I’ve made a small breakthrough…

For most people being able to run half a mile without stopping is not much of an achievement, but for me this is a big deal. This unfit girl (me) is actually doing this. I may be slow, I may not be able to run very far, but I’m pushing myself and trying to work hard to improve. I have 234 days and counting until the Silverstone Half Marathon. At the moment I am following my plan, but I’m not naive enough to think that it will all go to plan, but one thing I know for sure is that I won’t give up and I’ll keep pushing.

This week I went to the gym on Monday, on the exercise bike at home on Tuesday, the gym on Wednesday and the gym today. Here is what I managed to do:

Monday: 1.42 Miles treadmill walk/run – 32.07 mins

Tuesday: 10km exercise bike – 22.15 secs

Wednesday: 2 miles treadmill walk/run – 39.42 mins (walk 0.25 mil/run 0.5 mil/walk 0.25 mil/run 0.25 mil/walk 0.25 mil/run 0.25 mil/walk 0.25 mil)

Thursday: 1.55 miles treadmill walk/run – 30 mins (walk 0.25 mil/run 0.5 mil/walk 0.25 mil/run 0.25 mil/walk 0.30 mil)

Friday: day off!!

I am definitely looking forward to my day off tomorrow; Wednesday’s treadmill walk/run was tough but I did it, today’s was even harder. My legs felt heavy, my ankles hurt, my shins hurt and I just generally felt sluggish. i’m glad I did my walk/run but wish I could’ve done more. I think I possibly have end of term lurgy from the children, so I shall enjoy my rest day by having a lie in and snuggling up with a book.

I’m currently reading: Engage The Fall and Rise of Matt Hampson and cannot reccomend it enough. Matt Hampson is such an inspiring person, who never seems to stop and I think we could all take a leaf out of his book. His motto is Get Busy Living – and that is exactly what I intend to do! Hence my bonkers plan to run a half marathon next year, raising money for the Matt Hampson Foundation.

Good luck with your training and remember that you are doing amazingly.

K xx

I’m raising money for The Matt Hampson Foundation by taking part in 2016 adidas Silverstone Half Marathon. If you would like to sponsor me visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/KimberleyMiles

To find out more about the Matt Hampson Foundation please visit: http://matthampsonfoundation.org/

Back to it… With the Garmin Forerunner along for the ride (well run… Ok walk!) And I hate my running shoes too.

So I haven’t posted in over a week (I think) and that’s purely because I haven’t done any exercise as such in that time. It is almost the end of the school year and I have avoided nearly all of the nasty bugs, viruses, colds etc that have done the rounds up until now that is. This nasty bug that I’ve had has left me totally exhausted after work and going to the gym or running was out of the question. But I felt much better today so made myself go to the gym to see what I could do. And to test out my new baby – the Garmin Forerunner 15 (and foot pod)

I wore it at work today and everyone kept wanting to know how many steps/miles I had covered. During the school day I walked 2 miles and half of the day I was sat down, so I can’t wait to see how much I cover on a ‘normal’ day.

I spent roughly 40 minutes at the gym and ran/walked 2.22 miles which isn’t much. I was trying to push myself to run for as long as I could and then for half a mile or a quarter of a mile. It was tough and I’m quite disappointed that I didn’t run as much as I wanted. Running made me cough, which then made my mouth dry and it also made my nose run. So all in all that wasn’t pleasant.

Then comes the running shoe issue. I have 2 blisters again. In the same place as before. This is after I relaced my shoes and wore running socks too. I think these running shoes may be heading for the bin. After I had done about a mile I felt that horrible burning type of sensation and knew I would have blisters. Just maybe not quite that big.

Today I covered 4.75 miles and took 11054 steps. I wonder what I will manage tomorrow?

So I got myself back to the gym which is a plus and I used my forerunner 15 and footpod which are positives.

I’m starting to wonder if I’m being too ambitious in thinking I can run a half marathon in March.

Do do you use a running/gps watch? I think I’ve fallen in love with mine at the minute!

K x

I’m raising money for The Matt Hampson Foundation by taking part in 2016 adidas Silverstone Half Marathon. If you would like to sponsor me visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/KimberleyMiles

Morning workout success…

I only went and did a morning workout as planned today! As you can tell I am beyond proud of myself. I could have stayed in bed for a few hours more, or snuggled up to read my book, or watched some rubbish Saturday morning tv, but instead I decided to get myself out of bed and get to the gym.

Today I did 4.87km/3.46 miles on the cross trainer doing intervals of 90 seconds at a moderate pace and 90 seconds at a faster pace for 36.49 minutes. It was hard work but at the end of my workout I had that feeling of “yes I did it!” I did this all before my mum woke up! And with the added battle of my gym card not letting me into the gym!

I treated myself to a post-workout breakfast of poached eggs on toast. Yum yum.

Did you workout today? Do you eat breakfast before a morning workout?

Have a wonderful day

K x

I’m raising money for The Matt Hampson Foundation by taking part in 2016 adidas Silverstone Half Marathon. If you would like to sponsor me visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/KimberleyMiles

I did it…

Today I signed myself up to run the Silverstone Half Marathon in March 2016. Yes I may be slightly mad, but I have roughly 9-10 months to get into shape and I have the determination to do this, even when some people are sceptical. I am excited to start this journey and see what I can do when I challenge myself.

I did my workout again last night and consequently have two huge blisters but they say no pain, no gain, so I carried on and finished my workout even though it hurt! I’m not sure if I need to just wear in my new running shoes, or whether it is the style of them that doesn’t suit my feet. I might try some different running shoes for my next workout.

The amazing trainer at my gym is now putting together a workout plan for me so I can get into shape for the half marathon next year and hopefully beat my target time of 3 hours. I know it’s not the quickest time, but I want to set a realistic target that I can achieve.

Tomorrow night is Pilates night. I’m not the most flexible or coordinated person in the world so we shall see how that goes!

Have you run 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon? What advice would you give a beginner?

K x

I’m raising money for The Matt Hampson Foundation by taking part in 2016 adidas Silverstone Half Marathon. If you would like to sponsor me visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/KimberleyMiles

I got up off that couch…

Hi everyone,

I hope you have all had a good day.

I am writing my first blog post, after my first workout at the gym in almost a year. I am not going to say it was easy – it really wasn’t! (stitches are not fun – the pain!) But I feel so proud of myself for actually getting back to the gym and accomplishing what I wanted to tonight and a little bit more. Our bodies and minds are amazing.

Tonight I went on the crosstrainer for 1km as a warm up and then I did the first day of couch to 5k using an app on my phone. I used an incline of 1% (because I remember being told that you should always run on an incline on a treadmill) and alternated between walking at 4.5kmph and jogging/running at 9kmph. I felt so good when I started but when it got to set 6 of the walk/jog sequence I had an awful stitch. The old me would have given up and just walked for the rest of the time, but I dug in and kept following the walk/run cycle and finished it. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t easy, but I finished it. I completed 2.77km in total and could not be prouder of myself. I am strong, I can achieve things and I am taking the first step on my journey to 5k and beyond.

If I can do it you can do it, you don’t have to run, making small changes and being more active in your day can be your first step. Everyone is different.

I would love to read your comments, so please feel free to comment, ask questions etc below.

Thank you for being part of my journey. It’s going to be a hell of a ride (or run!)

K x

I’m raising money for The Matt Hampson Foundation by taking part in 2016 adidas Silverstone Half Marathon. If you would like to sponsor me visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/KimberleyMiles