A Nutty New Challenge

Sorry for the gap in posting!

The doctors have got me on a great new combination of medication which has got the shingles completely controlled- as you may have noticed from my recent posts on Facebook and Twitter!

In February, myself and 2 of my best friends applied to be Team Whole Earth 2016.
We didn't really know much about Whole Earth Man V Horse, but the offer of a Spa day and a personal trainer to get me over the post-shingles slump was too good to turn down, so we pinged in an application and forgot all about it!

I was heading out for a run in late February and got a call from a number I didn't recognise; usually I don't answer at all (too many PPI callers) but for some reason I picked up. I'm thrilled I did, as it was Abbie calling on behalf of Whole Earth, letting us know that we were down to the final 2 teams.

Suddenly the prospect of running through the Brecon Beacons was real- and I hadn't run more than once or twice since October-December's run of shingles!

A week or so later, and we got the email letting us know that we were successful and had been chosen as Team Whole Earth 2016! Cue giant panic at my end!

Ever since I started running, I've done my utmost to avoid running near anyone faster than me/who knows about running! The only exceptions were Great South and the triathlon, but the idea of having a trainer, or even joining a running club filled me with fear. (Hangover from the days of PE lessons!)

The first part of our Team Whole Earth experience was a fitness assessment with one of our 2 endurance coaches, Martin Yelling (his wife, Liz is our other coach.) Their website is here. I was so, so nervous coming to the assessment, even more so than going to Great South! I was scared I'd lost too much fitness and Martin would be panicking that I wouldn't get fit enough to handle Man V Horse!

I needn't have worried. Martin and Liz are possibly the nicest, most encouraging people I have met in my life! We ran our fastest mile (mine was 8.49) and chatted through our fitness background, and goals for the race (survival is my #1!) They then used this info to make our training plans.

We also met our fab nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed, who talked through our diet and eating habits with us, before drawing up a bespoke nutrition plan for each of us.

On 23rd March we headed to London for the press launch, a very surreal day of exercise and peanut butter in Hyde Park! Our hours of posing, interviewing and another really great workout (with Liz not Martin that time) became this rather snazzy video:

After all the excitement of the launch, it's now been a slow and steady slog working through our training plan and getting ready for race day on 11th June! Ironically this has coincided with my busiest time at work, with lots of overnight stays and residentials, as well as 2 weekends away.

That said, I've weirdly enjoyed taking my running stuff and getting out and about exploring- as well as my usual stomping grounds of Southsea and QE country park, I've been running in Marrakesh, through Primrose Hill and along the Regents Canal in London (running past the zoo was cooler than the mansions en route!), Parkrun in Sheffield, round Sunningdale Park in Ascot, and along the canal towpath in Leeds! My strategy for running in a new city seems to be to head for the canal- it's worked so far!

Sheffield, Marrakesh , London and Leeds

It's also been a huge learning curve getting confident on hills and trails- I remember running through the Braidburn park near my parent's house in Edinburgh and making a 5k route which avoided both any hills and any grass/non tarmac surfaces! Hill reps have been an essential yet challenging element of this- luckily Lauren and Helen are always up for a quick set of hills and we definitely cheer each other on as we plod away up and down. (Except for Helen who is still cheering but definitely not plodding- the girl is quick!). We even went out on a 7 mile trail run with Martin, something I'd never, ever have imagined myself voluntarily doing a few months ago! Except for falling down the hill right at the very end, it was great, and Martin did a great job of boosting our confidence and giving us each a few pointers for the rest of our training.

Hill and Trail Adventures

It's 2 weeks to go, and I'm actually feeling alright! We had a group 8 mile trail run with Liz on Monday, something that would have seemed impossible 8 weeks ago but actually it was a really fun, enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours!

Life has eased up slightly so I'll endeavour to keep you all better updated on our Man V Horse training. I've also got a couple of recipes I've tried out with my years supply of super-yummy peanut butter- watch this space!

Run! When you can't run, walk! When you can't walk... crochet?!

Sorry for another gap! I've been entertaining myself with Christmas, round 5 of shingles, a ear infection and a sinus infection. Living the dream!

I had a fabulous break over Christmas this year- it was great to spend a nice big chunk of time with my family, Jon's family and our friends down here on the South Coast.

Treacle settling in under the tree at my Mum and Dad's house

I'd asked for predominantly fitness related gifts this year, including a new Sweaty Betty sports bra (my old one was giving me crazy eczema all down my back!), blue tooth head phones, and a lovely shiny set of kettle bells.

Unfortunately, my body had other ideas and all of the above are still sat, in their packaging, collecting dust in my living room. As shingles gave way to infections, I ended up back at the GP and have been put on strict 'rest and recuperate' instructions whilst we wait for the 10 tubes of blood they took from me to come back and, hopefully, shed some light on what on earth is going on!

Happily, lots of my friends have been very busy popping out babies, so I've had plenty of opportunities for cute crochet projects whilst resting!

Lovey comfort blanket for the newly arrived Emily

A hat for new baby Ciara and head bands for her two gorgeous big sisters

Comfort blanket for Cam (the whale rattles! I was disproportionally proud of myself for that.)

Bootees and a hat for Matthew

Over the past few days, the sun has come out and I've been out and about walking every day. I may not be running yet but I'm determined not to sit on my backside and wait for this bug to sort itself!

The weather and the sea have rewarded me for bundling up and braving the cold:

I've really enjoyed taking it slower and stopping to enjoy the beautiful sunrises. (Not too slow though- it's minus 1!)

It's quite frustrating knowing how hard I was training to start Tri at this point last year, however I know I've come from being far less fit than this in the past, and if the doctors are saying rest, rest I must.

Now who else has got a baby on the way? I need another crochet project!!