Virtual 5km for Lullaby Trust

You may remember that back in January I ran a virtual 10k. The idea is that you pledge £5 to run either 5k or 10k within a given month, send in photographic evidence that you have done so and receive a medal for your efforts. The money goes to a different charitable cause each month. In the month of May, my friend Hayley is organising a virtual 5k for her chosen charity, The Lullaby Trust. The Lullaby Trust provides specialist support for bereaved families and anyone affected by a sudden infant death.

I've signed up and am looking forward to doing my part. If you would like to take part, or know someone who would, then please head over to the Facebook event page and sign up.

Hungry? Or Bored?

I reckon would eat a lot less if I had a different job. It’s true, and I'm not the only one. There are a number of underlying issues here which it’s not advisable to explore in this forum but let’s just say I get bored when I'm not challenged.

When boredom sets in my first course of action is to do some e-learning or to write something but there’s only so much e-learning a person can take before their brain starts to seep out of their ears. Just before this happens I try and find something else to occupy me. There are two main categories; planning and eating.

Planning quite often involves researching races, events or holidays. This can get expensive so I can’t do that for too long (I end up entering most of my madder events during bouts of severe boredom). This brings us to eating.

Weekdays are punctuated by frequent thoughts of food, trips to the kitchen to make a drink to stave of faux hunger pangs, elevenses at 10am (often despite a good breakfast), mid-afternoon snacks and rummaging through the desk drawer to weigh up the various merits of the snacks therein. Knowing my habits is the first step towards being able to change them or make better choices. Because I know I’m prone to snacking at work I try to stock the drawer with exclusively healthy foods. God bless Graze and Saviour Snacks. I’d love to eat cake and biscuits more often but I just bookmark all the delicious recipes I find on blogs in anticipation instead. When I’m at home or busy I lose track of time, I don’t have elevenses or afternoon snacks. I daydream ever so slightly less about my next meal.

Do you suffer from boredom hunger too? How do you deal with it?

Race Review: Electric Run

I think I might be becoming a running snob. Quick poll: If an event has the word “run” in the title would you expect to be able to run it?

The Electric Run is a night time event that takes place in cities all over the world. For around £35 you get access to a 5km course full of music, lights and colour, a cotton t-shirt (in men’s and ladies cuts and sizes), an LED bracelet and “glowglasses” as well as a finish line after party. It’s a bit like a rave crossed with a race… except this very definitely is not a race. This is an “experience”.

Alex enjoying a cheeky pre-race cocktail.

Alex and I took part in the London event which was held at Wembley Park on a bitterly cold Saturday 26^th April. I swallowed hard as I paid my entry fee. For a 5k course this felt expensive. It started to feel even more expensive the closer it got to the day, as race packs were not posted out in advance and it was publicised that if we could collect our packs from either Covent Garden or Wembley in the two days before then we would be charged a £5 “convenience fee” for the privilege of collecting them on the night. 

Unfortunately I didn’t manage to collect in advance so joined a very long, cold and slow-moving queue on the night. After an hour we got to the front of the line. My fingers were numb and it felt like they should have been paying us for the inconvenience. To their credit we weren’t actually charged. Maybe they’d given up by that point.

Being on a tube that’s slowly gathering more and more people dressed in race attire is a lot of fun, even more so when that attire consists of as many neon and day-glo colours as you can shake a glowstick at. Tutu’s, face paints, shutter shades, mirror caps and multi-coloured onesies… it was all there. The sight of us all parading to the start village was one to behold.

Partying in the race village

There’s a laid-back feel to the event. We arrived at Wembley Park around 8pm so it was all in full swing. The start and finish lines were in the same place as those for The Colour Run last year and were quite similar in makeup. There were merchandise, food and drink stalls in the start area and a big stage hosting DJs where you could party afterwards. The start time is all a bit laissez-faire with participants being sent off at 5 minute intervals from around 8:30. You just turn up, crowd into the start pen and get slowly herded and shuffled to the front, pacified by dance music and showered with glow sticks every now and again. Groups are encouraged (teams of 4 get a discount on the entry fee) as are kids (under 7’s go free) and prams are allowed. Keep the dog at home though. You can enter for charity and being able to run certainly isn’t a necessity. Walking, skipping, dancing are all encouraged. Lots of people seemed to be there for a good old party rather than with any intention of moving with any speed. I’d almost go as far as to say running is DIScouraged.

Ready to run...

So. Race pack collected, cotton t-shirt hastily donned over running top and under “warm layer”, we got as close to the middle of the herd as we could in an attempt to stay warm. By 9:30 we were finally at the start line! One more countdown and we were off! Sort of! It was impossible to run in the first 200m and not much easier after that. The course wound around the stadium (who knew you could run 3 miles just around the stadium?) but was so crowded that it made me quite anxious. Lots of people had lost some of their colourful clothing in favour of the black event t-shirts which made bodies hard to see. I was worried about losing Alex, tripping over a child or accidentally barging into someone who might decide to glass me. It really did feel like being at a rave that some people were trying to escape from. Now I had no intention of racing, getting a PB or any of that sort of thing, but I had wanted to run, or at least jog. I did want to take in the sights and sounds of the course, enjoy the atmosphere and take photos, but at a speed above walking pace. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations? I really enjoyed the periods of time when we could run, even if we had to dodge people constantly. The “worlds” of colour were fun but also crowded as most people stopped to take photos. This was an issue right at the end too where most participants seemed more interested in taking pictures of each other BY the finish line rather than crossing it.

The start area

Out on the course

One of the "worlds"... this one was actually very cool.

Now despite all that I did have fun. There was music all the way round the course which was excellent. I grinned a lot. We took photos, boogied and warmed up around mile 2. As with many 5k events it was over far too soon. Had it been warmer or earlier I think we’d have hung around to rock out in the after party but at 10:30 and with a 45 minute tube journey ahead of us we decided to head home.

My verdict: I’m glad I took part but I wouldn’t do it again. Go for a party, but don’t bother going to run.

Life Lately

Life has been busy, the long string of review posts plays testament to that, but I’ve not written much about life lately and I’d like to.

I've been having fun trying out different classes and activities in between races. As I haven’t been in training for anything specific (although I probably should have been) anything that helps to keep me interested in moving about and staying fit is good.

I’ve taken to running without my Garmin more frequently and also to running with Anita once a week or so. The last run we did together was a 5-miler I wasn’t sure I’d complete but somehow we ended up with a 9:30 average pace, which is pretty quick for me. What’s more we were chatting most of the way and it felt comfortable which just shows that I’m capable of more if I try. I find I run better in the evening, which is when I run with Anita, but I’ve been enjoying some shorter pre-work runs in the haze of the cool morning sun too.

I’m not swimming these days but in the same way as heading to the pool before work energised me for the day, so I’ve found hitting the gym for strength sessions does the same. I’m putting myself through a split session strength programme, not as often as I should, but enough to be making some difference. Strength is going to be very important later in the year.

There’ve been a string of very busy weekends with lots of early starts and I seem to be constantly trying to catch up on sleep. Lunchtimes more often than not see me sitting in the sun with a book at lunch, and then falling asleep over it. I cherish early nights! Basically I’m trying to look after myself as best I can and treating myself a little.

I was running low on nuun tabs so decided to stock up, only to discover they have a new product called All Day, sugar-free vitamin enhanced tabs that are intended to be an everyday type of drink. I’m already a fan of their hydration drink tabs when I’m working out but I’m now a fan of these too. More vitamins!

I’ve been treating my skin with the whole range of Pretty Athletic products, which I was lucky enough to win from Fashercise’s recent competition (great blog btw). It feels like a real treat to be using products designed especially for athletic people (or aspiring ones) and although I often skip make up, I never skip moisturiser. The face cleanser and body lotion are my faves. The cleanser is full of aloe vera, so lovely and fresh, and the lotion is really thick, which is my preference.

Finally I ticked another challenge off my “34 by 34” list recently, which was for my mum and I to spend a day at Bluewater, not spending any money. You might think that this would be hard but we ended up wishing we had more time for browsing. We’d booked in to a Pilates class at Sweaty Betty first thing, which unfortunately we didn’t get to do as it got switched for a Latin dance class last minute and lack of showers meant we would have been less than fit for being seen in public. We cashed in a John Lewis voucher for tea and cake instead and had a natter before a bit of browsing then a glass of bucks fizz and a mini facial at Molton Brown. That was followed up by makeovers at Bobbi Brown, some more browsing then an early dinner at Zizzi’s, funded by Tesco Boost vouchers. A free coffee courtesy of myWaitrose card and it was chucking out time. We felt totally spoilt and had some lovely mother-daughter time. Win! I challenge you to try something similar.

In Memory

On Saturday evening my Aunt passed away. I found out on Sunday morning. She suffered from Scleroderma and Raynaud's, diseases that I raised money and awareness for last year. In the end it was neither of these things that caused her death but cancer in various forms. 

I feel compelled to write a tribute to her here because she was such an important part of my life, particularly in the last 18 months. By virtue of the fact we lived on almost opposite sides of the country, we didn't see each other often but we became much closer in the last few years. She was a great supporter of my running and fitness, probably second only to my parents.

She was my #VirtualTraining partner on twitter, bore the exhaustion on her condition to support me in the London Marathon and encouraged me to keep up my running afterwards by paying my entry to Run To The Beat.

We were prepared, as much as we could be, for this day. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with her recently, before it all became too much, and my last memories of her are happy ones. She was a strong, determined, incredibly positive woman. That said I didn't know how I felt when I heard the news, except that it felt appropriate to go for a run. That run was my fastest and strongest of late and I don't think it was a coincidence that she was in my thoughts the entire time. I ran again this morning, for her, because I can and I think it will be a long time before I run without her memory with me.

She'd Fly Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease...

...that daring young girl on the flying trapeze!

Do people still dream about running away to join the circus? Did that fade away with our childhoods or is it still fuelled by things like Cirque du Soleil? I hope we still do and it’s not just me.

There must be a few of us because there are a handful of circus skills workshops you can do as an adult, one of which I did with Alex recently as part of my “34 things before 34” list.

The workshop took place above a music shop, in a “business park” in green and leafy Mill Hill at the end of the Northern Line (the long journey time providing me with some much sought after reading time). Unfortunately there was no bareback horse riding or acrobatics but we did get to try our hands at juggling, tight wire and static trapeze for about an hour apiece. In between activities we had the chance to gawk out of the window at muscle men performing power cleans outside in aid of a promo video. You’d have done the same. Don’t lie.

Muscle men. Love the weights you hate.

We started off with some games designed to warm up our muscles, minds and coordination then built up to some three-ball juggling. It’s quite amazing how the right teacher and learning steps makes all the difference. There was much hilarity as balls ended up all over the studio, and shrieks of delight as we started to manage a few rounds.

I never progressed past this point

Next up: the tight wire. It’s amazing how high up you feel when you’re standing only two foot off the floor on a wire cable. Balance is the name of the game here I felt a little too self-conscious to try the tight wire much. After a couple of turns the other 2 people in my trio weren’t that keen and I felt awkward carrying on. Also wobbling away in front of the whole group was daunting so if I got the chance to do it again I’d make the most of it.

Alex on the trapeze

Finally we got to the static trapeze. This was the thing I’d probably been looking forward to the most and it was indeed great fun. Only two moments of embarrassment: firstly a trapeze with a longer drop had to be brought down on account of my height and secondly actually getting up there in the first place was about the most graceless thing I’ve ever done. But once I’d hauled myself onto the bar the few simple balances and moves had me beaming from ear to ear.

Me, making a reasonable attempt at mermaid pose

The best part, for me, was coming away having learnt to juggle. I had a set of juggling balls for years but eventually sold them at a car boot as I never quite got the hang of it, something I’m deeply annoyed about now. I’d always wanted to be able to juggle and although I’m by no means proficient, it was made to seem straight forward and manageable by building up from simple coordination exercises.

As far as I can tell, there aren’t that many opportunities to take things further as an adult, which is a shame, although there are plenty of kid’s classes. If you are looking to do something similar, look at how the classes are run; you are likely to get more out of ones where the groups are split up and rotated through the activities. If I lived closer I'd definitely consider the adults aerial classes; you get to work with silks and hoops as well. In the meantime I'll be found bruising fruit in the kitchen as I hone my juggling skills and leave you with this ditty...

Berkshire Fitness Scene : Pole Fitness

If you ever thought that pole dancing was glamorous, you would be sorely mistaken. Sorely is a good choice of word actually. My foray into the world of Pole Fitness took me to a grimy, industrial gym, appropriately called Fitness Warehouse; a relatively new facility underneath a multi-storey car park, surrounded by greasy food establishments, pool halls and taxi firms and populated largely by burly men hefting weight around in stringer vests (not string vests… that would be even worse).

Car park turned gym

It’s a cheap and basic facility that serves a purpose. No fluffy towels here, but you will find a handful of classes such as Spin, Tae Bo, Thai Boxing, circuits and Pole Fitness. You may have seen me expressing nerves on twitter about the class and what to wear… shorts and a t-shirt or vest are fine but leggings are best avoided as you get better grip without. You can wear socks if you like (I did) but most girls were barefoot.

There can be up to 12 in the class but this evening we were 6. We shared four poles and because I was a newbie I got one all to myself – bonus! Our instructor, who was the spit of the girl from Flashdance, took us through a circuit style warm up and then talked the girls through level one and two moves in between showing me some basics. I was soon tackling basic and cross legged fireman, crescent moon, attitudes and a bunch more I can’t remember the names of. I became familiar with cup and baseball grips and was allowed to attempt flag poses, holding myself sideways on the pole.

My instructor... honest!

Although I was the novice the class catered for all levels. I spent a fair portion of the hour letting my arms recover while watching the experienced girls climb and perform more acrobatic poses. I felt quite bulky in comparison to the other girls, which is probably more a reflection of my lack of elegance on the pole rather than a comment on my weight. There is some emphasis on looking good on the pole, pointing toes, arching your back and sticking your bum out… years of being told to “tuck your tailbone under” meant that the latter was hard to get used to, but by the end I was throwing some reasonable shapes.

One of the more experienced girls warming up before class

If you’re planning to be showing your legs off in the warmer weather I wouldn’t recommend pole fitness. I had a bruise showing by the time I got home from class and more the next day, not to mention aching in places I didn’t know it was possible to ache (armpits… seriously). No doubt that this is hard work but more for your muscles than your CV capacity. Lean limbs and strength are likely to be your outcomes here.

Would I do it again? Well at £5 for an hours class it’s fun, affordable and challenges me in a different way but I don’t think it’s going to become a regular part of my regime.