Back on the wagon.

My long term readers may recall that about 1.5 years ago I took up running, well jogging I guess. I completed my first charity 10K last October, and I was signed up to the Rock'n'Roll Edinburgh 1/2 marathon for last April, however, I have bronchitis that likes to flare up at the most inconvenient of times and as such I had to pull out - gutted wasn't the word. Next years race has been moved to May as the weather was horrid last year and I am considering singing up again, the small issue being I haven't ran much at all since February, the odd 5k in the gym here & there, and only just started heading back outdoors - just in time for winter *sigh*. 

Anyway, in order to get back onto the straight & narrow (and shift the extra 7lbs I've gained thanks to beer and pizza); the diet has looked like this for the past few weeks.

It's been an easy switch, I'm making sure I'm eating enough daily and not being tempted by crisps (my huge vice), but if I've learnt anything over the past year, it's sometimes you have to listen to your body - if you're craving crisps, your body may be calling for salt, if you're too sore to train? Rest. It's all fair and well when people say you MUST push yourself, yes you must to get the results you want but also, personally, if I'm too sore from a workout, I'll rest for the evening and start the next day - why burn yourself out? You're more likely to quit that way. 

And my last 'tip' for the day - DO NOT EXPECT RESULTS OVER NIGHT! 

I will be the first to admitt I've given up in the past as I've not seen results quick enough, they say it takes SIX weeks to see a change in yourself, if after that time your jeans aren't any looser, or the scales aren't going down it could be a good idea to assess your plan. Are you working out enough? Have you changed your eating habits? Without being harsh, sitting for an hour on an exercise bike may be better than sitting on your sofa, but if you're going to go home and snack on crisps/biscuits, grab a cheeky takeaway on your way home as 'you've worked hard for it' the chances of you seeing any decent results are very slim (no pun intended). 

Without sounding clichéd - 'Fail to plan, plan to fail'

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Hello beautiful people, 

How are we all? Can you believe it's almost the end of October already?! Someone mentioned earlier on Instagram how it's only 65 days until Christmas, this year is going far too quickly, can we have Summer back please? Just for a while? 

I haven't really blogged properly for a while (again), to be honest I've not had a lot to blog about. I've been having a quiet few months, I had imposed a shopping ban on myself but due to winter coming far too quickly, some winter boots, a new jacket & an awesome Minnie Mouse onsie were purchased. 

On Friday I went to see Billie Joe Armstrongs' (of Greenday) musical 'American Idiot' for my sisters 17th birthday - it was fab, honestly, if you get a chance (even if you're not a Greenday fan) go and see it. 

And lastly (although it seems like a lifetime ago) I completed by first 10K race on behalf of Big Hearts Community Fund on Sunday 7th October - I managed to race £111, which isn't bad as I only had 2 weeks notice and my official time was 64 mins 58 seconds, and as it was only my 3rd time running 10k since I started running I'm pleased with that. My next goal I think will be the Edinburgh Rock n' Roll half marathon, winter nights are not my friend just now in terms of getting my backside out, in fact I haven't run in over a week but I know I'll find my mojo again. In the past two weeks a colleague has run a 38 mile ultra-marathon and a twitter friend has done a 55 mile ultra-marathon, yikes, kinda craps all over 13.1 miles really. 

Thanks again to everyone for their support & sponsors - looking forward to the next on.