I don't know...

...where I got this picture from, (I saved it to my phone without noting the source, sorry)... but I like it!

That bbbrrrr time of year already

It's that time of year where running isn't just about putting on a pair of shorts and a tshirt... winter seems to be approaching way too fast. I'm just getting back into training and loving it, but already I've noticed the nights drawing in and the mornings staying dark later. I'm not a big fan of running in the dark by myself so this is massively reducing my 'time to run' window! 

Secondly it's cold already. Now I struggle with the cold pretty much all the time, that is except for while I'm running when, as long as my hands and feet are warm, I'm fine. What I learned tonight is never to listen to anyone else about how many layers I need! I usually go by the rule, wear what I think I need...then take something off (obviously not in the summer when I'm down to minimum layers...that could end up being embarrassing!) I had opted tonight for a tshirt and gloves instead of a top with full length arms.. However on the way out of the door I got told I'd 'need a jumper' (!!!) because it was freezing outside. I didn't believe for a second that I needed a-whole-nother layer on but I did put on my arm warmers just in case... and of course folded them down before I'd even gone a mile!
So here's to winter running again.... layers, hats, gloves, thermals, rain, mud, ice and wind. There's one thing I know for sure... it'll take a lot more than some adverse weather to stop me ;)

Trust Yourself

"You will find that you don't need to trust others as much as you need to trust yourself to make the right choices"

Don Miguel Ruiz

The Four Agreements 

Japanese Proverb

WAHOOOOOO....

.... Today I ran!

In the scale of things I may be a bit too excited about it considering it was just 5km, but that little 5km signifies a return to running for me after a long stretch of injury and illness. To make it even better, it was a beautiful evening (although to be honest I would have loved it whatever the weather).

So everyone, please cross your fingers that this is the end of the injuries and illness and that I can have a new beginning in running and the blog inspiration that seems to go hand in hand with training!

Granny squares everywhere!

With all this time to rest and recover I've made some good progress with my granny square blanket.

As I've done more and more I feel like I've speeded up quite a bit.

Middles!

This photo below shows all my completed squares so far. I plan to braid them together with the black yarn once I have them all ready to join

I think I'm just under half way, though I'm back at work next week so unfortunately I think it could take a little bit longer to do the second half! I hope it's not 6 months before I'm updating you with the finished product!

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I am a runner... Just not at the moment

I'm afraid to say that I've hit another hurdle. Just as I was getting back into running after my knee injury, I hit another set back shortly after returning to England and ended up in hospital having surgery. I'm on the mend, though it will take some time.

The other day I was encouraged by a friend, they reminded me that I am a runner and I will get back into it. I just need to keep that in mind and focus on getting back to full fitness (and resist the urge to do too much too soon!)

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Crochet... really?

Don't ask why but for some reason I've been inspired to make something. Not just anything... I'm inspired to crochet us a blanket for the winter. I remember knitting years ago with my Gran but I don't think I ever crocheted anything and if I did, I don't remember any techniques at all! However with the miracles of websites, blogs and youtube I reckon I can teach myself

I haven't got any of the tools yet but have been busy looking at patters. I'm not sure that I'm able to get the right materials by buying online so I think I'm going to wait until next week when I'm back in York as I know there's an awesome shop that is just full of great stuff.

I first saw this design online and really liked the look of it...

 But then I also saw one like this...

My favourite is this one which is classed as a Sunburst design (I think it's the same or similar to the first pic above). There are lots of step by step tutorials for it and it's classed as easy with several people saying they did it as their first blanket but I'm not sure if it might still be a bit tricky for my first time!

For now I'm busy looking at websites and patterns. I think I could practice the techniques on a couple of really easy designs then when I'm getting the hang of it give these a go. 

Not As Simple As You'd Think!

I learned something this weekend... apparently the rules of sports bras do not apply to trainers! Who'd've thought, eh??

As many of my fellow (girl) runners know, when it comes to sports bras there is no such thing as too much support....  well, apparently in the world of trainers there can be!

Back when I started running in January 2010 I just went to the sports shop and picked up a pair of Nike Airs. There was no thought process about the technicalities of what a trainer does, I just knew that they were a brand I knew, apparently made for running, I could afford them because they were on offer and they looked pretty.

My second pair I picked up were a pair of Nike Free's. Again with no knowledge of what I needed but I had seen the adverts that they were for running (and I fell for the hype!) and I liked the look of them (They do look cute!)

Back then I wasn't covering a lot of miles but over time I was increasing my distance. I hit a big hurdle early in 2011 when I started my 2011km in 2011 challenge. I ended up sitting in the doctors office wondering if my knee would stop me from being able to do my challenge before I was even a quarter of the way into it.
My running life changed once I had a gait analysis done. For the first time ever I bought a pair of trainers not because of how they looked, but because they were the right type and fit with the right support. No adverts, gimmicks, pretty colours or clever advertising required! Don't get me wrong.. this wasn't an instant fix as the first pair (or two) that they fitted didn't work for me for one reason or another. Thankfully I was able to swap them as the shop has a guarantee where if the trainers they fit aren't right, they will exchange them within 30 days.

All that being said I found a sort that suited me before too long. I had several pairs of Brooks Vapor and Adrenaline 11s and ran my 2011 challenge in them as well as my half marathons and full marathon. Both of these are support trainers and they served me well until earlier this year when I ran the Rock n Roll Dallas and got injured. I have tried my best since to stretch and roll and fix my IT band issues but every time I go out for even a short run, those little pains start up, threatening to be big pain if I run more than 4 or 5km.

I don't know why it took me so long but finally I got the opportunity to get my gait checked again when I visited Dallas this weekend which brings me around to my first point. Apparently, unlike sports bras, you can have too much support in a trainer. The Adrenalines are support trainers (which is what I needed when I was first analysed) though my style has changed over time. Some element of the support is now too high and is pushing me to overcompensate... leading to the pain in my knee. Hence... too much support.
So now I am the proud owner of yet another pair of trainers!

I've been out a couple of times in my Brooks Ghost 5s and so far, so good.... please cross your fingers that this is the solution!

Feeling Inspired!

I'm really pleased to say that I've turned a corner this last week. I was lucky enough to go on tour with Noyola and had a great time (some pics to follow later today).
Half way through the tour we were in Houston and could drive home after the show... we had already spent several days travelling, in bars and eating rubbish so I took the opportunity to get out and run. I'm in Texas and it's summer so runs are somewhat hindered by the heat but I was determined to just get out and do what I could. A pretty easy going 4km was enough to make me feel good so I packed my trainers for the second half of our trip.
I surprised myself as I managed to get a couple more runs in on hotel dreadmills while we were away...

They are not usually my favourite thing (as you can see from my drawing) but this week they did have some benefits... Firstly it was a good way to go easy on my knee (there's no camber and they have a bit softer landing than concrete). I was safe in the hotel rather than running around potentially dodgy areas of cities I don't know PLUS they are in air-conditioned comfort so I could run at any time of day. I was making the healthiest choices possible considering that we were on the road and running definitely made me feel energised and healthy.
So basically it seems I have caught the bug again.... I went out for an awesome kayaking session despite the wind yesterday and am looking forward to running again this evening :)

Is it possible to stay healthy on a road trip?

I'm really excited that in a couple of weeks I'm going to get to travel with Paul and his band while they go on tour for a week around Texas. I love to travel and see new places, their music is awesome and they're a great group of guys so I'm looking forward to it.

However there is one aspect of travel over here which I find more difficult than anywhere else in the world. I've travelled quite a lot. I even gave up my job once to go backpacking for a year so I find it surprising that this element of travel still causes me problems.... food and staying healthy on the road.

When I was a backpacker I was younger and I didn't really care what I ate. My body just seemed to deal with everything... though in reality I think I was quite a few lbs heavier in those days too (probably something to do with not caring about what I ate!). In the last couple of years since I started running I've been much healthier. I'm more aware of what I'm putting in my body and often I physically react badly to an unhealthy meal.
In England I have a fairly good grasp on how to stay healthy when I'm away from home but America is totally different. It is the world of fast food, drive thrus and junk food that is guaranteed to make me feel (and look) like a slug.

Although I've learned which are the 'healthier' options on several fast food menus and learned that Subway is my friend, I'm interested to know what you do to stay healthy on the road.
Which is your favourite energy or cereal bar that is fairly balanced nutritionally? I'm a monster if I don't eat for a long stretch of time so I'm hoping these will save me from dashing to the sweet isle when we stop for petrol! I'm also still not running due to my knee so I'm keeping a keen eye on my relatively small calorie intake (boo)
What do you do to avoid eating from fast food restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner when on the road for a week? I should clarify I don't think I'm going to be able to chill food or have ice packs for a cooler as I don't know the facilities in each hotel we'll be staying at. If there is anything I can get before I go (online or in Walmart) that would be preferable. Any suggestions for fresher food along the way they could do with being from places like Walgreens rather than dragging the band off to the supermarket while I do a shop ;)
If you have any ideas I appreciate ALL the help and advice you can give.
Thank you

Blahs

I think I'm suffering from a case of the 'almost 30 blues'. I'm not sure there is definitely such a thing, but if there is (or even if there isn't) I think I have them

My almost 30 blahs are being made worse by two things...

1. I'm not writing anything (I usually really enjoy writing)
2. I'm not running (running is what keeps me sane, healthy and happy)

What I have realised is how much I struggle to write when I'm not running. When I run I'm inspired, I have time to think and in turn I come up with ideas. However my silly iliotibial band is still causing problems which means long runs, or even short runs, are out of the question. What makes this worse for me is that I can't sign up for any races as I don't know when I'll be back on form. That really makes me feel uninspired and as if I have no direction or goal.

So there it is: My almost 30 blues aren't almost 30 blues at all... what I really have is a case of the 'I can't run (but I want to) blues'.

My promise to myself starts here:

• I will stretch EVERY DAY (TWICE, THREE TIMES or as many times a day as I need to) to try to fix my knee injury
• I will do something else that classes as exercise on the same 2 days on 1 day off rotation that I usually run on. From now until I can run again, I'm going to have to find inspiration and fitness through yoga, biking, swimming (when the pool opens) and P90X.

Any suggestions of how to overcome this little hurdle are totally welcome! 

Falling off the blogaggon

How to begin? I feel like I'm starting my blog all over again as I've got out of the habit of writing. 

I don't know if this was an example of writers block or if I have just let everything else be more of a priority than my blog, then at the end of the day when I finally have the time to write I'm too tired to be creative or imaginative.

I notice that the more blog, the more naturally ideas and posts come to me. But for one reason or another I have fallen off the blogging wagon (blagon? blogaggon??) recently. 

I love to write and I know that I may not have hundreds of readers, but I don't do it for the popularity or I'd have given up a long time ago. I like the way that blogging helps me reflect on events and is sometimes like a diary that I can look back on past events and experiences.

So here is my attempt to conquer my writers block... by writing a post, though short and sweet and basically full of nothing I'm hoping it'll open the creative flood gates and allow me to feel inspired enough to write about something more substantial. 

Only time will tell so watch this space..... (but please don't literally hold your breath as I have some roast beef in the oven that has my name on it first!)

 'Everything is still possible!'

Mixing it up a bit

I've had enough of resting already! I understand I need to take it easy and rushing out to run again is only going to aggravate my injury and make my recovery take even longer, but I don't like not doing anything.

Yesterday I decided to try something different; I did the P90X aerobic DVD along with their stretching DVD and Ab Ripper X! None of them were too rough on my knee and it didn't cause any irritation to my injury. By the aches I'm feeling everywhere else today I know I did something good! 

Today I headed out on my mountain bike for the first time in ages. I feel like I've been neglecting my bike but I was so worried about taking it trail riding before the marathon and injuring myself (I don't often come off but every so often a trail catches you out and it can really hurt.... sod's law says I'd total it just before the race!). 

This photo was taken of me last year when I was out riding but basically I grin like that most of the time that I'm riding because I love it so much!

I was peddling like crazy trying to get up the monster hills around here and really felt like I'd done a good workout! On one of the easier sections when I was cooling down a little I realised that I really need to be incorporating some of these other exercises into my running routine. Not only will they help maintain a good level of overall fitness they'll help strengthen other muscles and hopefully prevent injury. 

From now on I'm going to make an effort to ensure that I do other forms of exercise alongside my running, and next time I start a training plan for a marathon or half marathon, cross training and weight training are going to play a major role!