Running like a girl

My life in exercise

First school: aged 4-8

Always last on sports day. I was once carried to the end of the running race by the head teacher. Out of pity probably.

Always chosen to do the demonstration in swimming lessons.

Middle school: aged 9-12

Belonged to, and later Vice Captain of, Mellstock, one of the 4 houses of the school. This house was renowned for its athletic ineptitude and never ever won a sports cup. APART FROM in the swimming gala. We always cleaned up there.

Was once forced to do a gymnastic display in assembly. Nailed the handstand-forward roll I had been practicing.

Played tennis on weekends.

High School: aged 13:15

Still hated sports, apart from swimming. PE and games were feared.

Sixth form: aged 16 and 17

Bunked off all PE classes instead choosing to stay in the common room and talk to boys about music or talk to girls about boys.

University

Shunned all forms of physical exercise in favour of drinking tea and watching Friends 50 times a day. Swam sporadically.

Year abroad

Took dance lessons as a good way to learn French and sound cool.

Swimming pools were grossly busy and full of men in Speedos. I naturally avoided.

After University

Took up Pilates, and then yoga. Discovered I love yoga, especially the hot yoga classes at Yoga Fever.

Flirted with spin classes, Zumba and circuits but no true love match was made.

It is fair to say I never had that competitive nature so required for most team sports. I preferred to keep myself to myself and participate in solo activities such as gymnastics and swimming. Because of this I always had the mentality that I "wasn't a runner". Back in 2010 my lovely, sporty, energetic mother signed me up for the Cardiff Half Marathon. I reluctantly got training and gradually realised I could run an hour on the treadmill without much of a problem. It appealed to all the things I liked about swimming, yoga etc. I could do it alone, it cleared my head but it had an added bonus of providing a sense of achievement.

Since then I run regularly, sometime with massive breaks in between. And often I will hit mental blocks where I convince myself I cannot do it. Running is a mental battle for me as much as a physical one. I have to get over more the 20 years of telling myself I am not sporty enough to do this. So when I read Alexandra Heminsley's book "Running like a girl", I could really relate. Being a runner does not have to mean you are the most sporty person in the world. It just means you like to run. Time and distance are not important. I just do what feels right for me and set my own goals.

I am not going to buy any new make up in November. No I'm not. I'm not

Boots and I have a ongoing love affair. I go in only needing ibuprofen and come out £50 lighter justifying it with all the Advantage card points I am amassing even though I lost my card a year ago. Hywel and I are currently trying to sell our house so last night I had a little sort out. Just look at all the make-up I have. I only have one face! And this is after I chucked loads away.

So, no more make-up. For a month. I'm hoping the money I save will allow me to buy those books on my wishlist which I think are just a little too expensive (but still less than that lipstick I impulse bought in Boots last week).

Seriously, who needs 15 eye-liners?

Power down

Yesterday at work there was a power cut which meant, once our laptops had run out of charge, we couldn't do much work. I decided to take the afternoon off. It's quite strange having an unplanned afternoon off on a weekday. My husband and my friends were in work so it was just me on my own with some free hours to kill. To begin with I did some boring things I've been meaning to do for a while (had my fringe trimmed, booked a dentist appointment) then I though I should actively do something otherwise I might waste my newly acquired free time playing Bejeweled Blitz and watching How I Met Your Mother repeats (not funny but always on TV).

After watching Sunday's Downton Abbey I remembered that I had started making the Margot pyjama bottoms from Tilly and the Buttons' pattern book. My beloved sewing machine broke before I was able to finish these but I now have my mother in law's much better sewing machine, which is actually made for grown ups. I think I might just keep it a bit longer.

I have sewed many a garment before but always with the knowledge that my infinitely talented mum could help me out if (haha IF) I made a mistake. Not so this time. I was on my own. Tilly's book is so helpful and clear to follow though which really helped. I will confess to making a few slip ups along the way (that piece of lace is not a sexy garter but covering up where I accidentally cut the leg in two) but I am very happy with the outcome. The pyjamas even survived a night of sleeping in them and were extremely comfortable. I hope they also fare ok in the washing machine.

The finished product!

Bunking off work (kind of)

On Friday Hywel and I took a cheeky half-day off work to go to town, shop, eat and go to the cinema. There is something about walking around town on a weekday that always makes me feel like I'm bunking off (mitching, skiving, whatever you want to call it). I used to love it when I had a doctor or dentist appointment or something and mum would take me around the shops for a bit before driving me back to school. 

Sophie's on High Street Arcade

First stop on our bunk was Sophie's Crêperie in the high Street Arcade for what turned out to be the perfect lunch. We have tried other crêperies in Cardiff before (naming no names) which have been disappointing but Sophie's was amazing. Hywel has cheese and ham while I went for the complete which is basically cheese and ham with an egg. They were really filling and très délicieuses.  Go there!

Crepes!

After shopping some serious bargains we went to see Gone Girl at the cinema. I loved this book and was a bit worried the film would be a let down but I really enjoyed it. I think Rosamund Pike in particular was extremely well cast as Amy. Even though I knew what was coming, the suspense was just right.

Today I am massively aching as I power marched the Cardiff half yesterday with my mum. We smashed our predicted time with the help of sheer determination and free doughnuts (serious thanks to all supporters, especially ones with free baked goods). With my aching comes an insatiable hunger. Send food please.
 

My well deserved medal

September

So just like that September is over....and what a busy month I have had. Despite some low points (being ill and cancelling our trip to Brighton), I have had a pretty good time. One of the highlights being going to see First Aid Kit at Colston Hall in Bristol. What a great band! What a great venue! I has only previously been to the O2 Academy in Bristol so the Colston Hall seemed very civilised in comparison. The First Aid girls put on a great show, very different and more intimate than seeing them at Green Man fest.

Before the gig we found a hipster heaven bar where we indulged in a couple of drinks and delicious burgers. If you're ever Bristol way you could do far worse than going to Start the Bus. 

Hipster drinks at Start the Bus

From a purely materialistic point of view, my gorgeous birthday present from Hywel arrived. I had been looking for a leather satchel for ages and Zatchels delivered! I love, love it.

My gorgeous Zatchel satchel

From there we headed down to Dorset for a good old fashioned barn dance at my grandparent's farm. Plenty of dosey-doeing, cider and checked shirts.

Last weekend I went to my wonderful friend Meg's hen do. Ever done a yoga/ stretch glass after downing 2 glasses of Prosecco? I highly recommend it. The instructor was Lou from Stretchii in Swansea and was a wonderful way to start the day's activities.

Mats ready for hungover/ tipsy Stretchii class

This week I am super excited to go see the "Gone Girl" film adaptation. I read the book about a year ago and loved it. It really is not the normal genre I go for (I'm more an historical fiction kinda girl than dark thrillers) but would highly recommend it. Oh yeah and I'll be walking the Cardiff half marathon on Sunday with my mum. I'm hoping for good weather as I walk around this wonderful city.

Festivals and summer fun

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. August always seems to be a really busy time for me with festivals to go to and birthdays to enjoy. This year I also had the added bonus of attending one of my best friend's weddings.

Green Man Festival

I love Green Man so much. There is such a chilled and relaxed vibe there along with great music and beautiful scenery. I always discover a great new band or artist. This year we spent the majority of the time at the mountain stage as the line up was just fantastic. This was also the first year our gorgeous 11 month old Godson joined us. He seriously knows how to rock a pair of ear defenders. To mix things up a bit, my friends and I, for the first time, ventured into the Nature Nurture area for a spa experience on the Sunday morning (when we seriously needed a wash). We had prosecco on arrival, and then constant top up, clean towels, warm showers, hot tub and the only sauna/tent I have ever seen. It was just perfect.

Highlights:

First Aid Kit (obvs)
Beirut
Nick Mulvey
Boy and Bear
Georgia Ruth
Outside Spa (and prosecco!)
Burning of the Green Man

We have already bought our tickets for next year's festival where I will be celebrating a rather scary birthday!

My Birthday

I love my birthday and always make sure I take the day off work. This year, despite the grey skies, Hywel and I went for a swim in the sea in Dunraven Bay. It was such a nice beach and, due to the weather, not very busy. The sea was choppy but fairly warm considering. We then discovered a secret garden where we drank our hot chocolates. In the evening we went to the delightful Shot in the Dark for drinks then curled up at home to watch Amelie. Wonderful.

End Of The Road

My mum and I always try to go to a festival together. In the past we have been to Glastonbury numerous times and Camp Bestival. This was the first year I went to End Of the Road but I already can't wait to go next year. The festival site is such a good size (you can walk between all the stages in 5 minutes meaning fewer band clash dilemmas) but you still get some of the quirky areas such as the forest disco where my mum, aunt and cousins and I danced the night away.

Highlights:

Sweet Baboo
The Wave Pictures
Gruff Rhys
Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit
Cate Le Bon
9 Bach


And seeing as Hywel and I can't quite get our selves back into normal life, we had dinner last night at the excellent Got Beef.

40 before 40

The weather in Cardiff has taken a turn for the worse (not totally unwelcome as the garden is thirsty) which has got me day dreaming of packing my bags, heading off to T5 (my terminal of choice) and boarding a plane.

Pre-flight drinks and my amazing Panama hat

Gorgeous Dubrovnik

What perfect timing then to talk about our "40 before 40" challenge. I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to travel quiet a bit both for fun and for work, even living in Lyon, France in my 3rd year at uni. There is still so much of the world to see though, and I intend to see it. As a wedding gift, Hywel and received a "scratch map" where you, as the name suggests, scratch off on the map the countries you have visited. This led us to come up with the 40 before 40 challenge. Quickly counting up the countries we had already visited (at present me; 23, Hywel; 28), we realised we can quite easily visit 40 counties each before we hit the big 4-0. All we need is a bit of imagination, an Easy Jet flight map and suggestions from friends. My travel wish list is so long but topping it are Istanbul, more Asia, Patagonia (once my Spanish, Welsh and bank balance are up to it). We'll probably try and see more of Europe first as there are loads of short, cheapish flights to various places from Cardiff, Bristol and London The only downside is, for the moment, Paris and San Fransisco are on hold as we have been to France and USA many times.

Our scratch map

In an insanely ideal world we would up sticks, buy an awesome camper van and see where the wind takes us but you know, the house, the cat, work, money, *yawn*....

Any suggestions?