? Do you exercise there and, more importantly, does it have majestic birds of prey to gawp at?