Welcome!

Hello. Welcome to my life for the next 12 months. I am 38 in a couple of weeks time, and I have just signed up for my first ever half marathon. Ive done a couple of 5km runs before for charity and an abseil but nothing like this. So, why? Well, I don’t really know the answer to that.

I started running a few years ago and had got from nothing to 6 miles by the time I stopped due to pregnancy. I had lost quite a lot of chubb from it as well, which I have basically put back on now. My daughter is 2 and a half, and I have been fannying about losing the same few pounds ever since, and enough is enough! I remembered what worked for me before, and it was running combined with watching what I eat. I used to do weight watchers but they have changed the plan and I just cant get away with it so I decided to go to the dark side. Yes thats right, I went to (looks around to make sure nobody overhears this horrific confession....) slimming world. So, in June I started couch to 5k again, from day 1. Runs of 1 minute duration. MY GOD it hurt. I couldn’t believe how unfit I had become. I could have cried. But I didn’t. I got up again 2 days later and did it again. And so on....and then on the 1st August I joined slimming world. And carried on with the last couple of weeks of C25K and graduated, and have continued running 3 times a week. I do two 2.5-3 mile runs a week on a Monday and Wednesday morning, and on a Friday when I don’t have to go to work I have been increasing a little each week. Last Friday I did 4.15 miles. I have lost 13lb in six weeks. I like these results.

A lot of people I know ran the great north run on Sunday. I loved seeing their updates on facebook, and I was a bit jealous, I wished I could run that far. Then I thought, who says I cant? Ive gone from nothing to over 4 miles in 3 months.  I have another year till the next great north run. I could give it a shot. And think how much fitter I will get in the process? My arse may finally no longer require its own postcode. It could end up just a normal sized arse. Imagine!

Then comes the charity bit. I fundraise every year, and have done for the last ten years or so. I choose a different cause every year and I do vary the method. But I lost my mam 3 and a half years ago to skin cancer and breast cancer, so cancer charities are very close to my heart. I saw Breast cancer care were offering early bird places this morning and it felt like it was meant to be. So, I did it. And now Im crapping myself but excited too. This would be my greatest achievement with the exception of my beautiful daughter. I know my mam will be proud up there.

I have decided to write this blog for the journey over the next 12 months to keep a record of how training is going and how Im getting on. But I cant lie, I deviate and go off topic CONSTANTLY in real life so that is totally going to happen here. Sorry (not sorry).

Thanks for reading!
H xx