The big round up
It feels like I’m posting less and less frequently, which is making me feel so sad. I’m still able to exercise, but I have so little time to myself that I’m finding it really hard to blog. This makes me really sad as I love having the time to reflect on what I’ve been doing and I feel like I no longer have any time to myself š My only solution is to blog duringĀ the wee small hours when I’m up feeding M, but waking up every 90-120 minutes doesn’t make me a happy person! I’ve managed to pull together a quick catch up on my Vankru bike fitting, parkrun, Instagram and cycling.
Instagram-love
If you’re interested in what I’ve been up to, I’ve been working really hard to keep track of my life on Instagram:
As you can see, there have been quite a few food pictures!
parkrun rundown
One thing that’s a constant in my life is Southampton parkrun, whether as a runner or as a volunteer. I love taking part, but the socialising afterwards is also important.
I also managed to get a PB at parkrun. My last PB was on 14/03/15, so this has taken me over 2 years!
Then, I followed it up with another PB in May! 23:40!!!
Training for Swimathon
I’ve been fitting in as much training as possible for Swimathon. I had the good fortune to be invited to London for a swimming lesson with Olympic gold medallist Duncan Goodhew!
He was such a lovely humble man. As a former English teacher, I’ve always felt that being able to read, write, speak and listen are essential skills. However, Duncan explained that he feels that swimming should be given higher priority in schools as “English and Maths will never save your life; learning to swim might”.
New running kit
I’ve been trying out various new bits of running kit. I’ve bought another sports bra in a bright colour. I like these ones as they have adjustable (velcro) straps, which makes it easier for me to feed M.
The shorts that I ordered look similar to my favourite shorts. They have a lycra base layer with a quick drying topĀ layer. Unfortunately, I think the cut of these shorts is not quite right as they feel very low cut at the back and I don’t feel as comfortable wearing them
I’ve also treated myself to some jazzy leggings to wear to Buggy Mums. They were quite cheap as they were from Asda, but I like them š
Vankru bike fitting
After a lot of dithering and indecision, I finally got a replacement for my stolen road bike. (I collected my new cyclocross bike back in October). I wanted to get back on two wheels, so I booked in for a bike fit with the best bike fitter in the UK, Garth at Vankru.
First of all, Garth checked my flexibility and posture. Unfortunately, I am now lopsided in comparison to how I was before. I think it must be because I carry M on my right hip and usually carry the baby seat with my right arm.
Then Garth looked up my measurements from my last Vankru bike fitting on his database.
He then got me to ride on my cyclocross bike on the trainer before making some adjustments.
After that, it was on to my Canyon. It was quite a different set up from my Kuota.
I’ve ridden both of the bikes since having them fitted and can confirm that they feel great!
A 20-mile buggy run with M and Pete
As part of my marathon training, I went out for a 20 mile run with Pete and M. I drove to Pete’s house in Shirley and then we ran out to Lyndhurst, which is about 10 miles away.
We stopped by the Ferrari and Maserati garage in Lyndhurst. There were some pub tables by it, so I fed M and Pete and I had a quick drink and snack, before turning around and running back towards Southampton.
The route that we took was quite pleasant as there is a newly tarmacked cycle path out to Lyndhurst. However, the smooth path didn’t make up for the rolling hills. It was quite a warm day, so it was good to have somewhere to store our drinks and energy bars/gels.
We knew we wouldn’t quite make 20 miles by the time we got back to Pete’s, so we chose to do a detour around Eling, which added on some distance. We also realised that we were running out of water, so just a mile and a half from Pete’s we stoped at Mattingly Motors to top up on water.
I was so pleased when we hit the 20-mile mark… but M was not impressed and stayed asleep. Despite sleeping almost all day, she had her best night’s sleep so far. It’s just a shame that I was full of adrenaline and struggled to sleep that night!
Ride with Max
As part of my training for RideLondon, I met up with Max for a lovely long bike ride in the forest. We talked about a lot of things, but mostly we talked about babies. We talked about my little girl, M and we also talked about Max’s two children. We talked about her cute and funny daughter, but we also talked about her little boy, Joshua, who was born prematurely exactly six months before M was born. Tragically, Joshua passed away just a few days after being born. Since then Max has been fundraising tirelessly to provide support for other bereaved parents and families.
Let’s hope we both have a good ride on the big day.
Well, there’s been a lot to catch up on! What have you been doing recently?
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