All posts filed under: fitness

Ten top tips – marathon training for beginners

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Alright, alright, I guess I can’t exactly call myself a beginner. The upcoming marathon that I’ll be running on 28th April in London will actually be my third. But despite you all thinking that this doesn’t class me as a beginner, you may be surprised to hear that I actually don’t like running and never do it unless I’m training for a mammoth jog around a big city. I ran my first marathon (London 2017) in 03:59:57, my second (New York 2017) in 04:06:34 and soon to be third, well I can only imagine a lot slower than the last two, as the training hasn’t exactly gone to plan. I have suffered injury (hamstring tendinopathy) and am currently one week into the flu, so in total I have only done a total of two outdoor runs. And with the marathon 7 and a half weeks away, I could panic, or I could hold my head high, carry on and follow my own tips.  1. Get good sleep Sounds easy, right? Well if you’re anything like …

It has been a while…

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It has been a while. Quite a long while, actually. The last time I posted I told the world how I wasn’t going to be so hard on myself for pulling out of the Berlin Marathon last September. Pulling out wasn’t fun, especially as we had booked flights and accommodation – but rather than face limping around the course, my boyfriend and I decided to go and spend a few days splayed around the pool at the incredible Soho House Berlin instead. So, why haven’t I written for a while? I’ve had this blog for almost a decade – yes, 10 years! When I started tapping away on my now vintage white Macbook all those years ago, the new age bloggers and what have more recently become termed influencers, were probably still getting grazes on their knees in the playground and eating lumpy custard and vanilla sponge in the school canteen. It makes me feel old, but not in a bad way as you might expect. Truth be told, when Instagram took off I was …

Pulling out of the Berlin Marathon – why I’m not being hard on myself

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It’s a phrase you hear often, but yet a lot of people, me included, never seem to listen. Why is it resonating now? Well, as I sit on my poolside hotel bed that we booked as a post marathon treat watching four Englishmen stalk slowly past me to the exit, legs tense, walks resembling John Wayne, I can’t help but feel like an idiot. Yesterday was the Berlin Marathon, one of the six world major championships. I am in Berlin because last year I set myself a challenge to run all six world majors and I was meant to run it. But a couple of months ago I did something I never really thought I’d do. I… dun dun duuuuun, pulled out! I even sighed as I just wrote that sentence. I’m not a quitter, but recently I have come to realise that I set very high standards for myself. Standards that don’t mean a single thing to anyone else in the world. So why do I keep them? If anyone has the answer, please …

Coresport – The best exercise shirt in the world?

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Have you ever attempted to do a cardio workout in a cotton t-shirt? If you have, I’m pretty sure you’ll have winced just reading that sentence. The claggy (good word, right) sweat that literally clings to your body as you attempt to writhe out of the shirt is something to behold. Or not… I learned the hard way when I was relatively new to running. I went out on what I thought was going to be an innocent jog in the sunshine, but half way through – and when I say halfway I mean about 500m – the shirt started to stick to me in places nothing should ever stick to. I was a sweaty mess and my t-shirt just wasn’t giving me the benefit of the doubt. Fast forward a few years and I’d like to think I’ve learnt a thing or two about appropriate training gear. So when I was asked if I wanted to review a top that claims to be the ‘world’s best workout shirt’, which apparently cools you down the …

Good Luck from Bill Nighy – Vitality 10,000

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There are some moments in life that leave me speechless with their perfection. This morning I had of those moments. I woke up, had a shower and made myself some toast with peanut butter and banana. Afterwards I pulled on my running gear, grabbed my backpack and headed to the tube. I was on my way to the Vitality 10,000 race in Central London. And in all honesty I wasn’t exactly in the mood to run. I arrived at Green Park and, along with 100’s of other runners, queued to exit the station. As I shuffled towards the escalator, I saw a lone man walking down the escalator on the other side. As he edged closer, I recognised the face as the one and only Bill Nighy. Being alone I had no one to tell and no one around me seemed to notice. My face lit up and as I opened my mouth to tell anyone that would listen, he caught my eye, nodded, winked, blew me a kiss, mouthed ‘good luck’ at me and …