UK here i come!

This afternoon i tried a short slow run to see how my back would feel about it. I did 2miles 27 but i only ran about 1 mile 80 of it as i added some walking so it wouldnt be to much of a strain.
Backs feeling much better and i only got a slight twinge of discomfort which was good!
At least this next week i can do 3 slow take it easy runs with my sister when im in the UK which is where i will be for a week from saturday!!
I can’t wait!! i want to see if they notice and comment on my weight loss and i have lost alot since i saw them all 6 months ago!! lol I don’t think they really noticed over our weekly webcam chats lol
Also im excited to hit the charity shops and the car bootsale looking for bargains and getting some new jeans and some sexy jumpers for my new slimmer self!
Also its a perfect time to get some christmas shopping in and look for some running gear etc.
I keep rechecking my bag as im sure i have forgotten to pack something lol but im probably being paranoid! I have some clothes for one of my sisters as i dont fit into them anymore and a few xmas pressies for them to.
I have lined up the chalean 3 month workout for myself for after i get back which will take in into January and the 30 day shred. Its all about tonning now and getting that little bit of weight i still have on off! 2012 should be a very good year!

uh oh i did it again!

There is no running today as i have managed to hurt my back! which sucks! Im so stupid sometimes! i should have just rested and started to jog on wednesday like i planned! But oh no i have to be clever and go run a hard run on monday so soon after my 4k race!!
Monday evening my back and hips where aching in the extreme it was horrible!! Yesterday my back was so stiff i couldnt stand up straight for half the day!
So i know my friend Jess ices her legs after a run so i tried putting an ice pack on my back and OH MY GOD relief!!! I left it on there for 30mins and it was bliss! The aching stopped and i could stand up properly even though the stiffness is still there a bit! It was wonderful.
So now im resting my back for the rest of the week as im going to the UK on saturday and i want to be able to move around and enjoy that.
I did use my hand weights yesterday and will probably do that the rest of the week so im getting something done and dont feel completely lazy.
I have been thinking about cutting my running to 2 days a week during the winter and the other days of the week doing some of the Beachbody or Jillian workouts. As some of these have a program to follow for 30 to 60 days and i think i need the tonning now anyway.

C5K WEEK 6 DAY 3 blasted!!

Ok i had thought about not running today so soon after the 4k race but i felt fine this morning so decided to get out there and do C5K week 6 day 3, which was 5min warmup then 25mins of solid running then 5mins cool down.
It was cold out this morning to but i stuck with it even when towards the end part of my brain was begging me to stop and i started to wonder if i had put the wrong run on as 25mins took an awful long time to finish lol!!
But it was the correct run and it did eventually finish much to my reilef lol i felt tired but pretty good afterwards. So glad im pushing through that barrier in my mind which limited me in what distance i could run!
I checked out week 7 and its the same 25min runs so at least im mentally preparing myself for wed and fri when i will be doing them!
I really do need new running gear! i have only 1 pair of proper running trousers and they are summer ones. Also i would like some running jumpers (sweatshirts) for the winter as i know it will be pretty cold out there eventually.
My friend Jess gave me a website for a sports company online that has stuff on sale etc and i found some really nice stuff. A couple of proper running jumpers, warmer running tops and a Nike running belt with water bottle and it would all cost only 50 euros!!
I mentioned it to Alex and he said i could order them after i get back from the UK yay!! i just hope he remembers he said that when i get back lool
He’s pretty proud of me because of my running and me doing races and im proud of myself as well i still cant believe i have achieved this lol

Maratona Staffetta 4k Villa Borghese Race

So today me and my friend Marina ran the 4k fun run for Maratona Staffetta in villa Borghese!
I work up just before 9am after an almost sleepless night from excitment and when i did dream it was to dream about racing!
I was full of nervous energy and Alex kept telling me to be calm and relax but there was no way that was going to happen until the race was run.
Alex dropped me off near Piazza delle popolo and i found Marina waiting for me and raring to go!
We had talked that morning on msn and i had made sure she had drunk plenty of water and had a good breakfast even though she new this already LOL i gave her the banana i bought her for before the race.
We walked through Villa Borghese with no other sign of runners which made me very nervous. But when we got to where we were going we found the tents and starting line.
We found out only 30 people were doing the 4k race! and over a hundred was doing the 10k!

We got some free goodies from a tent and when we got our bib’s we found we got a weird crinkle t-shirt with it as well which was nice.
They called us at 2pm and we lined up behind the 10k runners as we were right after them and ready to go.
We had a bit of a suprise to find that the course we were running was multi-terran, gravel, grass, leaves, sand and pavement. Also with several hills as well which made it very hard going. But i stuck to Marina’s pace as she said my pace was fast even though i think im slow lol

We kept eachother motivated through out the run even when the other runners infront of us disappeared but we knew there was at least 5 runners behind us so we wouldnt be last.
As we came up to the last bit the first runners from the 10k race came running past us! So i can’t believe they did 6miles in 30mins!
My time was 5mins longer than my Belgium 4k but i put that down to the multi-terran!
Not sure we are going to do this run again next year we might try another one thats in October and is we know all run on pavements!
We are both very knackered from our racing day but took some nice pics and have some good memories!!

C5K Week 6 day 2 Done and dusted!

Im on a roll week 6 day 2 of C5K is done and dusted!! rofl no complaints while doing it i stuck to my slow pace and got it over and done with!
The next one is the big run for 25mins with no walking breaks! and im actually excited about it! lol and months even weeks ago i would have been terrifed of doing it.
My confidence has gone through the roof now! especially as Alex keeps telling me how skinny he thinks i am now and how much he loves it lol He is all proud of me and didnt complain when i said i wanted to do the 4k this saturday hes being very supportive about my running which is awsome!
So i am doing the 4K race in Villa Borghese with Marina its all arranged about where to meet then we are going to register! Sometimes in races you get a t-shirt and a small goodie bag of stuff but what im after is the Bib we wear.
To me thats worth more as i wore it through the race and it proves to me i can do them and finish them. Those are the things im going to keep hold of and put in my photo/scrap book of all my runs im going to start.
This morning i got side tracked with trying on tops i bought last time i was with my parents and they now fit perfectly lol Even a top with my birth date on my sister talked me into getting! when i first tried it on it was so tight but now its actually baggy!
So im planning to wear it when i go visit them and see my sister and see what she says. They havent actually seen my weight loss much over the webcam so i think it might be a shock when they see me LMAO.
My friend Jess gave me a link to a website with cute dry-fit running tops and they have a cupcake one!!! i like the ones that say ‘fuelled by cupcakes’ and ‘will run for cupcakes’. Im thinking of getting them as i love all cupcake stuff and have a growing collection lol

Racing fever!

I did the C5K week 6 day 1 on monday and it went smoothly with my slower pace and happened with no complaints. Its getting much colder now so its cold running early in the mornings so im waiting til 9-10 am before going.
I need to get some winter running clothes or i will freeze out there lol So thats my plan for when i go to the UK in a few weeks get warmer running clothes!
Alex got me a new Nike sports watch as mine broke! its part of my christmas present which im very happy about! I can’t run without being able to track my pace and miles etc it drives my crazy if i cant!
I have a 4k charity race on Saturday to do! in Villa Borghese im going to do it with my friend Marina. Im very excited about it should be alot of fun!
Also we are both registering for the 3k race on 1st November also in Roma! so i will be doing that the week im back from the UK and my brother and his girlfriend will be visiting.
I really want to do a race with both Jess and Marina! that would be so cool to run with both of them! even though they are both far better runners than me.

Disaster!

Ok so i think i should have probably had this week off and recovered from the race on sunday! As my back was hurting alot and i got a pain in my thigh yesterday, i now have a full blown as well to top it off lol
But it was my first real race so now i know i need recovery time even if its a few days.
Yesterday i did about 5 miles walking round with my friend Marina and thats when i got the back ache and pain in my thigh so im pretty sure my body was telling me off. So this week is no running week while i recover from that and the cold.
Disaster! my Nike watch band broke! i was uploading the walking and the digital read out on the screen got all broken up. (the date and read out etc!) I have tried everything to fix it but i think its just dead! Alex tried to fix it for me but with no luck which sucks.
I have worn my watch every day for over a year since i bought it!! i love that thing lol
So Alex has agreed to get me a new one for xmas and hopefully buy it this weekend so i have it for monday when hopefully i will be well enough for a run! YAY!
I was looking at the Nike GPS watch which is a little bit more expensive but it has very mixed reviews and the negative ones worry me so i think i might not get a GPS one.
I have been looking for more short runs for next year for me to do so far i have found:
Roma Fun Run 18th March which is 4k Two in Tuscany in Sept and Nov which are 6k
Also i have signed up for the Race for life races in the UK so when they have a list of the races and where in the UK they are i can see if i can do any when i go visit my family etc!

Bonjour Paris!

So im back from France! and i had an awsome time! We walked 26 miles in our 3 days in Paris lol and i bought some cute t-shirts and some new running shoes which i can put my sensor inside them now YAY!
Running wise it was also good, i found out my nike sports band was off by a mile and had to be re-calibrated to make it correct. I put in the new sensor which helped lol. My first training run with Jess i sucked at as we had had a big lunch and the food was heavy on my tummy so i kept feeling sick.
The second training run i did alot better but i still had to walk some of it as im not used to continously running yet.
The Brussels ladies fun run was 4k. was on sunday. It was a very exciting day for me doing my first proper run! I had had the strange running dreams the night before so i knew i was nervous.
The atmosphere at the startline was amazing and i loved running with my friend Jess who kept me going! We paced eachother and when i struggled towards the end she kept me going pretending she had a cattle prod lol

I walk a few times during the race but it was for a total of 2 mins. We finished the race in under 28mins! which im pretty proud of for a first attempt! Jess told me she knew i could do it and she thinks i just need to break through the mental block im my head about running continously!
We got a Brussels Marathon running top and a medal for finishing the race! I have kept my bib and am going to make a running scrap book for myself! I also have lots of photo’s to print off that we took and that the race people took!

Yesterday i decided to try the C5K week5 day 3 which has been the bane of my life for alot of month now as i just couldnt run it all without stopping. So yesterday i went out feeling extremely motivated and focused.
And i managed to DO IT!! thats right i broke through my mental bloke and ran the whole 20mins!! YAY!!
What i learned with Jess was i was running to fast and had to slow down and pace myself to build up stamina then work on speed later. So now im feeling like i can do anything lol im already looking for more races to do!!
I had a bit of backache yesterday and today on the left side which i think might have been from the jogging but hopefully my body will adjust to it lol