so excited

New found respect for H&M as I recently found out a lot more about how the company operates - very anti sweat shops.  

Even more so when I found out they are collaborating with Brick Lane Bikes

[best bike shop in town]

one month + one day

since I ran a Kilomathon for Canine Partners...

And my left calf is still not happy about it. 

Why not make it worth my pain this payday and send some money the dogs' way.... 

http://www.justgiving.com/Laurabax

http://www.caninepartners.org.uk/Index.htm

Kilomathon London 2012

So, I did it - I ran the London Kilomathon. 

 

26.2k (16.3m) in 2 hours 38 mins 9 secs. 

I was in full on training mode earlier in the summer - by far the best shape I have ever been in.  My goal was to run the course in 2:40.  Then life got in the way of running a little bit and I could feel my muscles slacking off. 

As the days counted down I became increasingly terrified (mixed with waves of excitement, I will admit) and guessed at a more realistic 3 hours for completion of the looming 'ordeal'. 

So, when I actually got past the halfway mark of 12k and hadn't stopped running, I was a little shocked by the acheivement, followed by pain, followed by stubbornness. 

After 20k, my left calf muscle left twisted and my right knee was in agony.  Energy was low and the pack of fellow runners had thinned, which meant that motivation was beginning to deplete. 
Then the stitch kicked in.  Hard.

I think I slowed to a walking pace on two occasions for the last 4k - my guess is that the time I spent doing so was 2-3 minutes.  My priority was that I completed the course without stopping.

Also the realisation that I could do it within my original target of 2:40 really spurred me on. 

When I made it over the finish line it was a hard task not to cry my eyes out; I felt so overwhelmed.

Even now I don't think it has even sunk in that I made it and that I didn't stop once.

I couldn't have done it without the encouragement and experienced advice of my amazing friend Helena, who also went to the effort of not only meeting me at the finish line, but meeting me with flowers, hobnobs and the best medal ever.  The other runners were so jealous.  A massive thankyou to her & everyone else who supported me.

I have been rasing sponsor money from this for Canine Partners - an amazing charity which trains guide dogs for disabled people, they do incredible work.  (My sponsorship page is accepting donations until the end of January 2012).

The Kilomathon is not a fun run but an endurance event.  The London one of 2012 took place Sunday 28th October, in Lee Valley Park.  The beautiful setting certainly helped get me through.

good reasons to be poor

Things I've been spending money in the last week (which I probably shouldn't have) but am happy I did...

This book 'Just Kids' that I cannot wait to start reading! About £5, brand new from Ebay.

This super cute bike necklace, £7 from Accessorize, on a nice & long gold chain. I couldn't walk away from it...

This dress from Traid charity shop on Holloway Road (one of my all time fave charity shops) for only £4.49.

This vegan face mask with avocado and goji berry was £6 from Superdrug and it's soooo good.  Great to have affordable vegan beauty products more accessible!

This nail jewel set was only from the 99p store at the end of my road... I couldn't not get it! I did this two days ago and half the jewels have fallen off now, but it's a lot of fun and worth it if you want to bling up your nails for a big night out, haha!

Headphones (£4 from a sports shop) and water bottle from Sweaty Betty... I also got an amazing sports bra from them too. That was the big spend of the week; but it was so worth it.

Went out for a run the night I'd gotten it and ran for 7 miles - my new personal best! Being able to listen to music (finally) when I'm running was a major help too. Oh and having water with me. You don't even have to grip this bottle because it just sits on your hand.

I became a member of Sweaty Betty for free and get to attend free excercise classes they hold in the evenings - Wednesday is running club. I can't wait to go along to one!

Knitting for Fitness

My old friend knitting apparently teams up well with my new found friendship with running. 

 Oh - and my new 100+ miles-a-week cycle commute to work.

These 'fitness knitted gifts' are courtesy of The Making Spot

Check out how happy they're making the model...

Here are past ventures of mine to knit myself some cycling accessories...

 The top one is a chunky cable knit wool head band I made to stop my ears from freezing off one winter season commute a while back.

Below it is my wool/hemp headband for slightly less frost bite ridden weather

So have you seen the snow?

I have.
It started falling from the sky about 30 seconds into my evening jog...
A good thing really, considering it's my first day of training for the Tough Guy Challenge I'm planning on taking on next year.

I didn't have a camera with me...

However here's a snowy view from my window of how much had settled by time I got in.

I hope you all enjoy the weather.
A bit of a change of climate for me as earlier today I arrived in Heathrow back from a couple of weeks in tropical Cairnes and South Australia...