Feel Good with GoodGym

GoodGym York has been up and running for just over seven weeks now and is an amazing thing to be a part of. If you've not already heard me going on and on about what it is, I've written another blog post to explain about all the doing good. You'll hear that a lot from GoodGym converts all over the UK; we are 'doing good', but what I want to tell you about is how good it makes you feel too.

One of GoodGym's aims is to tackle social isolation but it's not just older people who are isolated. These days younger people are often just as lonely, relying on social media to connect with others and doing little in the way of hobbies. That real life interaction is missing for so many people and with it comes a whole host of mental health problems; depression and social anxiety in particular.

The Crampy, Keto Newport Half

It might have been a silly idea to start this crazy nutritional experiment a week before running a half marathon, but I love a silly idea every now and again. I couldn't even say I was relying on good, solid training for this one because I've been having a very gentle winter but it wouldn't be the first half marathon I've winged and I'm sure it won't be the last. Either way, it was going to be an excellent way to see if being on a ketogenic diet really does make a difference. Would I really miss the carbs?!

Pre-race fueling was courtesy of Chiquitos. Watching the waitress's face slowly become more confused as I gave my dinner request was entertaining, "I would like the Chilli Con Carne please, except instead of the rice, can I just have loads of sour cream, and I don't want any tortillas thanks but could I have extra guacamole? Ooh, and please leave off the re-fried beans but I'll have extra cheese instead." It's a weird thing to get your head around. Still, they provided, and I was a very happy customer.

Ashton Court parkrun and Keto Snacking

Just over a year ago we ventured over to Ashton Court to do the well-known big uphill, and big downhill. Sadly, ice had stopped play so we were left parkrun-less. Yesterday however, Facebook confirmed it was on and so we headed on over. This was going to be a good test for the ketogenic diet.

We'd stayed over in Bristol the night before and had decided on a hotel picnic. It is hard work finding keto snack food; I found myself angrily searching the yoghurt aisle in for a non low-fat breakfast option and there were none, none at all. Dinner was an interesting combination of spinach with oodles of Caesar dressing, olives with cheese and the fabulous new canapé idea, salami topped with guacamole and prawn.

The Off Season

The off season used to terrify me. The mere idea of taking a break from structured, intensive training caused me huge anxiety about vast fitness losses and weight gain.

Of course I'm older and wiser about it now, I've learned the benefits of taking real time out. It isn't about hibernating entirely, but taking the pressure out of exercise and doing it because you want to, not because you feel you have to. Ideally, this would be the case all year round but realistically most of us are inherently lazy and need a goal or event on the horizon to motivate us into action.

Anglesey Sandman Triathlon 2015

Yep, we were the geeky ones who racked
first. Far too excited.

Sandman, the only slate coaster missing from my coffee table. There was a reason it was the last one of the Welsh Always Aim High triathlon series I'd signed up for, two in fact, it was a sea swim and a flat bike course. Those two reasons however, were the magic words needed to get Lizzie to come with me. It wasn't until she was all paid up and entered that I had to confess there would also be a 10km trail run on mostly sand (her fault really, she hadn't even questioned the name).

Canterbury Sprint Triathlon 2015

Having attended a wedding yesterday of friends who have just completed Ironman Austria, it seemed fitting to blast out the post-wedding fuzz with a very conveniently located local triathlon, the Velocity Events Canterbury Sprint Tri.

We sat smugly drinking coffee with plenty of time to spare even with the horrendous unisex toilet queue of doom. The race had changed venues at fairly shirt notice  and it looked like access to loos might have been overlooked. However, what the event lacked in facilities it made up for in organisation; registration was super swift and simple, there was a well-stocked kit stand which is always a bonus at a small event and a good but not overwhelming selection of cakes (very rarely am I overwhelmed by cake but we were a little more fragile than usual).

Midnight Mountain Marathon

As I drove to the Brecon Beacons for an evening marathon I was scarily under-trained for, it occurred to me how bonkers my whole plan was. I'd left at 6am for a 5:30pm race, why? Obviously it was so I could bosh out a parkrun first. More specifically, the brand new Penallta parkrun which - hilariously - is described as "mostly flat" on the website. The Welsh do crack me up. I wouldn't say it was hilly but it definitely wasn't flat.

I have an ongoing love affair with all things hilly so I didn't mind the undulations one bit. My love for hills is why I was on this crazy journey in the first place. I had entered the Midnight Mountain Marathon and was far too excited about it to put my sensible head on. My knees had been duff and I hadn't run more than one 5k a week since the end of April, so I knew full well that a very challenging marathon was a bit silly but my heart was in it and I just hoped the body would follow.

Salisbury parkrun: The Map Guide

Salisbury parkrun isn't the easiest course to navigate. Visitors and bloggers alike have rightly described it as having many twists and turns. There's a lead biker, a tail runner, loads of marshals and more arrows than most marathon courses, but there's still always at least one who manages to go the wrong way.

If you've run our course and are still confused or are planning a journey to our shiny, new parkrun, look no further. Follow this guide and you should make it around Salisbury parkrun without navigational disaster. Just remember to run three laps!

Salisbury Does (Unofficial) Parkrun

Running is a great way to bring a whole community together and parkrun epitomises the very essence of community. Salisbury is already blessed with several very active groups and it was brilliant to see representatives from the Athletics and Running Club (CoSARC), Salisbury Tri Club and local women's running group, Sarum Sisters all showing their support.

If you search for parkrun events, there is a very obvious Salisbury-shaped gap that needs filling. Thanks to a few very hard-working and dedicated people, the dream of getting a parkrun in Salisbury is starting to become a reality.

Over 40 runners turned up at Churchill Gardens this morning to recce the proposed course, and nearly 20 showing up to offer their assistance as marshals and helpers. Getting enough volunteers on a regular basis can be the make or break of parkrun success, so it was brilliant to see so many local folk offering support.

After a thorough briefing from future Run Director, Liz, the keen crowd gathered at the south west side of the park. At my estimation there was an age range of about 60 years, people running with dogs, buggies, people who were striving to push themselves for a 5k personal best, people who just wanted to attempt the distance and everything in between.

The mixed-terrain course has something to suit everybody and the back and forth nature of the route is great for keeping an eye out for fellow participants (read: your competition). Photographer Alex Mills had some sort of ninja skills, it seemed he was everywhere on the course, snapping away!

CoSARC runner Ben Brewster stormed through as fastest male, creating a speedy course record of 16:00. Ben Carter and Steve Brett were not far behind, coming second and third respectively.

Ruth Thom took the first female spot, made even more impressive by the fact that she managed to go the wrong way, obviously way too in the zone to look out for the excellent marshals! Olivia Roderick and Katie Clements were the second and third female finishers.

Unfortunately parkrun doesn't register dogs separately but whilst we are still unofficial we can recognise Flea, our first dog finisher who came through in 25:50.

The trial was a brilliant success and I hope the amount of support continues to grow. There is another practise run on the 28th February. Do join the facebook group "Bring Parkrun to Salisbury" and get involved. Even if you don't want to run, come along and help out, I promise you'll have just as much fun!

The Delightful Downton Half

When you're stumbling about at 09:20 with one eye that won't open properly, tripping over empty wine bottles and searching for your trainers before a 10am race, it probably won't be a personal best sort of day. However, after a raucous 30th birthday celebration and failed "few drinks and move on to water" strategy, I was happy enough just to make it to the start line.

This was my fourth outing to the Downton Half marathon; it's a brilliantly challenging course with some lovely big hills. Race New Forest are a fabulous group of people who run great series of events but I think this is my favourite. There are just the right amount of people racing, spectacular views of the New Forest and always plenty of friendly faces.

Alice Holt Parkrun & The Gosport Half Marathon

Support Crew Extraordinaire

I haven't done too much since the summer of bicycle accident madness, but I've been ticking away at the running and have bizarrely found myself keeping a fairly decent level of fitness whilst doing very little. Gosport Half Marathon had been on my radar all year for an attempt at a fast (for me) half and in the last few weeks, I started to believe I might be able to do it.

A bit foggy..

The weekend started with a warm up at an extremely foggy Alice Holt parkrun. My ever-prepared sister was an amazing one-man support crew all weekend and as a result, at any time I could have had any type of layering system, a selection of shoes, snacks and hot beverages in a range of flasks. We had unwittingly timed out visit to Alice Holt on their birthday, which meant there was a higher-than-normal amount of fluorescent clothing and lit-up parkrunners on display. It also meant there was plenty of cake, always a bonus.

Dartmoor Long-O 2014

Last year I entered an event that was completely beyond the limits of my general orienteering ability. This year, the two-day event which is run jointly by clubs in the Quantocks and Devon, was taking place in Dartmoor. Over the last year it is safe to say that I have developed absolutely no further navigational competence, but I was only down the road on my holidays so it seemed like a no-brainer.

I roped in/guilt-tripped a vaguely willing friend, Holly, on the proviso that it would be a really fun event to do as a pair. On the first day, Holly would be two weeks away from walking down the aisle and I was made to promise that there would definitely be no leg breaking or any activity that would result in wearing a cast on her wedding day. I agreed to the promise 87% and signed her up.

Lakeland Trails Marathon 2014

I'd been trying to get my legs conditioned for proper endurance throughout this year ready for the attempt at an iron distance triathlon in September. Having had a lower limb disaster earlier in the year whilst attempting to run an ultra marathon, I needed to prove to myself that I could in fact run the distance. So, I entered what I thought was going to be a lovely trail marathon that skirted around the waterside paths of Coniston, in the Lake District.

Starting a little late...

We arrived at the start in plenty of time for a leisurely coffee, and decided to wander on over to a scenic location to enjoy it: the toilet queue. The race was due to start at 9 and we still had a good thirty minutes. The queue, however,  was not moving quickly and by 08:52 I could feel myself getting agitated. I reached the front of the line at 08:57 and felt much better, it was a worthwhile wait. Once I'd exited though I could hear the 10 second countdown commencing and pegged it across the field as fast I could. I was too late. The race started and I had to squeeze down the edge of the starting funnel against all the runners to get to the chip timing mat. The man on the megaphone excitedly announced that there was a mad girl going the wrong way. I did a u-turn at the timing mat and got a massive cheer from the crowd, he then announced that I was his favourite, which was a very positive start to the race!

Slateman Tri 2014

After my adventure with Ruth to the Snowman Tri last year, the Slateman was immediately added to our hit list as another brilliant event on the Always Aim High calendar. We made the obligatory overnight stop at Telford and smashed up the parkrun on the Saturday morning before ambling over to Snowdonia. The drive in to Llanberis doubled up as a recce of the end of the bike course and it looked just fine to us: easy!

At registration we realised we were in different swim starts, and couldn't figure out why or how they had organised the waves. Ruth was in the final wave which started 20 minutes after mine. This meant my whole race strategy had to change from "just enjoy the race, take it easy, you're here to have fun" to "you must absolutely rag the bike as hard as you can and pray you don't get caught on the run". We also spotted Jane Hansom at registration who is one of our favourite triathlete ladies but we were too rushed (and scared) to go and talk to her because we were keen to find the hog roast which had been promised in the race information. Sadly, it was all closed up by the time we got there but we promised ourselves a post-race hog roast instead.

Maz's First 20 (+1)

Maz is an old school friend who has never been keen on exercise. She's a friend I can always rely on if what I need to do is sit in my pyjamas drinking wine and eating brownies. So, when she told me she had entered the London Marathon, my first reaction was to laugh out loud. I wasn't being cruel, I just didn't quite believe what I was hearing. Of all the people in my life who could possibly enter, she was far, far down on the list. She had suffered the same plight as many of us do, a drunken night with silly suggestions that get taken too far. I wasn't entirely sure she would take it very seriously, but held my hands up when I saw her a few weeks later only to hear about the rigorous running regime she was on. I was amazed.

Exmoor Training Camp 2014 - Part 1 "Hills and Hot Tubs"

For the first time since the spring training camp tradition began in 2012, we were finally in Exmoor, in March, without ice, flooding, torrential rain or gales. This year there would be no excuses, and with six months to go until I attempt my first iron distance triathlon, I was itching to get some quality training in.

I was keen to ride the Wimbleball course backwards, just for a change. Emma and Susan decided to join in the adventure and as the bikes were being set up, I couldn't help being surprised by the topic of conversation. It wasn't the usual "Ooh, LOVE your new helmet, totally matches your bike!", but an insightful discussion about mechanical components. It turned out everyone else was riding a triple, the smallest ring on the front being known as "the granny ring"; a get-out clause that wussy cyclists have for when they get all scared on a tough climb. I smugly declared that I was riding a double to which Susan replied, deadpan, "Life's too short for a double". Life is too short for this discussion to go on any longer, so we set off.

Muv's Week of Health

Now that I have a sister who is well and truly on the health train, it was time to get mum aboard. I decided to take myself up to Derbyshire for a mini training week/healthy eating week/boot camp for mum week. I broke the journey up with a cheeky visit to the brilliant Braunstone parkrun, before arriving at mum's and unpacking about two sets of regular clothes and a suitcase full of sports kit. Such a lovely daughter that I am, I shared the veggie stew that I'd made for lunch, and curtailed our catch up as it was sunny outside and I was itching for a cycle.

Behold, The Running Man

Running is even better when you get the creative juices flowing. This little chap might have a triangular head and tiny dwarf legs (my legs were a bit tired, so sadly his were too) but he brought a bit of fun to the tedium of the dark, wintry Thursday jog!

North Hill Parkrun

We were hoping to get a bit of parkrun tourism in this weekend and blow the champagne fog away with a blast at Longmeadow parkrun near Taunton. I was up, dressed, coffeed, keen and lunging about the place at 7:30 when Amie came down and gently informed me that it had been cancelled due to flooding. The next nearest, at Killerton, had also been cancelled. With parkrun plans scuppered, I decided to go out and create my own. I'm not entirely sure it will meet parkrun's rigorous risk assessment, but here it is:

Warming up at Brockwell

"What do you fancy doing when you visit?", my friend asked.

"Well.. I'd quite like to check out your local parkrun.. but other than that.. anything!", I replied, hopefully.

She was dubious that I was only visiting so I could tick another parkrun off the list, and she wasn't sure about this 'getting up early' business on a Saturday morning either. When you spend most of your time with runners, triathletes, cyclists and other sporty types, it's easy to forget that there are other people out there with zero interest in your sporting endeavours. My old school friend is one of these people; she generally just rolls her eyes when I tell her what I'm up to and thoughtfully serves me up an extra portion of whatever tasty meal she's making.