This Girl Can Swim for Sport Relief

A week ago today I took to the pool for the first time in, oooo, months! I didn't give myself time to think too much about it, heading there straight from teaching the early morning class at the gym and promising myself left over pancakes for breakfast if I didn't bottle out. Getting back in the pool after so long made me a bit apprehensive. What if I'd forgotten something vital, like goggles? What if the water was really cold? What if I got in the wrong lane and either held everyone up or had to keep hanging back? What if I'd forgotten everything I learnt when I took swimming lessons for front crawl this time last year and looked like an idiot? None of these things happened. The pool was warm, I managed a reasonable front crawl and found three pairs of goggles in my bag. And I got my pancakes for breakfast.

Swimming isn't something I tend to choose to do even though I generally really enjoy it when I get started; I need a purpose, a goal. So when Get Berkshire Active got in touch to say This Girl Can were teaming up with Sport Relief and encouraging ladies to challenge themselves, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back in the pool. Sport Relief are hosting runs, cycles and swims up and down the country and encouraging everyone to get involved and raise some money. You can do anything from a 1 mile walk to a 50 mile bike ride, so there really is something for everyone. I'll admit that my first choice would have been the 25 mile cycle at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park but logistics put pay to that idea. The 6 mile run didn't feel like a challenge so swimming it was. I took part in Swimathon last year and was delighted to be able to complete the 1.5km distance entirely with front crawl so what better challenge than to attempt the next distance - 2.5km!

Post Swimathon 2015

So how am I going to train for this? Well I started by committing myself to swim by buying a block of 10 sessions at my local pool. By prepaying I avoid thinking about the cost per session as a barrier. I've also signed up for a free session at a leisure centre a bit further away that has just been refurbished and finally I will be dusting off my Thames Valley Triathlon membership card and getting to as many of the training sessions as I can. I signed up last summer and have not been to one single session in any discipline since. Ooops!

I've planned out exactly when I'm going to go to the pool and put them as appointments in my diary. No excuses for forgetting, allocating the time to other things or putting it off because I can't be bothered to go home to get kit after work. Organisation, packing kit the night before and being accountable are key. I've swum 3 times in the past week and am feeling stronger each time.

I'll be attempting my swim on March 19th at midday and I will, of course, be writing a bit more about my training in the lead up to it, and letting you know how I get on afterwards.

If you fancy a challenge, why not head over to the Sport Relief events page and sign up for something yourself! Or perhaps you'd be kind enough to sponsor me for my efforts. Give me a little extra motivation for getting to the pool before breakfast. It's all for a great cause. Thank you.

'Tis the Season for Running

It's definitely the season for running! The weather's not really been on our side lately for outdoor running but hundreds, thousands of us, are out there week in, week out, getting the miles in. Lots of people are tackling 10km, half marathon and marathon training or just getting back into running and I've felt privileged to have been part of some of these journeys. Not only do I coach the RunFitUK sessions in Bracknell but also coach some clients individually on running fitness and have just started coaching a team from Bracknell Forest Council who are working towards the Bracknell Half Marathon in May.

Every week at RunFit, I look forward to hearing about that week's milestones, progress and achievements, and their plans for next events. I've seen some people progress through nerves for their first 5k to setting their sights on a 10k and half marathon PBs.

The way in which I approach sessions with my 1-2-1 clients varies depending on their goals. In some cases I pace them through some miles or set the some intervals to work through. I love getting the texts between sessions with feedback on how they've gotten on in other planned training runs. To see someone's confidence grow is just so rewarding.

While I am building up my own miles and fitness, I'm continually inspired by the enthusiasm and achievements of others. It keeps me going and I love coming up with sessions that will be fun but also challenging and useful for those I train. Recently, on a social run that included some of my RunFitters, I was asked if I'd set up some workshops for trail and hill running. So that's exactly what I'm setting out to do next. 

Someone mentioned recently that while there are lots of running groups and clubs around, very few of us know where to go to learn *how* to run. And that's what I try to help with in my RunFit and other sessions. Every week we look at a technique and I'm constantly giving key word prompts on form. Apparently these have come into my runners heads during races. I think a podcast was suggested once! And so focussing on hill and trail running fits within this scope really well and they'll be announced on the RunFitUK website in due course.

In the meantime do think about adding in some technique drills to your running, or finding someone who can help you with that. It can help you to be a more efficient runner as well as help to prevent injury.

Where you taught how to run? By whom? Is it something you think we need to do at all?

This Girl Can Get RunFit

As someone who cares deeply about health and fitness I'm proud to live in the Bracknell Forest area. Our local council (BFC) do a lot of work to encourage the people who live here to look after their health via campaigns and initiatives, provision and promotion of facilities, schemes and clubs. We're also lucky enough to be part of the scope for County Sports Partnership, Get Berkshire Active (GBA).

This has meant that RunFitUK were able to apply for, and were lucky enough to get, one of the This Girl Can Festival Funds offered by GBA, to put on an event encouraging women to get involved in sports and exercise, giving them the opportunity to try things out, ask questions and find out more about opportunities in their local area. Alongside this, Bracknell Forest Council contributed some funding, enabling us to reach out to even more women!

Our festival took place on Sunday 26th July in Bracknell, near South Hill Park. We'd had lots of interest and were optimistic about the weather as we set up cones and kit for the RunFitUK taster session. Unfortunately, as people started to arrive, so did the rain and it was persistent throughout the morning.

Despite the weather we had a great turn out, and even had some ladies join us who were passing by on a run together. As tradition dictates, we started with a warm up and some dynamic stretching before demonstrating that anyone can do interval work, regardless of ability.

We moved on to some strength work followed by some balance and agility games, which had everyone laughing. Of course we finished off with some static stretches, adapting them to standing rather than floor-based versions.

Unfortunately the "Monday Mile" walk I'd had planned was rained off and after handing out goody bags we decamped to the South Hill park cafe for hot drinks, cakes, Q&A and some photos. Smiles withstood the rain and I'm looking forward to seeing some new faces on Tuesday nights at the Bracknell RunFitUK sessions.

Thanks to the funding we have been able to offer five free RunFitUK sessions to all those who signed up, and everyone is also invited to come along to the new Monday Mile walking group that has started meeting at Monday lunchtimes.

I want to say a big thank you to everyone who helped to make this possible: Get Berkshire Active, This Girl Can, Bracknell Forest Council, powered by Cupcakes and Sainsburys for our refreshments, Salming Sports and Laura Fountain for our competition prizes. Bounce Balls, nuun and Sweatshop for out goody bags and to South Hill park for letting a host of bedraggled, dripping runners take shelter in your cafe.

Coaching at the RMR Retreat 2015

Last weekend I faced my biggest coaching challenge to date. I journeyed up to Cranage Hall in Holmes Chapel to join 80 women for the Run Mummy Run Retreat only this year, instead this time I was there as part of RunFitUK and responsible for helping to deliver some quality sessions alongside Cassie, RunFitUK founder.

Me, Cassie and Jo

During the weekend we lead these wonderful, enthusiastic women through an example RunFitUK session on Saturday morning including warm ups, technique drills, strength and balance sessions, games and intervals. We also hosted the very first RunFitUK challenge on Saturday afternoon and a less energetic technique session on Sunday morning, to give everyone some "take home" tips, regardless of hangovers or aching legs.

It had been anticipated that we would have three coaches for the weekend but a change of circumstances meant it was just myself and Cassie, ably assisted by the wonderful Jo, who organised us superbly. So the ladies were split into two groups of 40, the largest group I'd ever dealt with! I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a few nerves but everyone wanted to be there and get involved any concerns melted away. The balance games were a source of much hilarity for all involved!

After a fabulous lunch it was time for the challenge! We were split into teams of six and pitted against each other in a version of a relay race, with a team member peeling off after each lap. The amount of encouragement the women gave each other was truly amazing and there were some real game faces on show! It ended up being the sort of event when anything could happen and quite often did. There were some astounding sprint finishes, plenty of strategic discussions and at least one 1 km PB. Although captain of the white team, I wasn't due to run until a member of another team had to pull out, so I was seconded and got to play my part of one race. Unfortunately my involvement didn't get us through to the final but the white team went on to win!

My moment

Congratulating my team

All efforts were celebrated

Even though all of our sessions are geared towards the individual working to their own ability the "morning after" technique session made even more allowance for delicate heads by limiting the amount of running and focusing on posture and arm swing, giving some key points to take away and the opportunity to ask any questions. The collective groan at the start of the walking lunges was priceless though!

I felt a bit lost once I got home on Sunday afternoon so decided to take myself out for a run, as I'd actually done very little over the weekend, trying to put my own coaching tips into practice.

There's been a lot of lovely feedback about the sessions so far on twitter and social media including a message from one lady saying that the buzz words had helped her to shave a minute off of her pace on a run already!

Memento of the weekend

RunFitUK are in five locations at present and much as we'd like to grow, we're limited by lack of willing and qualified coaches so if you'd like to get involved please look at the website and get in touch. There are a lot of ladies on the retreat who want sessions local to them!

If we're already local to you and you'd like to try a session, you can book a "wildcard" online. We're not a ladies only group and cater for all abilities. Hope to hear reports of newcomers soon.

On July 26th we are hosting a free event in Bracknell specifically for ladies new to or apprehensive about running. You can find all the details on the events page.

Thanks to Tim Escott for being our photographer all weekend. All water marked photos credited to him.

Getting Active in Bracknell Forest

My attention was recently drawn to an article in the Southwark News that suggests that the council will be charging personal trainers for using public parks. Although I can *sort* of see the logic behind it my over riding thought is that it's just one more barrier to getting people active.

I feel incredibly lucky to live in an area where the council takes such a great interest in public health and in encouraging people to get active. We have a huge range of facilities, both privately- and council-run and lots of green space. Of course it's one thing to have these facilities and quite another to ensure people are aware of them. I started to investigate the range of activities myself in my Berkshire Fitness Scene series, something I'd like to pick up again some time.

As a step towards raising awareness and encouraging people to get active, I've contributed to an article for Bracknell Forest Council touching on how it's never too late to get active and how it's key to find the right activity for you. Too many people have a misconception that exercise begins and ends in the gym. I even managed to get in a mention of RunFitUK! There's also input from the director of our brand new Bracknell parkrun.

The article does have a bias towards running but this is more due to editing and the coincidence that Bracknell parkrun is new to the scene. I'm delighted to be in discussion with BFC about a pilot scheme for encouraging those who are new to or hesitant about exercise and excited to be looking at different pathways through the scheme that aren't just running related. Early days but watch this space!

How do you rate the sports, recreational and keep fit activities in your area? What's your favourite, that little gem that you wish more people knew about? Do you feel that your council do enough to promote healthy living?

What is a "Weekend"?

I spent last weekend at the University of East London, specifically it's Sports Dock, taking part in the workshop for my Exercise Referral course. Three full days in a place designed for sports and study? Bliss! I've been to UEL previously for my Kettlebells course and it was a joy to be back there. I find it a pretty inspiring place and there's always something going on. Thanks to good flow of traffic I arrived an hour early on Friday and spent some of that time watching Basketball practice. Other days featured badminton, volleyball and the cricket team hovering around. There was even a gospel choir about the place on Sunday.

Two of the days were fairly book heavy, (re)learning about numerous medical conditions and the benefits of exercise for both prevention and as part treatment as well as the considerations for designing exercise or activity programmes. It could have been really dry but my tutor was engaging, enthused and entertaining so it was fun. Apart from the fact he got so carried away we didn't always get a break mid morning or afternoon. Cue low blood sugar levels! The third day was mostly spent in the studio, designing and delivering circuits designed with different groups in mind. I got a bit dizzy from walking around in circles as part of the warm up but again, it was a good group and we had a bit of a giggle in the process.

As such I had precious little time for my own training. I've had to cut short or skip one or two sessions so in the last seven days I have only managed one swim, one strength session, 5 miles running and 24 miles on the bike. Gosh I can't remember the last time I only run 5 miles in a week! I've yet to run my session today and I'm running both days this weekend too so next week's numbers will be much higher. Sometimes life just happens.

Speaking of which I get to actually experience a weekend this week (yay!). I'm being all sociable tonight, seeing family for dinner tomorrow and taking my godson to the cinema on Sunday. Loverly.

RunFit Bracknell was extra special this week as we got a visit from HQ. Cassie had only ever seen our location in photos and knew my group only via Facebook so it was lovely to show her how we do things. Apparently I've got a bit of a reputation for the use of themes and foodstuffs in my sessions so she was a bit disappointed to have missed pancake week but it was suggested that she comes back for St Patrick's Day or Easter. We also got to have a bit of a chat about things like RunFit's involvement in the forthcoming RMR retreat (very excited about that) and other developments. I'm really proud of my group and it's a joy to be involved in RunFit so it was big thumbs up and enthusiasm all round.

Aside from RunFit, training and the day job, the next couple of weeks are going to feature a fair bit of writing. In four weeks time I'm back at UEL for my assessment so I'll be working on my portfolio for that in the next week or two while it's all still fresh in my mind. In addition I'm writing a couple of articles and trying to get ahead on session plans. Although all this keeps me busy it doesn't really feel like work, which is wonderful.

Is there anything you do that should feel like work but doesn't? When did you last go "back to school"?

New Toys! My RunFitUK Equipment Bag

So this week it's back to the day job and back to coaching RunFitUK in Bracknell. I have loved the sessions so far and I'm really looking forward to making it bigger and better as the weeks progress.

Of course it's the people that make these what they are; I've got a fantastic group and it seems that the harder I make it, the more they enjoy it. To a point of course, as long as there's a fun element! In weeks gone by we've had chocolate relays, the discovery of "pirate faces" and some hilarity pretending to be reindeer. And all this with minimal kit. There's an awful lot you can do to improve strength, agility and balance without equipment but it's fun to ring the changes.

To that end I've taken advantage of the equipment pack hire for RunFitUK coaches and I've got a some lovely new toys for my group. I've got batons, ropes, resistance bands, cones and wobble boards! Now of course there are some very obvious ways to include these in the sessions but I'm looking forward to coming up with some more unusual ways too... bound to be more fun!

Brace yourselves gang!

RunFitUK : Up and Running

It's official, RunFitUK has landed in Bracknell! I was all a jitter last Tuesday in advance of the taster session that was planned. I knew I had six people signed up and just wanted to make sure everyone had a fun workout. I think I achieved that.

In case you're not in the know, RunFitUK is a running fitness club. The sessions are designed to complement any club/distance training that people may already be involved in by focusing on running specific strength, core and conditioning exercises, technique drills, interval training and stretching but without the distance running. It's suitable for all levels and we try to inject a healthy dose of fun too. I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to become a coach.

Tuesday was a cold and windy night but that just meant we had to keep moving! We are very fortunate to have been given permission to use the car park belonging to Tool Station. It's a good sized space and well lit, very important in these dark months. The session started with the all important warm up and then some Indian File intervals. I was so impressed with the effort everyone put in. Each session will include an element of technique work and for the first session we tried to practice running tall and lightly, even when running fast.

Lunges, squats and balance exercises were interspersed with more laps to keep everyone warm but I think the highlight was the chocolate relay; teams were pitted against each other to see who could steal the most chocolates from the other in the time allowed. Chaos ensued but there was a lot of laughter and a lot of fast running. Like all good sessions should we ended with a warm down and stretches and as it's the Christmas season the chocolates were divvied up as reward for the hard work.

I had a lot of fun meeting everyone and finding out about their varied running backgrounds. I really hope I can help them all to improve their running in one way or another. This was, as I mentioned, a taster session with sessions officially meant to start in January, but there was a lot of enthusiasm for classes to continue up to Christmas so tomorrow it's likely you'll find me outside Tool Station again, in my RunFitUK t-shirt, all geared up and ready to put my RunFitters through their paces. Without giving too much away they're going to have to show some pretty nifty footwork.

If you'd like to join us, or know someone that might be interested, you can find all the information you need on the website here: RunFitUK. Book a wildcard for a one off session or dive in with a session pack. And if you can't join my group, perhaps one of our other coaches is nearer to you. We'd love to have you along for the ride!

Taper Time. Cue Kit Panic.

This week's training...
Saturday: parkrun
Sunday: 11 mile run (3 with mum)
Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: 5km hills & Body Balance
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: Rest Day
Friday: 6 mile run

I'm supposedly in my tapering phase although I don't feel as though I ever quite got ramped up as much as I'd hoped. There's a week and a couple of days to go until Gatliff and there's a distinct feeling of "I'm as ready as I'm going to be". I've had three good runs in the last seven days.
1) I enjoyed my parkrun tourism on Saturday to Orpington where Strava ambassador and fellow Gatliff participant, John, and I met up for a bit of a chin wag. He went on to smash his PB at Brighton 10k the following day - kudos John!

2) My 11 miler on Sunday was an uplifting experience, being greeted with cheery hellos from many fellow runners and running around the beautiful Danson Park with my mum.
3) On today's 6 mile run I *finally* tested out my camelbak and discovered that it did not chafe or annoy - score! Although drizzly it was beautiful outside, all those golden leaves fluttering down from the trees. I wish I'd taken some photos. I should start doing that.

Winter running. Snug as a bug.

Although my running is almost nonexistent next week it's a busy one, with two trips to London on a school night. I know I should be resting up a bit but there's so much LIFE to fit in! At least one of my social engagements is a swim and sauna evening. I'm in the middle of an assignment for my PT diploma and I'm hoping to use a new book to inspire some more RunFitUK session plans. The taster session is two days after Gatliff... I'm glad I can get away with just demoing the exercises.

Inspiration for RunFitUK sessions

I'm still floundering around with what kit I need for Gatliff. I'm not sure whether to go for trail shoes that aren't reliably blister-free after 12 miles or my road shoes. I know I can wear my camelbak but there's not masses of room in it for snacks so I'll probably take a waist pack as well. How many snacks should I take? Where the heck am I going to put my head torch when I don't need it? I don't have maps! Should I have maps? Bit late now I suppose.

But where will the snacks go!!!!

Maybe there'll be some sort of divine inspiration at the Running & Endurance Show this weekend. I'm missing parkrun so I can make the seminar on Training & Nutrition for Ultra-Running. I've got more daft events in the calendar so it'll be useful for those. I'm looking forward to browsing all the new kit ranges and seeing some familiar faces. My mum's coming along too... although she's meeting me after the seminar ;) If you're planning on being there and want to say hi just look out for the Team Bear hoodie...

Now I've not been pushing it too much but I *am* running Gatlif to fundraise for Hospiscare. I'm trying to raise at least £1,000 by taking part in these challenges. If you can spare even just a few pounds it would be hugely appreciated. You can donate via http://www.justgiving.com/VikkiRunning or by texting  VRUN86 £10 to 70070 to sponsor me £10 (or other amount. I'll be applying for fund matching through my company so every donation will count double!

Thank you.

Too. Much. Excitement!

This week's training:
Saturday: parkrun & 7 miles
Sunday: Rest day
Monday: RunFitUK
Tuesday: Body Balance
Wednesday: 10 mile run
Thursday: 5 mile run
Friday: Rest day

As if in response to last week's apparent lack of "happenings" this week has been a whirlwind of amazingness. I only ran once over the weekend but it was a ten mile run that managed to incorporate parkrun with my mum so I'm very happy. I spent a lot of time on my feet though, dancing at a Caro Emerald concert, wandering around the Quentin Blake and Paddington Bear exhibitions at the House of Illustration at Kings Cross, meandering through the Covent Garden area and several laps of Olympia at The Chocolate Show. Of course my chocolate consumption may have subsequently undone all that. I will confess to feeling a little queasy on the train home.

Oh hi-viz vest, how I have NOT missed you

But all good intentions started again on Monday and have been stuck to. I'm happy with the training I've put in this week, especially as it's been somewhat truncated by flying out to Copenhagen on Thursday night. That's right folks this is a scheduled post. I'm currently somewhere between Copenhagen and Malmo, perhaps even on The Bridge itself, in a thick jumper and without my running shoes. I'm only here for a long weekend and it's my last break of the year so I'm making the most of it.

Essential pre-Copenhagen preparation?

The big news this week is that after some weeks of qualification gathering and scouting I've finally ticked all the boxes and been able to accept an offer to become one of the latest additions to the RunFitUK family. I'll be starting a club in Bracknell in the very near future and am all a-fizz with excitement at the prospect. That is of course when I'm not having a crisis of confidence. There's been a fantastic response to the news (thank you for all your kind messages) so I want to live up to expectations.

What are you excited about this week? Come on, there must be something!

RunFitUK : A New Type of Running Club

The last time I attended my local running club I got left behind on an 8 mile run. It was winter, dark, bit miserable and unfortunately not the first time I'd felt that sort of exclusion. I never went back and haven't joined a traditional running club since. It's a pity because I enjoyed the social side of the club and the difference it made to my fitness. Far easier to motivate yourself to do track and hill sessions as part of a group.

But there are other I ways to achieve these things without being part of a traditional club. For the social side I have twitter and Facebook. Now hang on, I hear you say, those aren't the same as real-life social connections. No, not on the face of it, but I have developed a bigger set of real-life running friends via these platforms than I ever did at the club. RMR has been a big part of that.

(c) RunFitUK

I can go out with my real-life-friends-from-twitter and run miles whenever I choose and for running fitness there is RunFitUK. For those not in the know, RunFitUK is a club that focuses specifically on elements of running fitness such as technique, speed, strength, balance and agility. It compliments any existing club training you do but crucially involves no distance running. Sessions are held outside, in all weathers, and use the creativity of the coach (along with a few small bit of kit like resistance bands and running parachutes) to put you through an excellent work out.

(c) RunFitUK

(c) RunFitUK

Earlier this week I attended the evening session at "The Cage" in Weybridge where coach and co-founder Cassie put just three of us through our paces with drills, strength exercises and most importantly games! Being such a small group we got loads of personal attention and encouragement, got to chat a little (when we could catch our breath) and left with that slightly wobbly feeling that comes from having worked hard. My favourite part was the reverse-tag game we played at the end. Joined to someone else with a velcro strap your aim is either to break the link or prevent your partner doing so by sticking as close as possible. Hard work but masses of fun, The DOMS I'm feeling today though are almost certainly due to the box stepping and bear crawls we did with resistance bands around our ankles and wrists respectively.

The Cage (c) RunFitUK

RunFitUK currently have active clubs at Welwyn Garden City and Weybridge with another soon to start in Colchester. In addition to those I'm delighted to announce that I will be starting a club in Bracknell in the very near future! I'm really excited to be a part of RunFitUK and would love to see you there if you're at all local to Bracknell. Booking will be via the RunFitUK website and announced on twitter and Facebook in due course. Many more clubs are in the pipeline for locations across the UK so keep an eye out for one more local to you, or alternatively consider joining the team to start one near you.