Training for a marathon - 4 weeks in.

In 3 months I'll be attempting to complete the iconic London Marathon course for the first time. I'm not a runner, I've never been a runner, and in all honesty, I'm not sure I will ever truly be a runner.

I still remember one of the first times I ever went for a jog. It was in my first year of university, and my flatmates in my hall of residence all decided to "get healthy" and go for a jog around the local park. It was approximately 1 mile around and I couldn't complete a circuit without stopping to walk and catch my breath. 12 years later and arguably fitter, I'm gearing up for a 10 mile jog this weekend as part of my training and I'm not hugely phased by the distance.

I realised that I quite enjoyed jogging when I moved to London. Growing up in the countryside, it might seem surprising that it took moving to London for my love of outdoor running to develop. But the thing I like most about the London running scene is the abundance of parks. Cross country running can be really challenging, particularly in winter, so to have paved parks that are solid underfoot but surrounded by greenery, I've got the best of both worlds.

I've completed a few fun runs in the past, 5k, 10k and a cross country half marathon over the picturesque South Downs. A full marathon is something I've not yet achieved though, so I'm hoping that by training right and eating well, I'll manage to complete it without any issues. Hopefully I might even enjoy the experience! I've wanted to run the London marathon for most of my adult life. I went to support my Dad when he ran it for the first time in 1999, and the atmosphere on the day was fantastic. 2016 is the year I decided I could wait no longer (and I'm not getting any younger!) so I've signed up with the National Childbirth Trust to raise money for new parents, with a particular focus on developing support for post natal depression. You can read more about the charity and the work they do on my fundraising page. Please donate, just a few pounds could make a huge difference to someone struggling with the most challenging time in their life.

Fundraising responsibilities aside, I also need to make sure I'm physically ready on the day. There are literally hundreds of marathon training plans available for free on the Internet, so after a brief perusal of the top few, I opted for this one from popsugar, as it seemed like the simplest to follow, and fitted best with my lifestyle. I'm about 4 weeks in, and so far it's going quite well. Here are a few things I've discovered since starting to follow a training plan:

1) Trying to plan new routes around unknown areas is exciting and infuriating in equal measure. It's fun trying to link up footpaths through scenic areas, but not knowing what the terrain is going to be like can pose some tricky obstacles mid-jog.

2) There are many factors which affect my speed over the same route. I have a few lunchtime routes around Hyde Park, and some days it'll feel really relaxed and I'll complete the course in a really good time. On other days the exact same route will feel 100 times tougher, and I'll be much slower. One of the main factors is the wind. A bit of light drizzle or a beautifully sunny day don't seem to make much difference, but a strong head wind is quite horrible. Adding in a few mini sprints really helps improve my speed but makes me feel awful, and I tend to run faster if I'm in a particularly good or particularly bad mood. If I'm having an average day, I'll run at an average pace.

3) Expensive running gear really isn't important. Having shoes that fit well is. I've had my running trainers for a few years, I went to a proper running shop where they looked at my gait and recommended the best shoes for me. Apart from that, I run in t shirts and leggings. I've got a lightweight jacket for when it's cold or raining, and a few sports bra style tops (I'm having some issues with these, ironically as they're the items I've spent the most on). I use my phone to track my routes, and just get up and go!

4) My strength training is suffering. A couple of years ago, I got really into strength and weight training in the gym. I noticed a difference in physical strength, my appearance, and my performance playing roller derby. A recurring shoulder injury somewhat stunted my development and I've been trying to get back to it recently. For me, the only real feasible time for me to go to the gym is in the morning, which is tough enough for me as a non-morning person. I've found that my motivation has been even more lacking, as I know that I'm going for a jog at lunch. It's just excuses, I know, but I definitely think if I wasn't going out running quite as often, I'd have more impetus to get my butt out of bed in the morning and pump some iron. I think this is mostly just a matter of willpower, but I am also aware that it can be dangerous to over-train. Food for thought.

5) I love dogs. I've planned all my routes to go through parks, and there are countless dogs being taken for walks in every one. At lunch in Kensington there are quite a few snooty dog walkers, at the weekend around Beddington and Mitcham there is a bigger mix of families, younger couples and solo dog walkers and nearly all of them are friendly (dogs and owners). I know that I don't have the time or right home to have a dog, but it's so lovely to see them all enjoying the outside.

So that's about it for now, I shan't waffle on any more. I've got the Kingston half marathon coming up in a month's time, so I'll post an update then about how that went. Do you like running? Are you training for anything soon?

Here's that link again for my JustGiving page. Please donate!

Resolutions rehashed

For 2015, I made 15 resolutions. Although they weren't really resolutions, they were goals. A resolution can be broken, a goal is something to continually aim for. And there weren't actually 15, there were 16 because I forgot about a challenge I joined. So rather than not bother at all, or agonize over a whole new set of personal goals for this year, I'm just going to repeat last year's with a few tweaks and addendums. And since there are 16, that works perfectly for my 2016 goals!

I didn't manage to achieve many of these goals last year, but they did help me try and find motivation to pursue things I otherwise wouldn't have done. Here they are, with a few words about how they went last year and how I'm going to approach each one for 2016.

1. Spend at least 15 minutes a day doing something creative.

I tried to quantify this to give me a specific target, but it seems rather arbitrary, and not really representative of creativity! I think I'll update this to "Do something creative every day". Part of my plans for self improvement this year are to give myself a bit more credit for achieving things, so I'm including quite a lot of small activities as "doing something creative", for example painting my nails, posting an Instagram picture or making a new dish. A lot of my other goals are related to doing more specific creative things, like making jewellery, baking and blogging, so hopefully I'll be able to cross a few off at the same time.

2. Stop apologising for things that aren’t my fault.

This is a really tricky thing for me. It's my default, and although I was perhaps more aware of it happening last year, I really didn't manage to change my core belief that everything is my fault. But I can definitely try harder, and by stopping myself from always saying sorry, I'm hoping I'll eventually start to believe I'm not always to blame and the world won't collapse when the tiniest thing goes wrong.

3. By the end of the year, have a figure I’m proud of.

Nothing new, I'm just re-starting this one. No excuses, I just didn't eat healthily enough or work out hard enough to get to this point by the end of 2015. So, along with the rest of the population, I'll be trying to drag myself back to the gym, and say no to office treats in pursuit of this totally-achievable goal.

4. Bake every other week.

I had a spat of baking last year, mostly inspired by the Great British Bake Off. I didn't quite average every other week, but it was definitely a good start. I'm still determined to complete every bake from last year's show before this year's begins, and with a shiny new standalone mixer I received for Christmas, there's nothing to stop me continuing to practice my baking skills more often. Below is my bake along with Bake Off journey so far!

5. Sell at least 5 items of hand made jewellery.

Other one with which I made good progress, but didn't quite get to the finish line. I made a good handful of necklaces in 2015, and even photographed a few to upload to my as-yet-unopened Etsy shop. With more practice in 2016, I'll hopefully produce more pieces that I think are worthy of selling and get my shop underway.

6. Read a book every month.

I read an entire book in a few days over Christmas, so I know this is achievable! But I'm guilty of spending too much time scrolling through facebook and watching TV repeats, when I really could be reading. 12 books in a year is entirely achievable. Any recommendations?

7. Update my blog every other week.

Other one that was a good effort, but just not quite as frequent as I had hoped. I've discovered I tend to want to write article style posts, rather than brief updates, which might have slowed things down a little. I'm also terrible at taking pictures, which definitely hindered my progress! I've fallen into a pattern of posting about food, fashion, roller derby and music in the same order, which I quite like as it gives me a chance to think about the next post. I think I just need to write more! It sounds simple, but I'm sure the more that I start typing, the easier I will find it to complete a post and upload without overthinking and editing everything a hundred times.

8. Eat well 5 days a week.

I think my diet in 2015 was quite poor. My biggest problem is temptation! I'm quite good at eating healthy meals, it's everything that I eat in between that's the problem. Also, "eat well" is quite a vague concept and I think it needs re-defining. I'm a huge fan of nutritionist Nichola Whitehead of Nic's Nutrition, and I love her realistic approach to healthy eating, focusing on the 80/20 rule that as long as you eat healthily 80% of the time, you can treat yourself the other 20% of the time. If I'm honest, I was probably more 60/40 in 2015 and that's not a great way to be. One thing I'm going to add to this goal is to track my food intake properly. If I'm writing down everything I eat, it should be easier to see where I need to change my habits to be able to say I'm "eating well" (80% of the time!)

9. Be more adventurous with clothes and make-up.

This is one goal that I feel I pretty much achieved. I found doing little outfit challenges really enjoyable, and it pushed me out of my comfort zone a few times. I probably wasn't as adventurous as I could have been though, so 2016 will be about taking more risks and being braver.

10. Pass CIMA C02 – C05.

Well, I passed C02 and C03! Just 4 and 5 to go, then I'll be looking at the next set of exams. Updating this for 2016 is going to include passing at least 1 exam for the next level. At least 1.

11. Learn basic German.

I did not do this at all last year. However, my Mum bought me a beginner German set for Christmas, so now I've got the tools, I've really got no excuse not to grasp the basics in a year!

12. Keep the house clean and tidy.

This is definitely still a work in progress. I researched a couple of articles about keeping a tidy house, which have inspired me to try harder but which I've not quite yet put into practice. This one breaks down a cleaning schedule into 20 minutes a day. I might not like it, but I can't deny that I probably have 20 minutes spare that I can use to help me get on top of this challenge. It really doesn't come naturally to me, so it's a case of changing lifelong habits and developing different lifestyle choices. 

13. Make more of an effort to keep in touch with friends.

This is another one that's hard to quantify. What is "more of an effort"? I feel like it's really hard to keep in touch with old friends when we all have such busy schedules. I also struggle with the anxiety of contacting people I've not spoken to for ages, and I'm petrified of phoning anyone, even my very best friend. So perhaps this challenge is less about trying to meet up with as many people as possible, and more about braving contact and reaching out to people without fearing rejection.

14. Be on time.

Being late was one of my biggest sources of stress for 2015. Granted, the majority of my lateness was caused by severe and frequent delays on the trains, but leaving an hour earlier would still have avoided this. I've begun commuting via a different route which has (touch wood) so far been more reliable, but I'm still guilty of leaving things too late and not planning my time efficiently. For 2016, I'm really going to focus on planning and doing, rather than thinking about planning and getting distracted and waylaid.

15. Learn to swing dance.

As I write this post, I am on my way to my first class of 2016. Although I didn't actually get started until the end of 2015, I did start, and I enjoyed it, and I shall continue to dance all the way to 2017. My next challenge will be to go to a social dance. The thought of improvising and not messing everything up seems impossible at the moment, but I'm hoping that will have changed by the end of the year.

16. Jog 811 miles by the end of the year.

This was the extra one from last year I'd forgotten I'd agreed to, and I was nowhere near. 811 miles is a long way (It's the distance from Lands End to John O'Groats) and a big task. I've reset it for this year, but with the added excitement of running the London Marathon in April. I've wanted to run the marathon for so long, and having repeatedly failed to get a ballot place I've finally bitten the bullet and guaranteed to raise money for the National Childbirth Trust, giving invaluable support to new parents when it's most needed. If you've read this far and you'd like to help, please pop along to my justgiving page to donate, every pound really does help.

So that's it! New year, same goals! What are your goals for this year? I'd love to hear about how people decide on, and perhaps more importantly, stick to their resolutions.