And we are on the way

So it is D Day at last. I have to admit at times I wondered if the day to head out to the desert would come. These last few days seem to have taken years and I am sure the next few will pass so fast I will wish I hadn't wished them here so soon.

Sarah stayed at mine last night so we could be ready early to leave for the airport. We were meant to leave at 08:30 but I faffed around for a bit putting songs on to a playlist which we probably won't listen to after all.

We will be flying out at 14:00 with Egyptair who have very kindly agreed to upgrade myself and Sarah to club class seats if the availability is still there. Such a lovely gesture from them and having never flown in club class before I can't wait to check it out. So a massive thank you to EgyptAIr for doing that for us.

We should be meeting two other runners at the airport which will be nice and a few are already out there. We have packed trainers and a full set of kit in our hand luggage just in case our bags get lost which had been the case of some of the runners who are already in Egypt (hopefully they will get their bags today) better safe than sorry though.

Our flight lands at 20:45 into Cairo and I am sure I will have lots to say by tomorrow. I have wifi in the hotel until we leave for the desert Saturday morning so will post again.

Very nervous now - it all feels so real

snow running

Some may think - nooooooo it's snowing - how am I going to train ? where will I run? AM I GOING TO HAVE TO USE......................THE DREADMILL !!!!!!!!

But no - I saw the snow and got very excited indeed - I love running in the snow - everything looks so pretty and as long as you wrap up warm you can really enjoy it. I also figured that as it was going to be slippy I would have to shorten my stride, concentrate a lot more and it would be a lot harder on my legs and ankles - perfect desert training (if you forget about the fact that it is bloody freezing).

I had actually been due to run the Folkesworth 15 this weekend but it was cancelled due to the snow (a couple of the guys from my club in Peterborough went anyway and confirmed there was a section of the course which was pretty nasty).

In leu of this I decided I would work a shift behind the bar at the Music Box, get home at 4am and then go out for a run in the morning with my parents. Staying at there house was much easier as the Music Box is in St Ives and that is where my parents live. Plus I now get a turn down service at the parents :)

A little piece of scottish tablet on my pillow - yummy

The next morning it started snowing quite early, my Dad was concerned about this as he and Mum have Dubai Marathon this week and didn't want to fall over and injure themselves. We decided to drive part of the course we were looking to run and if it was too bad we would just run down the bus route which we knew was clear. I knew once we were outside it would be fine and the fact that it had started snowing again actually made it better because it wasn't as icy.

We did a 7 mile run and stopped for a for some pictures on the way :) I love being able to run with my parents it's really nice and a good time to chat and see how everyone is :) now if only I could persuade my 7 brothers and sisters to do it aswell ..............

Here are some of our pics from the run



 



Buff is in relation to the Buffs we are wearing

This was also my first opportunity to use my new Inov-8 Pack and I have to say I am very very happy with it. I was worried that getting it so close to the race might cause a problem but it was very comfortable and all of my kit fitted in with plenty of space to spare. I used the compression straps to make sure nothing bounced around inside and they worked perfectly and I used the side pouches to store my 9-bar for after the run (I didn't really need it for 7 miles but I thought it was a good excuse to eat one :) )  The only slight issue I had was with the bottle holder - it was fine but it did keep hitting my shoulder ever so slightly - over a shorter run - perhaps even up to 30 miles this wouldn't be irritating but I think over 160 miles I would prefer to be safe so I have bought some velcro to sew on to it just for that extra bit of support.

I plan to have a fuller review for you following the race but will take some close up pictures of the pack before then and show you how all of the kit fits in to it.

Striders Edge have also very kindly sent me a few more tops to take with me to the desert - me and Sarah decided that we would use the drop bags to our advantage and evey 30 miles we are leaving the option of a change of clothes - I didn't have enough so they have sent me some more - the thing I like most about the kit from Striders edge is that I actually cant wait to wear it - and the colours are gorgeous. 

The only other brand of TShirt I plan on taking with me to the desert is the one that me and Sarah had made by the wonderful people at Shotbowl. Check these out

These are the sponsors that we don't have branded products for but who have kindly helped in our challenged.

A week tomorrow we leave Aghhhhhhhh I can't friggin wait



15 minutes of fame and Ninjas V GPS

WOW - What a couple of weeks we have had. Since meeting Mimi on the 5th January Sarah and I have been interviewed by Ian Corless from Talk Ultra.

For those of you who aren't aware Talk Ultra is an incredibly popular Ultra running podcast and to actually have the chance to be interviewed for the 15 mins of fame section is an absoloute honour so thank you to Ian for giving us the opportunity to appear.

I think I can speak for both myself and Sarah when I say we were ridiculously nervous for the interview. We weren't sure how it would work and of course because me and Sarah were not together it was going to be difficult to know when to speak.

When Ian called it was the wierdest feeling - I have completed so many long runs listening to him on the podcast so I recognised the voice immediatly but actually hearing him speak to me was very surreal.

We had a lovely conversation and Ian asked us lots of questions about the race and our preperation for it and it wasn't at all as scary as we thought.

If you would like to listen to our interview you can find it by clicking the link below

Click for episode

We are 1hr 52 mins in - but make sure you take the time to listen to the whole episode there are some incredible interviews on this one. Perfect for listening to on your long run.

The weekend just gone (i can never figure out if you say this weekend or last weekend for the weekend just gone) Karl and I travelled over to stay with Sarah and Ben oop North.

It was a great trip - we left on the Friday after work, and after batteling with the sat nav to give us a route that wouldn't take us on a toll road we finally got there to a dinner ready and waiting for us :) we did plan to have an early night ready to get up early for a run but of course this didn't happen once we got chatting :) we finally went to bed around midnight and agreed to get up at 7 to run at 8 ( late for Sarahs usual Saturday run but early for me)

we did 3 runs over the weekend, a 12 mile Saturday morning followed by a shorter faster 3.5 mile in the evening and then on Sunday we did a GPS navigated run.

That's right me and Sarah were let loose on Cannock chase with a GPS and a piece of paper with coordinates for check points. Ben and Karl dropped us off at Cannock chase but not before we had a picture to show that we meant business :)

Then we were off. We had had a crash course that morning on how to enter in the co-ordinates and a general idea of how it worked. And although we were nervous because if we got this wrong it would be a very bad omen for the desert we were also hopeful that we would kick butt.

And kick butt we did -

This is me at check point one. And we hit checkpoint after checkpoint dead on continuously after this 

I didn't actually notice the runners in the road sign until I was uploading this picture earlier :) Sarah is pulling a funny face as she is worried about my husband standing in the road taking the picture, I however seem completley unfased - not sure if that is a good thing ;) 

At this point we had made it back to the last check point and just had a 2 mile run to get home - Sarah knew the way so there was no need for garmins now but mission accomplished

WE DID IT !!!!

We then spent the rest of the day relaxing and planning what we needed to take (a final list) and also what we needed to put in each drop bag - it became so much more real at this point becuse we were having to think about what we would need at a check point 145 miles in !!! I still can't get my head around it.

I have my last longish run this weekend - the Folkesworth 15 but I plan on running this having had next to no sleep (I am working at the Music Box in St Ives the night before) and carrying my full pack - wish me luck

On that note I should also mention that we received our packs this week from the wonderful people at Inov-8 - we now each have a racepac 25 litre and some water bottles and a mesh pouch to use with it. I can't wait to try this out at the weekend and will post a review on how I got along with it following the race :)

The day I met a legend

If you had told me this time last year that I would be meeting one of (IMO) the most incredible female ultra runners ever I would never have believed you.

But it is true. The weekend just gone - Saturday 5th January, myself and Sarah travelled to London to meet the one and only Marvelous Mimi Anderson.

For those of you who don't know Mimi you can find out a lot more about her on her blog - http://marvellousmimi.com) Mimi is an inspirational runner who loves pink and just happens to be a world record holding grandmother.

To name but a few Mimi's achievements include; 

•  World record for the fastest crossing on foot of Ireland -  Sept 2012 - 345 miles in 3 days, 15 hours36 minutes and 55 seconds
•  Viking Way Ultra - April 2012 - 147.9 miles 3rd overall and only lady to finish
• Spartathlon 2011 - 245k non stop race, 1st Brit, 3rd female
• Double Badwater -  July 2011 (as if once wasn't enough) - 1st British female to complete the double

Mimi joined the Facebook page I had made for the Ocean floor Ultra (before the official page was created) and even seeing her name pop up caused me to jump up and down with excitement. I had listened to her interview on talk ultra and following that had read her blog from start to finish. I tentatively sent her a message asking if she would be running the race - not at all expecting a reply but there it was not long after - I couldn't believe it. We carried on chatting between myself, mimi and Sarah and eventually arranged to meet up for a coffee as Mimi was kind enough to offer to meet us and give us some advice for the run.

Travelling to London on Saturday morning I didn't feel too nervous, that is until we got to the hotel where we were meeting her and then I started to feel it. But in she came and I knew it was her straight away - she was of course wearing pink :)

Well what can I see - she was simply Marvellous - we got through 3 cups of coffee and a glass of wine each and talked for hours about Mimi's experiences in races, what methods she used to keep her going through the tough times and the longer runs, what items to leave in our drop bags, which backpacks we were using (inov-8 25 ltr kindly donated by inov-8) to tape or not to tape the feet, whether or not to wear 3/4 length bottoms or shorts the list goes on

In one afternoon we got more advise than I think either of us has had thus far and I cannot thank Mimi enough for taking the time out of her day to meet with us. We had such a good time and really enjoyed chatting away. It's just a shame the time had to come to an end.

We have arranged to meet with Mimi when we get back from the run to let her know how we got on and to show her our pictures from the race :) I have to finish it now just so I can say hello again :)

Of course we couldn't end the afternoon without a picture with our running idol

So a big thanks once again to Mimi it was wonderful to meet you and I look forward to seeing you again once the race is completed.

Last run of 2012

Well what a year 2012 has been.

I started this year with a half marathon PB of 2:33 and a goal to get it to 2:15 - at the time I thought that was a far fetched goal but I am pleased to say that back at the St Neots Half  I managed to smash my target and got my PB down to 2:07.

I also had a target to get my 10k PB down from 1:09 to under the hour. Again not something I thought I could manage but today at the last possible opportunity I managed to get my 10k PB down to 56:22 so I am in a pretty good mood at the moment.

Todays run was the Ely NYE 10k. I entered this race the day it opened back in September - it didn't matter that I was in Dubai at the time. I was determined to get in as I had enjoyed it last year and it was a good job i didn't wait as it closed within the same day. It was a ridiculously windy day but I managed to plough on through and was very pleased to come out of it with a PB which is not something I expected when  I woke up this morning.

Not only that but this year was the year of the Ultra - I can now call myself an ULTRA RUNNER wahoooooooooo

Next year I plan to do the following;

1. Take my Half Marathon PB down to under 2 hours

2. Take my 10k PB down to 50 minutes

3. Take my Marathon PB down to 5 hours (or under if I can)

4. Complete the Ocean floor race without completley breaking myself

5. Complete the Adidas Thunder run 24 hour as a solo runner

6. Complete the Fat Feet Grimsthorpe Ultra Marathon (70 mile option) in one piece

As mentioned above one of my targets and my very next race is the Ocean Floor Ultra Marathon. I leave the UK for Egypt along with my good friend Sarah Gardner Hall on the 31st January. I can't beleive how fast this has come around and can only hope my mixed training will be enough to get me through the race along with my sheer determination to get to the end and raise as much money as I can for Mac Millan cancer support.

I only met Sarah a short while ago - after seeing her at the Thunder run this year a solo runner (her not me) I contacted her to see if she would like to run the Ocean floor race. I didn't expect her to run it with me at all but when she brought it up and said she would like to I was thankful but also slightly worried as she is a lot faster than me (with a 2 hour lead on my best marathon time) However these worries proved to be unfounded as Sarah has been a wonderful support in the lead up to the event and has become more like a big sister to me than just another person to run with.

She now knows not to talk to me in the morning as I am grumpy as hell, she knows she can tell me to shut up and stop whining when I am tired and I know we will work well together when we finally get out to the desert.

So thank you Sarah for putting up with me and Here is to an incredible 2013 -

BRING IT ON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 I would also like to say a massive thank you to all of our supporters for the Ocean floor race we couldn't do it without you and will be sure to send you photos of our treck when we get back :)

I would also like to say a big thank you to my mother who has been coming on several long runs with me in my training (as she is also training for her very own ultra) and my husband for putting up with all of my running and training and supporting me the whole way.

Also good luck to my Dad who will be completing his very first Marathon in Dubai in January - GO DAD !!

Happy new year everyone. See you on the other side

xxxxx

Striders Edge - proving you CAN look good whilst excercising

A month or so ago I posted on here to say that Striders edge had very kindly agreed to help me out with some kit for the Ocean Floor Ultra Marathon in February.

I was so excited when I received the email from Kate ('Founder and Creative Director' ) to say she would love to help out and to let her know which bits of kit I thought I could use best.

I have to admit to being a little bit like a kid in a sweet shop - I must have chosen and re chosen a hundred times before I finally settled on the items I thought I could use best.

I then also decided to buy a few extra bits - well honestly trying to decide was so difficult and a few things just happened to fall in to the online basket there was nothing I could do about it ;)

The top below is one of my favourites it is the Endurance Insulite L/S - Crag Grey with Black not only is the fabric a dream to wear, so soft and stretchy it is also slimming with it's contrast black panels and also has the signature sports thumb through cuff - these are brilliantly designed. With most tops that have the thumb through cuffs if you choose not to wear it with your thumb through you can just see a big hole there - with the Striders Edge tops you don't it just looks like a smooth design.

Also in the above pictures I am wearing the Peak elements tights and I have to be completely honest - I hate it when I have to put these in the wash as you can really tell the difference in the cold weather when you don't have them on. The tights are antibacterial and they are windproof (which in England is a blessing) They are made with a supportive 4 way stretch fabric and the pockets are just perfect. As the pockets are on the front rather than the side or back they are easier to get to and the material they have used for the pockets means that you don't feel the items in the pockets as much as you would in other tights. I often use mine to stow my iphone in when I am on a long run and listening to a podcast. and I forget it is there. 



Pocket on Peak Elements Tights



One of the items I purchased from Striders edge was the Stride Lite run Jacket   shown below.I don't have a picture of myself in this yet but hope to get one up soon. This is possibly the most flattering jacket on the market at the moment. I would even consider wearing this when not running. It is so comfortable, light and again has the thumb through cuffs which are perfect for the cold weather and also means that wind is not able to go through the cuffs of the jacket. It has a stretch back panel to allow full freedom of movement and the hem of the jacket cinches to keep out the wind and also style in to a bomber effect. I am so pleased with this jacket and can say it was definitely a good purchase.



Showing the Stretch back panel



Striders edge is a luxury women's sportswear brand. Their clothing is not only beautiful to look at - with non of that Garish fluorescent pink, it is also beautiful to wear. They are well cut and designed with the female body in mind (Kates Muse is a Bond Girl) and prove that you really can look good and get sweaty at the same time. I don't think it will be too long before I am making a few more 'Christmas present to myself' purchases. Keep and eye out for the reviews on my other items of clothing coming soon.



Training and Christmas shopping

It is always harder to find the time to train when it comes to the Christmas season. I have been a bit slack with my blog lately becasue of this - one thing had to go and it was either running or this.

On the 23rd November I held a pamper evening to help raise money for Macmillan cancer support and also to help raise funds for the Ocean floor race. I had done one of these previously and it had been very succesful so I thought I would do another. This one wasn't as busy as last time which was a real shame as we had some wonderful stalls there and I felt really bad that it wasn't as busy but it was still a successful evening all the same raising £180 for Macmillan Cancer support - as soon as I have paid this in to the bank I will update the fundraising page to reflect this.

What made the evening more special was that Sarah came down to  support the event as well along with her husband Ben. We had planned on spending the Saturday looking around running shops and getting Sarahs V02 Max test done (Kindly offered to us free by Advanced performance in Cambridge) and then running the Hereward relay as an ultra on the Sunday.

Unfortunatly as you know, the weather was truly awful that weekend and this resulted in the race being cancelled due to part of the route at the beginning being under 4ft of water and rising the day before and the Welney wash being flooded meaning the last section was also not runnable. It was such a shame.

So instead on Saturday we went off to Cambridge - Sarah had her V02 max test done and was classed as Exceptional (I think that was it and if I don't get the same she will never let me live it down) to make this more fun for me I decided to take a picture of Sarah looking beautful with her mask on :)

As I mentioned earlier this V02 test was provided for us free of charge by Advanced Performance for which we are very grateful. I haven't booked in for mine yet but as soon as I have it I will post some suitably embarrasing photos of myself as well :)

After out little outing to check Sarahs V02 we decided to head off to have a look around Cambridge and keep out of the house for a bit as my husband was working all day at home so we didn't want to get in the way. Then that evening we went out for dinner, it was actually really nice to enjoy our meal without having to worry about getting up so early for the run in the morning.

I have to say the race organisers from the March Athletics club were superb in letting us know the race was cancelled, they emailed me and when they couldn't reach me on one number they also called me on my second number just to make sure I was aware along with Sarah. They are looking at re arranging rhe race for late Feb but unfortunatly that will be a bit late for us as we have the Ocean floor race at the beginning of February and I intend on resting for the remainder of the month after this one :)

Instead myself and Sarah decided to still go on a run just not as long a run - it was early Sunday morning we learned that we are going to have to be careful in the desert - I am NOT a morning person - my husband knows that speaking to me first thing before I have done my work out or had a shower is not the best of ideas. I usally just role out of bed chuck on my workout kit and do my Insanity work out in the front room (I will blog more about this another time) and after that I am fully awake - I challenge anyone not to be - and I am once more human and ready to face the day. Sarah however is an entirely diffent story - she is chatty and bubbly and full of beans first thing in the morning and I kept snapping at her - Sarah if it is any consolation I do feel bad :) but consider it a warning ;)

Once we got out the door and started running I instantly began to calm down and felt much better. We took a new route from my house which I have never done before and arranged for the men to meet us in March at 13 miles. We had intended to run a bit longer but decided instead to go home once they met us and get some much needed planning done for the Ocean floor - making to do lists and planning which kit we would need to take with us.

On this note we would both like to say a MASSIVE thank you to our new sponsors;

http://www.hopetech.com/page.aspx?itemID=SPG1
Hope have donated a headtorch to each of us - I plan on doing a review on this shortly so watch this space

http://www.feeturesbrand.com/
Feetures have provided myself and Sarah with several pairs of socks to wear for training and in the race.

As you can see they have been more than kind to us. Feetures are an American company but they are also online so you can of course buy their wonderful products using the link above. Sarah has been to see them at the Expo for the Las Vegas Half Marathon (she is running this tonight so All the best Sarah if you read this before hand) I hope to also do a review on these socks in the near future and have a perfect weekend in mind.

Another new sponsor is that of Bloc Sunglasses. I wrote to them a few weeks back in the hope that they might be able to help us out with a pair of glasses each for the run to help protect our eyes from the sand and the sun (with the idea that we could change to clear lenses at night and use our buffs to help protect as well) and Colin Pickering from their head office kindly sent us each Three - yes three pairs. I couldn't beleive it when I recieved the email from him saying he was sending them out and we are both truly thankful. I have yet to decide which pair I will take with me but am going to try them out ona few day runs here to make sure I am confortable wearing them and to give me the time to alter the fit if needed.

I am going to sign off for now - I have Christmas lights to put up and after my 16 mile run this morning I should probable give my husband some attention. :) Thank you again to all of our wonderful sponsors and to everyone who is supporting myself and Sarah especially to friends and family who are putting up with the long runs and turned down invitations - I promise service will return to normal after the run :)