A Christening, Eye Candy and Character Building

Last weekend should have been the weekend that I attempted a PB and the Royal Berkshire 10k. Or maybe even gone out for my own 10k virtual race. However in the end neither of these things happened. Instead I became Godmother to this beautiful and happy little girl and ate far more sandwiches, spring rolls and cupcakes than I reasonably should have. It was marvelous. And my friend Debbie smashed out a new PB for herself at the Royal Berks 10k which is fantastic.

In fact, I didn't run at all at the weekend. I spent Friday and Saturday in London with a good friend of mine. There was wine, late night chit chat, brunch, a restorative stomp across Hampstead Heath and an indulgent couple of hours in an art house cinema. I met my mum at the Peacock theatre on Saturday evening to see Titanium - a modern mix of Hip Hop, Breakdancing and Flamenco with a real wow factor (and some serious eye candy).

The running I have done has been surprisingly enjoyable. The weather gods may smile on us for the RunFitUK sessions but they certainly took their wrath out on me before hand as I squeezed in a 4 miler. I was soaked and battered with rain and hail the moment I stepped out of the front door. It would let up, I'd almost dry out, and then it would start again. Character building, I think it's called... On Wednesday evening I met up with some of the Box Bell Fit Endure24 team runners for another training run. We ran our usual 4.5 mile route through the woods taking in some hills and I ran there and back too, giving me a nice 8 miles in the bank. I'm pants at uphill running but give me a downhill and I'm away, something that was commented on more than once! 

It was a Good Post week with the arrival of new trail shoes, my Team Bear tri suit and a stack of laces and samples (plans afoot!) A pre-work off-road run with another Endure24 team member through dewy fields was the perfect opportunity to test them out. I was wrecked by the end but my toes were dry and my ankles unsprained. It was a hard run but I'd expected it to be and that was part of the point. My running partner, despite having already tackled a kettlebells class, is much speedier and I was running on empty after the 8 miles the night before. Without her I would have quit after one lap but I couldn't face dropping out so 4 miles it was! Excellent practice for Endure24 in terms of levels of tiredness and terrain, and a reminder that my usual fueling strategies do work. It was also a lesson in pacing for us both!

In addition to the running I went to a new class and tackled the latest Metafit release. I've got a fairly heft session to tackle over the Bank Holiday weekend but there'll be plenty of relaxation too. A day trip to one of my favourite National Trust properties, Mottisfont, and a local beer and wine festival are planned. Should be a good one!

What types of running do you find hardest? What fun plans do you have for the Bank Holiday weekend?

Teaching at BoxBellFit

I've been a bit of a secret squirrel about something lately but it's now time to come clean and make it official.

Those of you who have been reading my blog for the past year or so will likely have encountered reference to BoxBellFit, a training facility in Wokingham that I've been frequenting for kettlebell, metafit, HIIT and turbo box sessions. Anna, the owner, is super lovely and I got chatting to her when I first blogged about the facility and classes. As such she knew I was a (then) trainee PT and even read my blog on occasion.

So when I was asked to cover some classes at BoxBellFit I was both honoured and delighted. I was then equal parts thrilled and terrified about the prospect of actually standing in front of a class of people and teaching. I coach my RunFitUK group every week, which I adore, but that was a group I started fresh. No one came with any expectations of my teaching style or the intensity of the sessions. By contrast at BoxBellFit I'm teaching people who have been taking these classes for months. They know what they like, are used to a couple of instructors and don't know me from Eve.

Everyone will know my name's not Eve

After the initial chat with Anna about what I might be able to take on I started trying to get to more classes myself. I started brushing up on my kettle bell moves and techniques at home, took the metafit instructor course and generally tried to prepare myself as best I could. When the timetable dropped into my inbox for real my heart started doing funny things. It suddenly became a Real Thing. I had a responsibility to Anna and the members. I had to step up!

BoxBellFit dog, Coco. Gonna miss her.

The first thing I needed to get over my nerves about was teaching one of each class with Anna's supervision. Absolutely right and proper that this should be done but I worried about making an complete mess of it. Would I forget what a kettle bell snatch was? What's a "get up" in metafit again? I know from experience that the nerves will fade with time and the anticipation is far worse than the event. No one wants you to fail and a sense of humour gets you a long way.

Anna gave me such a lovely introduction in those first few classes and as predicted I felt perfectly fine once I got going. The first HIIT class I designed, the only class that I'll be drawing up myself each week, didn't (quite) break anyone and people haven't run out the door on seeing me at the next class so I'm counting that a success.

I've done my first week of solo teaching now and it's going well. I instruct metafit, HIIT and kettlebells on Wednesday night then kettlebells again early on a Thursday morning. Despite the early start I feel so buzzy afterwards. It's a real joy to teach, to get people moving, to help them push their limits. I never thought, given the effort I used to put into avoiding presentations in my office job, that I'd ever find myself in this position but here I am! Long may it continue.

With sunrises like this it makes the early mornings a little less painful.

Have you got any secret projects on the go? Have you found yourself in a situation you never thought you'd be in, and loving it?