Leg Day | Race for Life 2017

A sunny Saturday morning would normally entail a lovely walk to work before spending all day feeling jealous of all of the beach-goers (I work at a shop near the sea front) with their ice-creams and smiles. Today, though, I got to “Saturday,” and though you might scoff, it was up there with one of my favourite reasons to have a day off- running. Mum and I had an early start, setting off to Windsor (I only realised the day before where exactly we were going- it’s an hour or so from our home oops!) with our pink t-shirts and excitement to run a 10k in the name of Cancer Research.

The run took place at Windsor’s racecourse and it was an incredible route. Two laps around the BE-AU-TIFUL racecourse, surrounded by water, trees and thankfully, a warm sky- even at half nine in the morning! My mum has been injured for the last few weeks but us taking part in the run was one of her final challenges remaining (I set her 50 challenges to do as a present for her 50th birthday) and she did a very good job considering! I’ve got a pretty cool mum, even if I do say so myself.

It was amazing to see the bubbles of pink; the numbers of women who turned up on a Saturday morning for a brilliant course. There was a great sense of togetherness. Running events do this as it is; but when we are all clubbing together for a specific course? It was inspiring. Reading the signs on women’s backs (whether there is a name or two or a more general reason for running) is always particularly poignant. Mum and I haven’t managed to raise any money yet (we WILL though). If you would like to donate to us, you can check out our page here: 50 Ticks Race for Life.

On a particularly selfish note, I haven’t taken part in an organised run for a over half a year because of university. This morning has got me so so pumped to book some runs for the near future in. Someone asked me yesterday if I actually enjoy running because, although he ran a race in a super respectable time, he doesn’t enjoy it. But I do. I love the buzz and I love races. On my urgent to-do list is, book in one race. If you’re looking for a race to sign up to in the near future, definitely check out a Race for Life run near you- they really are brilliant.

~ Kat ~

Five Tips: Beginners |Slip on Your Running Shoes | BEDIM

In a couple of weeks my mum and I are running a Race for Life 10k and I recently watched a video by Niomi Smart where she gave five tips for beginner runners. This video is definitely one to watch for those thinking about picking up running or those who want to take it up a notch with their training but aren’t sure where they should start. I wanted to write a post for my running series (last addition can be read HERE!) to add a few more tips for beginners!

ONE. Work out what time of day suits your running. It’s often encouraged to run in the morning but not only is that not realistic or even doable for all of us, it might not be when our body likes to get sweaty. Although I think it’s possible to get your body to work with it (my body is certainly better at dealing with early morning runs than it used to be), I don’t think we – beginners especially – should feel pressured to run at any specific time of day. If it’s not immediately obvious when best suits you, try out different times (if possible) and plan runs around this preferred time of day.

TWO. Similar to number one: work out what kind of fuel your body needs. I need to run with food in my body an hour/hour and a half before I set off on my run, but I know people who can’t have anything at all to eat beforehand (in the morning). There’s no one size fits all and once we realise this, a lot of pressure is lifted from running. As Niomi Smart outlines, water beforehand is necessary and food (and water) afterwards is key in the recovery process (as is cooling down properly- or we will never slip on our trainers again!).

THREE. Have some kind of cheerleader to motivate you for when your motivation subsides a little. Whether this is a running buddy, a friend to tell your running adventures to, or a friend who also runs and you can swap stories, tips and running woes, someone to chat to is brilliant. When you’re used to having someone to boost you, the thought of giving up might just seem impossible.

FOUR. I am a big advocate (despite not taking part in one for FAR too long) of the Parkrun, the brilliant 5k free timed race. There are so many all around the UK and all ages and abilities are MORE than welcome. I am most inspired by those who turn up on a Saturday morning without a lot of history with running and want to give it a go, or inspire their training. I love the atmosphere of the Parkrun and think it could aid a lot of beginner’s motivation and progress.

FIVE. After confidence has built and the beginner status is seeming almost very much so in the past, book in a race. Whether it’s in the near future, or in a year’s time, book in a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon. I saw someone running the London Marathon who a year before the day of the big race, had only ever run 5k! A date in the future that requires training is an amazing way to feel pumped and willing to carry on.

Definitely leave any tips you have below! I am currently getting back into long distance training after a couple of months of lots but little runs during revision period. So I’ll probably write some tips for that very topic in a few weeks once I’m truly back into the swing of things!

~ Kat ~

P.S. BEDIM stands for blog every day in May and you can read yesterday’s post HERE! ❤