Derby 10 Mile

The Derby 10 Mile was my first official race since properly committing to the London Marathon 2017.

The reason I signed up for this run was because Nathan's Sister and Mum were running it and I thought it would be great to go down and run too. This was there first ever race and they skipped the pleasantries of a 5km or 10km and jumped straight into a 10 mile one. Talk about inspirational. 

Both Hayley and Nathalie have been running reguarly with their long runs frequenting on a Friday night, when most of the population are lying on a sofa exhausted after a long week or sipping cocktails in a bar to relieve the week's stress. Not these two, they've been out pounding the pavements - commendable to say the least.

Nathan and I traveled up to Burton on the Friday evening (treating ourselves to a Burger King with chilli poppers on the road) and had an early night. Before an early start on Saturday to head to Dovebridge for our first ever experience of Clay Pigeon shooting with Brian and Barbara (Nath's Nan and Pops) and despite the icy cold conditions and the bitter wind, we had an amazing time. Some of us took to it better than other, *cough cough* not me, with Nath wiping the floor hitting 5 in a row! But the real outstanding moment was Brian showing us that his skills of a county player had not lost him and he hit them left, right and centre. We had the best time, but welcomed the hot chocolate and pub lunch afterwards - we'll definitely be doing this again.

Saturday evening, Nathan and I cooked our favourite Zizzi's pasta 'Casserecchi De Pollo Piccante' for ourselves and Nathalie in an attempt to card load ahead of Sunday's race. We tried to steer clear of an alcoholic beverage but nothing compliments this pasta better than a glass of red.

Sunday morning we were up early for a energy storing breakfast of porridge (Nathalie) and Weetabix (me) before heading on the road to pick up Hayley and then we made our way to the IPro Stadium in Derby where the race was to begin.

It was a ridiculously cold start to the day, so taking off our multiple jumpers, tracksuit pants, coats, gloves, scarves was a difficult task.

After multiple trips to the toilet for pre-race nervous wees, we made our way to the start line. I left in a different slot to Nathalie and Hayley and on our way we went. The first 5 miles seemed to take forever as we ran up an A road for what seemed like forever before cutting into Elvaston Castle grounds where the terrain was slightly different underfoot but much better woodland scenery. 

I forgot to mention from mile 4 onwards I started to feel un-comfort in my groin (recurring injury), having had this on the last few half marathons I knew what to expect, however it didn't make running any easier.

As a passed the 9 mile marker I attempted to pick up the pace having no idea of how I was pacing. Finally the end was in sight and I could see the finish and Nathan, Barbara, Brian and Nigel in the distance, it was time to properly pick up the pace for a sprint finish. I was quickly disappointed as I reached everyone and realised I had to loop the stadium one final time. By this point I was totally out of breath, so can to slow job to catch my breath before reaching the final straight for my second 'sprint finish'! It was over and I managed to get a PB, finishing in 1 hour and 23 minutes.

I quickly popped all my layers back on as I was rapidly cold again whilst waiting for Nathalie and Hayley to come through. It was so great to still see them running together and they look comfortable and you couldn't tell it was their first race. They crossed the line hand in hand with triumphant expressions and full emotion. An amazing achievement and we look forward to running a half next year together with Nathan, Jason and my parents to add to the team.

Well deserved glass of red I think and some London Marathon reading.

Race Information

Race: Derby 10 Mile

Distance: 10 miles

Time:1 Hour 23 Minutes

Fastest Split: 5.00 minutes at 4km

Slowest Split: 5.34 minutes at 14km

Next race: TBC (early January hopefully)

xoxo

It's Official.... London Marathon 2017

So around 6 months ago I entered the London Marathon 2017 ballot, half hoping I wouldn't get a place and knowing that it was highly unlikely as it was only my second time entering...

However it appears that luck is on my side (kind of) as I now have a space in the 2017 London Marathon and I paid for my place today!

Let the training begin.

Next race: Derby 10 Miler

xoxo

Royal Parks Half Marathon 2016

Sunday 9th October I ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon with some of my colleagues from work! 

Nath had just returned from completing the 3 Peaks Challenge, which I did earlier this year and we had an early start to drive into London with the race starting at 9am. 

It started in Hyde Park, passing Wellington Arch on the East on the Park, then through Green Park getting a glimpse of Buckingham Palace, around the South of St James Park, through Admiralty Arch down past Downing St, past Charing Cross up the strand. We then reached close to Somerset House and back past Trafalgar Square and back through St James and Green Park and then all the way around Hyde Park. So I'm sure you can imagine it was pretty spectacular and not having to worry about cars and tourists was an added bonus.

Here's the route! 

Just before Hannah and I started...

Waiting at the start.

One of Nath's pictures trying to catch me at mile 9.

Despite a returning groin injury (which only seems to pop out during half marathon races) I managed to run the entire time with no stops which is a first! It wasn't comfortable but I was so happy not to walk and I completed it in 1 hour 58 seconds with limited distance training! So plenty of room for improvement, bring on my next one! 

Post race team picture at The Queen's Arms in Kensington where we had a well deserved drink.

Xoxo

My October Picks; Shiny Shoes, Lipsticks, Running, Chops & Halloween!

How quickly has October come around? Last thing I remember was waking up on 1st January slightly hungover, craving fruit juice and fresh air and making myself lots of promises for the year ahead. Fast forward 9 months and we're here. Have I achieved everything I set out to? Let's talk about that in December shall we? I still have 3 months ok!

Let's talk about October and all the autumnal excitement that it brings! For once I'm excited about autumn arriving, I feel like I've been spoilt with summer this year, plenty of holidays and fun, so much so I'm ready for thick knits, woolly hats, hot chocolates-a-plenty and multi-coloured leaves! I mean don't get me wrong, I would also be more than happy to head down under to have summer all again, but my time will come.

Anyway so here's what I'm feeling this October!

These shoes (LOVE) - at the beginning of summer I treated myself to some new converse which are metallic silver snakeskin and they sound awful but they are awesome, but I'm ready for something new. Last week I went to a DAWN (digital advertising women's network) Event and one of the key speakers, a woman called Ali Hanan and she was wearing the below shoes. She paired them with slack, black trousers and a black top and it looked great. Especially as the night's draw in, the weather gets more miserable and cold, these are the perfect bit of sparkle in your life.

Superga Rose Gold Flatforms £65

This lipstick (LOVE)! So those of you that know me know I'm not a huge make up expert and I'm not a massive fan of lipstick, however after trying out a few of my friend's collections I asked for Mac Taupe Matt lipstick for my birthday last year and have pretty much worn it every social occasion since. So in New York I decided I needed to add to my lipstick collection. I didn't stray too far out the box, the colour I went for is very similar to Taupe but perhaps a bit lighter with an element of pink in it. Now for me personally, these aren't cheap but my last one has been going a year and there is plenty more to give, so it's ok! Here it is...

Mac Velvet Teddy Matt Lipstick £15

And I got a liner to go with it, following an excellent sales assistant guiding me in the right (or wrong) direction. I have yet to try this out, but this weekend is fast approaching so it will be given a test run soon.

Mac Spice Lip Liner £13

This next pick will come as no surprise given some of my previous posts but...

Running

This is probably one of my favourite times  of the year to run, the outdoor temperature isn't as sticky and warm so I sweat less which means I don't have to wash my hair as often and Autumn is just so pretty outside, especially in the parks. Talking of parks, I'm running the Royal Parks Half Marathon with work in October so I get to experience some of the greatest parks in the world. Let's not talk about how my training is going, moving on.

So this one is a little unusual, but for me (no judging please) this happens around once a year and I dread it but I always think I'm looking forward to it.

A hefty, healthy haircut.

A year of straightener, hair dryer, bobble, sun and sea damage means my hair is long but completely gross and the majority of the longness is dead. So I'm going for the chop, it will need an inch or two, but I'm going to keep telling myself it will look great and maybe that will convince me.

Before I bore you all this is my final October pick and I've saved the best until last...

Halloween!

I love Halloween! I actually (not kidding) cried one year because there were no Halloween plans and I couldn't believe I wouldn't get to dress up. After dressing up every single Wednesday for 3 years at university as I was part of a sport's team it's the one opportunity in the whole year I get, so when I don't get this opportunity.. Well I think you can understand my sadness. Anyway so this year, a friend of mine has planned her birthday for that weekend and sent out the Facebook invite, she hasn't mentioned Halloween or dressing up and I'm hoping this is merely because she hasn't put two and two together. Safe to say I'll be letting her know shortly. I have a few ideas of costumes and I need the opportunity to get creative so she better not let me down. 

Bring on October...

Xoxo

Ps. I wrote all about New York, finished it and added in links and then it deleted, so once I can bring myself to re-write it you will see it. 

Running London

So previously I've taken a deep dive into my passion for running, now I'm going to tell you all about my love of running around London.

My commute to work everyday takes me on the Reading line to Waterloo and then I tend to walk from there to Tottenham Court Road, by Goodge Street where my offices are. I took baby steps, initially I ran to and from Waterloo a few times (just under 2 miles) and that worked but during rush hour I spent the majority of the time people dodging so it wasn't good as a stress reliever. 

Then I plucked up the courage to join my office Running Club which is run by a personal trainer, I didn't quite do it alone, I dragged along my dedicated pal and now excellent running partner Jason to join me. We were taken through the beautiful Regent's Park and into Camden and through the market. Safe to say I was hooked, I hadn't realised how close all these places were. I vowed to make use of my lunch hour to explore more. 

After several lunchtimes running around the Park, Running Club took us up the beauty and the beast that is Primrose Hill. If I'm honest, the first time I did in fact fail, my mental strength couldn't carry me to the top, next time I took Jason and we did it! So worth it for the amazing views across London.

From then on I decided running should play a key part in my commute. I was blaming the commute on not having time to do as much exercise, so why the hell not incorporate it. 

I decided to get 6.32am (earlier) train into Waterloo but get off at Clapham Junction and run in from there. I did have to carry a bag, always going to be a pain but I packed lightly. I set maps up in my phone and popped my earphones in which were able to direct me whilst running, as I didn't have much time for error. I ran through Battersea Park and crossed over one of the bridges and ran along the river towards Westminster before heading up towards work. I was blessed with the most beautiful sunrise and made a deal with myself to attempt to do this route once a week. 

After a few runs like this but extending the distance a bit, I wanted to explore different areas of London. I'd never done Hyde Park, so I thought why not. I did this last week and it was awesome for sightseeing but there were so many niggily bits it was more stressful than anything. I passed through Battersea Park, over Chelsea Bridge, into Chelsea and Kensington, past the back of Harrods, into Hyde Park and around the Serpentine and into work.

So much running and exploring to do! It's also great for finding tucked away restaurants, cafes, bars and good Summer picnic spots. 

What's stopping you, get out there and explore..

Xoxo

Kate's 2016 Challenges

Happy Monday!! What a great weekend! It's a bit of Monday motivation for you, hopefully it will inspire you to take on some new challenges too. This post will be short and sweet but make sure you have a read!

This will be one of my very select few charity/fundraising plugs. 

Challenge 1  |  Running, I've ran two half marathons already, one yesterday being the Putney & Fulham Half Marathon with Nath, plus potentially the Bracknell and Windsor. 

Challenge 2   |  As part of the company I work for a few of us are attempting the 3 Peaks Challenge in under 24hrs. In case you're not aware of what this is, let me explain... We'll be travelling from London up to Glasgow via aeroplane, we'll then get a bus up to Ben Nevis when the stopwatch starts. We'll then climb Ben Nevis (Scotland), get back on the bus and drive to Scafell Pike (England) climb this and then final bus journey to slug to Mount Snowdon (Wales) for our final climb before getting to the bottom in hopefully under 24 hours. Can we make it??? Hmm we'll have to wait and see, hopefully training and my running will pay off and we'll successfully complete the challenge on May 20th.

Challenge 3  |  The epic Prudential Ride London, heard of this? No! It's mental, a 100 mile cycle all around London including a ridiculous climb up the infamous Box Hill. This is something I'm super nervous of, thankfully my Mum and Dad will be cycling with me! It will be a battle to see who comes out on top as good ol' Dad considers himself a Lance Armstrong (maybe not the best explain) with his detachable sleeves. If you are reading this, please never get them they are hideous! They will both be raising money for charity, keep posted for their fundraising pages! I have the bike, helmet and padded shorts, I know just need to get on the road so I have some training before the 31st July (notice it's my birthday weekend, dedicated to the challenge).

Challenge 4 (?)  |  This one is a potential. From now until Christmas my weekends are getting rapidly jam-packed, so I'm running out of time. But I'm hoping to get out there and attempt my first triathlon and I'll start with a sprint one, so keep posted on that.

Anyway, here comes the charity plug! I'll be raising money for the pretty awesome charity which is the key one my company works with, Free The Children! It's amazing and I was lucky enough to experience the awesome work they do when I volunteered at WE Day UK earlier this year at Wembley Stadium (post to follow in the not too distant future) and it's inspired me to make a difference and raise money that can change a child's future.

Please take a second to look at my page and sponsor me as little or as much as you can, as I'm sure you can imagine every little bit makes a difference. The link is below.

Kate Fundraising Page

I'll keep you updated with all my challenges...

xoxo

My name is Kate & I'm addicted to running

Primarily my blog is a travel blog, but as you can probably tell I'm kind of mixing it up when I have a spare second with everything and anything I'm passionate about and obviously all my different adventures. And today, I'm talking about my true love, running... 

Are you a runner? Training for a race? Getting some more fresh air? Trying to lose weight? 

Do you want to start running, but you're looking for the right motivation? Please let me attempt to help you out/be your motivation. 

I love running, I also hate running but I mainly love running. It's the best! I'm so super passionate about exercise in general, my colleagues are probably sick of me talking about it, but if it helps motivate at least one person we're on to a winner! I love inspiring people to make changes in their lives, to live healthier lifestyles. I haven't got one of those great inspiring stories, like I used to weight 20 stone and now I weight 10 stone. I just love trying different challenges. That's all there is to it. I'm lucky that I come from an exercise-mad family. My parents are both keen runners (mum more than dad) and they both play tennis, in fact we all can play tennis (but after playing for years I'm personally quite sick of it) and my brother is an awesome hockey player and lucky for him is as skinny as a rake.  We both played plenty of team sports growing up; tennis, hockey, volleyball, cricket and I did every type of dancing under the sun. So I guess it was just part of everyday life for us.

Back to the nitty gritty of running after indulging in a little background sharing. 

I first started joining my mum running as a cyclist, for something to do during the long school holidays. She then encouraged me to run with her to keep fit for all my sports. We started off with a gentle 10 minute. I say gentle sarcastically, at the time I saw it as punishment, I couldn't breath and I felt like my chest would explode so I suggested to mum I may have asma of at least a form of sport's asma. She told my dad and they found it hilarious and described it as 'unfit'! The cheek of them, me unfit! No way! Turns out their description of my self-diagnosed 'sport's asma was legit. But it wasn't until a few years later I started indulging in slightly longer than 10minute runs but I wasn't really that motivated. 

Then I joined uni and in my third year I went on my placement year and moved to London for a while. My housemates (found on spareroom.com) were weird and I didn't fancy all evening watching tv in my room, so I started running properly and signed up for my first half marathon (Bracknell 2012) as motivation. I lived in Richmond, so I got the pleasure of running along the Thames, to Kew, and around the park. I was spoilt for choice and I only realise now just how lucky I was. 

Finally the time came to run the half marathon and it's safe to say I was a nervous wreck but I was in the safe hands of my mum and dad and boyfriend who were running it too. Dad and Nath left us to it, being the competitive ones but my mum was a real gem she stuck by my side the whole way. When I wanted to walk, she would let me walk until the next lamp post then I had to run again. It was tough, in fact it was horrific. Although I had been running a lot my legs hadn't experienced that kind of distance, and after attempting to sprint up a ridiculous hill I well and truly hit the wall. This was around mile 8 and I can picture the moment even today, 4 years later. But being a trouper I carried on through the pain and jelly legs. The 11th mile I think I walked the entire mile but for the 12th I got this extra burst of energy, also known as adrenaline and managed to run the whole way even getting in a sprint for the last stretch. I finished in 2 hours and 13 minutes and couldn't even pick my foot up off the ground onto a bucket for a Marshall to take off my chip. I also didn't mention the weather conditions, in one word; horrendous. Torrential rain, tons of mud, wind and it was pretty cold, so that can't have helped! The walk back to the car was the longest 10 minutes ever and I couldn't walk for days afterwards. I hated running in that moment and for a few weeks after (I deserved a break, right?).

But a year later I signed up again and signed up Nath much to his disgust! I vowed to do more distance prior to the race and get a better time. The conditions were far more favourable for the Bath Half Marathon (which I think I may have done a blog about previously) AND I combined it with charity by raising money for Guide Dogs for the Blind (the company I worked for at the time) AND I got a better time of 2 hours 6 minutes. 

Still not quite the goal (minus 2 hours) but I was getting better! Then the year of PBs  arrived! I signed up for a few races; first being the Putney and Fulham Riverside Half Marathon which I absolutely nailed with 1 hour 55 minutes and I wasn't even stiff the next day and I could walk straight after (thank you Kayla - blog to follow shortly about Kayla). Then the Bracknell again, slower this time but still not bad, 1 hour, 58 minutes and it was a family affair again! 

I think you can tell I'm totally addicted, each time you just want to better yourself. The below pictures were from my first half marathon this year, the Wokingham. Working in London and having a mega commute means time is currently of the essence, I try to fit running in whether it's before work, to work, lunchtimes or weekends. However I unfortunately didn't get in enough distance training, so I completed this in 2 hours 3 minutes, I wasn't disappointed as it left plenty more room for improvement. Next race; April 10th Putney and Fulham Half Marathon!

Set yourself easy goals, start with 10 minute runs and build up to 20, then 39 then an hour and before you know it, it will be a breeze and then you can start working on speed. I try and mix it up a do a couple of interval training sessions a week (2 minutes normal speed and 1 minute speed) which really help!

With Spring arriving this weekend and Summer on the horizon get out there and enjoy it rather than being cooped up in the gym all the time! 

Xoxo