Sheffield Half Marathon

This year the Sheffield half marathon event was taken over by Plusnet's Run Yorkshire run for all team. Last years event was cancelled at last minute due to there not being enough water on the route. This year was far from that; plenty of water and a very well organised event. 

The Route

The idea of 'the triple test' worked fantastically, could you be king of the mountains? Could you run the fastest 10K? Or could you win the overall race? 

Well, for the King of the Mountains test they could not have picked a better route. The first 4 miles take you up steady and steep hills, and that's before you start your King of the Mountains trial. After you've climbed what feels like the steepest hill ever you cross the start line for you timed hill trial. I couldn't actually believe that there could be any more hills. When you reach the top of the timed hill trial you hit a steady flat run for about 1.5 miles. However, this steady flat was not easy due to mother nature, horrendous winds made this section at the highest point of the run very difficult. Something to remember after a truly awful climb, 'what goes up, must come down'. At 7.5 miles you start to feel the benefit of that climb when you start to decent. A lovely, speedy and easy last few miles to end the race. 

The Atmosphere

A massive thank you to everyone who came out to support the runners, the people of Sheffield you did yourselves proud! Crowds out to challenge some of the larger races in the country. The organisers did an awesome job at providing music and entertainment throughout the race. And the charities, as always had some amazing supporters (and cheerleaders) to cheer each and every runner on regardless of which charity they were running for. 

All in all, the race was great, a nice challenging course, and a superb atmosphere. I ran this with a group of my mums friends to raise money for The Stroke Association, we raised over £1000 which we were delighted with. The T-shirts and medals were also super pretty which always helps. Fancy a challenging run? Go sign up for next years event on the 10th April 2016. It's not an easy race, but it will be a T-shirt and medal to be proud of!

Diet; my new favourite meal,

Coconut Oil

Brown rice 

Quorn chicken pieces

Spinach

Low fat goats cheese

Tomatoes

Humous 

Sweetcorn 

Peas

Sun-dried Tomatoes

1) Wilt the tomatoes and spinach in a pan with a tea spoon of coconut oil.

2) add the quorn chicken pieces to start cooking slowly

3) pop a bag of  brown rice in the microwave

4) chop up 3 sun-dried tomatoes 

5) warm peas and sweetcorn in a pan and drain

6) add sun-dried tomatoes, peas and sweetcorn to the rice

7) chop 30g of reduced fat goats cheese and put in the pan with spinach, chicken and tomatoes at the last minute.

Serve and eat immediately with some humous! 

Managing your fitness & the rest of your life,

Hi guys,

First of all I'm so sorry I haven't blogged in such a long time.

I have to confess I have been very busy, and been neglecting my fitness.

I am just getting back on track and I want to advise you all how you can manage your work, social life, family, your dog, your fitness and your diet. I have recently started a Monday to Friday placement and I have been finding it terribly hard to find time to go running, get my conditioning done or prepare meals. 

Plan

Plan what your eating for your dinner and evening meal each night so you have all the ingredients in.

Prepare

Prepare your lunch the night before you go to bed, and even chop up your fruit salad for breakfast if your feeling really organised.

Schedule 

Make time for your exercise, whether you need to get up an hour earlier so you can spend the evening with your friends, or you go running at 9pm at night. Make sure you know what your doing well in advance and plan around it.

Top tips: 

1) Always carry water with you at work, or out and about stay well hydrated especially on the days you know your doing exercise.

2) Always carry healthy snacks with you in case your running late, or feel you need to eat an hour before you finish work so your ready to work out as soon as you get home.

3) Always get a good nights sleep, a full 8 hours if possible!

It's hard to manage a busy life style, I often incorporate my workouts with getting the dog out for a run. Or if I'm watching my favourite TV show, I do my conditioning at the same time. I definitely got out of my routine a couple of months ago, life just happened. But I can 100% promise you I feel a million times better now I'm making the time for my exercise and diet. Eventually it becomes your way of life and a force of habit, it feels natural and great! 

A healthy body is a healthy mind. 

Lent, what have you given up?

This year for lent, I have given up... CHOCOLATE!
I genuinely feel like I deserve a medal, or at least sponsorship! I'm in my last week and I just cannot wait to crack open my big Easter egg when it's all over!
However, despite that I can genuinely say, after the first week, it did start to get easier!



So what did you give up for lent this year?

Triathlons,

Are you thinking of signing up for a triathlon? Read this to find out about the training and preparation needed.

Firstly, I am  very sorry that I haven't blogged in weeks, I have been so busy!

So on March 26th I completed an Olympic distance triathlon! I am not a strong swimmer, and cycling is something that I never ever train, so I was only really confident that I could nail the run!

Training,

So I only really started training properly the week after my marathon! This only gave me 5 weeks. I would not suggest to anyone to train for a triathlon in just 5 weeks! I trained four times a week, two-three of the exercises. For example, a 1000m swim, then a 20k cycle. I always trained in the order I would be doing them on the day to get my body used to the different muscles being targeted. Realistically I feel I could have trained something every day, and I would have got a better time!

On the day,

The triathlon was indoors, which definitely made it easier! No currents to swim against and no hills to run or cycle up! The swim I had done the lest training for, I find it very boring and I'm not very good at it so I try to avoid it (never a good idea) 60 long, slow lengths, completed in 41 minutes! A mixture of breast stroke and very very bad front crawl! I got dried off and went to start my 40k cycle - 47 minutes in, and half way there I needed to pee! After a quick toilet break I was back on the bike and another 43 minutes later I was finished! I didn't even feel the cycle really, I think I was sooo relieved the swim was over I just enjoyed myself! Then to the run. I was expecting a new personal best... But no, my legs feel literally like jelly. I have to start with a very very slow jog! Then as my legs start to settle, I suddenly notice how weak my arms feel! Even holding them up at the side of me is a task in itself, the swim has come back to haunt me! I managed the run in a less than impressive 56 minutes, and shortly collapsed in a heap on the floor. 

Triathlons are not for the faint hearted, your body will hate you for it! I suggest anyone wanting to complete one trains for at least 3 months. However, I loved trying something new, and it's another achievement to add to the list :) I organised the event and it raised £1,769.13 for nine different charities! Eleven other girls completed it with me, and I know it's something we can all be very proud of :)

So get your swimming costumes, goggles, lycra and your trainers, and try something new!

Should girls be lifting weights,

For some reason, there still seems to be confusion about whether or not women should be lifting weights?

Why wouldn't we lift weights? They give you tone and definition, strength and shape!

I think there is a huge grey spot around weights, some people are scared of looking many, bulking up and gaining weight so they avoid weight lifting. Yes, muscle does weigh more than fat, however fat takes up 90% more space than muscle. You may gain a couple of pounds on the scales, but you'll loose inches in the areas you work on. 

Doing 3 sets of 10 reps of bicep curls is not going to turn you into a body builder, and neither will 2 set of 16 reps of chest flies and tricep dips. My advice, if you're unsure what to do at the gym book a 1:1 session with an instructor. Most gyms will offer and induction and orientation to the machines and weights. I have some videos on my YouTube channel which are great starting place if you're unsure about what you should be doing.

Le tour de Yorkshire is coming,

So Le Tour de France, is coming to Yorkshire! On July 5th all the cyclists will be coming to Yorkshire to cycle our leg of the tour! 

I am not  a cyclist, I never have been, but recently I have been training for an Olympic distance triathlon and the thought of cycling 40k in a couple of weeks is making me want to cry, how these guys complete 3200k over the three week period is completely beyond me! I have such an amazing amount of respect for them, such incredible athletes! 

I have lived in Yorkshire my whole entire life, and when I found out that le tour was coming to Yorkshire I instantly couldn't wait! I live in a little town called Otley. Otley holds a cycle race each year in June, and each year it seems to be getting a much bigger event. I think after le tour has been to Otley it will only get bigger which is great. The tour route literally goes straight through my town, and I can only imagine how many people will be out lining the streets cheering the cyclists along. I run parts of the route most days, and all the surrounding fields are turning into campsites, and bits of land advertising parking.... it really does seem to be getting close! So if you haven't got plans for the 5th of July, come to Otley, get yourself on a campsite and come watch some amazing sports! 

For more information click on the image below.