What Sarah did

I've been feeling a bit nail bitey about this post, heres hoping it goes down well...

I've never done an outfit post before and I'm not really sure if its going to be something I do regularly. I do love a good selfie, however it felt a bit strange to move all my furniture around (my flat lacks a good backdrop) stand front of my camera and tripod to take photos of myself for my blog. However the aim of this post is not to be a posey pants, but to showcase my wares from a gorgeous little shop in my town.

What Sarah did is a lovely little independant clothes shop in my town of Hitchin. The owner Sarah ,opened the doors to her shop on Bancroft just over 4 years a go and has gone from strength to strength since. Sarah uses social media to showcase the beautiful brands she stocks and to reach out to her customers. As a social media and style fan I've been following her and her store for a long time, however it's only in the last year or so I've been shopping there. 

After being unhappy with my weight and appearance for a long time, about 2 years a go I decided to do something about it and lost nearly 3 stone (that's another blog post). After thinking that this would open a door to a whole new world of clothing that I'd never felt able to wear before, I was disappointed to find that the door was mentally firmly shut with me on the wrong side of it. 

I've always had my own sense of style and known what that was, whatever size I was, however loosing the pounds also meant loosing my style funk and it's taken a while for me to find it again. 

So where does What Sarah did come into this?

I've spent most of my teens and twenties as more of a 'quantity over quality' type of gal and assumed that independent stores would be out of my price range. I decided that rather than handing over my cash to Primark all the time I would try and spend more time thinking about what I was going to buy and if its something I would actually wear time and time again rather than just one occasion. I had so much stuff in my wardrobe that I'd only worn a couple of times before it was destined for the charity shop or I'd bought something and realised that I was buying for the old me and it lay unworn. Essentially my wardrobe no longer reflected who I was and I wanted to make a change, not only in my wardrobe but also in my buying habits. 

Every time I ventured into What Sarah did I just felt different, I always saw things for the new me (even when I didn't realise what the 'new me' liked) and everything I've bought I've worn over and over again and always make me feel good. I've discovered some new brands that I really love that have really transformed my wardrobe and given me back my style. What Sarah did has definitely taught me that spending a little bit more can go a long way. My new purchases also gave me the push to clear out my wardrobe and start afresh.

Here are some of my recent purchases.

I was very excited by this Mink Pink jumper, I've been searching for the perfect cosy knit for years. They never seem to suit me but this one is perfect. £35

I literally ran to What Sarah did when this Reverse tunic popped up on her Instagram account. The quirkiness appeals to my inner teenager but is still grown up enough for my twenty something self. I got this a little while a go but I saw yesterday that she has a few left at the bargain price of £9. 

                          

                                                     

This is the item that made me want to do an outfit post, I've been wanting a stylish rain coat for ages but the ones I found were either a little naff or more than I wanted to spend. I was sat on a plane waiting for my flight to Edinburgh to take off, flicking through my Facebook news feed and I saw that What Sarah did was having a flash sale on Rains raincoats. I sent a pleaing message asking to reserve one, I got a reply straight back saying one was on hold for me. All I had to do was phone up and pay later.

Rains are a dutch brand who specialise in Scandinavian style rain wear, I started lusting after a Rains jacket after seeing this video by Zoella but as these jackets normally retail around £75 it was a bit out of my price range. I couldn't resist snapping one up for £37 at What Sarah did's flash sale. When I popped in to pick mine up yesterday, there were some more in the sale for around £54 if you want to pick one up before the typical British weather sets in again.

Aside from the beautiful clothes, the customer service at What Sarah did is fantastic. If you follow Sarah on Instagram (the best platform to follow her on, especially if you like a funny post to brighten your morning), Twitter or Facebook you can't help but get caught up in the love Sarah has for both style and her shop. She really goes out of her way for her customers too, even when they're sitting on the runway of Luton Airport, ready for take off.

What Sarah did really is one of the little gems of Hitchin that make it such a great place, if you haven't already and you're local please check it out.

I hope you've enjoyed this slightly different post, if you did and want to see more outfit posts please let me know in the comments.

Happy Tuesday

Holly

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@HitchinUK Official Tweeter

I'm happy to announce that have been given the honour of being asked to tweet for a Twitter account for my lovely little town of Hitchin. 

I was approached by the team that run @HitchinUK who asked me to run the account for the week and tweet all things Hitchin. So if you're local and want to read some of my thoughts on our little town and see what I get up to then come on over and give the account a follow.  The account has 2,286 followers which is a scary thought compared to my personal account of 365 followers so fingers crossed I'm up to the challenge.

Whether you're a new business that wants to get yourselves out there, a well loved business with a great offer or a local with something to share about Hitchin please get in touch over the week. I'll be tweeting from now till 6pm on Sunday so I'd love to chat to you all.

Tweet tweet...

Holly

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P.S My personal twitter account is @ohhollygosh #shamelessselfpromotion

Equipment Class Part 1 @ The Pilates Pod

Part 1 of my thoughts on The Pilates Pod's Equipment class, I'll leave the vlog to do the talking...

See you in Part 2...

Keep balancing!

Holly

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Essential Mat Work @ The Pilates Pod

Following on from my previous blog post, I have done another vlog on my second Essential Mat Work class with The Pilates Pod.

Since then I have also done a barre class Pilates style and an equipment class, I'll have those vlogs up in the next few days. These might interest you if you like a little bit more sweat with your workout.

Perhaps I should explain a little more about the Essential Mat Work class and whats 'essential' about it. It refers to the basic positions/moves that Pilates are built on and the first things that you will learn if you are new to Pilates. If you're a complete beginner or haven't done Pilates for a while then this is a great way to ease you back in and help you recall what you have learnt in the past. As a side note, if you haven't done Pilates before then I highly recommend The Pilates Pod: Intro to Pilates Course. Its one session a week for 4 weeks and gives you a really good grounding for what Pilates is all about and a good place to start building on. Its only £50 for the 4 weeks as well (the last one for this year starts on November 13th, book here or call 01462 338002).

Anyway, I shall leave you with my thoughts on my second Essential Mat Work class, please give it a thumbs up if you enjoy it and I'll be back soon with tales of Pilates beyond mat work.

In the studio before my class

(It never starts on a flattering face does it)

Keep balancing!

Holly

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Non Running...Pilates

Long time no type once again...

This post is and isn't related to running as it is and isn't a proper blog post.

I decided to start doing Pilates again and did my first essential mat work class today at The Pilates Pod in Hitchin. I've vlogged about how it went and where my Pilates journey is going to go from here.

I will do a proper post on why I've decided to go back to Pilates again and what it means for my running, for now though I'm looking to get some variety into my exercise and something that will improve my overall strength and core.

Please let me know what you think of the video and give it a thumbs up if you liked it (please don't let the above face put you off)!

Happy viewing!

Holly

Hitchin Hard Half 2014

Really I only need to say one word to review this race...OUCH! But since that doesn't make for very interesting reading I shall elaborate.

The Hitchin Hard Half Marathon has been going for 3 years now and starts and finishes in my lovely town of Hitchin. I wanted to do it since it started but running wasn't as much a part of my life as it is now and last year I wasn't quite ready for a half marathon, what a difference a year makes. My Dad was a marshall last year so I went to meet him at his post to see what the Hitchin Hard Half was all about (and how important the 'hard' bit was). I walked up a couple of small inclines and decided that it didn't look that hard, how wrong I was.

I signed up this year as I wanted to do my home towns half and also because I've been suffering a little lack of mojo recently. The London Marathon has really broken me and its taken a long time for me to recover and get back into running. I think I'd been building up to it for so long and really pushed myself on the day to get my much wanted 5 hour time that my bodies just decided that its had enough. I've been feeling a little 'where do I go from here'?

I knew I wasn't quite up to par as the longest run I've done since the marathon was about 8 miles (at a struggle) so nerves were running high on the day, despite my previous comment I was also wondering how tough the 'hard' bit was going to be. I was excited at the same time though as I was looking forward to doing another event and also to run with my best friend again.

The course starts and finishes in the lovely grounds of The Priory, a place which holds a lot of memories for me of many summer evening spent watching the Priory Picnic concerts and sitting in sun/dancing in the rain at Rhythms of the World. I couldn't help getting swept up by the sunny day, being in beautiful surrounding in my beloved town with so many other people as passionate about running as I am.

The warm up was lead by Ellen Tipping who I did a Pilates course with at the Pilates Pod, I could definitely do better when it comes to warming up and cooling down so I was grateful to learn some new warm up exercises. I put these into practice a couple of days a go and woke up the next day not in the pain after a run for the first time since I don't know when, thanks Ellen and the Pilates Pod!

The race itself...they don't call it the 'hard half' for no reason. It started up hill, which was a good metaphor for my entire race. Due to taking a long time to recover from the London Marathon and not being quite on form I struggled the whole way round, I'd like to say that this was all down to the heat but I knew it wasn't just that. The hills really got to me, so much so that I almost broke into a walk run at times. I know that slowing it down and walking is the right thing to do sometimes and theres no shame in it but its always been my big no no when it comes to racing. I managed to keep running the whole way despite the downhills being as tough as the up...who said Hertfordshire was as flat as a pancake?

Despite its up and downs (literally), the run went through some beautiful local countryside and I really tried to appriciate how beautiful the course was. I never taken much time to get to know Hitchin's surrounding villages and I really should, maybe it'll be good motivation to get some practice in before next year (Preston Hill I'm coming to get you in 2015).

Despite the pull of the challenge, terrain will not be the thing that brings me back next year, however the event itself will be. It was one of the most organised races I have ever done. Organised by Hitchin Tilehouse Rotary I wasn't sure what the organisation itself was going to be like but I was literally blow away. It was a painless experience picking up our race packs on the day (no annoying print outs), everything was made clear at the start, plenty of enthusiatic marshalls to guide the way (and no untrue statements of "the finish is only just round the corner" were uttered) and perfectly placed water stations every 3 miles.

No runner can deny the lure of the bling and goody bag at the end and the Hitchin Hard Half certainly did not disapoint. A bug bear of mine is when a race wheels out the same medal year after year so when the chord said 2014 that was the first thumbs up. The goody bag had me at 'Lucozade Orange' (my post run drink of choice) and blew every other one I have ever had out the water. Not only was it 'pick and mix' style so you didn't end up with a load of toot you don't want but you could take as much as you liked.

A nice little addition at the end was the £5 for 10 minute sports massages, all proceeds of which went to Cancer Hair Care. It was here that I met Dave from DW Sports Massage without whom I would have been in (even more) pain in the following days. He professionally delivered me some home truths about the need to improve the flexability in my legs and gave me tips on some cool down exercises to help with this. I'll definately be paying him a visit once I'm back on track and in need of a sports massage.

I can't sign off without giving my bestie Louise a mention, after watching her struggle at the Standalone 10k last year she could have steamed on ahead of me this day. But she chose to run with me and get me through to the end. I'm so proud of what she has achieved this last year and it was a pleasure to run with her again. 2 hours 20 seconds ain't bad for the hottest day of the year so far.

Thanks to the Hitchin Tilehouse Rotary for putting on such a great event. I really hope this event grows and gets with it the attention from the running community it deserves. Also big thanks to all the volunteer stewards (and a little extra mention to favourite stewards, my Dad and my friend Jon) and the locals of Hitchin and surrounding villages who turned out to cheer us all on. The support and smiles of strangers always makes my day.

I definately wouldn't have been saying this at the time, but if you're looking for a new half marathon challenge then you'll be seeing me at the start line on 21st June 2015.

Happy running and if like me you're struggling a bit of the moment...hang in there!

Holly

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