I suppose the norm is to feel heinous about what happened in December and in a fit of insanity to start on lettuce and join a gym on 2nd January (after the new years' eve hangover has finally worn off) but quite contrary to the trend, I feel good. Back in September I wrote about where I was at at with my healthy lifestyle - trying to haul myself back on the bandwagon with bloodied broken nails and how I envisaged turning things around. Well I'm pleased to say that I've kept up a regular amount of exercise since then, with great results. My fitness levels seem to be better, I'm feeling more inclined to start a workout than try to bunk off with excuses. With the dark evenings it's been impossible to run outside although each weekend we do try to get out for a 5k as long as it's not icy. Over the Christmas break I think I ran about 25-35k in total and it left me feeling uplifted instead of guilty. So what if I over-indulged in food and drink for the best part of a month? That's just life. I stuck with exercise and have no regrets. That said, this year we are trying to pack in more vegetables and less processed food especially carbs. The main change being porridge for breakfast instead of toast. No biggie.
I bought myself a new pair of running shoes as my others are so worn away inside that it looks like a rodent as been in and nibbled away for nesting matter. I like the way they match almost identically with the colour of the cyclamen flowers (apparently this may be an indoor variety but it is hanging on even though the deer munched half).
So what goals should I set? It's a tricky one because there are not an awful lot of ways to measure if you don't use weights or weigh yourself or measure yourself. Although I would obviously like to slim down so I can wear my clothes again (yup that would be nice), I want to stretch my physical capabilities disregarding appearance.
Here's a few goals for 2018 (some more optimistic than others)

• Our best 5k run to date was at the weekend (23:55) and I'd like to run sub 23 minutes. Breaking my PB of 21:47 sounds too much of an ask so I'll see how running goes this year.
• I'd like to be able to do 10 of those close arm press ups with your elbows in to your sides
• I'd like to do one respectable diamond press up
• I'd like to work on doing a handstand push up (best try a handstand first!)
• I'd like to do a convincing 2:30 plank. My planks are terrible - I can't breathe and my main risk is passing out if I push too much. I need to research how to improve this
• I'd like to get up to level 11 on the beep test. We do one at boot camp and I believe it's the 15 meter one.
• Pull ups - I want to try these and get better. 

That sounds like plenty to be getting along with for now.
Take care,
Sophie

Sports bras are absolutely THE most important piece of sports kit for women. Although I've got a modest bust I am resolute about adequate support for all activities, especially sport.
My list of exercise activities isn't exactly vast; running and boot camp so I find that all my sports bras are used for both (especially as I don't have all that much to keep under control), a multi purpose sports bra suits me well. I've been over the moon with my Active Multi Sports bra which I've been wearing since November. The Shock Absorber SS16 collection is made up of four fabulous styles, the other three being the Ultimate Run Bra, Active Zipped Plunge Bra and this, the Active Shaped Support Bra which I've been trying out for the last couple of weeks.
This is the first sports bra in a long time that I'd describe as dressy, it looks gorgeous and makes me feel really feminine; a snuggly bright blue base layer with a black gauze overlay with strong shaped stitching. It's supremely comfortable to wear as the soft blue base is lightly padded, soft and breathable, it wicks away moisture and doesn't budge at all. In terms of fit, I'm really happy with it, my size is just right and the single clasp at the back (it has three hooks, for just.in.case) makes it an easy one to pop on and more importantly, off. The adjustable shoulder straps are much wider than any of my non-sports bras to avoid digging in. Shock Absorber know their stuff when it comes to support; it's no surprise they are an award winning sports bra brand who specialise in breast health, that's what you expect when their designs are based around the results of scientific research in how to combat breast bounce and how us ladies can take good care of bodies during exercise.
Back in 1994 Shock Absorber designed their original bra and soon in depth research aided the constant development of sports bras to control movement and allow women to feel comfortable and confident to take on everything they want to.
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Many thanks to Shock Absorber for sending me the bra to review. It was a joy. All content and opinions my own.
Sophie

Last year saw my fitness regime all but completely evaporate and funnily enough, there were consequences. At the start of the year I stepped on the scales for the first time in a long time, met with something of a shocker which has only been corroborated by most of my jeans refusing to do up. I knew that something had to change, both in my weekly activities and in my head too. A healthy body goes hand in hand with a healthy mind, or something like that. Late nights and bingeing on junk food is no good for you regardless of how much you work out so I had to look at everything in the round.

As my strength is better than it's ever been, it was clear that cardio was where improvement was needed and running on the treadmill was the obvious answer. I can't lie, most of the time I still whine about having to run after work. It tends to be something that feels like it's getting in the way of relaxing and enjoying my evening but deep down I know I have to do the exercise. So after a bit of a dither (I still need to iron out the 'putting it off' stage) I don my running kit and hop on the treadmill four evenings a week. One hour of bootcamp still stands firm in my diary. The rest have been allotted to a run. My relationship with the treadmill is hate-hate. It's a machine and therefore will not negotiate nor show compassion which doesn't sit well with me. What I really want is to set a time and count down with a neat way of scheduling the speeds but so far no joy. The treadmill is sturdy and safe but as I've got a relatively fast sprint in me the speeds I whack it up to seem to end up with me running in a messy fashion with one false move potentially ending in disaster. Due to the insane irritation that the treadmill causes me, I try to vary what happens on each session; sometimes a short fast mile, a HIIT session, a steadier longer go... To be honest my longest encounter has been about 1.75 miles this year and my shortest run lasted ten minutes. I always get off the treadmill puffing and hot.
I'm getting there. Once it's light enough I'll be outside hitting the roads again. I want to fall in love with running again, looking forward to feeling like this is something I want to do and enjoy. It's progress!
Sophie 

I have been almost bursting at the seams to talk about where I'm at in my fitness journey at the moment! The warmer weather has worked it's magic and I'm now feeling really motivated to get moving, get busy, get planning and make some progress.
First off, running has suddenly become something I'm looking forward to as opposed to being a real drag. We have been out for three outdoor runs now and to be honest they were brilliant. The very first was on a Saturday evening a couple of weeks ago; the evening was looming and while the great, wide sky was pale blue to start with, it morphed through oranges and pinks in front of my very eyes while I breathed in the fresh air and stretched my legs with the luxury of grass underfoot.
It frankly, was magical. The warmth from the sun earlier in that day was amazing, it kept my skin feeling nourished and my spirit feeling alive. The run itself went well, I ran the best time this season by a country mile and I felt grrrrrreat!
I've been a lucky girl lately and have got my sticky paws on some new sportswear, hurrah! I always feel more motivated and inspired when I wear new kit, it somehow makes that difference and puts more of a spring in my step. My collection is mostly black with a dose of pink (and I don't even really like pink all that much) so I'm over the moon to wear this green muscle tee over my blue American Apparel sports bra top which is such a cheerful colour combination! I also like a cosy cover up to wear in spring to keep me toasty 'til I warm up so I went for a neutral heather grey shade in this American Apparel fleece cropped sweater which is perfect.
If you want to get some great value sportswear to pep you up this spring then Buytshirtsonline have a good choice at great prices too. A big thanks for being sent these items, all opinions my own.
I have so much more to tell you but I've run out of time so it will have to wait for another post.
Take care,
Sophie

Running...my long forgotten hobby.

Despite all the pep talks, plans and good intentions I barely did any running over the last three months. It started when I got a cold in November, which wiped me out for a couple of weeks and by the time I felt better, I had some minor niggles which got me off the hook again. By Christmas I was 'too busy' and then I was 'too tired' and then I was too out of the swing of it to even bother with excuses.

Running outside is the only way I want to run really; I can choose to alter my pace at any time and know that I've got to get back home one way or another so keeping running is the fastest way. I'm point blank refusing to step outside with a run in mind when it's icy out; there's no way I want to slip over or give myself an injury. I think it was two weeks ago that I mustered the motivation to go out even though it was mighty cold, maybe three degrees Celsius. I wore my long leggings, tee with a hoody (nothing would persuade me that I'd start without it), New Balance running shoes, Garmin watch the size of a dinner plate and my brand new gloves. The Nike running gloves were a thoughtful Christmas present from my brother and I was pleased to find they fitted a treat, keeping my hands warm enough while out.

Although I timed the run, I wasn't aiming for a 'good' time, it was more the case that I just wanted to see what I was working with to start off with. The run was hard, after 1k I was ok, by 2k I was ready to give up and go home, by 4k I was ragged and weary. At 5k I was worn out and feeling sick and looking at a time significantly different to my PB I can tell you.

The good news is that I have a lot of potential for improvement this season, shall we say. I know that I have the drive to push myself to get back on track but getting started is the hardest thing to do. Now I've got my foot in the door this should be the start of training for this year. I'm still undecided about whether I want to compete in any races this year or just keep it as a casual affair.

One thing I really do need to get back on top of is eating healthily; I'm still not back on board with cooking much from scratch and I think I need to try a couple of completely new dishes to inspire some enthusiasm. I've seen a couple of recipes on upgradethishuman.com that have caught my eye! James has a really cool blog with lots of interesting posts on health, fitness and wellbeing, I recommend you check it out.

Bear with me, I'll need a while to get out of the starting blocks.

Sophie

Ideally I'd like to run at least two other days during the week but I've had to make some compromises lately which I don't mind particularly as I'd prefer to keep running as something I love and enjoy as opposed to forcing myself to go out in a rigorous and unforgiving schedule. I don't think I've done a 10k run since May come to think of it, because they do take so long and it's much quicker and convenient to nip off for a 5k. The 'no pressure' approach to my running goals is paying off; it's been fun and has kept me entertained. I'm so lucky that Chris is thoughtful enough to run with me (for at least the first 3.5k anyway) as it's that little bit nicer even if we don't say a word except CAR!



In a fit of determination and enthusiasm for making a solid run last week I somehow managed to knock out a personal best time which I can't quite believe, ten seconds faster than my previous best around a month ago (which was slightly overshadowed a couple of days later when Chris announced he'd run a sub 20 minute 5k, what a git).

Getting the balance of exercise and nutrition is an on-going trial and error experiment but what's new. The last few weeks I've been stricter with myself about the unnecessary snacks that had started creeping back in to each day; seriously, biscuits are a no-no and just three can cancel out a workout which is not worth it to me at all. Making better choices is my on-going aim; fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meats, fish and whole grains are the name of the game. With a few treats kept as treats.



I'm pretty sure I'm now getting more protein into my diet than I used to which is really important for recovery, don't underestimate how much your body needs this. For lunches I ensure I get a good bit of protein in with my salad; either mackerel, chicken breast, bacon, corned beef or cheddar cheese. For our dinner there is always a good element of protein too. Personally, I'm partial to the odd protein bar, shake or extra portion a couple of times a week too. I tried a new protein drink called Upbeat this week which is a high protein fresh dairy drink, a great way to up your protein intake without chomping through some meat. The strawberry one was scrummy and I'd happily drink one of these a day if someone bought them for me; they are cute little bottles with a really straightforward message; whey protein and real fruit for a healthy, low fat drink. They are found in the chiller cabinet with the ever expanding collection of health beverages and the only negative is the price: £1.75 for 250ml, but it compares ok to similar products.

Do you make the effort to get enough protein in to your diet?
Do you keep up your exercise regime when life gets busy?

Sophie

I was sent Upbeat for the purposes of an impartial review, all opinions my own as always

It's high time my health and fitness plan was reassessed and given a much-needed shake up, today's post comes from Josh Mann, a personal trainer and nutrition advisor who is scrutinising my current regime and putting forward his recommendations. This is very exciting for me! Over to Josh
Sophie and I have been have been speaking recently on Twitter and I have offered to have a look at her current regime and see if there is anything she can improve upon to get the results she wants.
First, lets look at your current lifestyle and what you have done to get yourself where you are today………
Finding this out is crucial to understand what current activities a person undertakes on a day-to-day basis, but it is also important to find out and negotiate the time they have to dedicate to their goals. This will have a big impact on the advice and recommendations I would give to somebody.
· After an active childhood, you (as most people do) have fallen into the trap of becoming inactive as an adult.
· You’ve decided to attend a boot camp and gained confidence as you’ve gotten fitter. Since then you’ve taken up running and previously entered both 5k and 10K running events (with personal bests of 22min12secs and 46mins57secs respectively) – not a bad baseline to work from.
What activity are you participating in on a weekly basis?

· Daily dog walks
· 2x boot camp style workouts a week
· 2x interval style running sessions that last between 12-20 minutes
· Now looking to add a long run lasting between 45 minutes and an hour on the weekend.
From this you can see throughout the week you are quite active, I like that you’re out walking the dog and making the effort to do some form of activity. You do not have loads of time to exercise because of your work so you are keeping sessions short and intense so you can burn a reasonable amount of calories.
What’s the mission captain?
Let’s talk about goals – what do you actually want to achieve?
All goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & have a Time-Frame. This will help you keep focused throughout the duration of your journey.
Let’s have a look at your goal:
S – you want to be able to run 10k in less than 46 minutes
M – It is something that can be timed with a stopwatch
A – You already have a PB of 46mins 57secs, and are a regular exerciser so to improve by 58 seconds does not sound unrealistic to me
R – You’re a keen runner, who is looking to better yourself and improve your overall health and running is a great way of doing this
T – I feel 12 weeks is a realistic timeframe to achieve this in.
Lets have a look at the nutrition side of things……
Nutrition will make or break your goals. Getting enough good quality nutrients is key to helping you recover from exercise, but it will determine whether or not you get the body of your dreams.
I asked you to fill out a food diary, logging everything you ate and drank throughout the course of a week. I would recommend that everybody do this at some point in the near future, as it can be a really good indicator of bad habits.
From your Food Diary I was able to produce the following stats:

	Food Diary (Average)	Target	Difference
Calories	2102	2000	102
Carbs(g)	277	251	26
Protein(g)	81	104	-23
Fat(g)	59	65	-6

Over the course of a week you can see that on average you are consuming 100 calories a day more than you need to. It may not seem like a lot, but that’s an extra 36,500 calories over the course of the year – this will not help appearance or performance.
The majority of people do not eat enough protein and you definitely fall into this category – you are eating around three quarters of the amount of protein that you actually need. If you are active, you need more protein to help recovery and build lean muscle (this helps you burn more calories at rest). The NHS recommends 0.8g of protein per kilo of bodyweight – this is fine if you do no exercise at all. But if you are exercising (and doing so on a regular basis) you need to double that amount – and before you say anything, no, you are not going to get huge ladies!
To me it appears that you are getting enough fat in your diet. I like to aim for around 1-1.5g per kilo of bodyweight. Fat is vital for overall health and should not be cut out of somebodies diet (see my blog on low fat diets). You just need to make sure that you’re getting fat from good sources such as butter, lean read meats, oily fish and nuts.
Carbohydrates are the last things I tackle because you should get your protein and fat sorted first and let carbohydrates make up the rest of your diet. You have included a range of Carbs including oats, bread and cereals in your food diary. I think oats are a good source of carbs but bread and cereal on the other hand, I don’t. The focus should be on unprocessed foods like starchy veg and 100% whole grains. Lets not forget those green veggies, these should be consumed daily and in large quantities. They offer too many benefits to describe here.
Moving forwards
I like that you are currently including two intense running sessions a week in your regime as this will help improve speed. The only changes I would make to your current exercise routine is to remove the boot camp style training and get some more miles in. I’m not saying that a boot camp style workout is bad, but for your goals it is not a relevant style of training. These boot camp sessions should be replaced by two running sessions, each lasting between 30-45 minutes. One of the runs should be quite easy and the other running at the speed required for you to hit your goal.
If you implement the nutrition strategy that I have suggested above, you should see your recovery time improve, have more energy and feel full at meal times.
Anything else to look at?
Sleep……..
You have told me that you get between 6-6.5 hours of sleep per night. Now for me, I think you need at least another hour to aid recovery.
Sleeping continually for either less than six hours or more than nine hours in adults has been associated with poorer health.
Below are the daily hours of sleep people need at the different stages of their lives:
· Children: 10 to 11 hours of sleep
· Adults: 7 to 8 hours of sleep (adolescents need a bit more)
· Older adults: 7 to 9 hours of sleep
When we sleep the body carries out a number of functions that we are often unaware of; producing processes that help you deal with physical and mental stress, information processing, memory formation and the repair and restoration of (muscle) tissues. It is a natural process and something that is essential to our overall well-being. If you struggle with getting a good nights sleep then I would recommend using a supplement called ZMA. The zinc and magnesium will help you relax and help you sleep through the night.
Before you go…….Read this!

Before you decide to get started on a brand new health and fitness journey, whether that be running (like Sophie) or for general weight loss, really take the time to make an honest assessment of your current circumstances. Better yet get someone let myself to do it for you. We can discuss achievable goals and make sure you have all the tools you need to achieve them.
Thank you to Josh Mann for this report! It has definitely given me the motivation and direction I need to go forward with renewed vigour and positivity. If you want Josh Mann Fitness to set you on the right track then check out his site for details of all he can offer you, follow his blog for great health and fitness posts and give him a tweet @joshmannfitness on Twitter too. I'll be keeping you up to date on the new changes I'm making soon. Good times.
Sophie

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It's been far too long since I wrote about running; the hobby I discovered last spring blossomed over summer, lingered in the autumn and died back over winter. I got the fear that I had left behind the days I could enjoy pounding the streets in my running clobber. The treadmill became my reluctant companion for a few months since Christmas but as soon as the evenings drew out I dumped it in favour of the great outdoors, how fickle my affections are. Over the past six weeks or so we have been heading out to run 10ks which at first was dreadfully disappointing – finding it so tough going to make the distance at a significantly reduced pace. It felt like I'd dropped back behind about ten months of training even though I'd kept active over the indoor season and I did question whether I really wanted to persevere with it at all. Then after a couple of weeks Chris volunteered to run with me as he wanted an 'easy' run (thanks a bunch). That 10k training run was absolutely one of the worst runs I've ever been on, the effort I put in to keep going was ridiculous but tried to keep my concentration focussed on keeping my breathing in a relaxed rhythm. I made it round in around three minutes quicker than the week before but felt sick as a parrot afterwards. We ran together for the following three weeks and progress was up and down but still in a positive manner which was a relief – I feel like all the effort is worth it when progress is made.

On Sunday we took part in the GEAR 10k race locally which was a flat, fast, traffic free road race with around 1800 competitors, so easily the biggest we've taken part in locally (we did it last year too as our first 10k race)

My 2014 resolution of setting a new pb was safely out of reach so I wanted to run a race I was happy with as opposed to anything else. The nature of a large race meant that there was so much congestion from the start, which seemed to last for at least the first 2k, giving a most irritating slow start. Despite wearing my Garmin watch I found it difficult to keep track of my overall pace with so many other runners speeding up and slowing down all over the place. My chip time was confirmed at 48:12 which was an exact match for this season's best so I have to be satisfied with that in challenging conditions. My time was just over three minutes faster than my time for last year's race (and beat Chris' time from last year too) which was pleasing but the main difference was my recovery time; I got my breath back far sooner and only felt a bit peaky for a minute then pretty good. My boot camp training coach had come to support us and we had a little chat after the race and I was entirely capable of conversation if dripping a little sweaty.

The most exciting thing is that I feel like the fun has been put back in to fun runs for me, I can look forward to going out for a spin in the sunshine as well as a slog to get a good time. It's not all uphill anymore and I can stay realistically hopeful that progress can be made towards my running goals. Thank goodness.

Sophie

It's high time I checked in again with my running progress this year. As you may know, I've been spending time with the treadmill in an attempt to get my training back on track after a frankly LAZY winter. Ideally I've been on 'mill 3 times a week but in fact it's been more sporadic so sometimes just once, or none. My main focus has been on interval training in order to build up my cardio abilities and my breathing, with a gentle warm-up in order to get my body in gear for a bit of a beasting. To be honest the maths of pace and speed are beyond me but the treadmill is currently set on imperial measurements. I try to do between a 14 and 25 minute workout with at least 5 minutes of gentle jogging included to start off, the last thing I want is to go and injure myself at this stage! I then whack the speed up to somewhere between 9-11 mph for a minute (or as long as I can possibly manage) before reducing it to about 3 mph (walking pace) to recover. The machine can measure heart rate so I'm tending to take that as an indicator for when to speed back up again. For example; my heart rate once I have been sprinting for as long as I can manage is around 181 bpm, so I wait until it falls down to under 130 bpm (which is a couple of minutes of walking and breathing) then go fast again. At the moment I tend to do between 3 and 6 sprints depending on the length of workout and by the end I expect to be sweaty and disgusting. For the time being I have been running at 0% incline but I'm going to start the intervals at an incline but slower pace in order to get some hill training in.


Anyway, earlier this week I aimed to run 5k and set the speed at higher than I was used to running at. I made it to 2.75miles in 22minutes (after a 0.5 mile steady warm up) and really felt pretty shattered after that. The workout kind of left me feeling a bit daunted at just how much faster I'd have to run to reach my goal of 5k (that's 3.1miles in old money) in sub 22 minutes. Clearly, I have a LOT of work to do.
Yesterday I decided to make the most of the mild conditions and afternoon sunshine to hit the road for the first time in what feels like an eternity, although in reality probably only a couple of months. The main objective was just to make it to 10k all running as it felt like all confidence had drained out of me and I really didn't even know if I could still make the distance at all. For the first time in at least a year – if in fact ever- I discovered what it is like to go for a casual run and how to enjoy just running in the great outdoors, feeling the sun on my bones and feeling to a certain extent 'carefree'. Sure, I DID keep an eye on my Garmin Forerunner watch to see how I was going but not in a competitive way, just to make sure I wasn't pushing forewords too fast with the risk of premature expiry. To my total surprise the first 5k were at such a leisurely pace that despite a raised heart rate, I wasn't really out of breath and felt mighty fine. I should point out that I planned to do two laps of a 5k circuit just in case I felt like I wasn't going to make it. So the second lap started really well and naturally I didn't feel quite as fresh but it did make me happy to just relax about slowing right down on the incline and just not look at the watch, panic and have to press on harder. It's not in my nature to be so laid back about this but I had promised myself I wouldn't be fazed by however long it took me to make the distance and I resisted running hard at all points other than on the last half kilometre on a proper good downhill so I thought I'd just stretch out and do a short stretch as fast as I could which was satisfying. Just the fact that I made the whole distance still running has boosted my confidence no end and was just what I needed to make me feel like I CAN do it and I CAN make progress. All is not lost.

Sophie

My motivation in January had waivered somewhat but now we're into February I can say with a certain degree of determination that my focus is back on track and my nose is due to be glued to the grindstone to make some tangible progress. It almost feels like I need someone kicking me up the backside to start the ball rolling as I'm clinging on to that lazy ledge with my fingertips for all I'm worth instead of diving in gracefully. What's better for making training more enjoyable than new workout wear? Matalan have a whole new range of sportswear at the moment and they kindly offered to send me some to try out. I chose this jaunty pink t-shirt and sensible black leggings to make a practical outfit. Usually I wear a baggy style of jogging bottoms for a workout but always feel that they make me look larger than they ought to so I opted for these flattering fit bottoms which fit much nicer and are going to boost my self esteem no end which is pretty good going for £12.

In order to put the outfit through it's paces I proceeded to work through a couple of YouTube boot camp workouts and then spend 15 minutes on the treadmill and am happy to report that I was very confortable throughout. I was pleased with the length of the tee and it stayed in position well, nothing worse than a top that decides to ruck up!

A few months ago I attended a practical running seminar hosted by an ex-pro distance runner. Like a sponge I soaked up all the information, pointers and concepts that were mentioned and I've been mulling over a few ideas on and off since. There was one point brought up that really hit home and has been nagging away at me when I feel like it's all hopeless. If you gave up work and took up full time training for your running distance of choice, no matter who you are and what your current standard you would not believe the leaps and bounds that you would come on and the progress you could make. Now, becoming a full time athlete, funnily enough, is not on the cards for me, but the promise of being rewarded by a higher level of dedication is something that does tickle my fancy. Who knows what this year could bring? It could be anything, but wouldn't it be great to have an even more successful one than last year? I don't know if I dare to hope but I want to immerse myself in training and positivity regardless and just take each day as it comes.

Sophie

Thanks to Matalan for sending me these items to review, all opinions my own.

In terms of December and early, middle and end of  January are pretty much a write off in terms of healthy eating. With the amount of food gifts we receive it’s just never going to happen so I just accept that I’m going to eat like a pig and move on; no point fighting it. With the dawn of the new year comes a new found enthusiasm for getting in shape so I like to think that goes some way in compensating for all the gluttony.

We have at long last got a treadmill up and running (oh I laughed) in the house. It only took a few months of dithering plus a reluctant upping of the budget but we darned well got one. The first workout was getting it into the house; it is so heavy and bulky, you have no idea! I have great plans for getting some serious interval training under my belt over the next few weeks. The last three months have been something of a write-off in terms of running so I guess I'm starting from a low base and working back up. My main aim is to work towards being comfortable running 10k again as I'd really like to take part in a spring race.

Since I drafted the above there has been something of a setback. We've used the beast a handful of times and couple of issues have arisen so unfortunately the refurb company we bought it from want it back to repair or replace which means we have to get it back out of the house, plus receive it back again at a later date. It's a setback that I could really do without but if the machine gave up prematurely than I guess it would be annoying (and quite a lot of money down the drain too). Needless to say I'm peeved my plans have been interrupted but I suppose it's for the best in the long run.

Sophie

Something unexpected happened on Sunday. I went for my usual 10k route in the pouring rain, with the light fading stupidly fast. Maybe it was because I was desperate to get home in one piece but I made it back in 46:53, which is beyond my comprehension as it was just 4 weeks earlier it was 48:25 (so that's 1:32 difference). As the 10k actually registered me running 10.17k on my watch it was proportionately a faster average pace, but for ease of memory I will use 46:53 as my pb
The gloomy thing is that I really really can't expect to see any improvement especially as I can't even run as often. I don’t tend to set goals because I tend to think that going any faster than I already have is a bit unrealistic and I just don’t know how much further improvement can be made. Let’s face it, I’ve got lucky so far and have managed to make some gains but how good have I got the potential to get? I’ll reserve judgement.

It’s been a while since I wrote about running, considering I go twice a week and am continually analysing my progress. I've had a couple of 10k races and a few training runs which have kept my spirits up and fires burning. Sometimes I get cross when things don't go to plan, you may have picked up by now that I am immensely competitive with others as well as myself and that is what really keeps me going. Personally, I really enjoy pushing myself to the absolute limit to see just how fast I can go. That’s why running retains my enthusiasm, I can grit my teeth and pour my efforts into chipping away at my times.

My Garmin Forerunner is proving to be a great investment, for my inquisitive mind at least, so that I can scrutinise the stats, see where I went faster/slower each time. The heart rate monitor is quite revealing in that I can track my heart rate, which rockets up then plateaus at an alarmingly high rate. The watch itself, with a whopper of a screen, has so many little modes and features that in traditional Sophie fashion I haven't figured out how on earth how to use it. Husband has an identical one too (yes, we're that embarrassing his and hers couple) so he has done a minor meddle in order to set it to beep at each km and to display the current pace, time and distance covered. A sneaky peek at the time has to be taken at kilometre so I can monitor exactly how close to being on track I am and so I can try to calculate what time I'm hoping to see when the next km beep sounds. As I'm so painfully slow with maths it does give me something to focus on for a minute or so which takes my mind off things. Husband and I had been discussing what it is that holds us back on our respective runs and for me I couldn't quite put my finger on it; legs never give up, (thanks boot camp), breathing usually seems under control barring uphills, but yet somehow I get that "I just can't go on faster" feeling. Frustratingly, or not, it turns out I can squeeze that little bit more speed on the final stretch to the end so clearly I'm not as tired as my mind makes out.

On Sunday I watched the triathlon on TV, it was the first one I've ever seen and we only popped it on while we were having a spot of lunch yet I couldn't bear to switch it off and get on with something else. The swimming was epic, as a hopeless swimmer myself I couldn't even imagine diving into that open water, let alone swim that distance at speed. You should also know that I'm the worst bike rider in the adult world; the stabilisers should never have been removed from my wheels. The race etiquette in the cycling section was baffling, I sort of saw why they were working as a pack but at the end of the day it was a race of each individual against the others... Now as a regular 10k runner I know that a bit of a warm up is a good idea but personally I like a few stretches and a light jog but the very idea of a xk swim and a 40k bike ride before setting off is pretty incredible. Massive respect to all triathletes (big up Jenny!) The Brownlee brothers really inspired me with their awesome athleticism; Jonny with his nail-biting scrap to the bitter end with Javier Gomez and especially Alistair with his gutsy hobble to the finish line with that injury.

It’s safe to say that I felt pretty inadequate after watching the Brownlees, me just having that struggle with 10k all on it's own. My mind-set changed for my run that afternoon. I made a solemn pledge to myself that I was going to grit my teeth and keep going, keep pushing, keep momentum. To cut a fairly long and dull story short I went out and beat the hell out of my previous best by 34 seconds. Over the MOON, I was! 48:25 indeed plus I didn't feel all that annihilated and hardly had any stomach cramps. Winner.

So what keeps you pressing on?

As you can see the soles are specially cut to be super flexible. I erred on the side of caution and went for the least barefoot-like Nike Lady Free 5.0  in a practical shade of grey with a pop of purple. They fit in a great snug way; a cross between a trainer and almost like a wet-shoe for the beach.

So, the big question is how did they perform? I decided to take them for a 5k (3.1mile) on a wet, slightly muggy evening. I run this distance every week and keep records of my times and being me, give it my best shot. My run turned out to be my fastest yet by quite a way: 22:25, even beating my competitive 5k race time by 19 seconds. So, although they wont take themselves for a run, they certainly helped me get a shift on, over and above my usual performance. I’m really excited to carry on with them to see what they can do in the long term!

I’ve also been asked to give my view on the concept of looking good while working out. I’ve been pondering this for the last few days and my mind has been going back and forth.



Over the years I’ve found that sportswear tends to make me look a bit slobby and tends to add pounds. In my experience, less is more – I feel far better about myself in this outfit than I ever will in tracksuit bottoms and a tee, even if my handkerchief shorts are kind of hilarious. When I work out I mean business. It always ends with me in an absolute mess; hair askew, red of face, a right sweat on, so frankly starting off with a faceful of makeup would be counter-productive, it would only end up sliding down to rest in my navel. Don’t get me wrong though – if some workout makeup became cheaply available that was sweatproof then I’d happily make a purchase. I’d love to look presentable instead of pretty ghastly! Essentially, workout in whatever is comfortable for you, but I can’t help thinking you’re wasting your time if you try to stay looking fresh at the expense of really making the most of your time in the zone.
*Thanks to Sportsshoes for gifting me the shoes to review. I’m looking forward to updating you on how they perform going forwards