Saw this...

Saw this photo this morning & just love it, it's exactly how I'm feeling at the moment especially whilst I'm trying to build my stamina for my marathon training but this photo says it all...

Happy Weekend Running!! 

All Systems GO!!

I got home last night to an amazing letter from Cancer Research UK congratulating me on being accepted for a Charity Bond London Marathon 2014 place through then!! 



After being really emotional and excited for the whole evening, I'm still beaming from ear-to-ear! I just can't believe that after all these months of waiting, I've got my place. I'm also counting myself very lucky as I know hundreds of people apply for these places every year and to be accepted on my first try is really quite something. 

My intention is that unless I receive an offer of a place from Jo's Trust or the public ballot, I will accept this place & raise as much money as I can for CRUK whilst also giving a percentage of the total amount to Jo's. Should I be selected for Jo's, I'll probably be delirious and to honour CRUK's commitment to me I'll reverse this and give a percentage of the Jo's money raised to them. Sound fair?

Thank you for all the messages of congratulations that I've received so far. It's going to be a long road ahead but I'm mentally ready to take on the challenge & I just can't wait to get going. 

Any tips or advise that you can share on your marathon experiences would be very much welcomed. I've already received a lot of great advise from previous runners which I am sure will stand me in good stead of the coming months of training. With plenty of hard work and determination, I'm ready to take on this challenge & cross that finish line having raised a lot of money for great causes. 

Doing it for Charity

No matter what the charity, it is always fulfilling and rewarding raising money or awareness for a charity - FACT! 

Last weekend my good friend Sam, abseiled down Essex House in Southend. This was arranged through his employer to raise money for a local charity, The Art Ministry. 

The Art Ministry believes that creative activity is important to the well-being of people in general and especially to those less able or disadvantaged. They provide 5 two hour sessions each week, meeting the needs of adults with visual impairments; mental health problems or physical disabilities, and adults and children with learning difficulties. They also run community projects to encourage a wider audience to engage with our members.

The abseil itself was down Essex House, one of the tallest buildings in South Essex! I went along to cheer Sam & his colleagues on and what a great atmosphere it was. Looking from the road below it certainly was a tall building & worthy of this challenge. 

Sam was first in his group to take to the challenge & I believe took it on with confidence, knowing him, he was probably not as confident as he appeared. All the same, within a few minutes he was sliding down the building and nearing the bottom. 

As I said the atmosphere was great with friends, family & colleagues cheering him on and he was beaming from ear to ear by the time he reached the bottom.
I really believe that doing anything out of your comfort zone is a really worthwhile thing to do but doing it for charity just makes it all the more worthwhile.

Well done Sam & all at Hood Group who took part! 

Donations can still be made via their on-line fundraising page. 

Hair Dilemma

Having had quite short hair for a long time now, I am desperately trying to grow it but it's just such a long process. I've been trying now for about a year & although it is getting there, it's certainly not quick enough.
I go to my hairdressers - Sodeaus - every six weeks but just to tidy up my hair and my wonderful hairdresser Dannie is under strict instructions not to cut it short even if I cave in and beg her.

As I regularly moan about this lack of hair growth, my wonderful friend Gemma recommended & kindly brought me some Lee Stafford hair treatment, this is designed for hair that never grows part a certain length, definitely for me! 

Available from most hair retailers,
I get mine from Boots who offer the full range and often have offers too.  

It is really reasonably priced at around £7.99 per pot and there is a full range of other treatments also available. 

I've now been washing my hair with it everyday for the past week - as instructed - and it is finally starting to work. Although it is a bit of a pain having to wash my hair daily, it is actually keeping me hair really strong and soft so I can't thank Gemma enough for suggesting it.
I'll certainly be buying more from the range to ensure the hair grows even faster and it has the added bonus of smelling great!

Do you have any tips for growing hair that I could maybe try as well?  

Santa Run!

Today I've signed up to take part in a 10KM Santa Run on 8th December in London. I will be running this for Jo's Trust which makes me feel very proud indeed. I was delighted to get Judith, from the charities, email this morning and signed up straight-away. 

Fingers crossed some friends & family will also be joining me as it'd be great to run along-side them but even doing it on my own I'll be really satified knowing I'm raising more money and awareness for my chosen charity. 

If you'd like to run with me, please sign up here, places are limited so the sooner the better, then let me know when you're done & I'll sort out regular catch-ups leading up to the run. 

I was hoping by now to be on my first half marathon but with the knee problems, my progress has slowed down. All being well, I can now start to really pick it up and especially with runs like this in the pipeline it'll really spur me on. And it's only another month until the ballot places for the London Marathon are announced so let's hope that is good news for me. 

If you would like to sponsor me for any of the run's and challenges I'm doing over the coming year, please use the link on my blog to donate as much as you can. 

Insanity!

After what feels like months on a diet, I really let myself go over my birthday celebrations, although thankfully I only managed to put on 1lb and a little bit of body fat so overall I was quite pleased. 

With only 5 weeks to go until my friend, Grace's wedding I'm now back on the healthy eating, albeit giving the shakes a miss & just sticking to Special K & less carbs. The running is now in full swing too and with my weekly Tuesday runs with Alex to look forward too it's all keeping me active. 

I was also looking for something else to do to get my body looking toned and I'd heard a lot of people talk about 'Insanity'. It's a 60-day workout developed by Shaun T who says he will 

"...help you find out what happens when you get your mind out of the way and push your body to an intensity level you thought was reserved for elite athletes." 

I've since found out a few friends have tried some of his workouts and not necessarily done the whole 60-days. Well not one to do things by halves I checked it out this morning to see how this might work for me (my mum is also keen to try something new and it's always great to have a fitness buddy so I've also roped her in!). Shaun T acts as your personal trainers throughout the 60-days and according to their website - Beachbody - will push you past your limits with 10 workout discs packed with plyometric drills on top of nonstop intervals of strength, power, resistance, and ab and core training moves. There is no equipment or weights needed & you can do this in the comfort of your own home. Along with your 10 DVDs you also receive a 60 day wall calendar which shows you which workout to do each day, a quick start guide, a nutrition plan and you are able to go online for support along the way. 

The cost is a bit more than I'd normally pay for a fitness regime but it's certainly cheaper than the gym and if you're really keen you can do the workout over and over! 

I'm really excited to get started, although not sure I'll be saying that after a few days. The before shots will be taken tonight & hopefully I'll survive to let you know how I get on & who know's in 60 days time, I might have those long awaited abs! 

A Sunday Road Trip - Gavin & Stacey style!

On Sunday my Dad competed in the Monmouth Raft Race which surprisingly was in Monmouth! For those of you, like me, who have no idea on geography, this is on the Welsh border, just the other side of the Severn Bridge. 

As a bit of a Gavin & Stacey fan I've often thought about doing the same journey that Smithy & Gavin take to Barry so when Dad told us about it, I thought it'd be a great idea for myself, my sister & her fiancée to make the journey & surprise my Dad at the race. 
In theory this was great & as Designated Driver I was only too happy to put on my finest Essex accent (not difficult!) and step into Smithys shoes for the day. 

We set off from Essex at 7.30am, in my head this journey only took a couple of hours, I was so wrong. Four hours is a long time when you're sat in the car with miles of motorway ahead of you. Despite our best attempts at keeping our spirits up, it looks so much more fun on the programme than reality. 

I have to say stopping at Chieveley services was a bit of a highlight as I remember that featuring in the programme, Smithy:

"Chieveley’s the best; it’s insane"

Crossing the Severn bridge was also a bit special, although paying £6.20 for the privilege was not as great, notice to the Welsh Tourist Board - it's good but not that good!








After we'd spent 40 minutes driving through the Welsh valleys, definitely a trip none of us want to repeat any time soon, we arrived at the start of the race. There was around 70 rafts competing, with 5 from my dad's company DHL. 
Dad's raft 'Luscious Lucy' looked relatively sturdy compared to some of the other more delicate looking rafts competing. 

Dad was really surprised to see we'd all made the trip & appreciated us all cheering them on. For the finish we all waited at a farmers fields 6 miles away from the start. Around 1000 people turned out to cheer them all to the finish which made for a really great atmosphere. 
Dad's raft finished at a really impressive 14th with them coming first out of the DHL teams. Having done no training at all, they were very proud of themselves too. We were all so pleased we could be there to support him. 

Unfortunately we then had the 4 hour trip back home to make but thankfully I had EJ & Ash to keep me entertained with plenty of cheesy songs on the radio. 

What a day and definitely a road trip I'd think twice about in future. Although I wouldn't rule out the trip back to Wales, just maybe for the weekend next time. 
How on earth did Gavin & Smithy do that on a weekly basis?