Category Archives: Running

6 months and counting…

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So it is now 6 months until the Miami marathon.  I’ve spent a few hours this week figuring out a training plan – mainly following Hal Higdon’s Novice 2 plan.  I also plan to do a couple of halves between now and then – I just wish it wasn’t so damn hot right now.  I dropped my car off for a service yesterday and took advantage of the 6mile journey to run home – blimey it must have been 90degrees at 8.30am – I needed that coconut water afterwards!  I’m also trying to adapt my diet without being overly obsessive or restrictive – cutting out alcohol (well at least between Sundays and Thursdays!), more fruit, more juices (beetroot, celery and ginger is a favorite), zero fast food and more protein.  Now  just need to incorporate some yoga into my schedule every week for a good stretch.

I have an update on the Express jeans I was lusting after the other day – with the magic of CRM and shopping cart technology Express must have seen I kept loading my cart with the light pink jeans but not actually hitting ‘order’!  Low and behold yesterday I got an email offer from the for jeans at $29.99!  Jobs a good ‘un – pink jeans now on their way to me:)  Promo code was 1626 if you’re interested in them too – it seems to apply to all their jeans right now – not sure how I managed to restrain myself and only order the pink pair!

I’m now officially over living in the basement – clutter is everywhere and I’m finding it impossible to keep tidy…but there is light at the end of the tunnel – the tiling is almost done, the painters are in the the hardwoods get finished next week – so with any luck we’ll be done at the end of next week!  Of course the painting and work that has been done is so sparkly and fantastic that it makes the other areas of the house look a little tired…we’ll get to them eventually once my son has stopped slamming his Tonka truck into every wall and baseboard!

Thankfully my fabulous Husband was around this morning to take on the duty of photographing me.  After a couple of days in tunics – sorry no photos – I opted for my fab J.Crew green chino shorts – these are 4″ but I noticed they had some 3″ and 5″ lengths in the sale online in other colors.  I’m wearing them with my AllSaints vest, H&M linen jumper and fabulous Sam Edelman Louie tan suede boots.  Ankle boots with shorts has to be one of my favorite looks from this summer.

We’re in full preparation for the return to school in a week hence the folder of sight words and reading on the table!

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Just buy a book.

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Hmmm since I got my iPad I seem to be going through a phase of reading, dare I say it, ‘self help’ books – maybe it’s because I can read them safely without people seeing the cover – in fact I just realized I can avoid the shame of being caught reading ’50 Shades’ that way – no I haven’t read it yet.  Anyway when I talk about self-help I don’t mean ‘helping me become a better person type books’ – more ‘how to attain a goal books’ or ‘books that inspire’.  For example the first book I read on my iPad was ‘Born to Run’ by Christopher McDougall.  It really was a great read for an amateur runner – really fun and inspiring – or so I found anyway.  Okay now a confessional warning – I am a fan of the US version of The Biggest Loser – I don’t watch every season but those I have I have found incredibly inspiring – and I love Bob Harper.  Bob is one of the trainers on the series and is great t.v. – his Facebook page is fun to follow too.  Anyway he has a book that has been on the best sellers list for a while – ‘The Skinny Rules’.  Sadly I got suckered in and bought it.  Now I think we all know what the rules are to keeping slim (I really wish he hadn’t used the word skinny – no one should want to be skinny) – and this book really states the obvious – but still it’s written quite light heartedly and I am enjoying dipping in and out of it to keep me focused on my goal of losing a couple of pounds ready for my marathon training.

Did someone say ‘marathon’?  Ah yes that little race I signed up for in January – suddenly January seems very close indeed.  So now I am on the search for a book to help me train for my marathon.  MM keeps saying just run more but my mind set tells me I won’t have to do that if I just read a book about it…I’m such a sucker!  The one I have my eye on is called ‘4 Months to 4 Hours’ – brilliant – just read it and do a bit of training and I can run Miami in 4hrs – perfect!  If only that was all there was to it…Now I just need to find the book entitled ‘Stop Shopping and Learn to Save Millions’.

This is my outfit from yesterday – I went to see the fabulous O’Neil again for a haircut wearing my bright pink J.Crew chino shorts, AllSaints Pipali tank and Sam Edelman suede Louie boots in tan suede (yes I have the taupe rose too) which are my favorite boots for a while – really comfy and I love the fringe.  I promise the photos will improve soon – the bathroom floor went down yesterday!

 

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Channeling the ’80s

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Poppy is at first grade camp this week – I can’t believe that school starts back in 2 weeks!  The summer has flown by but it will be nice to get back to a regular routine again and she is so ready to be back at school – she’s really excited to see her friends and teachers again this week.  The only draw back of this camp is that it is only from 9am-12pm so barely time for me to get to the office.  Instead I’ve been working from home which is lovely as it also means I can get a short run in around Chastain Park after dropping her off.  It is fair to say it is NOT running weather here – humid and in the 90s does not feel good at 8am, or at anytime really – but I’ve been twice this week so can feel quite satisfied that I’m actually doing it.

Yesterday afternoon we went to the pool but it really was too hot to be enjoyable so today I think we’ll find an air conditioned activity – unfortunately I don’t think she will agree to shopping which is a shame as I am dying to head to H&M to buy myself these two pairs of jeans.  Both are a blush color but one is snakeskin and the other leopard print – I love them and unfortunately there is no online store for H&M here in the US:(

Today I am definitely channeling the 80s in my pink and grey.  The t-shirt is H&M and has a bright pink exposed zip at the back – it’s a great length t-shirt and was only $13.  I am wearing it with my J.Crew linen scarf from a couple of years ago – wrapped as demonstrated by Avril at School Gate Style – love it!  The boyfriend jeans are Gap and the silver diamante encrusted sandals are Steve Madden from a couple of years ago.  Still taking photos in the basement with a very dusty mirror – the tiling starts this week!

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Damn the Zara sale!

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It’s hot as Hades here in Atlanta and humid to boot – but after MM reminding me that I have a half to train for and them a full marathon in January I headed out for a run this morning.  Miserable? – Yep.  Imagine running in a steam room or a sauna.  I started thinking I’d do 8miles, then changed my mind to 6miles after heading out of the door, then after 2miles decided 4 would be just manageable.  Ah well as Nike say ‘you either ran today or you didn’t’ and I did.

It helped a little that I had some super cute Lululemon attire to wear.  Not sure what is going on with Lululemon at the moment – their Facebook page has been covered in complaints about colors bleeding and changing after wear – not good – especially at their price points.  Their response is a little fishy stating that it depends on the wearer’s pH – hmmm – Nike don’t seem to have this issue so seems fairly odd to blame imperfections on your paying customer.  We’ll see how it evolves.  I have one incidence of color bleed on my blurred blossom pace setter skirt where the flash pink waist band bled into the skirt at the back during a wash – not happy as I always wash sports gear on cold.  Having said that I adore the pace setter skirts and have yet to find anything more comfortable or flattering to run in.

Pre-run this morning – Lululemon pace setter skirt in seaside dot, run swiftly tank in black, Newtons and bed hair:

After sweating my t*ts off I had an hour to fill before picking Poppy up from tennis camp.  Foolishly I decided to head to Zara to ‘browse’ their sale racks.  I had palpitations the moment I walked in.  The racks were packed with huge mark downs on items that I hadn’t seen before as I only started shopping in Zara around May time.  Within 10mins my arms were laden with tops, pants and jackets to try…it was like the Krypton Factor, or It’s a Knockout for more hilarity – I kept looking at the time worried about leaving my daughter stranded with her tennis racket.  In the end I decided that jackets were not needed as I have bought quite a few, especially my favorite Zara jersey jackets.  Prioritizing I decided to try the tops – I wear jeans so often that having a great selection of tops to wear for casual and ‘going out’ is beneficial (nearly wrote essential – but they’re not really!).  Plus the tops were dirt cheap – the most I paid for one was $25 – the others were $15 or $10 – brilliant!

The first is this lovely black long sleeved tee with skinny arms and a zip up the back – the zip is a bit too yellowy gold right now but it should fade with wear.  It will look great with jeans or my leopard print crops.

Then I got this lovely off white top – it’s knitted at the front and has a longer silky back – great for a night out with the girls!

This pink long sleeved tee is gorgeous and so soft – I can imagine wearing it under a jacket for work or with shorts around the house.

Here’s my favorite purchase – I think it is some sort of animal print at the front – and it is silky with a matte/stretchy material at the back – again a little longer at the back.  It’ll look great with black jeans or under a black jacket.

Now I’m off to take Hugh for a haircut – this could be the day all his locks go – he has been asking for it short for a while and I’ve resisted as he has such gorgeous long hair but I’m getting so irritated with people mistaking him for a girl…you’d think no guys in the US ever had long hair – it only happens over here and I am completely befuddled by it as to me he is obviously ALL boy!

Today I wore my new H&M purchase – the bird print dress I got back in England for a bargain of 12.99 GBP – it’s lovely and stretchy and has a cute flirty skirt to it.  I’m wearing my pink Tory Burch Revas with it for a splash of color.

Happy weekend y’all!

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Get out and run.

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As you all know I love running – I haven’t been running regularly for long – only since I had the children – but it is now my means of keeping sane and trim – I love it.  It being the 4th July yesterday we went to watch the Peachtree Road Race – the largest 10k event in the World with 60,000 entrants from elite runners to casual joggers to walkers.  I have never wanted to enter mainly because of the size of the field and it isn’t run in a loop, so getting anywhere close to home after the race is a nightmare – plus because of the number of runners taking part you can be standing in starting corrals for 2 hours before you even cross the start line.  However, I love watching it, and this year we made it to the course in time to watch the elite runners go up the hill past Piedmont Hospital.  Now on television you really do not get a great sense of anyone’s speed – except their speed relative to others – but watching the leading men run up that hill made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end – my God they were fast!  Not surprisingly the Kenyans and Ethiopians dominated again with the Kenyans taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the men’s race – won with an amazing time of 27mins 37 secs – it doesn’t seem that long ago that running 1mile in under 5mins was a feat!  It makes my 10/11 min miles look like a casual walk.

Thrilled, waiting for the runners.

Flying up the hill.

Getting into the swing of things.

Now here’s where I am going to court some controversy.  Firstly can someone tell my why Newton think it will help their marketing to set up a tent with beer kegs and pass out beer to runners at 8am?  Maybe I am taking the ‘fun’ out of ‘fun run’ but I was really curious about why they did this – am I just becoming a fuddy duddy?  I can’t think of anything I would want less at mile 3 of a run in that heat – and it’s not really what I associate with $180 running shoes.

The Newton Beer Kegs.

Secondly, I began running to help lose some weight so I do indeed know what it is like to be overweight, but if yesterday’s race participants were a sample of the US population we are in a terrifying state of affairs.  I know we are facing an obesity epidemic but I would guess that almost 90% of the ‘runners’ I saw were overweight and many were walking the race.  Now I applaud them if they were taking part as part of their getting fit goals but I kinda think for many it’s the only exercise they will do this year.  I felt like holding a banner up saying ‘do this 3 days a week and get healthy!’.  It saddened me further that many of the spectators were sitting on lounge chairs with a box of 24 donuts.  Okay off my soapbox for now, and these are my own opinions that you’re welcome to disagree with.

After my hot as Hades run this morning I popped into Lululemon to treat myself to a new Swiftly short sleeve t-shirt in blush quartz which I love – and it coordinates well with many of my pace setter skorts.  I normally buy the Swiftly tanks but I love the cap sleeves on the t-shirt – it looks a bit more polished – if you consider that important when sweating your t*ts of running.  Plus I got to investigate our brand new store on Howell Mill Rd – I LOVE it and they have the friendliest staff!

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Running over the moors.

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We’ve arrived!! After a tiring but thankfully uneventful flight we landed in Manchester at 8.35 yesterday and were met by my Mum and Dad.  Poppy and Hugh were exceptionally excited and we had one of those ‘T Mobile’ Welcome Back moments that made me all misty eyed.  They both slept most of the way which was a blessing as having bought 3 movies for their iPads I realized on the plane that none of them had downloaded onto Hugh’s – what an idiot I am!  In my midst of syncing iPods, iPads, iPhones, and shuffles I had somehow completely omitted the most important thing – movies on Hugh’s iPad.  He is the only one that will obsessively watch “Hercules” over and over and over again…Thankfully for me his sister was gracious enough to switch iPads which allowed her to play games on his while he watched “Hercules” before passing out:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3NPNM4xgo

Sensibly I took some ham sandwiches for them on the plane as I knew they’d turn their nose up at Delta food.

Once home we had lots of fun catching up with my sister and her boys, Tom the youngest just 8 weeks old and is grinning from ear to ear already.  My brother and his 9 month old, Alice, then came for dinner later.  It was so much fun seeing all the cousins play together with Poppy of course herding them around and playing ‘mom’.  I then watched the incredibly boring England game with Dad – good result but geez rubbish to watch.

After restful night’s sleep I headed off for a long run this morning.  It was a beautiful sunny morning and it felt great to shake some of the jet lag off and run up some massive hills, taking in the views of sheep, moors, mill chimneys and towns down below.  Little changes around here which is why I love it.

Mum and I decided to have a ‘potter’ around Bury just to M&S and Tesco but of course that can take 2 hours and the children were not impressed – their jet lag well and truly still present.  I did manage to take a few snaps while we were out of some items that I didn’t have time to try or consider but I thought were definitely worth a second look at some point.

Mum with Poppy and Hugh at a Bury landmark.

I pointed out this t-shirt online a few weeks ago and still love it in real life – once I have stopped converting pounds into dollars I may take the plunge.  Right now it seems exorbitant for a t-shirt!

I LOVE this swimsuit and had been admiring it in Mum’s M&S magazine last night – this could be going home with me.

I am loving all things butterfly and bird print currently so this shirt caught my eye, though it’s cotton and could require ironing, not something I like to spend my time doing.

These spotty ballet flats are so cute, but certainly no time to try them…I will be doing when we head to the Trafford Center this week – they are adorable!

My sister was laughing at the following photo – apparently I’m not supposed to take photos in stores as they suspect it may be competitive intelligence but I couldn’t resist this one for MM – the baked bean lover in the house.  Heinz have a packaging that is completely new to me and I LOVE the idea as I am always looking for tupperwares for half opened tins of beans.  I’m sure all you UK residents are completely up to date with the fridge packaging innovation but I’m blown away!  MM thinks it’s sacrilege for beans to come from anything but a tin and was more intrigued by the vegetarian sausage and beans behind Poppy!

Just don’t get me started on how much more advanced British supermarkets are with their packaging and product innovation – the scale of the country compared to the US must allow for more experimentation and variety.  Thankfully pickled onion Monster Munch are still readily available here!

Most of the morning was spent with the children telling me that they didn’t want to walk anymore – they are so used to jumping in an SUV and being driven store to store (on the rare occasion I shop with them), the pedestrian life is quite a shock for them.  Fortunately I was wearing my AllSaints boots (Bonny cuban which I can’t see on the UK or US site right now) which are so comfortable and I love the buckle and fringe detail, they are one of my favorite purchases so far this year.

Finally, a trip back home wouldn’t be the same without picking up a “Hello” magazine…I will enjoy reading this later this evening while the children play with their Euro 2012 football and Olympic Games silly bands – EVERYTHING is red, white and blue here:)

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Music that motivates…

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I decided to change the title of this series to ‘music that motivates’ rather than ‘inspires’…the reason being this next tune that got me racing up the hills yesterday.  It’s Kelly Rowland and “Down for Whatever” – definitely not an inspirational song but brilliant motivation when running!  I actually heard it first when I was back in the UK at Christmas when she was having huge success judging on the UK version of the X Factor.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what other mindless, thumping, dance tunes are in store for me in the UK charts later this month!  Enjoy!

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My new goal weight.

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After deciding to embark on my first marathon I have been assessing everything I need to do for optimal training and preparation. So far I have identified the following:

1. Find a running group so I can benefit from the camaraderie of a group of runners with similar objectives

2. Strengthen my knees and hips so they are less prone to injury

3. Use my foam roller daily and stretch thoroughly after every run to prevent injury

4. Use Fartlek techniques to get faster

5. Settle on a pair of running shoes that I like and keep me injury free

6. Improve my diet for optimal energy and try and lose 15lbs to get leaner and faster

Numbers 1, 2 and 3 are pretty much all in hand and I’ve been doing my clam shells and squats, and using my roller in front of the t.v. each evening:)  I found out that our local running store, West Stride, has a summer series of runs that should help cover 1 and 4 – though I might have to grab my running partner too in order to do some speed training on the local school’s track.  After reading Runner’s World I’m already confused with distances, rest intervals and paces to run at – not having a background in track and field makes me feel like a complete amateur – though I guess I am!

Number 5 is a trickier one.  I’m currently running in my Newtons but I’m not sure my form has perfectly adapted yet and in order to stay injury free I’m considering buying a pair of New Balance W890 v2 to alternate with.  Of course this does mean spending a silly amount of money on running shoes until I find my perfect pair but maybe I just need to shift my clothing budget over the next few months into a line entry for ‘running expenses’?

Number 6 is one I didn’t think I need to plan for, but if anything I have found my weight gradually creeping up due to all the running I have been doing.  I have taken ‘carb loading’ to heart unfortunately and have lost all sense of portion control.  So knowing that I need to fix this fast I headed back to my Jenny Craig center non Friday.  It’s only the other week I was telling Running in Mommyland to treat it like hitting the ‘reset button’ and now I find myself heeding my own advice.  I already feel much better after just 3 days back on the plan.  I know there are cynics out there (I used to be one of them) who think diet plans are money making, quick fixes that don’t generate long lasting results, but in 3 years, excluding the past couple of months, I’ve managed to pretty much maintain my weight and I am confident that I can reach my new goal weight quickly and stay there again once I’ve convinced my mind and body again that I can survive and run strong perfectly well, even with smaller portions.

I just successfully passed one of the biggest tests in my new weight loss journey.  We have just taken the children to a fund raising fair at the elementary school and on the way home we called for frozen yogurt.  Normally I partake with the kids and get a huge lashing of yogurt covered in crushed peanuts, white chocolate chips and syrup – yum!  I’m very proud of myself that I avoided all temptation – even though I did have to go and lock myself in the restroom while they served themselves!:)  It’s 90 degrees here today so I’m wearing my lovely J.Crew gingham shorts, AllSaints tee and navy slim Havaianas.  This weather is playing havoc with my attempt to grow my hair – the humidity is adding volume and frizz – nice!  I might have to opt for a selection of hats and headscarves throughout the coming months!

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Another 13.1 done…

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So another half marathon successfully completed.  Still a tad slower than I had hoped for but the course yet again had far more hills than the profile had led me to believe.  It was also one of those courses where you ran backwards and forwards along the same 3 points so you could always see the faster folk running past you the other way – just a little demoralizing!  I much prefer a nice long loop where you have no idea how many are in front of you or behind you!  It was won by a 26 year old girl (it was an all female race – I prefer mixed) in 1hr 31mins – amazing.  The last 2 miles seem to go on FOREVER but thankfully my reception committee was there to cheer me across the line.  The weather was amazing and we got to relax afterward with music and wine by the side of Lake Lanier.  I shuffled around the house for the rest of the day – my knees got really tight – but I’m feeling pretty good today after a good stretch and using my foam roller.  I have to wait till Wednesday to see if I get an NYC marathon number before planning another half.  My goal now is to get leaner, toned, stronger, faster and more competitive – my next 13.1 will be under 2hrs!

My outfit today was inspired by the need to be comfy and by School Gate Style’s color palette.  I love pink and grey together – MM always says it’s my love of the ’80s.  I’m wearing my Hudson Collin jeans (mid-rise today for added comfort!), grey ruffle J.Crew tank from a few seasons ago, pink Boden LE sparkle pocket cardigan from AW 2011, and my favorite Tory Burch camilla pink Eddies.

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Calories burned > calories in.

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Yesterday started early with a 10 mile run – my last long run before the Zooma half marathon next weekend.  I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for it as I woke at 7am but by the time I’d fueled myself with pancake and coffee I was excited to get going and the weather was perfect for 2 hours outside.  I was frustrated though as it took me a while to find my rhythm – sometimes I wonder why I don’t see the huge improvement I want over the course of several runs.  I find running is definitely mind over matter and once you feel out of sync it’s difficult to pull it back.  I can set out feeling exactly the same and run a scorcher one day and fall completely flat another.  Anyway I managed to get going and forced myself to floor it going up the long hill which we like to torture ourselves with.  I have a new mantra which I keep reciting in my head since I got my Newtons, ‘land, lever, lift’ – it’s quite a good rhythm to run to!  We set a good pace but I wish I’d finished stronger – I guess I’ll keep that with me as I run along a nice flat course next week aiming for a PB:)

I was very grateful to MM who not only watched the kids while I was running but then allowed me to have a nap for an hour to recharge before we headed out to dinner with Mike.  I felt like a million dollars after a good sleep and knew I could indulge guilt free after all the calories burned that morning!  I chose to wear my new AllSaints Dissolve dress.  I just love it.  It is a simple t-shirt dress with a little bit extra – and I love the long sleeves but it’s still light enough to wear on a warm evening.  I think all AllSaints clothes run big and this is a UK size 8 which I could never get into in other brands.  The Economist had this interesting piece on size inflation the other week – talk about vanity sizing! The skirt is lovely and kicks out perfectly – I have to say I felt dead sexy in it (without wanting to sound like Samantha Brick – though I recently heard a friend had labeled me a narcissist for my blogging…not bothered lol).

We had a great evening, with good conversation.  Abattoir is always one of our favorite spots and last night they had lots of my favorite vegetable on the menu – rhubarb.  My cocktail was a Rhubarb Ricky – delicious!

So a little tired today but looking forward to a fun day in the sun again.  Maybe the paddling pool will come out for the first time, and then we’re grilling out later.  I have the perfect Boden stripy tunic to wear.  This dusk stripe was actually my least favorite color of the four I bought, but I have to say I love it on – even MM said he loved it and he initially preferred the darker radish and French blue ones.  My dermatologist will be mad but everything does look a little better with a bit of sun on the skin – don’t worry I’m still wearing my SPF 30!