Weight gain: The Good, the bad and the plan

I'm not happy about writing this post at all. In fact, to be honest, I'd rather avoid it, but I'm making myself.

Here's what has happened. I have put on SEVEN pounds since I last tracked my weight properly 3 weeks ago.

On 3rd September I weighed 133.8lbs
Today I weigh 140.8lbs

7lbs - that's quite some going in 3 weeks!


Okay, that's the 'bad' bit out of the way.

The good bits to be taken out of this are:

I know exactly why it's happened. Plus, I'm 'only' 2lbs above my goal weight.

The strange thing is, I can 'feel' this extra weight more so than I did the extra 50lbs. Weird eh? It's a bit hard to explain, but I am more aware of this extra 7lbs, even if I put on 2 or 3lbs I can feel that too.

So what happened?

I've had a crazy busy 3 weeks. They have been filled with really great and interesting things, but I have been totally out of my routine. For most of that time I've been out and about, even going abroad for 4 days. I've had to eat out a LOT, and to be quite frank, I haven't had the choices of food I would like available, and there have been occasions where the only option wasn't a good option, but I had to eat something.

Whilst being so busy I have also missed meals and let myself get to the point of being really hungry, and reached for a quick fix that would boost my energy fast. Or I've eaten too much at certain meal times, not knowing when I'd get a chance to eat again.

I've written before about portion sizes and what I am eating to lose weight. Suffice to say, it's no surprise that although I have tried, I haven't been able to do that in the last few weeks, and I realise that eating out on a regular basis is hard! There simply aren't the perfect choices available.

And I've been missing out on these!! It's been 3 weeks since I have shopped for my fruit and veg haul. If there's a 'secret' to my weight loss success, it's these beauties. LOTS of them. I'm pleased to say I'm all stocked up again!

So, what's the plan?

Simply to get back into a bit more of routine again. The last 3 weeks were probably the busiest I've had this year, and were an exceptional period. I'll see this weight gain as a blip and move on and get back to goal. Or just under. I feel quite happy at around the 135lb mark.

Also, I haven't had much time to fit in much exercise recently, I usually fit in a bit of exercising such as hula hooping, biking, stepping, or bounding. Today I put on my running shoes for the first time in a long time. I've missed it! I stopped when I got a leg injury and my running got pushed to one side. Today I went for a gentle 2 mile walk/run and actually did better than I thought. As with a lot of things, taking the first step can be the most daunting, but once you do it, momentum follows.

2 mile walk/run route

I might have more blips along the way. After all, if I want to keep the 50lbs off for the rest of my life, I'm going to have to work at it, but I enjoy feeling better and looking slimmer too much to undo all my hard work!

And now I'm off to make a mega veggie and chicken curry! Low fat of course ;)

Weight loss report & the battle of mind over body!

It's been about a week since I reached my 50lb weight loss goal and when I weighed-in this week it showed a 1lb loss which I was a little bit surprised about because I've actually made a point of eating a bit more than I normally do now that I am trying to maintain my current weight.

You can never tell what your body is going to do so I'm just going to continue eating a little bit more than I was doing when I was losing weight and hopefully things will even themselves out. I don't really want to lose more weight. Although at times I a little bit curious about how I would look and feel if I lost a few more pounds, but not so curious as to actually try and do that.

I had probably one of my worst runs today and have learned a few lessons.  I've actually come back from this run feeling quite grumpy when normally after a run, even if it gets a bit tough during the run, I feel great afterwards. Not so today though.

I was really in the mood for a run today and decided to do a 4 mile tempo run which consists of walking, running & running faster, just mixing up the pace a bit. This can runs a bit more interesting and I've enjoyed this type of run before.

Now, I've been having a few twinges in my left leg for a couple of days. Nothing painful, but I'm aware that something is not quite right. Regardless, I went ahead with my run and once I'd done a good walk up walk, I broke into a slow run. After that I mixed it up with different speed/effort.

Every step felt like a effort today. I checked my watch too many times. Before I had even run a mile I considered abandoning the idea. I had a argument going on in my mind..

"yeah, but your leg isn't quite right. It's ok not to run you know"

"why are you doing this? You are not enjoying it today!"

"look how slowly the time is going, it's going to be ages before you hit the 4 miles"

To

"I've done 4 miles before. I can do it again. It's only about 40 minutes of effort"

"Look how far you have come this year! From struggling to run/walk a mile to a six miler last weekend in a great time!"

"Look at all the people that struggle to walk or can't run, and you have two good legs, use them! Be grateful for the body you have"

And so this continued for 4 miles. And I did those 4 miles through mixed emotions ranging from determination, to almost wanting to quit, to feeling tearful, to getting angry. 

BUT (hindsight!) I should have listened to my body. Those twinges in my left leg? I'm now limping. LESSON LEARNT!

I could have done some other exercise today. A walk, some hula hooping, perhaps some biking which although uses legs(!) isn't an 'impact' type of exercise.

Since I took up running in January I've run about 150miles (I haven't tracked quite all of them) over countless runs, so to have one bad run over these months isn't bad going really.

I'm now going to rest my leg as much as I can and only run when it's better again. Hopefully soon. I really don't want to take a break from running! I'm just going to have to adapt in the meantime.

There's a busy week ahead with two trips to Liverpool. I'm delivering some social media training with Talk About Local tomorrow, and I'm attending the Red Eye event, National Photography Symposium, on Friday and Saturday. On the Saturday I'll be giving a talk about the 4am Project. Give me a shout if you are going! :)

And now, as it's Me Day Sunday, I'm going to chill out, have a lovely Sunday Roast, catch up on a film or two, and have a bit of beauty pampering!

Say hello on twitter @karenstrunks :)

Acknowledging the amazingness of this week!

This last week has been very busy and when I finally had time to sit down and let my mind wander I realised it's been a pretty awesome week! So I'm going to acknowledge it and make a note of the highlights.

Weight Loss

I celebrated reaching my 50lb weight loss goal. A big acheivement that fills me with a sense of pride. I actually did it! After years of resisting losing weight I am now 50lbs slimmer!

Running

I ran my LONGEST run! SIX miles! PLUS a 3 mile walk. I did the run in 64 minutes which was a nice surprise too. My best friend (ever in the whole wide world hehee) is coming to stay at the end of this month so I am planning to do my first 7 miler with her then.

Wedding Photography

I did my second wedding photography shoot of the year! It went really well. I did a lot of planning for it, story boarding and checked out the venues before hand. My planning paid off as did my timings (being where I was meant to be at the right time!). The newly weds were great and I can only wish future wedding photography clients are as ace!

I'm looking forward to editing the pics and can't wait for the couple to see them.

On the subject of wedding photography, I had another enquiry this week about a booking for next year! Usually with other photography, bookings might be made a month in advance but usually with a lot less notice. I guess with wedddings I'm going to have to get used to planning much further in advance!

4am Project

The 4am Project event last Sunday went amazingly well! A great turn out, lots of fab feedback and it made all the preparation worth while.

Speaking Engagements

Talking of the 4am Project, I'm going to be speaking about it at a Red Eye event on 14th May in Liverpool called the National Photography Symposium. Are you going? Come and say hello! I'll be there from the Friday evening until late Saturday afternoon.

I also had another request to speak at a photography festival. I'm just waiting to get some more details about that one first, but it's always nice to be asked!

MORE on the 4am Project!

I received approaches from two companies (one from the UK, one from the USA) showing an interest in the 4am Project. It's very early days and maybe nothing will come of it, but it's great that companies are showing an interest. Whatever comes out of it (if anything - keeping my feet on the ground!), I've got to make sure that if a company gets involved it's got to be the right fit for the project and I won't be rushing into anything or making hasty decisions.

Meme'd!

Kathryn Ashcroft meme'd me and said some nice things on her blog about me too! Like most people, meme's don't hold much interest to me, but I've had a quick scan of the questions and I think they'll fit in nicely with this 'a bit more....' blog. I might do it in a video form, but it probably won't be for a few weeks yet.

Chilling with friends

I had a lovely night with my friends Sas and Marty and other friends at their Chilli night! I played games with the kids and then we all did karaoke (and I NEVER do karaoke). Thankfully I don't think anyone audio boo'd it. Thanks for a great night guys! I'll be round again soon!

Burning Man

Friends Fiona Cullinan and Pete Ashton invited me to their Burning Man party. Pete had been busy cutting down trees and was burning them and a party built up around that!

"We're also inviting people to bring an effigy to burn. This can be a representation of a person, institution or idea that you'd like you remove from your life. You can make a detailed doll or just scribble on a piece of paper. It's all about the catharsis"

Cool!

I nearly didn't make it after doing 9 miles on my feet earlier in the day and was wiped out in the afternoon, but managed to get a second wind.

With the invitation to burn something, I cut out '50lbs' and 'NO'. Of course the 50lbs represents the weight I have lost and I wanted to say goodbye to it! The NO was to represent negativity (N) and saying NO to negativity and negative people. I don't want any negativity in my life (who does) and I'm lucky I'm surrounded by a great group of friends. I don't have much negativity in my life (as it's banned!) but just to make sure, I wanted to burn it too!

Thank you to my friend Sas for taking the pics!

So April ended and May started on a high! I can't wait to see what the rest of this month brings!

Oh, I know! I'm partaking in Birmingham's Pecha Kucha night on 18th May. I've been meaning to take part for ages now, so I'm pleased to have finally set a date. I think I'm going to be talking about heart ache! haha. Hopefully it won't be as depressing as it sounds! See you there?

And to top the month of May off, as I mentioned before, my best friend is coming to stay! To say I can't wait to see her is an understatement. I am soooo excited. I know we are going to have a ton of fun and silliness all weekend! Also, she hasn't seen me since I've lost weight, so she is going to get a big surprise.

Right, I'm going to chill for the rest of the day. I had a shock when I looked at my diary for this month and realised I haven't got one free day in it, except for Sunday Me Days where I don't make any plans. I'm going to need those days this month especially.

Okay, here's to a cracking May!

Weekly Weight Loss Report - Week 16 - Hello 9 STONE & new friend introduction

I'm in the 9 stone range! 9 stone 13lbs. It's been a long time since I saw 9 stone. Possibly over 10 years or maybe longer!


Just broke the 140lb barrier!

This has been a lovely surprise to say the least!!

To back track to the weekend and my official weigh day which is Saturday. I weighed myself on Saturday morning and noted a 1.2lb loss. Thanks goodness I thought! If you have been following my weight loss, you will know I haven't seen a loss for about 3/4 weeks, so I was happy to finally see the scales move. Being so close to my 50lb weight loss goal, I'm kinda getting excited about when it will happen.

However, I had a manic Saturday and Sunday. Saturday started with at 5.30am alarm call for a BBC Radio Wales interview (video link) about the 4am Project, then I had to check out a wedding venue for a wedding photography booking, I fitted in some food shopping, a meeting about the 4am Project event I was organising at Birmingham Central Library, some 4am Project prep, then after grabbing about 3 hours sleep, I was up at 1am on Sunday morning for the actual event itself (which went fantastically well I'm pleased to say!). Sunday was spent attending to the 4am project in a sleep deprived but happy haze.

My point is, I didn't eat very well. I don't think I over ate too much, but I was defintely reaching for quick snacks and more processed food than normal. I thought I was bound to have put back on that 1.2lbs!

So, I broke my own only-weigh-yourself-once-a-week rule, and stepped on the scales again this morning. And what do you know? I only lost another 2lbs! Suprised, shocked, delighted!!

This means I am only ONE pound away from my 50lb weight loss goal.

Starting weight: 188.8lbs
Today's weight: 139.8lbs
Total lost: 49lbs (3 stone 7lbs)

Weight loss chart since August 2010

Of course, I might put a 1lb or two on again, I might not, but right now I'm celebrating!

I usually put a photo of my fruit and veg haul for the week up. And this is what I selected this week. Not quite the huge haul of previous weeks but I still have some fruit & veg from last week to use up.



I thought this week I would show you some of the other non fruit and veg items I bought too.



Low fat crisps, cooked slamon, fruit cake slices, sliced ham, guacamole, salsa, chicken/bacon/mayo sandwich filler and houmous.

Some of these items are more processed than others, such as the cake, crisps, ham and sandwich filler. The other items aren't so much.

Of course, I'll be eating other things this week too such as eggs, chicken, maybe pork, rice/pasta, and the odd square of chocolate, but on the whole I'll be eating 80/90% unprocessed food with 10/20% processed as I always do (except for this past weekend!).

Oh, and peanut butter! Nearly forgot that. I'll probably have a few spoonfuls of that on some rice cakes!



RUNNING

Last week I completed the most miles I have ever done in one week since taking up running at the beginning of the year. 14.57 miles!

This was split over 5 runs, the longest being 5 miles and the other were shorter runs or intervals.

Click on images to enlarge.

And today I completed 5 miles in my fastest time ever! 53 minutes and 31 seconds.

I've said before that I wasn't bothered about time, but it's actually nice to see improvements. I'm still amazed that I am getting out there and doing it. I'm pleased to report my new running shoes are doing a great job of keeping my feet blister free!

Meet my new friend!

Yep, I've gone and got myself a bike! A neighbour was selling it at a good price so I thought I would invest in it, imagining all the miles I could cover whilst taking in the scenery!

I haven't been on a bike since I was about 10 and I got off to a rather wobbly start. A neighbour who was watching the whole event said "You're cycling just like you've just had the stabilizers removed". He was right!

But....after a few minutes I kinda got the hang of it, tentatively testing the brakes, and how to turn corners. Sounds so simple right?!

I only took it on a 5 minute test run, but at least I didn't fall off. I think it's going to take a little while to build up my confidence. And strength - it was much harder work on my legs than I had imagined. However, as with my running, given practice, I'll improve.

I'd like to customise my bike (and name her!) at some point. She is blue/purple at the moment and I think she needs to be red! I'm not sure how to go about this, if it'll be easy or not. I don't want to make a mess of her either, so I'll have to do some research!

So, a rather eventful weekend all in all! :)

Just one weight loss tip today.

Don't give up.

Weekly running round up - 3 runs 10 miles - tempo runs and intervals

Last weeks runs were quite varied.



10 miles in total.



I introduced a tempo running for the first time. More on that in a moment.



Tuesday Run - 2.05 miles.



Quick lunch time run. It was a bit of a weird one in that it felt like a bit more effort. I kept looking at my watch and it seemed I was going a minute mile faster than normal, and I kept trying to slow down, but couldn't! The result is I knocked a minute of my usual mile time on this run.









Thursday 2.35 miles - TEMPO RUN!



I really enjoyed this one!



Tempo runs are where you vary the running pace.



The benefits of tempo running, as with intervals, is that it will improve your running pace.



So I thought I would experiment. I didn't follow any particular formula, though I am sure there are lots of detailed tempo run guides that you can follow if you like something more structured.



I started off with my normal (slow) pace and warmed up. When I felt I was ready I picked up the pace. Not a full speed sprint but a good effort at about 6/10. When I felt I had enough of that, I slowed down to a walk to catch my breath. Then it was run, fast run and walk repeated over 2.35 miles.



What did I enjoy about the tempo run?



I liked the variety of paces. Allowing myself to pick up speed and also slow down when I wanted to. Even though I took walk breaks whilst I recovered from the harder pace, I still covered the distance in my usual time.



I liked picking up my feet higher and the fuller range of moment, even if it was for a short time that energy burst is quite reviving!



It gave me something else to think about. Checking on how I was feeling and breathing, recovering and planning when I was going to pick things up again.



I'll definitely do more tempo runs. Not for every run, but maybe once a week or so.

Sunday 6.6miles - though I didn't clock it all on my watch.

Another great run with my friend Ben.

We agreed to do some intervals this time. Now my last experience with interval running wasn't the best one. I loved it so much I tried to do 3 in a week and ended up with a sore muscle. It was too much too soon.

We did a warm up walk, a slow run down to Cannon Hill Park, a loop around the park and then selected a nice stretch of path to aim for - about 100 metres long or so.

Then it was Ready, Steady, GO! And off we sprinted!

Again, what I love about this type of running is that it is short and intense and there's the full range of movement, really picking my legs and feet up and powering my arms!

We did that about 4 times and then ran a loop around the park again. My legs were telling me that they had a really good work out and I had to slow down and walk (and pop a jelly baby!) at times. When we reached the interval path again, off we went, another 4 times.

Ben is good to run with. Even though he has a lot of running experience and is much faster than me, he keeps to my pace, which I am really grateful for. There is nothing more disheartening than running with someone who shoots off ahead of you and leaves you behind! I've also discovered that I can kind of maintain a conversation whilst running, even if it's short burst of words and not full sentences!

I was so pleased with this run! It was hard in places, and I pushed myself on the sprints. And I well and truly earned my hearty roast dinner later in the day!

Thanks for a great run Ben!

AND I've been totting up the miles this year so far.

63 miles so far! They add up fast. And I've spent about 14 hours on my feet, OUTSIDE! That's more than I did for the whole of last year. And the year before come to that!

Here's my GPS map of the miles so far! Go me!

Hula Hooping! I can't forget the hula hooping! I spent 90 mins in total this week practicing my hula. Unfortunately I had to miss my hula class on Wednesday as I've got quite a lot on at the moment, but did a 30 min session at home instead to make up for it.

I'm feeling and seeing all sorts of benefits since I started exercising this year. I lost 30lbs without any exercise, but have lost another 10lbs this year so far and I've reached the goal I set myself last August of losing 40lbs!

Now this running 'bug' seems to be sticking I'm going to treat myself to some new trainers soon. Trainers have a life span of about 500 miles and although I haven't run that far in my current trainers, they do cause me blisters - I have to tape my feet up before each run, not ideal! And although I'm looking forward to purchasing some new shoes(!), it's with some intrepidation as I have such sensitive blister prone feet, I hope that the new trainers don't just cause blisters somewhere else!

That's me over and out for this weeks running report :)

Weekly running report - some company and new challenges

9.84 miles this week! Just a touch short of 10 miles, but who's is going to quibble about that? Sometimes I still think it's a miracle that I am going out there and hitting the streets at all lol.

Each of my three runs this week were excellent for different reasons.

Tuesday 2.23 miles

This was only a short run, but there was something about it. It felt like the easiest run I've had so far, I didn't even feel the 'toxic ten' minutes that I usually go through at the beginning of a run. I had put new music on my mp3, and this is the first tune that played. T.Rex, Cosmic Dancer. It's a slow track, but I'm a slow runner! I just felt like I was floating along the streets when I listened to this. The sun was shining, there was a nice breeze and I felt like I could have run for miles and miles...











Friday 3 miles

On Friday I had some company! My friend Libby and I arranged to meet at Canon Hill park for a gentle run. Well, all my runs are gentle at the mo! We set a goal of 1.5 miles which is a bit further than Libby has run before, and we met that goal too! It was great to have some company and we chatted along the way. Thanks Libby!







Today 4.5 miles.

I had company on this run too! My friend Ben is a more experienced runner than me and I was a little worried I would slow him down, and I probably did, but he was great to run the 4.5 miles with and ran with me at my pace.

This run also took me on a brand new route....WITH HILLS! I have been pretty much avoiding hills since I started running and when Ben told me we would encounter some I can't say I was looking forward to them. At all.

However, I surprised myself and when we reached the inclines I started seeing them as more of a challenge to beat. I would not be defeated by an incline! And I pretty much did them all. We stopped half way up one hill to view an old painted sign that was fading away on the end of a shop, a piece of advertising history. And then we were forced to stop at the top of a hill to cross a busy road. And I must admit to giving the next hill a wide birth at this point and suggested another route than I knew would have a nice decline, only to be met with a very slight but long incline near the end. Anyway, hill challenge met, so that's a great result. Thanks for a great run Ben!

In addition to running I've done about 2 hours of hula hooping! Now I've got my own hoop there is no stopping me lol.

I had a twitter question this week: Has the diet and exercise made a difference mentally & emotionally as well?

Mentally I'd say I'm even more positive if that's possible! I get a sense of pride from my achievements however big or small, so that acts as a boost.

For the last few years I didn't make time for exercise as I had such a hectic workload. My workload hasn't changed, and I look at my to-do list and gasp and wonder how I will get everything done sometimes, but I am now scheduling exercise time into my diary as I would any appointment or commitment.

I'm starting to feel the benefits of having a mental break from work. That change of scene and being active really does help. When I'm exercising I take on another train of thought and let my mind wander. Sometimes I think about work, but I get a different perspective on it. Sometimes all I can do is concentrate on how I'm running or I tune into my music. Sometimes mastering a new hula hooping move requires all my attention.

There are not only physical benefits to exercise and moving more, there are mental benefits too. I guess you get the best of both worlds! :)

Weekly running round up - 4 runs, 11 miles and a few tears of elation

Today is a biggie. I've just completed a 5 mile run (5.5m including warm up walk)!!!

I like to acknowledge the big and small achievements and I've just got to note this one.

I hadn't done a long run since my 4.5m run two weeks ago. As it seems to go, I get excited about the prospect of a long run, then as the time gets closer, I get a little nervous. It didn't help when I woke up at 5am and started worrying that I hadn't got enough sleep and I wouldn't have enough energy to run.

After initial panic, I did get back to sleep...until 10am. Then I was worrying I wouldn't be able to fit everything AND a run into the day!

I made sure I ate enough in the morning to get me through the run in the afternoon. I didn't want to not complete the 5 miles just because I hadn't fueled up enough!

The time went fairly quickly - I'm learning not to keep checking my watch for time/miles! A new challenge was the wind. It was pretty strong today and at times I really had to push against it. I ran mainly on the paths that were more sheltered from the wind this time.

When I first checked my watch I had completed 2.3miles. Almost half way there! When I checked again it was 3.7miles - only 1.3 miles to go, less than 15 minutes. And when I got to 4.7miles I knew I was going to do this for sure! That's when I started getting really excited - I'm actually going to complete 5 miles.

I did keep an eye on my watch at this point....4.7 miles, 4.8 miles, 4.9 miles......5 MILES! And I promptly burst into tears. I wasn't expecting that to happen! Where did that come from?! I just felt a big surge of pride at my achievement. I wish there was someone there I could have shared that moment with. I was elated! From being pretty much sedentary for the last few years to being able to run 5 miles....that's no small achievement. They say self praise is no praise...I don't always think that's true - you've gotta give yourself a pat on the back from time to time!

Of course as soon as I got home I had to send a tweet out. Twitter, well, my twitter friends to be precise, play a big part in my life and to have friends there to celebrate with really means a lot. Thank you so guys and girls! xx

So here's today's map and stats. I didn't record the .5 mile warm up walk as it took that long for my gps watch to pick up a signal -boooo.









I had a couple of great questions from my twitter friends which made me think about today's run and running in general.

Fiona asked, Was it more of a mental struggle or physical?



Hmmm.... Physically it was of a battle against the wind. That was a new experience and presented a different type of challenge of pushing through it and not letting it blow me around! There's always the Toxic Ten minutes at the start of any run so I know I just have to run through that and I'll start to feel better. At 3 miles I felt the beginning of a blister, but although I was aware of that, it wasn't enough to slow me down (only a tiny blister upon post run examination).

Mentally, I always have a positive talk with myself as I go around. Lots of "you can do this! you've done 1 mile before, just do that 5 times! You have eaten enough - you have go enough energy for this. It's not a hill, it's a slight incline!" That type of thing. I also let my mind and imagination wander....I tune into my music and think about the week ahead, plans to make, blogging to do, work, friends, and the big dinner I'm going to have when I get home! lol


Libby asked, So what was the turning point that made you get - and keep - the motivation to crack it this time? What is your secret?

I had to think about this for a few minutes. Great question!

What made me get going? I'd made a new years goal of doing more physically. Due to working for myself the last few years I've pretty much been in front of the computer screen. I've been aware that this isn't healthy but always made the excuse that I didn't have enough time - work comes first. Which I know sounds absurd - health comes first of course! I didn't have my priorities right. And if I don't look after my health a bit better, then I will make myself ill and definitely won't be able to do my work and follow my passions and achieve my dreams.

What's keeping me going? A few things. For a start I know I'll feel worse if I start skipping on exercise and making excuses. I'll be on a slippy slope back to square one again.

Then there's the personal challenge and the achievements, and I really believe you have to acknowledge even the smallest of achievements - even if that's just putting your trainers on and seeing what happens when you get past the front door.

As this is my personal challenge. I only have to answer to myself. Though I must admit that making myself accountable in public on this blog does help! But I set my own goals and I'm not doing this for anyone other than me. I haven't entered any races as I simply don't want to, certainly at the moment.

I'm enjoying see what my body and mind can do! It's easy to underestimate what we can achieve. I think this is a mental challenge as much as a physical one. I go through a range of mental 'states' with running. When I think about the runs I have planned for the week, I get excited. As the time comes closer to getting ready to go out, I have to push myself at times. When I am out there, I'm already doing it. And when I get home, I never regret making the effort.

Tracking my progress is a great motivator too. When you can see achievements, however small they may seem, they all add up. Whether someone has never run before and completes 30 seconds of running non stop to someone who can run for miles and miles, every step counts.

I'm not sure I have a 'secret', but a combination of the above keeps me going. And if I ever have any doubts I'll make sure I come back to this page and remind myself!

Thank you for the questions!

Here are the maps and stats for this week. 11 miles in total.

Hula Hooping news!

I've ordered my OWN hula hoop! Julia, the teacher, is going to customise it for me in my favourite colours, red/silver/black. I can't wait to get my hands on it and have the option of practising at home when the hula mood strikes!

My friend Fiona pointed me to these amazing (and different!) hula videos. I think you'll enjoy them!

Fat Boy Slim - That old pair of jeans

Hula Hoop song - it's a bit mental!

And now it's time to chill out for the rest of the night! :)