Having started running in 2013 to try and help me with some issues I was having with my mental health, I ended up with an injury and enforced break in 2014. In May of that year I kicked out my then-partner of 12 years and started doing basic HIIT routines at home. I lost a little bit of weight and got bitten by the fitness bug, but failed to take it further.
Then, in April 2016 after a period of bad life luck, I lost my oldest cat unexpectedly. Feeling bereft I spent three days sat in my pants weeping. By the end of day 3 I decided to pull myself together, to be strong. Mentally I was a wreck, so knew that I would have to be physically strong instead. I called a local free weights gym and went over for an induction session.
As of 2024, I have run several marathons, I'm a national medal winner for patterns (tul) in ITF taekwon-do, I strength train at least 3 days a week and I’ve competed in a handful of powerlifting competitions.
In addition to these regular sports, I have spent time learning to pole dance, play netball and generally move as much as possible. As an unexpected side effect my mental health is better than it’s ever been and I’m well equipped to deal with everything life throws at me. Never underestimate the power of strong!
I travelled up to Leeds with Gaz to see my brother at the weekend, figuring I should probably make the effort as we’re getting close to C.. Chr… nope, can’t say it. We celebrated our mutual awesomeness by booking a meal at Fazenda, a Brazillian Rodízio style restaurant. In case you have no idea what… read full entry »
Last week I entered a marathon. Yes, me, the person who runs slow AF half marathons on no training because it seems like too much effort. I have entered a bloody marathon. And not just ANY marathon, oh no. I have entered the “How Hard Can It Be” May the 4th be with you trail… read full entry »
Creative blog post title, huh? I’ve just come back from Gloucester, where I ran the Great Highnam Court 10km with Katy (again); slightly slower this year with 01:07:23 but I managed to not twist my ankle this time. It has made me realise that if I can run an injured 10km faster than I can… read full entry »
You’d think having not blogged for over a month I’d have a huge array of exciting developments to fill you in on. Unfortunately, however, my life is just chores, bum-wiping and work, and I’m too lazy to make anything exciting up so you’re not disappointed by my very existance. But in a nutshell (for those… read full entry »
Holy crap, it feels like I basically haven’t stopped doing stuff lately. I’d blame that for my inconsistent blogging but we all know that’s been an issue for many years, so I’ll cut to the chase and get you up to speed on the funky biz that’s happening in my life at the moment… The… read full entry »
I did something yesterday that I’ve been working up to since August last year. I called a local free weights gym to see if they could give me advice, check my form, and generally just introduce me to the gym environment so that I can progress with my lifting (which has unfortunately plateaued again). My… read full entry »
What a weekend. I’ve been panicking over the past few weeks about my half marathon, which I half-arsedly agreed to and failed to train for completing roughly 4 runs in the run up (the longest of which was 12km; a half marathon is over 21km!) Anyway, by some wondrous magical miracle I managed to complete… read full entry »
Having moaned not so long back that I had let myself go with my workouts and had put some chub back on, I had a quick surge of inspiration which saw me back on the weights, which meant I dropped 5lbs or so and got back to my normal easy maintenance weight. And then I… read full entry »
In my ongoing quest for a sub 1 hour 10km race time, I completed the inaugural Great Highnam Court run yesterday around the stunning Highnam Court grounds. Unfortunately, I did not get my sub 1 hour time (again), although I am totally blaming this on the fact that I twisted my ankle in a hidden… read full entry »
A month ago I posted about my muddy run in London and noticing some bodily side effects: it all adds up to a shit ton of alcohol, far too much junk food and not enough veg which ultimately means I have a lingering cold [..] and me going distinctly soft around the middle again. Despite… read full entry »