Training and freya active

I am sure you watched the Olympic Opening ceremony like me on Friday - wasn't it MINDBLOWING? I loved the whole thing, from Branagh as Brunel to Mr Bean, Bond and the Queen, Becks on a boat...all of it was magical inspiring and just so....us.

So in the Olympic spirit I am of course still training for Cycletta and Run to the Beat. On Friday I was out on my mountain bike in the fens for 17k bike ride, and today I donned my trusty Team Bangs on the Run top and my Freya Active set to crank out a 4 mile run.

This goes down in history...

....as the best photo of this year for me.



The day endo didn't win, depression didn't win and I won. With my team, my family and friends supporting, and a host of amazing brands and icons behind us.

 

A moment with Bangs

[caption id="attachment_1567" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Mumma Run with some one the Team at Nike"][/caption]

As you know, I am an honoured member of Team Bangs on the Run 2, and readers will have been tracking my progress here on Dexterous Diva.

Team Bangs on the Run is the brainchild of blogger extraordinare,  prolific Tweeter and all round slice of awesomeness that is Bangs and a Bun, also known to some by her real name Muirrean, but to us girls on Team Bangs as Mumma Run. 

Disrobing part 2

You may remember my Disrobing Dysmorphia post back in May.

No?

For anyone prone to feel queasy you have been warned, but the post is here.

So. It's now August. I am by no means Kate Moss in stature but I am on the way to being fitter and healthier. I now weigh 10 stone 8, so a few pounds lighter but my body is changing shape and I am learning all the time about food nutrition and fitness.

Team Bangs at Nike with Charlotte Purdue

On Monday I had the pleasure of meeting up with my Team Bangs ladies (with a few absent friends who weren't able to make it!) at Nike Town in London.

Nike were wonderful hosts to us, and arranged for us ladies to meet and interview elite runner Charlotte Purdue.

Why running is brilliant and what I've learned about plans

 

Running is changing my life in so many ways; is helping my depression no end, it is helping my battle against endometriosis and it is giving me a new positivity and focus in my life alongside the girls.

Running is utterly brilliant. What I am learning about the way that I am approaching my training for this half marathon I realise can be applied to so many other areas in life. My schedule for training the Half  is broken down into weeks, into days, into various speeds, length of sessions and rest days.

Why every run is a victory

So. If you haven't checked out the awesome ladies that are Team Bangs on the Run 2, I suggest you do.

Follow our hashtag on Twitter, follow us all and see what we are all up to.

As a team of 13 ladies, we are all coming at this challenge with our own stories. We have been sharing with each other the reasons why we run, and I assure you, every time I read about why a team-mate is running it makes me cry.

St Ives 10k

So, today I managed to run a 10k.

Last week, as you know, I was sad to miss the Boutique Run at the hands of endo, so this week I was determined to get out there and do the race.

Team Bangs Training - progress

I love me some visual graphics, I do.

Nothing stirs the loins so much as a nice visualisation of data, particularly when it shows progress of me. Running. Yes.

So, here is my Nike run history from my online Nike Running profile.

Quitting from a non quitter

As I write, my beloved Scribs and Candice from Team Bangs should be around half way through the Boutique Run 10k.

Running Love

Running - my Team Bangs progress

One of the things I love about this journey I am on with the Team Bangs On the Run project is the personal challenge every time I have a run in my training schedule to get out there, to do it.

Take today, for example.

A run speaks for so much - Team Bangs 2 and why

I first discovered running when I was 18.

My mate Ben would come and throw stones at my bedroom window at 6.30am to wake me up, fag in hand, an image my mum still holds dear. We would jog around a local park, splutter and cough our way back, but I discovered for the first time how beautiful it is in the morning before the world awakes. I learnt that there is a time zone that exists only for those who rise with the birds and that I rather liked it. That, and the undiscovered muscles I remember talking about in the common room, which we thought sounded like a good band name.