It's been a while..

I know it has been a while...but honestly had nothing to blog!

I have been ill for pretty much the whole time.  No running, simply due to the fact most days were a struggle to remain upright.  The virus has swept through the playground, affecting mum's far more than the kids.  We were all dropping like flies. I was  seriously close to barricading my door and putting a big black cross on it. It not only stopped my training, but stopped me visiting my lovely Suze. Gutted. But I really couldn't risk giving it to her. 

In other news...

I start my job this week.

 Oh. My. God.

It has been a loooong time since I last worked for someone else. Truth be told, I am really looking forward to it!!! Everyone I have met so far there seems lovely.  Bring it on I say.  I am thinking of joining a gym once I get my first pay-check! The theory being I can go there whatever the weather, plus it'll give me an all over workout.  As it gets colder, think it will be easier running on a treadmill than out in the dark cold nights.

Really proud of my girl (again) she has taken on another A level and is loving it!! She never fails to amaze me. This week she did a biology demonstration (involving a pigs heart & lungs) at the school Open Evening, the feedback for it was  impressive. The school even received emails from prospective parents commenting on how fabulous she was!! 

Me, proud? HELL YES!!!!!

I spent a lovely morning this week throwing cold cooked spaghetti around my friend Laura's kitchen. I highly recommend it!! It's ok, we aren't (totally) crazy, she is a childminder & it was an activity with the kids. It was a huge success. So go give it a try, it is very therapeutic!!

Enough boring babble from me, just wanted to let you know that my blog hasn't been forgotten already, hopefully normal service will resume this week!!

Gushing post...

So, I got the job!!!!!

I am going to be working part time in our local garden centre. Ok, so it's not a high flying executive position at Vogue, but I am chuffed to bits.  I start work in 10 days. Eeeeekkkk!!!!!!

This led to my dilemma........... Childcare.

Now it is an age old problem, that is a huge source of stress, to myself and many working parents out there. I still have to find a childminder that I both trust and believe in for the long term.  But in the meantime my friends have been amazing, sorry, that should be AMAZING!!! In the space of an hour, they had my childcare sorted!

Last night, I was saddened to hear that a very good friend of mine is having a really crap time. She has a medical condition which affects her life greatly, but what saddened me is the lack of love and support from her so called "friends". They should be ashamed.  I don't live near her, I wish I did, so I could visit her everyday. I am going to go next week to hug her. Nothing else, because sometimes a hug is all you need. If you happen to read this S, I BLOODY LOVE YOU MRS.

Both of the above then got me to thinking about my friends. Now here comes the gushy part...

There are too many friends to list them all. Each and every one plays an enormous part in my life. I truly treasure each of them for their individual specialness!  Without them, I would be lost.  

There are my "mummy" friends.  Always there for a coffee, chat or pick me up when you are low. They rally around to help each other, and are just lovely. Some I have known for years, others just a few months, but they are a huge part of my life.  Everyone moans about how awful school playground mums can be, well not in my experience.

There's my oldest friend, who I have known for 38 years. We may not see each other for months on end, but she is always there for me when I need her, and vice versa.

Then there's 'My Girls'.  These are like an extension of my family. They know how much I love them, without being told, (although I still tell them). There is almost nothing that I wouldn't do for them. I know that I can call on them night or day (and I often have) and they are there for me. We have been through so much together, and let nothing break us. They have been there to see me at my very worst and to celebrate the very best times with too. I love them like family. A & C, I bloody love you guys.

Then there are all my other friends. In no way do they mean any less to me, they just don't belong to any of the above groups! Most don't live close by, and some are overseas, but they are still an important part of my support network.

Then, of course, there is my family. No explanation needed. They are simply, My Family. There no matter what life throws at us. I wouldn't swap them for all the money in the world.

At my lowest times each and everyone of them has picked me up or helped by listening or by simply giving me a hug.  

I LOVE you all.

Gushing over. Let normality resume....

I've (not) got the power!

It has been a funny week here. Not funny haha, but just an odd one!

I have been too ill to run this week. Nothing serious, just the worst cold I think I have ever had. Some days it has just been a struggle to stay upright. I certainly wouldn't have the power in me to run! The kids have had it too, so not much sleep had here. Through into the mix that hubby has been working away and you can begin to imagine how exhausted I am.

But my weirdest day has to have been Tuesday. Long story short, had a powercut from 15:30-03:00. Almost 12 hours. It was surreal. Going that long with no power made me realise just how heavily we really on power & modern technology!  My 8 year old son, couldn't get his head around it. He didn't understand why the Ipad worked but not YouTube!!! Queue a very long discussion and science lesson.
Two days on and the power has been restored, although work is still ongoing in my front garden. I currently have a huge lorry filling the 20ft trench, it is very noisy. Jack hammer is working flat out which is not helping my headache.

Have had a "Proud Mummy" week too.  My daughter has been asked to create a website & campaign to raise awareness for her condition.  This will count towards her D of E award, but is also a cause close to our hearts.

Without going into great details, we have just come through the worst year of our lives with her. She was very poorly and in huge amounts of pain for months, with no doctor able to find what was wrong with her. Many visits and stays in hospital, never with any conclusive results.  It was a very scary time, and all kind of thoughts raced through our heads.  Eventually, through a lot of hard work and fighting the system, we found a Dr who was determined to get to the bottom of it.  She did, and following surgery earlier this year, she was diagnosed with Endometriosis.  She is doing well since her surgery and with hormone treatment it is being kept under control, for now.  It is an awful condition, but I think it is particularly hard when it happens to a teenager - both for them and us as parents.

On the plus side, I have been offered 2 jobs this week! OMG!!!!! I am going for an induction this afternoon. Excited, nervous and scared all rolled into one!  It should be interesting seeing as I have hardly any voice! Will keep you posted....

As soon as I am able I will be back in training, hopefully joined by my running buddy Laura. I have missed her when out running, she is the one who keeps me going when I feel like giving up. Hopefully her tendon injury will be repaired very soon.

Bring me sunshine....

So the day dawned, wet, but the weather app assured me it would brighten up by 11am.

After a morning texting Julia, willing it to be cancelled, it was time to set off. I arrived at Julia's to find the carnage one comes to expect from her! So after a frantic 10 minutes of shoving things in bags & putting clothes on wriggling small people we were ready. We went to her car, which you would expect to be a boring part of the day, but no...

The alarm went off on her car and wouldn't switch off, until I suggested starting the engine. Kids safely strapped in the back, I tried to get in the car. Ten minutes later, having removed a yoga mat, rucksack, swimming woggle, various other useless items and countless acorns from the front seat, we were ready to hit the road!!

Arriving at the park, after a few wrong turns & wrong destinations, we launched the car onto the grass verge in true 'gangsta' style. Spying through the trees a man setting up camera equipment, we knew we had reached the right place.  I almost ran in the opposite direction as a nervous mouthful of bile rose in my throat. I tentatively followed julia through the trees to meet the man with the camera.  Simon. What a lovely guy, patience of a saint is the best way to describe him! Then the personal trainer arrived, Mark, quite possibly the nicest guy on the planet.  I immediately felt more at ease.

Whilst Simon was busy doing  some scripted filming with Mark, take after take, after take (Think out-take tv, you get the picture) I was trying to contain my nervous laughter. But watching him keep messing up succeeded in taking my mind off of the impending doom I was about to face!

And so the training began.  It wasn't quite what I had imagined. Think I thought brutal boot camp style, work until you puke type thing. To start, Mark just filmed Julia & I running on his iPad. (Not actually running on his iPad) But lengths of the field. Basically, what I was doing was not "proper" running! Although he described it more like " Ineffective use of energy" or words to that effect. This was then all done again to Camera. I had no idea where to look when that was pointing at me, but looking at Julia was a big no, no as she cracked me up! Next up, Mark began teaching us some basic drills to practise to "learn to run properly".  Who knew running could be so technical?

First up, how to start off running. Apparently, both Julia and I "sat back" when running. So he taught us the correct way. I am calling it "The Face Plant" technique. For entirely self explanatory reasons. You literally fall forwards, as if about to face plant the floor, into your first running stride. I did in-fact come very close to actually face planting doing this. It certainly took some getting used to! I am sure once it becomes second nature, you don't even notice it, but as a novice it is the weirdest feeling!

Drill 1. 'High knees' running in short sharp bursts bringing your knees up really high. This was relatively easy. Although after about the sixth time I was feeling it in my thighs a little. This was then done for camera, so repeated another 4/5 times for various angled shots!

Drill 2. 'High heels' (and no that didn't mean swapping my trainers for a pair of Jimmy Choos). This time it was shuttle runs of bringing your heels up to you bottom when running. Sounds fairly simple? I almost fell flat on my face the first time. My legs just wouldn't do what my brain was telling it to.  Again, it was all repeated for camera. By now, I had totally got used to a camera being there and was almost indifferent to it. 

Drill 3. 'Hopping' Oh my goodness. Think Morecombe & Wise singing "Bring me Sunshine".  Yes, that about covers it! High knee skipping with high arms too. It was hilarious, but harder than it sounds. Julia and I crashed into each over a couple of times doing this, so definitely took more than one take. My arms felt like lead weights by the end of doing this, but my belly hurt more from laughing so much. We must have looked a ridiculous sight!

That done, we than had to do everything all over again, for low down camera shots of our feet! By now my bladder felt like it was going to burst, I was beginning to wish I had a 'shewee' or even a Tena lady! I even contemplated going behind a bush. Thankfully, there was a pause in recording, so Julia and I legged it to the pub to use their toilets, and I can tell you that it wasn't a moment too soon!

Next up were some circuits of running, putting into practise everything we had learnt. I was so shocked to find that running was easier!! A few simple tricks made such a huge difference. Everything felt so much more coordinated and seemed to flow much easier. I actually really enjoyed this bit, even though I was beginning to ache, I felt fantastic! (did I seriously just say that?) With a few more bits to camera, it was finally declared a wrap.

I absolutely loved it. I really wish I could afford to have him as a personal trainer 3 times a week for 12 weeks. I reckon I would be ready for Rio 2016 after that! He really was amazing, and so good at what he did.

Julia took us to McDonald's on the way home and I impressed myself by ordering a salad and coffee. What on earth is happening to me? Exercise and healthy eating? I hardly recognise the person I am becoming!

When I got home I dived straight into the hottest, bubbliest bath I think I have ever had. I was really beginning to feel muscles that I have never before. Now I am not usually a bath girl, but that was quite possibly the nicest bath I have ever had! I promptly dozed off on the bed, still wrapped in towel, afterwards. I had no intentions of moving either.  That is, until my friend Jenny text to ask if I fancied going out for a drink and long overdue catch up. As tired and exhausted  as I was, I decided to go, otherwise I would have slept the evening away and then been up all night! As it turns out a few G&T's were exactly what I needed. We, drank, laughed and chatted the night away.

I slept like a log.

Actually looking forward to running this week and trying out what I have learnt, so until next time...."Bring me Sunshine, bring me rain."

That Friday feeling.

Normally I love that Friday feeling and looking forward to the weekend, but instead I am full of nerves as tomorrow is the day for on camera training!

Half of me is praying for torrential rain in the hope it is cancelled, the other half is secretly looking forward to it!!  I had asked my friend Julia if I could wear a Simon Cowell mask at the session to protect my identity, but this was laughed off and not taken seriously by her at all. Am really tempted to do it anyway!
The session is planned to be about 3 hours long in a park in Oxford.

 Oh. My. God.

Three hours? I struggle after 30 minutes, so hope he goes easy on us!!

There are a number of us on this OX5Run journey, but only a few can make tomorrow's session, including my 16 year old daughter.  This makes me incredibly proud. She, in my eyes, is simply amazing.  Having gone through so much health wise this last year, she has come out of it such a fighter.  She has got into running these last few months and will be using this towards her Duke of Edinburgh award.  She is not your average teenager that's for sure. As the old saying goes....."To know her is to love her".

Anyway, the last couple of days have been very busy what with job interviews and hospital appointments. I also had a migraine which took it's toll. (which will cause much raucous laughter amongst my closest friends) So running has taken a bit of a backseat.  However I have been making up for it doing lunges and squats around the house.  Thank goodness nobody can see me, I am sure I must look hilarious.  I have learnt a valuable lesson doing this. Lunges when wearing fluffy socks, plus a laminated wood floor = disaster. A missed 'You've been framed' moment for sure. Enough said!

Huge thanks for all the positive feedback so far on my blog, it's been overwhelming seeing it be read all over the world! I have been inundated with texts, emails, comments on here  and facebook messages of support. It means that I can't possibly back out now! So, thanks for that.

If I am still alive after tomorrow's training, I will write a new post over the course of the weekend. If I don't post one, then you know it finished me off!!

Happy Friday.

"Think of the Children Jo"

So this week is a chaotic mess of being Mum, job interviews, Nhs appointments & school meetings.  Needless to say, trying to make time for running is no mean feat, especially when you add into the mix Hubby working away.  But fit it in, I will.
Somehow.

Yesterday got off to a sluggish start with me waking up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck in the night. Every inch of me seemed to ache. Whether that was down to yesterday's session, I don't know. But no time for me to dwell on that, as it was off to a job interview for me. So instead of donning my running gear, I had to dress like a girl. Not something I am overly good at!!  The interview seemed to go well, I think, and I will hear if I was successful on Thursday. (finger's crossed)

The day ended with a long couple of hours at my daughter's school, discussing the plans for KS5.  I don't mind confessing to being mildly jealous of her impending adventure, doing her Duke of Edinburgh Gold award. First up is a week in October, hiking the length of the Lake District, camping on the sides of mountains.  Sounds such an amazing experience!

Today, I woke feeling like utter rubbish. Think a head cold may be brewing - possibly a result of getting so wet on Monday's run! I ordinarily would have used this an excuse not to go, but again I got into my gear before the school run.  On the drive to school, I remembered that it is THIS Saturday that I am being filmed training in Oxford.  This has been arranged by my friend Julia. Now love her as I do, she is entirely responsible for roping me into this whole charity run lark by imploring with me to "Think of the Children"!! The filming is  for somebody who is setting up a training website for "How to train for charity runs". Or something like that. To be honest, I kind of switched off listening after hearing the word Cameras.  In hindsight, maybe I should have actually paid more attention.

So, anyway, remembering this gave me the determination I very much needed today.

School run done, I was joined by my friend Sarah at the track.  She is my inspiration. She has a steely determination and has not only managed to lose all her weight, but has built up to running 10K. Yes, 10K, something I can only dream about. She truly is amazing. Her being there gave me no choice but to run my arse off!

It was quite a good session, the training app already increased the amount of running and speed from Monday. I combined track running with running on grass too. I covered 2.6 miles today in 30 minutes.  I actually pushed myself, with one interval of sprinting!!

I am pleased with how I did today, but must confess to missing my training partner Laura. She is out for a few weeks with a foot injury.  Booooooo.  So I consoled myself by going for a coffee & a catch up before the afternoon school run!  She needs to hurry up & get better I say.

Had good news this morning too! Got on the scales and have lost 4.5lbs this week. Bonus!!

The only down to an otherwise good day is that my daughter seems to be having a flare up of an ongoing medical condition. Thankfully we are at the hospital seeing her consultant for a review tomorrow, so hopefully will avoid an A&E trip and stay in the Children's hospital this time.

A wet start...

So today saw the first of my training runs, and the heavens decided to open! Undeterred, I donned my running gear and psyched myself up.

By psyched myself up, I actually mean that I tried to talk myself out of it.  So I decided to put on my gear before doing the school run this morning. Yes I was self conscious, having all my wobbly bits on display, but I cunningly hid the worst areas under my rain jacket! My lovely mummy friends at school gave me a boost of confidence that I could actually do it. School run over, I headed home.

So with phone set to the training plan and a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1......I was off.

I kept my spirits up by chanting my mantra of "Just keep running, just keep running" - inspired by Dory from Finding Nemo.  Although, given today's weather, maybe "Just keep swimming" would have been more appropriate!

It was actually not a bad session for day one, with a combination of jogging and walking at various intervals. But looking ahead through each session, it is going to get so much tougher!! But, I can do this. Seriously, I can. (do I sound convincing?)

40 minutes and 2.5 miles later, I returned home looking worse than a drowned rat and probably smelling like one too!! I was wet through with rain and sweat, much to my husband's amusement.  I was worn out, but not to the point of not enjoying it.  I might even go so far as to say I loved it!!

The sound of the rain pelting my jacket and the pounding of my feet was a welcome change from the noise my two children usually make. I found it quite therapeutic.  I had the park to myself, as no other human being in their right mind would have gone out in that!

I learnt 3 things this morning.

1 - A cap is essential when running in the rain.
2 - My rain jacket is a sweatbox. (need to invest in a running jacket)
3 - Breathable running shoes are useless in the rain!!

So all in all a great session and dare I say it....

Bring on the next one!!!!

In other news, I have two job interviews this week. Eeeeeeeekkkkkk!!!!!!!!!

So, this is me....

Hello....

I am a 38 year old Mum to two rather amazing children, wife to one pretty fabulous husband and am fortunate enough to have a massive circle of friends. I live in beautiful Oxfordshire, and love it here. Life is good on the whole, but following one of the worst years of my life so far I have decided to start pushing myself to achieve things I always thought impossible.  The first of those being, yes you guessed it running!!

I am planning on entering and running next years OX5 race.  This is a charity run raising much needed funds for The John Radcliffe Oxford Children's Hospital.  A place my children have sadly had to use many times. A very dear friend of mine has also made 'a lot' of use out of there amazingness too. You can read a little of her story here

I am overweight and incredibly unfit, but have committed myself to running this with some friends.  And so, I invite you to embark on my journey of training. I can't promise amazing writing skills, as I am no author, but I can promise to share the pain, tears & maybe even joy gained from it....