Battles and wars!

Lets not talk about my last blog post and the epic failure of that challenge I set myself.

Let’s talk about a different challenge I set myself and succeeded at!

Back in May I tweeted about White Collar Boxing and the fact that I was going to train for 9 weeks and then get in the ring.

Since then I have trained so, so hard. Three times a week I hit up the gym in Star Lane and trained with some of London’s finest boxing trainers and fighters.

I was the tallest and heaviest lady so I did wonder if they would need to match me up with a guy but they found a “close” match for me. At least based on ability.

We were both rubbish haha.

Training consisted of hot evenings in a boxing gym in East London, shadow boxing, practise against the bags. Core work galore. As the weather for hotter the sessions got harder. There were times I would come out of a session wanting to cry from the intensity. Feeling sick and tired, but perseverance is the key.

Having been matched with my opponent we no longer partnered up in any of the sessions. She was a nice enough lady but in total honest her style baffled me. She struggled to find her natural stance as orthodox or south paw. I felt like she jumped in to her punches, not thinking them through, just reacting to my height and weight. It worried me.

It seemed to me that boxing should be about control and thought. Not just hitting the person in front of you.

I found that I felt much slower than her as I was thinking about my moves and where I could hit her. (she may have been thinking this too but obviously I’m not in her brain.

Fight night arrived and fight music chosen, I rocked up to the Troxy in East London in suddenly felt very nervous. Even though I had 100% improved over the weeks, I was still very basic in my training. I don’t think the word Novice covered. But I had to believe!

I was very lucky that a friend of mine and an experience MMA fighter and trainer was acting as corner man to one of the other fighters, so I took advantage of him and he became my corner man too. He warmed me up, took me through techniques and gave me the belief.

I was due to fight at 8.40pm and once the event had started I took some time out to watch some of the friends I had made during training take on their opponents. Having all the fighters come from one pool meant it was hard to pick sides in but some cases I had really bonded with one of the fighters so my allegiances were clear in my cheering.

If I’m honest I don’t really remember too much of the fight. I was in the zone. There are photos of me looking like I’m ready to end someone. Chris had found me the perfect song enter the ring to. It started of with Gangnam Style and then went in to a grime mix. I had someone message me saying that track made them sit up and take notice.

So Round one went by in a flash. The mantra was to get the first hit. I don’t know if I did. I remember I knocked her off balance though. Then she knocked me off balance. That might have been round two.

Round two I was a mess. She had me up! I just remember feeling really angry towards her and I forgot all my training. Then during a flurry of her punches I heard the ref call for a stop, but she got one more hit in. This p*ssed me off no end, so I saw red and then punched her. All I heard was lots of boos and then the ref put my in my corner counted to 8 and told me not to do it again, I knew I had done wrong. I was so angry with myself.

On to round 3, I felt more in control, the advice my corner man gave me was to jab, jab, jab. That’s what I tried to do. I think I got a few more hits in and she seemed a bit more on the run.

The fight ended and She was declared the winner. I was so disappointed, mainly in myself. I should not have lost control like I did. Where did all my tactics go? I was in tears, but tears of anger.

I got back up to the changing room and to be honest, every one seemed surprised I lost. I had the skills to win but I let emotion take over.

But the love I got from everyone when I went to meet them after was immense. I had a great turn out of family and friends.

I didn’t win my fight but I’m bang on a rematch. I also feel that this is something I might just be good at. I loved the training and I loved being in the ring.

So now that the initial part of this challenge is out of the way, what’s next.

More training!

Goals don’t stop after just one phase. Next up between now and the end of the year is another half and full marathon, to begin to get a real handle on this boxing thing. Not to mention some half naked prancing around at Notting Hill carnival just weeks away.

I didn’t win the battle but the war ain’t over just yet!

Foodage 23 May 2013

Here’s the food! Yum (maybe)

Empty porridge bowl. Sorry. Scot oats, banana and blueberries made with water

Lunch: tuna and baked sweet potato with salad and low fat dressing

Yogurt for sweet treat

Morning Snacks. Only had some of the peas

Afternoon snack before home time

Dinner: grilled haddock and veg. Was gonna do couscous but I’m lazy

Over and out

Accountability

So, I have a confession to make.

I eat. I eat a lot. Mostly I eat good food. Whole grains, high protein, low carbs etc., etc. but sometimes, more often than I should, especially when snacks are involved, I eat poop.

We all know the saying “Abs are made in the kitchen and not the gym” and so really I cant be surprised that I’m not getting the 100% results that I want when I am not putting in 100%.

And yes putting in 100% all of the time is hard but damn it if I want to be fitter and healthier and no longer overweight then I need to work hard at it.

So I was thinking back to the reasons I started this blog. I knew that if I put it out there and made it public then I would be accountable for what I was doing. People would look at my blog and be like, “hey, she is working hard” or “boo, she isn’t putting in the effort”. I rave a lot about the exercise and sport I undertake but not the food I eat.

Therefore, in the interest of transparency I am going to trial something for a couple of weeks.
Once a day in the evening I will post up pictures of the food I have eaten through out the day. And maybe a little description of what it is (in case you can’t tell).

I do a lot of my eating in secret!

I AM A SECRET BINGE EATER. I binge. I can’t eat just one biscuit. I have to have 5 or 6 or more. I went and brought an M and S wrap the other day, one of their summer ploughman’s sausage rolls, then went to costa and got a Belgium chocolate tiffin, I ate all of those before I got on the train back to work.. When I got to Kings Cross I went to Leon and bought a halloumi burger and some popcorn. That was my lunch on Tuesday! Everyone saw me eat the halloumi burger, no one knew about the stuff before.

I have food issues. Maybe I should see someone about it. What is really going on here? Why do I sabotage myself like this? Who knows? Anyway the buck stops with me, so yeah starting this evening a daily blog post of my foodage.

Lemme know what you think 🙂

Mama said knock you out!

So in my perpetual quest to get fit or die trying, I have taken up a new sport.

Sitting on the train a few weeks ago, reading me free Metro newspaper and I came across an ad looking for competitors for a new round of White Collar Boxing. Basically, a bunch of office workers beating each other up! Talk about fight club.

They train you up for 12 weeks and at the end you get in the ring to have a nice little punch up. Exciting or what.

Now the running has calmed down for a few months, I have a bit of time to add in some extra body work. This seemed perfect. My dad used to box in the army and reading this advert took my back to childhood when he used to try and teach us the moves – and a couple of weeks ago he did the same thing when I told him I was starting training.

Now in my second week of training. I’ve got my gloves and my boots and I’m suffering from the worst DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness) ever.

The classes are 1 hour up to 4 times a week and minimum 2 times a week at Trad TKO boxing gym in East London They are pretty intense. Lot’s of shadow boxing, using the bags and core work. Skipping!! Something else that takes me back to my childhood. That shizz is hard! I’m really sweating with each session but I feel like I might be getting the hang of the basics. A lot of work to be done though.

So far I’m loving it. I’m the biggest (height and weight wise) girl in the group, so I am apprehensive about how they will match me up, but we’ll soon see I’m sure. Hopefully I’ll be able to drop some more weight with this as well. I even met and had my photo taken with a prize fighter (Wadi Camacho).

I’m looking forward to the 12th July when I will step in to the ring and show everyone what I have learnt.

Feeling totally disillusioned with my weight loss at the moment. It’s just not happening.

Need to get back on track and eat well but the past few weeks it’s been so hard. I’m tired of watching what I eat. Feeling guilty for having something indulgent then eating more and then feeling more guilt.

I wonder if it’s even possible to drop this last two stone and do I really want to? Cos surely if I did, I would have.. Wouldn’t I?

My progress over the past 6 months and longer even has been super slow. My body has changed a lot but my weight is just staying the same. I’ve had a couple of suggestions that this is just where my body wants to be and with out starving myself part of me does wonder what will it take to get in to the medically healthy weight range.

Having not taken the Weightwatchers plan seriously for the past couple of months, I have considered taking a break from it. Re-establishing my mojo, seeing that I can do on my own and then taking it from there. But I know I would miss the support of my leader and fellow weightwatchers. Made a great bunch of friends in that lot. There is also pressure on me though, lots of people in the group have seen my success and I was to admit I feel a bit disillusioned and then left I can imagine the response. Not my burden to bear perhaps but I feel it is.

Until the scales start moving down again I will just have to focus on those non-scale victories. Hope I continue to tone up and get healthier.

Work on increasing strength, agility and stamina. I will become the fittest I have been, even if I’m not the slimmest. This isn’t a quick fix trip down the road, it’s a mammoth road trip and the journey is going to take me a long, long way from home and a long time to get there. I need to make sure the vehicle is up to the job.

Let the taper begin!

Let’s catch up!

I know I’m terrible at blogging at the moment. I worry that I’ll bore you all ha ha.

I’m officially in the tapering zone right now. Eating right and fuelling my body and mind for the 21st April.

The past few weeks have been filled with long runs and my last long run was on Easter morning. 20 miles. It took just under four hours. Feeling really happy with that time.

It’s really interesting how my body has reacted to these runs. I am finding the last one – two miles the hardest each time. But never unreachable goals. I think my body just knows that only 20 more mins or so and I’ll be at the end. It can see the finish line and it’s a bit of mind power to push to the end.

I think my hardest long run was my 15miler. I did it with my cousin the week after Paris. He is quite a lot faster than me and it felt like I pushed it quite hard for that run.

Running 18 miles in the snow a couple of weeks ago was definitely challenging, mainly because I was trying to stay up right but this was the run that I feel helped me find my pace for Race day. 18 miles in 3hours 27mins. That’s what I like.

The last two miles up hill in to Highgate were something special. And not the good special, but ploughed through it and felt great afterwards.

My final long run this weekend was of a similar pace. 20miles in 3hours 52mins. We took in a shortened version of the marathon route, doing a circuit of Canary Wharf and up in to the Mall. That took us to 17 miles; we finished with the final few miles along the Thames down to Tower Bridge.

Man, the end of this run brought with it such relief! The taper has begun.

It’s now time to finish prepping and feeding my mind and body for the biggest physical challenge I have ever undertaken.

A lot of people keep telling me how casual I am about running all these miles. It’s not that I am being blasé, I just don’t think I have fully realised how far 26.2miles is, I’ve tried to comprehend how far I would get if I ran for 26miles outside of London, but it just doesn’t make sense. I was never good with distances at school.

I’ve finished with the fundraising part of the marathon a few weeks ago and having hit my target meant that for these last few weeks the focus on my running has been much less intense and with out worry. Thank you to everyone who donated and who continues to donate. You can add to my epic total here.

Weight wise, I have no idea how much I weight right now. My weight over the past month had gone up and down around the 15st mark. I am extra hungry and probably not making the best food choices after my long runs so therefore I am not seeing results on the scales and I don’t want to feel disheartened about this. So I agreed at the suggestion of the amazing Saz, my weightwatchers leader, that she would weigh me but not tell me the results. This has taken such pressure off let me tell you, but I do need to ensure I am eating correctly in order to be able to fuel my body properly.

And regardless of the scales, I am now pretty firmly into a size 14 clothes wise with a few size 12 dress choices. So I can’t complain.

I am starting to like what I see in the mirror and as a result I am finding myself taking more and more pics of me in my new purchases and sticking them up on instagram. I started to feel a bit narcissistic but then I remembered how I used to feel. Big and bloated and now I don’t. I’m so happy with my progress and I do want to show it off a bit. People keep telling me I need to look at how far I’ve come and I’m starting to believe that.

A friend of mine this morning asked me to post some “top tips”. I can’t really say I have many, apart from this. If you really want to become fitter and healthier and slimmer then you will do it. No matter how hard it gets.

You will eat better, you will train hard. You’ll set your goals and you’ll make sure you hit them because you’ll be so sick of how you currently feel that you’ll have no option but to change.

Seeing and feeling the changes. Feeling unstoppable is the most gratifying thing.

I’m currently reading A Life Without Limits by Chrissie Wellington, as suggested by one of my blog readers the other month. Sitting on the tube reading this book has reduced me to tears thinking about all the things I can push myself to do. I suggest anyone who has goals, reads this book. You just don’t know until you try.

I’ve recently been wondering how I will feel after the Marathon. Will I want to continue running marathons? I do know I want to really push my body to see what it is really capable of. I also know I want to see how many miles I can run in one day. I’m not talking about racing, but if I was to take a long leisurely run with gels and water etc. how far could I really go?

We’ll see aye!

Throwback Thursday

There is a trend in social networking site “Instagram” where by people post old pictures of themselves and hash tag them #TBT or #throwbackthursday.

Thought I’d do a little throwback Thursday here.

Enjoy 🙂

And back to today….

Bonjour!

This weekend was my first major test. My first chance to show how my training was progressing. Really progressing.

The Paris half marathon.

What a weekend.

Me and Chris were up at 4am to get the 7am train to Paris. A mixture of excitement and nerves. Having never been to France before it was very exciting for so many reasons.

How am I so excited at 5.30am??

I decided to treat the run as just another training run but the reality was I wanted to run this non-stop, I wanted to pull in a good time and I wanted to feel like I’d won, this was never going to be “just another training run”.

We spent the Friday and Saturday doing some touristy bits and hanging with some of the Crew. Run Dem Crew love was major this weekend. RDC supports you at the best (and worst of times) but it was a whole other level this time. So many words of much-needed advice and love.

Hit up a party on Friday night. I bumped in to the gorgeous presenter, George Lamb.

I met George Lamb! Gorgeousness

Saturday we hit some of the tourist spots and generally tried to keep our creeping nerves at bay. There was a tension in the air, broken only by the fact that I had forgotten my jogging bottoms so bought some more but they in fact turned out to be mens long johns!! with that front pocket bit for easy access to the crown jewels. #fail!

We were in bed by 9pm on Saturday night, anxious to get enough sleep to leave us ready and refreshed for the morning.

we were up at 6.45 and outside the meeting point for 8.30 for the group photo and final words of support

The crew ready to roll

Earlier that morning I had tweeted one word “nervous” and before we headed off to our “pens”, like lambs to the slaughter house, a few guys pulled me to one side, gave me hugs and whispered words of super encouragement. It really helped. You guys know who you are, so thank you!

So I dunno if French people time is like BMT but the race did not start at 10am. We were in our holding area until almost 11am. The time was passed with warm up exercises to universally annoying songs such as Gangnam Style. We had a ball!

Lots of hand waving

My buddy, Tahirah and I during our time in the pen

Trying to hold back the nerves

And then we were off. The sun was shining and I was ripe and ready. I started with Tahirah and Charlie and as I passed the start line I had a real “oh Sh*t” moment but I was in it now.

I was determined not to start off too fast, but how did I know if too fast was too fast??? I’d soon find out.

We lost Tahirah after a couple of km. So Charlie and I ploughed on. Pushing each other and chatting when the silence got too much. Checking the other was ok. Too fast, let’s slow it down a bit.

I tried to take a couple of photos using the front facing camera on my phone but it didn’t work haha. I just have shots of my nose and the sky.

We hit 10k just after an hour. Doing pretty much 10min miles. We needed the loo. Found one but there was a slight queue, we didn’t to hang on so off we went again. A while down the road we saw a free toilet. We went for it. Watches paused. When it came to my turn, the door wouldn’t close. Charlie protected my modesty whilst I pee’d in the fastest time ever.

Off we went again. A hill. Nothing I hadn’t come across in training but it seemed to come from nowhere. It threw me for a moment but I pushed through. I was tired at the top. we dropped the pace just slightly and then pressed on.

11km, 12km, 13km and on and one, I know around 15km I was feeling very tired. But I just kept thinking at in 3km more I would be seeing my crew. Cheer Dem Squad are a vital part of RDC. Those who aren’t running, coming down to cheer you on and support you like you’ve never been supported before.

As we approached the 18km marker we talked about how much we needed those cheers. 18km was there, where were Cheer Dem!! OMG what if they had left us, but all of a sudden I could hear a mass of people calling my name, ringing cow bells and complete joy. They were here and they were cheering for us! Gun fingers in the air and smiling like lunatics we ran past the crew and it was alright again. Yes! we were so close now, we could do this!

Being given life by the Cheer Dem Crew

We are winners!

So on we went. rejuvenated by love. Between 18km and 20km it seemed to really drag. Like, come on now, surely I’ve run far enough.

20km to 21km got really interesting… What’s that in the distance. Balloons!! it must be the finish……NO! Someone had the bright idea to make an arch of balloons about 400m from the finish. So confusing but I’m glad I didn’t do my sprint finish.

100m to the finish and yet more Run Dem Crew cheering us on. Those who had already finished had come back to see us through. And see us through they did. The end was there… Time for the sprint, lets finish strong! and we were off! Booom, across the finish line like a G!

Couldn’t have done it without you Charlie

Check the bling!!!

Did I really just do this? Half a Marathon, like a race. Not for practice with breaks at traffic lights or a little sit down at 10k.  I ran a whole half marathon.

I’ll admit it, I had a little tear up! high fives and hugs with my running partner. I was so lucky to have her!

my watch time was 2hours 17 mins and 58 seconds, the official time (sadly not taking in to account my wee break) was 2 hours, 21mins and 25secs. I’m happy either way!! Very, very happy.

Job not done though, I still had my Chris to see through the finish line. I had to be there to cheer him on and I definitely had to run him through the finish line.

Seeing him approaching in the distance, I have never felt such love or pride for someone. It was clear he was in pain having had issues with his knees for so long but knowing that he went on and did da ting was just amazing. Lesser people would have quit. Not my king!

A couple that runs together….

Never happier!

Job done, I passed the halfway part of the journey, half marathon race under my belt, time to up that mileage and get ready to run this marathon. 6 weeks to go! Lets do this! Thinking back, it was hard, but at no point did I feel like I really couldn’t go on. I’m ready to keep going. It weren’t easy but it was so doable. Training works maaaaan.

You can watch a video of me going through different check points here. See if you can spot my (trademark) pink headband.

That night, we linked up with all the other crews who are part of the Bridge the Gap family, the guys who just like RDC are a movement in their cities. Paris Running Club hosted an epic party for us.

I’ve met some seriously fantastic people. I have to thank Charlie Dark and all the Run Dem Crew for the amazing support. Cheer Dem Crew, including Clare and Araba for super cheering!  And my King for being so, so inspirational. We did it babe.

This weekend will forever stay in my memory.

Halfway point!

Well, it’s been a while. I had a little blogging break. Had a bit of brain freeze and wasn’t really sure what to put in this space.

First things first, I want to say thank you to everyone who commented and emailed me and checked up on my after my last blog post. It really means a lot too me.

I want you to all know that I’m fine. That post was exactly what this blog is about, me getting my thoughts, fears, happiness, anxiety and realisations out to you all.

My journey is long and hard, it’s about health, weight loss, running and most importantly, succeeding.

Over the past few weeks since my last post I’ve achieved a lot! My fundraising is going epically well. But that’s a separate post for you all.

On Saturday 3rd February, I actually ran half marathon distance. Say whaaaat?

A small group of us headed out from Blackheath, across the Thames to East London up to Tower Bridge and back down the other side. It was meant to be 12 miles but by the end we just thought, “what the hey” and carried on.

2hours and 26mins later I had done it.

Now, no matter what, I know I can take on Paris and win! There is no doubt.

My times are getting faster. On the 12th February I ran my fastest mile. 9mins 40seconds.

I honestly couldn’t see myself running under 10min miles. But that night two of my miles were under 10mins and the rest (bar one) were all faster than any previous run.

I cried when I got back to the RDC HQ. it was a tough week. I had fallen out with a friend, I was feeling unwell and that run broke the emotional barrier for me.

Sometimes things happen which make you ask “what’s the point?” I didn’t want to run that night, but I knew it would do me good. And Good it did.

I haven’t run since then. The little head cold turned into a full blown viral infection. Anti-biotics for an ear, throat and sinus infection. I barely got out of bed for 5 days, the following 7 days after that I had such a sticky cough that walking up stairs killed me.

I had to reach in to my faith pocket that I’d be well this week before Paris and after a successful 4hour Zumba marathon, I can say I feel I’m back on form.

I really missed running but I knew I had to have this week of rest or I just wouldn’t feel healthy.

So here we are at the halfway point of my marathon journey and I feel right on track!

So now me and the mister in are in super excited “Paris here we come” mode. I keep googling the area and looking at the Paris Semi website to see what we need to do, where we pick up our bibs.

Medical certificate signed off (legitly) I am on my way folks!!

Update of the race on Monday or Tuesday next week, pics and all!

A mild strain…

This blog is a bit of a moan. I guess. I’ll start my saying I am so grateful and happy to be doing these races. I’m lucky to have my marathon place and appreciate the love everyone has shown me.

The training is going well. I need to work harder to ensure I am getting in the weekly long run but overall I am doing fine J.

What I didn’t anticipate is the strain it would have on my body and social life.

I am someone who really suffers when my mind and body is under stress. I get run down, glandular and can get quite ill. I take medicine for it when it crops up. But over the past few weeks its been cropping up a lot.
I wake up feeling fluish and groggy and it goes from there. Pushing through it isn’t really an option. Taking anti inflammatory medicine and rest is how to combat it. But I can’t really rest. I’m on such a tight schedule that taking 3 -4 days out to recover ain’t an option.

Woken up this morning with a very sore throat and blocked nose. Bringing out the herbal teas lol. This, I can feel is just a cold and it’s not going to stop me!! Not at all but for the other symptoms I need to sort it out. Trip to the doctors I think.

I do wonder how those of you who are seasoned in training for the bigger races cope though. What happens when you’re stuck down by a nasty cold or a sticky eye?

I’ve got a sweat rash behind my ear and on my cheek. So itchy and sore.

I’ve got a flare up of eczema behind my knees!! Are these all common runners ailments?

I need to buy a knee support as I’m finding when I’m not running my knee is quite sore. It gets a pain through it when I bend it or sometimes take stairs. Recommendations on good knee support?

So my body is taking a battering but so is my social life. My training plan means that along side weightwatchers My only free weekday evenings are Thursdays and Fridays. Thursdays I see Chris and come Friday I’m so tired I just want to sleep.
Everything is scheduled around running. Making sure I don’t make any Saturday plans until late in the day in order to complete my long run and Sunday’s its game over as I try to do some real rest and get my washing done.

I knew there would be a sacrifice but its tougher than I thought. I had my first booze craving on Tuesday night. Having a good catch up with my housemate who I hadn’t seen properly in over a week and could have really done with a nice, cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc. *sigh* This is the journey I chose.

It’s not all bad though. I am improving and seeing these improvements. Mondays RDC West session was epic. We ran about 9km in circuits around an icy Paddington Rec. I ran with people who pushed me and supported me and I could see I was faster. I think my average pace is about 6 and a half minute km. It used to be 6.50

I will admit I have been scared to test myself in a faster paced group for fear of failure, but when I realised I wasn’t even breaking a sweat in slow hares, I knew it was time to pick it up. Come out of the comfort zone and start to make it count. So at RDC on Tuesday, I led fast hares and ran our fastest km in 5mins 57seconds. Running with fast hares did challenge me but not as much as I expected, but it was a work out. And I felt it after. The group were great and everyone supported each other. We ran just over 8km and we ran it strong.

I always feel so proud to lead the groups as everyone pushes for their best, we work together so well as part of a team and the conversations you have with others constantly lift you. It’s the best feeling! I’m going to work hard over the coming weeks and my goal is to be in greyhounds by the time VLM comes around. Yes!

The strain on my tear ducts has also been intense. I never dreamt that the amount of running I’m doing and the reasons for doing it would cause such an emotional upheaval in me.
I have a good run, I cry.
Someone sponsors me, I cry.
Someone says something nice to me, I cry.

Most of the days I am on the verge of tears. Always happy tears mind you. It must be the enormity of what I will achieve, for myself, for the charity. Perhaps I underestimated how much this really means to me. I’m welling up now as I think about it.

I need to put a lid on it but I don’t know how. So if you see me crying don’t be alarmed just know that I’m in a very emotional place and I’m extremely happy.

Weight wise, my birthday celebrations went well. I put on half a lb last week after all the cake but knocked it off again this week. So back to 15st on the button.

Let’s hope come Wednesday I’ll be under. That would be superb!

I bought my first pair of size 14 jeans. the last time I wore a size 14 in trousers was least 2007. Probably before. So this is a big thing for me. Go team.

Now I’m going to plug my event.

It’s the 2nd of February at Rocket Bar and Restaurant in Canary Wharf.

7pm. £10entry. Cocktail making and fun times.

Plus an excellent raffle!

Please come and support or you can also sponsor me online via: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Leeleegraham

Oh this is my friend Krystal who has been running with me a lunch times. She is amazing! More about her another time!

Happy Birthday to me!

It’s my Birthday tomorrow. In fact by the time most of you read this it will be my birthday today. Happy birthday me.

I’m turning 28. I’m a proper adult.

I go to work, I pay my bills on time. I go to bed when I’m tired and mostly get up when I have to.

It’s not too shabby.

I also make crazy decisions like running a half marathon and a full marathon within weeks of each other.

The training has fully begun and with some minor adjustments I am doing the following training plan.

I’ve adjusted to make allowances for Run dem crew on Mondays and Tuesdays and the fact that a friend of mine has recently begun running. She is making such amazing improvements and is so much fun to run with that I can’t give up those lunchtime runs.

I’m making sure I get enough active and total rest.

So far so good….. Apart from the massive panic I had on Monday.

Run a marathon they said. It will be fun they said.

What if I can’t run the marathon? What if I faaaaaaail!

Then I went for a run and felt better. Funny that. Haha bonk.

I’m training well and I’ll run well and there is no way my family, friends and crew will not let me finish that marathon. So I’m cool now 🙂

I got me a marathon mentor. In fact I have many mentors all around me. So many kind offers and advice from seasoned pro’s. I’m lucky.

But I got me a mentor who ran his first marathon for London last year. And his experience is going to show me I can do this.

The Sue and Papa G clubbed together to get me a voucher for runners need. Two new pairs of runners, here I come! Thanks family!

No only do I have to train for this marathon, I have to fundraise for this marathon.

I need to raise £2,000 for my chosen charity, The London Community foundation. And it ain’t gonna be easy. But once again my support network is coming through for me in more ways than I could imagine.

I’m also organising a series of fundraising events.

The first of which is on 2nd February.

An evening of cocktails and fun.

All my UK readers are welcome and it costs £10 to come in.

I’m also going to be holding a zumbathon, maybe two. Details to follow.

If you would like to donate any prizes to my raffle, please get in touch. Any offers gratefully received.

Sooo, today is the 1st anniversary of my Weightwatchers meeting.

To celebrate, I lost 3.5lbs and finally! Finally can say I weigh 15st exactly. So thats exactly 3stone i’ve lost in my meetings. biggest thanks ever to my Weightwatchers leader, Saz Back and all my supportive friends at the meeting.

Omg! I’m going to be under 15stone!

What? Naaaaaah. Over 18stone and now I’m going to be under 15. Totes amaze mate, totes amaze.

So, in summary.

Happy birthday me!

Sponsor me

Come to my event

Please!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Leeleegraham