Month: December 2016

Review of my running year
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Review of my running year

As 2016 draws to an end I thought I would look back at my running year. There have been highs and there have been lows. I’ve got personal bests for 3000m, 5000m, parkrun, 5 miles, 10k, 9 miles, 10 miles and half marathon, but then I completely lost my confidence, followed shortly after by my fitness.

I started writing a running book, and was granted some arts funding to help. My blog was ranked in the top 200 running blogs and then nominated in the Running Awards. Despite wanting to run the Florence Marathon to raise money for cancer research, I failed before I’d even got started on the training.

Here’s my 2016 running year with links to a Continue reading →

Less slapdash more structure – a new organised me for 2017
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Less slapdash more structure – a new organised me for 2017

Hello! Hope you all had a very happy Christmas.

For me, it’s been a hectic one. Not least because I left my Christmas preparations until a few days before Christmas. The mile-long queues in Clinton’s Cards nearly sent me into meltdown. I decided then and there that I needed to take action.

I’m no longer going to be last-minute at everything I do. In the new year I am going to emerge as one of those super organised types who juggles a million and one things, and breezes through life without any panic or stress.

My other goals for 2017 involve running and writing. In running, I’d like to Continue reading →

Parkrun, planning and procrastination
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Parkrun, planning and procrastination

MY plan at Parkrun yesterday was to break 21 minutes. It seemed realistic. A few weeks ago I ran 21.07, so I was convinced it might be possible to dip under 21. The only problem really was my lack of consistent training.

I’ve had a few university assignment deadlines which have played havoc with my training. I’ve missed a few days here and a few days there, and when you add them all together they add up to quite a lot of missed training.

At the moment I seem to be bombarded with deadlines and work, so that I’m constantly firefighting. I clear one thing and immediately have to start on the next. It’s become a bit stressful and hasn’t done my fitness much good at all.

So on my way to Pontefract Parkrun yesterday I decided that Continue reading →

Cutting down on the chocolate
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Cutting down on the chocolate

THE last time I said I was stopping eating chocolate, Chris laughed at me. ‘You’ll never be able to do it,’ he said. ‘Never in a million years.’

I wasn’t happy with his response. ‘What do you mean I won’t be able to do it?’

He laughed a bit more. ‘You’ll not.’

‘If I want to stop I’ll stop,’ I may have been shouting. ‘It is NOT a problem.’

‘It is,’ Chris stopped laughing. ‘You’re addicted to it.’

Addicted to chocolate? Me? Chris clearly didn’t know what he was talking about.

‘I’m not!’ I looked down at the family bar of Dairy Milk in my hand, and waved it in his face. ‘I’ll do it.’ And I meant it. I put the chocolate back in the fridge. ‘That’s it,’ I said. ‘I’m not eating it again.’

I lasted until 4pm the next day. And then Continue reading →

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Thinking of Laura

Yesterday morning, I received the incredibly sad news that a friend from school had died in a car accident. Laura was 37, had recently got married and was expecting a baby boy.

She had so much to look forward to, but on Monday her life was snatched away. She leaves a daughter, husband, family and friends, whose lives are now changed forever.

I’m struggling to understand how or why this could happen. It seems so unfair.

As teenagers, Laura and I were close friends. We shared lots of laughs, got into a fair bit of trouble, and went on our first holiday together (sunny Scarborough). After college, Laura moved north, and started a family. I moved south to university. We kept in touch. Instead of the partying we’d done in our youth, we now shared book recommendations. Laura, like me, is an avid reader. She loved having a cosy night with cake and a book.

I’ve been thinking about Laura a lot over the past few days, thinking back to our childhood and teenage years. In fact, I went on my first ever run with her. We were sixteen and not very sporty, but Laura decided that she wanted to go for a run. She wanted to get fit. It sounded like a good idea. So one Wednesday evening after college we put on our tracksuits and off we went. We jogged Continue reading →