Merry crimble

Merry Crimble!

Happy bunny again. Santa got the running head on - gloves, more trousers that dont fall down;  a book; a subscription to womens running magazine. Who needs to get out more me or santa?

Not done any running for five days and have even eaten LOTS and LOTS.

Tomorrow I draw a line under festivities and balance out the last few days excesses. Wouldn't have cared this time last year and would just have kept going and going. This year someone taught me how and why to care :-)

Treadmills are boring

Wish someone would tell me why I cant run as far and as fast on a treadmill as I can when I am outside? How BORING is the DREADMILL, sorry treadmill anyway?

This week at the gym a man asked me to weigh him - yep weigh him. He said he couldn't see the numbers on the scales????????? Even if my eyes suddenly fell out of their sockets I still wouldnt ask a random stranger to weigh me and say OUT LOUD what I weigh!!!!!!

I hate the treadmill. I cant even watch the TV as I have to look downwards to see the screen and it makes me feel dizzy so I look ahead at the wall and hate every second that passes.

Bambi

This weekend saw me hit a new running high....or at least it was a first.......SNOW!

I did my run on snow.

Tee hee - I ran like a girl.

 I must have looked really silly lifting my legs up in a sort of morris dancing way with each stride and holding my arms out to the side flapping like a little bird as I ran. Anyway I was a little bit slower than last week  but it was still fun.

The marathon people have also well and truly put the frighteners on me by sending me - get this-  a pre marathon training - training plan.

Excuse me?

It would appear they want me to train for going into training. - HO HO HO! - is this a wind up I eagerly ask the Jedi master? I hate it when the Jedi master looks at me as if I  really dont deserve to be his running padawan. Ok so maybe its not a jolly festive joke then...........

This is all getting a little too serious for me. It has also made me realise there is only 20 something weeks to go until the day of torture and pain.

Also had a really stupid moment this week when I put on the Garmin to go to the gym  - No I didnt get it either at first. Jedi master is still chuckling about my faux pas five days later! How was I to know it worked on GPS movement so me staying stationary on a treadmill is not useful to a satellite measuring how far I have gone?????

Jedi Running Master does it again

Today I was advised to run a shorter distance but faster pace as I was moaning a tad about not getting faster with my miles...."yeah yeah yeah" I said in my head as the advice was offered...

Only did three miles (half my distance) but my time per mile decreased by over 30 secs a mile.....

Sometimes I could kick my Jedi running  master in the boy bits for being so right. Well I would if my legs would lift that high after a run.......

No tooting from drivers today however two people did try to engage me in conversation as I ran by. I was brought up with manners, but please could they not see that my poor body was grasping onto every bit of oxygen it had just to function , nevermind trying to discuss the merits of today's weather, run and stay alive at the same time??!!!!!

Despite playing my " keep going" song VERY loudly today I couldnt get Olivia Newton John out of my head asking me to get physical..... Why - no idea.

I love my "keep going" song. I may have to have Bobby Gillespie with me at the marathon singing it on loop for 13.1 miles.

Happy runny birthday (five weeks after the event!)

Birthday pressies!!!!!

Trousers that dont fall down!! - Just need to sort out the will I or wont I wear pants issue....

another thought

I casually asked my husband if he get tooted by drivers as I always get tooted at least once per run - he said never  -  is my backside showing/ are my boobs falling out when I run/ is my form that bad (yep I am really getting into this). Made a mental note to be aware of to check all of these on my next run...

What are the foam rollers all about?

I have some time on my hands so I am getting some things off my chest from my limited running experience over the last five weeks.........

I apparently have ITBS......in other words my knees hurt like hell....so I am doing stretches that should make me very flexible  ;-0

This has also led me to use the dreaded foam roller massager thing. Apart from giving it to my 18month old to use a teether I didnt really think it served a purpose before now and it really hurts like hell to use (am I doing it wrong me thinks?). Anyway as the padawan to my Jedi running master I am following the Yoda like wisdom (although thanks to the pneumonia he sounds more like Darth Vader at the moment) and rolling my poor legs over it. OUCH OUCH OUCH!

The running though, the running.....

Forgot to mention one small surprise birthday present -

Entry into a half marathon in 2012!!!!!!!!!!   WTF???? I am sure we said a 10K when I first tentatively talked about running. Yes I will admit I have been running 10K in my recent runs but thats different isnt it? - No? Anyone - No???

A half marathon -  thats 13.1 miles!!!!!!!  hhmmmmmm 21K how can you get the two distances confused???

I am so flattered and pleased that my husband has the belief that I can do this (puke - again! honestly we really arent that slushy).

How on earth am I going to do that????????

Wot no post?????

Ok so I havent posted since the 26th October -what has happened to me?

Heres my five weeks very quickly:

I had a birthday. Got lots of lovely running kit, running socks, running books and a buff! Happy bunny! Am so pleased I took some pictures of it all and will post is soon.

Got my running up to 6.3 miles in approximately 1 hour 10 mins.

Then three days after my birthday at the very beginning of the month my husband developed pneumonia and the rest of November was wiped out.

 I have basically managed one run per week and my time and distance havent really improved. Ho hum - but needs must.

Having my husband being so ill was a scary experience and it really made me realise how much of a team we are when it comes to getting through day by day. Taking on most tasks by myself that we generally do together totally wiped me out along with the worry of how ill he very quickly became. Spent most of the month working; looking after two children, my husband and the house tasks. Thankfully he is well on the road to recovery and we are back to dealing with the usual sniffles and colds etc.

Hopefully things will get back on track soon!

Still no gym!!!

Still felt too yucky to go to the gym tonight. Am becoming more irritable by the day. It had better be gone by the weekend. :-(

Bunged up!

Tried a treadmill run at the gym and thanks to my nose and throat being a bit snuffly couldn't do more than 10 mins before feeling like I was going to faint. Came home from gym and am unhappy :-(

Third time lucky??!!!

Yesterday I went out for the third time. I was really looking forward to going out after a shopping trip that ended up with my four year old dropping yogurt (he was trying to help to be fair) whilst I struggled to put the shopping up on the conveyor belt and calm my sixteen month old who screamed on as he had seen food he wanted in the trolley. I have to say that the TWO people serving (trainer and trainee) didnt even offer a bit of help until I asked if it was company policy for them to stand and watch and not offer any help at all when a customer obviously needed help with their shopping - this was only when a very large pile of unpacked shopping was at the end of the conveyor and the yogurt was on the floor. Anyway I decided to S L O W L Y pack up my shopping and dump the shopping and the kids on hubby when I got home (he was away casually running 6 miles at this point).

I found a pair of leggings that stayed up, ignored advice about not putting on a long sleeved jacket as I would be too hot (which I then had to remove about 2 miles in, gggrrrr).

 I ran 5 miles in 57 minutes with a fastest mile of 8mins 9 secs.

I felt like I could have kept going a bit longer but heeded hubbys advice of not pushing myself too hard (glad I didn't ignore this piece of advice). He was right (again!),  as by the time I got home I had wobbly legs. So wobbly I couldnt even lift them to pretend to kick him in the boy bits when he said "see I told you it would be too hot for the jacket" Aint love grand?

Am back to work tomorrow and so it will be back to the treadmill until next weekend.

I wonder how I will find the treadmill after my three I have to say EPIC outings this week..........

Oooopppsss I did it again!

So today I ventured out on my second "public" run. This time I was wearing my husbands long sleeved running top. He even came with me on this one. It was seriously funny as I think he could have walked faster than I was running. But bless his 1000 mile socks he stuck with me- apart from the times he cantered off to go and do some hill something or others. This basically invovled him tearing up (to me anyway) the hill and running back down to me huffing and puffing my way (very slowly) up. For the whole 4.1.miles (yeeha distance is increasing!) he very helpfully (not) tried to engage in conversation. I replied with lots of non committal "uh huhs" in what I hope was the correct place.

We went to our local country park just two minutes from where we live. Its beautiful there and is full of lovely little tracks and trails. So, today I have encountered hills like you wouldn't believe, muddy puddles Peppa and George would love (Oh my poor lovely WHITE trainers) and have gained some extra protein in my diet from the couple of flies I unwittingly ingested.

I really enjoyed this run. I loved sharing it with my hubby (puke) something I never ever thought I would do. The sadness of it all is I would never consider going there and running by myself. Probably more a reflection on my view of the world rather than the world itself. Crooked thinking Kimby style. It took me years to perfect and allow it to affect my life so much so its going to take me a long time to stop being like that.

Great run 4.1 miles in 47 minutes.

Oh and lesson for today - I need some gear. I must have looked a treat running along either holding up my leggings or pulling them up around my boobs (which after two children I will admit are not as high at they once were, so maybe I wasnt pulling them up that much haha!) to make them stay up. Tucking them into my knickers wasn't an option as they fell down too. Attractive.

Slightly ouch!

Today legs are sore. Hubby was brandishing what looks like a very large (and overpriced me thinks) cylindrical piece of foam at me. Apparently I should have listened to him when I came home yesterday and rolled myself over it ????!!!???? Good for the muscles -  Hhhhmmmmm maybe I should video him using it and then he can see how bizarre and impossible it looks to do.

Something for me to think about today. Taking hubby and eldest son to the bus stop this morning (off to spend a boys day together) and on the same path I ran yesterday it looked someone had been knocked over. The ambulance had just arrived and the person they were treating had running gear on. I really hope he wasn't too badly injured.

Today I did it for the first time!

Well I did it.........

I was all worked up to go out and run in the street in the daytime (not scuttling into the gym under the cover of darkness) and then it rained and rained and rained.

Hubby was being all nice prepping me. He really didn't want me to be disappointed in myself and had prepared me for not being able to replicate what I was doing on the treadmill (25 mins averaging 7.8 Km an hour on a gradient of 3.This is split into 2 and 3 minute section a varying speeds)

It got to about 3.30 this afternoon and he called me a chicken. Even though I told him his amateur reverse psychology didnt work - it did.

I borrowed his waterproof jacket and my gym gear, went out and ran. Three people very kindly stopped their cars  to ask if I needed a lift and three van drivers tooted at me during the duration of my run. I am informed by my husband in all his time running this has never happened to him. I will put it down to the weather conditions today and people thinking I needed help (possibly in several ways to be out running in such torrential rain).

I managed 3.4 miles in 37 minutes with an average pace of 11 mins per mile. So, Paula R. wont be worried but  I DID IT. I took it at my own pace and I ran the whole way.

Cunningly hidden by a lamppost

I came home with the biggest smile on my face and havent shut up about it for the rest of the day (yes that is a smile and that is not sweat its wet from the rain)

I think I may be falling under the spell of running.......

This is me

Ok so this is my first post.  The concept of  this seemed easier when I was talking about doing this with my husband earlier on. Now I am thinking who wants to read about my goings on.

I was full of ideas earlier now my mind is blank. That is something that seems to happen to me a lot more frequently since the arrival of the boys (two lovely healthy and hopefully happy children - four and one). Who knows how I wasted my time before them as now I seem to have a million and one things to do everyday and finding time even for the small things, ooooohhhhhh like having a pee for two minutes in peace seems to be a major challenge. Pretty much the same as most people with children - thats life- nothing special.

In fact  there is nothing special about me full stop. I do all the things that every working mum does and try my best to keep the plates spinning. I  am glad that my plate spinning crockery of choice is a run of the mill M&S set as I frequently am prone to dropping the odd one or two - or four or five.

Anyway how did I come about doing this? This year has been a strange year. At the start of the year I decided to create a list. I called it my 11 for 11. Maybe I will share, maybe I wont. I have it in my wardrobe and look at it to remind myself what I wanted to achieve this year.

Here are two :

1. Baby production is now over. Loose weight.
2. Get fitter. My exercise extended to walking (very slowly) to the nursery a couple of times a week (and to the kitchen to eat another Kinder Hippo - those things are addictive)

So weight is much better from where I started. From my heaviest I have lost just over seven stones. Still a work in progress. Not far to go. Keeping it off will be the challenge.

My husband runs. He has continually amazed me for the last few years with his dedication and his endurance. I will admit at nearly 37 weeks pregnant in 2010 and a BMI that would have made a consultant faint I did question his dedication (obsession) to running, whilst struggling to cope with the heat waiting for him to finish the Edinburgh Marathon. Do you know I may have even called him a selfish tw*t that day ( I was really hot and irritable in my defense). I was more concerned about the fact my feet appeared to be moulding themselves around my Birkenstocks and I honestly thought I may had to have them cut off. However I was so so proud as he crossed that finish line.

He has always told me that I had it in me to run. Last year a friend on facebook posted a video about an Amercian guy who lost loads of weight and started to run. It made me cry it was so touching. I think it touched me so much because he was getting to where I would have loved to be.

My husband watched it and said "start small and think about a 10K". I  smiled and said I would, but please how on earth would some of my weight (then) walk 10K, nevemind run.

As the weight came down I started going to the gym. Then stopped. Then started. Then stopped.  Then a gym instructor listened to my story and about my Forrest Gump hubby. I told him I wanted to run a 5K or possibly even a 10K (I decided that I had better not be too ambitious, I once told a guitar teacher I wanted to be like the girlie from the Pixies after taking a few lessons. I don't think a stuttering Twinkle Twinkle is quite in the same league as Debaser) . He created a program that really really suited me. Not just a "I'll put you on this because its what everyone does" program. I found I began to enjoy the treadmill more and more.

I began to work myself up to going out in public to run................