Now, I believe

I know I've neglected this blog for a few weeks, I've tried a few times to write an update but never really got very far, not because I wasn't doing very well, but because I didn't want to get ahead of myself.

I've given myself a few weeks since I started my sessions with a new PT, the focus on triathlon training and eating plan so I could see some real results, and I'm pleased to say that I really have.

My sessions with Phil have been going really well, I'm now four weeks into a ten week course and am definitely seeing the benefit, I already feel much stronger and that my body shape is changing. Phil really pushes me quite hard in these sessions and I will be sad when they are over, I really feel that I have been listened to and the sessions have been adapted around my interests outside of the gym, so improving my running technique and speed, and building muscle to help build speed with cycling and swimming. Phil has quickly become known as "The Boss" over the last few weeks, and I seem to quickly become known as "The Moaner", I have since made a point not to moan during sessions, to the point where Phil asked me if I was actually ill!

A few things have happened since my last blog post:

• My best friend @TheIron_Bear finished his first Ironman
• I have committed to a 70.3 triathlon next year
• My weight has dropped significantly
• I can now swim properly - front crawl and everything
• I'm now running faster than ever before!

So, next year I will be completing Outlaw 70.3. I had decided a few weeks ago that I was going to do it, but knew that I had a lot of work to do, but now there is a difference, I now believe that I can do it. Part of this reason could be that I'm getting more confident in the water, and on the bike (indicating is getting easier, bloody twitchy thing!) but it's mainly because I've just seen @TheIron_Bear complete his first Ironman in 12:15:49, he's written a great post about the race itself which you can read here. I won't go on too much about it, I've written a guest post for him that I guess he will get round to posting at some point. He went as he puts it from "Lardman to Ironman" so I see no reason why I can't do the same!

The pounds are coming off nicely and I have had some great twitter support over the last few weeks from @michybrightside and @rach_2_oh where we have been checking in daily on our diet and exercise, and giving each other the lift that we need to keep going. I have to say, I have found this invaluable on days where I've really wanted to over indulge and the girls have been great. We have also put together a relay team for a 70.3 next year, I will be taking the bike leg, and seeing as though @Rach_2_oh is a pretty amazing swimmer I think I will need to get used to the sound of TT bikes whizzing passed me during the ride!! 

It seems I'm disappearing a bit more, huzzah!

The last couple of weeks have also seen some improvements in my running speed. I told Phil last week that I seemed to be running consistantly at about 10:30 minute miles, he said he wanted to see me running at least 10 minute miles, I get the feeling he will keep challenging me like this over the weeks! Over the last few months I had been going to Regency Runners and going on the 3 mile run, never upping the distance. I knew that I had a 10k race coming up which meant I would have to run the longer distance last night, which is generally ran by the faster runners, which would again leave me at the back, not somewhere I'm keen on running. I had decided to just run to how I felt, I didn't even try to keep up as they run much faster than I can manage but I wanted to keep them in my sights on the 4.5mile route. 

To be fair, I always had someone in my sights and I tried as much as I could to get closer to them but couldn't quite do it. As I went through mile 3, I looked at my watch and saw I was running at a really good pace for me, in fact a PB for 5k, with 1.5miles still left to run I doubted that I could do it and I slowed a little, which allowed Jude to catch me up. At this point, I didn't mind if I ended up being last as I knew that I was doing well, and considered taking the foot off the gas and being pleased with what I had done, but I didn't and carried on, i remembered @TheIron_Bear telling me i needed to learn how to hurt myself so i kept on. I knew that the rest of the route was flat or down hill, I'd done the hills so I felt it was now time to prove to myself that this wasn't a fluke. I finished the run (with a lot of encouragement from the run leader, Mel) and stopped my watch, I couldn't quite believe what I had just done! To some of you real runners, you'll see this and ask what the big deal is, but to me, it's massive! When I was training for VLM my pace was between 12 and 13 minute miles, last night I ran a average of 10:08 minute miles over 4.44 miles, my time being 45:03, this is the fastest that I have EVER ran and 22 seconds a mile faster than my usual average speed over a shorter distance! I'm not ashamed to say that I cried a little at what I had just done, although they were happy tears!!

So, now I can swim without feeling the need to stop at the end of every length, and have my first open water swim next Thursday. I can ride my bike and now the weight is coming down the hills are getting easier and not quite as slow. I am getting stronger and my weight is heading in the right direction. I am running faster than I ever have done before. 

The difference in me now to 6 weeks ago? I believe in myself. I can do it.

Lozza Radcliffe

I seem to be a bit behind with my blog, no reason, just busy. So a quick catch up on what I got up to last weekend.

I only went and ran in the bloody Olympic stadium!

This probably isn't new news to lots of you, as there were over 12000 people running in the Anniversary Run and many of them have blogged about it. So here is the race from my point of view.

Running in this race meant a very early start, we had decided not to stay overnight in London but to drive down from Warwick and jump on the tube at West Ruislip. This meant we had to leave at 6am, so I was up at 5am. I'm not happy when I am up at 5am, Olympic Stadium or not!

I think we arrived in Stratford around 9am, ish. Actually I have no idea but when we got there it was busy and cold, thats about all I remember! After getting through security we headed to the Orbit where we had arranged to meet with everybody before me, Clair, Jo, Shazza and Anne headed to the start line:

Once there we waited for what seemed like forever before we were off, all 5 of us excited like schools girls, especially Jo, who after lumping and waving like a lunatic going over the start line got full attention and a wave from Chris Hoy. Nice work Jo!

The first mile was a little annoying, and was among the list as long as my arm on things that were annoying during the first 4.5miles, @jbeccx (who I met up with again, hooray!) has written a great blog on the day which mirrored everything that frustrated me about the race itself, so have a read of that and then no one is repeating themselves!

All was forgiven as the last 0.5 mile was the best 0.5 mile that I have ever run, not because I was running at an amazing speed or anything like that, but I was running with my best running mates in the Olympic Stadium! As we ran into the stadium underneath the stands Chariots of Fire was playing and also commentary from Mo Farah winning a Gold medal during last years games. I don't mind saying that this gave me goosebumps and might have (definitely did) bring a tear to my eye and a lump in my throat.

Running into the stadium was amazing and I couldn't believe how springy the track was and felt great to run on, the crowd was so loud and encouraging and I was fighting back tears as I reached 200m to go. I didn't want to rush it as I wanted it to last forever, but I knew I would regret it if I didn't give that final push and a cheeky sprint finish. As we ran round the bend a guy came out of nowhere milking it from the crowd and sprinting to the finish, as soon as we saw him I think we all took off to the finish. The thrill of crossing that line was something I can't ever explain, but doing it with those four girls made it even more special, and I think we spent a few minutes jumping around hugging each other!

Was this the best race ever? Yes, certainly was! 

Lane bully!

Last week I wrote about how I had stepped up my training to really kick start my weight loss again, and that I was planning ahead with my meals and training so I was more structured. Well, this week has been much of the same. Everything has been written down and then ticked off, nothing has been missed or substituted, I had planned in a cheat meal and a rest day (which was boring) so I was able to stick to my plan to the letter. I work much better like this, as strict as it may sound, I need structure. If I don't have it, I will gain weight, miss training sessions and eat crap. I'm not one of these that can eat when my body tells me, I'll just stuff my face until I'm sick then carry on eating (yes, I have a very bad relationship with food, but I'm working on that).

At the beginning of the week I went to meet with a different PT. I felt that I needed a real push leading up my next planned Triathlon in September, and I know that to get the results that I want I need to lose a good 14lbs minimum, more if possible, so I think one really intense session a week will keep me focused to do this, I struggle to do this on my own, I find continually training in the gym alone can be a bit flat and I can't get in the right head space, I just want someone to tell me what to do for an hour! We had a really interesting conversation and I was listened to about my goals, primarily weight loss but also overall fitness and performance. I came away from the meeting feeling so motivated to move forward and I'm really looking forward to starting my sessions next week.

So the week has included a few runs, and few gym sessions, a bike ride and a couple of swims. I won't bore you with ins and outs of each session, but the swim I think this week is really important! I reported last week that I had booked my first open water swim coaching session and that I needed to be able to swim 500m of front crawl before I go, well, I'm so nearly there! I went to the pool Thursday with the goal of swimming none stop for 150m, which was what I had written in my plan to get up to 500m. I started with a few warm up lengths of breast stroke which really didn't work for me, I'm axing this now, it clearly isn't the stroke for me! After a couple of lengths I stopped and adjusted my goggles then started my attempt at 150m of front crawl. This went way better than expected and at 200m I stopped, but only as my goggles were steaming up, I fixed this and off I went again, now realising I could easily swim 500m that night so I slowed it down and just relaxed and swam one length at a time, resting for 10 seconds or so after each length then carrying on until I reach 475m, one length to go. I'm so pleased this happened on my last length as I got straight out afterwards and felt a bit shaken, some nob head idiot swam over me which a) scared the shit out of me as I've no idea where he came from and b) disorientated me under water which for a non confident swimmer is a really bad thing. I couldn't have been swimming any closer to the rope if I had tried (I use it to help keep me straight!) so it's not like I was in anyones way! Once I surfaced I finished my length and got straight out, there seemed to be no apology coming my way from the "lane bully" so feeling very defeated I got out. I only realised when I was in the shower that bar 15m or so I had done it! 500m of front crawl! Some small breaks but until I was rudely disturbed I felt really comfortable, I'm ecstatic with this, I think I might have done a little dance in the shower when I realised what I had done!

So the results of this weeks focused and determined hard work? A loss of 7lbs, my biggest weekly loss to date. This has now put me back on the road for getting rid of all this weight, and setting myself up for a good winter ready for next years planned 70.3. It's also made a huge difference to how I usually feel around this time of year, I hate summer, my allergies can't cope with it and I've generally been too fat to cope with the heat, but today, in 33 degree heat, I was able to wear an actual pair of shorts and get the legs out, I've not done this for years! 

Its like I'm almost a professional!

I've been attending bootcamp now for around 6 weeks, and until yesterday I have really enjoyed every session. There was something that just wasn't right yesterday, and I really struggled throughout the whole session. The session had some really good drills that I enjoyed even though I felt that I had been working hard, but the plyometric element of the session nearly bought me to tears and I had a mini strop/meltdown during the drinks break. This is the first time I have doubted myself during bootcamp as it is so inclusive, so I had a little moan and tried to just get on with it for the rest of the session. This has just highlighted that I need to work on the plyometric element of training more, something that I have avoided for a while simply because I find it hard, you try jumping whilst trying to lift this weight with you! But I guess it won't get any easier if I keep avoiding it!

Other than that mini strop this week has been a great week of training. I have managed to get the motivation back, to get back into the gym for my weight sessions again, which resulted in the most incredible DOMS which only got worse as the week went on, to the point that when I went back to the gym Wednesday the legs were still pretty painful.

I kept the sessions this week pretty simple, mirroring what I posted last week but I know now it is time to make them harder and add some different stuff in to make a circuit, this is likely to be some form of plyometric exercise such as static long jumps, which I can do in the same space as my walking lunges, down "lunge alley"

I did also find some time to amuse myself at the gym, there is nothing more satisfying as a girl when you lift heavier than one of the guys in there. I was backwards and forwards to the latpull down and chest press from lunge alley, and seemed to be sharing the machines with a couple of lads working out together. I don't think they found it quite as amusing as I did that I knocked the weight up an extra 5kg on each set which was matching them kg for kg, I also think the poor things bit off more than they could chew as they were throwing themselves around to push the weight out, oh well, they'll learn!

Swimming this week has been successful; I have managed two sessions in the pool, and have got up to 100m front crawl with relaxed breathing. The new goggles have made a huge difference to my head position as I can see much more and they aren't steaming up as much. I have also now got a target for the swim, as I have booked onto an open water coaching session for beginners with Mary at @inspire2tri and for this I need to be able to swim 500m. The swim is on 22/8 so that’s seven weeks and counting. Due to this I have decided to add another swim into my weekly training schedule so I can concentrate on achieving my goal. I have set a target for the tri in September for my swim time and if I make it I think I may shock a few people, myself included! The trouble is, I don't wear a watch when I'm swimming so I can't analyse my sessions, @TheIron_Bear has again and again told me how important the numbers are when training and now I understand why (yes you were right AGAIN! I really should learn to listen more), so I guess I need to look for a watch I can wear in the water (and works in the water).

The bike has made a couple of trips out this week, once with a local ladies cycling group Regency Riders where I was able to test out for the first time the bikes (and my) climbing ability. I need to work on this, I'm still getting used to how twitchy the bike is compared to the hybrid so I find getting out of the saddle a little wobbly, so have been (quick break to cry uncontrollably as Andy Murray wins Wimbledon in straight sets) getting up the hills in the saddle while I get used to the bike, but I guess this will come, and I'm still relatively new to cycling so I know I just need to keep working on it, and it'll come with practice.

The second ride I did this morning. I was going to do a local Skyride that leaves from the park at the back of my house but it wasn't leaving until 10am and was set to be a four hour ride, with the heat today set to be hot hot hot, I thought better of it! I DO NOT like the heat! Instead I went out early with Tracey and Anne on a ride around Sherbourne and Charlecote and back home, which was around 20 miles, again there were a few hills to get up but we had a really nice ride. I have added padded shorts to my list of things to buy, as the last few miles of that ride really wasn't comfortable! 

So going forward I have written my training plan for the week ahead, as well as my eating plan. When I was losing weight quickly I did this every Sunday then found it easy to stick to, so I need to get into the habit of doing this again to keep focused as I have 12 weeks to Stratford Triathlon and I have put high expectations upon myself for preparation for the day and for the day itself. I didn't lose all this weight to throw it all in now, so I'm now a girl on a mission to make the next big change.

Hello Mr Tarmac

So yesterday I picked up the bike, along with the shoes so I would be clipped in from the off! I had decided to rack the bike to get it home as on a Saturday afternoon the traffic was really busy back into Warwick and being a novice with being clipped in I thought it best to try it out when the roads were a little quieter. I think the guys at @TheBikeYard would have preferred me to ride it home, if anything so they could laugh at me riding off and going straight on the floor as they had told me many times that I would fall off when getting used to the pedals.

So this morning came and I had planned to take the bike out for a few miles. I didn't want to go too far as I've not yet bought inner tubes and all that rubbish (I'm not quite sure what I would do with them if I did have them anyway) but I wanted to make sure that I could get home, and today was all about getting used to being clipped in.

The ride didn't get off to the best of starts as when I was trying to sort myself out I dropped my bike, I should have known then to just put it back in the house and go back to bed! So anyway off I went and after a couple of seconds fiddling about I managed to get myself clipped in. Riding this bike is pretty ace, compared to the old mountain bike and the hybrid its pretty fast and everything is so much smoother. It does feel twitchy but I guess that is something that I just need to get used to and as I develop my core strength I imagine it will settle down. I only managed to get half a mile down the road when it happened, coming up to a roundabout there were a few cars in front of me but plenty of room on the left hand side for me to go through. I went to stop to give way to cars coming from the right and having lost concentration for a second I went to put my foot down, sending me sideways and slamming into the tarmac!

I remembered what @The_IronBear had told me and didn't try to break my fall so held onto the handlebars, although I stuck my elbow out and gave it a bit of a smack. As I lay in a pile in the gutter it took me a couple of seconds to work out why the bike wouldn't move off me but of course I was still clipped into the bloody pedals! I got up and shook myself off, checked the bike and then realised there was a queue of traffic with all drivers staring at me (laughing no doubt), I tried to look as though I meant to do it but of course failed! I was mortified, so I was soon out of there and carried on with the rest of the ride, which luckily was pretty uneventful.

As it was a short ride I got back, had something to eat and took myself off to the gym. As I said in a previous post even though my diet is sorting itself out I am struggling with motivation for strength training so I thought I would just go and get it done before I had the chance to talk myself out of it. As it has been a while since I have got a proper session in I went back to basics with a quick but pretty tough workout, which you have probably seen me post about before:

• 30 walking lunges
• 15 lat pull down
• 30 walking lunges
• 15 chest press

This was repeated 4 times, with minimal rest (I'd say about 15 seconds as I need to keep walking from one area of the gym to the other). I started the weights at 35kg and gradually worked up, my last set of each being 45kg, something that I haven't lifted for some time but I was in the mood to get it done today! 

This was followed by a bit of core work, some bridges, single and double leg and then 3 60 second planks.  The walk down the stairs was interesting and I was close to having my second fall of the day, luckily I managed not to make an idiot of myself for the second time today! 

After fighting it for a couple of months, I know that it is the strength stuff that will continue to help me lose this weight, so I need to keep on with that and I now feel motivated to get it done, I think I just needed that one good session, as hard as it was, to confirm it. I really enjoy the strength training, and need to stop making excuses not to go, but instead find the time that I need to go AS WELL AS the swimming/cycling/running, there is plenty of time for two training sessions in one day if I need to and I guess I should get used to that now rather than struggling with it next year trying to get half iron ready! 

So tonight is all about the swim, my new goggles came yesterday, the Zoggs Predator Flex that I tried out when I swam with @TheIron_Bear a couple of weeks ago. 

Bike wars

It has been done. The bike has finally been chosen.

I know in my last post (which was aaaagggeeeeessss ago!) I had chosen my bike, and had gone for the Giant Avail 3. However since then things unexpectedly changed. 

Saturday I went with Anne back to the Giant store in Rutland to try out a couple of road bikes. This is the first time that I had been on a road bike for about 20 years, so I was quite nervous about how I was going to get on. As it turned out, I had no need to worry, and I really enjoyed it. So when we got back to the shop I was ready to buy the bike, slight snag, they didn't have any, it seems Giant had not made enough bikes for 2013! I have to say I was not impressed, how Anne put up with my temper I'm not sure but I'm pleased she was there, as I was close to buying the Avail 1 at £1000, totally blowing my measly £700 budget until she stepped in and advised me to spend 30 minutes thinking about it. This had totally thrown me, as I had done a lot of research into the Giant and everybody I had asked for advice had suggested the Giant, including @TheIron_Bear and Mary at @Inspire2Tri, so I was at a loss of what to do.

Anne got on the phone to a bike shop local to us back in Leamington, The Bike Yard as we knew they were a Giant stockist and they suggested we go in for a fit, Anne had a heated conversation with them which to me sounded like:

Anne: I need an XS

TBY: You might not be that size

Anne: Yes I am

TBY: You might not be that size

Anne: Yes I am

TBY: But you may not be that size

Anne: But I've just ridden one

TBY: But you may not be that size

Repeat to fade........

So the decision was made to cut our losses with Giant and get back over to Leamington to have a look at what they have at The Bike Yard. This was a sensible suggestion so it obviously wasn't mine! I spent the journey back whining that I couldn't have what I wanted, Annes patience needs a huge prize!!!

The trip to The Bike Yard was a success, and they were so helpful, really setting our minds at rest that they would find a bike within our budgets that fit us well. Unlike Giant at Rutland, they didn't dismiss the mens bikes, giving us more options for what we needed. I went back Tuesday for my fitting, where I was politely told that I have short legs and a long body, and short arms, apparently my "knuckles don't drag on the floor" which is pleasing! I had a long chat with them about what I wanted and my plans for half and full ironman over the next couple of years, they knew what they were talking about so I went for the same principle of when I shop for running trainers, get fitted and have what they tell me to that is in my budget. We tried a couple of bikes, the first being the Giant Defy 1 which because of my short arms and legs was no good even after a lot of fiddling around! The next that we tried was the Lapierre Audacio 300, which again after some fiddling around with and a lot of getting on and off the bike it seemed to be the bike for me, I was secretly pleased as it matches my trainers! 

I had a chat with them about shoes and peddles, I was unsure as to whether it was a good idea to get them straight away, but I was advised just to get them on and go for it, being told that I will fall off, and it will be funny to everyone around me! So, I decided to go for it and to buy the bike, shoes and pedals, which I pick up Saturday!

Just a quick update

Just a quick update on how I've been getting on with my diet/training/motivation over the last few weeks. I know I've been relatively quiet lately but that’s more to do with being too busy to post stuff than not sticking to the plan.

A lot has happened so it's probably too much to catch up on in one post, so I won't bore you with all the details. My main achievement and what this blog is all about is that I have lost 4lbs over the last few weeks, which I am pleased about and I feel like things are getting back on track. I am training well in most areas, although struggling with strength work as my motivation to get to the gym is at an all-time low, as I have now given notice to leave, so now going there makes me angry and I can't focus on my workouts properly, so I have been doing some body weight stuff at home, plenty of lunges, squats and press ups to try and keep on top of it, but I know it's not enough, so I am addressing this. I am also going to the Exceed Fitness bootcamp once a week so I can get some sort of structured training, I'm no longer able to afford any PT sessions and realistically one a month isn't enough.

Other parts of my training are going well, for example my swimming is coming along really well. Last week I went swimming with @TheIron_Bear who hasn't seen me swim since he helped me get over that fear of putting my head in the water months ago. To be honest I was having a bad swim, this was not being helped by my goggles steaming up so he suggested we swapped to see how I got on, it made a massive difference, I could actually see and didn't feel that I needed to bring my head so far out of the water which in turn gave me more speed, @TheIron_Bear told me afterwards that I was quick, and that he would have had to work hard to lose me, the only trouble is I can't keep it up for long enough to be of any challenge.......yet! This has put me in good stead for my upcoming triathlon as if I can keep that speed up I will be out of the water in an amazing time. Also, I am hoping that it won't be long before I can make 500m which then means I can try out some open water swimming before the end of the season.

I have also been trying another tactic for speeding up when running. I went up to Rutland Water last week with @TheIron_Bear so he could do some open water swimming so took the opportunity to go for a 15 minute out and back from Whitwell toward Normanton along the Dambuster Triathlon route, this also gave me a chance to have a look at the open water set up so it wouldn't be so daunting when I actually pluck up the courage to go myself!

So off I went on my out and back, I tried out a run/walk strategy, 2mins run 30secs walk remembering the running technique stuff that I had been through with Mary a few weeks ago. It was a success, I ran further with this run/walk strategy than I had on a flat out and back the week before where I had run all the way. Don't get me wrong, it was hard work as when I was running I ran at an 8:30min/mile pace, which is very quick for me!! But, I was pleased with the distance that I covered in 29:17, 2.92miles.

I'll have the shiniest!

Really quick post, mostly because I'm too lazy to write about the day and also because it was only interested to Anne and I!

After a day up at Giant store at Rutland with Anne, I have chosen my bike! Tadaaaaaaa!!

Giant Avail 3 Compact

After advice from Paul (the shop guy) we are going up on 22nd to take them out for a test ride, then will get measured and get the bike set up and bring it home. Now I just need to find a name!

I am totally in love with my new bike!

What a difference a week makes

This time last week I was sat watching Saturday night TV on a proper sugar come down after weeks of eating crap without even noticing I was! During the last week I have been able to look back constructively to my eating habits over the last couple of months and it was clear that I had slipped back pretty comfortably into my old habits. Without dwelling on it too much, packets of cookies, chocolate and crisps had become the norm again, well, not anymore!

Tonight I am sitting watching TV looking back on a week of being back on it diet wise and generally getting it right. Could I have done better? Yes, I guess I could have, but I stuck to what had worked for so long and kept the principles of:

1. High protein
2. Low sugar
3. Keep well hydrated (this can be difficult to judge now we are in asparagus season! Sorry!)

I also decided to make myself accountable for EVERYTHING that I eat, so started a separate blog that I am using as a kind of photo food diary, which if you want to see it's here. Looking back at it and I would say I don't think I am eating enough but I am pleased that it is a good start and the weight is starting to come off with a 2lb loss this week.

Training wise I have had a difficult week, work seems to be really busy at the moment and I am struggling to get that balance right. After my disastrous gym session Monday I swam Tuesday night, still trying to work on my technique. I have axed breast stroke completely now as it just doesn't feel natural, so I am working on front crawl, this is what I will need in the Triathlons so it makes sense to concentrate on this and not waste time on something I don't really need. Thursday I ran with Regency Runners, as they are running a 'Learn 2 run' course I have been helping out with tail running so I walk/ran a slow 5k, so didn't really break a sweat but I was out the house so I guess better than nothing!

This morning I attended a new boot camp in Leamington with Jo and Anne. The session was run by Phil Sims who I have trained with before down at Peak Fitness, he is also Anne's PT and one of the other PT's there I knew from grueling spin classes down at LA Fitness (When it was good!) I had a great morning working out in a group and the trainers were really good and friendly and I'm looking forward to going again next week, I think this will be a good session a week to help with improving my fitness, and working out with others is really appealing. This has pretty much sealed the fate of LA Fitness, and I am finally going to leave after months of being unhappy with their service. 

On a personal note, the response from my last post was incredible, and I can't thank people enough for the kind comments that I had after writing it. The other thing that struck me was how many people were able to relate to it and to say that it happens to them too, but their encouragement have enabled me to focus so I thanks you, very much!!

Time for some honesty

Ok, lets be honest about this. Since I have started this journey of losing weight, I've achieved so much, and shown that I have the potential to do what ever I put my mind to, right? Let me get this straight, even though I can be a miserable cow and a bit of a whiner, that's not what this post is about, its simply being honest, nothing in this post will be exaggerated or blown out of proportion, it's simply just how it is, it's fact, no more no less.

So, over the last few months I've been learning to swim, getting back on a bike, running faster...all great things, but something else has been happening and I've been ignoring it. My diet has slipped, and strength training has reduced significantly which has resulted in a 7lb gain. This was never in the script and I'm now back where I was in December.

It has occurred to me that over the last 3 months I have been saying that my weight has stabilised, I can't get passed that dreaded number no matter what I do, but it's ok as I hadn't gained weight. When in fact, after weighing myself on Saturday morning it seems that I have, and quite a lot of it. I could have ignored it of course, and carried on pretending that I wasn't gaining weight but Saturday really struck a cord, and I knew what I had to do, instead of kidding myself, I needed to admit it to someone, that in fact I was failing.

So that's exactly what I did, I know @TheIron_Bear will always put things in perspective and tell me how it is, so I messaged him and admitted my failing to him. Then before my bike ride on Sunday with Anne I told her, and did something I never do which was to admit my weight. As soon as I had done this, I felt in control again, clean eating over the weekend seemed easy, now just the small matter of training!

It occurred to me that I had actually wasted the last 5 months, the progress that I had made had been scuppered by stuffing my face with any food that I shouldn't eat with the excuse of "I'm training later", then substituting those strength sessions for some sort of cardio. This problem was evident yesterday when I went to the gym with the intention of giving myself a hiding and throwing a strop with my weak legs for not even getting the basics, simple walking lunges and my balance was off, back down to my knees for press ups, bent legs for dips. It just wasn't working, I felt massive and heavy, like I was lugging myself around so I tried a different tactic. I tried some new exercises that I hadn't done in some time and managed to get them out ok, then actually surprised myself with squats on the wobble board. But I still came away with that feeling of failure, walking lunges are my thing, and I'm bloody good at them, so struggling to push out 30 is not acceptable, by any ones standards!

The other thing that hammered it home to me is seeing the progress of others, @jbeccx was a runner who I managed to bump into about mile 15 at VLM2012, who was looking for something different to do and started strength training after the New Year, she has made amazing progress and has lost 12% of her body fat, and at the weekend shaved 9 minutes from her half marathon pb, without really doing much running! Pretty amazing! When I read this I was really chuffed for her, she has obviously worked really hard for this, but I couldn't help thinking "hmmmm, howcome it hasn't worked for me? Why am I still struggling?" I think this is obvious, Becca has clearly put the work in and I clearly haven't. Yes, I have said it, I am jealous of her progress, but have I anyone else to blame apart from myself? Absolutely not, it's me that decides what I shove in my mouth, no one forces that, it's me that misses training or does something less effective. What's the point in me moaning that it hasn't worked for me, if I haven't been doing it right. Am I guilty of sitting on twitter and letting people think I'm still making progress, probably, I have turned into those people I hate! What Becca has proven is that is it absolutely possible when you give it everything and make the sacrifices that you need to achieve your goals.

So, where do I go from here? Well, honestly it has to be back to the drawing board. I have clearly lost a lot of strength which my gym session yesterday had proven, which horrifies me that that will mean I haven't just gained 7lbs, but more than likely double that in pure fat. This grosses me out, and has made me so cross with myself and determined not to let this fat beat me again, because this time I have nowhere to hide.

Excuse me, it's Laura Brownlee

Four months ago, completing a triathlon would have been a nonstarter. I wouldn't have even entertained the idea, my response would have been I'm scared of water, can't ride a bike, not doing it, no way! The idea was planted into my brain a few months ago by @TheIron_Bear, although it took me some time to agree to it, or more importantly to believe that I could do it. But I have done it, yesterday I completed my first ever triathlon, with a gammy swim stroke, a shitty bike and a dodgy run! Believe me, it won't be my last!

I was lucky that a fellow Regency Runner, Anne had also entered the Tri, so I had had someone to train with over the last few weeks, and also someone to share my worries with about the day itself. With a week to go, I had no worries about the actual swim, ride or run; it was putting it all together, and the transitions. I had a million things going through my head, how do I do this, what do I do with that, where do I go for this, when do I do this. I knew that no matter how prepared I was, until I got there, I wouldn't know for sure.

Anne and I had decided to register the day before, just in case it was too busy on race day, so we were able to have a look at them setting up transition and exits and entrances, which settled us a little bit. We had also decided to get to the venue for around 10am, which was two hours before our call time.

The time flew by, we had a walk around and made sure we knew where everything was, and by watching others in transition we could see exactly what we needed to do and it answered all our questions. We then went and had a look at the other competitors during the swim and again this settled our nerves, as we saw many of the swimmers swimming off of nans! I could do that before the training!

We weren't allowed to rack our bikes until 15 minutes before our start time, which gave us only 5 minutes to rack our bikes, lay out our kit and get to the pool. We found a space to rack the bikes and I took note of where the bike was before stripping off into swim kit. Anne had had the sensible idea of buying a tri suit, I was just going to brave it in my swim suit, but I had a last minute fear of getting out my wobbly bits so made the decision to wear some cycle shorts underneath, this was a stupid idea, and I paid for it later on! So with wobbly bits hidden we walked through to the pool and listened to the safety brief, where we were told it was perfect weather, and no wind (liar!) and given a swimming cap to put on, I have never worn one of these in my life so getting it on was an issue and it snapped in my eye in the process, ok good, things are going well!

We then lined up in numerical order ready for the off, Anne was 5 places in front of me, and we had already discussed competing for ourselves, so we had agreed to meet at the end. The first couple of lengths were challenging, it usually takes me 250m or so to warm up so with only a 200m swim this could be a problem, but after that first 60 odd metres I felt good and overtook a couple of people, then for my last 2 lengths I felt good and was able to crawl where I went passed a couple more people but then was delayed getting out the pool as there was a small queue, I exited the water in just over 6 minutes.

I ran down into transition and saw Anne heading out on her bike; I found my bike easily enough and set about getting my kit on. Getting my capris on was a bit of a panic as they were sticking to my wet legs and this then made me panic and trying to get on all my kit at the same time, I had one sock on, one glove on, no t-shirt and a trainer in my hand.....I went to pick up my helmet then realised I was being ridiculous so composed myself and got dressed like an adult, then got my trusty mountain bike off the rack and off I went on the 23k ride.

The start of the bike course is in Stratford town centre so there are pedestrian crossings to get through before you get on the main road out of the town, of course all three were on red so this slowed me down as I had to stop at each one, then a car decided to park in the middle of the road so not a great start! It was only a mile or so before I started to get overtaken by a few faster riders on roadbikes (me and Anne were the only people there with mountain bikes!!) but I did pass a few riders in the first half of the ride. About halfway I started to regret wearing shorts under my swim suit, I was a little (very) uncomfortable so I started to countdown the miles, 8 to go!

As turned onto the A46 to head back to Stratford the wind nearly blew me backwards! Just in time for the bloody great hill, ok good. I thought I was going to die up that hill, it just seemed never ending and the wind was relentless, but again I managed to pass a few people on the way up, but still the riders on road bikes were gliding passed, making it look easy! I was seriously hurting, and they were out on a Sunday ride! After the hill it was then mainly downhill into Stratford and back to the leisure centre., I managed to get off the bike in the right place and went to run with my bike to rack it up, one problem, my legs were like lead, I just did it anyway, racked the bike and took a few seconds to have a drink, and take off my helmet. By this time it had started to rain, which is my favourite to run in.

I ran through transition to go off on the run and my legs were still like lead! In the brick sessions I had done previously my legs had run away with me so I wasn't expecting them to be so heavy, but I kept going and figured they would wake up at some point, and if they didn't, they would only have to drag me around for 2.5k! The run was an out and back, so me and Anne passed each other as she was on her way back and we gave each other a high five, I got to the turn point and then the legs woke up, and I was able to put my foot down, a guy passed me with about 750m to go, he wasn't motoring along so I decided to try and stay with him, which I did until he bolted for a sprint finish, I had nothing more as I already felt like I was sprinting!! I crossed the line in 1:37:07, and placing 29th! Anne had done brilliants and finished in 1:31:49 and placing 19th!

Looking at the winners times, I was faster than her in the water and only 4 seconds behind her in the run, yet her ride was 15 minutes faster!

The point of today was to learn from the event, not to compete. So what have I learnt today?

1.     Me and Anne are brilliant

2.     I love triathlons

3.     Me and Anne are brilliant

4.     I need a road bike

5.     Me and Anne are brilliant

6.     Don't layer up (whispers) "down there"

7.     Me and Anne are brilliant

8.     Tri suits and elastic laces are the way forward

9.     Me and Anne are brilliant

10. I need to carry on losing weight to stop it being so hard 

11. Me and Anne are brilliant

12. If you want something bad enough, you can do anything

As always after my races my first interest is the medal, I want to make sure it’s worth it! This one didn't disappoint! 

So, am I still scared of water? No, but I'm not 100% comfortable in the pool. Can I ride a bike? Of sorts, I can point it in the right direction and pedal. It’s a long way to go, a lot more weight to lose and a lot of training to do but I have got this far. Over the last 18 months I've seen how hard @TheIron_Bear has worked to get to where he is today, and I never doubted for a minute that he would do it, can I do it too? I wouldn't bet against me. The serious stuff starts now!

Believe to Achieve

So I promised myself that I wouldn't enter next years VLM ballot, and as difficult as it was, I kept to it. Twitter was going mental this morning with many of the VLM family having entered the ballot, and more, it bought back good memories of two years ago when I entered the ballot, keeping it secret from everybody until October when I got the Congratulations magazine. Completing VLM2012 was the best day of my life, not because I completed the marathon, but because I said no more, no more just getting by, no more just completing races and no more looking like I shouldn't be there.

Since then I have changed my life, I am not finished yet and have a long way to go but I am stronger and both my running speed and style has changed. I finally got that sub 30 5k and am now working on that being consistent as at the moment 31 is consistent. I've learnt to swim, and got back on a bike for the first time in over 20 years, which is  good job as my first triathlon is only 2 weeks away!

So back to ballot day! I didn't quite end the day without entering a race........with a crazy target......

I couldn't help myself and it just kinda happened, I specifically promised myself NO MORE HALF MARATHONS! But I guess it's too late now as I made up for not entering the ballot by entering Brighton Half Marathon, and by accepting the challenge from @TheIron_Bear I'm going for sub 2 hours, this is also spurred on by the fact that I've been promised chips at the finish from @DanRunning, who wouldn't run faster for chips???

This target from @TheIron_Bear got me thinking about the rest of the year and my goals. I have never thought I would run a sub 2 hour half marathon, but why not? Why can't I? Surely if you put in the effort, then you will get what you want, get what you are training for? You have to believe to achieve, right??

So, to the rest of the year. Triathlons aside, I have a few races booked. Some for fun, such as the Zest Challenge and the Olympic Park Run but a couple where I have a specific time in mind. Stratford 10k will be my sub 60 10k. I only have 16 weeks to train for this and knock off 7 mins from my 10k time, not a great deal of time but as my training is starting to step up with swimming and cycling this is good cross training and will be kinder to my knees and shins, so should help me to stay relatively injury free and not pounding the pavements constantly in the process, plus with the continued strength training on the glutes and hip flexors it will make me a better runner, without having to run every bloody day, who wants that?? Getting this sub 60 will really put me on track for that sub 2 hour half marathon, and now I have said it, it means I have to achieve it! It will be a full 35 minutes off my PB so it won't be easy, not by a long chalk but like I said, if you put in the effort, you get what you want, which is exactly what I plan to do.

Now, going back to London Marathon. I'm planning on returning to the race and showing the Isle of Dogs exactly what I am made of in 2015. This will be the year that I become an Ironman (what a goal!) so my goal is to knock off at least 2 hours off my PB and go for 4 hours 15. I was reminded by @TheIron_Bear that I might as well go the full hog and go for sub 4. I'm not agreeing to this, but I think it will end up being the goal. If I'm going to go long with triathlons to Ironman distance then anything but a sub 4 won't really be acceptable so I may as well set goals now that may seem ridiculous to me, and probably to you lot too and work my big but rather nice arse off to get them!

A day with Inspire2Tri

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I was nowhere near ready for my upcoming triathlon, however I am pleased to report that today I feel completely ready and prepared. In a matter of days, I've gone from an awfully uncomfortable looking frontcrawl where I would tire after only a length to a technique that has enabled me to keep going and going during my swimming session this morning AND make me look a little like an actual swimmer!

Yesterday was the day of my "Prepare for your first Triathlon" with Mary at Inspire2Tri in Manton, Rutland. I had been pretty nervous about this but Mary had assured me that I would be fine and to bring lots of enthusiasm with me along with my swim gear, bike and helmet.

The day was always bound to start with a hitch, as it's me, so after borrowing a bike rack from Sharon and getting the bike on the back of the car (we looked like the Chuckle Brothers trying to follow the instructions!) I set off leaving myself plenty of time to travel the 60 or so miles to get there. Only a mile down the road I went over a speed bump and felt the bike bounce from the car, so pulled over and the bottom straps had come loose from the bumper. I had to untie the whole thing to lengthen the straps again before securing the bike so all in all this took me around 15-20 minutes, which meant a drive at break neck speed to get to Mary for 1pm, I was about 5 minutes late, so felt really embarrassed but Mary was fine about it which was reassuring.

We went straight over to Mary's endless pool where she had a look at both my breaststroke and my front crawl. The first thing Mary said was that there was potential so this was encouraging, and she wanted to work on both techniques so first we looked at my breaststroke. The most noticeable thing here was my right leg having a mind of its own as I have what Mary called a "screw kick", it really irritates me when swimming as I can feel that it twists me around as I try to correct it, with no luck. After half of the session there was real improvement, I have a video to show it, but it's not to flattering so I'll save your eyes!
Next we worked on front crawl, Mary was really enthusiastic about this and said that I had a good hand placement and catch underwater so we didn't need to worry about that, but after looking at the video I could see just how far my head was coming out of the water which Mary pointed out was the reason I was getting so tired! She asked me to try a few different things to reduce this, which as she was explaining them to me I was trying my best to understand how it could work, and every time it did! When Mary was explaining to me how I would in effect be breathing underwater my head nearly exploded, how would this be possible?! But it worked! Not only did it improve my head position but it was making me much quicker as I kept bumping into the engine! This is the result, which as a novice swimmer, who was scared of the water only 4 months ago, I am really proud of!

Once I had got changed, we went back over to the studio and fixed my bike on a turbo so Mary could do a bike fit, before taking the bikes up through the village to a long cycle path to practice the mount and dismount from the bike from and into transition. This seemed to go well and after a few goes I got it, Mary was also able to given some useful tips that I would have never thought of such as putting pedals in position before racking the bike. We then went back to the studio and worked outside practicing getting the bike in and out of transition and again Mary gave some practical tips for what I would need and how to place my kit etc. I did a couple of simulations which threw up some potential problems such as fiddling with my helmet and potentially taking out any nearby bikes whilst trying to get my bike racked after the ride, all of this information was so valuable as it was all things that I had never thought of before!

We also went for a quick run around the block as Mary wanted to see how I was getting on after the running technique course I attended a few weeks ago and she was pleased to see that I had been practicing, I think it will be a while before I have transitioned fully to forefront running as I have to look after the shins so I will carry on practicing and make it a slow transition. I have to say, that I really notice the difference in my speed and over all efficiency when forefront running so I will keep on working on it over the next few weeks.

Mary took the time to go through everything that I needed to know for the day itself, and answered all my questions so I could come away feeling really prepared for the day, she even took the time to take me through some kettle bell exercises that I can do at home that will work on my core so as my gym doesn't have kettlebells (something that I still feel is somewhat ridiculous) I have some at home that I can use.

I shall definitely visit Mary again. We talked briefly about my future plans for next year and the 70.3 and she was really encouraging that I would do it, if fact saying that at seeing my current level, when I get to where I want to be weight wise I'll "fly" so it's good to hear that I have potential to achieve what I want to! Mary said that she was impressed that I was well researched, something that I had to blame on @TheIron_Bear and his blog, and the constant numbers updates which I never really understand but pretend I do (not very convincingly though!) I'm also looking forward to getting up there to try out some open water swimming, something that only a few months ago I was petrified at the thought of!

I had a great few hours with Mary, I thoroughly enjoyed the day and like I said, came away feeling very prepared and looking forward to a swim the following day, which I nailed by the way!!

I also got the news when I finished that I had got a place in the Olympic Park Run in July, which is great news! I had spent the morning getting increasingly frustrated after the server had crashed, and had resigned myself to not getting a place so I was chuffed that Anne had continued to try when the website was up and running and had got me a place along with a few more of the Regency Runners girls, and some of the VLMfamily from twitter so it's shaping up to be a great day! I'm really looking forward to this and it has set me up for a busy few months over the summer race wise.

Real progress

This weekend just passed has been one of the most enjoyable for a long time. After a very long week at work I was pleased to see Friday night, although by the time I got home from work it was close to 7:30pm, and too late to meet the girls from Regency Riders so I decided to take advantage of cheat night and picked up a mini fish and chips on the way home, of which I ate just over half of before chucking the rest in the bin (is this how you are supposed to do cheat night??)

Saturday morning came and I took myself off to town as I had a few errands to run, including my usual trip to the market. One job on the list was to get new running trainers, as shamefully I am still in last years London Marathon trainers, the reason behind my dodgy shins! I went into Warwick Sports as one thing I truly believe in is getting your running shoes fitted properly every time you need some. They are so helpful and we spent a good half an hour trying on different shoes and trying them out on the treadmill, the owner had a pretty good idea of what I should have and they were the first that I tried on, but still gave me plenty of options to try to make sure I was happy. I have a pretty wide foot so need a D width, and the New Balance 860's were the shoe for me. Unfortunately they didn't have them in stock so are ordering them in for me, excellent service, I highly recommend them for any sports equipment if you live in the area.

After I had run my errands, I went home to get ready for a planned bike ride with @AnneGwilliam. I am happy to say that I was shitting myself as I was yet to promote myself to the roads from the park, and the purpose of the ride was to get me out on the roads and used to the traffic. If I had thought it would make any difference, I would have used any excuse to get out of it, but I knew I just had to bite the bullet and get on with it. Anne was really great and very patient with me. I am more than capable but just need to get my confidence up. All in all we covered around 8 miles, and celebrated with a cuppa in the garden. I say in the garden, however Anne was horrified to hear that the small piece of overgrown lawn in front of my lounge window is as far as my "garden" goes, so, a correction, we celebrated with a cuppa on the pavement!

Anne lives on the route for Stratford Tri so we have agreed that next week I will ride over to her house, about 4 miles, and we will complete a route from there to Stratford and back. In the meantime, Anne has given me some homework to do to go out on the main roads on my own beforehand.

Sunday morning was of course London Marathon, which I had originally planned to go down and shout support at miles 13&23. Unfortunately I had to miss this as a race I had entered had been rescheduled to Sunday morning so the plan was to get the race done and back to the house to watch the Marathon from the comfort of the sofa. 

I was running the race with @Hulahair, and as Warwick Castle is a short walk from my house we walked up, registered then had half an hour or so to chill out before the race started. This gave us just enough time to see the MASSIVE hill leading up to the finish. After the warm up by the crazy aerobics lady, we walked to the start line, where we were set off by an actual Knight. The route included lots of laps of various areas of the castle, which isn't ideal, but it was for charity and something to do on a Sunday morning! We started with a few laps of the courtyard, where Clair seemed to really put her foot down, Clair is much faster than me, but I went with her anyway, why not?! We left the courtyard, down a steep hill and over the bridge to do two laps of the island, which is pretty long grass where you had to dodge the rabbit holes, so after the first lap it was pretty much one of those "fucking hell another lap of that to go", that feeling remained pretty much for the rest of the race. After completing both laps we had that steep hill to climb back up (oh the joys) and taking Clairs advice I just got up it as quickly as possible then headed for the final lap around the grounds, finishing off with that long slog up to the finish. Considering I thought this would be a nice flatish run around the castle grounds, I can assure you it fucking wasn't! It was so tough, that even though I wasn't racing, I was happy with a time just over 34 minutes (the long grass, jumping over rabbit holes and countless hills really slowed us down after the first mile, and proved I much prefer the pavements!) and came in as 3rd women, and 6th or 7th overall! Medaltastic!

After the race I went home and plonked myself in front of the TV and watched London Marathon, whilst stalking the runners that I knew were running via the tracker on the website. Twitter was going mental all day, it was ace! I have to say, London Marathon will forever be special to me, it was the most incredible experience and I would be a fool not to want to do it again, one day. Six months ago I said never again, it takes over your life, but after watching the race yesterday I will revisit it one day, because it is so worth it! Not quite yet though, I have the triathlons over the next couple of years to keep me busy and to get me into shape, but I have a score to settle with that race, a year ago it broke me, I need to show it who's boss. So I will make a return to London Marathon, but this time I will be ready to set a respectable time, and I've been challenged to 4:45, so 2015 here I come!

After an afternoon lounging around stalking my twitter mates (massive congrats to @DanRunning, @StuartAmoryPT, @HelenStothard, @TeamB_O_B, @twentyfourhours and @jlcurrie's brother Stu, along with the 35000 other runners and new members of the #VLMfamily, it's a special place to be) and watching the F1, it was time for my homework.

I had arranged to go for a cycle with Sharon (@buggsie01) on Sunday evening. Sharon had very kindly offered to come to me and to go from my house but in a moment of madness I said no, that I would ride the two miles to her house and we would go from there. Before I had time to talk myself out of it I got ready and pushed the bike out of the house and off I went. Apart from a bus getting far too close for comfort as I pulled off from traffic lights the ride over to Sharons was actually ok. From Sharons we did a further 6 miles back to my house, the route was really nice, I have ran it in the past with Sharon so I knew it well, and involved some right turns, islands and a couple of hills which were hard work. In fact, during the biggest hill I had to stop a couple of times, the road was very narrow so when a car came steaming up the hill I shit myself, then after I got going again I got out of the saddle and promptly steered myself into a bush, so this is me at the top of said hill:

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, apart from nearly crashing into Sharon and taking her out! What I have established is that the part of the tri that I was dreading I no longer need to worry about, because even though you have to be cautious, it's not as scary as I thought.

Sharon asked me a question when I arrived at her house that really got me thinking. What is more of an achievement, completing London Marathon last year, or this? Because as Sharon said, I could always run, I just needed to run further, but with this, I have got over my fear of water and taught myself how to swim, and got myself on a bike after over 20 years and now riding on the roads, all in the space of a few weeks. 

3 and a half weeks to go, I'm not bloody ready!!

I don't think anyone who knows me would be surprised to know that with 3 and a half weeks to go until my first triathlon, I'm nowhere near ready, or at least I don't think I am! This is no ones fault but my own, so I am going to do what anyone else would do and blame work, you didn't honestly expect me to actually take the blame myself did you? Shame on you!

So, with work being the blame for just about everything, this is where I am at with my training:

...........................................well, I can run (if you consider 10 minute miles to be good enough?!) I'm not particularly concerned about the run, it is only 2.5k being a super sprint and I know I have it in my legs so I have a couple of small brick sessions planned just to get used to the transition between the bike and the run, as I imagine that a 10 minute sit down in between disciplines may be frowned upon.

My swimming is coming on well, to be honest the fact that I am swimming up to a kilometer at a time of breaststroke is a miracle in itself, as 2 months ago I couldn't put my head in the water without getting freaked out. My technique is something to be desired and I would love to complete the 200m required with front crawl but try as I might I can not get my breathing right and I tire very easily. I am persevering though and my goal is to complete one length crawl, one length breaststroke in the race itself. I am due to swim tonight so I shall update you later on twitter as to how I get on.

Cycling is a real problem! This is where I really need to go back to basics. I have been out around st Nics Park in Warwick a couple of times since I had the bike last week and again I'm a little bit rubbish at this! My problem is the gears really, so I will be going along to Regency Riders on Friday to run through the basics, all a little bit short notice I know but financial restraints meant I couldn't get the bike as quickly as I would have liked. The ride in the race is about 20k and is mainly on country lanes, apart from one section of the route which is on a busy dual carriageway, my nervousness about cycling on the roads will really be tested here!!

The good news is that I have booked a session with a real life Triathlon coach. This is either going to be a brilliant thing, or I'm getting way in over my head!! The session is up at Rutland Water with Mary at Inspire2Tri, this is where I went for the running technique course a few weeks ago. Mary is going to provide a 1-2-1 4 hour session which will involve everything to get me ready for my first event, so I will be going along next week. Mary has assured me that I have nothing to worry about and that I'll have a good day, I am really looking forward to the session, even though I am a little apprehensive, really because swimming and cycling are both so new to me. I think Marys guidance will be invaluable to me as I feel a little bit lost with it all!

Lastly, I want to say a huge congratulations to @TheIron_Bear who competed in 2 races last week, performing amazingly in both. It's totally his fault that I have got myself involved in triathlons, so if it all goes pear shaped lets all blame him, yeah?

Also, it is a year ago that I ran London Marathon. I sit here today 38lbs lighter after a bit of a roller coaster year and even though I promised myself that I would never do it again (shin splints are not fun) I do feel a little jealous that I am not taking part this year as it really is something special. So, best of luck to the whole #VLMFamily, including @DanRunning, @TeamB_O_B, @HelenStothard, @bobbydazzler. You will have an amazing day, enjoy every moment and smile!

Ok, so I'm off to splash about in the pool for an hour, thats swimming, right?

Don't try this at home kids!

I had been a little nervous in the build-up to this race, secretly I haven't trained for it and I've not covered the distance since London Marathon last year, mainly because of the shin splints caused by said marathon and secondly because I have been far too busy working in the gym and swimming recently that I sort of forgot to train. A classic case of "don't try this at home kids!" I have to say though, I am not the only one who had under prepared for a race, as @TheIron_Bear is competing in a half marathon tomorrow, that he decided to enter on Friday! Luckily, his overall fitness will see him through as long as he doesn’t go mad and go for a PB!

Had this of been any other race then I would have dropped out due to being under prepared, but this is Regency Runners home race, the atmosphere is incredible and the route is great, a little hilly for the first 5k then as soon as your off the golf course its flat all the way. The race is so well supported by the locals in Leamington and Warwick and Spa Striders do a great job at marshalling, being runners themselves, they obviously understand the importance of positive and cheery marshals.



Another reason that I wanted to run today is that we were running to raise awareness for CRASAC which is a great charity based in Coventry who provide support and work with survivors of sexual violence and abuse. This is a great charity and I know that we all seem to give to many charities but if you have a spare couple of quid, I am sure it would be gratefully received. Have a look at the website to see the services that they provide and where your money will go. Here's the charity page if you would like to donate, and thanks, you're ace!! http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/regencyrunners

Ok, so onto the day. We met at Sarah's house whom conveniently lives opposite the start line, so this was perfect for pre-race loo stops and the like. We also had a chance to have our photograph taken before we made our way to the start line. Not all Regency Runners made it to Sarah’s house, but I think a good 60% of us who were running were in the photograph, including Tabby, who had volunteered to be our mascot for the day!:

The weather was perfect, a little chilly but I was comfortable enough in my Regency Runners t-shirt. We headed to the start line and found our positions, I was going to run with Anne, who like me has some injury issues and also like me hadn't done too much training. Anne is also by reputation a very sensible runner and good at pacing, not like me who hurtles off then wonders why I'm knackered at 4km in, so we thought we would make a good pairing.



The first mile was a little squashy, but the Regency 10km is well known for having a bottle neck at the start as you enter the golf course, so it was expected, which I guess is why they limit the run to 2000 runners. There is a hill on the golf course, which you hit the steepest part at around 2 miles in, at this point we decided to walk up the rest of the hill, as we were both getting some pain in our shins. Had Anne not spoken out, I would have kept running, and then regretted it in the afternoon, so I took the sensible approach and stopped to walk for a short time. Getting to the top of the hill is great as you know that the rest of the run is all downhill or flat, usually I love downhill, but not with shin splints!!

The rest of the run went really well, we had another couple of walking breaks to take care of our injuries and helped each other around the course, smiled for the cameras and thanked the marshals as we passed them. We had talked about the finish all the way around and how we both like to wind up and sprint to the finish, but had talked about how it probably wasn't a sensible idea seeing as though sprinting would cause our legs to be more painful! As we ran through Jephson Gardens, we saw Anne's sister and also Team Currie for the second time which seemed to speed us up a little without us realising, then Anne's physiotherapist was cheering us on as we exited the park and again we speeded up. Here the crown support was amazing, something that Leamington should be really proud of and it's great to see so many people come out to support the runners. As we turned the corner into the finishing straight, Anne just said "fuck it, lets go" and we both sprinted to the finish. I thought Anne would comfortably beat me here as she doesn't hang around but to my surprise I managed to stick with her, I think this had more to do with her injury that my ability to sprint!!

So, hooray! Another great Regency 10k! As usual all the runners waited until the last Regency Runner had finished and celebrated with Tanya’s beehive cake and chatted about the race. We also had a group photograph taken by the photographer for the local paper along with Tabby in the Bee costume, who had had a great time supporting the runners and entertaining the kids in various spots along the course. I of course was very pleased with the latest addition to the collection!

Loads of the girls got PBs today, which is great! I was 2 minutes slower than last year, but I'm not worried as I had no intention of going for time today as the pain wouldn't have been worth it, I was simply going to finish, which I did, and thanks to Anne I did it in style! The legs have been iced this afternoon and I have also been in touch with my physiotherapist Cathy so I'll be visiting her in the coming week to have another look at the shins, I am also going to get some well overdue new trainers! These can only be described like tyres in Formula 1 as having "gone off the cliff" and I am sure every time I run in them they do me more and more damage! So those are the jobs for the week.

Another job I have is to by a cycle helmet as my bike was kindly delivered today by Tracey. Oh and seeing as I am only 5 weeks out from the triathlon, I should make sure that I can still ride it!

I know that many Twitter mates are have raced today so a massive congratulations to all runners (far too many to mention! And best of luck to @TheIron_Bear in his race tomorrow evening, as is it is a route that he runs regularly I know he will do great, even if he hasn’t had time to prepare!