On giving a little back

Running is a bit of a self-absorbed sport, really. It's ultimately a solo venture and most thoughts revolve around me, myself and I: What will I wear? How will I get there? What time will I do? I'm no exception - I tend to focus on my race and have rarely stopped to appreciate all the people other than runners who are needed to make a race happen. 

Now, having completed some fairly big events, I've come to realise that so many people contribute to the race being a success and to my enjoyment of the run: the marshals on the course who give you that much needed support; the bag drop and pick-up people who, in my experience, have always been super efficient; and you have to give it to the people who sit there cutting people's timing chips off what can only be pretty sweaty and smelly shoes!

Brainstorming at LiRF

That's why I decided that if I'm to take part in an event a month, which seems to be my average at the moment, then maybe I too should give something back to the running community. 

So I took the first step and signed up to take a Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) course, which would enable me to become a run leader for the brilliant charity A Mile in her Shoes. 




The charity encourages women who are at risk of homelessness or affected by related issues to try running as a way of exercising, socialising, lifting confidence and boosting self-esteem. To be able to organise new sessions, however, the charity needs qualified group run leaders, which is where the LiRF course and volunteers - like me - come in.

LiRF is taught by Run England, and takes place over one day where you learn everything, from how to lead the session from warm up to cool down, to how to overcome barriers that people may have with running. It was quite an intense day with lots to take on board and practical sessions to learn the most appropriate way to lead an engaging and useful run session with appropriate care and safety. 

Leah (top) and Charlie (bottom) leading the mini sessions

But it was a really good laugh as well, helped by the fact that two of my run buddies, Charlie and Leah, were also there, as was Charlotte from fab fitness site lunges&lycra. 

We had a fun afternoon in the park with our respective groups, leading mini sessions to demonstrate the skills we had learned throughout the morning. I definitely learned a lot and am looking forward to taking my first group out later this year.


To enable the ladies who attend the sessions to go out and run at these sessions, A Mile in Her Shoes also provide appropriate clothing and footwear, most of which come from donations of kit from the public. If you have unused or worn but in good working order running clothing or shoes then the team would love to hear from you so please get in touch and share what you can.

Give a little back - it'll make you bloody ecstatic!

To keep my 'give a little love' halo shining a little longer, I also decided to volunteer for the first time at my local parkrun in Brockwell Park - a free, weekly, timed 5k run. Unfortunately for me, it was the wettest Saturday morning that London had seen in quite some time and I cycled along to the park in my waterproofs in the driving rain fully expecting nobody to be out to run. How wrong I was! 

Dedicated parkrun runners
in the rain

I was assigned the prestigious role of 'barcode scanner', and loved playing a small part to ensure that the run could go ahead smoothly. 

The runners were so friendly and appreciative of the volunteers, with some specifically coming back over once changed and dry to say thanks again. I enjoyed volunteering so much that I've signed up to do it all again next week! Hopefully the weather gods will be kinder to me this time..



As big races are often on a Sunday I don't tend to run on a Saturday, so volunteering at parkrun it's a good way to rest your legs but still be part of the running community. Why not have a look on the parkrun website and see if your local group needs some help? It's a great opportunity to give a little back and share the running love :)

Katy | City Girl Fit

10k training with the BHF and some athletic superstars

Now that marathon is over (did I mention that I ran a marathon??), I can get back to doing some of the other fun stuff I love to do like swimming, spinning and running shorter distances that 26.2 miles. 

While I love half marathons and they are probably my 'goldilocks' race - just right - I do love a swift 10K. As a beginner runner 10K is a great distance to set your sights on, which is exactly what I did back in the day and worked my way down from about 60 mins to a recent PB of 50.39. Now I've had more experience of longer distances, I realised that 10Ks are a fun distance and great to really sink your teeth in to when it comes to working towards a new PB. 

Post last year's Mo Run 10K - good times!

I've made a decision that, although I will most likely run another marathon in future, I'm not going to chase a marathon PB beyond the 4h23 I ran at London. Not because I don't think that with dedication and commitment I couldn't - I'm sure if I dedicated my life (possibly quite literally!) to it I could - but because I don't want to. I just don't have the time on my hands or the drive to do what is needed to achieve a close-to- or sub-4h marathon. With 10K, however, I have a goal that is clear, definite and - most importantly for me - realistic: sub 50.

Fortunately I have friends who share in this goal AND who are lucky winners of competitions. Enter Josie, who was jammy enough to win a 'you plus one' 10K training session, organised by the British Heart Foundation, with Laura Fountain (of Lazy Girl Running fame) and World Championship heptathlete Louise Hazel. Possibly the best 'plus one' invite I'll ever have!

Smile for the camera!
(My technique is horrible - but let's ignore that for now...)

We rocked up to Regents Park on a sunny April evening and met with the other 4 people who made up the training guinea pigs. We started with a dynamic warm up of jogging, high knees, side-stepping, then a 10 minute warm-up run over to the track that's hidden away at the back of the park. 

Don't get too excited now: it's gravelly, like what you'd have played hockey on at school if you're from my generation - a 'don't fall in it or you'll be picking red grit out your knees for weeks' kind of terrain. But it's oval shaped and almost 400m round. Who needs an exact 400m anyway? If you're sprinting round that then high five to you, even if it is only 379 metres long. PBs for the '800m' all round! I digress.

Laura led us in some sprint sessions, which she suggested we incorporate once a week into our own training plans to help speed us up and hit those 10K goals. Our session was:

4 x 400m at a little below target 10K pace (for me this was around 4.8min/km or 8min/mile) with 90 sec rest between sets
2 x 60m sprint @ 90-100% effort, 150m jog, 60m sprint @ 90-100% effort, 150m jog. No rests between.

It seemed like we were all playing a game of 'stalk Louise Hazel' at times - she was so fast and it looked so effortless! 

The most conspicuous stalkers ever

This was the result:

Trying not to spew. At least Louise Hazel looks a bit puffed too!

As if all that wasn't enough to knacker us out, we then moved back in to the park where Louise took us through our paces with a fast, full-body workout.

Moving from planks, to mountain climbers, to back raises, to side plank, to crunches - there were 15 moves in total and each was completed one after the other, again no rests, for 30 seconds each. Oooft! We all survived though, and my abs reminded me of my effort for at least 3 days after.

Josie and me - being put through our paces by Louise

It was a tough but great session, and reminded me that effective running doesn't always have to be about pounding the pavements for hours. If I want to hit that sub-50 goal then my abs, glutes and arms are going to have to get used to a bit of hard work and pain with some full body workouts. It's a little different to the endless miles of road running I've been used to over the past 6 months, but it's time to shake things up and get this body back in '10k fit' mode. 

Thanks to the BHF for putting on the event, to Louise and Laura for their excellent advice, and to Josie for letting me be her plus one. The BHF have tons of running events going on around the country, so why not get some speed and strength work on the go along with some running sessions and get involved - find out more here. 

All images courtesy of Jordan Curtis Hughes.

Katy | City Girl Fit

To run or to give up: fighting through sadness for happy running

So, it's been a while. Sorry about that - a few things have happened and I just didn't feel like writing. Or running for that matter. Sadness does that to you, I think; either you just don't want to function any more or you're someone who goes in to overdrive to cope. I'm the former, evidently.

Training had been going relatively well. I had 17 miles on my plan the weekend of valentine's day, and I'd planned to do 6 miles alone, pick up my friends Georgia to run 9 miles together, then run the final 2 miles home. It was a good run - all smiles at 12 miles form me, 6 miles for Georgia.


When I dropped Georgia off my phone rang - it was my mum. With a heavy heart she had to tell me that my Grandpa had passed away suddenly. I was stunned, devastated, and on the verge of a meltdown 2 miles from home. I needed to be home. I hung up and just ran.

For the best part of the next two weeks I didn't run again - I just couldn't find it in my to lace up the trainers and go. I was worried that I wouldn't want to run again, but slowly I started to come round and set myself a new purpose to run: for Gramps.

Image courtesy of Charlie Brown

Thankfully, I have a bunch of super-amazing running girls who can be relied on to be ready to run together and provide much needed moral support. Leah and Melissa had 18 miles on their plan and decided to do it on a Thursday night after work. A bit nuts, but the lure of company versus a lonesome weekend run was too much and off we went. 18 mid-week miles, starting running around 7pm and finishing about 10.20pm - I have to admit, we (at least I!) felt a bit like heroes when we were done. A major confidence boost.

Twickenham delicacy.
And a hot dog.

I was signed up for Surrey Half Marathon the following weekend but the boy was a bit jammy and won us a pair of tickets for England vs Wales at Twickenham. Getting my legs out versus watching a bunch of fit men getting their legs out - no contest really! So I headed out for a pre-rugby 8 sub-4h marathon miles on Sunday morning instead. Felt good :)

The following week was the last big push before the marathon - 20 miles. Along with Becs, Hilary and Alexa, I'd signed up for the Surrey Spitfire 20 miler. I figured that I was much more likely to actually do 20 miles if there was a medal at the end, and it would give me good experience of actually racing that distance versus training for the distance. If I could just get through this race, I was pretty confident I could run the marathon.

Well, I got through it! Not only that, but I felt pretty strong despite the heat and the hills (oh, the hills!) and even managed a sprint/dance-down-the-finishing-straight finish. Target: 3h20. Result: 3h09. Sweeeeet!! Surrey Spitfire was a great race, helped immensley I'm sure by the sunshine, beautiful countryside, singing birds and support of fellow running friends. I was elated and, even better, full of confidence for the marathon in 4 weeks time. Just another 10k on top of that and I'm home.

Don't get me wrong - while I felt strong and was elated to be finished those 20 miles hurt. It hurt when I had to run up those hills, it hurt at 18 miles when I thought my legs were going to fall off, it hurt when I sat down and tried to stand up again, it hurt when I got out of the car after driving home, and it hurt for 2 days after. A marathon will not be easy, but I feel confident that I can stand the pain and get myself round those 26.2 miles. Will I put myself through it again? Well, that's another question all together...

Surrey Spitfire complete with RAF jet. As you do...
And no, we did not plan the co-ordinated outfits, honest!

As I've written about before, I'm running in memory of my friend Sarg. Now - and I hope Sarg doesn't mind sharing - I'd like to add another on to that and run for Gramps too. 26.2 miles: for Sarg and for Gramps. If you'd like to donate to support two charities in memory of these awesome gents then you can do here:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=KatyMalpass

Thanks for your support. Next stop - marathon! Well, actually next stop is Vegas for a vacation, but let's not talk about how that might throw a massive spanner in the marathon success plan...

Katy | City Girl Fit

Training update: head vs heart

I didn't feel like running this week. Despite my heart still being fully committed to marathon training my head told my body that this week was rest-and-be-thankful week.

I'd already cut down the number I runs I planned from 4 to 3 per week - scheduling a short speed session, a medium pace session and a weekend long run - but through the week I just didn't feel it. So I did yoga instead! Ahhh yoga - you make it all ok. 

That said, I had 15 miles on my schedule for the long run and, having ditched my long run last week in favour of a self-planned mini duathlon, I knew I couldn't bail again this week. 15 miles is uncharted territory for me, my longest run being 13.1 at Run to the Beat last September. I was nervous to say the least.

Fortunately, I had planned a trip to visit my good friend Sheila in Manchester for this weekend. Sheila has completed both London and Edinburgh marathons in sub 4 hours - this was the girl to get me through 15 miles!

Runners of Manchester:
I salute you!

A quick check of the weather forecast on Saturday morning suggested that we get out about 9.30 in order to avoid the rain wind and hail that was - as I found out later - presently battering London and the TNR girls on their 15 mile journey and was now Manchester bound. So we quickly got up, dressed and out the door.

The wind. Oh my the wind!! Bitterly cold and at some points strong enough to lean in to and say upright! My mantra in difficult conditions (wind, hail, stitches, skinned knees & hangovers - ideally not all at once) is that I might well experience these things on marathon day (well, hopefully not the hangover...) so I need to man up & plough through regardless. So that's just what we did! And can I just say - the runners of Manchester were super friendly, smiley and lovely. It made the run all the more enjoyable :)

My knees began to groan about mile 11 and by mile 13 my hips were tight and achey, but we made it. 15 miles: DONE! Reward was some retail therapy in Manchester with three bottles of Pinot Grigio & gluten-free pizza for dinner at Dough - delicious!

I'm super chuffed to have run my furthest distance to date, and not to have suffered from aches and pains too badly despite my lack of during-week training. I hope to get in some run sessions this week but have two spin sessions booked so we'll see! Regardless, I have 17 miles on my plan that I will have to see through next weekend. 

Looks like the territory is uncharted from here on out. Hoist the sail m'hartys - all aboard! We're off on an adventure...

Katy | City Girl Fit

Training update: giving longs run a rest

As I mentioned in my post earlier this week, as part of marathon training I've just been running and running and - yep, you guessed it - running. This week, I decided that my long run would be left in the bank so that I could do something other than running with my weekend. 

Run commute success!

But I'm not about to turn my back on the mileage, oh no! After a short but speedy 3 mile session on Tuesday evening, I set the alarm bright and early on Thursday to do my first run commute: a 1.7 mile leg to the train station, 10 mins on the train, then 7.5 miles from the station to work = 9.3 miles total. 

Despite some 'puddles' to navigate and an incident with a mini swamp in which my shoe was lucky to make it out alive, I made it there in one piece! It was lovely to watch the colour of the sky change as the sun came up, and enjoy the peace and quiet of woodland paths versus the hustle and bustle of the train. I'll be doing that one again!

After a prosecco-filled Friday night I knew that a saturday run would be off the cards, so instead the boy and I decided to head out on a London adventure. I bought him a book called 'London's Hidden Walks' last year, and we had yet to go on one - what better excuse than a hangover and need to blow the cobwebs away?

Thames path out east - a quiet spot!

At new year we put together a bucket list of things we wanted to do in London, and on there was the Emirates Air Line cable car. So we picked the east Rotherhithe walk, with the plan to extend this along to the o2. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and a solid 7 miles of walking along a part of the Thames path that I'd never seen before - MUCH quieter than along by London Bridge/Waterloo. As in not a soul to be seen for miles!

At the end of our walk we boarded the cable car. I don't quite know how I managed to forget this, but I'm really scared of heights! When we hit the peak of the cable car ride it was very windy - needless to say I was not a happy bunny. I managed to get over this long enough to take a picture. Sorry it's a bit blurry. That's what shaking uncontrollably does to you....

Given that my Saturday was dedicated to walking off my hangover, Sunday should have been my long run day. However, I'd already booked on to one of the free classes offered up by BOOM cycle at their new site in Holborn. I decided instead to run there, do the 1h15 class, see how I feel and maybe run back. This surely is as good as doing a long run, right?!

I set off from home at 9.30am up towards Vauxhall, along the river, up to holborn - 5.6 miles in the glorious sunshine. It's when I run around these areas of London that I feel like a tourist again. It's easy to forget what is right there on our doorstep. There's no denying - London is a beautiful city.

Descending the stairs on Proctor street in to BOOM, it's clear that they've kept the same minimalist-cool vibes from the other site at Shoreditch. Friendly receptionists welcomed me in and I plonked my running backpack in the free to use lockers (it's the little things that count - free lockers make my day!).

I'd signed up for a 75 minute class with Mark Clarke - one of my favourite instructors at BOOM. He has such a calm nature and really gives you a good insight and instruction as to how hard you should be working at each point. Very useful to stop you going out to hard and dying half way through!! My runner friend Kiera had also signed up for this class - always nice to see a friendly face and catch up on training schedules :)


It was a tough class, some heavy, loooong hills and speed work with heavy resistance. But - as I always feel after spin at BOOM - it was awesome! Shared a 'how sweaty am I?' glance with Keira at the end. Answer: VERY! Ignoring the pleas from my legs, I thought a short trot down to Stockwell station would be just the ticket. A quick call to the boy and found out he was making us some soup for lunch - perfect! Should be ready when I get home... 

2.5 miles in to my run home I realise that weird sensation I'd been feeling was not the beginnings of a stroke but my phone frantically buzzing in my backpack. 5 missed calls from the boy. Uhoh. 1 picture message from the boy. If you're squeamish, look away now:

Soup-making is clearly a dangerous sport! I had to cut my run short and hop on the tube via tescos to pick up TCP and bandages. Nevertheless, as I realised on my tube ride home, I'd completed a mini duathlon today. Not too shabby!

Back to long running next weekend, but was pleased of the break this week. How has your training been this week? Are the long runs getting to you too??

Katy | City Girl Fit

Training update: when the going gets tough...

The week in stats

no. of runs: 4
no. of yoga classes: 1
no. of spin classes taken after running a half marathon: 1 (just about!)

11 weeks to go until 'the big one' and it's been a tumultuous week. A busy one at work, including a few nights away with the inevitable 'client socialising' time - cue too much wine and rich, indulgent food - plus early mornings and late nights. 

Fitting in my training hasn't been easy, and I've been left a bit drained come Sunday evening. Yup, marathon training is really hitting home. It's not easy, but then nothing that's worth doing ever is, right?

My first run was a 1.5 mile speed session en route to meet the boy at the train station - figured I might as well make the most of any spare time I have and, rather than walk over to the station, did a 5min warm up, 5x200m sprints at full pace plus 1.5 min recovery in between. Short and sweet, but productive!

A dark, dark morning in Weybridge

Run number two was an early morning effort while away with our clients. A 6am start and my plan was to head down to the Thames path in Weybridge, but upon arriving there I realised just how dark it is out of the city! 

No Thames path for me, and as the pavements in Weybridge just end abruptly with nowhere else to go, my planned 4-5 miles was cut short to 3 miles. Ah well! 

Thursday night brought an Urban Yoga retreat with the crew from AdventureYogi. I'm keen to head on a weekend yoga retreat in the UK and my research brought me across the Adventure Yogi retreats. They run city-based evening mini-retreats to give you a taste of what their longer retreats involve, and I'd recruited my twitter friends Steph and Felicity to come along too.

Vegan feast

We had a lovely flow yoga class with Sally from Stretching in the City - exactly what I needed after two long days of work! - followed by some lovely vegan food by Tatu. I have to admit, I've always shied away from vegan as I'm a carnivorous being , but our 3-course feast was lovely - lots of food for thought!

A gloomy Tower Hill

Thoroughly stretched and refuelled, I took Friday as a rest day in preparation for my third run, the long run, on Saturday morning with the Team Naturally Run girls, headed up by Leah. Long runs means an early start, and Saturday was no exception. I was up at 6.45 to get my porridge in my belly before heading out to meet the girls at Tower Hill.


Together, Leah, Lissy, Charlie W, Charlie B, Lucy and I set off heading west along the Thames. We met  Sian at Embankment who joined us for a few miles, while the rest of us continued on towards our ultimate destination: our brunch spot at Outsider Tart in Chiswick.

Team Naturally Run!

After 13.1 miles I've never been happier to walk in to a brunch spot! Treated myself to a cranberry and ginger beer juice, earl grey and chilli chicken scramble. Amazing!

Not content with running half a marathon, Charlie and I joined Zoe in attending the NTC week spinning class at Equinox gym in Kensington - more about that later in the week. Needless to say, our legs were pretty tired, and I was happy to get home, have a shower and a well-deserved nap!!

Post-run brunch!

Run number 4: the reluctant run. I've been expert at recruiting friends in to various events that I'm taking part in, and the up-coming Surrey Half marathon is no exception. The boy has signed up (well, I signed him up...) as have two of my friends and colleagues Anto and Georgia. None of them has run this distance before, so when they organised a 6 miler on Sunday I felt obliged to take part as well! 

Despite tired legs, I managed to keep up with them and get round in the horrible weather. That'll teach me for dragging others in to my running craziness!! 

Hope you've had a good week of training. With the distances starting to mount it's tough to fit everything in, and the doubts inevitably start to creep in: will I really manage 26.2 miles??! We've still got time - we can do this!

Thanks to Stephanie and Charlie for some of the pictures used here - I'm still rubbish at taking pics while running/yogi-ing. Must take some lessons from these two blogger-superstar ladies!

Katy | City Girl Fit

Training update - 12 weeks to go!

The week in stats:

No. runs: 4

No. double-run days: 1

No. of face-plants on the pavement: 1

Week 2 of Jantastic and I hit my goal of 4 runs/week again. A total of 26 miles run - almost a marathon in a week :)

My Tuesday morning run was relocated from Clapham to Cardiff courtesy of a work trip. I'd phoned ahead to the hotel to check they had a gym and when it opened in the morning - yes, I am THAT person now. When did that happen? Probably about week 2 of marathon training...

I've not run on a treadmill for ages as for me it just doesn't compare to hitting the road with the wind in your hair. I'm not even a fair weather runner anymore - I love running outdoors so much that not even torrential ran, snow, wind or hail will put me off! I only had a 3 miler on the schedule, so 30 mins on the dreadmill I could just about cope with.

Err... Where is everyone??

I got down for the gym opening at 6.30, figuring it might be busy (it's one of those hotel gyms that's open for public memberships). Well, I've never seen an emptier gym in January! 

I started out on an incline of 1.5 and at a slowish pace (6.30min/mile), increasing the pace every 4mins or so until I was flat out sprinting for the final 2.5mins. And, surprisingly, it was pretty fun! Mixing up the pace and keeping it a short session seems to be the key to enjoyable treadmill running - lesson learned!

Run 2 this week was - wait for it - on the same day! Now, I know some runners are a big fan of double-run day, but this was my first. It wasn't really of my choosing: the boy guilted me in to joining him for 3.5 miles with his puppy dog eyes and complaints of abandonment from the night before! 2 runs down, and it was only Tuesday. I was on a roll... 

Until Wednesday. When tired, tired legs got the better of me and so I decided to give track a miss. I've been known to take on too much and push my body too far only to crash and burn. So, listening to my body, I decided a Wednesday rest day was in order as my legs let out a collective sigh of relief.

Pretty Battersea Bridge

The gods of weather and running seemed intent on punishing me for missing track as the rain was battering down on Thursday evening and the wind was howling. Somehow I managed to find a window of 60 minutes where the rain eased off to fit in my run: a tempo 6 miles. 

The joys of running in bad weather is the quietness of the roads and paths. Battersea bridge stood defiant in the stormy conditions - the view always makes an evening run through Battersea park worthwhile.

My fourth and final run was supposed to be on Saturday but - as I'm sure seasoned runners will know - you have to be ready to change your plans and be flexible with your training: you never know what's around the corner... So, owing to various reasons, Sunday run day it was, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise given that the sun was high in the sky, a slight chill in the air: perfect running conditions. 

There is no reason, therefore, why this should be the day that I manage to trip over myself and face-plant in the streets of Battersea at 5 miles! Fortunately I got my hands out quick and escaped with a skint knee and red face. I had the boy with me for the first 5.5 miles and, theoretically, it should be better to have someone there to comfort you when you fall. Theroetically...

As I lay flat out on the pavement I looked up to find the boy standing with a confused look on his face. "What was that?" he asked. No 'are you ok?'. No 'oh my god, let me carry you home my dearest princess!'. "What was that? What was THAT? That was me making an arse of myself. Help me up?" I replied. What's the saying? It's not the falling that counts, it's the getting back up. So, I got up and carried on. 13.1 miles in total at ideal marathon pace with a war wound of honour to show for it. That'll do pig. That'll do.

So that was that. 12 weeks until London marathon: eeeek!! Weekend long runs are going to be hitting the 2h30 mark soon. Scary biscuits!! 

How has your week in training been? Are you a fan of the double run day?? Or how else are you fitting in the runs that you need to reach your running goals?

Katy | City Girl Fit

Marathon Training: January week 1

January 6th-12th 2014 marathon training stats:-

No. of runs: 4 (23.2 miles total)
No. of new things tried: 3 (Park Run, Kalenji top, Natural Hero Hot Muscle Rub)
No of times told to go to bed because I'm a grumpy little sh*t: 1 

First week of January means first full week back at work after 2 weeks of long lies and too many pies! It also meant return to full time, less-of-the-excuses marathon training. It was always going to be a toughie! Sure enough, the days seemed long and the legs felt tired, but fortunately I not only have the impending marathon to train for, I'd also signed up to Jantastic as part of Adidas Team Boost with a goal of 4 runs per week. 

The competitive nature in meant I wasn't going to go down without a fight, and stubborn-ness got me through my four runs of the week - three TomTom-tracked runs plus a track session on Wednesday night.

Monday: rest (managing to get through first day back at work was achievement enough!)
Tuesday: 3 miles early morning run 
Wednesday: Back to track - Yasso 800's (6 x 800m at 8min/mile pace with 2min rest)
Thursday: slow 6 miles with the returning-from-injury bf
Friday: rest
Saturday: 11.4 miles total...

Saturday was a a good day for running. My running friend Steph has been keen to rope us all in to try a Park Run (they should give this girl a medal for her marketing and recruitment), so I finally agreed to head to Fulham Palace for my first ever one. I had 11 miles in the schedule, so decided to run the 4 miles from Clapham to the race, complete the 3 mile race and then run 4 miles home = 11 miles. perfect!

Saturday brought a glorious chilly, sunny winter morning, with a beautiful sunrise as I headed out along the Thames towards Putney. Arriving at Putney Bridge I met up with Steph, Lissy and Charlie and we headed over to the park at Fulham Palace.

I had always been slightly nervous about Park Run, convinced it would be full of super-speedy folk, but as we arrived it was clear that the park Run crowd is a mixed bag: all sizes, shapes and ages; from some men and women that would be pushing my grandparents age to those not yet able to walk, in buggies! After a brief run-down of the rules and course form the friendly course director we moved to the start line and, with little fanfare, we were off!! 

Having already run 4 miles and with the marathon firmly in my sights I wasn't looking for a PB, just a reasonable pace to add to my long run. Happily, Charlie and Lissy were also happy to adopt this approach and we trotted round together, coming in at 27.45. 

It was only half way round that I realised I had never run a timed 5K race - this can only mean a new PB! And something to target on my next Park Run - yes, I will be back. Plans are already afoot to try out some other Park Run sites around London and, if Fulham Palace is anything to go by, I can't wait for the next one.

To top off a lovely morning of running, we popped in to the cafe at Fulham Palace for some much needed warmth and hot drinks. Showing no end to her talents, Steph had baked us some post-run reward Banana Cake - just the ticket to fuel me for the 4 mile run home!

I also tried out some new run goodies this week. First, the new Kalenji run hoodie that I bought when back home for Christmas from the sport superstore Decathlon. It was perfect for running in the cold mornings we've been having. And it has the thumb hole thingy that I love for that not-quite-cold-enough-for-gloves weather, if you know what I mean?!

Need a hero? A hot one? Here you go!

I also FINALLY got round to purchasing some Natural Hero Hot Ginger Muscle Rub, which I'd been eyeing up for ages after seeing so many great reviews on twitter. 

I massaged some of the cream in to my sore hamstrings after this week's track session, thinking 'it smells lovely but it's not that hot...' About 20 mins later my hamstrings were basking in a lovely warming sensation - it felt brilliant! You can have a look at Natural Hero's products here. The products are also 98% natural products, which is pretty good for something that works so well!


All in, I'm pretty pleased I made it through this week given that I was coming back from post-Christmas holiday excess. I'm not sure the boy as too impressed though, as I was sent to bed at 10pm on Friday night for being too grumpy - a combination of tired legs, a sore head and a busy work week. I reckon he did me a favour though as I really enjoyed Saturday's run AND managed to keep going through to cocktails in the evening with a smile on my face, grump free. RESULT! Thing are definitely on the up. Bring on next week...

How was your training this week? Are you a Park Run regular? I would love to try out other Park Run sites throughout the year, so I'd love to hear where you run and why it's a great course.

Katy | City Girl Fit

The TomTom Runner watch: is it happily ever after?

Once upon a time there was a Freckly lady who spent many a day tormenting her loving boyfriend... 

Freckly lady: "I’d really love a GPS watch for marathon training..." 
Bf: "Yeah, that'd be cool, you should get one." 

Freckly lady: "it’d be so great if I didn’t have to carry my phone out with me to track my distance and pace when I’m running..." 
Bf: "yeah, probably would. you should get one." 

Increasingly exasperated Freckly lady: "I really want THIS watch" *dances around in front of bf with to TomTom Runner watch on laptop screen* 
Bf: *sigh* 

After much hinting and leaving of leaflets in strategic places around their flat, the lovely bf had the wonderful, independent *cough* idea to surprise freckly lady with the fantastic and generous present of a TomTom Runner watch. What a hero! *swoon* 

TomTom Runner watch arrived in shiny boxed glory: 

On Freckly lady's hand: 

Left: time (6am - ooft!). Right: summary screen on pause

Freckly lady found this beautiful watch very easy to work. First of all she downloaded the TomTom connect software to her computer, then plugged in TomTom and off they went! (The TomTom software can be connected directly to a MapMyRun account if you have one too, which is ideal.) All actions are controlled from the 4-way control pad, to start a run you just go right, right, wait for GPS signal, right and - complete with a mini fanfare - GO! 

Unlike some fairytale heroines (whatev's, Cinderella), Freckly lady DID go to the ball - well, the Write This Run conference at the Running Show, so just as good :) She headed by the TomTom stand to show TomTom Runner watch off and demand extra chocolates given her dedication to their brand!

The TomTom man on the stand explained the ‘laps’ function: you can programme the watch to buzz and tell you when a certain distance or time has passed, and it gives you a breakdown of you average pace over that time or distance. Freckly lady put this function in to action at The Running Show 10k, where she liked the buzz from TomTom reminding her that she was another km down, and let her quickly check her average speed quickly. Back home with TomTom runner watch plugged in to the computer, the data on time, speed, splits and elevation were all updated automatically to TomTom connect and MapMyRun. 

On top of all that new watch giddyness, Freckly lady earned a 10K PB! As you can see, Freckly lady was very happy about this... 

Freckly lady gives the thumbs up. Random guy she sprinted with looks less happy...
Image, in it's glorious moment-capturing genius, courtesy of +Jen Slater 

Is the conclusion to our fairy tale that the TomTom runner watch has super make-you-go-fast powers??! Possibly not, but it did give Freckly lady the info she needed on how far she'd gone and reminded her of my pace every km without having to ask it. TomTom Runner watch likely also has many other secret powers that Freckly lady is yet to discover. The full magical working of TomTom can be examined here. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship... 

 *Freckly lady skips off into the sunset with TomTom Runner watch* 

The End.

What's in a warm up?

OK, hands up if your idea of a pre-run warm up is a cuppa then a half-hearted hop around on the toes, with a side-to-side bouncy motion (y'know, that movement you do in the pens before a race, which does not warm you up at all)? 

*hand flies up*

See, the thing is, when I'm up at the crack of dawn to fit in my morning miles the last thing on my mind - or I have time for - is 'warming up'. Running IS a warm up, isn't it??

Strangely, while I'm happy to skip the warm up (as in give it a miss, not skip for my warm up...) I LOVE a bit of post-run stretching and quite enjoy Kara Goucher's pro-runner stretches on the Nike Training Club App. It has some nice yoga-esque stretches, takes about 15 minutes to complete, and you feel lovely, long and lean at the end. If only life could be one long cool down...

Alas, this post is about warm ups! 

At the track session I went to there was a good 15 minutes spent on warm up - 2 x jog round the track plus dynamic stretching - but I'm usually pushed for time so the warm up tends to get bumped down the priority list, and maybe it's just me, but I kind of feel a bit silly doing walking lunges along the main road in Clapham... 

Lately, however, as a number of my runner friends have been rendered sofa-bound due to injuries - get better soon guys! - I've started to think more about injury prevention. Thanks to recommendations from NY marathon runner extraordinaire Charlie, I've started listening to podcasts on my walk to work. One such podcast from Runners Connect seemed to fit the bill for my recent worries: Intelligent and Injury-Free Training. You can download it here.

In this interview, Jeff Gaudette outlines how important warm ups are. He says you should NEVER miss out on the warm up, even if it means you have to run a shorter distance if you're pushed for time. If time is an issue, he suggests the 'lunge matrix' - a 5-mine warm up featuring 5 types of lunge that can, if you're shy like me (haha!), be done in the comfort of your own home before stepping out the door. Here it is, from the wonderfully American Coach Jay Johnson:

Instead of making my excuses, I'm going to try to do at least this before I head out on a run - I'll just need to set the alarm 5 minutes earlier!! 

How do you warm up and cool down? Is the lunging enough? Could someone invent an awesome warm-up dance to a fabulous 80s track that I will never want to not do, please? That'd be lovely, thanks :)

Katy | City Girl Fit