So, it's all official. I am embracing my official Race for Life alter-ego 'Sarah Champagne-Perspiration' and getting ready to run around Nottingham Holme Pierrepont on Sunday 31 July 2011.
I'll be joined by at least one other member of Team Run fat Girl, Run and will be using the NHS Couch to 5k to get race ready. No, really, this year is the year I *will* do some training!
As I've had my postnatal check up and am back on the weightloss waggon as well (feel free to join me up here, the lettuce is...crispy) it seems as good a time as any to get my wobble on the road. I'll blog the highs, lows and many 'meh' moments I'm bound to encounter over the next 6 months here.
Wish me luck and if you have a few spare pennies at any point you can donate them to me here: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/sarahlay2011
Showing posts with label nottingham holme pierrepont. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nottingham holme pierrepont. Show all posts
Friday, 11 February 2011
Friday, 7 January 2011
Getting set for 2011
Happy New Year everyone! Made any new year's resolutions? Have you pledged to eat less chocolate, take more exercise, get off the fags & booze, marry a member of Take That??? Yeah, me too... (Howard Donald, obv).
My focus is on the first two resolutions - pretty much staples in my annual portfolio of good intentions. I'm no further back than I was last January, which is a relief seeing as I spent most of 2010 pregnant (my baby is now three weeks old) and seem to have managed not to gain any weight (this time, first time was a different story!).
So, I'm trying to wean myself off the Christmas excess and the cravings I gave into when pregnant and make a plan for when I get the exercise all clear in about three weeks. And of course my thoughts turned to setting a 2011 Team Run Fat Girl, Run goal for myself.
The obvious place to start is with Race for Life. This will be the fourth year I've signed up and taken part to raise money for Cancer Research UK. I'm sure some of the other girls will be running (walking / stumbling) alongside me.
Last year myself, Vena, Kelly and Lauren faced the monster 10km route at Kedleston Hall in Derby. We made it round despite having forgotten to train at all and I feel intensely proud of us all. However, I'm thinking of going back to where I started my Race for Life participation and tackling the 5km course at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham again.
With this in mind I'm also moving my blogging for NHS Choices from the pregnancy blog to the Couch to 5km blog. I'm going to give their training plan a good go and hopefully make it round the course in my best time yet! *
I'm also thinking about setting a goal for later in the year. I'm open to suggestions here - commitments mean I can't do any of those amazing challenges abroad but if anyone can suggest a challenge I could sign up for I'd love to hear it (leave me a comment, yeah?).
While I don't know what I'd like to do I do know why I want to do it. Last April my mum was diagnosed with a brain tumour, a cancerous brain tumour, a brain tumour for which there is no cure. She's undergone surgery and chemo and radiotherapy and all the side effects of those. However, we're now concentrating on whatever time is left. This situation haunts me at night while I'm awake feeding the baby so signing up for a challenge in which I can raise money for the hospitals or charities which are helping mum (and dad) is a way of creating positivity in a situation where there is no happy ending.
So - any ideas? Any body want to take a challenge alongside me? Anyone is welcome to be a 'fat girl' - you don't even have to be fat, or a girl! If you'd like to do a Race for Life or other challenge and blog about your progress here let me know. I'd welcome any support I can get - I have the feeling I'll be struggling with more than the physical training at times this year.
Leave me a comment with suggestions for challenges, words of wisdom or requests to be a 'fat girl'.
* You can see this pledge in posts at the start of every year we've been running this blog.
In the meantime I dust off the old Team moniker and sign off, yours with good intentions, Saira Champagne-Perspiration. xxx
My focus is on the first two resolutions - pretty much staples in my annual portfolio of good intentions. I'm no further back than I was last January, which is a relief seeing as I spent most of 2010 pregnant (my baby is now three weeks old) and seem to have managed not to gain any weight (this time, first time was a different story!).
So, I'm trying to wean myself off the Christmas excess and the cravings I gave into when pregnant and make a plan for when I get the exercise all clear in about three weeks. And of course my thoughts turned to setting a 2011 Team Run Fat Girl, Run goal for myself.
The obvious place to start is with Race for Life. This will be the fourth year I've signed up and taken part to raise money for Cancer Research UK. I'm sure some of the other girls will be running (walking / stumbling) alongside me.
Last year myself, Vena, Kelly and Lauren faced the monster 10km route at Kedleston Hall in Derby. We made it round despite having forgotten to train at all and I feel intensely proud of us all. However, I'm thinking of going back to where I started my Race for Life participation and tackling the 5km course at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham again.
With this in mind I'm also moving my blogging for NHS Choices from the pregnancy blog to the Couch to 5km blog. I'm going to give their training plan a good go and hopefully make it round the course in my best time yet! *
I'm also thinking about setting a goal for later in the year. I'm open to suggestions here - commitments mean I can't do any of those amazing challenges abroad but if anyone can suggest a challenge I could sign up for I'd love to hear it (leave me a comment, yeah?).
While I don't know what I'd like to do I do know why I want to do it. Last April my mum was diagnosed with a brain tumour, a cancerous brain tumour, a brain tumour for which there is no cure. She's undergone surgery and chemo and radiotherapy and all the side effects of those. However, we're now concentrating on whatever time is left. This situation haunts me at night while I'm awake feeding the baby so signing up for a challenge in which I can raise money for the hospitals or charities which are helping mum (and dad) is a way of creating positivity in a situation where there is no happy ending.
So - any ideas? Any body want to take a challenge alongside me? Anyone is welcome to be a 'fat girl' - you don't even have to be fat, or a girl! If you'd like to do a Race for Life or other challenge and blog about your progress here let me know. I'd welcome any support I can get - I have the feeling I'll be struggling with more than the physical training at times this year.
Leave me a comment with suggestions for challenges, words of wisdom or requests to be a 'fat girl'.
* You can see this pledge in posts at the start of every year we've been running this blog.
In the meantime I dust off the old Team moniker and sign off, yours with good intentions, Saira Champagne-Perspiration. xxx
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Good Times Bad Times
[For the purpose of the following statement i need you to assume that training now consists of whiskey monopoly, Wii fit games a la whiskey, takeaways post whiskey and sleep deprivation]
It's been an awesome weekend of training!
Hmmm so maybe the training has taken a bit of a back seat to fun this weekend but I'm back on track now. In Fridays post i said I'd go to the bowl again that night but work scuppered my good intentions and i stayed at my desk till gone 6:30pm. I had been to the gym at lunch and done a bit of rowing and walking but found it surprisingly frustrating that i couldn't go jogging. Being a Fat Girl it's obvious these periods of enthusiasm don't come often and I'm only too aware if i let it slide it'll be harder to get off my fat arse the next day. Then came the weekend of anti-training and plans of a Sunday jog fell to the wayside. However i think if giggles and guffaws count then I'm ready for a marathon!
It's been an awesome weekend of training!
Hmmm so maybe the training has taken a bit of a back seat to fun this weekend but I'm back on track now. In Fridays post i said I'd go to the bowl again that night but work scuppered my good intentions and i stayed at my desk till gone 6:30pm. I had been to the gym at lunch and done a bit of rowing and walking but found it surprisingly frustrating that i couldn't go jogging. Being a Fat Girl it's obvious these periods of enthusiasm don't come often and I'm only too aware if i let it slide it'll be harder to get off my fat arse the next day. Then came the weekend of anti-training and plans of a Sunday jog fell to the wayside. However i think if giggles and guffaws count then I'm ready for a marathon!
Monday was a total exercise fail as didn't get to gym and traffic stopped me getting to Sarah's in time for a jog. I did however have a good session of bopping and clapping at a really really great HotChip gig in Notts. 
So with a steely determination to get this fat arse moving I went to the gym at lunch on Tuesday. Only to suffer another fail as it was closed! So Jane and I went for a brisk walk into the village instead, not much of a workout but better than vegging at my desk. I followed this with a 5k jolly round the Bowl later that night! I'm really getting into sunset jogging, it's really beautiful and if i didn't have to focus all my attention on keeping my legs working I'd take my camera along and show you. The skies were an amazing display of burnt amber and crimson, it would've taken my breath away if i had any left. The setting sun also helps keep me going because i don't want to be caught out in the dark half way round a big hole of water, that would be bad times!
So my 5k time on Tuesday wasn't anything special, but i did find it easier going than last week which must prove the faffing about in the gym is doing something. That or being sleep deprived and trying to hold a convo with your mum whilst jogging is the way forward. So even though my speed leaves something to be desired I'm pleased I'm getting out there and staying motivated. I just need to keep it up and hopefully I'll start feeling the benefits soon. That and some of my winter blubber should start shedding in time for a lean mean bikini summer!
P.S Tuesdays walk/jog was brought to you by the music from Maximo Park and the company via mobile of Mrs Mack and Mum!
Friday, 12 February 2010
Don't let the sun go down on me
Stupidly i weighed myself at the gym the other day. First time back to the torture chamber since Christmas and it showed, i was bloody knackered and the scales said FAT. This didn't help my mood, in fact i think it broke me. After a bit more melodramatic 'woe is me' tantrum i decided to pick my self up and shut up. Crying wasn't going to help anything and tears don't weigh enough to make a difference on the scales. So last night i laced up my running shoes and went to Holme Pierrepont for a jog after work.
It was a beautiful evening and although there was a freezing wind i soon warmed up after 5 minutes of fast walking. I even broke into a jog a few times and made it round in a time of 45 minutes. This was the time i managed a year ago when training started for the 5k. Since then I've lost 1.5 stone, got fit, got healthy, jogged 5k in 28 minutes, then stopped. Winter has been miserable, with darkness coming so early and crap weather i've done nothing. Im back to square one with an additional 0.5 stone to weigh me down. Oh well we all have to start somewhere and if i have to start from the beginning again so be it. Will power growing and stubborn determination back on track.
I'm planning to go to the Bowl of Hellfire again today, but I'll time it so as I'm not walking into the setting sun. The burning amber sky made the water look like the fiery pits of hell and running with bleeding retinas isn't too pleasurable, although that did take my mind off the fire in my lungs and the burning in my knees. And it's soooo much easier to keep good pace with pumping tunes, praise be to the Ministry of Sound and HotChip :D
Oh and I've just found out there's going to be a Race For Life Charity Single, if you want to be part of it and literally sing for your life go here, they're recruiting folk to sing on it all over the UK so take a look for when RFL scouts will be near you!
It was a beautiful evening and although there was a freezing wind i soon warmed up after 5 minutes of fast walking. I even broke into a jog a few times and made it round in a time of 45 minutes. This was the time i managed a year ago when training started for the 5k. Since then I've lost 1.5 stone, got fit, got healthy, jogged 5k in 28 minutes, then stopped. Winter has been miserable, with darkness coming so early and crap weather i've done nothing. Im back to square one with an additional 0.5 stone to weigh me down. Oh well we all have to start somewhere and if i have to start from the beginning again so be it. Will power growing and stubborn determination back on track.
I'm planning to go to the Bowl of Hellfire again today, but I'll time it so as I'm not walking into the setting sun. The burning amber sky made the water look like the fiery pits of hell and running with bleeding retinas isn't too pleasurable, although that did take my mind off the fire in my lungs and the burning in my knees. And it's soooo much easier to keep good pace with pumping tunes, praise be to the Ministry of Sound and HotChip :D
Oh and I've just found out there's going to be a Race For Life Charity Single, if you want to be part of it and literally sing for your life go here, they're recruiting folk to sing on it all over the UK so take a look for when RFL scouts will be near you!
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Hesitation
Look out the window. It's getting dark, it's raining, it's freezing cold. I don't want to go jogging, I don't want to get out my nice warm clothes, I don't want the rain to sting my face and lose all feeling in my fingers. I don't want to go jogging!!
Well OK I do a little bit, I'm still feeling guilty about the whole cake thing last week but I'd be a little happier if I was setting off to gracefully jog along a stretch of golden sand and sparkling blue surf. Instead I have to get my stupid shorts on and go waddling round a wet, dark pond in Nottingham. Not really inspiring or motivating but if it's what I must do then so be it.
Off I go :(
Well OK I do a little bit, I'm still feeling guilty about the whole cake thing last week but I'd be a little happier if I was setting off to gracefully jog along a stretch of golden sand and sparkling blue surf. Instead I have to get my stupid shorts on and go waddling round a wet, dark pond in Nottingham. Not really inspiring or motivating but if it's what I must do then so be it.
Off I go :(
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Style and sobriety #fail
The training on Friday went well. We showed up and we jogged a good chunk of the 1.6mile circuit. For this I am proud, we started with gusto and we followed through on our fighting talk. What I'm less proud of is the fact that I was fuelled by a whole Victoria Sponge and Sarah was quite tipsy after a few afternoon pints! 
Vena, however, was sugar and alcohol free, but still managed to pull off the most amazing impression of a chav I've ever seen. I know what our next theme night will be!! I'm not being mean, i'm allowed to mock because I rocked an even more ridiculous ensemble (see photo evidence- cheers Vena!!)So with training for the Race For Life 10k underway it's time to start our second fundraising attack. Every month most of the TRFGR girls are meeting under the guise of Gourmet Night. It's a great excuse to eat quality grub and spend the night drinking wine and catching up with friends. Every athlete needs a breather from training every now and again! So taking this idea on board we've decided to open up these events and hold them as Dine at Mine events for Cancer Research UK.
We're appealing to local business' and supermarkets to help us maximise the amount of cash we can raise from each event. If we're supplied with food or vouchers it'll enable us to donate the shopping budget as well. And if we get given free goodies we can raffle these off or use them as prizes for competitions and challenges. I've signed us up and written letters to our favourite supermarkets and shops so I really hope we get a positive response, we REALLY want to make these nights a success and raise as much money as possible!
Now onto the serious business of training.... I'm heading down Holme Pierrepont tonight to see how good/bad a 5k walk in the rain can go. Then I'm home to deliver the Dine at Mine begging letters! Wish me luck!
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Here we go again
Another yomp round the Bowl of Hellfire - which is totally failing to live up to its name. The weather was horrid. Blustery rain coming straight at us no matter which way we were facing. Not decided whether I prefer being sweaty and damp or just sweaty like in the hot hot heat of race day.
The same rowing people were there being shouted at by sporty types on the bank. The geese were there, inhibiting us slightly by being all over the path and hissing as we tried to pass. The bloke who rows up and down in a canoe in Hawaii 5-0 position (down on one knee) was there as well...it's all becoming very familiar. So to spice it up we went round in the anti-race direction.
I made a bit of a stab at jogging again. At one point both Lauren and I completed a 500m stretch at a reasonable jog. However, it made no odds and final time was 47 minutes, so slower than two weeks ago. Or maybe about the same. Still, for me, could do better.
Factual reporting over I feel entitled to let out a bit of a whinge...my right leg REALLY hurts. I have various pains all down it and after first mentioning it somewhere around the halfway mark formed a hypothesis that it could be down to an injury I sustained to my kneecap some 12 years ago. I think it is making me run gammy and therefore my right leg is now all out of whack. I don't really know what to do about that...
It's not gonna stop me running that's for sure. Just under three months to go and have a clear 15-20 minutes to knock off my time in order to come close to achieving my goal time on the day.
For now though - totally physically tired out. S C-P x
The same rowing people were there being shouted at by sporty types on the bank. The geese were there, inhibiting us slightly by being all over the path and hissing as we tried to pass. The bloke who rows up and down in a canoe in Hawaii 5-0 position (down on one knee) was there as well...it's all becoming very familiar. So to spice it up we went round in the anti-race direction.
I made a bit of a stab at jogging again. At one point both Lauren and I completed a 500m stretch at a reasonable jog. However, it made no odds and final time was 47 minutes, so slower than two weeks ago. Or maybe about the same. Still, for me, could do better.
Factual reporting over I feel entitled to let out a bit of a whinge...my right leg REALLY hurts. I have various pains all down it and after first mentioning it somewhere around the halfway mark formed a hypothesis that it could be down to an injury I sustained to my kneecap some 12 years ago. I think it is making me run gammy and therefore my right leg is now all out of whack. I don't really know what to do about that...
It's not gonna stop me running that's for sure. Just under three months to go and have a clear 15-20 minutes to knock off my time in order to come close to achieving my goal time on the day.
For now though - totally physically tired out. S C-P x
Friday, 27 March 2009
Practice run!
Team Run, Fat girl, Run have decided to return to the Bowl of Hellfire for a practice lap on the afternoon of Easter sunday (12 April 2009). At least six members of the team will be training together at the location of the actual race with the idea that not only can we jolly each other on in our continued training but alos work out how fast we're completing 5k in at the moment to spend the next two and a half months getting that time down.
Exact time to be decided but this is an open invitation to all Fat Girl supporters to come along and burn off some calories while watching the team in action!
We'll be running round the rowing course as this is the route of the Race for Life and handily measure 5k. We'll meet by the building at the bottom end of the course (ie the start / finish line)!
S-CP x
S-CP x
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Sponsorship begins...
Just a quick note to give some kudos to our first sponsors - Michael Reek and David Bull pledged support to Sarah Reek-Lay and Vicki and Pete showed Lauren Noakes the money. Team total already stands at £55!!!
Obviously thrilled by the news that Team RFGR will run again they were quick to pledge their monetary support as soon as sponsorship opened.
Don't get left behind - sponsor a Fat Girl NOW!!!
S-ChampPersp
(links in side bar to sponsorship sites which are now open)
Thursday, 26 February 2009
On your marks...
As the poignant strains of M People's What Have You Done Today echo through the minds of all team members we can inform you we are officially registered for Race for Life 2009.
The training and the fundraising begins here (no more chewwy cornflake tart goodness for me for a while) so get ready to get your support on.
Two team members streak into an early online-fundraising lead with their sites already open for business.
The training and the fundraising begins here (no more chewwy cornflake tart goodness for me for a while) so get ready to get your support on.
Two team members streak into an early online-fundraising lead with their sites already open for business.
Other team members will surely be on hot on their heels with online sponsorship so pick a girl and give us your money (or if you can't pick a favourite Fat Girl then just give us all some cash)!!!
S-ChampPersp x
PS - Five months until race day!!!
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
It's the final line-up
Right, we've now doubled the size of the team for the Race for Life so the recruitment drive will now be ending!It is with great pleasure I introduce the latest member - and our first international member - Aakanksha Chhikara. Or Ace to you and me!
So one final time - let's hear the role call for Team RFGR for Race for Life 2009 and Katie's Midnight Walk II:
- Sarah Lay
- Sarah Barker
- Toni-Anne Sanderson
- Lauren Noakes
- Kelly Race
- Vena Wheeldon
- Sarah Hutchinson
- Aakanksha Chhikara
(Please feel free to sing the post title to the tune of Europe's Final Countdown for the rest of the day).
Thanks to Carl Bembridge for clever Photoshop skillz!
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