Janathon 2011

Yup, I've just signed up to run everyday throughout January 2011!

I'm not 100% certain that I can manage it, but 100% up for the challenge.

 Interested? head over to the Janathon website & get more info & join in!

There's also a Facebook Group for it & a prize for the person who manages the most days/miles!

Motivation or Madness? Ask me 1st Feb!

 

Do Not Run When You Can't Breath - 1.13K

It's honestly more like 300m... stop... wheeze... stagger about a bit... walk... wheeze... give up... stumble home. Seriously I should never have gone out.
But I did, mostly because I was about to pull out my own hair. Honestly how hard can it be to teach your daughter how to use the toilet?! It's becoming a war of attrition, who can last longer, her refusal to do it & my refusal to let her be lazy & have bloody pull up nappies.*

So I went out, with a completely blocked up nose, and a cough, ran & stumbled about & then came home and finaly stopped wheezing about 9pm. Stupid me.



* there's no health issue here. I hate the nappies, please don't worry about my little girl, she fine!

Great Manchester Run Round 2

So at 8:30am the web page for the 2011 Great Manchester 10k opened!
and by 8:46am I had a place! Yippee!

This year I have decided to run for Refuge, the women & children's charity against Domestic Violence.
Yes, it does deserve the capital letters, it's a serious issue & it's one that strikes quite close to home for me...
But 1st some facts;
· One in four women is abused during her lifetime.
· One in nine is severely physically abused each year.
· Two are killed each week
·On average, a woman is assaulted 35 times before her first call to the police. 

 I'll give you a moment to lift your chin off the keyboard while the numbers sink in.


Refuge are committed to a world where domestic violence is not tolerated or ignored and where women and children can live in safety. Money raised and donated to Refuge goes towards many things;

• £10 could allow a woman to buy her child essential materials for school – many women arrive at Refuge with nothing but the clothes they are wearing and do not have the means to buy the things they need.
• £50 could fund a session of play therapy for a group of four children, helping them to overcome the trauma of witnessing or experiencing violence.
  
• £72 could pay for two days of fun activities for a group of children in our refuges.
  
• £75 could fund a local support group session for women who have experienced domestic violence.
• £96 could pay for a training workshop for 5 women, helping them to enter the employment market and regain their independence.

Why Refuge?
This year (2011) I turn 30. Yikes, and it's also 15 years since my mother was killed, by her abusive partner. Half my life has been without my Mum, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

The Great Manchester Run isn't until May, 180 days away! I did the last one in 1hr 40min, I was pregnant, but I aim to get this one under an hour!

Wish me luck ( and Sponsor me) Cheers!

Splutter - 3.2k (35:20)

URgh it rained on me & I nearly died!


Yup, that was a difficult * ahem * run. And yes I was beeped by a mystery person in a little 2 seater Audi, yet no one has owned up to the beeping! I like the suggetion that perhaps I pulled whilst out running, I'm a hot (& sweatty) mamma!

I took a different route & just aimed to beat my last trip out, and I just happened to do that just before the rain poured down! Phew

If I don't get out this house I'm a gonna kill - 2.81KM (32:27 min)

Screen shot from the Nike+ GPS app

Well, all I can say is I lasted the recomended 6 weeks. Almost.

I know, it's nothing like the 6 MONTHS the phisiotherapist recomended I wait, but I swear someone would have lost an eye or a limb if I didn't get out of the house. 

I was trying to wait, but this cold wet November evening I couldn't take it any longer and put my trainers on and ran. Sorta. I more jogged till I wanted to walk, walked for a bit then jogged a bit more then spluttered along trying to look a little fitter than I am and returned to a walking pace. I guess you can tell that by the fact it took me 30+ min to get less than 3KM! Still it's a start, and if I ever needed proof of the stress busting results from running then this was it!

I'm going to do more on Tuesday. I just need to work out how to fit it into my hectic schedule, I may have to go at the crack of dawn, after the Little Lads 5am feed. Yikes.

I previously ran with a Nike+ gizzmo but since I upgraded my phone and it now has the GPS, I invested £1.79 in the Nike+ GPS app...

All I can say is this: I'm annoyed. The app seems to work just as well as the £20 kit, and it's almost impossible to loose (I have lost a fair few phones in my time) and only costs £1.79... think of all the lattes I could have had!

I have only used it once, so it's possible that it was a fluke & the app is a load of rubbish, so give it a couple of runs & I'll let you know. But for now it seems good.