It dawned on me this morning that the Hackney Half Marathon was exactly one month away yesterday. Training has ramped up a notch, I’m running 2 10ks in the week, trying to squeeze another 5k in there somewhere AND then running my long run on a Sunday. Last week I ran 9 miles on Sunday – my longest distance to date and I was pretty stoked, I managed to beat my 10k time by 2 minutes and I did it all after a day drinking wine in the sun!

Moral of the story – WINE LITERALLY MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.

This morning I found a new power track, Brtiney Spears, Work Bitch. It’s bloody brilliant and it makes me run. What else is needed to push you up that hill than Britney singing in an English accent about wanting a Bugatti, a Maserati, a bikini body and the ability to sip Martinis and party in France?

Saturday night saw us do something that we have NEVER done on a Saturday night ever before- LIKE EVER (well except maybe when we’ve been concerned that we might not make last orders at a bar). We ran! Victoria Park in east Lahhndan played host to Nike’s We Own The Night, a women only 10k run that happens, you guessed it – at night.

I have to say that doing two 10ks earlier in the week really got me ready for it. For some (Ria included) a 10k isn’t a mega long distance – I am not one of those people, to say I was nervous would be an understatement. So I got my sneeks on and ran in preparation, it paid off too as I got a PB (wow I’m starting to sound like an actual runner aren’t I?!).

Ria absolutely smashed it – she came 514 out of 10, 000 people – I think that’s insane and must have discussed this about 100 times post race.

Here’s what we saw…

We had burgers as our fuel (oopsie)

Re-hydration is key – except when you put gin in your water bottles (no seriously there is gin in there).

This morning I ran for the first time since Friday. I wasn’t feeling well on Sunday which meant I didn’t do my run and I was pretty bummed out about it as it was the first run I’ve missed in my training so far. Fast forward two days and I’d completely lost my flow- this morning every single step was hell, I was thinking about every excuse I could come up with to hop on the next bus that went past but I carried on.

Now I’m at my desk and REALLY smug.

Moral of today’s story – FUCKING RUN, even when you really don’t want to.

Cast your minds back to 2006, a year when we celebrated finishing uni and partied without a care in the world. A McDonald’s breakfast was one of our main food groups and our hands were rarely seen without a Vodka Redbull.

This track was rife at uni nights back then and was a sure fire way for even the crapest DJ to redeem himself – cue groups of girls linking arms, closing their eyes and singing to the ceiling all whilst thinking they were in the final scene of Sex and The City (I can assure you in our minds we looked that cool and stylish, in reality we had VK Cherry stains on our Miss Selfridge denim mini skirts).

This track takes me back to that carefree time and every time it comes up on my playlist I smile about days gone by and my uni girls.

Set in Hyde Park, it was the perfect setting for a Sunday run however for a girl that hadn’t done any exercise since the days of P.E (and I didn’t do much then), it was pretty horrid.

I didn’t really train (does two panicked 5k runs the fortnight before count?!), which meant that this was actually tough for me. That combined with 30 degree heat and one water station at 5k (ONE?!!) meant I moaned quite a lot (sorry Ria). But I still made it and we raised just over £300 for Cancer Research – job done. I must say that although I hated it I did love the feeling afterwards so I’m pinning my training for the Hackney Half Marathon on that feeling.

This year I feel really differently about running and training, I’m going into it with a positive head and I feel pumped! We’ve signed up for Nike’s We Own The Night 10k in May and I can’t wait (god I’ve changed).

As much as we wish it was, unfortunately the best way to start the day is not with cake and a glass of champagne. We’ve therefore been experimenting with other ways to start it off right; this week it’s green juice. Healthy, tasty and most importantly filling – it really isn’t as bad as it looks!

There are quite possibly 100 million different recipes for green juice, this is just one of them, it will make enough for two people.

You will need:

– 3 large handfuls of curly kale. Known as the ‘Queen of Greens’, kale is the power house in this juice. Full of anti-oxidants and iron, kale is also packed with A, B, B-6, C and K vitamins – WOAH.

– Half a kiwi fruit. Kiwi’s are a great source of potassium. They have the same level as a banana but half the calories plus they are full of vitamin C – no flu for you!

– Half a lemon. Mainly used in this recipe to add flavor, lemons also have a healthy amount of minerals as well as vitamin C and B-complex.

– Half a cucumber. 95% water, the cucumber is great for hydration and is apparently known as a hangover cure – BONUS.

Put all the ingredients in a blender, add half a pint of apple juice and blend.

Last weekend Cath took a hop, skip and a jump over to Mallorca, here’s what she saw…

Training in the sun sure is easier than training in the wind and rain that’s for sure! As a holiday lover and an exercise dis-liker, the thought of spending my actual holiday time training was a little mental to me. However I managed to get in two training runs (all be it a little short) and I must say, it really helps having the sun on your skin and perfect views to gaze at to pass the time.

So while the thought of packing your trainers in with your bikini and kaftan might seem like a stupid idea – remember everything on holiday is nice – even running!

Stay tuned for another travel post next week, this time by Ria as she is currently skiing in Les Duex Alpes.