Accidental Break...Ooops..

Wow, December has been a hell of a month. Ofsted + Christmas = STREEEESSSSSSSSSS. I have seriously neglected my workout regime and instead decided to throw all of my energy into work and food. Don't get me wrong, stuffing my face over the last month has been brilliant, I'm not even sorry!

Except...I am a little bit. A visit from Ofsted zapped a lot of motivation and positivity out of me, it was a tricky week but did end in my school being removed from Special Measures, so as you can understand this visit meant a lot, working out wasn't my main concern in December. I am disappointed in myself for falling back into old ways, but like I said my priorities changed.

Anway, all that's in the past. A new year and a new school term is around the corner. I feel refreshed, slightly fatter but injected with more positivity. I'm going to restart my fitness regime the week I go back to work and on the 1st of January I'll be starting a Dryathlon for Cancer Research. No alcohol for January. Not a drop. I've done it before, but this time I'm going to challenge myself and work towards completing a 10k by the end of January. Hopefully I'll manage it, if not I'll stick an extra £20 in the kitty and keep on trying. Talking of which, any donations would be hugely appreciated ;-)

I've also given myself a bit more motivation by spending more money than I could probably afford on a Fitbit Flex. I've been toying with buying one for a while, and while many have dismissed it as a bit of a gimmick, I like the look of it. It's designed to monitor your activity levels, calories and sleep patterns. As I tend to be a restless sleeper, I am interested to see what it tells me. You can also set daily goals and the lights on the wristband tell you how close you are to reaching your target. It's also linked to my Endomondo account which is useful. It's a really nice looking gadget, my Dad has a black one but I opted for the pink. It's the cheapest out of the Nike Fuelband and Jawbone fitness bands, but seems to offer similar functions. I'll give it a try for a few weeks and post a review later, when hopefully I've regained my fitness mojo!

Happy Half Term!

Oh my god, what a tough half term!

Still keeping up with the working out, although I'm doing less and less outdoor runs. Partly due to the weather, but mainly due to the fact that I'm a massive wimp and I hate working out in the cold, miserable & wet weather. I know a lot of people love running in the rain, not me, I'm too in love with my Samsung Galaxy S3 and don't want to damage it, how sad eh?

Luckily a gym has opened up at work, which is super convenient. Even though the treadmill isn't quite the same, I'm running better too. I have been doing intervals which helped me do a longer run last week, and now I know how to use the cross-trainer I can still mix things up a little bit. Unfortunately I only went for a run once this week, but somehow I lost 2lbs(???) Additionally, it was my birthday Thursday and I just wanted to get home and enjoy my last few days as a 25 year old. I'm going out in Newcastle this weekend, so unfortunately it will be a full week before I get back into the routine! I didn't enjoy the last time I had a week off because I felt I lost some fitness, so I'm not looking forward to trying to get back into it. Thankfully I have a week off, so I do a few swims in addition to some running.

Anyway, for now, I intend to enjoy my birthday weekend!

Keep on Running!

I think technically I've graduated from the C25k plan - yippee! I kinda gave up on it a few weeks ago when I found it a little too frustrating (see other posts). I also still can't manage a 5k, BUT my 3ks are getting better and more comfortable which is making me very happy.

I'm not running as much now, but I'm still squeezing in 3/4 workouts per week. It's actually easier now I'm back at work because at least I don't run the risk of being out of the area, just stupidly busy. I've also joined a gym close to home, only for the month though as I found a really good Groupon deal (£15 for 10 sessions). After that I'll be using the gym at work, so I have no excuse for not going! I'm really looking forward to it actually, it'll hopefully be way more convenient and at £15pm it's the cheapest I've managed to find. I'm also very materialistic and I do enjoy having a TV to watch while sweating it out!

I admit though, I have been getting bored of running. Well, perhaps maybe bored of the hard work? I'm not so sure, but it certainly has been frustrating trying and failing at running those damn 5ks. A real turning point was reducing my runs to 3k, as I've said I'm much more comfortable and it is a nicer feeling actually finishing a run and not stopping to walk. I plan to gradually increase the distance over time. Fingers crossed I'll be doing the GNR next year!

I've been supplementing running with cycling & swimming, which is really enjoyable. I've always loved swimming and I usually do just over 1km every session. The cycling varies, but I always do a 30 minute workout with intervals. My worst habit at the minute is not increasing the difficulty, so that's something I'm going to need to work on. I was pleasantly surprised today though when I experienced very little pain in my legs during the run. I normally struggle with my calves and ankles, but I seem to be aching less. Hopefully that's a combination of the many months of training, and the cycling & swimming.

Overall, still feeling really happy. This has become a habit now, a bit like brushing your teeth. Sometimes I can't be bothered, but I feel I HAVE to workout. I've noticed little changes in my figure and moods too, I'm still a walking zombie half the time, but I'm more 'human' than I was a few months ago! My love handles seem to be reducing and generally I feel much more content with my body. Some toning wouldn't go a-miss but something to work on eventually!

Week 9??!

I've been a bit quiet recently, I haven't died or given up, I'm still plugging away. Happily, I'm nearly managing a full 5k but at a very slow pace. I haven't really graduated from C25k but I am planning on moving on from it, especially as I was using the 'timed' version of the plan. I'm able to run for 30 minutes, but not a 5k because I run very slowly!

I'm running a slow pace deliberately, so I can last longer, but if I'm honest I find it demoralizing. I know I'm still relatively new, but I want to do better than a 45min 5k and quickly! (Yes, I'm not very patient) So, I'm going to start on interval training with the same C25k app, I'm hoping this gives the runs a bit of variety and keeps me interested too. I've also read that the health benefits are greater so surely it's worth a try? The plan is 14 weeks long, so will keep me busy when I'm back at work.

I've also joined a gym, just to mix things up a bit. I love swimming, can't get enough of it, and I'm quite taken with cycling so I'm looking forward to doing some cross-training to help my running. Additionally, from a personal safety point of view, I don't fancy running around in the evenings after work when it's starting to get darker!

C25k - W8D1(ish)

Oh my god, I finally broke through the wall! After all that frustration I managed a 30 minute non-stop run! Yippeeeee! It felt really good too, I can't believe it!! I've been stuck on Week 7 all summer and refused to move on until I could break through 25minutes, hence why I put (ish) in the title, because I did the running of Week 9 but haven't done Week 8 yet. To be honest, I may not bother with the C25k plan now and just focus on getting to a non-stop 5km before doing interval runs to up my pace.

Funnily enough, slowing the pace down was probably the best thing I could have done, I felt relaxed and not under so much pressure to keep it up. The other trick was to bin the C25k app, because I found that I was focussing too hard on the 'halfway' announcement and getting frustrated when it didn't come. Today, I just ran. No time indicators, only distance and before I knew it I'd done 22 minutes without even realising AND I was happy to carry on. I also listened to the radio rather than music, which also focussed my mind really well (thanks TalkSport!!)

I'm very happy now and I can settle in front of the footie this weekend guilt-free! Hurrah!

C25K - W7D3

Two weeks to go and I'll be a graduate of the C25k plan - yippee! Except, it may take me more than that. Week 4 was a struggle, now week 7 is the new hurdle. All 3 sessions this week are 25 minute runs, the first was a piece of cake - it was lovely day, not too hot and a nice change of scenery running around Newbiggin beach, get in! The 2nd session didn't go so well. I was still using the Zaggora hotpants, and when you couple that with the heat, I just couldn't do it. I think I managed 1 mile at a time. Ouch. Today, I did improve on the last run, which is a good thing, but I still feel frustrated. I can just about do 2 miles non-stop, but I'm still falling short of the full 5k and I don't feel like I'm getting any closer. I have been feeling a little demotivated as well for some reason, hopefully it's just a blip and once I can break through the 2 mile barrier I'm sure I'll be feeling up to it again.

My plan of action is to repeat week 7 so I can do a full 25 minutes without stopping, even if it takes me all summer!

Zaggora Challenge & Review

Ok, so I have been wearing my Zaggora Hotpants for the 2 weeks now, and although I've been giving updates I'm going to consolidate all that into a main review.

The Science:
I bought the 'Atomica Hotpants', which were £65, I was a little nervous about spending that much money on jogging bottoms but the reviews from other bloggers really convinced me to splash out. The hotpants use Celu-Lite Technology which according to their website is a "patent pending, multi-layer fabric technology" which heats the body up during exercise to "help you burn more calories", in other words, they make you work harder and they make you sweat. The '2 Week Challenge' is encouraged by Zaggora itself -  basically you wear the hotpants everyday for between 30-60 minutes while being active. I found this pretty easy most of the time. I'm training to complete a 5k by the end of the year with the C25K plan, so 3 days a week I'm sorted. The rest of the time I've made myself either go out for a walk or do the housework (honestly, our house & garden have never been tidier!). I only missed one day through the whole two weeks, and that was only because I was overindulging with cakes & alcohol in Harrogate (whoops!)

The Look:
The 'Atomica' Hotpants have a fold-over waistband which enable you to hide your midriff if necessary, not something I'm bothered about as I don't make a habit of wearing clothes that show off my stomach! However, the waistband itself is something that really attracted me to these, as it looked really stylish, funky and UNIQUE. I love the quirkiness of the waistband, it really makes them standout from the rest, and when they came in the post I spent a worryingly long time admiring them! I also love how I can cover up my stomach, smooth out its outline and STILL be comfortable without feeling 'squished in'! As a fashion statement, they really are great. I know that's not the point as when I go out running I turn into a hideously red-faced beast who sounds  like Darth Vader, so anything that I enjoy wearing can't be a bad thing, right?

Just to support the 'fashion statement' claim, I once actually wore these to band practice as leggings underneath a dress and [in my opinion] they still looked pretty good.

The Feel:
A lot is said about way the hotpants feel, they do resemble a wetsuit but there's certainly nothing strikingly unusual about them, and like I mentioned above, I've worn them as leggings and I swear no one was any the wiser. Many comments I've seen complain about the sound they make on the inner thighs, this is especially prevalent when you're running or walking when they rub together. Now, I don't actually have this problem, I've always had a gap between my legs, however, even when I do rub the material to test out the sound I don't feel it's anything to be self-conscious about in my opinion.

The Workout:
One question I got asked about the hotpants was how much you can tell you're sweating. This was something I wondered as well, especially as sweating isn't a very pleasant experience (for me anyway). To be honest, they were really comfortable, the fit was good and I didn't feel sweaty until I took them off. During the workout I definitely felt like I was working harder. I made the mistake once of not taking any water with me on a particularly hot day, and I lived to regret it. Obviously, if you're going to lose this much water, you need to replace it! That's one big bit of advice I'd give to anyone using these. For gods sake, keep yourself hydrated! On a hot day they do make things harder, and I did have a bad run this morning because of the heat. I'm looking forward to trying my other jogging bottoms to see if they make things easier. It's not a big complaint though, as you feel like you're getting more from the workout and that can only be a good thing when you're trying to build stamina.

As for washing, Zaggora recommend that you wash on a cool temperature or hand wash. I've been washing these 1-2 times a week and rinsing in the shower every other time. So far so good. They dry quickly as well, so no need to worry about having damp jogging bottoms next time you use them.

Good:

• They look great, nice design and very flattering.
• Good quality material.
• Excellent fit, waistline can be adjusted depending on how much you want to cover.
• You work harder during workouts.
• Easy to look after.

Bad:

• Not great for people who don't like excessive sweat, but that's down to personal preference. If I didn't like that, I wouldn't buy them.
• Expensive. I spent a long time deliberating whether to get some. I gave in to temptation, but I may save any future purchases until my birthday or Christmas.
• You can get very hot in them. Take water with you on a workout.

Overall:
Ok, here's the real test - did I lose anything? That's the big selling point, the thing that Zaggora insist the hotpants help with. I grew quite frustrated with many of the reviews I read, because many mentioned how they worked, how they looked and how much they sweat, I don't feel they addressed the true issue - do they actually work?

Before:
Waist - 84cm
Hips - 105cm
Thigh - 55cm

After:
Waist - 79cm
Hips - 100cm
Thigh - 53cm

So that's 2 inches from my waist and hips, and 2cm from my thighs. Not bad going for 2 weeks! My weight hasn't changed at all though. I see a lot of reviews where people shed lbs quite quickly, but not for me. Like I've said, I am running though so I'd assume that's down to muscle mass (I have lost 2lbs since I started running). My diet hasn't changed much either, I'm eating better generally but I didn't make a deliberate attempt to change anything during the 2 week challenge.

So, a nice little loss there. Something that will certainly motivate me to keep using them (for £65 I'd be daft not to!), especially if I'd lost a couple of inches in the space of 2 weeks. As I'm still on my summer holidays I'll still have the time to wear them everyday, so who knows how much more I'd lose in the next 4 weeks?

I'd definitely recommend Zaggora for anyone who wants to lose inches, but this would have to be alongside a decent diet and active lifestyle. I didn't lose any weight, but I have seen people who have had more success. If you are willing to pay the money, then go for it. Zaggora do some fantastic, stylish products, and I can't wait to keep using the hotpants over the summer. Now I'm going to start saving for my next purchase :-)

Zaggora Challenge - Day 11

Just over halfway with the Zaggora Challenge and I gave into temptation and measured myself at the (just over) halfway stage and happily found that I've lost a few inches! I'm rather pleased with the statistics even if I don't see the physical results myself. My partner tells me that he can see a difference but I'm never sure if he's just trying to keep me sweet :-) My weight has stayed pretty much the same since I started taking notice of it, but I don't expect to see a big difference if the running is creating muscle. I'm extra pleased with the consistent weight & lost inches because I had a day full of steak, cakes and booze in Harrogate yesterday too! Very naughty, I also haven't worn the pants since Sunday...whoops. Anyway, back to it tomorrow with a run around Newbiggin which hopefully will mean a nice beach run. Fingers crossed after an indulgent weekend it's not too punishing!

Zaggora Challenge - Day 6

C25K - W6D2

Oh dear, that was not a good run! I've been taking water with me lately due to the hot weather but mistakenly thought I'd be ok this morning - wrong! I haven't felt this bad since week 1 when I couldn't even run for 60 seconds! Ouch....a big 22 minute run is coming on Saturday, hopefully today was just a bad day at the office.

As the hotpants, they are still seemingly working their magic. I'm not sure whether to do a 'half-way' measurement tomorrow to mark the first week, but I doubt I'll see much difference. One thing for sure if that they make me work HARD. I've been wearing them everyday, ensuring I am as active as possible. For a couple of days it was just a case of sorting the washing or going to band, but most of the days I have been doing something more strenuous in them (running, mowing the lawn, Zumba etc.) I definitely sweat more from running, today was certainly no exception, which probably increases the need to take water when I'm out.

After every use I rinse them through in the shower, but still stick them in the washing machine once a week. I was quite worried about washing them everyday, but so far there are no ill effects, but that's only after a week. They dry very quickly and this is without rinsing or wringing, they are often ready to wear the next day.

Anyway, I'm still overheating from that run, I might go and sit in the freezer to cool down.

Zaggora Challenge - Day 2

Zaggora Challenge
Waist = 84cm
Hips = 105cm
Thigh = 55cm

C25K - W5D3

Another milestone reached today! I did a 20 minute run non-stop, which meant I kept going for a full 2 miles! Get in! I'm really pleased, especially considering how much I struggled in week 4 (a struggle which I blame on the ridiculous heat). This was my first run with the Zaggora hotpants too. I was worried they would make things more difficult due to the sweating but they didn't at all, I was obviously working harder as that's what they're designed to do, but I didn't feel any ill effects.

Overall the run went well, still experiencing pain in my legs, but not quite as bad as before, I find that slowing the pace helps. It gets worse when I'm going up hill, but I suppose that's to be expected. The weather was much more bearable today as well, at 9:30am it was quite cloudy but a lot cooler. I didn't have the benefit of a day's worth of walking to warm me up either.

Feeling really happy with my self today :-)

Zaggora challenge

I'm so excited, my Zaggora hot pants arrived today, they look fabulous and I can't wait to try them! I'll be taking the 2 week challenge to see how many lbs I shed with them and posting a review later :-)

Salad in a Jar

As well as the running I've been making an effort to improve my diet as well. I've been wanting to lose a bit of weight for a while, and while I'm by no means overweight (just right for my age & height actually) I've not been happy when stepping on the scales. I get a lot of inspiration and ideas from the fantastic Pinterest, and one of my favourite new finds was Salad in a Jar. It's basically salad. In a jar. Crazy, I know. The idea is that the air-tight jar keeps the salad fresher for longer and it's easier to layer up. You place the salad dressing on the bottom, then vegetables, pasta, feta cheese and lettuce leaves on top. When you're ready to eat it, you shake the jar and you're away.

This is my salad for the past couple of weeks, I'll put the recipe below in the order that they were placed in the jar. Almost anything can be put into these salads as well. Many Pinterest bloggers recommend staying away from 'smelly' vegetables & food (fish, onions for example). I'm going to try adding some chicken next week just to up the protein intake.

French dressing (1% fat, from Sainsburys. I also used vinaigrette and Caesar dressing for other salads.
4 Tomatoes, cut into quarters.
1 Green & 1 orange pepper.
Half a cucumber, cut into quarters.
5 radishes, into into quarters.
Pasta
Feta cheese
Lettuce leaves.

W4D3

This week has been the hardest since I started, the runs are now up to 5 minutes and although they have been a struggle, I finally managed to complete yesterday's session without a stop, hurrah! I plan to redo a couple of sessions though, just to make sure I am definitely ready to move on. The problem has been that I've only been doing 2 runs a week for the past couple of weeks, this is solely to blame on the fact that I suddenly have a social life! I've been out on the Saturday, then too hungover to move in the Sunday (or at a gig with the brass band I play in). Ok, alcohol obviously isn't the best way to ensure a healthy 'runners' diet, but I'm allowed to relax, right? Anyway, it's Durham Gala this Saturday which I'm very much looking forward to, so that'll be another weekend lost. On the plus side, it's nearly the summer holidays! Yippeee!

I was quite disappointed on the first day of week 4, I just couldn't manage it and dropped about 4 minutes. My calves were very tight and I had a vicious stitch. Ouch. Day 2 got better and I only dropped 1 minute, still with the calf pain. But then day 3, in the blistering heat I got through it, not quite pain free, but after doing much needed warm up stretches I survived to the end. Very happy.

In other news, Ofsted are finally in, cue STRESS. Actually no,....weirdly enough the school has had a really relaxed atmosphere. I felt cool, calm and even ready for an inspector, which for me isn't normal, surely I'd missed something? Apparently not. I had my 'visitor' with a lower set Year 8 class and they were perfect, I'm really proud of them and can't wait to tell their TA how good the feedback was! Overall I came out with a 'Good' which I'm delighted with. One more day with Ofsted and fingers crossed we'll come through alright and then we're on the home straight to the summer holidays. I can't wait!

W3D1

Ran for 3 minutes straight today! Woohoo! Ok, I know it's not much, but trust me, I am pretty pleased with myself. I was nervous about upping my runs to 3 minutes, but I found it surprisingly easy. Powering through!

Progress Update

Its been a few weeks since my last post, and I haven't given up! I've ditched my original training plan (mainly because the BUPA website wouldn't load it!) and gone with the seemingly popular Coach to 5k plan. I've made it to week 2 and things are feeling good. Really, they are.

Today was a bit of a test, I woke up yesterday with a blocked ear and this puts me in a foul foul foul mood (it's a reoccurring problem, which is fixed by using olive oil for a weeks, but unfortunately my lack of patience gets the better of me). I also woke up at 6:30am on a SATURDAY. That's a SATURDAY. Ofsted is looming as well, and the combination of the 3 made me feel pretty glum this morning. I've seen a lot of magazine articles and well-seasoned experts say that exercise has a good affect on moods, but all I wanted to do was sleep and spend money (my version of comfort eating!) Luckily by 5 my mood lifted and I felt good for a run.

The good thing about the C25k run is that I can build up my runs, I started with 60 seconds of running, and 90s of walking, and now I'm onto 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking. It got easier as the week went on, but by day 2 I was really struggling to do 60 seconds - pathetic, right? I was literally BEGGING for the 60 seconds to be up, but miraculously it got easier by day 3! Today's longer runs weren't too bad, but it's early days yet!

By the way, the app I'm using for C25k is called RunDouble, and it's fabulous. I was a little worried about timing the laps with my phone, but this app tells me when to change my pace which is very useful. I also use the Nike+ app as it records my route (although the GPS has been pants this week and I've not been able to log the route!)

Onwards and upwards!

Rambling Around Northumberland

Today was the first day of my training plan (the aim is to run 3 miles in 8 weeks), had to do a 15 minute 'brisk' walk. Ended up doing a very leisurely walk around various locations in Northumberland, had a nice day though and definitely a good way to start.

We began in Holy Island, clocking 1.5miles of walking, had a lovely picnic too. Weather was gloomy but luckily it meant no more evil sunburn! We moved onto Bamburgh, had a look around the Grace Darling museum which was quite interesting and admired the castle. Finally we ended up eating tea in SeaHouses. A few more walking sessions to go before I start running properly, and luckily my new shoes were far more comfortable too!

The first pitfall...

Soo...new trainers, as pretty as they were clearly hated me, my feet and my big toes. Thought I'd wear them to a BBQ yesterday to make sure they were comfortable, not a problem all night until I went to bed and I've woken up in excruciating pain, argh! Decided that it must have been the shoes, especially as after inspection we discovered that my toes were near enough touching the end of the shoe. Rookie mistake! (I'm suffering from split shins as well which doesn't help, but it's been sore since the Kielder walk). Luckily the nice people at Sports Direct set me right and recommended a men's size 8 (clown feet!). Giving these an outing at Holy Island tomorrow. Fingers crossed for good weather and no more tortured toes!

New running shoes! Pretty pleased with these :-)

Born to Run?

Ok, that's it. Shoes, clothes and water bottle purchased, blog started. I'm actually going to have to do this aren't I?

As this is my first, post an introduction would be advisable I suppose - I'm a music teacher by day, novice runner by night. I have wanted to become fitter and let's face it, less podgy around the midriff for ages, but never found the motivation. I WANT to do lots of things, but doing it is another matter. I enjoy swimming and walking, but I don't do it enough, however after an 11 mile charity walk around Kielder and I have the bug. I always get a growing sense of jealousy watching my friends complete half marathons and fun runs, and wish I could do something as admirable. I did a Dryathlon in January which for me was a big deal and I was pretty proud of myself when I did it (£150 raised for charity as well!) but I always wonder whether I could do MORE? Something which is actually a challenge.

The 11 mile walk I did yesterday gave me a big sense of achievement, I felt GOOD as well (except for the sunburn, ouch!) The weather was glorious, the views was beautiful and the company was excellent. It's that 'good' feeling that seems to have spurred me on and today I was buzzing to go out and buy some running gear and actually do something for once.

I'm quite please with my haul, I've definitely spent too much money but this month, which means I'll have to take up running properly. I have a GPS tracking app and a training plan ready to go, half term seems as good as any time to start so Tuesday will be my first day. I'm not sure how I'll be able to fit work in when I go back, I might do most of my running over the weekend and once in the week, that's when my motivation will probably falter - do I get up early or do it after work? I hate everyone and everything in the morning, and I'm usually a ravenous beast after work so that will be the real first test (that, and the temperamental English weather!)

Anyway, this blog will be used to track my progress with the occasional rant about work. Please enjoy and if you have any advice please chip in! (I've already had the "don't do it!" talk though!)