Running Away

Once again its been a whilst since I visited my little corner of the internet, but in the spirit of promising myself that I would keep up this blog post London Marathon...here I am back again. Quality over quantity and all that jazz ;)

Its now been 4 months since the marathon and theres have been a lot of rocky miles since the big 26.2. I'm pretty sure I mentioned previously that I have really struggled to get back into running since then, with it all coming to a head at the Hitchin Hard Half Marathon back in June (see previous post). The disappearance of my seemingly sound running ability prompted me to shy away from the running shoes and get on my bike. I knew that wasn't the end of running but I really appriciated the break and cycling has definately improved my running (more on that when I'm not typing away late at night on a sleep in at work when I have to be up at 6am). The long and short of it...I took the plunge and bought a bike.

So whats in store for running:

• My next event is the Standalone 10k in October. I absolutely love this race as its the one that got me into running and inspired me to do the London Marathon. I first did this local event in 2012 and have decided to make it my annual event. I'm going to be taking it on this year with a couple of friends and hope to (maybe) get a PB. I'm looking forward to giving this event the review it deserves.
• More cycling...my boyfriend and I are going to take on the London to Brighton next year which will hopefully not only improve my cycling ability and stamina but also have an effect on my running too.
• I'm hoping to get back into pilates with the Pilates Pod soon as I really enjoyed discovering what pilates is all about and really think it could help with my running and sort out my core (which is terrible)
• Last but not least, I'm hopefully going to be doing a run club with my friend Jade and Herbalife who are going to start some run clubs in the local area.
• How could I forget....PARKRUN IS COMING TO HITCHIN! One of the lovely ladies on UKRunChat is bringing ParkRun to Hitchin around about September time and I can't wait. I've heard so many good things about it and I'm looking forward to being able to try it out in my little town.

Heres to an Autumn and beyond of running and its little helpers...

Happy Running

Holly

xx

Jantastic Week 1

So January is now in full swing...

As I mentioned in my last post I'm taking part in Jantastic (#jantastic for fellow Twitter and Instagram lovers) and my target for January is 4 runs per week, which I'm happy to say I have now completed. As the week was progressing I thought I might have underestimated myself by putting 4 runs a week, however after doing a 6.5 miler last night I managed to acquire myself a bit of a twinge in my right calf muscle which I've decided to rest. I'm also doing a heck of a lot of overtime this weekend so 4 runs has been on the money for this week. 

Although this week saw the official start of my marathon training it still doesn't feel like it. I've struggled to find a training plan that fits in with my lifestyle as they all seem to assume a 9 to 5 job (Sunday ain't a day of rest for us all y'know), but I like the look of the Nike+ coach so I'm giving that a try from Monday. Plans scare me a little as I'm not a big planning person. It makes me feel like I have less control over my running and my life if I'm sticking to someone else's plan, I also know from my job that one plan definitely does not suit all. However I know it's a necessary evil so I'm going to give Nike+ a chance. 

Scary official marathon training realisations aside I've really enjoyed my running this week as well as going back to normal eating after Christmas (even if it has meant divorcing myself from cheese for a while). I really love how I feel within myself with the combination of running and healthy eating. I can already feel the Christmas bloat disappearing, the pounds starting to come off and my muscles starting to tone. I'm still really struggling to get out of bed for those early runs before my late shifts though. Any advice on food/drink/routines that help you wake up of a morning would be greatly appriciated. Until then I shall keep parking my phone at the other side of my room so I have to get up and turn the alarm off. 

I hope everyone who has set themselves a running goal for 2014, even if it's not Jantastic has got off to a great start...and to those who have just taken up running WELCOME! Push through that pain barrier and you'll never look back I promise.

Keep being Jantastic...(sorry)!

Holly

x