OMG!!!!!! 10km

How amazing do I feel right now? ?Pretty bloody amazing! I am so proud of what we have achieved today. 

We ran with MapMyRun! Distance: 10.13km, time: 01:31:59, pace: 9:05min/km, speed: 6.61km/h. http://mapmyrun.com/workout/963150141

Had to have a celebration selfie with Mel.

GO US!

Feeling awesome!!

Amazing run with Mel this afternoon.  Really pushed ourselves. Room in a scenic route through lovely Hartburn. So proud of us!!

I ran with MapMyRun! Distance: 7.01km, time: 58:45, pace: 8:23min/km, speed: 7.16km/h. http://mapmyrun.com/workout/959176089

Are you Bikini Ready? Well, I have one..

The latest round of body conscious/shaming adverts are here. 'Are you Beach Ready?'. Honestly? Yes. Physically I am totally beach ready. If 'Beach Ready' means:

'Do you own a bathing suit of some kind? Do you have a beach towel and some sun cream? Can you physically enter a beach? Do you have footwear to enable you to cope with the scalding hot sand? Are you able to find a lounger or lay your towel down on said beach? Could you swim or paddle if you so choose to?  All in front of strange or not so strange people!!?'..

then yes. I am 'Beach Ready'.

If you mean, am I mentally ready for the beach, then personally... probably not. I may have to fight some demons to get to that point. I may dare the beach if I have the good fortune to feel, at that moment in time, like I don't give a shit about what people think of me. If I feel strong and fit in myself, I may. If I feel that the guilt of denying my children the joy in swimming with me on our holidays is too much to handle, then yes, I probably, might, maybe, will.

So why do I not feel mentally ready? What has happened in my life to make me feel so body conscious?  Perhaps I am a bit accustomed to the world I live in considering a 'Beach Body' as one of a body size I will probably never achieve. It's pretty sad. If you are not a model size, does that mean that you can't be 'Beach Ready'? Is it such a disgusting idea to put a plus sized woman into a bathing suit? Will my half naked, plus sized body make members of the public spontaneously throw up as soon as my sandalled feet step onto the beach? Will the picnic lunch I dare to eat in public, fill my beach neighbours with such disgust that they feel the need to cast scornful looks my way, and whisper loudly to their friends about the audacity I have to eat at my size? Possibly. Should I care? Probably not.

It's the fashion world who are pushing the image that to be plus sized (over a size 14 to me and you), is to be lazy and disgusting and ashamed of your body. It's the same fashion world who a few years ago promoted the curvaceous figure as being the ideal body shape. How many actual human beings have the same body ideal though? Not as many as you think!

Plus sized models have a MASSIVE following. Personally, I love Tess Holliday. I envy her. She has self respect and beauty, and I wish that I had even half of her self confidence.

I have said from the beginning that this is not about the scales. It's about how fit I get and how I deal with family history.  I really wish I hadn't named this Full Fat to Full Fit. It sounds as though I have issues with the word 'Fat' and to be honest, I don't! It's not about Fat to Thin. I'm NEVER going to be thin again, and I wouldn't want to be. What I want, above all else, regardless of size and weight, is to feel confident. To feel good when I look in a mirror, and that perception is entirely personal.

For those of you also on your journey to self respect, I wish you, above all else, health and happiness xx

The Penguin Chronicles. Waddle on, Friends.

My lovely friend Stacey just introduced me to this amazing blogger. His name is John Bingham and he wrote a monthly column in Runner's World Magazine from 1996 to 2009. I feel such a connection, being a fellow waddler, plus he's so funny! I am sure many of you already know and love him but here is the link for those of you who don't. Waddle on my friends!

Hard run today. Phew!

Feeling amazing but tired! We tried a longer route round the back of Oxbridge,  looping back to Hartburn Lane. Mel made a great point today. When you consider what we were doing when we first started,  there is no reason we can't be ready for the big race in September.

I ran with MapMyRun! Distance: 5.86km, time: 52:06, pace: 8:54min/km, speed: 6.74km/h. http://mapmyrun.com/workout/953652743

Smashed it!

Mel and I went for our Wednesday run today and despite feeling rough (late nights and forgetting to take my preventor for me and Mel woke up not feeling it today) and needing to have a few wee stops, we really pushed ourselves and smashed 5K!!! My stupid phone didn't record the run. Keeps coming up with 'Sim failed, restart device' which is annoying! So I saved Mel's as mine as we did it together. pace might be slightly off as my legs are shorter but, distance is the same. Awesome!!

RAN 5.42 KM ON 15/04/2015

DISTANCE

5.42km

DURATION

51:33

AVG PACE

09:30

http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/943731205

Feeling tired but good!

Knock back. Or should I say, reality check.

Last night I tried out a 3 mile running group local to me. Boy did I struggle. Everyone else was faster than me and I just haven't got the stamina to keep going. It was highly humiliation, very depressing and demoralising.  One of the girls even wrote on the website this morning that she had never done so many loop backs. it was even suggested by one of the ladies that I should do the beginners couch to 5k course the instructor runs. I don't think they believed that I do run. I felt so exhausted. I don't know whether it was because it was an evening and I always run in the mornings or because i was run down (I had the shakes all day. Not sure what that was about).  So i was terrible and people did a lot of talking and whispering. I'm sure all meant kindly or sympathetically but it really affected me and i was really down last night and very tearful this morning. I even cancelled going to see a friend due to spontaneous bouts of hysterics.  However,  since then I have, in a panic that I'd never be able to do a half marathon,  found a few sites which offer reassurance.  So anyway, here is my run last night. Read it and weep! I ran with MapMyRun! Distance: 4.85km, time: 50:19, pace: 10:23min/km, speed: 5.78km/h. http://mapmyrun.com/workout/942434387

Easter hols run

Hi all! I've been away visiting family in London for the easter hols.  Had a fantastic time, took the kids to lego land as an early birthday treat and spent some quality time with family. I did get in a run. I dragged my brother out and he is actually really fit! So we did some elevations. Heron hill is blooming steep and no I didn't run it all but I did give it a try! So here are the details and link. If you  go on the link it shows you the elevations. .
I ran with MapMyRun! Distance: 4.29km, time: 45:37, pace: 10:38min/km, speed: 5.64km/h. http://mapmyrun.com/workout/929006533