2012 challenge - Great South Run

My weightloss reached a plateau when I went back to work so I decided to up my exercise regime. I knew I need more cardio exercise and the best cardio workout for me is running. The problem with this is that I hate running. I mean I REALLY HATE RUNNING!!!

I'm very lucky in that I have a lot of "fitness" friends. My personal trainer friend, Liz (LC Healthy Living) has just set up a running club for beginners with Catalyst Personal Training.
I was very nervous on our first session. We took things very gently to start with, running for a couple of minutes and then walking for a couple of minutes. Liz was great in giving us lots of tips about technique, what to eat before and after a run, how to warm up and how to stretch properly before and after.

The hour went very quickly and I even (gasps) had fun!!
We were given homework to do. Running 2 evenings in the week with a couple of rest days in between.

The second week was a little harder. Running for 5 minutes, walking for 3. FIVE MINUTES!!!! We even ran uphill. My legs felt like jelly trying to get up that hill, but we all did it.

My homework that week went well, despite forgetting Liz's advice about eating. Apparently eating an apple 4 hours before exercising isn't enough and I had heavy, wobbly legs on treadmill.

I decided I needed a goal.

Sooooo......... I decided to enter the Great South Run. 10 miles!!!

What have I done?? Liz has assured me that it is perfectly achievable with the right attitude and training plan. After all, the event isn't until October so I have 9.5 months to train.

I'm going to be running for two charities; Asthma UK and a Southampton based Homelessness charity, The Society of St James

My fundraising pages are:
Asthma UK : http://www.bmycharity.com/LJAsthmaUK
SSJ: http://www.bmycharity.com/lucyjurdSSJ
Thanks for your support xx

Catching up!

I have been neglecting my blog!
So here's a quick overview of what we've been getting up to over the last few months.

Esme still isn't crawling (aged 13 months) but she has become quite an expert bottom shuffler.

Thomas' asthma seems to be a lot more under control now. His preventative medication was changed back in October and so far his wheezy episodes have significantly reduced.

Thomas is still on the small side, although he has grown a little bit in the last few months. I still hope there are no long term side effects of all the steroids he's been on.

Over Christmas we went to watch an ice-hockey game. My brother is the coach of the Bracknell Bees so we've been to a few games now. This was the first time that Thomas really took an interest and got the bug. He keeps on telling us how he wants to be a Bracknell Bee. So my youngest brother, Daniel, cut an old hockey stick down to size for Thomas and he spent a good couple of hours playing in the garden with his cousin, Cameron

Learning the ice-hockey basics

We also went ice skating on New Year's day. Bracknell ice rink are well equipped for younger children. They have little penguins that children can push around the ice to help them get their balance. It was fantastic to see Thomas' confidence grow during the skating session.

My maternity leave ended in September and so it was back to work for me. Three days a week to start with and as of January full time. I can't say I'm too pleased with that. It's no secret that I'd rather be at home looking after my children, but unfortunately the mortgage needs to be paid!

As a way of supplementing our income and hopefully getting me out of full time work in the future, I became a distributor for Forever Living products in July. The products are amazing and I'm having great fun building my business. It fits perfectly around my job and the needs of the children.

I like Mummy's boots!

Esme's baby

Learning to walk

Fireman Thomas