100miles!! my first parkrun, and Natalie's first 5k

Sooo.... since that 10k race a few weeks ago I've been getting stuck in with the training, getting out 3-4 times a week, and managing 8 mile then 10 mile long runs in preparation for the Malvern half marathon (3wks tomorrow- eek!!). My shins aren't loving me for it.... but some new shoes have helped and I'm loving getting out and running regularly again.

Yesterday morning I spotted my ticker stood at 99 miles. I wasn't due to run yesterday, but I couldn't leave it like that.... so after we got back from Mark's birthday dinner and the kids were in bed I headed out for a 1 mile run. Up until this week I'd been using an app on my phone to track my distance, but the GPS was never very accurate so I'd have to come home and re-route my run on the computer which took ages. Since I'm doing a distance challenge this isn't a good thing, so I sold a few old baby bits and got myself a new toy. Trying it out for the second time, I headed out with the intention of running half a mile down the road, then turning around and coming straight back. A nice glass of wine and some Pizza Express tiramisu was waiting for me, so I made it a quick one :)

1 mile on the dot and I'm at 100 miles!! For those of you who think in kilometers, that's 169, so still a long way to go, but I've done a lot this month and will keep the miles coming in!!! I enjoyed that wine and pudding to celebrate :)


This morning we didn't have our usual football and ballet so I decided to try out the local parkrun. For those who don't know what that is, look it up! A free, timed 5k every Saturday morning at 9am in parks around the world. I've been wanting to go for ages!! Natalie, who is 6, decided she wanted to run too, so off we went. It was so much fun and she did brilliantly, running the first half completely then only walking a little bit for the last half. We finished in 41minutes. It was muddy, and she was tired in this pic (and I look awful!!) but here we are :)

I wore my fundraising top, and while we were waiting in the queue for coffee afterwards a lady asked me what Hemiplegia was. I told her, and explained that Ryan (who was with me) had it and expained about HemiChat and all the great things it does. About 20min later she came and found me, and gave me £20 for the charity pot. Was the loveliest thing, and really made my day. I doubt she'll ever see this or I'll see her again, but a huge heartfelt thank you to that wonderful lady and what she did today. It also took the total raised so far to £100!! :)

I'm planning something to help raise funds that you can all join in with, so watch this space in the next week or so while I get things organised!! :)   x x