Great weekend of Christmas parties

What a fabulous weekend.
Friday - work Christmas meal - 6:15pm in the London through to 12:45am chatting outside the de.Vere hotel.

Saturday -
Tri club swimming, we must have done at least 2k
John Lewis with Suzanne, Jenny and Julian
Forever products tasters dropped round
Hurtbox session - attached!
Karyn and Sharon's for a cuppa
Tri club Christmas meal

Sunday cycled to Winchester 13miles, to hang out with Clare and Karen - Christmas market then a big roast at Willows.

Cycled home then pretty much spent the rest of the evening eating club biscuits and crisps. Siiiiiigh.

I'm done in :)

What a fantastic day.

Operations day at work, always great fun as I've got such lovely colleagues, with an amazing shared lunch. And then bonus - ended half an hour early :)

7-8pm Runcamp track session for LRR then 8:30-9:30pm the attached Hurtbox session.

I don't think anyone actually needs me to point out to them just how shattered I am xx

Needless to say I love it!!!!!

The tolberone at Hurtbox was a killer :(

Okay, so I went to a Hurtbox session right after strength and conditioning at Tauntons but even so, the tolberone is a killer.

As you can see the first few peaks were doable but then lots of stopping! Aaah well, still an amazing workout.

And full - Carl, Angela, Suzanne, me and DonnaT. Great fun. Plus first session with coach John. I really didn't want to let him down but I just didn't have anything in my legs :(

Great session.

Strength and conditioning at Tauntons was also great fun. HIIT session - i was doing 30s/30s - 30 secs of exercise then 30secs rest. Was the only person to say that was what I was doing right at the start.

Ops day tomorrow then Runcamp at the track with LRR and a Hurtbox session afterwards. I then plan to run for three hours Thursday eve - will wear garmin so have an idea of distance. It'd be good to go at least 16miles :)

Then it's the work's Xmas do Friday, Tri club's Saturday then Xmas market with Cod and LC Sunday with Sunday roast at the Willow Tree.

Should be an awesome weekend with some exercise thrown in - swimming and a Hurtbox session Saturday.

Gosport half marathon 2:39.20

Loved it.
Went with Sam and Sue from SRS. So cold. Couldn't decide about gloves, regretted having none for first few miles but okay by mile four.

Marshals so friendly.
Ended up.running with Sara from Lordshill.

So.many from Lordshill running today which was fab.

Whooping at every mile marker.

Feet were sore.
Fiddled with laces, haven't quite sorted out how tight they need to be.
Also hungry. Nor sure if ate enough or ate well enough last night...

Walked to Gosport and the social club for table tennis with the girls. So sore. Probably just as well I played as I certainly felt loser :)

Very tired.
Legs ache.

Pleased with time.

Pic is me at the social club. Loving that I can eat chocolate again xx

Five sessions in three days!

Monday
First ever Monday night LRR session. Carol led it but I was semi involved chatting to members and running at the back.
Although there was no way I could keep up with them so probably just as well Carol asked to run at the back :)

Then cycled to the Quays for swimming. Similar to Huw's Saturday session. So glad I went.

Tuesday
Strength and conditioning at Tauntons. 8 stations, 15 secs rest between each one then 60 secs rest after each set. Did three sets.

Wednesday
LRR up at the track to celebrate it being a year since Alice did her 60 marathons in 60 days and is now s Guinness world record holder. I did s hills session. Very sociable as runners from Totton, Hardley and Hedge End also there.

Then Hurtbox session with Kelly, coached by Ant.

As you can see I was def flagging by the fifth set. I wanted to stop. But didn't so very pleased about that.

Am now so tired.
Stc running tomorrow at the track and then working in Havant Friday eve. Swimming Saturday then Gosport half marathon Sunday morning.
Fingers crossed I don't knacker myself out to much!!!!!!!!!!

I love watching cyclocross :)

Wow.
What a sport.
Max heart rate for an hour averaging 12mph is how Donna from tri club described it. Tobie just said you pretty much cycled at max effort and then throw up.

Am I tempted?
Chatted with fellow runcamper Martin... I'm to nervous to do it - the course is really tricky, lots of turns, hills, slopes. Plus I know I'm not strong enough, fit enough or a good enough handler of the bike yet.

Oh and we'd need to get a new bike.

Maybe next year :)

The pic is of Bike Guy Tobie

Running in Lordshill woods 13/11/16

Omg!!!
I'd totally forgotten just how gorgeous it is up in the woods round by the sports centre / golf course.
Utterly breathtaking. I loved it. Plus hoorah for trail shoes :)

I ran for 85 mins then nipped to my bike for some water and a sweetie which gave me the oomph to keep going for another 25mins.

1:50.07

Then grabbed my packed lunch and headed off to find Charlotte to watch the cyclocross.

Wine tasting 12/11/16

Tri club swimming = tough session, knackered. Def worked out.

Which was just as well because the rest of Saturday was...

Tudor House for tea and scones
Saw my young person - I'm an IV - we went for lunch.
Home then off to Shirley for an evening of chilli and wine tasting.

Eleven bottles were discussed and tasted. Loved it.

My training plan is telling me I need to do 160 mins tomorrow
I'm not convinced I'll manage that... I'm hoping to do mabes a couple of hours and then see what happens.

I still want a lie in plus I'm watching my first cyclocross up at the sports centre so finding the time will be tough.

Such a fabulous week's annual leave :) Monday 7th Nov - Friday 11th Nov.

What a wonderful week off work.
Yes I did some running etc but I also went up to Ashtead to see family, drank champagne with the boys in London, had x2 breakfast dates with chums, cuddled the Smith's new baby daughter, cheered our volunteer Anjelica as she got her 100hours volunteering certificate, had a cuppa at Solent and cycled out to the Winchester south park and ride for a brick session. Yep, it's been awesome.

But how's my running been?

Utterly shattered after the Meon Valley half marathon - just couldn't face LRR Monday eve training and then Tuesday I missed S&C as off to Ashtead.

Wednesday though I did go out - ran up to the Wells estate then back to Ashtead through the common. It was wonderful - pic attached is me on Ashtead common.
Then up to London to drink two bottles of champagne with my boys :)

Thursday I went out early eve for a run as decided to run before supper so tri club running wouldn't work. Well... It was a disaster - i ran abit, then walked, then ran, then walked then had to nip to ikea because needed the loo, then walked. After 35mins I decided to call it a night and went home. My saving grace was doing about ten mins of S&C on the balcony :)

Friday - finally a lie in!!!!!
My lift to Winchester was ill so I cycled instead. Due to my lack of training this week maybe it was just as well I had to cycle as it did make me do more exercise.
The brick session was fun and we did do x3 run/cycle/run loops. Hoorah for a lift home though from Suzanne.

And then my week was over.
Luckily I still had the weekend.

Friday 4th Nov - my best 5k time since 2014 :)

Just one week after the tri club 5k time trial where I managed to clock 31.17.38 ...

On a cold and foggy Friday evening at the Runcamp night of the 5k PBs...

I managed to smash my previous best time in two years by knocking off another three seconds.
31.14.21 :)

Thirty One Fourteen!!!!!

Utterly delighted.
I knew I'd gone out quickly, I thought to quickly thinking I wouldn't manage to sustain the pace and fade.
I was wrong.

My first 1k at tri club was 6.11.70 My first 1k at runcamp was 5.37.14

By 4.6k at tri club - 29.08.05
By 4.6k at runcamp - 28.50.32

I knew I just had to keep going and see if I could push myself just a little bit more. I could. Yes I felt sick and wanted to stop but I also felt so strong and relaxed and fast. So hard to describe but I felt like I was flying :)

And just so lovely to share it with my fabulous running buddies x

Sunday 6th Nov 2016 - Meon Valley half marathon. Amazing views!

Utterly blown away by the amazing views. Yes of course to get the amazing views we had to hike up some very impressive hills but boy oh boy - totally worth it :)

Not fast 3:07.05 but brilliant fun with Sam, Jo, Sue and Sian from the Solent Running Sisters. We chatted, laughed, walked, sang, ran, jogged our way round the 13.1 miles making sure we took in and captured as many views as possible. I bloody loved it!!

And then Suzanne and Richard took me off for Sunday roast.

Fabulous x