I have been thinking a lot this week about when I first started running marathons, and why I did. 

London 2013 was my first shortly followed 5 weeks later by Edinburgh. 

The training was hard. Much harder than I am finding it this year. Don’t get me wrong running the miles is still a challenge but the recovery now is much quicker as my body has learnt to adapt quicker. I was speaking to a colleague this week at work, her friend is running her first marathon at London this year. She mentioned how hard she was finding the training. How sore she was feeling, how she was struggling to walk when she saw her. This is exactly how I was in my first year. 

I remember having sore legs every day. I would wake in the morning and before I had even stood up I could feel my legs hurting. Walking down the stairs was a challenge after long runs and I felt very tired all the time. 

 I stuck to a schedule I pulled out of a magazine as I didn’t really have any idea of what was needed. I had it stuck on the fridge and used to tick off every run completed. It was a venture into the unknown but I knew if I did the leg work then I would be able to complete the task, and I did.  😊 3.36.29 was the time and I was very happy with it.  From that moment on I was addicted to marathon. 



When London was over I soon felt very lost without a strong fitness focus in my life. I’d even go to say I had post marathon blues!!! So I got myself a charity spot in Edinburgh marathon which was 5 weeks away, did a few longish runs in between then went out hard for a better time at Edinburgh. Finished time was 3.30.12. It was tough but I was over the moon at my achievement. 



To this day that is still my PB. I haven’t managed to beat it. YET!!!!

So why do I love it? Most of my friends do not understand why I want to keep running these 26.2 mile races. Mainly I love the race. If so someone asked me why that is what I would say. And it is true, I really love the race. 

I also love the discipline of the training. There are no short cuts to marathon. You have to put in the work to get out the rewards. If you skip training then when you hit 18-20 miles you are going to know about it!!! 

I’m definitely not training shy. I make a plan at the beginning of the week and I stick to it. Unless there is a niggle and a bit if rest is needed there are no excuses.  So when I am standing at that start line I know I have done everything I can. 

So this year, my third marathon year, and heading into my fifth marathon, I am feeling a lot more confident with my training. I no longer need that schedule on the fridge. I write my own plan now. I know what I need to do and I am doing it.  As I said before recovery is quicker, which is a relief!! I feel I have made a huge investment in my mileage over the last three years and that is going to help me in Boston and London 6 days later 😊 All is going to plan so far and I have managed to stay injury free. 

But there is still a long way to go. 5 more weeks of hard traing, and some long runs in there too. Then the two week taper and I will be good to race 👍

And I can’t wait!!!!!



Today I went out for a 6 mile run. This turned out to be a tough little run!! Legs were feeling tired and a bit heavy, after yesterday’s 20 miles. 

This is the point of postponing my rest day until Tuesday so I can run on heavy tired legs and feel the challenge of that. 

From running previous marathons when the legs get heavy and tired somewhere around 18-20 miles this is understandably when things start to slip!! So my Monday morning plan is hopefully going to help with that. I know that at that mileage my legs will still get tired but if I train my body to cope with it better then hopefully the slip will be smaller.

On a positive I had no soreness from the 20 miles only the fatigue. My left knee is feeling a little unstable which I’m hoping is fatigue too. Tomorrow I have decided to take a full rest day from exercise to see if the knee will feel normal again. There is no pain which is a positive, it just feels a little weird!! I still have two classes to teach so a bit of demoing to do but a rest is needed. 

I know it’s really important to listen to my body when embarking on a training plan like this. Take a rest when needed. Hopefully this will come to nothing  and Wednesday’s run can go ahead at full pace 👍



I have introduced a new ingredient into my regular nutrition routine.

BEETROOT  JUICE my new running buddy!!! 

 There are heaps of benefits from this humble root vegetable, it’s not just its amazingly beautiful colour that is an attraction.

Rich in potassium, antioxidants and folic acid, beetroot is proven to lower blood pressure.

Studies have found that drinking 500ml of beetroot juice before exercise improved stamina.

It is believed that this is because of a nutrient found in soil that helps build protein. This converts into nitrite in the body and then into nitric oxide, which has a “double whammy” effect: it widens blood vessels, increasing blood flow; and it reduces the oxygen needed by muscles, enabling them to work more efficiently.

The leaves are strong in iron so can also be eaten as you would spinach. I have been blending mine in with the beet to make a fab juice.

 2 small raw beets (cooked if raw not available)

1 large juicy orange

1cm piece of ginger

Juice from 1/4 lemon

A few ice cubes

Blend in the nutribullet or similar
Drink
If it’s thick add some coconut water to thin.
This drink gives me great energy for my running especially the long challenging ones.

I’ve been having it every morning sometimes adding other fruits, pineapple, apple, strawberries to experiment with the flavour.Give it a try 🙂

So I’m 8 weeks in to my training and things are going pretty well 🙂

Today I ran a 20 miler. This is a real land mark in marathon training.

Before I went out my brain was not playing the game, I was not really looking forward to it.  20 mile running alone is a real mental challenge for me. I would say that by mile 7 my body had convinced my brain that it was a good idea and I enjoyed the run! Happy me!!!

 I’ve had a new focus this week. I decided to try push my mid distance runs to marathon or sub marathon pace. So I had a 10 miler at 7.44 min mile and an 8 miler at 7.58 min mile pace. I really reaped the rewards from this today as I felt comfortable doing 20 miles at 8.27 min mile. I have been doing a bit of a snail pace on my long endurance runs in my previous marathons, and although the slow pace is good base training now at this point with only 6 weeks left until the taper I really want to put the work in and try to get my comfortable pace faster.

Mileage wise I have banked another 49 miles this week and I’m feeling very happy.

Here’s my mileage week by week….

Week 1 – 33 miles

Week 2 – 20 Miles (foot problem)

Week 3 – 36 miles

Week 4 – 38 miles

Week 5 – 12 miles (ski holiday)

Week 6 – 41 miles

Week 7 – 50 miles

Week 8 – 49 miles

Another new addition to the training this week is that I have introduced Yoga and Pilates on my running rest days to keep injury at bay and to help with the flexibility. On Tuesday I went to a reformer Pilates studio in Windsor called Powmak then on Thursday I went to Yoga for Harmony also in Windsor to do Bikram yoga. I felt great after both sessions and am really feeling the benefits. Bikram Is very mentally challenging and this is a really helpful tool for the mental challenge of running a marathon. 

The last new addition to my training plan is to postpone my rest day to the day after my long run. So basically I am running on a Monday after my long run on Sunday. I’m doing this to get my body used to running on tired legs and to aid my recovery. I have to say this is a great addition to the schedule and I can really feel my legs getting stronger from it.

So heading into a new week the plan is as follows….

Monday – 6 miles

Tuesday – Pilates or Yoga

Wednesday – 6 miles

Thursday – 8 miles

Friday – 10 miles

Saturday – Rest

Sunday – Half marathon race 13.1 miles

Slightly lower mileage this week as I’m racing in Surrey Half Marathon on Sunday 🙂

Looking forward to that.

I spend a lot of my time running alone, and whist it would be nice to have company these lone times are an important  part of my training process. I spend these times having chats to myself whist I am running.

Now I don’t mean that I am running around town talking out loud looking like a crazy person!!! Just silently having a little convo in my head.

The all consuming topic at the moment is of course my marathon training, all runs are leading to Boston and then of course London just a short six days later. Can I really do this? As I am in my third week of training I can say that at the moment I am feeling confident that I can 🙂 I am really starting to believe in myself and what I am capable of.

Today I had a very up lifting run, 6 miles of intervals 200m sprint x6 one for every mile. Sessions like this are a very important part of the weekly training. It’s not just a case of going out and trudging through 35+ miles a week, the sessions need structure and it’s important that in my mind I have an objective about what each of my runs are bringing to my training.

Speed work to bring my overall race pace quicker, recovery runs to learn to run on tired legs.

Slower paced long runs to teach my body to burn fat as an energy supply.

Hills to build strength in my legs and core.

This weeks schedule is looking like this……

Monday – REST

Tuesday – 6 mile race pace run 8min/mile

Wednesday – Intervals 6 mile with 6 x 200m sprints (1per mile)

Thursday – 8 miles steady (recovery)

Friday – REST

Saturday – Hills 4 miles

Sunday – 12 miles 8.5-9 min/mile fat burn with a1mile fast finish

Total planned 36 miles 🙂

I know once Sunday is in the bag I will be feeling elated and my self belief will be another notch stronger.

It’s not just the body that needs training for such an undertaking, the mind needs fine tuning too. Some of the most prepared athletes can fail at the task that they have set themselves because their mind has let them down. I am totally committed to having my mind as ready if not more than my body at that start line in Boston 🙂

So todays run gave me a little look at my capability at the moment, I felt strong and at times during my sprints I was dipping down under a 7 min mile. Now I am not planning to run my marathon at 7 min/mile pace, I can only dream of this!! But putting my body through bursts of this fast pace will adapt my overall race pace to hopefully lead me to an amazing PB!!

This is my plan.

Of course there is a long way to go and if I can stay injury free then I know it is potentially achievable. I believe that I am capable of beating my 3.30.12 time from Edinburgh 2013.

Importantly, It isn’t just about that, I am so excited about the experience of running Boston, such an epic race. The fact that I was able to qualify makes me proud and I know that this is an achievement in itself. But the PB would just be the icing on an already delicious cake, so we shall see…….

So tonight being the party animal that I am I went for an evening run, my last one in 2014. It had to be done, for me this is the perfect way to end off my year 🙂

Tonight was a 10k so nothing too hard core, I spent the time thinking about my running this year and how it has been my main personal focus. I am truly loving the discipline and training for events really adds structure to that. If you are looking for something to keep you motivated then I can really recommend  entering a race to work towards. Plus you get a medal at the end 🙂 Love a medal…..

So looking forward to next year and the challenges it brings. Two marathons on the schedule so far and I’m sure there will be a lot more added along the way to help with the training. This can really help if you are training for a big race like a marathon then entering a few half marathons can really help with the preparations. Like wise is you are training for a half marathon then enter some 10k races and so on. It also adds to the medal collection which is very satisfying!

 So a very Happy New Year to everyone, may 2015 bring much happiness to your lives.

Here’s to a positive and mileage filled 2015…..

I love this salad. It’s a great healthy lunch. I often take it to work.
Some of the things I serve it with are,
A tin of tuna, just flaked up and stirred through.
Some green leaves and sliced chicken.
Avocado mashed and spread on rye bread.

Preparation – 10 mins
Cooking – 25 mins

Ingredients

1 cup pearl barley
1cup green lentils
I red pepper (diced)
1 yellow pepper (diced)
1 pomegranate
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Dressing

100 ml Olive oil
50 ml White wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic (minced)
A good squeeze of honey

Rinse the pearl barley in a sieve, then place in a pan. Cover with water with 1cm of depth above the barley. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 mins.
Rinse the lentils then add to the barley and continue to simmer for 15 mins more.
Whilst this is cooking add all the other prepared ingredients to a bowl and mix.
When the barley and lentils are cooked return to the sieve and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Drain then add to the bowl, mix again.
Combine all the ingredients for the dressing then add to the salad and mix one last time.

Eat, with a smile on your face 🙂
Yummy………

Today I had one of those days when I get up at the crack of dawn, pin a number on the front of my top and run around for a couple of hours!!!

This is how I get my kicks!!

Marlow Half Marathon first time at this race. The weather was not my friend with wind and rain it really was not appealing to me at all. The cosy duvet almost won the battle of willls but then I knew I would be cross with myself all day so up I got and out I went. I think the ignorance of never having run this course was my total saviour because if I knew what was ahead of me the duvet could have won!!

I had read the race was a bit hilly but the hills were monsters. So long, harder than Windsor half and that is a hilly course. I should have paid attention to their Facebook, I quote (There are some mean gradients on this course. For many, a concerted uphill walking effort will make more progress than what feels like running on the spot: DON’T BE AFRAID TO WALK HILLS.)Note to self do more research prior to the event!!!

So the challenge began and I meandered my way around the beautiful Buckinghamshire countryside. I did actually walk, up TWO of the hills, I never walk so this will give you some indication how tough this one was.

Not my most amazing time 01:51:07 but for me a great training run, more miles in my legs and feeling good although slightly exhausted this evening.

Of course at the end I get my medal fix, which we love :))))

And it was yellow, a lovely sunny prize in what was a very grey run.

Now I am on the computer looking for my December challenge. I’m thinking a 10 miler, planning to keep November milage lower before things crank up in mid December /January. So I think a 10 mile fast run will be a good distance.

Congratulations to all of the NYC Marathon finishers today. Super jealous, this is top of my bucket list.

Up early ready to head off to Marlow. The weather is not being kind 😦
Wind and rain beat down, I hope it eases off. I’ve had a difficult couple of days so not really in the right brain space for a race but it will go one way or the other. Clear my head or make me feel worse. I’m determined it will be the first.
Last few mouthfuls of porridge then I will be off. Wish me luck 🍀