Plates, Kettles and a 10K run

After being out of action last weekend with a cold I think I've more than made up for it this weekend and am pretty achey today as a result!

I started on Friday lunchtime with a Powerplates class. I've been doing Powerplates classes for a few years now at Good Vibes Fitness They're a great way to get toned up very quickly.

A Powerplate is basically a vibrating plate that you stand or sit on. You hold poses or perform movements like squats or lungs as the plate vibrates. The vibrations from the plate cause your muscles to contract really quickly which means that you get a really quick and efficient workout. Apparently doing a 25 minute session on the plate is the equivalent of spending an hour doing weights in the gym. I love that the classes are so quick - I can fit them in before work, or in a lunchtime and they are really effective.

When I first started coming I would do 3 classes a week and within a month or so had dropped inches. These days I try and do one class a week, around my running and yoga - it helps with building strength in my legs and core.

Then on Saturday I went to my first ever Kettlebells class. This was part of the 'Belles and Beauty' Boutique Sport event. It was held at Frame Studios in Shoreditch and I turned up for my class not really knowing what to expect.

As the class started we warmed up and then were all told to take two of the kettlebells, one heavier than the other. The instructor then took us through a series of exercises using the kettlebell as a weight to work different groups of muscles. The class was called Cardiokettlebells and it certainly got my heart pumping! We were lunging, squating, bicep curling, tricep dipping and doing press-ups in what was one of the most high intensity classes I've done for a long time. At one point I did find myself wondering why on earth I had signed up for this but the moment soon passed when we were given a small rest break!

After the session I headed off to the second part of the event which was at the Benefit store in Spitalfields. There were cocktails and mince pies for everyone and I had a mini makeover done before aquiring some new Benefit products. It was a really fun afternoon.

On Sunday I woke up feeling pretty sore, my shoulders and arms were the worst. To be honest I really didn't feel like going for a run but having missed my Sunday run last weekend I knew I needed to go out. So I put on my training kit and headed out without having planned a route or set a specific mileage to do.

The first 3 miles were pretty tough, but then they quite often are for me on a Sunday. I kept looking at my watch and the mileage seemed to be increasing really slowly. Then, once I'd got to 3 miles everything seemed to click into place, my running felt easy and I started enjoying myself. The next time I looked at my watch I'd done 4.5 miles. I decided I'd do 10K - a decent distance but without pushing myself too far having not been out the weekend before.

I arrived back at home having completed the distance feeling so much better than when I went out, as I always do. So overall a pretty energetic weekend and boy am I feeling the after effects today!

I'm a runner up!!

One of my previous posts was about Thinking Slimmer the company behind the revoluntionary Slimpod. This is a completely different approach to weight loss - there's no dieting, no pills, no shakes or weird and wonderful potions involved. It's based on a technique called Cognitive Hypnotherapy and all that's involved is listening to an mp3 download for 10 minutes a day.

It's changed my relationship with food forever and if you're interested in giving it a go there's currently a free Christmas Slimpod of offer. All you need to do is 'like' the Thinking Slimmer Weightloss page on Facebook and you'll get a discount code to use on the Thinking Slimmer website

Back in November, Sandra the founder of Thinking Slimmer announced the Thinking Slimmer Loving Life Awards. Sandra asked people to enter and tell her how the Slimpod had changed their life. Thinking Slimmer success is about a lot more than weight loss - I've heard stories of people overcoming health problems and achieving things that they never thought possible, much like me and my running. There would be 2 winners, one man and one woman and three runners up. The judging panel would award the prizes based on who's story they found the most inspirational.

When I saw the mail from Sandra I umm-ed and ahh-ed over whether or not to enter. My weight loss hasn't been spectacular compared to other people that are also using the Slimpod. I've had a slow and steady weight loss which has been a bit frustrating at times and on its own certainly wouldn't win any awards. But I re-read Sandra's mail and thought about my running. If you had told me this time last year that I'd be training for a marathon I probably wouldn't have believed you. So I decided to submit an entry, thinking that I had nothing to lose by doing so.

Today I had an e-mail from Sandra to let me know that I'd been awarded one of the 3 runner up prizes - I am really delighted and proud to have been chosen. It's quite something for me to think that other people find my story inspirational.

I was also really pleased to find out that Darin McCloud, who I ran the Great South Run with was chosen as the winner of the men's award. Fantastic news for him and thoroughly deserved - he's completely changed his life this year, lost over 5 stone in 10 months and if you're interested you can read his story here - it really is inspirational

Back in the swing of things

Thankfully I woke up yesterday morning feeling much better so I went off to my regular Glow Yoga class and got through it without feeling at all dizzy. Much better than the week before. It's such a lovely way to start the day and it was great to be in a warm studio when it was so cold outside.

After a day a work I headed back to the Good Vibes studios for the last Boutique Running Club before Christmas. It had been raining during the afternoon and it was very cold but I was absolutely determined to go, having missed the week before. When I arrived I was the only one there and for a while it looked like it was just going to be me and the group leader. Eventually one of the other girls turned up as well and we set off on our usual route.

We had agreed to take it easy as I'd only just got over a cold but we covered the 2.7 miles in just over 31 mins which wasn't that much slower than the fastest time we've ever done! I've really enjoyed the running club and I hope that it starts up again in the New Year. It's been great to run with other people and be stretched by their pace.

I decided that I'd get up this morning and do another couple of miles. Partly as I didn't need to be into work that early and partly as I felt I owed myself a couple of miles from the weekend! So I got up at 6.30am and headed out into the dark and cold, dressed in my new London Marathon training kit!

I ran a couple of miles around Limehouse and up into Canary Wharf. It felt quite difficult as it was very cold and my legs felt tired after about a mile. In retrospect I probably should have given myself a bit longer between runs. In the space of 24hrs I'd done a yoga class and run just over 5 miles. Definitely back in the swing of things.

I got home just as the sun was coming up over Canary Wharf. I love this view and feel very lucky that I have it just outside our front door.

A confession

I think I'm developing a bit of an obsession with running clothes. I have plenty, probably more than I actually need but I still find myself browsing online running stores on a regular basis to check out what's new. I started running when it was relatively warm so over the last month or so I've needed to update my running wardrobe with a whole new set of winter running kit. It's not been a chore!

So imagine how excited I was when I found out about this shop in Covent Garden. It's actually on the route that my running club takes on a Tuesday night but I have never noticed it before. It was mentioned in the marathon magazine so I decided to pop in tonight on my way to running club.

I had intended to buy some running gloves as my hands have been getting cold as the temperature has dropped recently so I was very pleased to find a matching hat and gloves combo. One of the reasons that I have so much running kit is that I do like things to match. So these will go particularly well with my blue kit (I may also 'need' to buy the pink set at some point)


But it didn't stop there. Oh no. Did you know that Adidas do a range of clothing specifically branded for the London Marathon? Neither did I. But they do. And it's perfect for winter training. So I am now the proud owner of these lovely items

.This long sleeved top which is a perfect base layer and has the Virgin London Marathon 2012 logo and holes for your thumbs so you can keep the rest of your hands warm if it's not cold enough for gloves.

And this fab reflective gilet, again with the logo which will keep me visible as I run around the streets of Limehouse during the dark mornings.



So now getting up to go running when it's cold and dark will be that tiny bit easier as I'll have a constant reminder on my clothes of why I'm out there training. Well, that's how I justified the purchases to myself anyway!!  

It's official!

Last week I came home to find an A4 sized envelope waiting for me. When I opened it up I was very excited to find my London Marathon guaranteed entry form inside!

As I got my place through a charity I'm not yet actually registered with the marathon itself so I had to fill in the entry form and send it back within 7 days to make sure that my place is confirmed. So this morning I went off to the Post Office with my completed form in hand and sent it off via Recorded Delivery.

As a charity runner I've got what's known as a Golden Bond place for the marathon. As a Golden Bond runner I am also given free entry to one of the 'Meet the Experts' days in February. This sounds like it's going to be a really interesting and informative day with speakers such as David Bedford who is the Race Director and Liz Yelling who is the Commonwealth Games bronze medalist. There's also an opportunity to get discounts on running shoes and kit - I'm always keen to add to my collection!

Also within the pack was a Virgin London Marathon magazine which is packed with information for me to read through in the next few months.

There's an awful lot to take in but it's all good information on preparation, training and what to expect on the day itself. Reading through the magazine made me really excited all over again - I'm really doing this!**


** check back here in a few weeks once my training plan has started properly and I'm out running in the freezing cold to see whether I'm still quite as excited!

A frustrating weekend

Well that's probably not really a fair title for this post as I've actually had a very nice weekend. It's just from a running point of view it's been very frustrating. It's the first time in I can't remember how long that I've not done a long run on a Sunday and no running all weekend. And this is all thanks to some nasty, inconvenient little bug that has decided to take up residence in my body.

I'd been feeling a bit dizzy since Tuesday and as both my husband and a couple of colleagues have been suffering with something for most of the week, I thought it would only be a matter of time before I was also infected! And sure enough on Friday morning I woke up with a throat that felt like I'd been swallowing razor blades and a stuffed up nose. Not the greatest of ends to the week and particularly annoying as we were going away for the weekend to visit family.

I packed my running kit all the same, hoping that whatever it was might clear up quickly and let me get outside for a run. I've run before when I've had a bit of a sniffle, nothing too intense, just a couple of miles at a slow pace and I was hoping I'd be well enough to do that at least.

Saturday morning came and I felt no better, I decided that I'd leave the run for the day and hope that the rest might help me recover enough to run on Sunday. I've done a fair bit of research on whether or not it's safe to run when you're not well and the general concensus seems to be that if your symptoms are all above your neck then it's OK to run, if they're not then you shouldn't. This bug has definitely affected my lungs a little bit so I decided it was best not to go out. I'm asthmatic so I have to take particular care with things like this.

By Sunday morning I was feeling a bit better but still not 100%. I was really unsure about whether to go out, I really wanted to but I didn't want to risk making myself worse. In the end my husband said that he didn't think I should go and suggested that we go for a walk instead. So that's what we did.

As soon as we got outside I realised I'd made the right decision not to run. It felt good to be outside and to be moving around but it was very cold and windy. I'm sure I would have done myself and in particular my lungs no good at all by running.

We walked around the village where we were staying and where my husband grew up. It's a pretty village and I enjoy visiting - it's so different to where we live and where I grew up. The only horses we tend to see in London are police horses!

We walked up to the canal which is a particularly pretty place, there were quite a few barges moored up and a few other people walking along the path. It felt even colder by the canal so we just walked up to a bridge and then turned round and retraced our steps.

By the time we got back we'd walked two and a half miles which isn't bad. I didn't feel as satisfied as when I've had a good run but it was an awful lot better than sitting on the sofa feeling sorry for myself. Not long after we got back I started feeling dizzy again so I definitely did the right thing by not going out.

We had a lovely weekend away but right now I am feeling very frustrated. I want to get out there and run but I know I need to rest and wait until this thing is gone. My marathon training plan doesn't start for another couple of weeks and I know the most important thing is to be fit and well for that. I also know that having a break will probably do me good. I just miss the running and want to get back out there and hope that I can soon!

Belles and Beauty - an invitation from Boutique Sport

I was excited to receive an invitation from Boutique Sport yesterday for an event they're running on Saturday 10th December. Boutique Sport is a women’s only campaign designed to encourage young women to maintain active and balanced lifestyles, by breaking down the barriers to participation and creating opportunities for them to take part in physical activity and premium events. They're the people behind the running club that I go to on a Tuesday night.

The Belles and Beauty event is going to be held at Frame Studios, Shoreditch, followed by the Benefit Spitalfields Boutique and sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun. It starts with with a Cardiokettlebell class, I've never tried this before but it's low weight, high repetition exercises which promise full body toning and that sounds good to me.

Following the class, and a shower we will then head to the Benefit Spitalfields Boutique for free beauty demonstrations and mini makeovers courtesy of the Benefit in-store team. There's going to be festive refreshments and 10% off all purchases - a great chance to stock up on some Benefit products!

We also get to take away a Boutique Sport ‘bouti’ bag including Benefit discount vouchers, a free class pass from Frame Studios and a Boutique Sport tee.

It sounds like it's going to be a fun afternoon - a new exercise class to try and then some festive socialising and a chance to learn some new tips from one of my favourite make up brands. I signed up straight away!

There are a limited number of spaces available - Entry is just £10.00 per person and if you're interested you can sign up here