300km for Dementia UK

Finishing the Great North 10K in Gateshead Stadium This is a belated entry for a number of reasons. Firstly, with my deployment on the horizon I feel like I didn’t have any time to sit down and write the blog. I was either away on courses, spending time with the family or running! And I was exhausted! Which leads me to the second reason, that I needed a break from this challenge. Whilst I was enjoying running races on both days of the weekend, I was so tired and by the time I got to the Falklands I needed a rest. So a rest is what I had. What I intended to be for about 4 days turned very quickly into 4 weeks. I did no physical exercise and ate what I wanted which seemed fun to begin with until I realised again that I love running and wanted to get back out there. I am back training now; running, swimming and cycling 5-6 times a week and am loving it. But more on that later. It is now time to catch up on the events I crammed in before I deployed. After enjoying a weeks holida

A week of running, sunshine and smiles! This week was a busy week with three races; 2 x 5k and a 10k in Gosport and Bedford respectively.  I started the week doing the Gosport Summer Series 5k Race 2 on Tuesday evening after a day of Police training. This was an exciting race for me as I had looked at the the results of Race 1 the previous month and knew that if I ran as fast as I thought I could, and the other competitiors were the same then I stood a chance of winning my age category. This was the first race all year where there was something more to gain than just a PB or a medal and so the adrenaline was pumping as I stood on the start line. So much so that when the race started I went off at a blistering speed thinking that I was Mo Farah or something and was leading the pack for a good 5 metres! And then my body caught up with me and I realised that I couldn’t possibly keep up that pace and had to slow down a bit whilst what seeemed like the entire field passed me. Howev

My well deserved ice lolly after a boiling St Albans Half Marathon I had a busy weekend with my usual 5k Parkrun on Saturday and then the St Albans Half Marathon today. I knew that I needed to save my legs for the race today and so at Parkrun yesterday I donned a Hi-Vis jacket and ran as a 35min pacer. It was the first time I have ever paced a race and so I was pretty nervous that I was going to get it wrong, I must have looked at my phone a hundred times to make sure I was on pace. Unfortunately I hadn’t taken into account the fact that the course always measures slightly over 5k and so I finished at 35:03. Luckily the people who were trying to finish before 35 minutes were in front of me and so still reached their goal. This was a different experience for me but really enjoyable. I talked to a lot of people as I ran around and had lots of people talking about staying with the ‘Pace Lady’! The biggest benefit for me though was given my legs an easy, comfortable run before the

3 Parkruns in a row in beautiful sunshine I have been quiet on the blog front since the Sunderland Half Marathon but I have been quietly adding to my run total by attending Bedford Parkrun every Saturday. The weather has been so good and it has been the perfect way to start the weekend. I am continuing to improve and finally broke the 25 min barrier on Saturday with a PB of 24:36. I even persuaded my friend Amy to come along and join me and she completed her first Parkrun with me three weeks ago. Thank you Amy for joining me! The next few weeks will be a bit more hectic with a Parkrun on Saturday and a Half Marathon or a 10K on the Sunday. This will be the case for four of the next five weekends with a week in Cyprus to relax inbetween. The reason for this is that my overseas deployment was brought forward by six months and so I will unfortunately be leaving the country in the middle of July. This means I have to try and cram in as much as I can before I go as I don’t beli

Running 21km with my big sister                                                                                         This race, the Sunderland City Half Marathon was probably the most important race of this challenge. I got to run in my hometown with my big sister by my side and the majority of Grandma’s family were there to cheer us on- 10 adults, 6 children and 2 dogs to be exact! It was the first time we had all been together since her funeral and I like to think that it was a happy and proud occasion to remember my Grandma and support the fundraising for Dementia UK. The race itself was ok, the massive amount of hills was not! I definitely do not remember there being so many long hills in Sunderland and the looping nature of the course was a bit demoralising at times. However once we crossed the bridge to our ‘neck of the woods’ it was a lot more enjoyable; running along the seafront and through the park where I spent my childhood and running into the cheers of all of o

A sunny Bedford Parkrun Another Saturday meant another Parkrun for me to add another 5k to my total, and what a lovely Saturday it was too. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The race went well and I managed to finish in 26:42 which is another PB for me and knocked 1:10 off my previous PB. I finished very red faced and sweaty but happy that my fitness seems to be getting back to where it was in February before I had all the illness and injury. It has given me a bit more confidence going into the Sunderland Half Marathon on Sunday that I will hopefully be able to get a decent time and not get left behind by my sister who is running it with me. This week also saw me host a coffee morning at RAF Henlow where we had lots and lots of cake available and a guess the name of the teddy bear and guess the amount of sweets in the jar competition. The morning was a great success and we raised £217 for Dementia UK which will help fund Admiral Nurses to support familie