Saying goodbye to the Marathon :(

It is with a heavy heart that I have made the decision to not take part in the Liverpool Marathon 2011 - and I have to be honest .......I'm totally GUTTED :(

Ive been losing weight steadily for the past 2 yrs and to date have lost 4.5 stone but still have about another 3 (ish) to go, and yes running is great for toning up but, on my long runs I was feeling that I wasnt 'fueled' enough to last the distance.

With me only starting Slimming World recently I dont feel confident enough to make the decisions on running diet yet, and yes in theory as per the earlier post it will be good to do the protein/carb days when I am in the swing of things but for this year and time ticking by I dont feel that I had the time to suss out the diet without having a negative effect on the diet as in eating the wrong things, but then I couldnt afford to have the running taking a knock because of lack of energy (if that makes sense?)

Now that the pressure is off I have the time to take stock of the diet, I know what I need to eat to fuel runs and I know the Slimming World plan, all I need to cross reference to maximise both.

Plus there is the heat ... I dont know if its the spare weight I have or just me, but I go down like a sack of spuds in the heat as it is without running in it, and have noticed a couple of times when Im running home from work its a real struggle

next up is family, pure practicalities kick in, if both hubby and myself are doing the same run then we need someone to look after the kids, plus there is all the long training runs, I did mine on a Saturday, hubby did his on Sunday = no family time,

Running is something that I have only just recently discovered first hand, spectator yes, participating only since March and is something that I want to fall in love with for many years, and dont want to put the pressure on so much that I dont enjoy it in the first 6 months

I feel sometimes that Im using them as a cop out and making excuses but they genuinely aren't

just the place where I am in my life at the moment. Its not over by any means and this is being treated like an obstacle that needs to be overcome.

And overcome it will be, I am not saying no, im just re-adjusting, yes A marathon will happen, it wont be the Liverpool one this year but it will happen, I still have a 5K and 10k in the diary, and a half marathon in August, so for the remainder of the year is being spent on ME, losing the remainder of the weight and building up my base fitness, ready to train over winter for a spring Marathon, hubby can train during the summer months when its hot and I can train over the winter months when it's nice and cold - but watch this space IT WILL HAPPEN just needed a little tweeking around the edges

I remember Kate, my Slimming World consultant explaining (see I do listen lol ) about the journey we are all on, you can either take the direct route or the scenic route, unfortunatly, in this case Ive had to take a diversion but the destination is always the same , healthy living, healthy diet, healthy fitness - all in moderation

So to all those runners embarking on the 'Long and Winding Road' my hat is off to you, and I have so much respect for you all, I will still be there cheering you all on - saving my biggest cheer for my hero hubby.

Good luck to you all x x x x

Why do we do it?

Why do Team Lets Fight This do what we do?

We are NOT elite athletes by any stretch of the imagination, and sometimes we ask ourselves why we are doing it when it would be so much easier to succum to the lure of the chocolate and the couch.

Then you would be reminded of someone who has been touched by Cancer or is in the middle of the Fight either themselves or family members, and it brings it all home to us WHY we do it.. because WE CAN, and WE MUST.

If we only raise £1 in sponsorship then that is £1 towards a cure,

During the Race 4 Life on Sunday it is so humbling reading the dedications as to why people are doing the same thing - although sometimes it is hard to run when there are tears in your eyes, but it really hits home how MANY people are affected by Cancer.

This was our first Race 4 Life (not Joesgirl74 shes a veteran !) but I can assure you it will not be our last.

I know a few of the team-mates said that their legs were sore and stiff on the Monday but when you think about it - to be fit and strong enough to DO the race in order to suffer with the stiffness the next day - WHAT AN AMAZING FEELING

Coming soon we have a guest blog post from 'across the pond' and her personal experience of the Komen for the Cure events

Guess who's Back ??!!

Tadahhhhhh - Team Lets Fight This did it again and this time with a new member to the team!

We have all been training for the Race 4 Life 5k in Sefton Park Liverpool - the only one that we could all get together for (and in my case the latest one to give me more time to train lol !)

but we battled against, families, work, illness (not good in the week leading up to the run) and we did it !

Opened the curtains on Sunday morning after having the worst nights sleep EVER looked at the weather and thought it would be so much easier to crawl back into bed - but I didnt it was one of those 'fake it till you make it mornings' so on went the positive attitude along with the Lets Fight This team shirt and dont forget the Pink grass skirt all topped off with pink flower garlands - under normal circumstances I wouldnt be seen in a pink grass skirt - not unless I was under the influence ! so it must have been for a good cause.

Then came the next decision where to position ourselves? Joesgirl74 was fine she knew she was in the runners..... the rest of us...erm???? no we aren't runners so that was that category out.....are we joggers??? or are we walkers??? as far as we could see they didnt have a half/half flag to stand by and we figured that we were fast walkers/slow joggers so we stood in the middle ! and then we were off

Joesgirl74 finished in an amazing 26min (and that was with a wardrobe malfunction too!)

The rest of us....... We walked/jogged our way around the course, cursing every branch and exposed tree root on the ground - this along with the sprints that we put on for show when we saw any family members - lol

and we finished in 39 min (no wardrobe malfunctions for us!)

Then to the important business of the day .... Tweeting the results !

We had the BEST day ever, raised money for a GREAT cause and spent some time together as a team

Team mates together,
Blockheads for Life,

Friends forever x

sharp reminder

If ever I had a sharp reminder and a dose of reality on why I am doing the Race for Life it happened this week - My friends mum was diagnosed with Breast Cancer on Tuesday and is in fact going in for her operation tomorrow - the scary thing is though as an older woman she never checked herself monthly and the lump was only found by accident by her grandson banging into her by accident when they were playing and it hurt, all hats off to the health service though for their quick response - but it brought home to me how many women (and men ) STILL DON'T check themselves regularly -

so PLEASE, PLEASE read the information provided by the link to NHS Uk below and be aware of any changes and see a doctor AS SOON as you notice anything - I personally would have written on my medical records 'She's here AGAIN' rather than 'Didn't come early enough'

This has got nothing to do with increasing traffic to the blog or getting more readers/followers but PLEASE forward this blog page onto as many women as you can

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1740.aspx?CategoryID=60&SubCategoryID=182

Once again I cant emphasise enough the importance of getting this information to as many people as possible

Love to you all x

Make the most of every day x

Many apologies Ive been ill for a while - nasty illness bug that i couldnt seem to shake but We (not me !) have been keeping up with our training I PROMISE YOU !! and we have some great items coming up - one of which is a guest post from one of our followers doing the Komen 3 day Challenge- Amazing- but for now I have a lovely passage for you reminds us to make the most of every day and to live it to the maximum x x

Time Waits for no-one

See the Second Hands move swiftly

And the minutes speeding on

Then the hours passing quickly

All too soon the day has gone

Always moving, sure and strady

Certain as the endless tide

Father time is not your master

Let him always be your guide

Think of those whose days go slowly

Those whose moments creep along

Think of all the lost and lonely

Offer hope to make them strong

Watch the minute hand still moving

As the hours slip away

Use each precious moment wiselyMake the most of every day

Flunning anyone????

Flunning is apparently for my single friends amongst you is a new craze of flirting while running hence - flunning - hmmm

Obviously not me being married, but got me thinking about this, it seems an obvious place to meet people, it used to be you met people in work because that is where you spend the majority of your day, I suppose that if you are both running you have healthy living in common,

For me though I'm thinking, Im walking/running got mp3 plugged in with some automated voice (that I have nicknamed Max cos he reminds me of Max Headroom) telling me what to do, Im bright red, puffing and blowing away, sweaty, and knowing my luck Max will tell me to start running just as he stops to speak so I'll just look rude and run off, so Im thinking, that should I be on the market it is not the impression that I would want to give a potential suitor, although if he still fancies you looking like that fair play to him !!

For me though, I would much rather do the flirting in the gym cafe, after a workout, after a shower, after make up applied, and looking like I always look like this after a workout - doesnt everybody??

Tink - oh then I'm back to reality and I'm back to Max shouting at me to run, run, run for 3 minutes !!

Week 3 day 2 - doing great so far